Jigsaw puzzle competition near me 2022

When I was younger I watched a whole bunch of tv but I was also getting started with video games so I don’t know who introduced me to it or I found it on accident but my LG TV could play games so now I had the best of both worlds and i very fondly Denver also getting into football/soccer at the same time which is why I always gravitated to this one game.
This basically let you take a penalty as a English premier league team and then you’d follow the regular rules of a penalty shootout until one person wins
I have one vivid memeory of always picking Chelsea on this game(if I’m not wrong you could pick the teams best player)and I always like frank lampard so that’s who I chose my auntie was around when I was playing this game and she said(this is the part I remember best)”What are you picking Chelsea for they’re shit”
Here’s a list of some of the games I found on the LG website confirming that games were playable on their tv’s Buy Palace UANGEL
Natural Object UANGEL
Puzzle Game UANGEL
Shoot The Arrow UANGEL
Spot The Not UANGEL
Fruit Puzzle UANGEL
Agent Sudoku UANGEL
Gems Quest UANGEL
Mahjong UANGEL
Music Lesson UANGEL
Spot the Difference LG CNS
Pair & Match LG CNS
SmartTruco LGESP
ART PICTURE GALLERY LG CNS
Animal Pang Pang MINIGATE
Angry Duckling MINIGATE
Kaboom Accedo Broadband AB
Four Accedo Broadband AB
Boombrick Accedo Broadband AB
TV Hockey LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
ArcherCraft LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
Mindboggle Accedo Broadband AB
Holiday Getaway Accedo Broadband AB
Dinosaur Disaster Accedo Broadband AB
Chewie Checker Accedo Broadband AB
Banker LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
Tanks LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
3D Race gemignani
Crazy Duck Busidol
Think 'n Draw LGESP
TV Hockey 2 LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
Animal 21 Dice Trial appsuxmodule
Hot Chicks Bliss soft Co., Ltd.
Hot Chicks Bliss soft Co., Ltd.
SmartPoker LGESP
Cut the Rope Lite ZEPTOLAB
Push 'em Penguin PlayJam
Rat Fishing Trial Bliss soft Co., Ltd.
Rat Fishing Trial Bliss soft Co., Ltd.
Coloring 모바일버스
3 Cats LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
Jigsaw Puzzle 모바일버스
Hidden Catch 모바일버스
RockSwap Adventures Accedo Broadband AB
Fun2Sports 주식회사 펀투소프트
Flying Pig Bliss soft Co., Ltd.
Let's Cook!! LGESP
Air Traffic Control HatColorSoft
Little Shop - Memories PlayJam
Tanks II LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
Superball LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
WarFly excolt
Sudoku Accedo Broadband AB
Balda LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
Quizz Master Accedo Broadband AB
Texas Hold'em Accedo Broadband AB
Big Stag Night Out PlayJam
Whacky Escape free IguanaBee
1# Words Online playttle
Extinction Run free IguanaBee
Selknam Defense sganaf
Spacelights emuse Technologies
Wind Raiders nemoris
Smart Cricket Challenge Indiagames Ltd.
Perfect Kick Gamegou Ltd
Perfect Kick for webOS Gamegou Ltd
Beat Defender free IguanaBee
Buttons LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
GravityBall LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
TV Soccer LG RUSSIA R&D Lab
2048 NGINE NETWORKS
Perfect Kick for webO
There’s a few more games aswell that I would like to check later but I’m on my way to a airport so I don’t have much time
IMPORTANT:The other footballing games in the list PERFECT KICK and TV SOCCER aren’t the game
Also how the hell do we find games meant to be played on a TV Any help is appreciated thanks!

I 28F my husband 33M we have been together for 9 years we have 4 children together. Oldest is 8. In 2020 he cheated with someone at his job. Once she called and I answered, she didn't say a word and just hung up. She then says (my HB says she said) that she wants to call me and explain because her HB name is the same name as my HB. I said so she has her HB name listed as his actual name and not a pet name like most couples, if not all. He didn't respond. Dec. 23 I decided to drive down to his job I see him hugging her and kissing her. They went to her truck to have s. I didn't stop him nor say anything. He came clean on Jan 14 he said he need to make sure she wasnt pregnant. I told him i was. On Jan 17 2021 they left to TJ to go see a doctor because he didn't want her to go alone in case she was. He took my kids with him, didn't want me to leave while he was gone. I called many times he never picked up he showed up 24hrs later. My kids kept telling me they crashed I asked him he denied it. I left to think. My kids kept telling me daddy was hugging and kissing another woman, they crashed the blue truck and were so scared. I confronted him and he finally admited it. I ended up having a miscarriage. I came back a few days later and he told me he loves her and that if I want my divorce to tell him where to sign. he stayed for a few days until I told him I cudnt stand it, to get out. He moved in with her and her HB. After a bit he wanted to try and fix things. He kept leaving on weekends to TJ with her. She kept trying to force her way to be around my kids. She would show up at my house to pick him up for work. I would come home from work, and they would be outside hugging and kissing for all our neighbors to see. I had told him again that I didn't want her here or near my kids. He didn't care. I ended up losing my temper and destroying her car with both of them in it because she just kept showing up. They broke things off after that, or so I thought. After a few months, I was pregnant again(2021) she found out made a scene. I told him to quit, but since we were so tight on money, he couldn't. After my last son was born (2022), he went on PFL, and she was calling private. He was looking for work elsewhere but with no luck. He returned to work, and then after a bit, they started hooking up again. I got a message saying he had gotten arrested for DV. I already knew it was her again. He finally called me, begging me to bail him out. I told him no. His brother got him out. He quit his job and told me everything begging me to forgive him. I said so while I was recovering from my c section and taking care of his NB he was fking her. I found out he would take my 3 older children to her house any chance he got. he would take them to the mountains (off roading), and she was there. It's been a few months and he has changed but I don't trust anymore, and I want to leave. Now I am being called an A.H because i want to leave. I want to break up this family.

My history with PoGo and Niantic is complicated I guess... But thinking back there were so many red flags ever trusting this company...
Started playing PoGo 2016, living in a small city, lost my Account Access in 2017... Niantic Support never listened or cared... Came back in 2018 with a new Account to try again. Gave up and dropped the game a few months in, living in a rural area at that time, it was just completely unplayable. Came back in 2020, still living in a rural area, Remote Raids made it a little more playable and enjoyable as my mother and me could finally play a game together. Reached out to Niantic again in 2021/2022 for help securing my current account, as I couldn't associate my account properly due to the lost account being registered on my Email address... Never received any help/support... Gave up after more than 8 months... Niantic Support was still as bad as in 2017. Forward to end of 2022/ beginning 2023, now living in an extremely rural, nearly remote area... Next Pokestop about 5 miles away, no arena in sight. The game proved expensive to play, needing to constantly buying Remote Passes and Incences + the events I kept up for the sake of enjoying a game together with my family... Though I guess this will change now on April 6th. Even if I could afford to pay that price increase, it's not worth it to cut back on groceries only to buy passes for the half-assed game PoGo has become... So many Pokémon from the main line titles still not in, only coming in one Pokémon every few months, Game becoming even more unplayable in rural areas, no Pokémon spawning naturally... More expensive event passes and now this...
I'm still debating, but yeah I guess it's better to drop out of the game... Even though Niantic has never cared for their players, but this becomes ridiculous...
I thought I might share my story, even though Niantic will possibly never listen to any of us. But it's the playerbase keeping a game alive, not the company... Maybe they will someday realize that, even though I have my doubts...

Demographics

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: Asian
• Residence: TX
• Income Bracket: $200K
• Type of School: Public, competitive
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None

Intended Major(s): Biology/Biochemistry
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 3.9 uw flat border top decile, like 5 B's by semester + grade in AP Chem on mid-year, bad rank in terms of t10s, weakest part of application, pretty sure it cucked me for top schools 😭
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 16+ APs
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, APES, AP Macro, AP Chem, AP Literature and Pathophysiology

Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

• SAT/ACT: 1540 (740RW, 800M) 35 (35M 35E 36R 35S)

Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.

1. Policy Advocate for Graduate-Level Initiative at Harvard School of Public health
2. Lead ResearcheOutreach Coordinator for Globally-Recognized NPO on refugee relocation
3. Summer Research Intern at Molecular Biology Lab at T5 Research University
4. Researcher at organization under T10 universities, working on multiple different projects
5. Run org providing students opportunities to break into research/academia
6. Certified Nursing Assistant/Clinical Hours
7. Independent Research on a mental health topic + advocacy raising awareness for same topic
8. Research Intern @ MedTech Startup
9. Medical Shadowing x2 Clinics
10. HOSA Club President

sent updates to my RD's talking about notable advocacy efforts, a presentation of my independent research work, a couple of small competition wins, some partnerships with global organizations in one of my ec's.
forgot to update them with a new research assistant position at a UT Southwestern lab near me, happened the week after I sent updates sadly, hope it didn't bite me in the bacm 😭😭😭😭😭
Awards/Honors
List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

1. National Merit Semi-Finalist
2. National Qualifier for a Medical Coding Event
3. USABO Honorable Mention (1 off semifinals, winged the test)
4. State Winner for HOSA Event
5. State Competitor for some Science Olympiad Events

Letters of Recommendation
AP lang - 7/10? nothing bad for sure, just not sure if it was anything special, probably average
a STEM teach - 8/10, I saw the rec at a later date, kind of short, but to the point and was very specific on things I had done in the class, so seems pretty good
Professor at t5 - absolutely no clue, just added in because of her reputation as a professor, doubt it was bad but doubt it was great cuz I got rejected from her university 😭
Interviews
Rice - was okay, nothing special, didn't help
Cornell - missed my interview...
Essays
Personal Statement - 8/10? can't really judge my own essay, i thought it was okay, my mom hated it, some of my friends didn't understand it, others thought it was really good
Supplementals - 7/10, reused a lot, some were really good imo (duke, UT, maybe some more) some were really ass (rice 😭) mostly depended on the prompt and word count allowed
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
Acceptances:

• 2 safeties w full & half rides
• UT Austin (non-auto, in-state) w/ plan ii honors
• UNC-Chapel Hill (out of state) w/ honors carolina & accelerated research program
• UC Berkeley L&S

Waitlists:

• Washington University in St. Louis
• Emory University

Rejections:

• JHU Early Decision
• USC
• UCLA
• Pomona
• Rice
• Duke
• Brown
• Cornell
• GTown
• 2 BS/MD's 😭
• CWRU (lame school wouldn't have gone over ut or unc anyways but bruh showed no DI or smth)

Additional Information:
started the grind too late, ecs ended up being pretty decent but grades were not astounding for most of these schools, happy with UT Austin though, would've gone over half the privates because its so much cheaper and im medicine, and they gave me honors so big dubs, starting the premed grind so I don't have to bomb like i did this season!

​
Ahh, dear reader, hello there! So lovely to see you once more... well figuratively speaking that is… or is it?
After all, I am exceedingly well versed in The Arts. Maybe I am watching you at this very moment, with Clairvoyance or perhaps a Scrying Spell or maybe an enchanted object like the good old fashioned Crystal Ball? The Magus has one you know…
Just teasing… or am I? …teeheehee…
Anyway, this latest instalment comes to you courtesy via a Voice to Text application my Magus recently acquired for me, as he said listening to me speak aloud while typing is too distracting for him. I find that interesting considering his immense mental discipline yet understandable at the same time. After all, extoling ones inner monolog to an uncaring audience would be tedious to experience. Hmm… I’ve just thought of a new torture for the souls of the dammed, specifically for writers who think they are better than everyone around them. How ingenious of me!
In any case, I would prefer to distract him in other ways, mark you.
I also must say what wonderfully inventive creatures you humans are! An application of mathematical code, the base language of reality. It is very much like a spell in its function and nature I would say, that it allows my phone, yes the Magus got me one, to record all I say and transcribes it into neatly typed words on its electronic pages. It’s like having a monk-scribe in your pocket! Unquestionably wonderful!
So as I relax in my fabulously hot, luxurious scented, oiled bubble bath, I can easily regale you with further tales of the adventures I have had thus far on this wonderous blue and brown spherical rock that is third in line from our star. And I do not have to type with two fingers either, which is a massive bonus let me tell you!
If memory serves… ahh yes, we had just returned to the car where I saw a sign of my Magus’s humour on display in the form of his licence plate.
I do have to admit dear reader, I was indeed highly amused. He knows he’s going to hell, he just insists that it be on his terms! I love it! Such confidence, such audacious willpower.
That is exceedingly… stimulating for Succubi.
Ok dammit, it makes me tremendously horny, and I’m not talking about the ones on my head either you know! We are incredibly lusty beings, us Succubi, after all.
I was already in a highly ‘excited’ state when we got to the car, so much so that I had to use my Cell Adjustment Psionic discipline to tremendously dull down my inflamed senses as I did not wish to leave the tell-tale mark of my inflamed passion on the lower back portion of my new dress and also not on the car-seat when I sat back down in the vehicle.
Ahem…
After a few moments, which caused the Magus to glance up at me with a slightly puzzled expression, of standing outside the car (he had no idea nor cared… hmmph!) I opened the door and folded myself back inside the vehicle and resumed my seat. I later learned that I could have mostly avoided this… embarrassment… by actually wearing what you call absorbent lined underwear! I wasn’t wearing panties at the time as I was totally unaware of their existence. I do so now as its much more comfortable in lots of ways and in addition, stops the shiver when an errant chill wind blows unexpectedly up your gusset!
Moving on…
Getting into the car, the Magus paused until I had done up my seatbelt before starting the engine, waiting for another car to pass us by before safely pulling out and sedately driving off. I later learned that we could have gone screaming down the road in a cloud of burning rubber if the Magus was of a mind to. I would have if given the opportunity! Something to look forward to dear reader.
Instead, we drifted slowly through the placidly moving traffic as I watched the sun descend below the horizon of the ocean. I had only been back here on Earth for a few hours but every second was total bliss. I do not think that most of you humans realize how good you have it here. Even those who do not reside in the more developed and advanced nations, being on Earth is special.
There are infinity more worse places you can be, let me assure you of that.
We drove back mostly the way we had travelled to this particular beach. This time though it was much later in the day, heading in the opposite direction, I became aware of many more things that had escaped my attention earlier on.
We passed by denser zones and clusters of buildings where I could see various shops, food outlets, restaurants and varying vendors, all brightly lit up now as the daylight was fading. I saw incredibly tall metal poles with blazing, glowing lights illuminating the surrounds with a warm yellowy orange glow making it still easy to see. Electric lighting will never cease to amaze me. Yes dear reader, I can experience a sense of wonder and joy at simple things, even beyond the act of slaughter and soul draining. Would it astonish you that I like flowers? Such strange lifeforms that had developed aromas they use as a method of propagation. Delightful.
Anyway… we shortly crested the hill that we had previous ascended westwards earlier on the way to the beach and then I saw it!
I was awestruck once again.
Towering edifices, glittering, shining buildings monstrously higher than Hagia Sophia was, the most immense human made structure in the world when I was last in it. These glistening towers of glass, metal and stone made that church look like a feeble children’s toy. I could see over a dozen of these buildings of varying size, clustered together in less than a square mile.
The Magus glanced to his left and saw me gaping at them.
“They’re called Sky Scrapers Meridiana. They’re generally office buildings, places of business where people daily work in their wage-slave jobs then go home at night. The buildings are left vacant but light up at night as you can clearly see.”
I turned and gawped at him.
“They’re empty at night?”
I could not comprehend why such space, that had amazing views, would be left empty of an evening?
“Yep. Well most of them are. There will be some that still have people in them, conducting various types of business overnight because its what they do for a living.”
“What do they do?” I asked in a murmur as I turned back to see the vista be obscured by a large set of commercial and residential buildings that we were currently passing.
The Magus shrugged.
“They’ll be doing all sorts of things, financial trading, working back late to do their jobs… various affairs of commerce and such. It’s not that important really Meridiana. I’ll take you into the city another day when we have time for you to be a tourist. Now, if I may, I want to know more about your Telekinesis. I got an idea of how much you can lift, probably over 1400 kilograms at least if my guess as to how much a warhorse in armour with a rider would weigh… maybe more? Probably more but we’ll test that later. Anyway, it’s your fine control skills I’m interested in.”
I turned back to the Magus who was looking ahead, driving us through the busy traffic that had become a factor. I later learned that it was a time of day called ‘rush hour’.
“I am capable of very delicate manipulation with my Telekinesis, especially in regards to the erotic arts,” I said to him with a husky, low, salacious purr.
“That’s cute but I really want to know if you could snatch out of the air and control a very small, fast moving bouncing ball, say the size of your thumbnail?” he asked in an offhand manner as he slowed down due to the traffic which was banking up in front of us.
I inwardly sighed once more. Such a challenge he was!
“Yes I can but why?”
He briefly turned to me and broadly grinned before returning his attention to driving.
“There’s a game that we will ‘play’ after dinner. It is called Roulette. The game features a spinning wheel with thirty seven little slots. Into the spinning wheel a little white ball is spun in and circles around, eventually slowing and bouncing into once of the numbered slots. The slots are alternately coloured red or black and all are numbered from 00 to 36. You can bet where the ball will land, either in red or black and specifically in a numbered slot. If the ball lands in a slot you bet on, you get a payout of thirty seven to one. Ever dollar you bet wins you 37 back. You can also just bet on which colour the ball will land in giving you your money back plus it’s value as a reward. Bet $100, you get your $100 back plus another $100.”
“Dollar... that’s money right?” I said as the implications slowly dawned on me. You could make a fortune from this!
“Yes Meridiana. Dollars are what we use as currency these days. Gold is still used but not in the way you were used to. It’s still valuable as are other precious metals but that’s going to take a long explanation which is a distraction for now. So, do you think you could perhaps catch the bouncing ball with your power, directing it into the number we bet on?”
I thought about it for a few moments.
“I will have to see how the ball moves but I think I could, yes.”
“Excellent. You stand to make us a lot of money tonight. There are other games like card games, slot machines which I’m uncertain that your powers would be able to mess with. Roulette is our hunting ground. We must be careful though.”
“Why?”
I was surprised by his tone of caution. We were power incarnate! What could possibly touch us?
“Casinos hate losing money. Roulette is going to be the hardest one they can prove that we’re cheating on if you use your Telekinesis. We will be closely watched the entire time we are in the casino. There are devices called cameras, similar to Crystal Balls, that observe everything they see, relaying the images back to people in other rooms whose task it is to spot potential cheaters in the casino. They also have people walking the floor, disguised as ordinary folk, always watching everyone else. And I want to avoid the eyes of any infernal beings who may be in the casino.”
“Ahh… I see… a healthy paranoia then, for them and us hmm?”
He nodded once, emphatically.
If you have a fortune, you need to protect it, especially from people like me. His caution in regards to our identity was also most prudent and he was correct that there was a possibility that there may be others of my ilk lurking in the shadows, walking in human form as we often do.
I have to confess dear reader, that I am a master thief as well as an expert assassin, in addition to being an accomplished warrior although I rarely fight in hand to hand combat, preferring seduction, subterfuge and skulduggery as my main methods of killing. Yet still, I can fight and kill extremely proficiently with many weapons, being skilled at one of the highest levels of melee combat, the use of weapons and ways of fighting with them. I’ve been around a while you know? You pick up on things like that if you wish to live as long as I have.
Besides… stabby, stabby, stabby, bash, slash and smite can be loads of fun when you’re doing the stabbing and bashing with a well-balanced blade or mace in your hands. But I digress…
“You have it Meridiana. Yes the casinos’ management are extremely paranoid. We will have to alter our appearance as well before we enter the casino. I shall use a minor low level spell while you can take a new face. We will do so after dinner.”
I nodded then a thought came to me. I asked,
“You said we were going to something called a buffet? I know what the word means as my abilities allow me to understand any spoken language, much like the enchantment known as Tongues. Yet I’m finding it hard to match the word with the concept.”
The Magus raised an eyebrow in interest at this revelation.
“Oh right. Just because you know a word doesn’t mean you automatically understanding it conceptually and in context either. Good to know. Well, a buffet is an enormous array of various foods, hot and cold, sweet to savoury, where you merely help yourself and consume as much as you wish. You pay for the privilege of course.”
“Truly? How much will this cost you?” I inquired wide eyed.
I noticed that we had moved through the traffic and had turned down a descending road and were now going into a massive concrete tunnel along with hundreds of other cars, all slowly moving in the same direction. It was quite honestly astounding that everyone was not smashing into one another. All the drivers were…well mostly were, attentive to their immediate surrounds and situation as we gradually merged our car into the main lane of traffic which was making its way under the earth via the huge yawning tunnel ahead.
Such staggering feats of engineering and construction which would have made the Emperor Justinian weep copious, bitter tears of pure envy. Oh how I wished I could make him see this and realise his idiotic boast was pointless when he finished Hagia Sophia. He bragged that he had surpassed Solomon himself with his church. He had but it wasn’t worth it. Justinian nearly bankrupted the Eastern Roman Empire, all for a useless church and his own vanity.
Moron.
Still, I shouldn’t care, his hubris ended up sending him to hell anyway so... yay! His actions also exacerbated the effects of the famine and plague that swept the through the empire and western Europe in the year 535 with his stupid desire to re-unify the Roman empire under his rule. You will be pleased to know dear reader, that he is burning in eternal torment for his multitude of sins so it is all good. My thoughts of deceased, vainglorious emperors and their fate were interrupted as the Magus spoke again,
“Hmm? … it should set us back about $80 each I’d should say? A small price to pay in all honesty when you see what is on offer. Drinks will be on top of that price, unless you just have plain water but tonight Meridiana, I shall introduce you to Champagne, one of humanities greatest achievements.”
This was enticing to hear!
“If you say so Magus. I completely believe you as you will not be lying to me,” I said, nodding and trying to think about Champagne.
So many new concepts were entering my mind, it was hard to keep my mind and thoughts in order. I understood that Champagne was a special type of wine, one which had a fizz embodied within it, making it highly regarded but that’s all I could deduce for now.
Also… I had a thought: the Magus could and would never lie to me. The feeling I had earlier, in being able to trust everything he said to me because of the oath he gave to me, was an unfettering sensation.
All my existence I have dealt with bare faced lairs, deceivers, misshapers of the truth who twisted words to suit their own selfish ends. With the Magus, all I had to be concerned with was his agenda, which actually had my interests aligned with his own. Truly remarkable.
I needed that champagne now!
We emerged from the tunnel, traveling with the traffic over wide dark river, again on another immense concrete bridge this time. There was a gigantic colosseum off to our right, all lit up with multiple coloured lights that ran around the circumference of the structure. It was like as though it was enveloped in a rainbow. Frankly, it was amazing to behold.
Beyond that, I could see many more large towers and structures, lining the sides of the vast road we were hurtling along now. The Magus had increased our speed as traffic had thinned out. Never in my life had I moved so fast, well unless I was using a Haste spell to briefly increase my physical speed, which I use in combat if necessary.
I barely had the sense we were travelling in the car at roughly 80kph. Such an odd experience to have for the first time. There was no rushing of wind, no press of air on my face, just comfort and air-conditioning. Marvellous!
After a few minutes later I saw our destination.
Again I was nearly stupefied by the gigantic structure. Multiple massive buildings, all surrounded by lush green, well-manicured and maintained gardens made my jaw go slack with disbelief.
“That’s Crown Casino, Towers and hotel Meridiana. I can see you are impressed. Let me just say that if you think this is amazing, wait until we go to Las Vegas…” he said as he turned the car into the driveway of the complex.
“There’s even more impressive structures than this?”
My mind boggled dear reader. It was almost too much to take in.
“Yep. My city is a small one compared to others around the globe. We will travel to them, in due course. I know you can use your powers of Dimensional Walking, moving through other planes of reality and appearing on a different part of the planet. However, there will be times when we will need to travel together conventionally. Perhaps one day, if I learn the right spells, we will be able to avoid having to fly in an aeroplane and by-pass the utter tediousness of baggage check-ins, airport security and so on…” he muttered darkly.
“HUMANS CAN FLY!?!” I said in a loud strangled astonished voice.
The Magus chuckled with genuine amusement.
“Think back Meridiana. I said humanity has been to the moon and back. I said we can travel safely and comfortably in a machine, called an aircraft, across the planet. Some ‘planes are huge while others are not much bigger than the car. Oh, that reminds me, we will have to construct an identity for you. We will begin that process tomorrow. You are going to need a passport soon enough,” he said as he found a relatively unoccupied parking area west of the massive structures.
He saw my puzzled expression and mistook it for wondering why we had parked here.
“It’s free to park here and there are hardly any security cameras in the vicinity.”
I nodded dumbly.
“But of course Magus…”
He saw my expression as he switched off the engine. A tiny look of… sympathy appeared on his face. He spoke to me in a soft, calm, soothing tone,
“Take a breath Meridiana. Close your eyes and focus upon the stillness within the vehicle. You are safe here with me. Nothing will harm us. Just breathe and relax, let each breath calm you. With every breath you are at peace within yourself and the world around you.”
I did as he said and instantly sensed my whirling mind begin to centre itself, become still.
I may be an ancient and powerful demon dear reader, however I have been imprisoned for nigh on a thousand years and now have been released into a world that I was unable to recognise at all.
The Magus later told me I was suffering from a psychological malady called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes dear reader, even us demons can get mentally fucked up. I mean, compared to the average human, we’re all demented, tormented psychopaths which explains a lot about ourselves but still… even a psychopath can suffer from mental trauma. Demons can go insane.
I breathed rhythmically, each exhaling breath calming me. With one final exhalation, I opened my eyes, turned to my Magus and softly smiled at him.
“Thank you,” was all I said. I meant it.
He nodded briefly, his intensely burning eyes boring into mine, deeply searching, looking for signs of any madness that may still be lingering within. Well, there’s always the hunger for sex and mayhem, but that’s natural for me.
“Come on, you look fine now, let’s go,” he said as he got out of the car.
I followed his example, releasing my seat belt and stepping out of the car. Closing the car door behind me, walked over to the Magus then I threaded my right arm around his left as we walked off like a normal couple, casually strolling through the car park towards the casino and hotel.
I could hear the noise of all the adjacent traffic all still travelling busily along the massive road that went past the enormous complex. There was the calls of various birds I’d never heard before, the waft of scented flowering plants and the heavy aroma of moisture in the air from the nearby river. I closed my eyes for a second just to let it all wash over me as I sedately walked along with my Magus.
Soon we came to the entrance. Huge dark glass doors magically opened for us upon our arrival. To my right I could see various coloured signage, advertising the types of ‘fast food’ eateries that people could choose to dine at. They were all brightly lit and mostly clean.
It was at that moment I saw my first wretch.
A dishevelled, unkempt, shabby man sat listless outside the fast food eateries upon the low stone wall that contained a small, well-kept garden. He looked up at us as we approached, his eyes full of misery and despair.
“Got any spare change?”
“Sorry mate, no one carries cash anymore,” lied my Magus to him with a conciliatory voice, a sad but brief compassionate smile appeared briefly on his face.
The wretched man’s face became even more resigned. He nodded back in understanding, returning his fallen face back to morosely contemplating the ground at his feet.
We kept walking, leaving the broken man behind us.
I was about to congratulate the Magus in his treatment of the beggar when I had to stop as I was confronted by an incredible sight.
Before us, in the huge well-lit lobby of the building, was a huge pair of MOVING METAL STAIRCASES!
One staircase ascended while another came down from the landing some 50 feet above us. On either side were normal, marble clad stairs that some people were using. Yet many other people were on the moving metal stairs, all just taking the experience of being raised or lowered completely for granted.
“It’s just an escalator Meridiana. A simple machine that makes life a little more comfortable. Take it, go for a ride. I’m taking the stairs as I need the incidental exercise,” he said to me as he pried my clutching hands from his arm. I had been unconsciously gripping him tightly in my amazement at seeing such a machine.
The Magus walked off to the left, climbing the steps briskly while I gingerly walked forwards, watching the metal stairs endless appear and ascend upwards. The hand rail also moved in synchronicity with the metal stairs. I observed as a pair of young women, chatting intently to each other, walked past me and up to stand upon a metal stair which was part of dozens of metal stairs it seemed. I saw them be lifted by the moving stairs, rising above and away from me.
Summoning my courage, I stepped forwards onto a moving stair, wobbled slightly as I was not used to the speed which it moved, making me grab the moving banister tightly to steady myself as I rode my way upwards. I let out a small laugh as it was such a novel experience. The young women in front of me turned around at my laugh, raising their eyebrows at me as well as actually truly seeing me for the first time. Their smiles faded as I grinned back at them.
The young women could see my infinitely superior beauty on full display. They looked hesitant, now uncertain of themselves as they mistakenly believed themselves to be beautiful. They were, passible, not ugly but not worthy of a harem to be perfectly honest. I later learned dear reader that many foolish young women, especially in what you call the western world, regard themselves as queens, rating themselves ten out of ten on a scale of dazzling good looks. These sad women are delusional. I mean, if they were that beautiful, why weren’t their faces on the covers of the glossy magazines I see in various ‘supermarket’ check outs? No matter, vanity and hubris are all ways to damnation and misery. So many people sending themselves to eternal torment simply because they were raised by idiotic parents who never properly taught their children the need for humility. It’s all win-win for the pits you know…
My Magus met me at the top of the stairs, holding out his hand to me and then leading me through the vast interior of the complex.
“That’s the casino,” he indicated to our right.
Looking, I could see dozens of people making their way inside into the brightly lit and noisy interior of the casino. I caught the whiff of desperation, despair, avarice, lust, elation and a strong aroma of human urine. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Yes, even I have some standards dear reader.
“Magus, why does it reek of piss?” I asked as we strolled by and proceeded into the most immense, glass covered atrium I have ever seen.
“Oh, you can smell that?” He looked intrigued.
I nodded with a mild look of disgust.
“Hah… interesting. Well… some gamblers get stuck on a poker machine. They sit there for hours, desperately hoping that the machine they are playing on will pay out. The poor fools stupidly believe that if they play at the machine long enough, they’ll win big. So they stay seated, ignoring the need to relieve their bodily urges, to the extent that they prefer to piss themselves rather than abandon the machine that is draining away their money. The poor fools are incapable of understanding that the machine is designed to rarely pay out. Every time they play, it has a simple algorithm that calculates the chance of a payout. Most machines will payout a small amount of money occasionally, thus keeping the gambler hooked in the mistaken belief that the big one is just around the corner. It rarely, if ever, is.”
I stopped, stunned at what I just heard. The Magus stopped and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s… diabolically genius!” I stuttered as I considered the fiendish brilliance of the whole concept.
Someone had made hell on earth not only possible but also could make a fortune from it as well as breaking people’s souls and spirits in the process! The concept of dangling hope in front of a damned soul, then snatching it away was one of the oldest known tortures of hell. This was a magnificent, a culmination of the perfection of thousands upon thousands of years of the torture, all neatly packaged in a fairly simple machine designed to beggar it’s user and turn them into slaves to it. Gobsmacking was the only word I could think off that fully encapsulated the way I felt at that moment.
“Yes it is, isn’t it? I have always suspected that those machines were most likely invented by a demon. It makes perfect sense,” he said as he shrugged, then tilted his head, indicating we should proceed onwards.
I noddled dumbly as again, I had been totally overwhelmed by the latest piece of information the Magus informed of. I barely registered the hundreds of people all wandering around the massive lobby of the hotel atrium. Many were dressed finely while others, mostly men, were dressed casually. My Magus was one of them, still wearing his novelty T-shirt and hemp pants. They were clean though and his shoes, a brand known as Babuuk, made him look somehow better dressed then the other men who were similarly attired. Maybe it was just his subtle aurora of power, his sheer confidence and his towering Will that made him stand out from the mouth breathers all around us? I guess it was.
We arrived at the entrance of the restaurant and the Magus was greeted by a short Asian woman, dressed neatly in the hotels livery.
I started to realise that there were people from so many different races of humanity all around us. I had come from a time where only what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire was this diverse, and even then it was but a shadow of the heyday of the full glory that was Rome. Here were people from almost all the lands of earth, all happily co-mingling, getting on with having dinner with family and friends. Very surprising indeed.
The Asian woman at the reception counter spoke to us with a friendly smile,
“Good evening sir, madam. A table for two for you then?” she asked politely, her voice tinged with a broad accent I had not heard before. She spoke English yet I could tell that wasn’t her first language.
“Yes please,” politely replied the Magus.
This was something I did not expect. Despite his and my obvious power, he was respectful and even kind to the servants. All of them. He didn’t condescend nor sneer down at the servants of the hotel. It is still something I have difficulty reconciling. I said nothing, just observed. Oh, he has since instructed me not to call them servants, they are members of staff and will be treated with respect until they show they do not deserve it, then they are fair game. I can live with that.
“Table seventy one is ready for you both, have a lovely evening.”
She actually meant it! I could see it in her eyes, she was truly enjoying her task. She was smiling and joking with her fellow staff members, politely greeting the next people behind us with her cheerful friendly demeanour.
Astonishing.
In my prior experiences, servants and slaves were a miserable lot but then again, that was understandable. They had no choice as to their circumstances. They had to obey lest they suffer harsh punishment.
As we proceeded into the large dining room, with over a hundred tables of varying sizes, I could see off to my left where the food was.
I stopped again and stared dear reader.
I have been to banquets with Emperors and Kings, Popes and Princes, all sumptuous feasts but nothing was like what I saw before me. Dozens upon dozens of people had plates in their hands, all calmly wandering around the incredible cornucopia of varieties of food that were on display, all brightly lit up for them to simply help themselves to as much as their plate could hold.
Roasted meats, all neatly carved by expert chefs, freshly shucked oysters all seated in enormous silver ice-filled serving bowls, trays upon trays of cooked vegetables of kinds I had never seen before and… a dazzling array of sweet desserts and treats that made me almost go weak at the knees at the very sight of them.
“Come on Meridiana, you’re starting to drool,” whispered the Magus gently into my ear as he dabbed my wet lips with a soft piece of paper that he withdrew from his pants pockets.
Once again I nodded dumbly as I allowed him to escort me to our table. He even seated me, pushing me and my chair in one I had sat down. After he had taken his seat, a young man, quite a handsome one from the Indus I believed?... came over to us, again dressed in the livery of the hotel.
“Good evening, sir, madam. Would you care for something to drink?” he inquired ever so politely.
“And good evening to you sir. Yes indeed, may we please have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, two glasses and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water?” he asked with a real smile to the servant… no member of staff.
“Of course sir, I shall get that for you immediately,” replied the waiter with a pleased smile at being spoken to so politely.
“Thank you,” said the Magus then he turned to me and asked,
“Do you need a moment Meridiana? I understand this might trigger you again…”
I shook my head.
“No. It is overwhelming… but in a good way Magus. I have to ask, how can a place like this provide so many people with so much food? Even in the height of the Empire, there were magnificent feasts to be sure but… you say this happens everyday, that this is just a Tuesday and not a busy night?”
He nodded.
“This is the age of abundance Meridiana. Many of us, who live in what is known as The West, have dwelt in an age of such wealth and richness that almost all here never think on their incredible luck and privilege to live in such times. They do not know that it will come to an end. Maybe that is a small mercy. All golden ages end as you well know. So I say, let them dwell in ignorant bliss for now. We can enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Huh? Why do you believe that your golden age will end Magus?”
“It’s a long explanation and one I do not wish to go into detail here and now Meridiana but later, I will share my thoughts with you on this. Ahh, here comes our champagne.”
The waiter and another staff member had returned, with one carrying two bottles while the other had a metal bucket partially filled with ice. The waiter from the Indus placed both bottles on our table, displayed the label to the Magus who briefly nodded. Then, the waiter removed the cork from the bottle with an adroit twist of his wrist. It made a pleasing pop and I could see a little haze of cold… smoke? lightly emanate from the neck of the bottle. He poured the brightly bubbling and fizzing wine into both our glasses, carefully making sure the foam did not overflow them. He was very good at his task.
“Thank you good sir,” said my Magus to the waiter who beamed back at him with a happy smile. He placed the bottle into the bucket of ice and withdrew, leaving us alone, amidst the crowed dinning room.
The Magus took up his glass, holding it in front of him. I mirrored him.
“Here’s to a good dinner with interesting company and later, ripping the shit out of a casino Meridiana.” He pushed his glass gently forwards, lightly clinking it against mine. I wasn’t familiar at the time with that form of salute and toast but went with it anyway, after all… when in Rome as they used to say.
“That sounds… delightful Magus. I am eager for it all.”
I then took a sip of my champagne and was transported into a realm of heavenly bliss.
It was exquisite.

I grew up with two younger siblings and both parents and comfortably with my dad being able to maintain us while my mom was a stay at home mom for nearly my entire youth and teen years. Come 2019 my grandfather (dads side) passed away and it hurt my dad and as time went on he seemed to get worse and worse and his work ethic slowed and money was getting tight so my mom got a warehouse job just to ensure bills never backed up and had her own money to spend. 2019 I was already 18 and I had no career path so I started working construction but they didn’t pressure me and made me pay minimal of the rent to help out.
Times passed and we’d scrape by, until mid 2022 that’s when my dad nearly stops working completely and eating into my moms savings to pay his part in bills and rent. He’d work on and off paying the minimal of what he could or having my mom pay and him saying he’ll pay her back soon.
2023 we’ve given him all the time to gather himself and find a job he can stick with and nothing has worked out the way I hoped, my mom earns minimum wage and I make a good amount but now he’s eaten into my savings. I know it’s been wrong to let him do this for so long but I can’t leave my mom all the responsibility and especially my younger siblings who are still in school. Few months now I’ve been sacrificing as much as I can to keep the utilities on for my siblings.
Today my dad left the house for what could be for good after living here practically rent free, sleeping all day and eating for free. We’re ran dry and this is going to be a tough as I’m looking for a second job to hold this house together for my younger siblings who I don’t want to have the same youth that I did when I didn’t know if I was having dinner or not showering for the next two weeks.
To: The Man on The Moon, I’m tired of all the weight on my shoulders, I’m sick of all the noise.

Rewatching rivals 3 and when bananas steals the money do you think he's making a smart game move for future seasons? Here me out, he knows Sarah is probably the best partner for him to have since she covers his weaknesses (puzzles) and he knows that's a big weakness for most of his competition. So he knows if he steals the money that she will never return and that makes it better for him to win future challenge. (Trust me I know this isn't true but its a fun theory to think about)

tldr; renting an apartment alone for ₱7,500/mo excluding utilities (average ~43% of my salary/mo with utils). Place is just 8-12 mins walk from/to work. Is this too much for someone starting his/her first job? Should I find a cheaper apartment?
Backstory: I graduated March of 2020 when COVID made its way to PH (no graduation rites for me) with an engineering degree. Life was pretty stagnant for about 2 years, mostly played video games with friends online while waiting for the board exam. Also got into a dark place for some time as with most people during the pandemic.
Fast forward to 2022, I reviewed with some classmates in a face to face setup at a review center in Cebu, took the exam, passed and got my PRC license. A month after passing, I immediately started looking for jobs that I am qualified for specifically in Cebu as I loved the mix of province+city vibes in that City and I was quite familiar with the places as I reviewed there for some time.
After a few days, I got a call from a well-known tech company I applied for, checked the job offer and asked advice from my family; they seemed okay with it and supported me with the decision of moving into cebu. I was overall happy with the offer and my family's reaction.
Right after that, I scoured the internet to look for places to rent near the office of my work. Luckily, the job offer includes a generous relocation allowance for people outside of the city so I had no problems with the deposits or advance payments. I wasn't able to find a good offer from the internet so I took the risk of just going to Cebu, book an airbnb for 1 week, complete the medical requirements in Cebu and concurrently look for apartments in the area myself.
It was hard to find an apartment as it involved scouting the area and lengthy walks under the heat of the sun. I found some places with good deals but they posed some alarming red flags (owner doesn't want to show the contract, ridiculously high electricity rates).
Near the end of my stay, I finally found an apartment that's worth ₱7,500 excluding utilities. It's a studio type apartment with an AC unit, its own CR and, get this, a balcony! I thought it was a good deal since it's just 8-12 mins walk away from my office so I went with it. With the excess funds from my relocation allowance, I bought a mini fridge (61W) from a mall, and a water dispenser from shopee (since the place offers water refill for 30 php!). I keep those running 24/7 except for the water dispenser (I switch it off while I'm in the office). My electricity bill ranges from ₱1,200-₱2,500 depending on how often I use the AC unit and my gaming laptop. On average, I pay around ₱10k per month, this includes the rent, electricity and water bills.
I am only roughly 3 months in since I started my job, and so far I am enjoying it! The people, culture, the place -- everything here is great. Basically, this is my first taste of the adulting life, albeit 2 years delayed due to the pandemic. The only thing I'm worried about is having enough savings for my future since just the rent alone takes almost half of my salary. Should I give this apartment up for a cheaper one to have bigger savings?

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 82%. (I'm a bot)

A few months ago, few people predicted that Montenegrin presidential challenger Jakov Milatovic was on track to unseat Europe's longest-serving democratically elected leader.
A pedestrian passes a campaign poster for Jakov Milatovic in Podgorica.
In a pointed critique of the Djukanovic era, Milatovic boasted that "This was the first significant increase in the standard of living in the past 30 years." He also suggested that the country could "Reach an average [monthly] salary of 1,000 euros in a short period of time."
In October 2022, with Milatovic heading the party list in Podgorica, home to nearly 1-in-3 Montenegro residents, Europe Now! won a stunning 21 percent of the vote on pledges of modernizing the workforce and delivering economic prosperity.
"Whether it's me or Spajic is really not so important at the moment," Milatovic said in January ahead of Spajic's withdrawal, describing himself as "a man who has never run from responsibility."
Within hours of polls closing on March 19, several of the also-rans and other parties affiliated with the post-DPS governments were urging their voters to support Milatovic in the second round.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: Milatovic^#1 Djukanovic^#2 vote^#3 Party^#4 Montenegro^#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

Cleared this on my Hunter using Void. Spent a better part of this invisible.
MVPs
Gyrfalcon's Habuerk. Shattered Cipher Void LMB for add clear, Wish-Ender skipping me through phase 2 of the final fight. Big giant shield, what big giant shield. And of course the lovely hiding spot in phase three, without it I would have just died again.
How hard is it?
While I would say that's the hardest content I've ever done I remember back in the day it took me way longer to figure out how to kill the first boss in Shattered Throne. Though now with current gear I went in and killed that very boss in like 5 minutes. So considering how long this took, yeah it's very hard.
However, current gear makes a lot of parts of this really easy. With how easy it is to get Volatile Rounds and heavy ammo add clear is a joke. With Fragments giving me Devour on a Hunter, or all the ways to go invisible, like killing all the enemies I have tagged with my Volatile LMG, parts of this were very easy. Honestly the hardest part of this was the final phase of the final boss. I had to find a good hiding spot near one of the jumping puzzles. I would just jump down out of view of the boss when I needed to heal. Then hop back up and fire away.
Hail Hydra Boss Fight. I got through the first boss with no deaths. Just lots and lots of LMG. Make sure to kill the snipers as fast as you can. Let the vex come to you and take them out in close quarters so you can easily collect their motes. I stayed on low right side of the room most of the time. When fighting the boss the ight side also has more cover.
Final boss
Phase one: Stay away, take pot shots. Every once and a while do add clear. Really not to hard. Just take your time.
Phase 2: use Wish-Ender get the boss with in a tiny sliver of his next bar then do one full puzzle solve. Wish-Ender can pass though his shield and you can skip most of phase 2, just don't deplete it's health all the way or it will soft lock!
Phase 3: Hide, hide, shoot, hide!, Shoot! Win! Find a hiding spot, a place by one of the three areas near the jumping puzzle sections. They make great hiding spots to fire from, and to hide and heal.
Overall this is a tough dungeon to solo. I was at light level 1815 and had a good long while to do it all. If you really want to solo this make sure you are well geared, both arms and armor. Make sure you got time set out to do it. Also bring snacks, a drink or two. If you are thinking this sounds like too much, I suggest to bring a friend. Having to start the fight over because you die is rough, with friends they can rez you. Over all there isn't much new in the Legendary version to the normal version. Other than some harpies with Arc shields, but they weren't much of a match for volatile rounds.
With that I bid you all a good evening.

Alright so, after reading the wiki which was really helpful), I just have some clarifying questions and want to run my plan by some of you guys that have much more experience with transfers then I do.
Alright, so this is my plan. Truth be told, my dream school is Princeton but from what I’ve read here and from acceptance rates online, transferring there if you’re a trad student like me is basically impossible. I might apply just for fun, but I’m basically putting HYPSM off the table due to their near-impossible (1%) acc rates and their preference for non-trad students.
Does this list look solid?
UChicago (might do TED), Duke, Columbia, Penn, USC, UMich (these are listed in order of preference)
I understand that, just like their first year rates, these are still hard to get into, but still a lot more achievable than HYPSM with a competitive application right?
Basic profile:
HS GPA: 3.6 UW/4.1 W (planning to get 4.0 in college obv) HS SAT: 1560 (even split)
Several intl & national research awards related to my major (featured in articles), also school leadership positions and a really big service project.
Please let me know what you think about my list and how viable it’ll be

​
Well, it's regarding my sibling actually, we shifted to Bhubaneswar last year when we changed his school from an ICSE to a CBSE one that was near our house. We chose it because we were new and didn't know much of the city.
​
He studied class 9 there and unfortunately there were many problems in that school. Discipline is zero, study is zero, they celebrate all festivals and there's a lot of politics in this school as well. My sibling is a great student and he isn't getting the competition he got in ICSE.
​
Due to many more serious reasons, we have decided to change his school to a well reputed one in the city; Mother's Public School. It's the best one out there and he gave the entrance examination. The results will be out tomorrow or afterwards. That school is very competitive and has every facility. The admission can be done via direct admission procedure as said by CBSE office.
​
I just wanted to ask if the decision is an acceptable one for my sibling and if you had a same experience. Do let me know.
TL;DR: I'm changing my sibling's school for Class 10th to a new competitive and better school. Is it a good decision considering the current one had a lot of problems?

Ahh, dear reader, hello there! So lovely to see you once more... well figuratively speaking that is… or is it?
After all, I am exceedingly well versed in The Arts. Maybe I am watching you at this very moment, with Clairvoyance or perhaps a Scrying Spell or maybe an enchanted object like the good old fashioned Crystal Ball? The Magus has one you know…
Just teasing… or am I? …teeheehee…
Anyway, this latest instalment comes to you courtesy via a Voice to Text application my Magus recently acquired for me, as he said listening to me speak aloud while typing is too distracting for him. I find that interesting considering his immense mental discipline yet understandable at the same time. After all, extoling ones inner monolog to an uncaring audience would be tedious to experience. Hmm… I’ve just thought of a new torture for the souls of the dammed, specifically for writers who think they are better than everyone around them. How ingenious of me!
In any case, I would prefer to distract him in other ways, mark you.
I also must say what wonderfully inventive creatures you humans are! An application of mathematical code, the base language of reality. It is very much like a spell in its function and nature I would say, that it allows my phone, yes the Magus got me one, to record all I say and transcribes it into neatly typed words on its electronic pages. It’s like having a monk-scribe in your pocket! Unquestionably wonderful!
So as I relax in my fabulously hot, luxurious scented, oiled bubble bath, I can easily regale you with further tales of the adventures I have had thus far on this wonderous blue and brown spherical rock that is third in line from our star. And I do not have to type with two fingers either, which is a massive bonus let me tell you!
If memory serves… ahh yes, we had just returned to the car where I saw a sign of my Magus’s humour on display in the form of his licence plate.
I do have to admit dear reader, I was indeed highly amused. He knows he’s going to hell, he just insists that it be on his terms! I love it! Such confidence, such audacious willpower.
That is exceedingly… stimulating for Succubi.
Ok dammit, it makes me tremendously horny, and I’m not talking about the ones on my head either you know! We are incredibly lusty beings, us Succubi, after all.
I was already in a highly ‘excited’ state when we got to the car, so much so that I had to use my Cell Adjustment Psionic discipline to tremendously dull down my inflamed senses as I did not wish to leave the tell-tale mark of my inflamed passion on the lower back portion of my new dress and also not on the car-seat when I sat back down in the vehicle.
Ahem…
After a few moments, which caused the Magus to glance up at me with a slightly puzzled expression, of standing outside the car (he had no idea nor cared… hmmph!) I opened the door and folded myself back inside the vehicle and resumed my seat. I later learned that I could have mostly avoided this… embarrassment… by actually wearing what you call absorbent lined underwear! I wasn’t wearing panties at the time as I was totally unaware of their existence. I do so now as its much more comfortable in lots of ways and in addition, stops the shiver when an errant chill wind blows unexpectedly up your gusset!
Moving on…
Getting into the car, the Magus paused until I had done up my seatbelt before starting the engine, waiting for another car to pass us by before safely pulling out and sedately driving off. I later learned that we could have gone screaming down the road in a cloud of burning rubber if the Magus was of a mind to. I would have if given the opportunity! Something to look forward to dear reader.
Instead, we drifted slowly through the placidly moving traffic as I watched the sun descend below the horizon of the ocean. I had only been back here on Earth for a few hours but every second was total bliss. I do not think that most of you humans realize how good you have it here. Even those who do not reside in the more developed and advanced nations, being on Earth is special.
There are infinity more worse places you can be, let me assure you of that.
We drove back mostly the way we had travelled to this particular beach. This time though it was much later in the day, heading in the opposite direction, I became aware of many more things that had escaped my attention earlier on.
We passed by denser zones and clusters of buildings where I could see various shops, food outlets, restaurants and varying vendors, all brightly lit up now as the daylight was fading. I saw incredibly tall metal poles with blazing, glowing lights illuminating the surrounds with a warm yellowy orange glow making it still easy to see. Electric lighting will never cease to amaze me. Yes dear reader, I can experience a sense of wonder and joy at simple things, even beyond the act of slaughter and soul draining. Would it astonish you that I like flowers? Such strange lifeforms that had developed aromas they use as a method of propagation. Delightful.
Anyway… we shortly crested the hill that we had previous ascended westwards earlier on the way to the beach and then I saw it!
I was awestruck once again.
Towering edifices, glittering, shining buildings monstrously higher than Hagia Sophia was, the most immense human made structure in the world when I was last in it. These glistening towers of glass, metal and stone made that church look like a feeble children’s toy. I could see over a dozen of these buildings of varying size, clustered together in less than a square mile.
The Magus glanced to his left and saw me gaping at them.
“They’re called Sky Scrapers Meridiana. They’re generally office buildings, places of business where people daily work in their wage-slave jobs then go home at night. The buildings are left vacant but light up at night as you can clearly see.”
I turned and gawped at him.
“They’re empty at night?”
I could not comprehend why such space, that had amazing views, would be left empty of an evening?
“Yep. Well most of them are. There will be some that still have people in them, conducting various types of business overnight because its what they do for a living.”
“What do they do?” I asked in a murmur as I turned back to see the vista be obscured by a large set of commercial and residential buildings that we were currently passing.
The Magus shrugged.
“They’ll be doing all sorts of things, financial trading, working back late to do their jobs… various affairs of commerce and such. It’s not that important really Meridiana. I’ll take you into the city another day when we have time for you to be a tourist. Now, if I may, I want to know more about your Telekinesis. I got an idea of how much you can lift, probably over 1400 kilograms at least if my guess as to how much a warhorse in armour with a rider would weigh… maybe more? Probably more but we’ll test that later. Anyway, it’s your fine control skills I’m interested in.”
I turned back to the Magus who was looking ahead, driving us through the busy traffic that had become a factor. I later learned that it was a time of day called ‘rush hour’.
“I am capable of very delicate manipulation with my Telekinesis, especially in regards to the erotic arts,” I said to him with a husky, low, salacious purr.
“That’s cute but I really want to know if you could snatch out of the air and control a very small, fast moving bouncing ball, say the size of your thumbnail?” he asked in an offhand manner as he slowed down due to the traffic which was banking up in front of us.
I inwardly sighed once more. Such a challenge he was!
“Yes I can but why?”
He briefly turned to me and broadly grinned before returning his attention to driving.
“There’s a game that we will ‘play’ after dinner. It is called Roulette. The game features a spinning wheel with thirty seven little slots. Into the spinning wheel a little white ball is spun in and circles around, eventually slowing and bouncing into once of the numbered slots. The slots are alternately coloured red or black and all are numbered from 00 to 36. You can bet where the ball will land, either in red or black and specifically in a numbered slot. If the ball lands in a slot you bet on, you get a payout of thirty seven to one. Ever dollar you bet wins you 37 back. You can also just bet on which colour the ball will land in giving you your money back plus it’s value as a reward. Bet $100, you get your $100 back plus another $100.”
“Dollar... that’s money right?” I said as the implications slowly dawned on me. You could make a fortune from this!
“Yes Meridiana. Dollars are what we use as currency these days. Gold is still used but not in the way you were used to. It’s still valuable as are other precious metals but that’s going to take a long explanation which is a distraction for now. So, do you think you could perhaps catch the bouncing ball with your power, directing it into the number we bet on?”
I thought about it for a few moments.
“I will have to see how the ball moves but I think I could, yes.”
“Excellent. You stand to make us a lot of money tonight. There are other games like card games, slot machines which I’m uncertain that your powers would be able to mess with. Roulette is our hunting ground. We must be careful though.”
“Why?”
I was surprised by his tone of caution. We were power incarnate! What could possibly touch us?
“Casinos hate losing money. Roulette is going to be the hardest one they can prove that we’re cheating on if you use your Telekinesis. We will be closely watched the entire time we are in the casino. There are devices called cameras, similar to Crystal Balls, that observe everything they see, relaying the images back to people in other rooms whose task it is to spot potential cheaters in the casino. They also have people walking the floor, disguised as ordinary folk, always watching everyone else. And I want to avoid the eyes of any infernal beings who may be in the casino.”
“Ahh… I see… a healthy paranoia then, for them and us hmm?”
He nodded once, emphatically.
If you have a fortune, you need to protect it, especially from people like me. His caution in regards to our identity was also most prudent and he was correct that there was a possibility that there may be others of my ilk lurking in the shadows, walking in human form as we often do.
I have to confess dear reader, that I am a master thief as well as an expert assassin, in addition to being an accomplished warrior although I rarely fight in hand to hand combat, preferring seduction, subterfuge and skulduggery as my main methods of killing. Yet still, I can fight and kill extremely proficiently with many weapons, being skilled at one of the highest levels of melee combat, the use of weapons and ways of fighting with them. I’ve been around a while you know? You pick up on things like that if you wish to live as long as I have.
Besides… stabby, stabby, stabby, bash, slash and smite can be loads of fun when you’re doing the stabbing and bashing with a well-balanced blade or mace in your hands. But I digress…
“You have it Meridiana. Yes the casinos’ management are extremely paranoid. We will have to alter our appearance as well before we enter the casino. I shall use a minor low level spell while you can take a new face. We will do so after dinner.”
I nodded then a thought came to me. I asked,
“You said we were going to something called a buffet? I know what the word means as my abilities allow me to understand any spoken language, much like the enchantment known as Tongues. Yet I’m finding it hard to match the word with the concept.”
The Magus raised an eyebrow in interest at this revelation.
“Oh right. Just because you know a word doesn’t mean you automatically understanding it conceptually and in context either. Good to know. Well, a buffet is an enormous array of various foods, hot and cold, sweet to savoury, where you merely help yourself and consume as much as you wish. You pay for the privilege of course.”
“Truly? How much will this cost you?” I inquired wide eyed.
I noticed that we had moved through the traffic and had turned down a descending road and were now going into a massive concrete tunnel along with hundreds of other cars, all slowly moving in the same direction. It was quite honestly astounding that everyone was not smashing into one another. All the drivers were…well mostly were, attentive to their immediate surrounds and situation as we gradually merged our car into the main lane of traffic which was making its way under the earth via the huge yawning tunnel ahead.
Such staggering feats of engineering and construction which would have made the Emperor Justinian weep copious, bitter tears of pure envy. Oh how I wished I could make him see this and realise his idiotic boast was pointless when he finished Hagia Sophia. He bragged that he had surpassed Solomon himself with his church. He had but it wasn’t worth it. Justinian nearly bankrupted the Eastern Roman Empire, all for a useless church and his own vanity.
Moron.
Still, I shouldn’t care, his hubris ended up sending him to hell anyway so... yay! His actions also exacerbated the effects of the famine and plague that swept the through the empire and western Europe in the year 535 with his stupid desire to re-unify the Roman empire under his rule. You will be pleased to know dear reader, that he is burning in eternal torment for his multitude of sins so it is all good. My thoughts of deceased, vainglorious emperors and their fate were interrupted as the Magus spoke again,
“Hmm? … it should set us back about $80 each I’d should say? A small price to pay in all honesty when you see what is on offer. Drinks will be on top of that price, unless you just have plain water but tonight Meridiana, I shall introduce you to Champagne, one of humanities greatest achievements.”
This was enticing to hear!
“If you say so Magus. I completely believe you as you will not be lying to me,” I said, nodding and trying to think about Champagne.
So many new concepts were entering my mind, it was hard to keep my mind and thoughts in order. I understood that Champagne was a special type of wine, one which had a fizz embodied within it, making it highly regarded but that’s all I could deduce for now.
Also… I had a thought: the Magus could and would never lie to me. The feeling I had earlier, in being able to trust everything he said to me because of the oath he gave to me, was an unfettering sensation.
All my existence I have dealt with bare faced lairs, deceivers, misshapers of the truth who twisted words to suit their own selfish ends. With the Magus, all I had to be concerned with was his agenda, which actually had my interests aligned with his own. Truly remarkable.
I needed that champagne now!
We emerged from the tunnel, traveling with the traffic over wide dark river, again on another immense concrete bridge this time. There was a gigantic colosseum off to our right, all lit up with multiple coloured lights that ran around the circumference of the structure. It was like as though it was enveloped in a rainbow. Frankly, it was amazing to behold.
Beyond that, I could see many more large towers and structures, lining the sides of the vast road we were hurtling along now. The Magus had increased our speed as traffic had thinned out. Never in my life had I moved so fast, well unless I was using a Haste spell to briefly increase my physical speed, which I use in combat if necessary.
I barely had the sense we were travelling in the car at roughly 80kph. Such an odd experience to have for the first time. There was no rushing of wind, no press of air on my face, just comfort and air-conditioning. Marvellous!
After a few minutes later I saw our destination.
Again I was nearly stupefied by the gigantic structure. Multiple massive buildings, all surrounded by lush green, well-manicured and maintained gardens made my jaw go slack with disbelief.
“That’s Crown Casino, Towers and hotel Meridiana. I can see you are impressed. Let me just say that if you think this is amazing, wait until we go to Las Vegas…” he said as he turned the car into the driveway of the complex.
“There’s even more impressive structures than this?”
My mind boggled dear reader. It was almost too much to take in.
“Yep. My city is a small one compared to others around the globe. We will travel to them, in due course. I know you can use your powers of Dimensional Walking, moving through other planes of reality and appearing on a different part of the planet. However, there will be times when we will need to travel together conventionally. Perhaps one day, if I learn the right spells, we will be able to avoid having to fly in an aeroplane and by-pass the utter tediousness of baggage check-ins, airport security and so on…” he muttered darkly.
“HUMANS CAN FLY!?!” I said in a loud strangled astonished voice.
The Magus chuckled with genuine amusement.
“Think back Meridiana. I said humanity has been to the moon and back. I said we can travel safely and comfortably in a machine, called an aircraft, across the planet. Some ‘planes are huge while others are not much bigger than the car. Oh, that reminds me, we will have to construct an identity for you. We will begin that process tomorrow. You are going to need a passport soon enough,” he said as he found a relatively unoccupied parking area west of the massive structures.
He saw my puzzled expression and mistook it for wondering why we had parked here.
“It’s free to park here and there are hardly any security cameras in the vicinity.”
I nodded dumbly.
“But of course Magus…”
He saw my expression as he switched off the engine. A tiny look of… sympathy appeared on his face. He spoke to me in a soft, calm, soothing tone,
“Take a breath Meridiana. Close your eyes and focus upon the stillness within the vehicle. You are safe here with me. Nothing will harm us. Just breathe and relax, let each breath calm you. With every breath you are at peace within yourself and the world around you.”
I did as he said and instantly sensed my whirling mind begin to centre itself, become still.
I may be an ancient and powerful demon dear reader, however I have been imprisoned for nigh on a thousand years and now have been released into a world that I was unable to recognise at all.
The Magus later told me I was suffering from a psychological malady called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes dear reader, even us demons can get mentally fucked up. I mean, compared to the average human, we’re all demented, tormented psychopaths which explains a lot about ourselves but still… even a psychopath can suffer from mental trauma. Demons can go insane.
I breathed rhythmically, each exhaling breath calming me. With one final exhalation, I opened my eyes, turned to my Magus and softly smiled at him.
“Thank you,” was all I said. I meant it.
He nodded briefly, his intensely burning eyes boring into mine, deeply searching, looking for signs of any madness that may still be lingering within. Well, there’s always the hunger for sex and mayhem, but that’s natural for me.
“Come on, you look fine now, let’s go,” he said as he got out of the car.
I followed his example, releasing my seat belt and stepping out of the car. Closing the car door behind me, walked over to the Magus then I threaded my right arm around his left as we walked off like a normal couple, casually strolling through the car park towards the casino and hotel.
I could hear the noise of all the adjacent traffic all still travelling busily along the massive road that went past the enormous complex. There was the calls of various birds I’d never heard before, the waft of scented flowering plants and the heavy aroma of moisture in the air from the nearby river. I closed my eyes for a second just to let it all wash over me as I sedately walked along with my Magus.
Soon we came to the entrance. Huge dark glass doors magically opened for us upon our arrival. To my right I could see various coloured signage, advertising the types of ‘fast food’ eateries that people could choose to dine at. They were all brightly lit and mostly clean.
It was at that moment I saw my first wretch.
A dishevelled, unkempt, shabby man sat listless outside the fast food eateries upon the low stone wall that contained a small, well-kept garden. He looked up at us as we approached, his eyes full of misery and despair.
“Got any spare change?”
“Sorry mate, no one carries cash anymore,” lied my Magus to him with a conciliatory voice, a sad but brief compassionate smile appeared briefly on his face.
The wretched man’s face became even more resigned. He nodded back in understanding, returning his fallen face back to morosely contemplating the ground at his feet.
We kept walking, leaving the broken man behind us.
I was about to congratulate the Magus in his treatment of the beggar when I had to stop as I was confronted by an incredible sight.
Before us, in the huge well-lit lobby of the building, was a huge pair of MOVING METAL STAIRCASES!
One staircase ascended while another came down from the landing some 50 feet above us. On either side were normal, marble clad stairs that some people were using. Yet many other people were on the moving metal stairs, all just taking the experience of being raised or lowered completely for granted.
“It’s just an escalator Meridiana. A simple machine that makes life a little more comfortable. Take it, go for a ride. I’m taking the stairs as I need the incidental exercise,” he said to me as he pried my clutching hands from his arm. I had been unconsciously gripping him tightly in my amazement at seeing such a machine.
The Magus walked off to the left, climbing the steps briskly while I gingerly walked forwards, watching the metal stairs endless appear and ascend upwards. The hand rail also moved in synchronicity with the metal stairs. I observed as a pair of young women, chatting intently to each other, walked past me and up to stand upon a metal stair which was part of dozens of metal stairs it seemed. I saw them be lifted by the moving stairs, rising above and away from me.
Summoning my courage, I stepped forwards onto a moving stair, wobbled slightly as I was not used to the speed which it moved, making me grab the moving banister tightly to steady myself as I rode my way upwards. I let out a small laugh as it was such a novel experience. The young women in front of me turned around at my laugh, raising their eyebrows at me as well as actually truly seeing me for the first time. Their smiles faded as I grinned back at them.
The young women could see my infinitely superior beauty on full display. They looked hesitant, now uncertain of themselves as they mistakenly believed themselves to be beautiful. They were, passible, not ugly but not worthy of a harem to be perfectly honest. I later learned dear reader that many foolish young women, especially in what you call the western world, regard themselves as queens, rating themselves ten out of ten on a scale of dazzling good looks. These sad women are delusional. I mean, if they were that beautiful, why weren’t their faces on the covers of the glossy magazines I see in various ‘supermarket’ check outs? No matter, vanity and hubris are all ways to damnation and misery. So many people sending themselves to eternal torment simply because they were raised by idiotic parents who never properly taught their children the need for humility. It’s all win-win for the pits you know…
My Magus met me at the top of the stairs, holding out his hand to me and then leading me through the vast interior of the complex.
“That’s the casino,” he indicated to our right.
Looking, I could see dozens of people making their way inside into the brightly lit and noisy interior of the casino. I caught the whiff of desperation, despair, avarice, lust, elation and a strong aroma of human urine. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Yes, even I have some standards dear reader.
“Magus, why does it reek of piss?” I asked as we strolled by and proceeded into the most immense, glass covered atrium I have ever seen.
“Oh, you can smell that?” He looked intrigued.
I nodded with a mild look of disgust.
“Hah… interesting. Well… some gamblers get stuck on a poker machine. They sit there for hours, desperately hoping that the machine they are playing on will pay out. The poor fools stupidly believe that if they play at the machine long enough, they’ll win big. So they stay seated, ignoring the need to relieve their bodily urges, to the extent that they prefer to piss themselves rather than abandon the machine that is draining away their money. The poor fools are incapable of understanding that the machine is designed to rarely pay out. Every time they play, it has a simple algorithm that calculates the chance of a payout. Most machines will payout a small amount of money occasionally, thus keeping the gambler hooked in the mistaken belief that the big one is just around the corner. It rarely, if ever, is.”
I stopped, stunned at what I just heard. The Magus stopped and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s… diabolically genius!” I stuttered as I considered the fiendish brilliance of the whole concept.
Someone had made hell on earth not only possible but also could make a fortune from it as well as breaking people’s souls and spirits in the process! The concept of dangling hope in front of a damned soul, then snatching it away was one of the oldest known tortures of hell. This was a magnificent, a culmination of the perfection of thousands upon thousands of years of the torture, all neatly packaged in a fairly simple machine designed to beggar it’s user and turn them into slaves to it. Gobsmacking was the only word I could think off that fully encapsulated the way I felt at that moment.
“Yes it is, isn’t it? I have always suspected that those machines were most likely invented by a demon. It makes perfect sense,” he said as he shrugged, then tilted his head, indicating we should proceed onwards.
I noddled dumbly as again, I had been totally overwhelmed by the latest piece of information the Magus informed of. I barely registered the hundreds of people all wandering around the massive lobby of the hotel atrium. Many were dressed finely while others, mostly men, were dressed casually. My Magus was one of them, still wearing his novelty T-shirt and hemp pants. They were clean though and his shoes, a brand known as Babuuk, made him look somehow better dressed then the other men who were similarly attired. Maybe it was just his subtle aurora of power, his sheer confidence and his towering Will that made him stand out from the mouth breathers all around us? I guess it was.
We arrived at the entrance of the restaurant and the Magus was greeted by a short Asian woman, dressed neatly in the hotels livery.
I started to realise that there were people from so many different races of humanity all around us. I had come from a time where only what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire was this diverse, and even then it was but a shadow of the heyday of the full glory that was Rome. Here were people from almost all the lands of earth, all happily co-mingling, getting on with having dinner with family and friends. Very surprising indeed.
The Asian woman at the reception counter spoke to us with a friendly smile,
“Good evening sir, madam. A table for two for you then?” she asked politely, her voice tinged with a broad accent I had not heard before. She spoke English yet I could tell that wasn’t her first language.
“Yes please,” politely replied the Magus.
This was something I did not expect. Despite his and my obvious power, he was respectful and even kind to the servants. All of them. He didn’t condescend nor sneer down at the servants of the hotel. It is still something I have difficulty reconciling. I said nothing, just observed. Oh, he has since instructed me not to call them servants, they are members of staff and will be treated with respect until they show they do not deserve it, then they are fair game. I can live with that.
“Table seventy one is ready for you both, have a lovely evening.”
She actually meant it! I could see it in her eyes, she was truly enjoying her task. She was smiling and joking with her fellow staff members, politely greeting the next people behind us with her cheerful friendly demeanour.
Astonishing.
In my prior experiences, servants and slaves were a miserable lot but then again, that was understandable. They had no choice as to their circumstances. They had to obey lest they suffer harsh punishment.
As we proceeded into the large dining room, with over a hundred tables of varying sizes, I could see off to my left where the food was.
I stopped again and stared dear reader.
I have been to banquets with Emperors and Kings, Popes and Princes, all sumptuous feasts but nothing was like what I saw before me. Dozens upon dozens of people had plates in their hands, all calmly wandering around the incredible cornucopia of varieties of food that were on display, all brightly lit up for them to simply help themselves to as much as their plate could hold.
Roasted meats, all neatly carved by expert chefs, freshly shucked oysters all seated in enormous silver ice-filled serving bowls, trays upon trays of cooked vegetables of kinds I had never seen before and… a dazzling array of sweet desserts and treats that made me almost go weak at the knees at the very sight of them.
“Come on Meridiana, you’re starting to drool,” whispered the Magus gently into my ear as he dabbed my wet lips with a soft piece of paper that he withdrew from his pants pockets.
Once again I nodded dumbly as I allowed him to escort me to our table. He even seated me, pushing me and my chair in one I had sat down. After he had taken his seat, a young man, quite a handsome one from the Indus I believed?... came over to us, again dressed in the livery of the hotel.
“Good evening, sir, madam. Would you care for something to drink?” he inquired ever so politely.
“And good evening to you sir. Yes indeed, may we please have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, two glasses and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water?” he asked with a real smile to the servant… no member of staff.
“Of course sir, I shall get that for you immediately,” replied the waiter with a pleased smile at being spoken to so politely.
“Thank you,” said the Magus then he turned to me and asked,
“Do you need a moment Meridiana? I understand this might trigger you again…”
I shook my head.
“No. It is overwhelming… but in a good way Magus. I have to ask, how can a place like this provide so many people with so much food? Even in the height of the Empire, there were magnificent feasts to be sure but… you say this happens everyday, that this is just a Tuesday and not a busy night?”
He nodded.
“This is the age of abundance Meridiana. Many of us, who live in what is known as The West, have dwelt in an age of such wealth and richness that almost all here never think on their incredible luck and privilege to live in such times. They do not know that it will come to an end. Maybe that is a small mercy. All golden ages end as you well know. So I say, let them dwell in ignorant bliss for now. We can enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Huh? Why do you believe that your golden age will end Magus?”
“It’s a long explanation and one I do not wish to go into detail here and now Meridiana but later, I will share my thoughts with you on this. Ahh, here comes our champagne.”
The waiter and another staff member had returned, with one carrying two bottles while the other had a metal bucket partially filled with ice. The waiter from the Indus placed both bottles on our table, displayed the label to the Magus who briefly nodded. Then, the waiter removed the cork from the bottle with an adroit twist of his wrist. It made a pleasing pop and I could see a little haze of cold… smoke? lightly emanate from the neck of the bottle. He poured the brightly bubbling and fizzing wine into both our glasses, carefully making sure the foam did not overflow them. He was very good at his task.
“Thank you good sir,” said my Magus to the waiter who beamed back at him with a happy smile. He placed the bottle into the bucket of ice and withdrew, leaving us alone, amidst the crowed dinning room.
The Magus took up his glass, holding it in front of him. I mirrored him.
“Here’s to a good dinner with interesting company and later, ripping the shit out of a casino Meridiana.” He pushed his glass gently forwards, lightly clinking it against mine. I wasn’t familiar at the time with that form of salute and toast but went with it anyway, after all… when in Rome as they used to say.
“That sounds… delightful Magus. I am eager for it all.”
I then took a sip of my champagne and was transported into a realm of heavenly bliss.
It was exquisite.

So I live in Philadelphia, the city where UPenn (an Ivy League) is located and I wanted to write this because I feel like this is definitely a hidden away obscure thing that most people who don't live here or go to one of the big feeder magnet schools in Philly fully grasp. Like I'm sure most people know what a feeder school to an Ivy is and that it exists, but I really don't think people fully understand it and everything that goes on unless you are actually from here.
I go to a Philadelphia public magnet school and Im pretty sure itd be considered a feeder school to Penn. Every year, about 30-70 students go to Penn. Every year. Last year, about 50 students ended up going. In like 2016, 68 students got in. Another school in Philly with about 100 students per grade sends about 20 every year. And I want to preface this by saying everyone who got in worked really hard and is smart and deserves it. But if I'm being honest.... I don't think some people would have gotten into a 6% acceptance rate school like Penn had they not had the high school´s name and connections to Penn by living in Philly. Simply bc there would be no advantages and it would all come down to luck/competition.
Guarantees for Penn exist in Philly. Yes, not everyone gets in, but guarantees for an Ivy League are most certainly a thing here, trust me. Im writing this bc people think its a crapshoot when its really not as crapshoot-y as you might think. Not here at least.
You see, what a lot of people don't know is that Penn is REQUIRED to accept a certain number of students from Philadelphia. I think its because of some sort of agreement with Philadelphia for letting Penn use their land??? not too sure. But Penn knows the local high schools. There are a ton of connections to Penn just because its in the same city.
I know kids from my school who have gotten Cs, kids who didn't submit SAT scores because they got a 1200, kids who didn't have perfect grades and had a bunch of Bs. Kids who take a bunch of regular classes and not the most challenging schedule possible. Maybe have around 5-6 APs (which is nowhere near the greatest amount you can take at my school). Kids who have maybe 1 or 2 good ECs and then everything else on their application are just random activities or are ¨mediocre¨ by Ivy standards. For example, I know someone who was captain of two varsity sports teams, which is amazing. I also know someone who was president of a club. But that was literally all they really put on their application. And every single one of them got in.
Now don't get me wrong, I really don't want this to seem like I'm making fun of these kids for ¨not being good enough¨ or smth. They are all hardworking and smart. If you think I'm looking down on these kids, that's not what I'm saying.
What I am saying is that I know there are a ton of kids out there who took 14 APs, all As, 1560 SAT, was president of 4 clubs, had two internships, did 200 hours of community service, captain of the tennis team, and founder of a business. And they were all rejected from Penn while kids from my school with half of that and had worse grades/way less APs got in. And again, I do believe the kids from my school are smart and hardworking... but they do get an advantage being Philadelphia students.
Circling back to my bolded point, this creates this sort of weird culture/vibe when it comes to college admissions season here. Kids here know that as long as you have good grades (doesn't even have to be straight As), a few APs, president/leader of a few clubs, maybe an internship here and there, and community service... you are pretty much guaranteed for Penn. Especially if you apply ED. Every single class president from my school in the past few years has gotten into Penn, every single member of Science Olympiad, and every single Editor-in-Chief. NOW IM NOT SAYING ALL STUDENTS GET IN bc people definitely still get rejected... but while kids from other schools are saying its a crapshoot for Penn, there are some kids here where you can call them a guarantee.
Forget college admissions even. There are a ton of summer programs/dual enrollment programs at Penn that are completely free for Philly public school students ONLY while everyone else had to pay like 9,000 dollars. Penn does have internships/paid programs/research opportunities only open to School District of Philadelphia students. And ofc the people who work at Penn and are professors at Penn... their children have to go to school somewhere in Philly, right? Tons of Penn legacies/children of Penn faculty in Philly schools ofc. There are Penn scholarships only for Philly kids. You see, advantages left and right.
I write this because I see those articles that list out the schools that send the most kids to Ivys like Penn. They be like ¨Horace Mann sent 12 to Penn!¨ or ¨xyz school sent 19 kids to Penn over the past few years¨. That doesn't even come close to the amount Philly schools send but no Philly schools are mentioned in the article. I also saw smth on Quora a while back where a question was like ¨Do Philadelphia high school students have an advantage to Penn¨ and the answers were like ¨No, there are no advantages¨. That is NOT true in the slightest. This makes me wonder if this is like a hidden thing that people from Philly arent aware of. People like know feeder schools exist but arent aware of the extent of it all.