I need help, i feel lost. Need some insight L
Medication: cymbalta 90mg (night because it makes me sleepy), lyrica 150 morning, clonazepam 0.5mg night.
I need some insight, I don’t know where or if this is the correct place. But, i need help.
I developed depression in 2016 due to stress of having to put more effort in studying for subjects like algebra, physics, chemistry, etc and always failed. I was sent to a psychiatrist who put me on zoloft 100 mg. It helped a bit, until, I changed psychiatrist due to him retiring.
It wasn’t until 2018 when I developed a tca because I made the wrong choice of weighing myself after eating pizza, and the lack of knowledge regarding weight fluctuations, muscle and fats and liquids, etc.. I started to have a distorted view with food and started to limit my intake and purge because I feared of gaining weight. I started to recover after my mom found out, it was not fully treated, as I still had some distortions/traits (still have) with food and weight. But, I stopped purging and started to stop obsessing over the scale’s number, and added more food to my diet.
2019-2020 was stable for me, my depression and tca were controlled and I was better. Enjoying life, sure, I still had some restrictions which is more about control. But, my life was sustainable, enjoyable, open.
Now, my family house was not stable though. My father is someone very dry and would argue a lot with my mom. I had to step up to protect my mom even though I knew that my father would never hit my mother. But, his words were hurtful. They divorced in 2021, and although for you guys might not seem as a shock, for me, it was. Having your father walk out of the house suddenly and never coming back was a shock.
It was then that I developed panic attacks and anxiety. I never knew how horrible panic attacks were until I experienced them. Everything was unsure, the house, everything (although my father always provided with the economy he is very controlling and you have to walk carefully or else he’ll treat you awfully) i have been somewhat sentimental regarding my house and family in some ways. Nostalgic ,even, to my childhood when things were happy. It was because I knew that things would change, forever.
My anxiety, depression, panic attacks were somewhat controlled by a psychiatrist who changed my meds, but then I decided to leave him because he was acting oddly (I found out later that he has mental issues and that his license should be revoked) i was stable with going to a psychologist who helped me a lot. In 2022-3 i started to work on a brand , and finally started in 2023. My depression, anxiety, and fears were basically gone. I still take my meds (under the guidance of another psych, but it was mostly about routine check. The one who helped me work on the issues was the psychologist) it was amazing and for the first time I felt happy.
Until rotavirus hit me and ended up hospitalized, lost weight which was a triggering factor, had to change psychologist because of my father, and that’s when my life went downhill.
I was too anxious and developed intrusive thoughts that I was desperate I thought that by returning to the psych from 2021 was a good idea. He told me that he would treat me with TMS for anxiety, I was vulnerable, desperate, so I accepted. The thing is he did it in 5 days, multiple sessions, and for the last two days he put me theta burst (also on day 4 he put me ketamine + tms and after I felt weird and overstimulated) I asked him why and he didn’t respond, changed subjects and said that I needed to go to Costa Rica.
Then Thursday came and it was awful, the psychiatrist told me that I was a danger for myself, that I had no words or say in the matter whether i should or shouldnt go to Costa Rica. My mother had to pick me up, so I could leave. (i was not suicidal, I asked him why I was feeling weird) also throughout the session he said that my business was not stable and that i should abandon my parents and forget about them, and that he doesn’t have the time to carry me. I was never heard, my questions were not answered.
I finally decided to find a better psychiatrist and told me everything about TMS, and finally fgave me a diagnosis which is making sense OCD.
She stabilize me and I have to see her on Friday.
The problem is that my sister psychologist spoke with me and told me that I was BPD. Because of OCD, depression, and anxiety. And I was like what? As far as I’m concerned I needed to complete a list of criteria to be BPD. I’m no medical professional, but I did my research.
I don’t have explosive emotions I dont have angry outburst e I dont have intense feelings or mood swings I don’t have impulsivity like reckless driving etc.. I dont have unstable self image My fear of abandonment is only 10% I have self harmed but it was due to the intense anxiety I dont disassociate or have paranoid ideation
Yet she says that I’m BPD. She told me that BPD was not a disorder , but as far as I’m concerned it is.
Im anxious, please, give me some insights.

Gender: f Age 25
Medication: cymbalta 90mg (night because it makes me sleepy), lyrica 150 morning, clonazepam 0.5mg night.
I need some insight, I don’t know where or if this is the correct place. But, i need help.
I developed depression in 2016 due to stress of having to put more effort in studying for subjects like algebra, physics, chemistry, etc and always failed. I was sent to a psychiatrist who put me on zoloft 100 mg. It helped a bit, until, I changed psychiatrist due to him retiring.
It wasn’t until 2018 when I developed a tca because I made the wrong choice of weighing myself after eating pizza, and the lack of knowledge regarding weight fluctuations, muscle and fats and liquids, etc.. I started to have a distorted view with food and started to limit my intake and purge because I feared of gaining weight. I started to recover after my mom found out, it was not fully treated, as I still had some distortions/traits (still have) with food and weight. But, I stopped purging and started to stop obsessing over the scale’s number, and added more food to my diet.
2019-2020 was stable for me, my depression and tca were controlled and I was better. Enjoying life, sure, I still had some restrictions which is more about control. But, my life was sustainable, enjoyable, open.
Now, my family house was not stable though. My father is someone very dry and would argue a lot with my mom. I had to step up to protect my mom even though I knew that my father would never hit my mother. But, his words were hurtful. They divorced in 2021, and although for you guys might not seem as a shock, for me, it was. Having your father walk out of the house suddenly and never coming back was a shock.
It was then that I developed panic attacks and anxiety. I never knew how horrible panic attacks were until I experienced them. Everything was unsure, the house, everything (although my father always provided with the economy he is very controlling and you have to walk carefully or else he’ll treat you awfully) i have been somewhat sentimental regarding my house and family in some ways. Nostalgic ,even, to my childhood when things were happy. It was because I knew that things would change, forever.
My anxiety, depression, panic attacks were somewhat controlled by a psychiatrist who changed my meds, but then I decided to leave him because he was acting oddly (I found out later that he has mental issues and that his license should be revoked) i was stable with going to a psychologist who helped me a lot. In 2022-3 i started to work on a brand , and finally started in 2023. My depression, anxiety, and fears were basically gone. I still take my meds (under the guidance of another psych, but it was mostly about routine check. The one who helped me work on the issues was the psychologist) it was amazing and for the first time I felt happy.
Until rotavirus hit me and ended up hospitalized, lost weight which was a triggering factor, had to change psychologist because of my father, and that’s when my life went downhill.
I was too anxious and developed intrusive thoughts that I was desperate I thought that by returning to the psych from 2021 was a good idea. He told me that he would treat me with TMS for anxiety, I was vulnerable, desperate, so I accepted. The thing is he did it in 5 days, multiple sessions, and for the last two days he put me theta burst (also on day 4 he put me ketamine + tms and after I felt weird and overstimulated) I asked him why and he didn’t respond, changed subjects and said that I needed to go to Costa Rica.
Then Thursday came and it was awful, the psychiatrist told me that I was a danger for myself, that I had no words or say in the matter whether i should or shouldnt go to Costa Rica. My mother had to pick me up, so I could leave. (i was not suicidal, I asked him why I was feeling weird) also throughout the session he said that my business was not stable and that i should abandon my parents and forget about them, and that he doesn’t have the time to carry me. I was never heard, my questions were not answered.
I finally decided to find a better psychiatrist and told me everything about TMS, and finally fgave me a diagnosis which is making sense OCD.
She stabilize me and I have to see her on Friday.
The problem is that my sister psychologist spoke with me and told me that I was BPD. Because of OCD, depression, and anxiety. And I was like what? As far as I’m concerned I needed to complete a list of criteria to be BPD. I’m no medical professional, but I did my research.
I don’t have explosive emotions I dont have angry outburst e I dont have intense feelings or mood swings I don’t have impulsivity like reckless driving etc.. I dont have unstable self image My fear of abandonment is only 10% I have self harmed but it was due to the intense anxiety I dont disassociate or have paranoid ideation
Yet she says that I’m BPD. She told me that BPD was not a disorder , but as far as I’m concerned it is.
Im anxious, please, give me some insights.

I know that there is the multiple choice portion before the speech portion, but I can't find any answers to the few questions I have still. I know there's a timer, and you only get 1 shot at recording your speech. But there are a few things that still confuse me.

1. Can you pick a topic ahead of time, or are you given a topic at the beginning of your 20 minutes?
   
2. If you are given a topic to speak about, what tools are available for researching that topic?
   
3. Is there a list of topics that may be presented, so you can do some research ahead of time so you have an idea of places to look for sources/arguments?
   
4. I've seen that you're given paper and writing utensils for note taking/outlining, is a portion of your grade based on your written work?
   

The format is very foreign to me, and since I struggle with executive function with my ADHD, the thought of preparing a speech with only 10-12 minutes from topic to delivery seems almost impossible to me. I had hoped that you could pick from a set list, and have a speech already prepared that you could deliver.

E-learning authoring tools are vital for developing engaging online courses. They assist educators in creating, developing, and distributing educational content. After conducting considerable research, I have chosen the top three eLearning authoring tools for 2024. These tools stand out due to their functionality, ease of use, and overall value.
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Female, 134, 5’5”, 120lbs
I am in desperate need of any kind of help as I’m declining in health, and it took a sharp fall off the cliff 2 years ago. I’ve been in and out of every specialist’s office you can think of, and done so many tests that I feel like a lab rat; no answers, no effective care plans, and some doctors just telling me they don’t know what to do and they can no longer help me. Only thing is do get is new symptoms every couple of months. My most pressing issue is my inability to gain weight/strength - I’m a shell of my former self. Started at 160lbs and dropped to 140lbs in 2 months, then 140 to 130 in 1 month. I hovered between 128-133 for about a year, then dropped to 119-123, and have been there since; all of this has been without trying. Since the first sudden drop, I began tracking caloric intake to try to maintain my weight. Since getting into the 120s, I began, and currently have and have a caloric intake which should have me gaining 2-3lbs/ day, given my TDEE, but it’s not working. I’m throwing back around 2,000 (sometimes more) calories/day of all types of food; both healthy and horrible, to the point where I’m grocery shopping 2-3x/wk. The only results I’ve gotten are constipation, pain, and abdominal distention.
I am folate deficient w/macrocytic anemia, have been for years, and my doctors have tried pushing me to eat more folate - spoiler, doesn’t work, as my diet is already high in folate. I also had a severe reaction to taking 1mg of folic acid - I’m talking drug allergy type of reaction. The first time I’d ever had my folate tested, it was at 2.5 mg/dL - and this was while I’d already been taking prenatal vitamins for years, for the biotin, and eating an extremely high-folate diet. I am concerned for my health, given everything I’ve mentioned, and listed below. I’m especially concerned since I now take AEDs, is a contraindication of my MTHFR polymorphism (undermethylation) and can impact my kidneys. Nothing is helping, I’m concerned, and my family and friends are concerned, telling me I need to eat more (how much more can I eat?!), and I just need some input from a broader audience.
I’ve included my current health summary, most recent labs, and relevant test findings. As I am a data analyst, I have all my labs for the last 10 years tracked, and all my H and L values have been creeping more and more out of range every year. Please let me know if there is any additional pertinent data/info you need to give some insight as to what is going on. I’ll try to put my previous bloodwork in the comments, as photos.
Shooting into the dark here - TIA.

Current Health Summary

• Celiac Disease
  • compliant w/GF diet since 2012
• Macrocytic Anemia
  • consistently low folate
  • consistently High MCH, MCV
  • consistently Low RBC
  • consistently low Immunoglobulin A, qn, serum: 65 mg/dL (most recent)
• Elevated Homocysteine
  • 48.9 umol/L before starting AEDs
• hEDS
• Primary Generalized Myoclonic Epilepsy
  • sudden onset with rapid progression over 4-6 months
  • controlled on meds
  • negative panel for cancerous cause of sudden onset of epilepsy
  • 2 abnormal EEGs
• Convulsive Pre-Syncope/Syncope
• Multiple swollen lymph nodes
  • 3 occipital, one behind jaw/under ear, 2 in groin region
  • all present for over 1 year
  • hard, not painful
  • neck/head US: “likely correspond to benign/reactive lymph nodes”; Pending US for others
• ADHD
• Generalized Depression
• Mild Scoliosis
• Bilateral trochanteric bursitis
• Sudden-onset vertical diplopia
  • 02/16/2024
• Migraines with Aura
• Frequent heart palpitations

Test Findings

• Genetics
  • Comp-Het. MTHFR variations: C677T/A1298C; clinically significant
  • HCN4 Gene Variation: heterozygous
  • PMS2 Gene Variation: heterozygous
  • KCNH2 Gene Variation: heterozygous
  • HLA Typing, DQA1*05 - Positive
• Gastroenterology
  • EGD: “Active granulation tissue with exudate, consistent with erosion/ulcer”
  • Colonoscopy: Unremarkable
  • Small Intestine MRI: Unremarkable
• Rheumatology
  • was told that eventually I’ll almost certainly be dx’d with Sjögren’s, but bloodwork just wasn’t there yet (2020)
  • Anti-la (ss-B) Ab (rdl): Positive 52 units
  • Anti-nuclear Ab by ifa (rdl): Positive
  • ANA Speckled Pattern: 1:320
  • Sjogren’s anti-ss-B High: 1.8 ai
  • Antinuclear antibodies, ifa, serum: Pos.
  • ANA Speckled Pattern, serum: 1:80
• Neurology
  • Chiari 1 Malformation (05/31/2023)

Current Medications

• Lacosamide: 100mg BID
• Clobazam: 10mg BID
• AdderallXR: 30mg Capsule, daily as needed (taking maybe 2x/wk)

Lab Results

CBC and Differential (5/4/24) - WBC 5.0 - RBC 3.74 - Hgb 12.9 - Hct 36.7 Low - Platelets 251 - MCV 97.9 High - MCH 34.6 High - MCHC 35.3 - RDW 12.1 Low - MPV 7.2 Low - Neutro Auto 47.0 - Lymph Auto 40.0 - Mono Auto 6.9 - Eos, Auto 4.9 - Basophil Auto 1.1 - NRBC Auto 0.1 - Neutro Absolute 2.4 - Lymph Absolute 2.0 - Mono Absolute 0.4 - Eos Absolute 0.2 - Baso Absolute 0.1 - NRBC Absolute 0.01
Coagulation - Prothrombin Time 14.0 - INR 1.1 - Partial Thromboplastin Time 28
Routine Chemistry - Sodium Level 141 - Potassium Level 4.1 - Chloride Level 110 High - CO2 24 - Alk Phos 50 - AST 13.0 - ALT 12 - BUN 7 - Glucose Level 99 - Creatinine Level 0.76 - BUN/Creat Ratio 9 - eGFR AA 105 - eGFR Non-AA 87 - Calcium Level 8.60 - Protein Total 5.9 Low - Albumin Level 3.8 - Globulin 2 - A/G Ratio 2 - Bilirubin Total 0.4 - Anion Gap 7
Thanks again
Edit: formatting

Author's Note:
This broke the character limit, so it's getting split into two parts.
​
--
​
If before the pouring rain had seemed to avoid Valente, now it chose to avoid the street entirely, like a curtain rising to honor Aspreay's challenge. A set of four near-translucent walls had spawned around the Lord and the Hangman, so elegant that they almost felt as if they did not exist at all.
Until that moment, not a single thing today had shocked Adam. Not Eric's betrayal, nor the Dark Captain's appearance. Even his own death at the hands of the Emperor was something he'd accounted for.
This, however–
"Aspreay…what the hell are you doing?" Adam muttered. The translucent barrier stood tall in front of him like an impenetrable Wall. "You're supposed to be a selfish asshole, this doesn't fucking track!"
He shook his head and grit his teeth. "Damn it! I don't want to see anyone dying because of – damn it!"
Adam wrapped Stained Ink around his hand, then punched at the Walls of Aspreay's Realm. His fist bounced back like a ricocheting bullet, nearly pushing him back with its momentum. A dark, hazy steam began emanating from his hand, its burning ink clashing heavily against the pouring rain.
Too strong, Adam marveled. His gaze shifted from his injured fist over to the translucent barrier. It's far stronger than the barrier he set up around Penumbria. Is it because it's smaller? So…larger Realms are weaker? That's why it's harder to track individual people when a Realm is the size of a city?
There was still far too much that Adam didn't know about Realms and the Lord Talent. He'd only utilized his Lord Talent to its minimal extent – what choice did he have, when doing otherwise would've meant the death of Penumbria? His own ignorance was something that he was keenly aware of.
Even so…
Beholding Aspreay's Walls, he couldn't help but realize just how truly little he knew of Lordship. This mastery was–
"Adam!" a voice called out. "Get in here, quickly!"
Suddenly, a carriage pulled by two dark horses appeared beside him, the sound of its arrival camouflaged by the heavy rain. Adam's first instinct was to reach for his Stained Ink, but he relaxed upon seeing the carriage's driver.
"Inside," Tenver barked. "Hurry and shut the blinds – we're leaving the city now."
"Don't think I've ever been so glad to see you," Adam, with a smile.
Tenver returned the smile, but only briefly. "No time. Hop in before anyone sees you."
Adam nodded; there was ill time for pleasantries. Despite that, he spared one last glance as he climbed into the carriage, looking at the duel taking place inside Aspreay's Realm. Such was his haste that he only allowed himself the luxury of reflection after their carriage had started moving forward, re-entering the storm.
You're a difficult man, Aspreay, he mused. With the same tone you would use to damn an unfortunate wretch, you also declare your intention to save another. I've learned enough of your soul to commit it to ink…
And I still feel like I don't know you at all.
--
Imperial Hangmen are more than just harbingers of death – they are its wielders. To face them in battle is to throw yourself neck-first onto the executioner's axe. Their speed and power are such that Valente could have killed Aspreay long before the former Lord finished reconstructing his Realm around them.
Only one thing kept Valente from doing so; his sincere dedication to the Empire and its laws. Until Aspreay had called upon his Realm, he was not yet guilty of a crime.
But now he was.
"Your punishment needn't be death," Valente said, in a firm tone. "I promise clemency if you call off your realm and surrender. Avoid suffering a villain's fate, Aspreasy."
It was an option. "I rather mislike being told what to do." Aspreay did not take it. "No. One of us shall perish today."
Bold words, he knew, to utter to the Empire's sharpest blade.
Why am I raising my sword against the living incarnation of death? Aspreay wondered. Do I consider the brat to be noble in some way? Or is it simply that loving the fool from Gama has finally become the death of me?
This and many other thoughts fluttered within Aspreay's mind, frustration and confusion welling up inside – but only for a moment. It had all ceased the moment his Realm was summoned.
Nothing else mattered except the opponent standing before him.
Back when the Emperor first granted Aspreay land, some had privately questioned his decision to reward a nameless lord of meager renown. Theories whirled amidst the capital, chief among them the notion that Aspreay harbored some secret Talent that could rival even the Hangmen themselves.
The truth was much more mundane. It was not hidden strength or genius aptitude that drew the Emperor's attention. He'd merely taken note of Aspreay's single-minded focus and ability to calmly analyze his surroundings – then judged it would be easier to reward the idealistic, wide-eyed young man than to fight him.
Because during his time at the Academy, despite possessing a lower Rank than the other Lords…Aspreay had never lost a single duel.
He fixed his gaze on the specter of death that was the Hangman. His motives for helping the Painter, his hatred at the injustice done to him, even his desire to survive – all were burnt to ashes as his Realm spread around them. In his mind, only a single, solitary thought remained:
Victory at all costs.
The Hangman's glare threatened death. "Heed the Emperor's orders, Aspreay. Forget not that we are inside His Realm."
"And yet also inside mine," Aspreay stated. "So heed my order: Kill yourself, Peasant."
Valente's eyes shot open. He did not tremble so much as vibrate, his body locked in near-complete stillness. Then, less than a second later, the Hangman shook himself like a wet half-breed dog coming out of a river. He appalled wholly undamaged, sending the former Lord a feeling of mild whiplash over his failed command.
–And immediately killed Aspreay four times in response.
It took Aspreay until his fourth death to even notice what was transpiring. The Hangman had been clustering his Orbs together into a physical form, then flinging them as one would flip a coin, each projectile faster than an arrow and far deadlier.
The Hangman Talent bestows death upon all of his attacks, Aspreay calmly thought. Anything his violence touches will result in death. However, he cannot permanently kill me inside my Realm – Noble Guard grants me life.
"What a curious exchange that was," Valente remarked. "I don't suppose I could get you to surrender?"
"It was only curious to an uneducated peasant who never anticipated that he'd stand on a stage of this grandeur," Aspreay fired back. "This result was expected."
Aspreay's opening move had been to use the Realm's First Pillar, the Royal Order, to order the Hangman to kill himself. Anyone or anything inside a Lord's Realm was compelled to heed his command upon its declaration. Yet the move failed to produce an effect – which was also as expected.
"A mere Baron such as myself managed to make an Emperor's Hangman tremble? Pathetic." The Lord sounded proud of his own deed, and mocking of his opponent for allowing him to accomplish it. Neither was a lie for the sake of a taunt, both reflected his heart's truth. "Mayhap today I will slay the Incarnation of Death."
"I have fought Lords before," the Hangman declared. "That Noble Order is your only offensive power. If you can't command me," – Valente flicked three Orbs at Aspreay – "you can't kill me, either."
Each Orb collided with Aspreay's body, piercing it and killing him three times over, to no effect. "Then you should already know," he said, "that the Second Pillar of Realms, the Noble Guard, will keep murder from your fingers as well. While we are inside my Realm, I cannot be slain."
Even if you prove immune to my Orders, Noble Guard affects me, not you. This isn't something that can be changed with raw violence alone. "There are many legends of your might, Hangman. Pray tell – does the legend have a way to pierce through the reality of my Realm's unbreakable laws?"
"Watch and behold the legend you speak of," the Captain spat out. "I daren't spoil the surprise. Even a villain such as yourself wouldn't want to violate a duel's sportsmanship to that degree."
He would.
And did.
Inside a Lord's Realm, everything he desired became his belonging.
The final, Third Pillar of Realms, Divine Knowledge gave Aspreay the answer he craved. Much like the Emperor could track one's position, or even speak directly into their mind, a Baron's Realm could trace an opponent's very thoughts…provided his Realm was small enough.
And Aspreay had refined this one to the size of a single, narrow street.
'If his Realm keeps him invulnerable, all I need to do is to destroy it,' the Hangman thought.
'Were the philistine to think in another language,' Aspreay noted, 'I would not be able to read him so accurately. He lacks the necessary preparation. Powerful, but untrained. A pitiful peasant.'
Images of the Dark Captain's plan flooded Aspreay's mind. They were blurry, yet just distinctive enough to make out: Valente's duel against the Puppet Lord, flying atop the Puppet Mountains.
It was right before the massacre that created a fated tunnel. As Aspreay watched, he saw in his mind how the Hangman had attacked the Puppet Lord's barrier from inside, and–
Imbecile! "Don't do it, peasant!" he cried out. "Don't launch an attack–"
Valente let out an eerie laugh. "You think to stop me, Villain? I know thy weakness! Those invisible Walls of yours are weaker from the inside than the outside, are they not?"
He juggled a number of Orbs with one hand, at first with skill, then seeming to move them as if they were forced to orbit around the wrist. "Once I shatter it, you will fall – like the Puppet villain before you!"
This attack felt different than the others. Before, the Spheres had hardly caused much damage to their surroundings, only bringing death upon Aspreay. Now that the Hangman's aim was the Wall itself, his Spheres had taken on an aura of overwhelming violence. Valente intended to have them explode upon impact.
"Stop!" Aspreay shouted. "You don't understand–!"
In a fraction of a second, Divine Knowledge told him everything he needed. His thoughts now raced faster than his own body could move. Information that should have taken nearly a minute to understand instantly formed inside Aspreay's brain.
Valente did not understand how Walls worked – although he thought he did.
The Hangman had been so young during the Assault on Puppet Mountain that there was barely any hair on his face. He'd only been present on account of his unparalleled genius.
His duel against the Puppet Lord had not been unlike this one, with the monster trapping them both inside a small, reconstructed Realm. At one point, the Hangman's attack missed the Puppet Lord and collided with the Wall, causing the Puppet intense pain. Noticing this, Valente struck at the Wall instead of the Lord, bludgeoning it until the man's Realm collapsed…and then killed him without effort.
From this, his youthful immaturity had drawn a conclusion: that Walls were weaker on the inside than outside, and – more importantly – that you could escape a Realm by assaulting it mercilessly.
YOU FOOL! THEY ARE EQUALLY STRONG!
It was true that damaging the Walls would injure the Lord in ways Noble Guard was unable to protect from. Given time and persistence, a concerned onslaught might undo the Realm itself.
What Valente had missed, though, was that Walls didn't inherently stop things from passing through. Aside from Stained creatures, every other restriction needed to be intentionally added by the Lord.
Aspreay himself, after Reconstructing his Realm in this very duel, had added the Realm Law to match his intentions. He'd banished humans and other living beings from entering or exiting his Realm – a common restriction.
In your memory, as you fought atop the mountain…when you launched your attack on the Wall…it would have destroyed the Puppet's home. Killed countless innocents.
Aspreay bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. You don't understand, you idiot! He could have saved himself! It's not that the barrier was weak – it's that the Lord was forced to endure your attack multiple times to keep you from harming his people!
This isn't the perfect counter you think it is!
The Hangman locked eyes with Aspreay's, as if waiting for a meaningful interruption. Yet try as he might, the Lord couldn't find a way to convey what he knew in the scant few seconds that were available to him. While Divine Knowledge sped up his thoughts, it did little for his speech. I have to try. I have to–
"You'll kill those people!" Aspreay shouted, gesturing at the buildings behind him. It was all he could get out.
And it wasn't enough. How could it be? The Hangman had no reason to listen to him.
Valente flicked his hand, speeding up the rotation orbit of the Orbs around his wrist. He grinned confidently with the sinfully naive smile of a young hero. "With this, your cheating of death shall end, Villain." He whipped his arm away from Aspreay and towards the empty air–towards the Wall–towards the streets.
STOP! "The Walls don't work like you–"
"Behold," Valente declared, "this Meteoric Rain of mine."
The Orbs may as well have been a comet tearing through the heavens. They blazed forward at the building, glowing brighter and redder, converting into a single scarlet sphere that built up speed every passing moment.
To Aspreay, the split second when the Orb collided with his barrier might as well have been an eternity. Clashing sparks flew between them. The sphere vibrated, and the fabric of reality around it seemed as if it was threatening to shatter.
His many thoughts, accelerated by Divine Knowledge, raced and competed with each other for dominance.
I can still stop this, he realized. I'm faster than anyone at Reconstruction. There should still be enough time to add a Law to my Wall. If I trap his attack inside my Realm, it won't hurt any of the common people.
It would cost his life, however.
Aspreay had no doubts about that. Either the transferred damage from his Wall would be enough to tear his body asunder…or he would be left defenseless, his Realm shattered. If he cared about his life – about Vasco's, even – then that just wasn't an option.
But…
"Will you truly not lift the barrier in Penumbria, even in the face of death?" Aspreay had asked the brat.
The Painter opened his eyes and glared. "If I wasn't willing to do this much, I would have had no right to take Penumbria from you."
The memory flooded his mind suddenly and without invitation. Had the Painter been the one here, mayhap…mayhap he would have died to protect the innocent.
'Death won't be enough to stop me,' Aspreay had told Vasco a lifetime ago. 'Just you wait! Together, we shall change the world!'
A few years back, he likely would have, too.
But I am not my yesterday. Today's Aspreay yet yearns for a tomorrow.
Just as suddenly as the clash started – his Wall allowed the Orb through.
Since the first Emperor started his conquest, the Capital had been the Imperial Family's crowning achievement. Not once had it seen bloodshed, its citizens living blissfully unaware of the violence spawned from the Lords and Stained outside. For over three hundred years, this record had been maintained with no small amount of pride by both commoners and nobles alike.
It all ended today.
Upon impact, the Orb swallowed up the building – and its neighbors – in a violent eruption of death. The beautiful Imperial architecture was engulfed by a massive explosion, several structures losing nearly all of their outer walls, most of their back, and collapsing the majority of their floors.
Embers briefly ignited here and there, small flames that danced among the debris like malevolent ghosts cackling at death. For a moment, it was only the sound of those villainous flames, and nothing else, that rang throughout the world.
Inside the translucent barrier, behind the Realm's Walls, the two duelists stood in opposite reactions.
Valente gaped at the carnage. First open-mouthed, then covering it in sheer horror, as if to keep himself from emptying his stomach at the terror of his own creation – at the haunting sight of dozens of shattered corpses and splattered blood. Gazing upon that wrought destruction, the Strongest Man in the World trembled with numb shock, paralyzed by the appalling loss of life.
The villainous Lord had not the luxury of sorrow. Without delay, he seized upon his chance to attack.
Whether someone possessed the strongest sword or the fastest reflexes…they meant nothing when a man was frozen by despair.
Shocked at the consequence of your ignorance? Good. Aspreay dashed forward. Choke on the sin of your naivety and die.
Now a prisoner to mixed thoughts of astonishment, confusion, and guilt, the Hangman hesitated. He raised one trembling hand, a single Orb contained within–
Then dropped it.
'What if that hurts more innocent people?' Valente thought. It was essentially impossible – he was too fast and accurate to miss an attack aimed at a single target. Besides, nothing could go wrong if he simply infused his Orb with death rather than destruction. It was a foolish concern.
'And…and there's no point in attacking,' Valente's mind continued, encouraging him to lower his hand. 'He can keep himself healed, and he can't actually harm me.'
This, of course, was the mindset of a loser. Nothing more than weak rationalizations conjured up to allow Valente to enslave himself to his emotions. Deep inside, the Hangman knew that, although he would never admit it. Pain took over his heart, and he thought to himself, 'Just…just two seconds…I just need a mere two seconds to recompose myself. I deserve that much.'
Aspreay did not waste those 'mere' two seconds.
In his dash, he shortened the distance between them from 27 to 14 meters.
'What is he doing?' the Hangman wondered. 'Why is he approaching me? No! I can't – I can't let him kill any more people!'
Even in his state of numbed shock, enough urgency returned to him that Valente readied an attack. In truth, it was to be expected.
The Dark Captain was, above all else, a genius.
He was inexperienced, uneducated, and poorly trained – but a genius nonetheless. Aspreay's warning had been sufficient for him to realize both his mistake and the gravity of his current situation. Beneath the surface, Valente blamed himself…but for now, he needed to blame Aspreay in order to steady his will and keep fighting.
'It's the Villain's fault,' thought the Hangman. 'He chose to kill innocents instead of losing his Realm.'
Divine Knowledge granted Aspreay knowledge of that thought – and he acted upon it. 'Now is my chance.'
Aspreay undid his Realm.
It was an assault on Valente's rationalizations that shocked him to his core. 'He…he killed dozens of innocents to keep his Realm from shattering. Why is he undoing it right now? I could slay him any moment. I could–'
"–REALM–RECONSTRUCTION–!" Aspreay thundered. Jolts of pain burned in his body, and he ignored them.
Immediately after understanding what transpired, the Hangman fired his death-infused Orb – but the delay proved too much. The Realm had already been rebuilt. In irrational fury, he fired another barrage, yet Noble Guard would not allow the Lord to die, reviving him again and again.
'Why did he bother with all that? He could have died!' Valente desperately tried to gather his thoughts, to recover from the chaotic massacre unleashed upon the city. 'And are Lords able to reconstruct their realms as many times as they want? I thought–'
"Kill yourself, peasant," Aspreay snarled.
At first, its impact wasn't any different from the last time. Valente felt his body momentarily shake, but hardly felt any pain at all. He looked up, grinning, and said, "How many times do I–"
Then it set in.
A feeling of being punched in the gut suddenly had the Captain hunched over, nearly dropping to his knees. What…the? Why is this one harder to resist? What–
Aspreay raised his chin, ignored his pain from the blowback, and sneered at the Hangman. "Pathetic. You truly can't do better with your powers?"
The Hangman's assumption that Aspreay had merely undone and redone his Realm was correct. Yet you didn't notice,' the Lord thought, with contempt, 'that my Realm is smaller now, did you?'
At the start of the duel, Aspreay's realm had been 27 meters long. After the Hangman's barrage of death, during those two seconds he'd been able to move freely, he'd shortened the distance to 14 meters. Then, he called off his Realm and Reconstructed it, but smaller.
It was the same principle as to why his Realm could work at all inside the Emperor's City. 'The smaller and more concentrated a Realm is, the more capable it becomes at slaying heavier giants than itself.' This applied not only to Divine Knowledge, but to Royal Order as well.
Aspreay's battle instincts told him that the Hangman would soon understand what had happened. 'I need to attack his mind,' he reasoned, calmly and coldly. 'He is as the bards sing of him – the Strongest Man in the World. But he lacks experience. He lacks resolve. And…'
Aspreay glared at the man. '...he will lose to me.'
"People died," Valente muttered weakly. "How can you just stand there with nary a tear on your face? How can guilt not overflow from your very being?"
Aspreay let out a derisive laugh. "You would have me feel guilt over not jumping in front of an innocent to shield them from your crossbow? Nay, bastard." He laughed again, as if he was addressing a petitioner in his court, rather than the strongest, most dangerous man in the Empire. "I will not share your sins. They are yours to bear."
"It–it isn't my fault!" Valente cried out. His desperate argument was meant more for himself than for his opponent. "I didn't know, I couldn't have–"
"–Do you think lack of ability justifies your crimes?" Memories of Aspreay's time as Lord of Penumbria flowed into his mind. He did not suppress them. There were dozens, hundreds, thousands of people whose death he'd failed to prevent – that mayhap a different lord could have. "They are your sins. Carry them. Take responsibility. This show of cowardice insults your victims twice; first you kill them, then you feign innocence."
He frowned at the cockroach. "Disgusting."
"But I…" The Hangman shook his head and averted his gaze. "I just–"
He looked away! Aspreay thought. Immediately, he shouted, "Cobblestone: I order you to suffocate the man!"
​
--
​
Link to Part 2

Me and my friends learned about ap classes last year and took chemistry and calculus ab. We're all looking forward to physics as well but the school's class prices are insane (~800$). So we talked with the head teacher and got up with the idea of only signing up on Collage Board and learn AP Physics C Mechanics. But we are not sure about taking the class without a teacher. We will buy Barron's and Princeton review books. But we're still not sure about the videos on Collage Board. Are they enough for a high AP score (4 or 5)? Please let me know.

Demographics:

• Male
  
• Current Junior
  
• Asian (Indian), and of course, my parents are overjoyed at my choice of major
  
• High income, no hooks
  

Intended Majors:

• History
  
• CS/something STEM related because it's also interesting to me
  

Tests:

• PSAT (1500)
  
• SAT (TBD June 1)
  
• 5s on all APs so far
  

GPA and Rank:

• 102.6 W
  
• School doesn't do unweighted/ranking, but I know I am #1 and well ahead of others
  

Coursework:

• taken 9/10 APs offered by senior year

Awards (My worst section):

• Some random school literary journal competitons
  
• Recognition by local museum and newspaper
  
• Hopefully National Merit Finalist/winner
  
• On track for AP scholar
  

Extracurriculars (Of course I'll make these sound better on the app):

• Started a custom calligraphy business, $10k+ donated to charity (projected, currently 7k)
  
• Organized global youth events during COVID to about Indian history, culture, and music, it was under a nonprofit
  
• NHS member and founder of an NHS band that puts on performances at local senior centers
  
• Delivered workshops in multiple local libraries and museums regarding history and calligraphy
  
• Organizing an Indian culture/history day at the local museum
  
• President of the Robotics Club (Saved it from death and grew from 0 - 12 members), outreach organized helping middle and elementary school kids get interested in STEM
  
• Internship involving SQL at a company that creates software used by special ed teachers in the classroom
  
• Research paper written about the daily lives of enslaved people in my region using AI transcription (The local museum kindly let me use a bunch of un-published primary source documents), trying to get published
  

Essays/LORs/Other:

• English/AP Lang teacher: 8/10 - she loves me and has said I am one of the top students in her career
  
• CS/Calculus teacherobotics mentor: 6/10 - He has said similar things about me, but he doesn't write very well, so I am not as sure
  
• History museum director: 10/10, He is an author and writes very well, literally loves me and credits me with reviving the museum and bringing new faces in
  

Schools (not a comprehensive list, just some I am interested in):

• Yale, Brown, Harvard, Columbia
  
• BU, Northeastern, Duke, Carnegie Melon, UMass Amhearst
  

This is in no way a suggestion or insistence that you must consume Wicked, the 1939 film, or any Oz any related media as part of any kind of "canon" or connected continuity. How you consume media is entirely up to you. Just some interesting tidbits I originally posted in the Wicked sub and I thought I'd share with you guys...
\**Preamble: A prequel is “a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative”. It is just a word to describe the type of narrative Wicked and Oz the Great and Powerful are. Just like Journey Back to Oz and Return to Oz are “sequels” made by different production companies. It in no way connotes an “official” connection between legally distinct IPs. It is just a way to describe the function of the narrative.*
...Also, I am not a copyright lawyer, I'm not any kind of lawyer, nor am I making an accusation that anyone or any entity is infringing on the copyright or trademark of any other entities. That being said…
So, I have a theory that Wicked -- both Maguire's novel (Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West), 1995) and more so the musical (Wicked, 2003 Universal Stage Productions) -- solely functions as a prequel to the 1939 MGM film the Wizard of Oz(now owned by WB), and not that film's public domain source novel the Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Let me explain...
Maguire started writing Wicked in response to the Gulf War, presumably starting around 1990 through its publishing date in 1995. The 1939 film had a big boom in 1989 for its 50th Anniversary resulting in deluge of promotional material -- including an animated TV show adaptation by DIC, where Glinda was redesigned to look like Barbie -- complete with long blonde hair!
Maguire's clever use of Oz characters passed scrutiny during publication in 1995 because the Baum novel had long been in the public domain… as well as Ted Turner arranging to sell the MGM catalog to WB, circa 1997, making the timing ideal for Maguire's novel to skirt any copyright/trademark scrutiny for using elements from the non-public domain film.
We know what happened next, the book was a raging success and soon it was popular enough to be optioned by Universal and turned into a stage musical (produced after film & TV productions with Demi Moore and Salma Hayek separately attached failed to materialize). The musical opened first in San Francisco for try-outs and then Broadway in 2003. And writers Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman liberally peppered even more direct homages and winks to the 1939 film into leitmotifs and other elements of the book, score, and staging.
But, Wicked has TOO many elements from the 1939 film, and NOT ENOUGH from Baum's original book, to merit it being called a prequel to the book (this is also true of Disney’s 2013 admitted attempt to cash-in on Wicked’s success, Oz: the Great and Powerful – which is even more egregious than Wicked, and ironic, as its own title is directly lifted from the 1939 film misquote of the book’s moniker of “Oz the Great and Terrible”).
So now, let's look at some of key differences between the book the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (WWoOZ) and its film adaption from 1939, and how Wicked (and that Disney rip-off - though I don’t want to have to keep mentioning that movie so just assume most of what I say applies there too) reinterprets these events and characters:

• In the book WWoOz it is established that there are four cardinal witches in the land of Oz. Dorothy vanquishes two unrelated Wicked Witches in the East (WWotE) and West (WWotW) as well as encountering the benevolent unnamed good witch of the North at the start of her adventure and a separate good witch, Glinda of the South, who helps her home in the end. MGM condensed the good witches into one character “Glinda the Good Witch of the North” as well as adding a subplot turning the Wicked Witches into sisters (providing Margaret Hamilton’s Witch more direct motivation to pursue Judy Garland’s Dorothy via the Witch’s presumed right to collateral inheritance of her sister’s shoes). Both Maguire and Disney follow the 1939 film’s continuity regarding these relationships making the wicked witches siblings, and Glinda the sole “good witch” in opposition to them.
• WWotW as depicted in Baum’s novel bears little to no resemblance to the green-skinned Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 film, and subsequently Maguire’s Elphaba. Oz illustrator W. W. Denslow, whom Baum worked closely with when designing the characters, depicts the witch as a hunched old hag with three pigtails and an eyepatch, tall brimmed hat, ruffed collar, coat and skirt. While MGM’s design team, led by legendary costumer Adrian, initially tested several looks for WWotW (including a glamorous sequined look inspired by Disney’s Evil Queen in Snow White). MGM screenwriter, Herman Mankiewicz (who expanded the role of the wicked witch from book to screenplay, and wrote several key lines for her including, “I’ll get you my pretty!”) insisted "witches should be ugly!" leading to Gale Sondergard's replacement of Magaret Hamilton in the role. But the severe all-black silhouette cast by Hamilton's witch is nothing like the silly witch of Baum's text and Desnlow's art. And Susan Hilferty’s stage designs for Elphaba retain the 1939 film’s silhouette and dark color palette.
• Speaking of ugly witches... while green skinned characters, like folkloric swamp-hag Jenny Green-teeth, were not unheard of (even some promotional material for Disney's Snow White has their flesh-colored Hag looking a jaundiced yellow) it is widely acknowledged Margaret Hamilton’s Witch is the first in popular culture, and certainly on film, to be depicted with green skin. Likely, inspired by Universal's 1931 Frankenstein), promotional material for which depicted the Creature with sickly green skin, and chosen to accentuate the technicolor process, broadcasting the Witch's “wickedness” as well as helping Hamilton's frightening face and spider-like performance stand-out against her black costume, MGM producers chose green copper-based makeup for Hamilton's witch. The 1939 film's success in popular culture lead green-skinned witches to be accepted as "canon" in the public zeitgeist and now from Halloween make-up brands and Looney Tunes' Witch Hazel), the green skinned witch is mainstream. But as Professor Marion Gibson, associate professor of Renaissance and magical literatures at the University of Exeter and an expert in popular depictions of witches, explains, before 1939 "there are a few images of witches – for instance, on Halloween postcards – with odd coloured faces (usually red/orange, surprisingly) but MGM's green-faced witch is the first to make a key feature of a completely non-human skin colour." Needless to say this film element of green-skin became a major plot point of Maguire's Wicked.
• Another difference in Baum’s WWotW is that she only had one eye, but that it "was as powerful as a telescope", and this is how she spies on her enemies. MGM was again inspired by Snow White's Queen, and popular imagery of fortune tellers, giving Hamilton’s Witch the ability to scry in a large crystal ball, which made for some of the most memorable visuals of the film, of her looming eerily over the heroes. Unlike Baum’s WWotW, Maguire’s Elphaba retains vision in both eyes, and inherits her film counterpart's scrying abilities (primarily using a blown-glass orb).
• Baum’s WWotW importantly carries an umbrella, not a broomstick, as a source of protection for her aquaphobia. She has no need for transportation, her location is limited to her castle in the West of Oz. MGM’s script, howvever, gave Hamilton’s Witch a means of transportation that had long been popular in witch mythology, a broomstick, involving her more directly in the narrative (as well as giving the Wizard a macguffin to send Dorothy after). Maguire also chose to make a broomstick a means of travel for Elphaba, and Stephen Schwartz's “Defying Gravity”, the centerpiece of the musical, which sees a scene not included in the novel, where Elphaba defiantly flies over the Emerald City in protest of the Wizard, cemented the broom’s icon status within the framework of the Wicked franchise.
• The Flying Monkeys in Baum’s novel have a rich backstory involving their enslavement at the hands of a sorceress named Gaylette. The monkeys’ terms of imprisonment require they obey three commands given by whomever possess a Golden Cap, which the WWotW owns and uses to capture Dorothy and her friends. Dorothy comes into possession of the Golden Cap after WWotW’s demise (similar to her inheriting the slippers) and is able to command the monkeys to her own benefit later in the book. The Golden Cap subplot was scrapped from the MGM film in favor of giving the witch a more ambiguous command over her uniformed simian air force (though it still appears in the final cut as a prop tossed by Hamilton's Witch to Nikko, the flying monkey). Maguire’s Wicked makes no mention of Baum’s golden cap, giving Elphaba a monkey factotum -- who cannot speak similar to MGM’s Nikko (In Baum's Oz all animals can speak perfectly, including the leader of the Winged Monkeys... more on that below) -- now called Chistrey. The monkeys are given a vivisection backstory in Maguire's novel and are a result of the Grimmerie’s levitation spell in the musical, but Elphaba’s willful command of the their legions, without the limitations of the Golden Cap, is much more reminiscent of MGM’s Witch than Baum’s.
• Famously the slippers Dorothy inherits from the WWotE in Baum’s novel are made of silver metal (sterling silver shoes were popular as decorations and sugar bowls in Baum's day). The Slippers in the 1939 film were famously changed to ruby, so as to be more eye-catching against the technicolor yellow road. After some initial designs, MGM designer Adrian landed on the iconic red sequined pump seen in the film. in Maguire's work he is very careful not to make the famous slippers silver or ruby, and instead they are made of beaded glass, which has sentimental value to Elphaba's family, and utilizes the film’s sibling backstory to motivate Elphaba. The beaded glass slippers, in the musical referred to as "jeweled", refract multiple colors, notably a fiery red glow, again skirting copyright while paying homage to both the ruby slippers and silver of the Baum book. Susan Hilferty’s choice of silver sequined pumps for the musical, given a red special lighting cue at a crucial moment, distinctly resemble Adrian’s 1939 design.
• Dorothy is a young child of roughly seven or eight years old in Baum’s novel and its illustrations. In Maguire’s take on the character she is depicted as a husky teenager prone to cloying musical outbursts. Teenage Judy Garland was famously derided at MGM for her weight, especially filming Oz, with Louis Mayor allegedly calling her his “little hunchback”.
• Animals in Oz in Baum’s text are all Imbued with the power of speech. Toto himself is able to speak in the land of Oz (revealed in the fifth Baum book), as well as a myriad animals from our world who travel to the Land of Oz, who all gain sentience upon entering the fairy land. In the 1939 film, the Lion is the only animal that appears capable of speech, while other animals that appear, like Toto, birds, horses, cats and monkeys, are all incapable of human vocal communication. Maguire’s text relies heavily on the implication only some Animals (signified by capitalization of the word) in Oz can talk, their subjugation by the Wizard playing huge role in the plot of both Maguire’s book and the musical adaption.
• While sharing some similarities with Baum's Oz geography, 1939 film has a distinct layout for their Oz which is covered in great detail in very few lines of dialogue. In Munchkinland Glinda says "That was her sister--the Wicked Witch of the East. This is the Wicked Witch of the West. And she's worse than the other one." That establishes Munchkinland in the East of Oz, later we can place the Wicked Witch's castle in the West, with the Emerald City presumably in the center of Oz, while Glinda is from an unspecified "North". Funnily enough, those areas of Oz featured in the 1939 film are the same areas of Oz Maguire’s Wicked novel primarily deals with, namely Munchkinland (Nest Hardings), Emerald City, and the West (Kiamo Ko) and North of Oz (Shiz). Maguire also eschews Baum’s Glinda’s native Quadling Country in the south of Oz in favor of time spent in the North (the one land of Oz we never visit in Baum's first book). Maguire's Quadling Country (a backwater quagmire) shares none the colorful geography of Baum's Quadling Country -- which in WWoOZ is full of porcelain towns, jungles, mountains, and Glinda's majestic palace.
• Boq, a character indeed invented by Baum, plays a much less significant part of the novel Wicked than he does in the musical (in the musical he is composite of several novel characters), and his function in the novel the WWoOZ is very similar to that of the Munchkins featured in the 1939 film (he hosts a party celebrating the East Witch's death that Dorothy attends while staying at his home overnight on her journey down the Yellow Brick Road). He and the subplot featuring the Tin Woodman's backstory appear as trivial vignettes with little actual influence over Elphaba’s overall character arch in both the novel and musical.
• And while the inclusion of Elphaba using wolves, crows and bees to attack Dorothy and her friends is a point in Maguire's favor (but only applies to the novel, not the musical) it also has little significance over the elements from Baum’s book he leaves out in favor of the 1939 film’s continuity of a broom-riding, green-skinned witch after her sister’s collateral inheritance. And let us not forget that 1939's Witch also uses bees as a threat..
• But what I find most telling is that none of the witches in Baum’s novel directly interact with one another (later novels in the Oz series withstanding). The famous confrontation between the two witches in Munchkinland was entirely a fabrication of the 1939 film’s screenwriters. The musical’s entire premise, and a large portion of the novel’s, relies on the idea that these two opposing witches shared some past which informs their conflict in that scene, but that moment is solely a product of the 1939 film.

I think it is very important to view Wicked (especially the musical) as intended... as a revisionist adaption of, and prequel, to the 1939 film (and not Baum's book). In Wicked, Dorothy's journey of self discovery -- finding wisdom, love, and courage through community and questioning authority -- is subverted through Elphaba's journey -- where wisdom, love, and courage come at great personal cost, and questioning authority means also becoming a target of that authority's wrath. Whereas Dorothy returns home in the end, Elphaba must go into exile in the musical (and she is ding dong dead in the book).
By the end of the 1939 film Dorothy is literally transformed -- excellently visually expressed through her full glamour makeover - curtesy of the Wizard's employees - and adornment in her fallen enemy's fabulous footwear. The 1939 narrative in psychoanalytic terms is one of adolescent Dorothy being chided and ignored in Kansas -- she is without the protection of the adults around her, and therefore subjected to trauma at the hands of threatening Older Female and left vulnerable to the advances of a dubiously intentioned Conman. She learns the importance of embracing the power of appearances ("Are you a good witch or bad witch?.... only Bad witches are ugly.") therefore earning the protection of the adults who once ignored her. In turn she is able to utilize traits inherited from those adults to finally assume assume her full power, vanquishing the Older Female threat and rendering the Conman impotent.
Elphaba and Glinda similarly grow from children ignored -- Elphaba subject to rejection and bullying without the protection of her family or peers, and therefore vulnerable to machinations of a threatening Older Female and the advances of a dubiously intentioned Conman. She then learns the power of embracing appearances ("pink goes good with green") but, this being a subversion of the Oz narrative we see that in embracing her unconventional appearance (the skin she was born in and an outfit literally designed by Glinda) she further alienates herself from protection. While Glinda's journey of superficial beauty equating to goodness, also subjects her to persecution from the Older Female and Conman.
Through traits inherited from one another, and their enemies -- Elphaba uses the Wizard's methodology of deception and flim-flam to fake her death and win her freedom, while Glinda quite literally uses Morrible's own words against her in her defeat -- they are both able to assume full power vanquishing the Older Female threat and rendering the Conman impotent.
In the musical's Finale, a reprise of both "For Good" and "No One Mourns the Wicked", we have been made the whole show to ask ourselves the question "was she a good witch or a bad witch?" Then the audience watches a well intentioned, but woefully incompetent leader, ascend to power under the monicker "Glinda the Good" while the arguably more qualified person has their "death" celebrated, only to be mourned in secret.
The line, "who can say if I have been changed for the better, but because I knew you I have been changed for good" ties together the the concept of metaphorically wearing the traits of those we've known and encountered, loved ones and enemies alike. Like a well worn hat or pair of ruby slippers, we cloth ourselves in the intelligence, love, courage, and even the wickedness and deception of those we encounter.
Wicked tends to suggest truth is subjective. Goodness or wickedness, beauty and ugliness, whether someone is a "traitor or liberator, thief or philanthropist" is all subjective. The Wizard's malleable grip on truth ("Elphaba, where I'm from we believe all sorts of things that aren't true we call it history!") is ultimately inherited by Elphaba and Fiyero in the end ("It's not lying! It's looking at things another way") as well as Glinda ("Good news!"). Much like Dorothy's journey leaves her with the knowledge that her heart's desires lie in her own self fulfillment, Elphaba and Glinda are left knowing that their potential, good or bad, has always been theirs to posses.
Maguire used something called "fair use doctrine", technically publishing Wicked as a parody (which does not always mean a comical work). It was well within his legal right to do so. The musical tiptoes the lines he walked a little more, but ultimately Wicked being "legally distinct" from the 1939 -- but still using more elements from that movie than the public domain book -- is still a legal use of the characters. However, I think the way Maguire skirted copyright is incredibly clever, and I find it wild that such a popular franchise as Wicked has basically used legal gray areas to bring a rainbow of color to Oz, all while claiming use of public domain versions of characters, and clearly mining the trademarked versions of those characters for most of their inspiration.
Various Oz media has used elements of the 1939 film without voiding copyright. For example the 1982 anime film has red slippers, and 1972's Journey Back to Oz features a green skinned witch Mombi. And the 1939 film itself borrowed elements from numerous previous adaptations of the Oz story from silent and animated films to stage plays). The history of Oz is always evolving with each new iteration and how the story was told one hundred years ago isn't always going to be how we tell it in the future.
Just know, how anyone chooses to interpret the "canon" of Oz, or relate to any specific piece of media -- for example finding continuity between various adaptations, etc. -- is entirely up to them. Oz is a place that supports diversity, creativity, and inclusion! But if you're gonna be a witch, a green one is a good one to be!
TLDR: Wicked does not function as a prequel to the book by L. Frank Baum, but only serves as a prequel to the 1939 film, starring Judy Garland. This is evident because the Witch in Baum's book isn't green, doesn't ride a broom, only has one eye, no sister, and never interacts with Glinda (who is an amalgamation of two separate characters).

Being vague to not dox
Texas resident + Asian male + first gen
Major: CS for public schools. Data science (Stats/applied math if not offered)/Cognitive Science/Econ for private schools
Academics:
GPA: 4.5/4.0 weighted, 3.98/4.0 unweighted Rank: 1/~600 SAT: Haven’t taken yet but most likely 1500+ with 800M

• 16 APs, 3 dual credit

3 sophomore - AP physics 1 (5), AP Psychology (5), AP world history (4)
8 junior - AP Pre-calculus, AP English language, AP biology, AP statistics, AP computer science principles, AP physics c mechanics, AP physics c electricity & magnetism, Dual credit US history
2 junior summer - Dual credit speech, Dual credit federal government
6 senior - AP English literature, AP economics, AP calculus BC, Academic decathlon, AP physics 2, AP art History
ECs:
Prestigious summer program (11th, summer) Accepted into a very well known summer program that I will attend this summer Won’t say the name, but think the level of MITES, SSP, YGS, etc
Research at local university, advised under lecturer Research project on some data CS topic.. Trying really hard to get a paper published before college apps
AI/Data Science Intern at Local University (Internship, 11th, 12th) Worked under Senior Ph.D Student and assisted with existing projects and subtasks. Examples include building/training ML models
Passion Project () (Other, 10th, 11th, 12th) Self taught programming and created project that integrates cognitive science and CS. Will probably submit it to science fairs and stuff
Mu Alpha Theta 3 years President (10th, 11th, 12th) (Science/Math) Participated in math competitions and helped organize meetings to make members stay active
Robotics club 11th-12th Competition Manager (Robotics) Lead programmer for VEX robotics; Conducted workshops to make curriculums that help members and the officer board learn about robotics
Tutoring at nonprofits (11th, 12th) Assisted with friend’s non-profit by conducting workshops and teaching STEM concepts Helped build a curriculum for a summer camp for a different, student led non-profit Tutoring officer in school club that aims to help students with certain subjects
Karate club 7 years Captain (9th-12th) (Athletics: Club) Did this since middle school; Current black belt that will help create parts for martial arts performance. Obtained multiple awards throughout the year
Academy program (Math/Science, 9th-10th) Accepted out of a competitive applicant pool; Attended meetings that consisted of reputable guest speakers (doctors, JHU admissions officers, Yale/Harvard alumni) and took notes. Also have 100 hours of volunteering through this club
Financial Investment club (10th), President Founder of a financial club to educate about finance. Executed an annual stock market game for the school
Awards/Honors (weakest point): USACO Silver Division (National) Academic Excellence (School Award) PSAT national merit (National) AP Scholar with Distinction (National) AP Scholar (National)
UT austin: EA (CS/CSB/Turings)
Rice: RD
Texas A&M: RD (CS/ECE)
Georgia Tech: RD
Vanderbilt: RD
UCLA: RD
Caltech: RD
UCB: RD
Cornell: RD
Columbia: RD
Carnegie Mellon: RD
MIT: RD
Stanford: RD
Yale: RD
Princeton: RD
Harvard: RD
Brown: RD
Duke: RD
John Hopkins: RD
UPenn: RD
Do I have a chance of hitting something beyond UT, like a T15 school? It’s been lowkey a dream for me lately. Ik my awards aren’t the best, so I’ll try to improve them by December

Hello ,
I’ve talked to a handful of different people about this. I’ve gotten some mixed opinions though so I was hoping posting something here might give me clarity.
On the third Wednesday of February 24th, the month I turned 18, I received a check from social security for $1025.
I knew this was because my mom had been on full disability from a TBI since 2016 and I had been receiving checks since around then.
November of 2023, my father who was the rep payee since 2018 informed me the existence of the checks, he said they would cover my $300/month car payment ($5,000, no interest private sale) until I graduated, then I could pick up the Monthly payment.
About a month later I talked to my mom for the first time in a while, I told her about my recent car purchase and my monthly payment;
“Oh, why didn’t you just pay 5,000 upfront, you’ve been getting my monthly benefit since 2018, it’s almost 1000 every month this year”
Due to the nature of the divorce I quickly googled what she was saying and approached my dad.
During the conversation with dad and stepmom, where I was asking how much my checks (in 2 months were about to go me) were going towards, they were really defensive and suggested not to accuse them of stealing… these conversations have happened numerous times; where I ask where my checks were going to, they suggest I’m wrongfully questioning and accusing them of misuse. It got to the point, where I recorded one of our 10 minute convos and played it to my psych, (who’s heard from both my dad/s.mom + me on this matter) and he agreed I was not aggressive or accusatory, and these questions were valid.
Based off what my mom has told me (grain of salt) and what I’ve heard/read from SSA.. even when my dad was receiving checks the money was for me.
In december, for 2 months until I was 18, I was out of the house at my aunts, because one of these convos boiled over.
I could write more but I’ll just leave the rest to what’s important.
Best explanation for fund usage from dad and s.mom (verbal) -HS wrestling -30k Lawyer bill from divorce -13k savings, this is my only beneficiary account according to the bank (mixed funds account, I’ve added 3k myself since 2022 + bday money…from December to today that account went from 18k —> 13k -The check was DD into a savings account ‘then transferred to my savings’ I went thru the account history and the transfers are missing some sig. figures, this account where it was DD’d I have no access to and am not a beneficiary according to the bank -family vacations (there’s been 5 of those not including me) -100k whole life insurance with 150/m premium, except in my dads new will it would go to my stepmother.
Their joint income —- > ~140k with two child dependents.
This week I got a lot of info. - dad had sole custody starting 2018 -Started aux. Jan. 2016 —- >2016-$797 and 2024-$1025, this came from the SS office -in 2018 dad became rep payeee and mom had to write a check to SSA -2018 dad retires -since then there’s been renovations and the house got refinanced.
My mom has been screaming fraud and theft since December.
My psych who’s been hearing from both parties since the 5th grade think something’s very fishy
My boss from my childcare part time (since sophomore year paying for most of food and my clothes) says my story sounds like the 5 misuse cases she’s seen with kids and parents over 30 years.
My dad and stepmom are about to kick me out over my ‘selfish questions’ <— I’ve already decided to drop it, with them.
I called the OIG and asked where I could go to just LOOK for what my rep payee was doing, because the more i look the more I doesn’t make sense, he told me the ss field office would better answer questions, I went there and found out SSA had paid out 70k+ to me, the guy said if it seemed like there was conserved funds they would be transferred to me, he seemed not alarmed looking at my SSA benefit statement. It’s my understanding however, that since the rep payee is my dad, there no audits.
My parents aren’t poor
I’ve paid for food, clothes, entertainment, ap exams and running start classes
I’m about to go to in state with scholarships,and my assets are a 12k savings and a 100k whole life insurance policy, which goes to my step mom upon my dads death,
everyone I talk to, except my parents, says the investment choices don’t make sense.
I’d appreciate any insight on the matter, I’d like to either tell my mother to stop fussing or raise more questions for my dad. I just want to focus on going to college.

I’m curious about what class I would need to choose as the final 4th class since I took ap calculus ab this year as well as questions with the placement exam. I assume either way I have to take the exam but if I get credit for calculus 1 what class do I take as my 4th?

Hello Everyone, I just took the HISET tests 2 weeks ago and received college ready scores on 4/5 tests and this is what helped me on each test.
Reading,Science,SS: These tests are ALL reading comprehension. they give you a passage, graph, etc to read through and answer multiple choice questions about said passage. Biggest tip is to read the passage before reading the question, it can save you a lot of time and will help you understand the passage better instead of just looking through the passage for the answer. (If you cannot comprehend what you’re reading then you will fail).
Writing/Essay: The multiple choice section of this test is 60 questions and I recommend to do this part first before you do the essay, it is also reading comprehension so if you can’t comprehend what you’re reading you will fail. The essay is an argumentative essay, which means you need an introduction, two supporting paragraphs, a counter claim, and a conclusion. Biggest advice is to write about the side that you know you can write about even if it doesn’t align with what you agree with.
Math: Majority of the test will be algebra with some geometry, basic math, and stats/probability etc. I enrolled into my local night school and freshened up before my test and that helped me a lot and I do recommend you all to enroll as well.
You need a composite score of 45 (9/20 per test) and a 2/6 for the essay portion to receive the HISET transcript.
Know what you’re going for, requirements differ from state to state so go on the HISET website and see what the requirements are from your state. For example I live in Hawai’i so the requirements are to do 60 hours of night school before taking your HISET test in order to receive a Hawai’i adult community school diploma. without doing the 60 hours of night school you only receive the transcript.

If You're struggling to handle your Online Exams, Assignments or any other coursework, get help from Hiraedu and pay after the exam. Contact details for Hiraedu is: WhatsApp: +1 (213) 594-5657 OR Call: +1 727 456 9641
ASSESSMENTS I CAN COMPLETE:

• Online Courses (1 - 20 Weeks Long)
• Homework Assignments
• Exams Quizzes Tests
• Excel Projects
• Discussion Forum Posts
• Research Papers Term Papers Essays
• Employment Assessments

MY MATH SUBJECTS OF EXPERTISE:
I am very knowledgeable and proficient in assisting students in a wide range of mathematics classes. I can help students complete their homework assignments and other projects get an A on quizzes, tests, and exams (including proctored assessments) answer online discussion posts write essays & papers in MLA APA Chicago format and provide general overall academic help in each math course listed below:

• Advanced Placement Honors High School Level Math
• AP Calculus AB A.P. Calculus BC
• AP Statistics
• Biostatistics Bio-Statistics
• College Algebra Intermediate Algebra
• Business Calculus
• Business Statistics
• Business Math
• Calculus I Calculus II Calculus III (Calc)
• Geometry
• International Baccalaureate (IB) Maths
• Liberal Arts Math
• Logic & Reasoning
• Multivariable Calculus Multi variable Calculus
• Precalculus Pre-calculus
• Probability & Statistics
• Psychology Statistics Psych Stats
• Quantitative Reasoning Quantitative Methods Quantitative Literacy (Quant)
• Statistics (Stats)
• Statistics for Social Sciences
• Trigonometry (Trig)

STATISTICS HELP (MY BEST SUBJECT):

• I have a master's degree in Applied Statistics from a university in New Jersey, USA. As a result, I am very proficient in helping students with various types of Statistics courses including Biostatistics Business Statistics Elementary Statistics Probability & Statistics Psychology Statistics.
• I have extensive knowledge and skill with helping students get through various statistical concepts including all of the following in alphabetical order:
• ANOVA Bar Graph, Boxplot, Dot Plot, Histogram, Pie Chart Bias Binomial, Exponential, Poisson, Gamma, Uniform Distribution Central Limit Theorem Chi-Square Test Coefficient of Determination (R^2) Conditional & Relative Probability Confidence Interval Correlation Coefficient (r) Critical Region Critical Value Descriptive & Inferential Statistics Effect Size Expected Value Experiment vs Observation Goodness of Fit Test Hypothesis Testing Interpolation & Extrapolation Interquartile Range (IQR) Kurtosis Left, Negative, Right, Positive Skewed Distribution Logistic Regression Mean, Median, Mode, Midrange Multiple Regression Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio I Population Parameter Normal, Symmetric & Bell Shaped Distribution Null & Alternate Hypothesis One & Two Sample T-Test One & Two Sample Z-Test Ordinary Least Squares Outliers P-Value Pooled Variance (Equal Variances) Proportion R^2 Range Regression Regression Line Reject & Fail to Reject Ho Relative & Cumulative Frequency Distributions Relativity & Reliability Right, Left, One, Two Tailed Tailed Hypothesis Test Sample Statistics Sampling Methods (Convenience, Stratified, Simple, Cluster, Systematic) Significance Level (1%, 5%, 10%) Skewness Standard Deviation& Variance T-Score Test Statistic Time Series Type I & Type II Errors Unbiased Estimators Z-Score

ALGEBRA HELP:

• I am well-versed in helping students do well in Algebra 1 & 2 College Algebra Intermediate Algebra Pre-Algebra and I am very knowledgeable and proficient in the following algebra topics in alphabetical order:
• Absolute Values Circle Equation Domain Exponents Graphing Horizontal & Vertical Asymptotes Inequalities, Equations & Functions Inverse Functions Linear, Exponential, Logarithmic, Quadratic Equations Logarithms Maximum & Minimum Values of a Graph Number Lines One-to-One Functions Parallel & Perpendicular Lines Plotting Points & Ordered Pairs Point-Slope Form Polynomial Division Polynomials Radicals Range Rational & Irrational Expressions Rational Functions Real Roots Real Zeros Relations & Functions Slope Slope-Intercept Form Square Roots Standard Form of a Line System of Equations System of Inequalities Variables X and Y Intercepts

CALCULUS HELP:

• I am well-versed in helping students do well in Calculus I, II & III, Calculus 1, 2 & 3, Business Calculus, Multivariable Calculus, Vector Calculus and I am very knowledgeable and proficient in the following calculus topics in alphabetical order:
• Absolute & Local Maximum and Minimum Antiderivative Area & Volume Chain Rule Concavity Continuity Convergence Test Critical Points Curvature Curve of Rotation Curve Sketching Derivatives Divergence Test First & Second Derivative Test Fourier Series Implicit Differentiation Increasing / Decreasing Functions Infinite Series Integrals Integration by Parts Jacobian Matrix Limits L’Hopital’s Rule Maclaurin Series Mean Value Theorem Partial Derivative Product & Quotient Rule Reiman Sum Related Rates Simpson’s Rule Solid of Revolution Substitution Rule Taylor Series

Paid Help from Hiraedu: If You're struggling to handle your Online Exams, Assignments or any other coursework, get help from Hiraedu and pay after the exam. Contact details for Hiraedu is: WhatsApp: +1 (213) 594-5657 OR Call: +1 727 456 9641
ATTRIBUTES THAT SET ME APART FROM OTHER TUTORS:

• I firmly believe that I have many attributes and skills that set me apart from other tutors. Below is a list of qualities that makes me an ideal fit to help you master your coursework:

I CAN AID STUDENTS TAKING PROCTORED ASSESSMENTS:

• Proficient in CollegeBoard AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC & AP Statistics exams.
• Skilled with International Baccalaureate Math Exams: IB Maths HL & IB Maths SL
• Can intentionally answer a few problems incorrectly at the student's request.
• Can text solutions to the student while they are taking a proctored exam.
• Upon request, can purposely obtain grades below an A (ex: B+, B, C+, C-).
• I can stretch out the time to a plausible length for timed exams and assignments before submitting them.
• Have reliable software that can change my IP address to match the closest major city near the student.
• I have exceptional multiple-choice exam-taking skills. I have mastered the various techniques to make calculated guesses for the correct option in standardized exams such as the SAT & GRE.

I CAN VERIFY MY ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

• I have no problem with requests to solve sample problems upfront to prove my knowledge & proficiency of the course concepts.
• I can provide glowing references & strong examples of work done for past clients to verify my academic skills.
• I can also provide, upon request, complete detailed calculations with explanations for solutions to the problems worked on.
• I am quite skilled and adept in using multiple modernized educational platforms and software, including but not limited to: Brightspace MyStatLab D2L WebAssign Canvas MyMathLab Blackboard ALEKS
• Can format term papers and discussion posts in APA MLA Harvard Chicago Vancouver OSCOLA IEEE format.

I HAVE PAID ACCESS TO OVER 15 STUDY-HELP WEBSITES AND MATHEMATICAL SOFTWARE:

• I have multiple paid subscriptions to a wide range of academic tutoring resources, including Chegg, Quizlet, CourseHero, Brainly, Grammarly, Study. com, Bartleby, Slader, Transtutors, Slideshare, StudocU, Turnitin, Academia, SymboLab, WolframAlpha, and Scribd to help guide to solve exam & homework questions that I may not immediately know.
• However, I am smart enough not to blatantly plagiarize solutions online but instead write them in my own unique words, formatting, & mathematical terminology.
• I have access to a very sophisticated graphing calculator and various mathematical software that provides step-by-step solutions to complex mathematical problems within seconds, allowing me to provide exact solutions to the student in a timely manner.
• I have impeccable handwriting and a high-quality mobile scanner app that allows me to scan written solutions in very legible high-definition JPG, PNG, or PDF formats.

MY AVAILABILITY & RELIABILITY:

• Depending on my availability, I can accommodate immediate tutoring requests, 1-24 hour, and 1-30-day deadlines.
• I can schedule live real-time online sessions and meet deadlines in an impressively timely fashion.
• I can provide quick notifications and updates of progress made in the student's class via email text phone calls.
• I can also be available to tutor students for Fall 2021 Spring 2022 Summer 2022 semesters.

MY EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE OF EXPERTISE:

• I am very knowledgeable and well-versed in a wide range of educational software to tutor students in including but not limited to: Acellus ALEKS APEX Learning Aplia Blackboard Brightspace Canvas Cengage CengageNow Connect ConnectMath Connexus CPM D2L Discord Edmentum Eviews Examity Excel Hawkes Learning Honorlock Khan Academy Knewton LimeSpring Lumen Maple MasteringChemistry MasteringPhysics MathXL (XL) MATLAB McGraw-Hill Microsoft Word Minitab Moodle MyAccountingLab MyEconLab MyITLab MyLab My Lab MyMathLab My Math Lab MyOpenMath MyPsychLab MySocLab MyStatLab My Stat Lab NCSS Open Source Software Pearson PERT PlatoWeb PowerPoint Prezi R Respondus Lockdown Browser with Webcam Sapling SPSS Stata StraighterLine Straighter Line WebAssign Web Assign Webex (Cisco) WebWork Wiley WileyPlus Wonderlic Zoom

SCHOOLS FROM WHICH I'VE HELPED STUDENTS IN :
As of 2021, I have tutored and helped students enrolled at the following U.S. universities community colleges county & city colleges schools for-profit institutions listed below in alphabetical order:

• A - C: American Public University System (APUS) Arizona State Ashford Brigham Young Brown Broward California State (Fullerton) Capella Chamberlain (Illinois) Colorado Technical Columbia Columbia Southern Cornell
• D - K: Dallas College Dartmouth DeVry Excelsior College Florida International Florida State Full Sail Georgia State Grand Canyon Harvard Houston Community College Ivy Tech Community College Kaplan Kennesaw State Kent State
• L - T: Liberty Lone Star College System Kaplan Miami Dade Michigan State CUNY State University of New York (SUNY) Northern Virginia Ohio State University of Phoenix (UOP) Penn State Princeton Purdue (Davenport) San Diego State San Francisco State San Jose State Southern New Hampshire Southern Nevada Stanford St. Petersburg Strayer Texas Tech
• UNIVERSITY OF: Alabama Arizona California (UC) Central Florida Chicago Cincinnati Florida Houston Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) Iowa Maryland Minnesota Michigan North Texas Pennsylvania Southern Florida Texas Toronto
• U - Z: UCLA Extension Utah State Utah Valley Valencia Walden U Wake Technical Western Governors Wilmington Yale

Paid Help from Hiraedu: If You're struggling to handle your Online Exams, Assignments or any other coursework, get help from Hiraedu and pay after the exam. Contact details for Hiraedu is: WhatsApp: +1 (213) 594-5657 OR Call: +1 727 456 9641
I OFFER FLEXIBLE PAYMENT PLANS:

• I offer several unique payment plans, including a weekly plan, a discounted monthly plan, a discounted half-now / half-later plan, and highly discounted up-front rates.
• I can accept the following payment methods for my services: PayPal Debit Cards Square Cash Credit Cards Cash App Venmo.
• Only people located in North America have access to Venmo Cash App Zelle.
• This is an excellent way to determine if the person you're dealing with is from the United States.
• Within reason, I offer a partial or full money-Back guarantee if the student is very unsatisfied with my academic services.

TUTORING AVAILABLE FOR OTHER SUBJECTS:

• For other subjects, you can reach out to me, and I can connect you with one of my tutoring partners who can provide general academic assistance for the following subjects:
• Art & Design: Art History Design Film Studies
• Business: Accounting (Acc) Biz Courses Business Administration (Biz Admn) Business Calculus Business Law Business Statistics Corporate Finance Economics (Econ) Finance (Fin) Financial Accounting Intermediate Accounting Intermediate Microeconomics (Micro) Macroeconomics (Macro) Management (Mgmt) Managerial Accounting Marketing MBA
• Computer Science: C C++ Computer Programming (Comp) Java Python R (Introduction & Intermediate Level Only)
• Humanities: Communications (Comm) English Literature Essay & Term Paper Writing, Editing, Proofreading Essays History Papers Philosophy (Phil) Religious Studies Theology (Theo)
• Mathematics: A.P. Calculus AB & BC Psychology Statistics AP Statistics Bio statistics Calculus I (1) Calculus II (2) Calculus III (3) College Algebra Differential Equations Discrete Math Finite Math Functions General Math Geometry Liberal Arts Math Linear Algebra Multi-variable Calculus Partial Differential Equations Precalculus Probability Quantitative Reasoning Real Analysis Statistics Trigonometry (Trig) Vector Calculus
• Science & Medicine: Anatomy & Physiology (A & P) Biochemistry Biology (Bio) Biostatistics Earth Science Environmental Science General Chemistry (Chem) Healthcare Medicine Nursing Nutrition Organic Chemistry Physics (Phys)
• Social Sciences: Anthropology Economics (Econ) Geology Law & Justice Liberal Arts Liberal Studies Political Science Psychology Sociology

THE OBLIGATORY "IS THIS A SCAM?" QUESTION:
Considering the fact that you found my contact information online, it’s understandable to be skeptical regarding the legitimacy of my services. Therefore, I’m willing to do all of the following to help you feel more secure in trusting me with your academic needs:

• 1) Speak with you on the phone and answer any questions you may have so that you have the opportunity to assess and analyze my tone, articulation, accent, diction, dialect, regionalisms, pitch, vocabulary, word choice, intonations, and inflections.
• NOTE: I’m a New Jersey-born Irish/Italian-American, but I have been told that I speak in an erudite & articulate suburban American accent with a “professor style” voice somewhat resembling the voice of actor: Ben Stein.
• 2) Agree to do some homework questions of yours upfront with the work fully shown in real-time to prove my mastery of the course content.
• 3) Send you screenshots of at least five past scores I attained from completing exams & homework assignments for other students in the same type of class you need help with.
• 4) Send you full screenshots of written exam solutions I wrote up by hand for students in the past in the same course that you need help with so that you can see my neat handwriting.
• 5) Provide you with the contact information of students who have utilized my services in the past who would be more than willing to vouch for my skills.

MY REBUTTAL TO THE OBLIGATORY “IS THIS A SCAM?” QUESTION:
At the risk of sounding arrogant, I consider myself to be at least marginally more intelligent (both academically & socially) than the average person. Therefore, if I ever decided to suddenly risk prison time, risk my reputation, and risk enduring the wrath of modern-day “cancel culture” by scamming people out of their money:

• I certainly wouldn’t do it for such paltry amounts of money. (i.e., anything less than $1,000 per victim.)
• I certainly wouldn’t choose high school & college students as my “target audience” to scam, considering that most people without college degrees have abysmally low annual incomes. Why choose low-income victims when it would be much more profitable to target high-income, high-net-worth individuals earning at least six figures a year? I have knowledge in business consulting, and I promise you that a business owner would be a MUCH more lucrative mark than a low-income college student.
• I wouldn’t choose such a time & energy-draining method of scamming people. Also, communicating back and forth with potential clients is an absurdly long time sink since only less than 10% of all potential clients who reach out to me actually become paying clients of mine. This means that 90% of my time communicating with potential clients ultimately proves to be a colossal waste of my irretrievable time & energy.
• If you pay me to provide academic services and I don’t deliver, you can always dispute the payment with the payment app and easily get your money refunded. If I were in the habit of swindling money from people, then all of my payment accounts would have been investigated and be completely shut down by now. And I would have been permanently banned from opening new accounts. Therefore, the fact that all my payment apps have been fully active for years should be sufficient proof that I haven’t had people consistently disputing payments sent to me.

HOW TO CONTACT ME:
Paid Help from Hiraedu: If You're struggling to handle your Online Exams, Assignments or any other coursework, get help from Hiraedu and pay after the exam. Contact details for Hiraedu is: WhatsApp: +1 (213) 594-5657 OR Call: +1 727 456 9641

• I take my work as a tutor very seriously, and I always aim to do my best to help my students excel in school. I have a solid and sincere passion for academic achievement, and with my help, I am positive that I can help students obtain very high grades with minimal stress and effort.
• Please feel free to contact me if you're interested in my services and would like to learn more. I'm available 24/7 via phone call, email, and text. Again, thank you for taking the time to read my Reddit tutoring ad, and I hope to hear from you soon!

My contact details:
WhatsApp: +1 (213) 594-5657
Call: +1 727 456 9641
Website: hiraedu. com
Email: [info@hiraedu](mailto:info@hiraedu). com
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bear with me please, English is not my first language.
1998 I played Ultima online from till 2004, and several years after on and off in Private servers. I absolutely loved the game and till this day it is hands down the best and most complete game I’ve ever played.
Ultima Online. Must have played over 15k hours but hard to quantify. Might have been more.
*Pros:
-The sense of exploration, the world felt alive, nothing was instanced. No linear quests telling you how to play the game, you just went out and explored whatever you felt like doing that day.
-The housing system was the real end game goal, it’s the best or one of the best player housing systems I’ve seen, they were out in the world for everyone to see, yes there were limited spaces and by the time I started playing you had to buy a house from someone else because you couldn’t place a house anymore, that did not matter, the world was HUGE and there were plenty of people selling houses, It gave you a real goal to aim for, you buy a house and you slowly work towards a bigger one in a better location etc. It gave players something to thrive for.
-Trading system, players owned vendors NPC’s that they could place in their house, or in a house owned by someone that befriended you to their house. This also led to players creating shopping malls, people with big houses would rent these NPC’s slots for people to sell things in their mall. This led to a whole new way of trading where it rewarded people for just wandering around the world looking for good deals instead of sitting in an auction house. Players would also sell items in the different cities or even open portals to these malls and advertise them themselves to attract customers.
-Skill system, everyone had 700 points that you could spread between 58 skills, at the beginning each skill could only reach a max of 100, so most of the characters would work towards 7 skills to 100, or any split that they desired.
-Open world pvp. Faction system, 4 factions constantly fighting with each other to control cities and the economy of those cities. These were not mandatory but it was a really good and fun system with ranks and everything for those who loved big scale and small scale pvp.
-Crafting, you could literally just have a character that all his 700 points were invested into crafting and gathering skills and just be a craftsman/tradesman if this is what you enjoyed doing. Crafting would brand items that you crafted with a “Crafted by(yourname)” tag which made you feel really good when you see people running around with gear or clothing made by you.
-Animal Taming, you could literally tame dragons or other animals and control them to fight for you while you healed them. A lot of the strongest mounts required a certain skill in Animal Taming to be able to own it and control it, this was such a unique and fun way to play the game.
There’s a lot more niche Pros that I could list but it would only be a post about Ultima Online if i did that.
*Cons:
-Full Loot, it was brutal. I didn't mind it because I didn't know anything else, but it drove a lot of people away from the game. Full loot was a pro for people (me included) but I've come to understand that it could've been better designed to retain and attract more players.
-The game didn't age well. In my opinion the game changed for the worst ever since its 2003 expansion Age of Shadows. A lot of changes that slowly began to ruin the game after this expansion, leading to a lot of people including me quitting the game sooner or later.
Honestly I can't think of any more Cons… the game was ahead of its time and till this day has some of the best systems any MMORPGs have ever seen.
Conclusion: Overall Great game, bit of a niche due to being a full loot which could've been handled better but since it was first to its kind there was no way to know this. This game is the foundation of every single MMORPG out there, and like I’ve said, still the most complete out of all the MMO.
2001 I had been invited to play the beta of Dark Age of Camelot so I had hopes for this game to be the next UO, when the game came out I felt like I had to make a choice and at this moment UO was offering everything I needed from a game so I decided not to play Camelot.
2003 By this time I wasn’t feeling too great about the changes made to UO so I decided to try a new MMORPG and I started playing Lineage 2. The game looked amazing! But the movement and the combat felt rather clunky, nevertheless I did like the game so I played for about 4-5 years on and off.
Lineage 2. Played around 6k+ hours.
*Pros:
-Open World. A lot of open world pvp. Open world Raids, lots of pvp for these. If i recall correctly nothing or almost anything was instanced.
-Character Aesthetics, I believe till this day this game has some of the best looking characters and armors Ive ever seen.
-Class design, I really enjoyed the class design of this game. Every single class was useful and needed.
-Castle Sieges and Clan/Guild controlling castles, fighting for territory were some of the most epic and fun memories of this game.
*Cons:
-Extremely grindy game, huge difference from ultima online while playing ultima i never felt i had to take a break because i could just do other stuff. In lineage if you were not Grinding you were pvping. There was no in between so at points I needed to take breaks from the game because I felt drained from the grind.
-Movement and character control felt extremely clunky.
-Extremely gear dependent. I absolutely hated this. I don't think gear should be the main focus of an mmorpg, this leads to poor long term progressions.
-As good as Class design was in the grand scheme, some classes were completely useless without a party. This made them extremely rare and lacking in most guilds.
-Very hard, nearly impossible to play as a solo player. This game was not designed for this.
-No player housing.
-The game did not age well and became a p2w fest.
Conclusion: Lineage 2 was a fun game as long as you had a solid group, I was lucky enough to play this with some of my best friends and even though the game was a painful grind, still one of the most fun pvp memories i've had. The game lacked in the Pve department and was never too popular here in the western region due to this.
2004 World of Warcraft release date. In one of the breaks I took from Lineage 2 I decided to play World of Warcraft and see what the creators of Diablo (which I was a huge fan of) came up with. I have a love/hate relationship with this game. I have played every single expansion ever since its release (including all the re-releases and SOD)
World of Warcraft. Hard to quantify the hours, played every single expansion, got Gladiator once, was in a top 5 server pve guild. So basically did about everything you could do, def not just a casual.
*Pros:
-The best movement / character control I've seen in a game. It just felt and responded to perfection.
-First game that got me interested in Lore. I feel like the warcraft story for the most part was excellent.
-Class designs. This is a pro and a con. I loved the way they designed the classes and the idea behind them.
-Excellent pve mechanics, epic Raids and amazing Dungeons designs.
-Decent Structure pvp, the older the game got the worse the pvp got.
*Cons:
-Extremely linear, hated the fact that I had to constantly do shores for npcs (quests) in order to level up and get experience and gear.
-The same issue with Lineage where Gear is the only thing that matters.
-Class system led to a lot of useless classes in the end game because of subpar performances.
In retail this was fixed but classes kind of lost their Identities along the way, every class in retail feels like it can do everything now.
-Very few mmorpg aspects, it felt more MMOLike in the earlier versions (vanilla) but still had too many restrictions. Flying mount killed the very few mmo elements the game had. In retail you don't even need to interact with anyone outside your guild/group, the game feels like a dungeon/ raid simulator rather than an MMO.
-No real long term progression other than collecting mounts and “transmog” every Gear becomes useless with every new raid, keeping you in this constant loop of finding new Gear.
-Really bad economy. Most of the gear is bound which leads to little to no trading. No real player driven economy.
-Poor use of old content and zones, to a point where they become ghost towns/zones and completely useless and irrelevant.
-40, 25, 20 man content. This is so bad, having this amount of ppl commit to a schedule for a certain amount of days and hours is completely insane, 8-10-12 at most is fine but more than this is completely unnecessary. You can hardly appreciate what's happening in a fight with 20+ people, let alone control them. This only works for the top 1% or less.
-Flying mounts, take away from the exploration and immersion of the game, also kills open world interactions and pvp.
-No open world pvp after Classic.
-No player housing.
Conclusion: WoW has been the King of the MMO genre ever since its existence, it had the best engine, best character movements and response, but the game lacked MMO elements and every expansion made this more and more noticeable. Very linear and strictly focused on Raids and Dungeons. Overall WoW used to be a great game, the first Giant in the MMO genre.
2005 Guild Wars 1, I really loved this game but this felt more like a co-op online RPG than an actual mmorpg. What made me love the game was the class design, the looks and the PVP. For those who don't know, this game is the reason WoW got structured pvp, Battlegrounds and arenas. The game was so ahead of its time, it had a built in Observer mode where you could watch LIVE matches / tournaments. It had world cup tournaments in the form of 10v10 guild vs guild combat, much like nowadays MOBAS.
Guild Wars 1.Around 4k+ Hours. Played for about 4-5 years on and off, since I strictly only did pvp with my friends. It was a good side game that I could hop whenever friends were ready to pvp.
Pros:
-Innovative structure competitive pvp, best of its kind. Absolutely excellent.
-Casual friendly pve game easy to pick up with interesting Lore.
-Excellent Class design where you could mix 2 classes with each other.
-Limited abilities, you could only have 8 skills/spells with you so you really had to plan the skills you and your teammates were going to bring, this opens up for a lot of creativity and innovation, specially in competitive pvp.
-Observer mode, allowed you to watch tournaments and top ranked matches live which brought another level of entertainment to the game.
-Aesthetics where top tier, armors and character designs looked amazing.
Cons:
-Instanced world, it really didn't feel like an MMO, you only saw people outside of your party in towns but the world was instanced to your party.
-Lack of Pve content, it really didn’t offer much in the pve department.
-PvP, as much as pvp was a con, this was too early in time where competitive structure team based pvp games like (Dota, Hon, LoL) had not really existed yet, so it drove all the pve players back to WoW. Perhaps nowadays this game would have been huge.
-Almost no MMO elements, no crafting, no real economy etc…
-No player housing.
Conclusion: Niche audience due to being mainly a PvP focused game. First of its kind, absolutely one of the best pvp games i've played.
At this point I was jumping between UO private servers, Lineage 2. WoW expansions, Guild Wars 1, and Dota.
2012 Guild Wars 2. I felt this game was a let down for us GW1 lovers, but they appealed to a bigger audience, the pve audience (understandable), leaving out major pvp elements that made GW1 great, such as its own name Guild Wars, were not included in the game when it came out. I don't know what it was about this game’s pve but it was not for me. I played about a year of this game strictly doing pvp after reaching level cap on my pve character and quit the game. Tried coming back but pve still felt weird for me and that didn't end up working out.
Guild Wars 2. As much as I loved GW1, GW2 was not my cup of tea, one of the games in this list that I’ve played the least. Must have played around 800-1k hours, mostly pvp.
*Pros:
-Good graphics and Aesthetics, the game looked really good when it came out.
-Combat, first mix of action/target combat I’ve yet played and it felt really responsive and smooth. Overall really good and interesting combat, still one of the best till this day.
-Decently structured pvp, definitely a downgrade from GW1 but what can you do…
*Cons:
-Limited open world pvp.
-I felt it lacked a lot of MMO aspects, but to be fair I just couldn't engage enough to be able to appreciate the game for its pve elements.
-A huge downgrade in the PvP elements from GW1, no observer mode, no GvG, no Rank system when it came out (not sure if they added any of this by now).
Conclusion: I didn’t play this game enough to have a strong opinion, the game has its audience and people seem to like it a lot, but if i'm going to compare it to the other games that i had played, it lacked in every single department not making it strong in anything, but decent in everything.
2013 Archage. When this game released it brought tears to my eyes, i felt like a new version of Ultima Online (without the full loot) had been born, it did lack in the PVE department but boy the sandbox elements of this game made it fun, It was one of the most fun games i've yet played in my life, until the greedy p2w took over and ruined the game, which didn't take very long to be fair. It gave me probably 3-5 good months and then it became unbearable.
Archage. Due to its lifespan before p2w being short, I probably played around 1k+ hours.
*Pros:
-Player driven economy, absolutely the most fun and engaging economy in a game that I have played.
-Player housing and farms, HUGE win, this was the biggest focus of the game in my opinion.
-Very Good character design, kinda like GW1 where you mixed 2 classes here you mixed 3 and that would give you your class.
-Sandbox open world, you could literally play the game the way you wanted, nothing linear it was completely up to your choices.
-Open world pvp, super fun and had a major impact in the economy and in the pve as well.
-Best fishing in any game I've played, by far one of the most fun and rewarding activities in this game.
-Best naval combat of any MMO. Some of my best memories were in the sea, highjacking another player boat full of trading packs and stealing them for profit.
*Cons:
-Poor Pve mechanics, poor dungeons and raids designs, it failed to deliver and to appeal to the pve players.
-I didn't mind the combat, but I have to admit it wasn't the best, after playing GW2 and WoW, this definitely felt worse.
-P2W. Absolutely despise any form of p2w in any game.
Conclusion: this game nailed the MMO elements, yes it lacked in pve but that could've been fixed with time and it would have become one of the best games ever, IF and only IF p2w didn't exist, but it did and it killed what could've been an amazing game.
Back to trying mediocre WoW expansions with friends + playing Dota.
2016 Black Desert Online, I played the beta and loved the game, another KR MMO that just lacked in the pve department (KR really didn't know how to design pve in games). It had a very interesting but confusing combat, very flashy, fast paced, action combat. I liked it but it felt more like I was playing Tekken or Street fighter than an actual MMO. The combat was good on a small scale but on a large scale it was just a mess.
Black Desert Online. Played around 2k hours as a Ranger, I really liked this class (also one of the few that didn't felt like it was going to give me carpal tunnel), that is till they decided to release Awakening and turn a Ranger (bow user character) into a strictly melee character, don't know who came up with this idea but this along with the p2w completely drove me away from the game.
*Pros:
-Innovative action combat.
-Aesthetics and graphics, at this point it was hands down the best looking game.
-A lot of sand box elements, the world felt alive.
-Open world pvp and guild conflicts.
*Cons:
-Little to no Pve elements. Pve was just a zerg fest on bosses. Really bad.
-Horrible gear progression system. Depredatory and gachalike.
-P2W. Pets, costumes, tents, butlers, mounts, you name it.
-Poor design of player housing.
Conclusion: This game was doomed from the get go, the gear progression system was clearly designed around p2w, but if it wasn't because of this and they manage to improve the pve, game would've a good good contender.
Again back to Dota, and the current WoW expansion that my friends were playing.
Tried FF14, couldn't get past lvl 30 twice, it was the worst leveling experience I've had in any game. Tried WildStar. It was ok, never liked the Sci-fi theme, when I got to max lvl and saw what needed to be done to be able to raid I immediately uninstalled the game.
2021 New World. Played the betas, felt the game needed at least 1 year more before releasing. But they still released it and I still played it.
New World. Played for 1.1k hours on steam + w/e I played on the 2 betas I played.
*Pros:
-Immersive open world, exploring felt amazing.
-Fun leveling experience doing constant open world pvp with friends.
-Interesting character design where weapons dictated your character instead of classes.
-Decent take on the UO faction system, opened the possibility for good pvp.
*Cons:
-Combat had too many desyncs and glitches, the game was not nearly finished or polished.
-Every single glitch or bug you can think of, the game was not nearly finished or polished.
-Poor housing system.
-PVE was terrible at the beginning. They improved it nowadays but it is still lacking.
-Game was just not finished, rushed to release, it lacked in every aspect.
Conclusion: While leveling to max lvl, playing with my friends doing pvp, it was really fun and worth the time and money, but after reaching max lvl the game was just a glitch fest and had nothing to offer. It had potential, needed at least 1-2 years to finish the game before releasing.
2022 Lost Ark release. Played with a group of 8-9 friends. We did everything together. It was fun until it felt like a job more than a game.
Lost Ark. 1700 Hours on steam.
*Pros:
-Really good combat, so far my favorite combat of all games I've played.
-Aesthetics character design and looks are top tier as usual in KR games.
-First KR game I’ve played that managed to get pve right. Some of the best designed pve fights I've ever seen.
-Amazing Class design, I love almost every single class in this game.
-Dungeons 4 people, Raids 8 people, a huge plus, really much much easier to gather that amount of friends or competent players rather than the 40-25-20 of WoW.
-Amazing Lore, I really enjoyed and loved the lore in this game.
*Cons:
-The game felt like an 8-6 Job, where you needed to have multiple characters to funnel your 1 or 2 mains. This is a horrible game design.
-Terrible long term item progression, you can't really take a break from the game, because if you do, unless you have deep pockets you ain't catching up.
-Poor mmo elements. The world did not feel alive, nothing really to do outside your daily chaos dungeons + raids. This game like wow retail feels like a Dungeon/Raid Generator instead of an actual MMO.
-No open world pvp.
-Structure pvp had huge class design issues, it was fun, but they just didn't care to balance the game for this.
-P2W AF, p2w in a pve game is just cringe, luckily i had friends to fill an entire raid till we got tired of the game, but I can't imagine playing this game alone and trying to keep up with the p2w whales gatekeeping you from every raid.
-No player housing.
Conclusion: best pve I’ve played in any game, I absolutely loved it, hated everything else of the game, don’t see myself ever re-installing this just to find out I'm never catching up again.
Back to Dota and Classic WoW with friends (not falling for retail wow expansions anymore they are all the same).
Every single MMO lacks in some department. When they get the open world pvp and sand box elements right, they fail to deliver in the pve department, and or add p2w. Any MMO with any form of p2w or p2 convenience is a loss in my book. And when they get the pve right, they completely ignore the sandbox elements and open world pvp, and or add p2w to the game.
Sadly all i can do is try Throne and Liberty (which by the looks of it I won't enjoy because it has p2w but I'll try it anyway), or wait for Ashes of creation if I'm alive by the time it comes out (I'm hoping that I'll be alive, I'm 40 now.)
All of my real life best friends played UO or Lineage with me, so MMO’s are a huge part of me. Sadly, it's been a constant state of disappointments. I do have high hopes for Ashes but at the same time I don't want to keep my hopes up.

I've just recently learned about IEM's and DAC's and now I am considering getting an IEM, as I will soon be doing a lot of video and audio editing in the near future, (working in programs like Premiere Pro, Waveform, etc.) I think I have a pretty basic understanding about what they do, but now I'm left with a lot of questions. I've posted this on multiple subreddits as honestly I'm not quite sure where exactly this should go. I currently have gen 1 AirPods Pro. The sound quality is still great, I have no complaints about that, but I understand that IEM's are generally considered the best you can get for an earbud-like audio system - and if I'm going to be video editing a lot more for clients and whatnot, I figure that I would want the best I can get. My main question is if you think getting an IEM would be worth it for the kind of work I am doing (or just stick with the AirPods.) And if so, would a DAC also be recommended?
After the very little research I've done, I am considering the Sennheiser IE 300's as my IEM of choice. Ultimately, it was the look of them, the sleek design of the cable, and the low profile they have that won me over from other popular choices. If there are any others that you guys recommend instead please let me know. I found a few listings for around $100, but I am willing to spend a little more than that to give a concept of my price range. For a DAC, I'm completely clueless. I pretty much exclusively use a laptop - if that's any consideration for what kind of ports I'd have available. I do game some and would hope to connect the DAC to my PS5 as well. I have a separate usb mic that I often have to constantly switch from my PC to PS5 and vice-versa and now I'm wondering if it could be made possible to switch this easily with a DAC. I know on DAC's you can target and select the specific input you want.
While typing this I found a comment that suggested getting a KVM Switch, connect it to my laptop and PS5 and output that to my single monitor. That way I can connect the usb mic and DAC to it. This sounds like it would work just fine, but I would love a second opinion on the matter.
On the DAC note, I don't entirely understand the point of having an external one. Don't computers, and pretty much any device, already have one built in? And if so what is the advantage of buying an external one? I assume that the quality is somewhat better but what I mainly don't get is how. What does a DAC actually improve? And also what is the difference between a DAC, an audio interface, and an audio mixer? Are amps included in DACs? I've found myself even more confused whenever I search for answers.
Thank you in advance for helping me out on this and for reading my flurry of questions. I know there are a lot. I'm completely new to this and would be grateful for your help. I've strayed away from speakers because I'm often in shared spaces when I do my work and I've strayed away from headphones because I get headphone hair. Please let me know if I'm going about this all wrong as well. Maybe an IEM and DAC is fine, but what I really need is something entirely different that I don't even know about, or if I've just completely misunderstood what I'm talking about.
I've heard a couple of people say that the DIY route is best, as it allows you to customize exactly what you need for much less than you'd pay if you didn't. What does this exactly mean when people refer to "DIY route?" Do they mean people make their own DAC's? Clarfication would be much appreciated.

I've just recently learned about IEM's and DAC's and now I am considering getting an IEM, as I will soon be doing a lot of video and audio editing in the near future, (working in programs like Premiere Pro, Waveform, etc.) I think I have a pretty basic understanding about what they do, but now I'm left with a lot of questions. I've posted this on multiple subreddits as honestly I'm not quite sure where exactly this should go. I currently have gen 1 AirPods Pro. The sound quality is still great, I have no complaints about that, but I understand that IEM's are generally considered the best you can get for an earbud-like audio system - and if I'm going to be video editing a lot more for clients and whatnot, I figure that I would want the best I can get. My main question is if you think getting an IEM would be worth it for the kind of work I am doing (or just stick with the AirPods.) And if so, would a DAC also be recommended?
After the very little research I've done, I am considering the Sennheiser IE 300's as my IEM of choice. Ultimately, it was the look of them, the sleek design of the cable, and the low profile they have that won me over from other popular choices. If there are any others that you guys recommend instead please let me know. I found a few listings for around $100, but I am willing to spend a little more than that to give a concept of my price range. For a DAC, I'm completely clueless. I pretty much exclusively use a laptop - if that's any consideration for what kind of ports I'd have available. I do game some and would hope to connect the DAC to my PS5 as well. I have a separate usb mic that I often have to constantly switch from my PC to PS5 and vice-versa and now I'm wondering if it could be made possible to switch this easily with a DAC. I know on DAC's you can target and select the specific input you want.
While typing this I found a comment that suggested getting a KVM Switch, connect it to my laptop and PS5 and output that to my single monitor. That way I can connect the usb mic and DAC to it. This sounds like it would work just fine, but I would love a second opinion on the matter.
On the DAC note, I don't entirely understand the point of having an external one. Don't computers, and pretty much any device, already have one built in? And if so what is the advantage of buying an external one? I assume that the quality is somewhat better but what I mainly don't get is how. What does a DAC actually improve? And also what is the difference between a DAC, an audio interface, and an audio mixer? Are amps included in DACs? I've found myself even more confused whenever I search for answers.
Thank you in advance for helping me out on this and for reading my flurry of questions. I know there are a lot. I'm completely new to this and would be grateful for your help. I've strayed away from speakers because I'm often in shared spaces when I do my work and I've strayed away from headphones because I get headphone hair. Please let me know if I'm going about this all wrong as well. Maybe an IEM and DAC is fine, but what I really need is something entirely different that I don't even know about, or if I've just completely misunderstood what I'm talking about.
I've heard a couple of people say that the DIY route is best, as it allows you to customize exactly what you need for much less than you'd pay if you didn't. What does this exactly mean when people refer to "DIY route?" Do they mean people make their own DAC's? Clarfication would be much appreciated.

I've just recently learned about IEM's and DAC's and now I am considering getting an IEM, as I will soon be doing a lot of video and audio editing in the near future, (working in programs like Premiere Pro, Waveform, etc.) I think I have a pretty basic understanding about what they do, but now I'm left with a lot of questions. I've posted this on multiple subreddits as honestly I'm not quite sure where exactly this should go. I currently have gen 1 AirPods Pro. The sound quality is still great, I have no complaints about that, but I understand that IEM's are generally considered the best you can get for an earbud-like audio system - and if I'm going to be video editing a lot more for clients and whatnot, I figure that I would want the best I can get. My main question is if you think getting an IEM would be worth it for the kind of work I am doing (or just stick with the AirPods.) And if so, would a DAC also be recommended?
After the very little research I've done, I am considering the Sennheiser IE 300's as my IEM of choice. Ultimately, it was the look of them, the sleek design of the cable, and the low profile they have that won me over from other popular choices. If there are any others that you guys recommend instead please let me know. I found a few listings for around $100, but I am willing to spend a little more than that to give a concept of my price range. For a DAC, I'm completely clueless. I pretty much exclusively use a laptop - if that's any consideration for what kind of ports I'd have available. I do game some and would hope to connect the DAC to my PS5 as well. I have a separate usb mic that I often have to constantly switch from my PC to PS5 and vice-versa and now I'm wondering if it could be made possible to switch this easily with a DAC. I know on DAC's you can target and select the specific input you want.
While typing this I found a comment that suggested getting a KVM Switch, connect it to my laptop and PS5 and output that to my single monitor. That way I can connect the usb mic and DAC to it. This sounds like it would work just fine, but I would love a second opinion on the matter.
On the DAC note, I don't entirely understand the point of having an external one. Don't computers, and pretty much any device, already have one built in? And if so what is the advantage of buying an external one? I assume that the quality is somewhat better but what I mainly don't get is how. What does a DAC actually improve? And also what is the difference between a DAC, an audio interface, and an audio mixer? Are amps included in DACs? I've found myself even more confused whenever I search for answers.
Thank you in advance for helping me out on this and for reading my flurry of questions. I know there are a lot. I'm completely new to this and would be grateful for your help. I've strayed away from speakers because I'm often in shared spaces when I do my work and I've strayed away from headphones because I get headphone hair. Please let me know if I'm going about this all wrong as well. Maybe an IEM and DAC is fine, but what I really need is something entirely different that I don't even know about, or if I've just completely misunderstood what I'm talking about.
I've heard a couple of people say that the DIY route is best, as it allows you to customize exactly what you need for much less than you'd pay if you didn't. What does this exactly mean when people refer to "DIY route?" Do they mean people make their own DAC's? Clarfication would be much appreciated.