*Update*: Actually O(N) computation steps(not O(Nlog N)) and O(log N) time.
I think I figured out how to do self-attention in NlogN computation steps rather than N^2, with a caveat. I'm not trying to be an academic, so I don't care to publish this formally, but I thought that some people might be interested. My construction is not efficient or practical, but the fact that it can be done at all might motivate further work to find efficient alternatives.
tl;dr Use the parallel scan[1] technique to compute taylor series basis functions needed to compute the causal self-attention layer and sum these together weighted by the values vector and 1 to get the numerator and denominator of the softmax activation of the full causal self-attention layer. The basis functions that you have to compute are both the basis functions for the numerator of the self-attention layer, $\sum_{i=0}^{j-1} k(i)_a^n q(j)_b^m v(i)$ and the normalization $\sum_{i=0}^{j-1} k(i)_a^n q(j)_b^m$. k(i)_a^n is component-a of the ith key vector raised to the power of n multiplied by q(j)_b^m which is component-b of the jth query vector raised to the power of m, which is multiplied by the value vector at position i in the first equation and by 1 in the second, and all summed together. Once you can do this, you've computed a basis function for a Taylor series. Multiply each basis function by a coefficient and sum them together to create an arbitrary function of k(i) and q(j). Using this technique, we can compute the Taylor series approximation for the numerator and the denominator of the softmax activation each taking logN * {number of coefficients} parallel steps, or O(N) sequential steps by treating the accumulation as a type of RNN.

Background

I was inspired to think about this because I was implementing MAMBA[2] and trying to understand what kind of non-linearities can be created using the parallel scan technique. If you don't know what parallel scan is, let me demonstrate with an example. The simplest example of the parallel scan technique is computing all partial sums of a sequence of numbers in log(N) time. Imagine you have a sequence [a_1, a_2, a_3, a_4, ...]. You can compute all partial sums by first adding a_i to a_{i -1}, where a_{-1} is zero, and generally a_{-n} is defined to be zero. Then take the result, call it r = [a_1, a_1+a_2, a_2 + a_3, ...], and compute r_i + r_{i-2}, which gives [a_1, a_1+a_2, a_1+a_2+a_3, ...]. The first 4 partial sums are already complete. The next step would be r_i + r_{i-2**2}, and the next step, just increase the power of 2 until i-2**power is negative for every i in the sequence. It basically sums groups, and then sums those groups together, and so on and so forth until the partial sum at each position is calculated. The scan technique is a way to parallelize an RNN. Essentially, you remove some nonlinearities in the RNN so that recurrence equation becomes associative. Once it is associative, you can compute the hidden state at each position of the sequence in log N parallel steps, where each parallel step has O(N) parallel computations.

The Meat of It

In the background section, I explained how to compute a partial sum in O(log(N)) time and O(NlogN) computation steps (or O(N) time and O(N) computation steps by using RNNs) using the parallel scan technique. I'll use this now to construct the Taylor series for causal self-attention layer.
Let's assume we have a tensor x of shape (sequence_length, embedding_dim), and we can compute the query, key and value tensors from x using q=Qx, k=Kx and v=Vx, where Q, K and V are matrices. Compute y = (k[:,i]**n)*v. Now use the parallel scan technique to accumulate the partial sums of every vector in y, which will give ParallelPartialSum(y)=[y[0,:], y[0,:]+y[1,:], ...]. Now multiply the result by q[:,j]**m, and now we have a basis function for a Taylor series expansion. The full formula is q[:,j]**m * ParallelPartialSum((k[:,i]**n)*v). Next, we can add up these functions for different powers of n and m using coefficients to approximate any function. The final equation is \sum_{n, m} A_{n, m} q[:,j]**m * ParallelPartialSum((k[:,i]**n)*v).
What is left is to find the Taylor series coefficients A_{n, m} and to calculate the normalization for the softmax. I'm not actually going to give an equation for A_{n, m}, but I will show that it can be done. First, I'm just going to write $q \cdot k$ in place of $q[:,j,:] \cdot k[:,i,:]$ to make it easier to write and read. We want the Taylor series of $exp(q \cdot k) = 1 + (q \cdot k) + (q \cdot k)**2 / 2! + ... + (q \cdot k)**n / n! + ...$. To find the Taylor series coefficient for every component of q and component of k and every power of each, you'd have to expand out (q \cdot k)**n /n! for every n. It can be done but I'm not going to do it. Just assume that A_{n, m} is equal to these coefficients, and voila, we have the numerator of the softmax equation for self-attention. We still need the denominator. To compute the denominator of the softmax over attention scores, you compute the same sum replacing the value tensor with the number 1. $\sum_{n, m} A_{n, m} x[:,j]**m * ParallelPartialSum((x[:,i]**n))$, where again the value vector at the end of the equation is removed. The final equation for the causal self-attention layer is:
$$ (\sum_{n, m} A_{n, m} q[:,j]**m * ParallelPartialSum((k[:,i]**n)*v)) / (\sum_{n, m} A_{n, m} q[:,j]**m * ParallelPartialSum((k[:,i]**n))) $$
Where again, A_{n, m} are the Taylor series coefficients for exp( q \cdot k).

Take-Aways

One big take away from this work, is that since causal self-attention can be calculated using the parallel scan technique, and since a parallel scan can be computed with an RNN, it follows that full causal self-attention can be computed with RNNs. The caveat is that you need many RNNs, one for each Taylor series basis function, so to get a good enough approximation of the softmax activation, you'd probably need a lot of coefficients, more than would be practical. On the other hand, what if there is a related activation that does the job of the softmax, but can be constructed with far fewer parallel scans? Then full causal self-attention could be done using only a few RNNs. Also, there are other basis functions that can be computed with one parallel scan, for instance, basis functions for a Fourier series can be computed with one parallel scan.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefix_sum
[2] https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.00752

Update

Actually there is a better algorithm for the parallel scan given in the wiki link above[1]. That means that causal self-attention can be calculated with O(log N) time and O(N) steps instead of O(NlogN) steps.

Round 1, Pick 32 - Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina:
NFL: Legette, who had a terrific final season at South Carolina, is physical and a big-time vertical threat. This addition should be a big part of Bryce Young’s development in Year 2.
CBS Sports: B+. They have to get weapons for Bryce Young, so landing him makes sense. He is a player who plays physical and runs better than you think. He’s only done it for one year.
ESPN: Coach Dave Canales said it best: Legette brings versatility. The Panthers absolutely fell in love with Legette's ability to make plays all over the field, from catching passes to jet sweeps to kick returns. That versatility at a skill position is something Bryce Young didn't have last season, so this adds a unique weapon to take pressure off the second-year quarterback. He is also big (6-foot-1, 221 pounds) and fast (4.39 40), unlike any other Carolina receiver. He's a perfect fit for what Canales wants to create with the pass and run games.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Can’t believe he is about to fulfill his dream of being picked in the 2nd round.
Round 2, Pick 46 - Jonathon Brooks, RB, Texas:
NFL: Had Brooks not suffered a torn ACL in November, he might have been a first-round pick. He's a shifty, speedy back who can hit the hole and go, and he should be Carolina's starter before long. I thought they might go center here, but Brooks makes sense for a team that lacked offensive juice.
CBS Sports: B-. Fun, three-down RB without much mileage on his legs. Can win between the tackle or on the perimeter and has feature back size. Elusive but not ridiculously in that regard. Fills a need but maybe a touch early. May not be 100% by September.
ESPN: As much as Canales has said he's excited about backs Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders, he obviously believed the running game needed an upgrade. You don't take a back in the second round unless you plan to use him, although Brooks may need time to fully recover from ACL surgery that caused him to miss the final three games last season. He's a playmaker who has a nose for the end zone (10 touchdowns on 187 carries last season), and general manager Dan Morgan said he was looking for guys who can score.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Mixes the milk and cereal in his mouth, one bite and drink at a time.
Round 3, Pick 72 - Trevin Wallace, LB, Kentucky:
NFL: A late addition to my top 100 prospects list, Wallace is a top-tier athlete who finally seemed to find his groove last season -- on special teams but especially on defense. He's capable of covering tight ends and running backs and should impact all four downs, but Wallace is young and could use a redshirt year before he's ready to be featured on defense.
CBS Sports: C. Stocky, springy off-ball LB with speed to the football but one of the least-effective block-defeaters/avoiders I’ve scouted at the position. Not around the football much in coverage but fluid zone drops and has the athleticism to run with TEs. Very good tackler. Just unique strengths/weaknesses.
ESPN: Morgan entered the draft looking for "dawg mentality'' and he got that in Wallace. "Dawg mentality means you don't care if you go hurt somebody,'' Wallace said. "You don't go in there soft. I want you to be scared of me.'' Wallace isn't necessarily a long-term replacement for 30-year-old Shaq Thompson, but his ability to cover the field side-to-side and with speed gives him the potential to do that. Give him a year or so behind Thompson and Josey Jewell and he could prove to be a Day 2 steal.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Enjoys going to the park to make faces at little kids, making them cry.
Round 4, Pick 101 - Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas:
NFL: Sanders is a fascinating athlete who remains in the developmental stage. He's not a quality blocker yet but has some untapped receiving skill. This is a worthy risk by general manager Dan Morgan and Co. as their hunt for playmakers continues.
CBS Sports: B. Big recruit who produced at Texas and is a smooth mover. Good, not amazing YAC and not a pure speed type. Minimal blocking chops. Reasonable weapon for Bryce Young but lacks burst so will have to get schemed up to get most of his catches in the NFL.
ESPN: Definitely an upgrade at a position that quarterback Young could have used some help from during his rookie season. Canales has spoken highly of Tommy Tremble, but he's not the dynamic pass-catching tight end that Sanders can become. Sanders had 99 receptions in three seasons, tops for a tight end in Texas history. He could pose problems for defenses, like Greg Olsen did during the development of quarterback Cam Newton. This was a no-brainer at this point.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Insists he can distinguish between 50 shades of beige.
Round 5, Pick 157 - Chau Smith-Wade, CB, Washington State:
NFL: Smith-Wade opened eyes with a solid week at the Senior Bowl, consistently showing up around the ball and disrupting passes. His length almost certainly makes him a nickel only on defense, but there's some potential here if CSW develops.
CBS Sports: B+. Agitating CB who played outside but will have a home in the slot in the NFL. Plays more athletically than his testing. Lightning quick feet. Because of his smaller size, he tends to opt for diving tackle attempts more than wrapping up. Speed is a concern but could be masked inside. Up for any challenge.
ESPN: A definite need for depth at a position where injuries have hurt the past few years. Smith-Wade will be a backup and special teamer at best this season. He offers speed (4.54 40) and nose for the football that GM Dan Morgan wants. He's coming off a soft-tissue injury that forced him to miss the final five games and is more of a project at this point. Nickel, where he had two interceptions in the Senior Bowl, may be his future in the NFL.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Thinks being a scrum master sounds kinda cool.
Round 6, Pick 200 - Jaden Crumedy, DT, Mississippi State:
NFL: Being 300-plus pounds and running a sub-5.0 40-yard dash gets you drafted. Crumedy doesn't have sterling production, but his maturity and experience should give him an edge in a fight for a roster spot in Carolina.
CBS Sports: C+. Older, very experienced interior rusher who won from multiple alignments in the SEC and has smooth athletic traits. Production never matched how fluid he is as an athlete and his hands. Needs to have a pass-rush plan more often. Has long stretches of invisibility. Plays hard every snap.
ESPN: This is totally a depth move. His ability to push the pocket is what Carolina will look for out of him in its 3-4 scheme. He likely won't be a threat to start, but he has the flexibility and size (6-4, 301) to play inside or out. Depth behind a solid starting three is key here.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Once put together a 50,000 piece puzzle. It was a picture of a cloud.
Round 7, Pick 240 - Michael Barrett, LB, Michigan:
NFL: Punishing hitter in a sawed-off frame. Barrett's poor length will be tough to overcome, but his forceful play style is inspiring.
CBS Sports: C+. Has a nice blend of traits - - power, burst, coverage skill - - but not always the quickest to read where the ball is going. Quicker than fast and needs to get better beating or avoiding blockers on the way to the football.
ESPN: Barrett is undersized at 5-11, 233 pounds, but he has a nose for the football and brings a physicality to the game that makes up for his lack of size. Barrett should get a chance to contribute immediately, at least on special teams.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Nursed a baby goat back to health after he hit it with a car.

Hi guys! I was inspired by the posts and the legit advices I read here, so I thought I should also share my story.
I got pregnant at 17 (now I'm 34) and my ex was 19 that time. I was about to turn 18 when I told my family and kahit almost prepared na lahat for my 18th bday, I chose to not have a big party and asked mom if I can just use the money for my birth. We were both students by then, he took Accountancy and I took Tourism. Since the term just started and I just enrolled, mom asked me to just finish the term. Yet, ex needs to find work ASAP because that's the right thing to do.
Fast forward, as an 18 yo pregnant teenager, of course it was high risk. Got admitted to a private hospital and mom took care of all the bills. Ex's salary is only enough to cover for my daily needs (cravings, vits, baby things, etc). Don't get me wrong, I am not the maluho at maselan type of preggy. He continued with work and I took care of my baby.
Fast fast forward. I live in QC and he's from Pque. It's literally north to south travel and he once asked if we can schedule staying home for a week then south (though he works in Q.Ave) palit palit kumbaga. His father gave him a car though, so I agreed kasi it's not much of a hassle for the baby naman since may car. That was the setup. Maybe he's just homesick and wants to be with his family kahit sya mahirapan everyday papasok. The first few weeks went fine until one day, I found out he's cheating. Mind you, not only 1 sidechick, but 3.
This was way back keypad phone days and I was bothered by the series of text msgs na naririnig ko sa phone nya. No passcodes, everything manual. He's taking a bath then, and I felt the urge na pakialaman yung phone. I don't normally do that, but it felt like GO GIRL YOU GOTTA CHECK IT TODAY. Then lo and behold, 1 girl was telling him she cooked their lunch. The other one was asking, sabay ba sila papasok. The other one is nagtatampo kasi di narereplyan. I felt betrayed of course, but remained calm (i'm proud cos when this happened I am under PPD). It wasn't easy. I just told him, "Bilisan mo na maligo at hinihintay ka ng 3 babae mo!", then never said anything about it.
I need to have a job so I can break up with him. I have my family to help me start again and I am positive I don't need his help. So I plotted the plan, that's to apply somewhere in Makati. Because of the cold shoulder, he then finally realized what I'm doing and became aggressive. For some reason, parang gusto nya ibalik ang dati, but for me it's a never. I believe in HE DID IT ONCE, HE'LL DO IT AGAIN type. I managed to get a job and escaped from the hell hole.
This is getting longer so here are the highlights: 1. When mom asked to meet his mom about the pregnancy, Tita said "So anong gagawin natin dyan?, which made my mom angry. She's insinuating that we should get the baby aborted. She even said "Sinira mo naman buhay ng anak ko.", like he's the girl in our relationship and I don't have a future waiting. Hence, my mom don't like his family.

1. I was battered when he found out I had a bf at work (technically we broke up from the day he cheated). I had to have sx with him para lang makaalis ng bahay every day. With that, I got pregnant with my 2nd child. This was technically, RPE, but I don't want to see it that way cos my baby was a blessing.
   
2. When we separated, he took my eldest and told me "BUHAYIN MO MAG ISA ANAK MO, AKIN TONG ISA". This means maghahati kami sa mga bata at wala ng pakialamanan. He even shoved to my face na di ko kaya bumuhay ng bata dahil wala ako matinong work.
   
3. I borrowed my eldest on my bday and never talked to them again. Why? Go, sue me. I am the mom. From then on, I took care of everything.
   

2024, my kids are now 15 and 13 years old. They're now at the age kung san they want to know what really happened. Growing up, I never told them the story, never even brainwashed them against their dad, I am not raised like that. I allowed his absence to tell the truth. My 13yo did a research, found her tita's and tito's in Facebook, asked me if she can message them. I said go ahead, but never ask anything from them. While my 15yo just wants to move forward with her life. This is becoming an issue with my kids kasi di sila magkasundo kung tatahimik ba or magpapakilala.
In all honesty, I want to see my ex again. I wanted to show him where I'm at, kung pano ko pinalaki mga anak ko ng wala sya, how beautiful and well mannered they are. And of course, I want to see how they will react. I am now working at a BPO for 6yrs, also owns a clothing business. Di pa rin ako mayaman, but I managed to achieve everything over the yrs as a single mom. Ito na yung sinabihan nya dati na DI MO MABUBUHAY MGA ANAK MO. I wanna shove this to his face.
I did my research too, found out he's in UK. Living a life he don't deserve. He abandoned my kids. He ignored me once when I asked help cos my bunso had dengue. Well, here's where I need the advice.

1. Should I keep silent and let things be? Pigilan yung bunso ko na hagilapin sya?
2. Do something and file a case for child support at kunin kung ano ang dapat matagal ng nabigay sa mga bata?

My 15yo wants peace, my 13yo wants justice. What should I do? Where to start?

Hi guys! I was inspired by the posts and the legit advices I read here, so I thought I should also share my story.
I got pregnant at 17 (now I'm 34) and my ex was 19 that time. I was about to turn 18 when I told my family and kahit almost prepared na lahat for my 18th bday, I chose to not have a big party and asked mom if I can just use the money for my birth. We were both students by then, he took Accountancy and I took Tourism. Since the term just started and I just enrolled, mom asked me to just finish the term. Yet, ex needs to find work ASAP because that's the right thing to do.
Fast forward, as an 18 yo pregnant teenager, of course it was high risk. Got admitted to a private hospital and mom took care of all the bills. Ex's salary is only enough to cover for my daily needs (cravings, vits, baby things, etc). Don't get me wrong, I am not the maluho at maselan type of preggy. He continued with work and I took care of my baby.
Fast fast forward. I live in QC and he's from Pque. It's literally north to south travel and he once asked if we can schedule staying home for a week then south (though he works in Q.Ave) palit palit kumbaga. His father gave him a car though, so I agreed kasi it's not much of a hassle for the baby naman since may car. That was the setup. Maybe he's just homesick and wants to be with his family kahit sya mahirapan everyday papasok. The first few weeks went fine until one day, I found out he's cheating. Mind you, not only 1 sidechick, but 3.
This was way back keypad phone days and I was bothered by the series of text msgs na naririnig ko sa phone nya. No passcodes, everything manual. He's taking a bath then, and I felt the urge na pakialaman yung phone. I don't normally do that, but it felt like GO GIRL YOU GOTTA CHECK IT TODAY. Then lo and behold, 1 girl was telling him she cooked their lunch. The other one was asking, sabay ba sila papasok. The other one is nagtatampo kasi di narereplyan. I felt betrayed of course, but remained calm (i'm proud cos when this happened I am under PPD). It wasn't easy. I just told him, "Bilisan mo na maligo at hinihintay ka ng 3 babae mo!", then never said anything about it.
I need to have a job so I can break up with him. I have my family to help me start again and I am positive I don't need his help. So I plotted the plan, that's to apply somewhere in Makati. Because of the cold shoulder, he then finally realized what I'm doing and became aggressive. For some reason, parang gusto nya ibalik ang dati, but for me it's a never. I believe in HE DID IT ONCE, HE'LL DO IT AGAIN type. I managed to get a job and escaped from the hell hole.
This is getting longer so here are the highlights: 1. When mom asked to meet his mom about the pregnancy, Tita said "So anong gagawin natin dyan?, which made my mom angry. She's insinuating that we should get the baby aborted. She even said "Sinira mo naman buhay ng anak ko.", like he's the girl in our relationship and I don't have a future waiting. Hence, my mom don't like his family.

1. I was battered when he found out I had a bf at work (technically we broke up from the day he cheated). I had to have sx with him para lang makaalis ng bahay every day. With that, I got pregnant with my 2nd child. This was technically, RPE, but I don't want to see it that way cos my baby was a blessing.
   
2. When we separated, he took my eldest and told me "BUHAYIN MO MAG ISA ANAK MO, AKIN TONG ISA". This means maghahati kami sa mga bata at wala ng pakialamanan. He even shoved to my face na di ko kaya bumuhay ng bata dahil wala ako matinong work.
   
3. I borrowed my eldest on my bday and never talked to them again. Why? Go, sue me. I am the mom. From then on, I took care of everything.
   

2024, my kids are now 15 and 13 years old. They're now at the age kung san they want to know what really happened. Growing up, I never told them the story, never even brainwashed them against their dad, I am not raised like that. I allowed his absence to tell the truth. My 13yo did a research, found her tita's and tito's in Facebook, asked me if she can message them. I said go ahead, but never ask anything from them. While my 15yo just wants to move forward with her life. This is becoming an issue with my kids kasi di sila magkasundo kung tatahimik ba or magpapakilala.
In all honesty, I want to see my ex again. I wanted to show him where I'm at, kung pano ko pinalaki mga anak ko ng wala sya, how beautiful and well mannered they are. And of course, I want to see how they will react. I am now working at a BPO for 6yrs, also owns a clothing business. Di pa rin ako mayaman, but I managed to achieve everything over the yrs as a single mom. Ito na yung sinabihan nya dati na DI MO MABUBUHAY MGA ANAK MO. I wanna shove this to his face.
I did my research too, found out he's in UK. Living a life he don't deserve. He abandoned my kids. He ignored me once when I asked help cos my bunso had dengue. Well, here's where I need the advice.

1. Should I keep silent and let things be? Pigilan yung bunso ko na hagilapin sya?
2. Do something and file a case for child support at kunin kung ano ang dapat matagal ng nabigay sa mga bata?

My 15yo wants peace, my 13yo wants justice. What should I do? Where to start?

The season is slowly coming to an end and despite the fact that the mens team hasn't had the best of seasons, there's still a place in Europe to play for. There's also other Chelsea teams that still have a chance to win titles, so maybe Chelsea as a club can get some silverware before the season ends.
The mens team have two final games to play this week and could potentially reach 5th place, even if the chances are low. I was going to try to figure out what we need to reach the Conference League or the Europa League, but honestly, it just confuses me, because one place says we're out with the current standings and another that we're into the Conference League. And then there's the matter of who wins the FA Cup, which apparently could have an impact. So instead, I'll leave it up to someone else to explain.....preferably in an easy manner....please.
Current standings:

1. Tottenham - 63 points (+12 gd)
   
2. Newcastle - 57 points (+22)
   
3. Chelsea - 57 points (+12)
   
4. Manchester United - 54 points (-4)
   

Remaining games:
14th: Tottenham v Man City
15th: Manchester United v Newcastle Brighton v Chelsea
19th: Sheffield United v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Brighton v Manchester United
I feel that 5th place seems unlikely. Tottenham has to lose both games and while they might be beaten by Man City, I highly doubt they'll drop all three points against Sheffield. So we have to aim for 6th place. We need to get more points than Newcastle and that might not be that easy. Unless we have two great performances, we might drop points and that can be costly. I do hope that we can atleast keep ManU behind us and maybe Brighton can give us some help there. Considering all the money we've given them, they could perhaps be extra nice and rest players against us so as to field their strongest, rested, eleven against United? Hopefully after wednesday we will find ourselves in a fairly decent position heading into the final game of the season.
If we then shift our focus towards the youth teams, there's still a bit to be excited about. The U21 team managed to finish 4th in the Premier League 2 and reached the playoffs, where they knocked out Brighton in the round of 16 after extra time, 5-4, and then won 3-2 against Arsenal. Chelsea will now face Tottenham, who finished first in the league, in the semifinals. I'm not sure exactly when, but the semi finals are scheduled to be played between 17-20 May and then final will take place between 24-27 May. Hopefully we can reach it. One thing worth noting is that Manchester City, who had won the title three years in a row, finished in 23rd place, out of 26 teams, on 18 points, only two more than the bottom team. Quite astonishing what a huge drop they made.
The U18 team has had a really good season, finishing first in the southern division. In the northern division it was Manchester United who won after a really good season, winning 20 out of 24 games. To determine the champion, we will now have a final between Chelsea and Manchester United. The final will be played May 14 (today) and will be streamed live on the Official Chelsea App. We haven't won it since the 2017/18 season, so hopefully it's time for Chelsea to be champions again.
Finally we have Chelsea womens team, who has had a pretty chaotic season. There's been quite a few injuries, including a season ending one on Sam Kerr, the best goal scorer on the team. And then suddenly one day we were reached by the news that Emma Hayes would be leaving the team after this season, which was a bit of a shock. We've also seen some players announce their departures. But despite all that, the team was not long ago still in the hunt for four titles.
Then we lost in the final of the League Cup. One game later and we were out of the FA Cup. But there were still two left, but the league looked tricky to win and we were up against Barcelona in the Champions League. Somehow we did the "impossible" and beat Barcelona away from home and we got our hopes up.....only to see them be crushed after losing the 2nd leg 2-0.
The league though? Well, we lost against Liverpool for like the 2nd time in 9 years. So the chance to win the league, which was already not great, dropped like a stone. We were behind on points and loads of goals.
Manchester City had to lose to Arsenal for us to have any chance at all, but they took an early lead and held on to it......until Arsenal, and especially Stina Blackstenius, decided that "actually, we do want to win this one" and not only made it 1-1 in the 89th minute, but also 2-1 in the 92nd! So we still had a chance, but we were so many goals behind.....surely not.....
We took on Bristol and took an early lead and then get another midway through the first half. But only 2-0 after the first half wasn't good enough, because we needed atleast seven to catch up with Man City and.......surely not.....
3-0 came, then 4-0 and 5-0. Surely not. Well, 6-0 and when Guro Reiten scored her 4th of the game we had reached 7-0. Aggie Beever-Jones got her 2nd later on and we won by 8-0! Suddenly, Chelsea Women actually has a chance.
Manchester City are at the top of the table and will face Aston Villa in their final game. Not the easiest, but also not that difficult. One would think that Aston Villa playing at home would be an advantage, but the team has been awful there this season. 1 win in 10 games is really bad. And Man City has been really strong away from home, so I do not think we will see City dropping points. This then means that Chelsea has to win their final two games to end level on points and there's no easy games left. First Tottenham, then Manchester United. We are away in both games and we have dropped most of our points away from home.
Current standings:

1. Manchester City - 52 points (+45)
2. Chelsea - 49 points (+46)

Remaining games:
15th: Tottenham - Chelsea
18th: Manchester United - Chelsea & Aston Villa v Manchester City
If both teams end up level on points, then it will be decided on goal difference and after that it's most goals scored. Currently we have scored 64 and City has 59, so have an okay lead there. First of all we need three points against Tottenham and I hope out former striker Beth England will not ruin things for us. A win is vital and any goal to increase out goal difference is welcome and could prove vital.
Enough of my ramblings. Let's hope for a perfect end to the season with a place in an european competion for the mens team next season and titles for the U21, the U18 and the womens team.

My 3PT shooting improved like a month ago. But now I can't seem to find my shot. I don't know why. My shots ends up left or right. It never goes in. I'm never gonna be a reliable 3 PT shooter. I should be improving, not getting worse
I made a similar post before like yesterday or 2 days ago. For some reason, y'all downvoted me. Yes, I made that post while I was still angry at myself, but I was being respectful and calm, just asking for a much needed advice. Not sure why this subreddit has gone down badly
Anyhow, I'm stuck in a bad shooting slump where my shots ends up either left or right. Is it because I go to the gym? It has helped my 3PT shooting initially but now, it's bad again... I don't even know what to do

Hi everyone! Thought I'd share my 4 tips for students writing their college essays this year. Hope they help!
1) Stop writing your college essay and start playing with it.
One of the main reasons students struggle with their personal statement is because it involves an approach counterintuitive to what schools and society teach. There's no formula to follow, no test to pass; just a story to tell, and that can be quite daunting for some. That is why, when it comes to the college essay, it's imperative to get your mind out of the classroom and into a playground—where all the magic happens.
Start by forgetting what colleges "want" to hear, and focus instead on what you want to say. Remember, this is the one part of your application where you aren't a grade, score, or checkmark but a human being. So act like one! Don't treat the college essay as an assignment you have to do but rather as an experience you get to have. After all, it's a privilege to have the opportunity to share our story with others. The more freedom and joy you have while sharing yours, the better the finished product will be. Whether it's da Vinci's Mona Lisa or Michael Jordan's legendary basketball career, every great masterpiece begins with a person simply having fun.
2) If you want to find treasure, dig.
If there's anything I've learned from years of helping countless students write their college essays, it's that every single person on earth has a story worth telling. No matter how plain or boring you think your life may be, I promise that there is a gem inside you waiting to be unearthed. However, like all treasure, you have to dig for it, so embrace the mess and stay patient. You'll see that as soon as you combine curiosity with persistence, all the right doors will begin to open.
On that note, I highly recommend some form of journaling. Having a safe, non-judgmental place to let out your thoughts and emotions is essential, as expression and discovery always go hand-in-hand. In general, you should take the time to get to know yourself a little better; after all, that's who you are writing about.
3) It's ALL in the presentation.
You've probably been warned to avoid sob stories and cliches, but what ultimately matters more than the subject matter is the context in which you use it. Contrary to popular belief, there is not a single "generic" topic that is off-limits so long as you talk about it in a non-generic way. In other words, it's not so much about what you say but how you say it. Yes, the number of themes available to you is ultimately limited, but the ways of packaging them are endless.
4) The college essay isn't about impressing your readers; it's about connecting with them.
How do you connect with an audience? First and foremost, you let go of the need for their approval—an irony, I know, considering your entire goal is to get accepted into college. However, think of any piece of music that speaks to your soul. Chances are the artist behind the song doesn't even know who you are, let alone wrote a tune for you. Yet, somehow, hearing that song makes you relate to them in a profound way.Whether it's art or a personal statement, the only way to reach someone's heart is to speak from yours.
Why? Because no matter our differences, we are fundamentally all the same. You will never know who is reading your college essay, but I promise that so long as they are human, they are just like you. So before you aim for a good college essay, aim for an honest one, and never be afraid to let your essence shine. That is how you evoke a powerful and authentic feeling in your reader, and as the late Maya Angelou famously said, a person will never forget how you made them feel.

29M - USA - 2.5 Months
One concern that I had with the idea of SR when I first began contemplating the topic was that once "charged up" I would begin to behave foolishly concerning my dating prospects, and that the buildup of sexual energy would cause me to simp after women more heavily than if I was depleted, where I perceived I would be able to "play it cool" with girls. This was certainly the case to a significant extent during my initial streaks, and these types of outcomes were an impediment for me to realizing the advantages of SR in my early twenties.
The reason this was initially an issue for me is that the beginning of the beginning, as in, before any streaks longer than a month were accomplished my brain was highly sexualized causing me to behave in a deranged way once the buildup began. This still occurs, and is why in my opinion SR can be detrimental to a successful dating life because it oftentimes pedestalizes the act of sex, which can create a loop of Oxytocin deficiency which I believe is what causes people to enter their 'loner' phase.
I believe the cure for this is to break through successfully in personal endeavors unrelated to sex, which creates positive dopamine associated with elements outside of scoring with the opposite gender. My current realization is that before you're able to see improvements in behavior, there's going to be a dip and your behavior is actually going to get worse in many cases. This is of course referred to as a flatline, the longer you're able to go without O, the less extended flatlines will become with each subsequent streak. I also believe in the elasticity of streaks, for several years ago when I first began this journey I accomplished a 5 month streak, and my overall demeanor became pretty negative. That first 5 month streak was probably the most depressive period of my life, but it was a culmination of reaping what I had sewed for upwards of 10 years prior to that. Therefore, I can't blame the streak itself for this depressive time.
However, it did create some antisocial behaviors that I'm still unlearning and that I didn't have an issue with as much prior to that great streak. For one thing, my internet behavior became far more anonymous, and to this day my social media habits have shifted from representing my real identity through instagram/facebook, to browsing anonymously through reddit, youtube. This shift I believe created a psychological dissociation from my real world social media profiles, and now I have a l higher evel of anxiety about going on Instagram as myself that I consider to be an impediment. Of course, Social Media is generally considered harmful overall, but if the reason I'm not going on it is because of an anxiety, I consider that just as harmful. So that's something I'm working on.
When one goes 'monk mode' for too long, one may begin to cultivate the desire to begin forming attachments to girls again in the future, but find it more challenging to ride that bicycle compared to if they had not allowed the muscle of PUA to atrophy. That being said, re-integrating socially is definitely possible after a long SR streak, and in doing so you'll still possess any SR benefits that you cultivated during a lonersome period. Overall, I'd say the effort to change behaviors and re-invent yourself is more valuable than the loss of social calibration that can occur. I'm speaking on this topic from the experience of being unemployed for 8 months and then being thrust back into a job that required a high volume of person-to-person interactions.
Benefits on this streak:

• Found a new better higher paying job. I've been barbacking at a prominent restaurant for the last 4 months but I finally received a bartending offer at a different quality downtown establishment. I'm using all these adjectives because many restaurants are trash to bartend at, but the new spot is a place I am actually blessed to be working at.
  
• Reconnected with a childhood friend. They're doing quite well in their career and the wellness gained from my SR streak definitely leveled any psychological issues this would have otherwise caused between our friendship.
  
• Polarization with coworkers. Even though I'm sometimes overly aggressive / moody at work, SR positions me to be the person people are talking about rather than a sideline gossiper (this could be in my head, I'm not sure).
  
• Overall sense of optimism and deeper sense of purpose, even if that purpose is struggling to find an outlet.
  
• Physical: muscle growth, low body fat, Improvement in muscle tone, I'm lean af, my hairline is rock solid, teeth haven't been in pain once.
  
• Attraction from females at work, one extremely hot girl put her face right by mine the other day and told her friend who I knew from high school 'yep this guy is good vibes'. Still not cold approaching people outside of work as much as I would like, but people can tell I've got an energy to me
  
• This one girl at work hit me with a pullback and I've overall been handling it like a boss, even though these situations cause a greater sense of despair when on a decent streak, I've gained increased resilience to rejection and have maintained a strong demeanor, and I'm slowly become better at 'spinning plates' than I otherwise would be.
  
• This other girl at work has defended me in multiple instances and generally been supportive of my turbulent period of SR and in over-pursuing this other girl. This bartender was giving me a hard time and I eventually told her to 'chill tf out', she informed the manager. The other girl fist bumped me after she heard about it, and more recently when a manager snapped at me, she later defended me and said she "got my back".
  
• Haven't checked my T levels but I would estimate they have likely doubled based off how I feel.
  
• Resting chad face, the first physical changes that come with longer-term consistent streaks of at least a month over 2 years have certainly caused my jawline to improve and my face to widen. Natural 'mewing'
  
• Disassociation from past identity and sense of self. SR lets me feel that real change is possible. This sometimes manifests as a decrease in tasks/side hustles pursued in a day, but that is because I am consolidated and more conscious of avoiding spreading myself thin in too many directions, the way I would do in the past.
  
• Become capable of saying 'I love you' to my parents, something that we were never able to do for years. Overcame certain mental blocks.
  
• Decreased programming from YouTube & Social Media, I've found myself questioning some of the self-improvement content / general content I consume more than I probably would otherwise. Without SR, I would just be using this type of content to cope & clinging to every word. Greater critical thinking skills & self awareness.
  

The only downsides I've seen are that I have increased cravings for weed, although I've been able to take upwards of 5 days - 2 weeks at a time off. The issue is that with SR I'm able to handle THC and still function in a way I simply wouldn't be able to if I wasn't on a decent streak. I Haven't been as successful with quitting weed as I have with SR yet because I've been dreading the dip in performance that comes with quitting any substance, but I still do find the therapeutic benefits of use to be a silver lining and I feel the discipline I'm cultivating with SR will allow me to effectively quit in the future.
So far, this streak I've been mainly focused on interpersonal dynamics, but today for the first time in a while I was able to go deeper into my own world once again. I grabbed that bull by the horns & wrote this post, and focused on a side hustle.

Got a 690, nice.
Prior to this, my only real experience with Linux had been making a Raspberry Pi tablet that nobody really uses, and installing Kali Linux on a potato laptop. I'm a Mac user and I have used Terminal a bit, and I used DOS a lot in the 90s, so some of the material (particularly hardware, basic CLI) was familiar to me. I started studying about two and a half weeks ago.
In case this is helpful to anybody, this is what I did and here are my thoughts:

• I went through the Cisco NetAcademy course. I did some of the labs. I read all the content and outlined it. It was extremely boring.
  • I completed all the unit tests on the Cisco course (In one case, and chapter 9 I am looking at you, up to 11 times...) and looked up answers and reread material until I was consistently scoring 80% or, ideally, 90-100% on each unit, the midterm, the final, and the cumulative final. Last night I finally hit 80% on all except Chapter 18 (Special Directories and Files), which is sorta funny since I got 100% on the "Security and File Permissions" component of the exam.
• I made Anki flashcards for everything I got wrong or that confused or even mildly interested me. Basically, I "Ankified" everything that was not a transition sentence, lol.
• I also had a big document where I took notes from every single section. This was, honestly, mostly to keep myself from just skimming through and skipping over stuff because it was really really dull. It might not be efficient, but throughout my education (and this ain't my first school rodeo), I've found it useful to see how information is organized, so I generally make top-down outlines of what I read. I used to do this in MS Word but lately I've been using Notion since the formatting is nicer Maybe it's a total waste of time, because it took fivever. But I did it and now I have a huge Notion document of Linux notes....so I've got that going for me.
• I went through the big blue Linux book. It was also EXTREMELY boring. It was actually sort of impressive, just how incredibly dull they managed to make that book. After a certain point, it felt almost like meditation or a fever dream. I had a friend who did a silent meditation retreat and I think I started to feel like she described feeling towards the end of that. I did as many of the exercises and "explorational" activities as possible (some required permissions that weren't possible with the VMs I had at the moment).
• For a few days, I was using the online tests / flashcards that went with the LPI Linux Essentials Study Guide: Exam 010 v1.6 book, but apparently the site those were on was "retired" on April 30th, and it was annoying enough to get access the first time, so I didn't bother to try & figure out whatever it changed to. I found that book to be the least helpful of the materials anyway. The practice tests were the best thing about that one.
• I completed the Codecademy Bash scripting course one afternoon, since I like Codecademy's approach to scaffolding material and wanted to practice actually doing Bash scripting (but without, like, installing a VM).
• I took all the Dion exams multiple times.
• I followed the same process as with the Cisco exams, making cards / looking up anything and everything I got wrong.
• I made Anki flashcards for all of the above, and used GIFs or made graphics or used ChatGPT / Midjourney to generate ridiculous / weird images or songs to help me remember commands. Please, let me regale you with my and ChatGPT's interpretation of Johnny Cash, called "A Command Named Su." (And, actually, su came up ZERO times on the actual exam for some reason).
• I played this "Command Line Murder Mystery" game and really wished there was more to it, because while it's a great intro to the CLI that I'd recommend to anybody new to it, it also replicated a lot of the stuff I was more familiar with. I would have loved it if there had been something like that for every corresponding unit of the Cisco course or chapter of the book.
• I spent about a week and a half going through the flashcards during any and all downtime: During my kid's bath, on a flight, at a stoplight, at a family wedding, hair appointment, meals, whatever.
• I had started out by downloading a public Anki deck that was supposed to be for Linux Essentials, but ultimately I didn't think those cards helped nearly as much as the ones I made myself. The process of making the cards is important, and the deck I found was all "basic" format (instead of Cloze or Image like I was using). The deck I found had very open-ended questions that lacked context, and I regret wasting time on it instead of just making my own cards from the get-go. In the end, my deck was 835 cards, though that included the rando one I had downloaded. I don't think I use Anki in the most efficient way, so that was probably too many.
• I was able to attend one of the Cohorts and do the online game yesterday, and it was both fun and helpful. So I'd definitely recommend doing that.

Exam:

• I was mildly surprised that there were a few more "pick X of these options" questions than I'd expected. I had thought there'd be 7; by my count, I had 9.
• In case you aren't aware, there are about 3 fill-in-the-blank questions on the exam. They only ask for one word, though. The practice exams do not have these types of questions. However, since I had no idea until yesterday that this was even a question type, I wanted to put that out there, since some people might get thrown off by a question type they're not expecting.
• I did my exam at a testing center and it felt like a damn vacation. I managed to show up precisely on time for the first and probably only time in my entire life. It was, just extremely nice people, free parking, free locker for my stuff, a nice sunny window in the testing room, everything was very clean and bright. I wish I could take all the OAs that way!
• I've taken the Dion and Cisco and Study Guide practice tests so many times they run together, so it's hard to say exactly which questions came from where, but I was surprised that a lot of the questions on the exam were verbatim from the pool of practice tests I'd been using.
• In general, I think Dion's exams were a little bit easier than the actual exam and Cisco's were a little bit harder. Dion tends to have some goofy or humorous "distracter" wrong answer options (which, frankly, I appreciate because this was generally extremely boring material to me, sorry), but the other practice exams I took were all srsbiz. Also, since Cisco's unit tests are specialized to each topic, I think they go into greater depth than the actual exam might.
• In the end, I think I did substantially better on the exam than I had on the Cisco material, so I'd say that Cisco over-prepares you a tiny bit and that's probably what you want, right?
• I was so psyched about the "Command Named Su" and never even got to use it. :(

Recommendations:

• I am sure the best actual approach is to have and use Linux daily via the command line, or perhaps to be bo(u)rn(e) to a family fluent in C and grow up speaking Bash or C as your native language... but failing that, I'd start with the Cisco course (Link). It's fantastic that it's FREE. Note that about once a week they take it down for an annoyingly long maintenance window, but still. Each unit test is only 10 questions, and it doesn't actually tell you what the "right" answers are if you get them wrong, so it's extremely hard to get through a unit without having a good understanding of the material.
• If you're not familiar with the CLI, definitely try the game I linked above. It's really cool. Actually, try it even if you are, it's just a fun way to practice.
• If you can figure out where the practice tests went for the LPI Linux Essentials Study Guide: Exam 010 v.16 (by Bresnahan and Blum), they are fairly useful, but they are also very, very similar to the Cisco course.
• It took me some time to figure out that the Dion course on Udemy is really two courses. One has videos and 2 practice exams, one is just 6 practice exams. Between the two courses, there are 8 practice exams. I took all of them multiple times and thought they were really good practice. I tried feeding the exams to Chat GPT and asking it to generate new questions, but it didn't work very well (they were too easy / just reworded, etc).
• I love Anki, though I guess it might not work for everybody, and don't take a shortcut; make your own flashcards.
• A lot of the material that seems to be floating around about this exam is redundant to the big boring book and the Cisco course. So I think it probably matters to just find a format you enjoy, or at least that you can stand (e.g., video, course, whatever) and stick with it all the way through.
• The thing that helped the most for me, in terms of both trying to stay sane and memorizing the material, was trying to turn it into something fun and interesting. I actually began to enjoy the process of studying once I started making stupid / weird / traumatizing AI art images. I am sure a smarter person than myself (which is most of you) would've probably figured that out a lot faster.
• The real kernel is the soul-crushing boredom we found along the way. Right?

OK, onward and upward. Hope this helps somebody out.

My partner and I fly to Edinburgh, Scotland from PDX every summer to visit his family. In the past, we've been able to find pretty reasonable Polaris fares, and just paid for it. Looking at our options now, the Polaris fares are $7000/person each way. That's not in the budget.
After 2 years at 1K, I'm back down to gold now, so I don't have any plus points, but I do have hundreds of thousands of regular miles I'm willing to throw at a possible upgrade. I don't think this flight has ever had an option to purchase economy tickets and upgrade with miles, but I feel like I see people talking about doing that all the time. Is it likely/possible that a last-minute cash upgrade would be cheaper? This is a long journey and I have never been able to sleep on a plane without the lie-flat seat. Without paying $14,000, what are my best options for scoring Polaris seats on the trans-Atlantic part of the journey?
https://preview.redd.it/cyadkz893a0d1.png?width=2290&format=png&auto=webp&s=8876ed81d9bc5410093f087c2074c8b6daefe176
Edit: following instructions from TPG to search in expert mode, I see that upgrades are available for $1300. I'm willing to pay that. But when I get to the checkout screen, it just shows an upgrade waitlist, and there are no PZ fares available -- so wouldn't that mean I wouldn't get the upgrade? I'm really not understanding all the tools and codes and have no idea where the 40K miles came into the equation here (though that's something I'm happy to pay).
I feel like I'm generally a pretty savvy traveler, but this stuff makes me feel like a total novice.
https://preview.redd.it/8o9mbsyk3a0d1.png?width=2290&format=png&auto=webp&s=2840c1bb84746d848772d2f38045ee1f4598258c

In the annals of gaming history, few titles command the reverence and adoration as the legendary Doom franchise. Born from the minds of John Romero, John Carmack, Adrian Carmack, and Tom Hall, Doom would go on to lay the foundations for just about every modern video game that exists. It was a true tour de force, a success story few could scarce ever imagine.
Released in 1993, Doom was an immediate smash hit, thanks in no small part to its shareware format, which allowed users to experience the first few levels of Knee Deep In the Dead, and then order the full game via the phone number included. Players could then share the floppy disk with their friends, and so on, and so on. It was a truly revolutionary system, and within a single year, Doom had sold over 2 million copies.
The history of the Doom franchise is one of innovation, ultra violence, and controversy (1999's Columbine High School Massacre), and that reputation is one that continued with 2016's DOOM. DOOM was officially revealed at Quakecon 2014, ten years after Doom 3. Players had long resigned to Doom being considered a dead franchise. A reboot had been in the works for a number of years prior, but never got released, having been quietly cancelled by id in 2010. The future was bleak, but the 30 second long teaser ignited a spark that had been burning dimmer every passing year.
Then came E3 2015.
The hype was unreal. The trailer had everything that fans could possibly want. Gore, intense violence, insane run n gun gameplay, a rip-roaring soundtrack and the MFING CHAINSAW. But fans had been let down before. Would it really hold up its promises?
Yes. Yes, it would.
PART I: Presentation
When DOOM burst onto the scene in 2016, it did so with a visual and auditory spectacle that left players awestruck. From the moment the game boots up, players are made aware that this is not your average shooter. You are greeted with a deep, commanding voice. "Rip and tear, until it is DONE."
Immediately, players are greeted with a scene of carnage and the Doom Slayer chained to a table, which, of course, he instantly breaks free from. A zombie attempts to relieve the Slayer of his life but is beaten to the punch with a prompt skull smashing. After putting the other zombies to rest, he interacts with the panel in the corner, is greeted by one Dr. Samuel Hayden, who attempts to justify the outbreak, and decides he would rather kill shit than listen to excuses and destroys the monitor.
That is the introduction to this game. It never wastes the player's time. We aren't here to listen to long droning monologues or watch MGS style cutscenes. id Software knew their audience, and knew what that audience wanted, and they deliver in spades. This introduction sets the tone for the entire experience: relentless action, unapologetic violence, and a protagonist who is as unstoppable as he is uncompromising. The Doom Slayer's disdain for exposition and his single-minded focus on annihilating demons resonate with players who crave a pure, unadulterated gaming experience.
By eschewing lengthy cutscenes and exposition-heavy dialogue in favor of fast-paced gameplay and visceral action, id Software delivers a game that respects the player's time and delivers exactly what they came for: non-stop demon-slaying action. In an era where many games are criticized for padding their runtime with unnecessary filler, DOOM stands out as a shining example of how to create a focused and engaging experience that keeps players coming back for more.
Rather than bombarding players with lengthy exposition or intrusive cutscenes, DOOM opts for a more environmental storytelling approach. Throughout the game, players can discover audio logs, read text-based terminals, and observe environmental details that provide context and background to the events unfolding around them.
The story of DOOM revolves around the Doom Slayer's mission to stop a demonic invasion unleashed by the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) on their Martian facility. As players progress through the game, they uncover details about the UAC's experiments with Hell energy, the origins of the demonic invasion, and the Doom Slayer's own mysterious past.
While the story may not be front and center in DOOM, it nonetheless adds depth and richness to the game world, enhancing the overall experience for players who choose to engage with it. And for those who prefer to focus solely on the action, the story remains secondary, allowing them to enjoy the game on their own terms.
That's all well and good, but what about the actual gameplay? Simply put, it is exhilarating. From the moment you are given control of the Slayer, players are thrust into a frenzy of blood and violence, and it never lets up. At its core, DOOM is a first-person shooter that harkens back to the genre's roots while injecting it with a healthy dose of modern flair. The gameplay is fast-paced, frenetic, and utterly unapologetic in its brutality. You're not just a player – you're the Doom Slayer, a force of nature hell-bent on eradicating every last demon in your path.
Central to the gameplay experience is the game's combat loop, which revolves around a delicate balance of aggression and strategy. In DOOM, there's no hiding behind cover or waiting for your health to regenerate – you're constantly on the move, strafing, dodging, and leaping across the battlefield as you unleash a torrent of bullets, rockets, and plasma upon your enemies.
Weapons include the iconic shotgun, heavy assault rifle, plasma rifle, rocket launcher, and the devastating BFG 9000, among others. Each weapon offers different firing modes, such as single shot, burst fire, and continuous beam, providing players with tactical options in combat. A key aspect of combat is the Glory Kill system, which allows players to perform brutal finishing moves on staggered enemies. Glory Kills not only provide health and ammo but also contribute to the flow of combat by encouraging aggressive play. It is incredibly satisfying to watch the Slayer rip an imp in half or stomp their head into the pavement, and doing so rewards you with a large return of health.
The Chainsaw mechanic is another integral part of combat, allowing players to instantly kill most enemies and gain a large amount of ammo in return. However, Chainsaw fuel is limited and must be managed carefully. Like Glory Kills, watching the chainsaw tear demons apart is incredibly satisfying. Certain demons require more fuel but provide the player with more ammo in return. Balancing which demons you chainsaw and which ones you choose to Glory Kill is an important part of combat.
Exploration is key to progression and is rewarding to those players who choose to do. Hidden throughout the levels of the game are Argent Cells, Praetor Tokens, and Rune Trials. Each of these provide upgrades to your health/shield/ammo, suit, and passive abilities respectively. Also hidden throughout the game are levers that lead you to classic levels from Doom 1 and Doom 2, which then unlock the full level of its respective game, playable from the main menu. You can also find toy models of the Doom Slayer, which unlock various character models to view. On some of these models, the Doom Slayer will perform a unique action when picking it up, such as fist bumping the classic Doomguy. It's a nice and cute little touch added by the developers that does a little to add character to the Slayer, who is a silent protagonist.
id Software masterfully blends modern game design with a deep reverence for the classics, paying homage to the series' storied history while introducing new elements that propel the franchise forward. Central to this approach is the game's character design, which strikes a delicate balance between nostalgia and innovation. At its core is the iconic protagonist, the Doom Slayer, whose design pays homage to the original Doom Marine while incorporating modern updates that make him feel both familiar and fresh. With his battle-worn armor, imposing stature, and silent demeanor, the Doom Slayer is the embodiment of raw power and unrelenting rage.
The game's roster of enemies is a veritable who's who of classic Doom foes, reimagined for the modern era. From the lowly possessed soldiers to the hulking Cyberdemon, each enemy is lovingly crafted to capture the essence of its 1990s counterpart while introducing new mechanics and behaviors that keep players on their toes. Whether you're facing off against the agile Revenants, the relentless Hell Knights, or the grotesque Cacodemons, every encounter is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, punctuated by the satisfying sound of demon flesh being torn asunder.
But the main story is not where it ends. DOOM has an arcade mode, where players can run through the levels again, this time trying for high scores and medals while collecting 1 Ups. It's important to move fast and have accurate aim; the more kills you chain together, the bigger your score is. Getting hit reduces your score. At the end of the level, your score is tallied against others on a leaderboard. It's a great way to incentivize players to keep playing, in order to get a better and better score.
There is also multiplayer, where players compete in various game modes such as classic deathmatch, warpath and free for all. Players can become demons by collecting runes on the battlefield and this gives them a distinct advantage; demons are larger, stronger and more resilient. Players are bizarrely restricted to only two weapons and a loadout in multiplayer, which blew my mind. Loadouts. In a DOOM game. The demons are also massively unbalanced and if one team manages to get a particularly powerful demon such as a baron of hell, then it's a guaranteed win. All in all, the multiplayer just isn't great. You are better off replaying the story or arcade mode, or even SnapMap.
SnapMap is id Software's proprietary level editor, and it puts every other editor on the market to shame. SnapMap is an incredible, intuitive, easy to learn system allowing players to create their own multiplayer, co-op and single player maps. There is an extensive tutorial system that teaches users the basics, and goes up in depth, covering how to use AI triggers, switches, combinations, object layering, actions, recalls, audio cues, etc. Never have I ever seen such an in-depth interface on a console game before. While it is only surface level in the grand scheme of things, SnapMap is a great introduction to teaching users how game development works, and I urge everyone to try it out at least once.
Part II: The Music
In DOOM, the music isn't just a background accompaniment – it's a driving force that propels players forward, electrifying every moment of the gameplay experience. Composed by the incredibly talented Mick Gordon, the soundtrack of DOOM is a relentless onslaught of metal and electronica that perfectly complements the game's fast-paced action and visceral combat. From the moment you boot up the game, you're greeted by the iconic strains of the main theme, a haunting melody that sets the tone for the epic journey that lies ahead. As you traverse the game's environments, the music shifts seamlessly between atmospheric ambience and pulse-pounding metal.
But it's not just the composition of the music that makes it so memorable – it's also the way it's integrated into the gameplay itself. Mick Gordon's dynamic scoring system ensures that the music evolves in real-time based on the player's actions, ramping up in intensity during combat encounters and dialing back during quieter moments of exploration. This creates a sense of momentum and flow that enhances the overall pacing of the game
One of the standout features of the soundtrack is its use of unconventional instrumentation and sound design. Mick Gordon's signature sound combines distorted guitars, pounding drums, and industrial noise to create a sonic palette that is as brutal and unforgiving as the game itself. From the deep, guttural growls of the synth bass to the ear-shredding shrieks of the guitar solos, every element of the music is designed to evoke a sense of chaos and destruction, mirroring the relentless carnage unfolding onscreen.
Of course, no discussion of the music in DOOM would be complete without mentioning the iconic tracks that have become synonymous with the game. From the adrenaline-fueled "Rip & Tear" to the bone-crushing "BFG Division," each track is a masterpiece of composition and production, perfectly capturing the essence of the DOOM experience and elevating it to new heights. Mick Gordon's composition for the DOOM soundtrack is a tour de force in heavy metal and industrial electronica, meticulously crafted to evoke the essence of the game's frenetic gameplay.
The backbone of the soundtrack is the distorted guitar, which provides the driving force behind many of the tracks. Gordon's use of extended-range guitars and custom-tuned instruments gives the music its signature low-end punch, while his aggressive playing style adds a raw, visceral energy to the sound. In addition to guitars, Gordon incorporates a wide range of electronic and synthetic elements into his compositions, including synthesizers, drum machines, and sampled sounds. These elements are used to create atmospheric textures, rhythmic patterns, and dynamic effects.
One of the most innovative aspects of Gordon's sound design is his use of audio manipulation techniques, such as granular synthesis and spectral processing. These techniques allow him to deconstruct and manipulate audio in real-time, creating complex textures and effects.
Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of Mick Gordon's composition for DOOM is his dynamic scoring system, which adjusts the music in real-time based on the player's actions. This system, known as "MIDI-controlled dynamic music," allows the music to seamlessly transition between different layers and variations depending on the intensity of the gameplay. Gordon achieves this dynamic effect by dividing each track into multiple stems or layers, each representing a different element of the music (e.g., drums, guitars, synths). These stems are then triggered and mixed in real-time using MIDI data generated by the game engine, allowing the music to adapt and evolve dynamically as the player progresses through the game.
Part III: Building a Legacy
All too often in this industry, legacy franchises are either left in the dust to be forgotten, or brought back to a limp fanfare, only to be thrust back into the shadows of the past. This happens for a myriad of reasons, and I believe the biggest one is that they don't respect their legacy, and they don't respect the players who engage with them.
At its core, DOOM is a game that understands what players want: fast-paced action, engaging gameplay, and a sense of empowerment. By focusing on these core principles, id Software created an experience that resonated with players old and new, capturing the spirit of the original games while pushing the series forward. Central to this approach is the game's unwavering commitment to respecting the player. From its minimalist storytelling and streamlined level design to its intuitive controls and dynamic difficulty system, DOOM prioritizes the player's experience above all else, ensuring that every moment of the game is engaging, immersive, and satisfying.
One of the most notable ways that DOOM respects the player is through its approach to difficulty. Rather than imposing artificial barriers or punishing players for their mistakes, the game encourages experimentation and mastery through its responsive gameplay mechanics and adaptive enemy AI. Players are given the freedom to approach encounters in their own way, whether it's through brute force, cunning strategy, or a combination of both.
Another key aspect of DOOM's player-centric design is its emphasis on accessibility. From its difficulty settings and intuitive user interface to its robust accessibility features, such as colorblind modes and customizable controls, the game ensures that players of all skill levels and abilities can enjoy the experience without feeling excluded or overwhelmed.
But perhaps the most important way that DOOM respects the player is through its commitment to fun. At its core, DOOM is a game that prioritizes the player's enjoyment above all else, delivering a seamless and exhilarating experience that keeps players coming back for more. Whether you're blasting demons with a shotgun, exploring hidden secrets, or rocking out to Mick Gordon's pulse-pounding soundtrack, DOOM is a game that never stops prioritizing YOU.
DOOM's legacy is one of respect – respect for the player, respect for the franchise, and respect for the medium of video games as a whole. By prioritizing fun, accessibility, and player agency, id Software created an experience that not only honors the legacy of the original games but also sets a new standard for what a modern first-person shooter can be. And for that, we owe them a debt of gratitude.

for the longest time, I thought life was about "doing something big with your life"
I wanted to be successful in my passions, to do something awe-inspiring, to change the world.
I was wrong.
Well, I was mostly wrong. Life is not about your passions... it's about the people. The times I cherished most were not working towards a goal, but rather spending time with my family. But once you ground yourself in that and understand that people you love (including yourself) are the most important thing in your life, then you can reach towards something more, to truly make that impact you dream of doing.
Now, I'm grounding myself in love (including self-love) but also choosing to work hard and improve the lives of those around me.
I've experienced the problem of loneliness, and I want to solve this for others.
I'm helping create an app where you can answer deep questions and are paired with like-minded people; you can foster genuine and meaningful relationships through our platform.
maybe find me on the app and we can have some deep conversation :^)
https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6474634049?pt=126456033&ct=MG&mt=8
-mags

Hey everyone! I thought I'd repost this on my new profile (previously u/-Legal-Eagle-) for your reference before it is removed from my old profile. Also, if you find my advice useful, please check out my profile for more advice or tutoring services. Feel free to comment or DM me if you need anything.
With my LSAT and law school admissions journey complete, I wanted to take the time to share my journey and hopefully provide some useful tips along the way. I'm sure you will have heard a lot of what I am about to say a thousand times over, but I thought it might be useful to provide a holistic and comprehensive guide that attempts to bring together some of the best advice that I have picked up throughout this process.
Also, this is meant for anyone and everyone including those who haven't even began to think about the LSAT and those with multiple official exams already under their belt. I am going to use some more specific LSAT jargon meant for those with some familiarity with the test, but there will be many general tips for everyone scattered throughout.
I would like to preface by saying that this is largely based on my own personal experience self-studying, tutoring, and working with others. Please consult with many different sources and do your due diligence as you consider each tip I provide. Without further ado, here is my humble attempt at a guide to the LSAT.
When I first began the LSAT grind, I scored in the low 150s on my diagnostic exam, and while this was disheartening at first, I eventually achieved an official exam score of 174 after approximately 5 months of studying. Since I self-studied for the large majority of my journey, I found myself running into various obstacles and having to continuously refine my roadmap to success. Rather than go through the same process of trial and error that I went through, here is the roadmap outline that I would follow if I were to start all over again from blind diagnostic to test day success:
1. Start with a BLIND Diagnostic Exam:
While this might seem quite obvious to the more experienced of you, many beginners, including myself at the start of this process, do not know where to begin and might be stuck in a paradox of choice. The best way to get started is to take a completely blind practice exam. Try not to expose yourself to any LSAT study materials beforehand and go into the diagnostic exam knowing as little about the exam as possible. You might be tempted to study beforehand to avoid the disappointment of a low diagnostic score, but you must resist this temptation to avoid any misguided preconceptions or bad habits. Through this diagnostic, you will be able to truly identify your foundational strengths and weaknesses which you could and should revisit throughout your studying journey.
2. Decide on your plan of attack:
A mistake that many beginners make after deciding to take the LSAT is jumping into studying without having a structured and thoughtful plan, leading to inefficiencies, lack of focus, and inconsistency. One of the most important factors of success on this exam is the formation of good habits, and you cannot form good habits without a consistent, efficient, and disciplined study plan. There is no one size fits all approach to studying for this exam. However, here are some questions you should ask yourself to find the right plan for you:
What is your goal score? Your answer to this question depends on your long-term goals. Research which law schools would be most suitable for you based on their location, employment data, faculty, administration, student groups, journals, etc. After you put together a tentative list of law schools, look up what their median GPA and median LSAT is for their most recent enrolled class. If your undergraduate GPA (and law schools mainly care about your undergraduate GPA, so do not include any further education) is below their median GPA, then you should probably aim to surpass their median LSAT by at least a few points. However, if your undergraduate GPA is at or above their median GPA, then you should still aim to surpass their median LSAT, but you will still be in a strong position if you score at their median LSAT. After this research, you should have a goal score range by which you can gauge your progress and adjust your studying.
What is your timeline for taking the exam? Setting a timeline for your studying is important to staying focused and disciplined. Decide on which official exam you will be sitting for and then make a study schedule that allows for at least 150-300 hours of studying leading up to the exam. For example, if you are planning to take the August exam, you have approximately 13 weeks to study. Hence, you should dedicate yourself to studying 15-25 hours per week until the exam. Of course, the number of total hours you study depends on your diagnostic score and your goal score, as well as how quickly you progress while studying. If you find that halfway through your study schedule, your score has not substantially improved or you still have to make significant progress to reach your goal score, you may decide to ramp up your study time to 30 hours per week. The most important step here is that you commit to consistent study time, and that you remain flexible as you gauge your progress throughout the journey.
What learning styles/mediums work best for you? This is a matter of both preference and accessibility. Not all learning resources are equally available to everyone. However, many learning programs and materials are becoming increasingly affordable, giving everyone at least some choice in their method of study. Most importantly, you should do research into what your options are and weigh them accordingly. There are a variety of LSAT books available both new and used including but not limited to the LSAT Trainer, the Loophole, and the PowerScore Bibles. Of course, using a book requires a higher degree of discipline and self-accountability. On the other hand, there are a variety of online programs as well which provide a similarly structured curriculum and will even integrate your personal study schedule such as 7Sage and the LSAT Demon. You may even be able to find a relatively inexpensive tutor through Reddit or Wyzant if you require a bit more external accountability or a more personalized approach.
Lastly, what study methods are most effective for you? Everyone should incorporate a mix of foundational concepts, drilling, and practice in their studying, but it's important to recognize which method is most effective for you. Perhaps you find taking PTs (practice tests) garner the greatest score increases. Hence, you should dedicate more study time to taking PTs. Throughout your journey, you should constantly be aware of which study methods are most effective and adjust accordingly.
Once you have definitively answered these questions, you will have prepared yourself to optimize your study time and decrease your exam anxiety. Those preparing for the LSAT might be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content and their limited timeline, but, by crafting a practical and efficient study plan, you won’t be inundated with content and will be assured that you are making the best use of your time.
3. Learn the Material:
Now that you’ve set yourself up for success, it’s time to actually sit down and do the work. In the following, I’ll outline some of what I found to be the most important strategies and concepts for each section of the exam:
Logical Reasoning:
Logical Reasoning is the core of the LSAT. The lessons learned from this section are essential throughout the exam and need to be learned inside and out. To succeed in this section, you need to learn the language of the test makers, argumentation. Every question contains an argument, and you need to be able to translate those arguments by learning to identify their building blocks: background information, premises, sub-conclusions, and conclusions. Once you’re fluent in argumentation, every stimulus becomes substantially easier to simplify and understand. Second, your argumentation toolbox is not complete without the ability to identify flaws in argumentation. A large proportion of the arguments put forward in LR questions are not foolproof, in fact, some of them are really bad. Additionally, these arguments are only flawed in a limited number of ways, and you need to be able to identify each of the fallacies that the test makers have at their disposal such as ad hominem, causation, and circular reasoning flaws. The ability to identify these flaws will allow you to answer the majority of questions on the exam since, by knowing the flaw, you will be better able to attack it, resolve it, or point it out. Last, but not least, know your question types. There are only a limited number of question types that the test makers will put forward and you can easily look up what these question types are. For each question type, you should have a unique approach and understand what reoccurring signals to look for in the stimulus and answer choices. While I won’t repeat this for the other sections, this is true of every section.
Reading Comprehension:
You will hear from many people that reading comprehension is the hardest section to learn, and this is true in some sense. Success in this section relies on skills that are developed throughout one’s education. However, there are many strategies that can boost your performance and bolster your skills. Developing a reliable shorthand/note-taking system is a priority when learning this section. A shorthand system can reduce the time you spend on questions and also allow you to better retain crucial details. Your system depends on your preferences, strengths, and weaknesses, and discovering your approach will require some trial and error as you test different note-taking strategies. For me, I would write a very short (4-5 words) summary of each paragraph as I finished reading it. I would also utilize the LSAC interface’s highlighters to color code different components of the passage’s argument (e.g., orange = conclusion/main idea). This system was designed in order for me to easily distill the most important aspects of the passage and allow me to easily reference the text for smaller details. There’s no way of getting around this next obstacle though and it has to be faced head on: your reading speed. Reading comprehension requires a balance between reading speed and information retention (i.e., the faster you read, the less information you retain and vice versa). However, if you can increase the speed at which you read without sacrificing any information, there is no downside. That is why I’d recommend reading non-LSAT material in your free time through magazines, novels, and newspapers. Of course, this will help you to both increase your reading speed and your reading stamina. Lastly, this next tip that I utilized during every reading comprehension section I took is more focused on your mindset when approaching the section. No matter what the substance of the article, convince yourself mentally that you are incredibly interested in the subject matter. It may be difficult to trick yourself into enjoying some of the drier topics, but simply telling myself that I wanted to know more about the subject and actively asking questions about the material led to increased focus and closer analysis.
Logic Games:
If you are registered for the June LSAT, then this especially applies to you. If you are planning to take the exam at a later date, you will not have a logic games section, but you should still read the following. These skills as well as previously mentioned skills/tips apply across the entire exam and do not exclusively apply to any one section. First, master formal logic. Your mastery over the rules of formal logic and your ability to apply them is the difference between -5 and -0 on logic games. When I say master, I mean that if someone were to wake you up in the middle of the night and ask you to identify the necessary and sufficient condition in ,”I will not go outside unless it is sunny”, you should be able to answer in under five seconds. This will allow you to easily unravel and represent convoluted language in a significantly more understandable and digestible way. Along with this, develop a foolproof diagramming method that does not consume too much time but also is easily understood in a high-pressure environment. Before I had perfected my diagramming, I would often represent rules, game boards, and pieces in a confusing manner which led to me forgetting about certain aspects of the game or misapplying a rule. Your game diagrams should be compact and excessively clear in what they represent. Logic games are already difficult as is so do not make it more difficult by making a confusing diagram. Last but not least, make deductions. I have heard that some people choose to make deductions as they work through the questions, but I found it much easier to make as many deductions as possible before jumping into the questions. At first, I struggled to uncover key inferences which led to wasted time and wrong answers. However, after diagramming a game, I began to move through each rule one by one, and examined how each interacts with the game board as well as every other rule. Another rule of thumb for making inferences is identifying rules in which a game piece repeats (e.g., “A is before B” and “B is before C” both include B) and seeing if you can uncover any resulting conclusions.
These tips are in no way exhaustive, but I hope that they provided a good overview to guide your studying and help you make incremental improvements.
Step 3: PRACTICE
Now that you have learned all of the fundamentals of each section, it’s time to put them to use. After all, learning all of this material is pointless if you can’t apply it on test day. Practice is an essential component of your test preparation for two primary reasons. First, it allows you to develop a standardized routine. When I say routine, I mean every logistical/strategic aspect of the exam including but not limited to your pre-exam preparation, your logic games diagramming method, your reading comprehension note-taking/shorthand method, time management strategies, and more. You should have deliberated upon, tested, and habituated each of these routines prior to your official exam by implementing them during PTs under test-day conditions. The LSAT is already a very stressful exam so you do not want to waste the precious time you have on exam day thinking about how you should annotate a reading comprehension passage, for example, and tinkering with different strategies. No, your strategies should already be tried and true on exam day. Second, if you never practice taking the exam, you will never know where you need to improve. Taking PTs are incredibly important as they allow you to evaluate your progress and signal which concepts, sections, or questions you need to work on or revisit.
Now, how should you practice? There’s no getting around it. You need to take practice exams under simulated official exam conditions. Set a timer for each section, take the required break between sections, and only use the equipment that will be allowed on test day (i.e., authorized computer, water, scrap paper, writing utensils, etc.). This is the only way for you to estimate how you will perform on test day and accustom yourself to the conditions of the official exam. I completed approximately 2-3 practice exams every week leading up to my official exams. It is even better if you save the more recent practice exams for the week or two before your official exam since those are going to be most similar to your exam. However, it is important that you do not just mindlessly take practice exams which leads me to my next point: blind review.
I know, I know, blind review is extremely time consuming and tedious, but it was essential to my success on this exam. If you do not know what blind review is, it is basically when you do not reveal the correct answers of a practice exam after you have completed it, but instead complete the exam over again by checking and revising your answers. At the end of this process, you will have two scores: your actual score and your blind review score. The main reason for this is that you will now be able to see more clearly where your weaknesses lie. If you corrected a previously incorrect answer during blind review, then you likely got it wrong due to the time constraint or testing anxiety rather than a fundamental misunderstanding of the question. If you failed to catch an incorrect answer during blind review, you need to make it your priority to fully understand your error, analyze the question, and then revisit the concept that the question covers.
Once your weaknesses are exposed during blind review, you can target those weaknesses by reviewing the conceptual material and then drilling the question/game/passage type. If you do not know what I mean by drilling, I mean that you can create and complete custom problem sets that focus on your weakness until you have addressed the weakness.
Step 4: Profit
Now it is time to take your official exam. First, you have to register for the exam and decide on whether you will take it in-person or online. There are benefits and drawbacks to each and you have to decide based on your personal circumstances. For the online format, you are going to need a very quiet room with a strong internet connection. You will need to remove all prohibited material from this room including books, posters, electronics, etc. Additionally, the online proctoring system can be quite a hassle and very finicky. It requires you to download a program prior to test day and then share your screen, video, and audio with a remote proctor. Proctors may interrupt your exam due to compliance issues (e.g., your face is not in full view). Additionally, there is a small but nonzero chance that your exam is placed under review due to suspected noncompliant activity during your exam period and possibly even canceled as a result of said review. However, there are obvious benefits to online testing. You can take the exam in the comfort of your own home if that is an option for you, and you generally have much more control over your environment. You take the exam on a computer of your choice that you are comfortable with. You use your own scrap paper and writing utensils. For the in-person format, there is little to no preparation required beforehand except for scheduling an appointment at a nearby test center and bringing a valid ID. You will be ushered into an office-like room filled with a number of small cubicles. In each cubicle, there will be a desktop with a monitor, mechanical keyboard, and mouse. There will be a pair of noise-canceling headphones, and you will also be given a booklet of scrap paper and writing utensils. A very compelling benefit of the in-person exam is that your exam is much less likely to be placed under review/canceled for suspicious activity. Your test session isn’t recorded and you do not have to connect with a remote proctor. You will not have to worry about the internet connection or whether or not your test-taking equipment is prohibited or not. Basically all you have to do is show up and take the exam. However, there are definitely drawbacks to the in-person exam as well. You will be in a new environment that you are unfamiliar with. There will be the noise of the other test takers in the room with you typing on keyboards, clicking their mouse, coughing, sneezing, leaving/entering the room, etc. There are definitely inconsistencies between the testing centers as well. Some minor, but noticeable issues that I experienced during my in-person exam included audible conversations coming from outside of the room, dark orange scrap paper on which I could barely see pencil marks, dull/broken pencils provided by the testing center, and barely functional noise-canceling headphones. Do not expect the testing centers to be a perfect, controlled environment and anticipate issues/annoyances.
Once you’ve registered and exam day has arrived, it's time to do exactly what you practiced. I would not recommend that you make any last-minute changes to your testing routine/strategies. You have put so much work into perfecting your routine, and it would be a shame to throw that away when it really matters. After about 3 hours, you’ll have officially taken the LSAT. Congratulations! Now, it is a waiting game. Despite the exam taking place on a digital platform and being graded instantly, you will still have to wait about a month to receive your results. It is up to you whether you would like to continue studying during this wait depending on how you felt about your exam performance although I would keep any studying very light. Enjoy your well-deserved break.
Step 5: Score Release
You’ve now waited for what feels like forever and you receive the score for your first official exam. If you reached your goal score, congratulations! You have now finished a crucial component of the law school admissions process. You’re not done yet though. It’s time to start thinking about putting together your law school applications (which I may write another guide about soon). If you did not reach your goal score, don’t worry! Appreciate the fact that you are now more familiar with the official exam process and jump right back into studying/practicing again. If you were very close to your goal score, then I would recommend registering for the soonest upcoming exam and focusing on practicing through drills and PTs. If you were quite far away from your goal score, it might be worth evaluating your weakest sections/question types and jumping back into foundational concepts. Whatever you do, DO NOT cancel your first official exam. First, law schools only really care about your highest exam score, so do better on the next one and this one won’t hurt you. Second, you need to have at least one non-canceled score in order to even apply to law school. Let’s say you cancel your first test and then do even worse on your second test, then what? I would only recommend canceling a score if it is not your first exam (and you did not cancel your first exam) and it is lower than one of your other scores (e.g., you scored a 165 on your first exam and then a 162 on your second).
The End!
I know that was a lot. I could probably think of more to write, but you are probably already overwhelmed with information so I’ll leave the rest to you. I want to reiterate that these are all tips that I’ve picked up over my studying journey and I cannot guarantee a score increase based solely on these tips. After all, the most important thing is that you put in the work yourself and do your own due diligence to find what works best for you. If you have read everything up until now, you may be certifiably insane (the mark of a great law student) and thank you so much for considering what I have had to say. Remember that this is just a small part of your journey. Your LSAT score is not only just a single part of your law school applications, but it is an even smaller part of your career in the legal profession. I am not diminishing the importance of the exam, but please maintain a sensible perspective when you are feeling stressed and anxious about the LSAT. Make sure that you maintain a healthy work-life balance, keep pursuing hobbies and interests that you enjoy, and give yourself a break every once in a while. Your mindset and mental health is half the battle. See you in law school!

Hello! I am looking to find a travel card to possibly supplement my messy mashup of cashback, UR and MR. I primarily travel domestic 2-3 times a year, but my girlfriend and I plan on making an international trip (Europe) next year. I signed up for the AMEX Gold for the SUB and to get an intro to MR points because I typically only fly Delta. Other than that, I rarely find any other uses for MR and currently have ~110k points sitting in limbo.
As far as Chase UR goes, I've recently found interest in applying those points to Hyatt, but I feel like I'd need the CSP / CSR to make it worth-while, especially with the current SUB. I've been hesitant to try their airline partners, but I could be open to United Airlines. Southwest's reputation has me staying away for now.
All that being said, I want to see if it makes sense to upgrade to a more premium travel card. I've been looking at the US BAR (I can make use of the 3% mobile wallet offer), Venture X and CSR mostly for their travel credits. I live in the Tampa area, so the Priority Pass benefits do not really apply to my home airport.
Also - since we moved, our primary grocery shopping has been at Target. Publix here is beyond stupid expensive, even compared to Target. We sprinkle in some Aldi here and there, but it's pretty far away. The plan is to get a Costco or Sam's Club membership later this year. Thank you in advance!

• Current cards: (list cards, limits, opening date)
  • AMEX BCE $15,000 limit, April 2022
    • Downgraded BCP to BCE after the first year. Primarily used for gas, online purchases, and Disney bundle credits.
  • AMEX Gold, July 2022
    • Got this for the 90k SUB and plan on cancelling it this upcoming renewal cycle. Use it for all groceries (where applicable) and dining out. Love it for Xfer to Delta (my preferred airline), but the monthly credits are starting to become annoying to use.
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited $16,100 limit, May 2022
    • Opened this as a starter card, along with the BCP for category spending. Only used for some select bills (internet, Disney AP payments, E-Pass refills)
  • SoFi MasterCard $8,000 limit, November 2023
    • Opened this for first year to get promotional 3% cashback, and no FTFs for a trip I made to Bermuda. Currently use it as a daily driver for anything but groceries or dining out.
• FICO Score: 763
• Oldest account age: 6 years, 9 months
• Chase 5/24 status: 3/24
• Income: 120,000
• Average monthly spend and categories:
  • rent: $2049
  • dining: $650-750
  • groceries / household supplies: $650
  • gas: $100
  • travel: $80-100 \divided out the cost of my last trip by 12 months*
  • online shopping (amazon): $150-200
• Open to Business Cards:
  • No
• What's the purpose of your next card?
  • Travel - primarily airlines, hotel is a secondary
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at?
  • Yes - CSP for signup bonus / churning, Venture X, US BAR, and CSR
• Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card?
  • I wouldn't mind a category spend card, but I'd much prefer one for general spending.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dead in the next 24 hours.
Whether that's the Costella family, or whatever this is, I'm not sure.
The police are taking forever, and part of me knows they're either refusing to believe me, or RC got them too.
I'm holed up on our school bus, so I've got nothing better to do.
I want to tell you about my team.
We met in our sophomore year.
Strangers standing outside the club room.
Levi was the freckled brunette who wouldn't stop talking about Game of Thrones.
Sunny, a pretty redhead, told him to shut up.
Tom, a sandy blonde, nodding his head to music corked in his ears.
I just wanted to be part of a club, and get away from my overbearing mother.
I won't say it was a perfect start. Our school was lacking in funding, so anyone could join, which made us more of a Quiz Club. I had some serious anxiety, so I stayed on the sidelines for a while, watching, rather than taking part.
It's not like we actually talked to each other initially. The first few weeks, we played Jeopardy, and attempted to find more members to cement us as an official Academic Decathlon club.
Unfortunately, though, it was just the four of us.
Which made it extremely hard for us to be taken seriously.
According to Google, Academic Decathlon teams were made up of nine members, placed by their GPA.
Our principal laughed at us, but he did let us become official.
Which was out of pity, I assumed.
The club was assembled, and we started meeting up after school.
Sort of.
Sunny barely showed up, and Levi didn't take anything seriously, preferring to spend the time telling us about his weird family turf-war.
Our principal dumped us in a tiny classroom with a resident rat living under the floorboards.
There was barely enough room to move, and the four of us crammed together for three hours was less than appealing.
Still, though, I wanted to be part of a club.
I had grown up with parents who were obsessed with board games, so I was pretty good at general knowledge questions. Our club room was too small for anything else but three desks (Sunny and I shared one) and a whiteboard we had to shove through the door.
But, again, we didn't start as an Academic club.
It was more akin to Story Time Club.
Arriving late on my third day, armed with quiz cards from home, I found Tom and Sunny completely mesmerised by Levi’s storytelling skills, drowned in shadow.
They didn't even turn the lights on.
I strictly remember squeezing next to Sunny, and hearing the words, “But there was so much blood all over the floor, and my Mom told me to go upstairs and hide under the bed…”
Sitting in front of them was Levi, perched on a desk, his legs swinging, a whiteboard marker between his teeth.
Sometimes he'd get up, and illustrate parts of his story.
It sucked that his drawings were all stick people.
I won't go into full details of his life, but Levi grew up as part of a family who had… interesting methods of making a living. I had seen the guy’s father multiple times when we hung out at his place, and, yeah, my friend’s family definitely had Soprano vibes.
Levi’s Draw My Life was nothing to do with the club, but it did bring us closer.
Even if, at that point, I was considering leaving.
But it's not like it was easy to walk away from these guys. It's like finding your soulmates. Levi wasn't the only one with an interesting life. Sunny Lang was an ex kpop trainee, who was kicked out for being too fat, which led her to develop a severe eating disorder, and a hatred for her own body.
Sunny explained her family were originally from Boston, her mother growing up in Korea.
She signed up for an idol agency focusing on creating a new girl group, and had gotten all the way to the final stages, before being kicked for her weight. Sunny told us her story with a smile, though there was a hollowness in her eyes I couldn't ignore. The other girls were judgemental bullies, and the idol diet and brutal regime almost killed her.
Sunny lived in a tiny apartment with 9 girls, who would tear each other apart for a chance to debut. Sunny said all the other girls debuted, and when we (not so patiently) asked for names, she shrugged, admitting she signed an NDA that prevented her spilling the beans.
What she did say, was the K-pop idol is a product, not a person– and are made and moulded into a product.
She had zero interest in throwing her humanity away to become a manufactured doll.
So, one of us was the son of an underground family, and the other was an ex idol.
Tom was an aspiring horror writer with a famous older step-brother.
His story times were usually, That one time I went to the Met Gala.
When it was my turn to reveal my story, I told them the only interesting thing about me.
I could smell when something bad was going to happen.
They laughed, but I was being serious.
When I was a kid, I smelled my mother’s brain tumor.
I remember it smelled like curdled milk.
I asked Mom why her head smelled of mouldy milk, and Mom laughed and said it was her shampoo.
It was actually a grade two tumor growing inside her brain.
Thankfully, the tumour was found quickly and removed.
Growing older, I became sensitive to smell. The little girl choking on the bus smelled of singed wood, and the old man crossing the road stunk of gasoline.
In the fourth grade, my classmate Alex Castor smelled of lemons all morning.
I sat behind him, choking on the stink all the way through class.
Ever since I met him, Alex had always smelled… off.
It was a distinct smell I could never understand, and as the days and months and years went by, that smell morphed into a subtle orangey musk that was so strong I had to cover my mouth and nose. Then, he smelled like lemons.
During Recess, I watched Alex fall off of the jungle gym, straight onto his head.
Alex Castor was dead before the paramedics arrived, my panicked teacher attempting CPR when his brains were leaking out of his ears.
The school claimed it was an accident, but Alex would have been fine if the jungle gym wasn't built on solid concrete.
I told my team members this, and Levi was sceptical.
“You can smell bad things?” He said, his lips curved around his milkshake straw. In the early days, we hung out in the local bar. It's not like we were allowed inside, but Levi could get us in anywhere.
I was squeezed between Tom and Sunny, while Levi took the seat opposite us. I couldn't help noticing our waitress was insisting on free milkshake refills, her frantic eyes glued to Levi.
I had zero idea why. Levi Costella was about as intimidating as a fruit fly.
Wearing a white shirt with a popped collar, a leather jacket thrown over the top, Levi was giving rebellious Harvard student, rather than son of a crime family.
Leaning forward, he raised a brow, clearly not believing me.
“So, you're like a stink psychic?”
I shrugged, sipping my own shake.
“Sure.”
I wasn't planning on telling him the club room smelled off on our first day.
Once we actually started the club, Levi surprised us as the smartest member, and getting to know him further, I came to the realization his family were infamous in our town.
However, his parents hid it well. Lucy and Michael Costella were the owners of a popular ramen store in our town, hiding under the facade of two successful business owners. The Costella’s were an attractive family.
Lucy was a sophisticated brunette with a lipstick smile, Michael, a handsome fluffy haired man who looked like he modelled glasses.
The two were fiercely protective over their youngest son, not so casually reminding us behind grinning smiles, that if anything happened to Levi, we would automatically be involved in the family.
I mean, they did laugh and say, “We’re joking! Look at your little faces!” when Sunny went deathly pale. But there was definitely truth behind their words.
Being Levi’s friend was… challenging at first.
Tom and I were in his room studying for finals, and an alarm went off, flooding Levi’s room in red light.
I had zero idea where it was coming from, but it locked all the doors and windows, forcing the Costella residence into temporary lockdown. Levi didn't seem fazed, casually mentioning his parents were taking care of it.
He had a whiteboard set up in his room, and was standing in front of it, cramming all of our textbook notes into one easily digestible drawing.
Levi wasn't just smart.
He was Ivy League smart, so we had struck gold with him.
His family were questionable, and yes, sometimes I did fear for my life, but as the more time we spent at his house, the Costella household became a second home. We got used to the alarms.
I just brought along ear plugs.
I wish I was writing this post about Levi’s family, and sure, they are a factor in what is going on right now, but I want to preface this by saying the events below involve the 2024 scholastic decathlon final in our town with the school’s listed:
Starbrook High School.
Ratcliffe High School.
Please note, the incident that took place last night was immediately covered up, and all phone footage was destroyed. Our town is mostly out of the way, and does not show up on Google searches.
We also have our own version of the academic decathlon, which is a more town-level competition, due to lacking funds. The four of us were desperate to start competing with our schools.
So, we started taking things a little more seriously.
We got a coach.
Mr Hanes, who was hesitant at first.
In his words, “You will hate me as your coach.”
He started by recruiting more members, announcing, “If you want to be taken seriously as an actual club, then I'll be taking the reins from now on.”
He did, and with our teachers guidance (and sometimes brutal honesty), we reached a level where we could start competing with other school’s in town. Now, none of us knew this, but Mr Hanes was obsessed with winning.
So, club meetings were twisted into two hour study sessions with no talking, followed by Mr Hanes Jeaprody, which was Jeaprody, without the actual fun.
We were quizzed multiple times, answer cards and practise questions quite literally thrown directly in our faces.
I hate to admit this (I really hate to admit this) but Mr Hanes’s tactics worked. Sure, we had been mildly brainwashed by our slightly unhinged coach, but with Levi Costella, we destroyed our competitors. Like I said, our town held their own version of the academic scholastic decathlon, but it was pretty much the same, with some changes.
Ten subjects. Language and Literature, Math, Social Science, Economics, Art, Music, Interview, Speech, and Essay.
Unlike the official Decathlon, ours was more like a game show, with the ability to be knocked out if a team member answers a question wrong. Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins. Team meet ups were either tests, study sessions, or quizzing each other.
Which leads me to last night.
The finals were held in the reigning champions, Ratcliffe High School’s, auditorium.
And we were about to win our town’s Scholastic Decathlon 2024 Championships.
Well…I was knocked out in the music section. Standing next to my coach who I was sure was going to asphyxiate from excitement, I could smell the sudden potent stink of lemon. I tried to ignore it at first, but the more questions my team were answering correctly, the smell got worse, suffocating my senses.
This wasn't just lemon. The stink was like a burning, singing smell trickling into my nose and the back of my throat.
It was stronger than what Alex smelled like.
This was suffocating, drowning my thoughts.
“Are you okay, Cassandra?”
Mr Hanes nudged me when a Ratcliffe girl was struggling to answer a question, only for Sunny to jump in with the answer. “You look quite pale.”
I nodded, forcing a smile.
My gaze was on the Ratcliffe coach, a scary looking blonde woman, whispering in one of her student’s ears.
The Ratcliffe kid freaked me out. He was way too tall, dark blonde hair, and bulging eyes I swear were not blinking.
His gaze was glued to Levi, who wore a smug grin.
There was a smaller girl next to the Ratcliffe kid, a Macbook balanced on her knee. Every so often, he leaned into her, the two of them in deep conversation.
“I'm just nervous.”
I jumped when Ratcliffe scored a point, their side erupting into cheers.
During the break, we had a mini team meeting.
Sunny rushed to the bathroom to freshen up, and I noticed a Ratcliffe girl with a bouncing ponytail following her.
Ignoring our coach’s speech, I joined the two girls in the corridor, that lemony scent hanging thick in the air.
I caught them in an awkward position.
The Ratcliffe girl had her fingers pinched between the material of Sunny’s dark blue shirt bearing our school’s name.
Sunny looked confused, her lips parted like she was going to yell.
Ponytail dropped her hand, suddenly, with a nervous laugh. “Oh! I'm so, so, sorry,” she gushed. “You had, like, the biggest spider crawling on your back.”
Sunny caught my eye, shooting me a reassuring smile.
“Thanks.” She made sure to keep her distance. “Uh, where's your bathroom?”
The Ratcliffe girl nodded down the hallway. “It's just down there. I'm going there too if you want me to show you?”
Sunny motioned for me to go back to the auditorium. “Uh, sure! That'd be great!”
I did try to follow them, only for Sunny to cough loudly.
I took the hint, reluctantly heading back into the auditorium.
My team was hyping each other up, Levi in the centre, sweating through his team shirt. He ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I can't do this,” He groaned. “Ratcliffe High is known to play dirty, man. They're unbeatable.”
“In what way do they play dirty?” I asked, joining them.
Levi gulped down water, shrugging.
“I dunno! They're already trying to distract me with the stink eye.” The boy narrowed his eyes at a grinning Ratcliffe kid who, after noticing our stares, jumped to his feet, waving at us.
“Hey guys!”
“That's Harry Cartwright, the son of the Cartwright family who tried to kill my parents in the third grade.” Levi mockingly waved back. “As you can see, their kid is a fucking sociopath.”
Huh. I wasn't expecting the smiley kid to be the mobster’s son.
Harry Cartwright was not what I expected.
Unlike his team members, he was the only one in casual clothing, a short sleeved white shirt and jeans, a pair of sunglasses perched on top of his head.
Tom went pale.
“Fuck.” He hissed. “He’s one of you? Then those bastards will have a reason to play dirty, right?”
Levi shrugged, averting his gaze. It was the first time I saw his eyes darken, like he was subtly telling the boy to back off.
“The Cartwright’s have been trying to buy our land for a while,” he muttered. “I wouldn't put it past them to use the Decathlon as a way to attack.”
“Attack?!” April, another member of our team, hissed. “Like, attack attack?”
Mr Hanes grabbed the boy, resting his hands on Levi’s shoulders. “Ignore them,” he said. “Hey. Look at me.”
Levi did, raising a brow.
“You're losing that spark in your eye, young man.”
“Spark?”
Our coach nodded. “Look at me, kid.”
Levi rolled his eyes. “I am looking at you, Mr Hanes.”
The man was shaking. I was guessing his whole career (or coaching career) was on the line.
“They know they're losing, Mr Costella.”
Hanes shook the boy, squeezing his shoulders. “You are being positive and Ratcliffe doesn't like that. They want you to be nervous. They want to make you second guess yourself and lose confidence. Don't let them get into your head.” he smiled, giving the boy a playful shove. “Kick their asses.”
“Exactly!”
I didn't realize Sunny was back from the bathroom.
The faint smell of lemons had followed her. I noticed a wet patch on her shirt collar, though she was quick to smile at me, admitting she'd spilled water down herself. Sunny wrapped her arms around Levi, squeezing him into a hug.
She hung on for a little too long, Tom dragging her away with a laugh. “Good luck, all right?” she backed away, ruffling his hair. “We’ve got this!”
When I hugged Levi good luck too, I had to resist covering my nose.
The smell of lemon was unbearable, just like fourth grade Alex.
But it wasn't as potent as earlier.
I vaguely remembered the smell starting to fade once Alex’s body was being carted away on a stretcher.
Following my captain through the crowd, I was right. The smell was less suffocating. Before he went back to the stage, I grabbed the back of his shirt.
The material was soaking wet.
“How are you so wet?” I said, swiping my hands on my shirt.
“Huh?”
I shook my head. “Never mind. Do you remember what I told you in sophomore year?”
Levi settled me with a confident, but nervous smile. “Thaaaat you're scared of clowns?”
“No. I mean the boy who smelled of lemons.” I gritted out.
Levi surprised me with a laugh. “What are you talking about?”
Something ice cold trickled down my spine.
Levi did know what I was talking about. He brought up my stink sense a day earlier in front of his parents, and I had to cover his mouth to shut him up.
Leaning close, I whispered in his ear. “You stink of rotten lemons.”
He nodded slowly, pulling away. “Uh… thanks?”
I bit back a hiss of frustration. “No, you don't understand what I'm saying–”
“Starbrooke High School,” The host announced. “Can all members please return to the stage.”
Levi held up his hand for a high five.
“Can we do this later?” He winked. “I'm kinda busy carrying this spelling-bee on my back right now.”
I nodded shakily, high fiving him, and letting him jump back onto the stage.
Before his words hit like a tidal wave, ice cold water slammed into me.
Spelling Bee?
Slowly making my way back to the stands, Levi’s mistake was circling around my head. He did win a spelling bee, but that was in middle school.
Thankfully, the smell of lemons was gone when I returned to my seat.
Mr Hanes handed me a soda. “Chill out, Cassandera, it's just a game.”
He could talk. The guy was on his fifth coffee.
Mr Hanes was not chilled out in the slightest.
Surprisingly, the event went well. I was half expecting my team to be crushed by the rafters, or caught in a blaze started in the crowd. But we were doing well. No, we were winning.
Reaching the climaxing round, Sunny choked against a smug Ratcliffe boy, joining me on the sidelines.
Levi answered the next question with a confident smile.
We were winning, but Ratcliffe could still catch up with a miracle.
The second to last question was to Ratcliffe, and it was general knowledge.
”Where on the human body would one find the *orbit?*
I knew the answer, and so did Levi, his lips breaking out into a smile when the Ratcliffe boy was hesitating, eyes wide.
Our school’s buzzer went off, Levi slamming his hand down.
Bzzz!
The host turned to our team. “Starbrooke, can I have your answer?”
Levi nodded, shooting our team a victory grin.
“It's…!“ He opened his mouth to answer, his jaw slackening suddenly.
The boy’s shoulders slumped.
“Uh… “
“Um…”
“Huhhhhh…”
Levi inclined his head, blinking, his eyes glazing over. There was a sudden, hollow vacancy that sent chills down my spine. It was like someone had reached into his skull, and yanked out his brain, leaving a shell in his place.
To my confusion, our team captain frowned at his buzzer like he'd never seen one before. He pressed it, exploding into child-like giggles.
Bzzz!
The audience laughed along nervously.
Tom nudged me. “What the fuck is he doing?”
Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz!
Levi’s entire body was slumped, his hand slamming down on the buzzer.
I caught something pooling down his chin.
“Is he… drooling?” I whispered.
Mr Hanes looked mildly horrified. “Has he been drinking?
“Levi?” Tom spluttered. “Drinking?!"
Whatever we were watching, however, was definitely influenced by… something.
Bzz. Bzz. Bzz. Bzz. Bzz!
“Young man, that is not a toy!”
The host wasn't amused. “Starbrooke High School, I need an answer from you,” He nodded to Levi, who was pressing the buzzer, his smile growing.
“Once again,” The host backed away, like Levi was contagious. “Where on the human body would one find the Orbit?”
Levi cocked his head, lips parted.
His gaze found the overhead lights, and he winced, his lips curling into a frown.
“Starbrooke High School!”
Levi jumped, tipping his head back and blowing a raspberry. “Palm tree?”
The audience laughed, and I started feeling nauseous.
Across from us, I could see the twist of a smirk on the Ratcliffe coach’s lips.
Bzzz! Levi slammed the buzzer again giggling.
“Starbrooke High School, if your team member continues to act like this, I will be forced to disqualify all members.”
Our captain stopped, gaze glued to the host, his hand creeping towards the buzzer, like it was a big red button.
The audience loved it, laughing like they were watching a sitcom.
“He wouldn't.” Tom whisper-shrieked.
The auditorium was silent for a moment, awaiting Starbrooke’s response.
Levi stuck out his tongue, slamming his hand down.
Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz–
When Tom dragged Levi away from his podium, a Ratcliffe girl hit her buzzer.
“Starbrooke High School, you are disqualified,” the host announced. “Ratcliffe High School, do you have an answer?”
It was Ponytail who nodded with a grin.
“The answer is the eye socket! The Orbit is part of the eye socket!”
“That is the correct answer.” The host was distracted, his eyes glued to Levi.
“Ratcliffe High School wins.”
Levi jumped when the Ratcliffe wide erupted into cheers.
His eyes were wide, clinging onto the buzzer for comfort.
Next to me, our coach looked like he was going to faint.
I barely noticed Ratcliffe’s victory, too busy watching our team captain, who was Harvard bound, tipping his head back and smiling at the ceiling like a new-born baby. Tom dragged the stumbling boy over to me, his mouth twisted.
“This was Ratcliffe, right?” He hissed, shaking our captain, who was struggling, squirming in his grip.
“Did they put something in his drink?!” He prodded Levi. “Hey! What did they do to you?!”
Still, though, drugging his drink didn't make sense.
Levi never left the auditorium, and kept his water bottle with him the whole time.
How did they even manage to slip something into his drink in the first place?
Did I smell our competitors drugging him?
Sure, intentionally inebriating my teammate was morally wrong and illegal, but why could I smell lemon?
“I doubt it was Ratcliffe.” Sunny squeezed next to me. “I've been watching them. They're harmless.”
“Then how the fuck do we explain this to his parents?!” Tom whispered, grappling with Levi, who was fighting to get back to the buzzer.
When Tom let go of him, he dropped onto the floor, crawling over to his podium. It was like watching a child.
Who was determined to piss off the adults.
Levi jumped back to instead feet, his gaze was glued to the host, a smile curved on his lips, when he slammed the buzzer again.
Bzzz!
“Someone, please remove the Starbrooke boy from the stage!”
I was embarrassed, our whole team ducking our heads as our captain was forcibly removed from the podium.
Mr Hanes grabbed Levi, pulling him off of the stage.
I expected our coach to be mad at him, but I think the teacher was more worried, a phone pressed to his ear while he forced the boy into a sitting position.
No, I don't think it's influence from alcohol, I could hear his conversation.
Levi kept trying to get up, mesmerised by the buzzer. The teacher was firm but gentle. “Hey. Sit down, all right? Keep still.” He went back to his phone call, gently prying Levi’s eyes open.
From what I can see, there's nothing wrong. He's just kind of…
Mr Hanes swiped his own hands on his jeans. ... wet?
Team Ratcliffe came over to rub it in our faces, though I was still tuned into our coach’s hissed whispering.
Water? No, I don't think it's water. It smells… no, I haven't told his parents…
“You guys did awesome!” Ponytail's voice was sugary sweet. Too sugary.
She held the 2024 trophy, bearing a satisfied smile. I noticed the Ratcliffe members were surrounding Harry, like guards.
“Better luck next time, okay?” She held out her hand, her eyes twinkling.
“No hard feelings?”
“Control your dog.” Harry said, amused eyes flicking to Levi, who was once again sprinting back to the fucking buzzer. His eyes had visibly darkened, lips curled into a triumphant smile.
Harry Cartwright was watching Mr Hanes chase our team captain like it was his own personal entertainment.
I had to look away before I died of second hand embarrassment.
“What did you put in his drink?” Tom demanded. “Weed? Edibles?” the boy attempted to shove Harry, only to be pushed back. “What the fuck did you do to him?”
Harry’s smile didn't waver. “Like I said. Control your mut.”
When the Ratcliffe team walked away, our red faced coach struggling with Levi, who was behaving progressively more erratically, informed us we were longer welcome inside the school.
Tom suggested calling an ambulance, but our coach was hesitant.
We all knew who Levi’s family were.
On the way out, Tom matched my stride. He was frowning at our team captain struggling to walk.
The way he was acting was already eyebrow raising.
But walking at an angle and being unable to stand up straight was worrying.
“I don't think they drugged his drink.” Tom muttered.
We pushed through the doors out of the school, and I revelled in the cool night air grazing my cheek. “If they did, he would be acting out of it, right? So, what's the deal with him acting like–”
“A child.” I finished for him.
“Yeah.” Tom leaned closer. “Do you think this has something to do with their turf war?”
I slapped at a bug creeping across my cheek.
Levi fell over again, this time bursting into giggles.
“Almost definitely.”
Levi was right about Ratcliffe playing dirty. I didn't realize how dirty until we were on the losers bus home. Levi was in the seat next to me, and the kid hadn't moved since we left Ratcliffe, his eyes wide, lips pulled into a dazed grin.
Bzzz!
The noise startled me from slumber. I was drooling, my head pressed against the window. Outside, the sky was pitch dark, and squinting through the glass, I couldn't get a bearing on where we were. I thought I was hearing things, but when I sat up, I heard it again.
Bzzz!
It was close.
Leaning over the boy, I glimpsed a smear of scarlet on his headrest.
I choked on my next words.
“Tom.”
Tom was in front of me, listening to music.
He didn't reply, his head of dark blonde curls nodding to the beat.
“Levi.” I managed to get out. I prodded him, and his head lolled into his shoulder. “Hey. Can you… sit up?”
Bzzz! Bzzz!
When the boy didn't move, I gently grabbed his shoulders and pulled him forward myself, something contracting in my stomach.
I don't know how long it takes for your mind to fully register something, but my body was already reacting.
Levi’s seat was infested with bugs, eating their way through the upholstery. I was aware of my body moving back. I threw up, instantly, screaming into my hand.
The back of my best friend's skull resembled a deflated soccer ball, what was left of his brain leaking from his skull where a swarm of skittering bugs chewed their way through brain tissue, metallic legs scratching the curved, pearly white of the base if his skull.
Levi’s head hung, his body flopping into mine.
But his eyes were still open, lips still stretched into a smile.
Blood ran in thick rivulets from his nose and ears.
Bzzz!
I could see them, black writhing dots alive in his eyes, wriggling movement under his skin.
“Tom!”
I jumped up, stumbling into the aisle, my stomach heaving.
And it was only when I was on my knees, swiping bile from my lips, when I realized the others weren't reacting.
Tom wasn't moving.
I pulled an Airpod out of his ear, a long, slithering string of pink attached to the end.
There was a stray bug skittering across his hand, his face starting to twitch and writhe.
Moving back, I checked myself over, my hands shaking.
Head.
Shoulders.
Hair.
Clawing through it, my breath was stuck in my throat.
Arms.
Legs.
Feet.
Mr Hanes was slumped against the window, a reddish froth bubbling from his mouth.
Sunny.
I started towards the back of the bus, but all I had to see was her bowed head, half of her skull chewed through.
Sunny was in a far more deteriorated state, her face had been ripped through, a skeletal smile glinting in the dim.
The thick black smear on the window next to her was moving.
When I screamed for the driver to stop the bus, he ignored me.
If anything, he stamped on the gas.
I moved forward to shake him, before glimpsing a bug creeping down his face.
Calling 911, the operator laughed at me.
“Bugs are eating your friends.” He said. “Do you know the penalty for calling with bullshit pranks?”
The bus didn't stop, so I stayed at the front, while the bugs took over the back, eating through my teammates.
After four hours, I risked leaning over the seat next to Tom to check on Levi.
They were eating him.
Chewing all the way through skin, muscle and bone.
I tried to stop the bus, but the driver’s hands were tightly wrapped around the wheel.
Another hour, and blood was seeping down the aisle, crawling with bugs.
Levi was gone, and in his place, a buzzing skittering pile of bugs, that I thought were going to move to a second victim, maybe burrowing into the seats.
But, no.
These things began to tremble, replicating.
Building.
Slowly, nothing became static, and static became muscle.
Then bone.
Then flesh.
When a body began to slowly form, moulded from the dead boy, I stumbled back.
These things weren't eating Levi Costella.
They were rewriting him.
…
Edit: I'm still on the bus. I'm 99.9% sure that I'm infected with whatever this thing is. I can't stop fucking itching.
I keep picking them off me but they won't stop. This bus isn't going to stop until I'm like the others.
…
Edit 2:
I can feel them chewing into my skull. They're in my ears. I keep spitting them out. Please, someone get them off of me. Help me. I don't want to die at 17.
Edit 3:
Still alive. Still breathing. Maybe they're leaving me alone????? I think I'm okay. There is a pile of bugs at my feet, but they're crawling off of me.
Edit 4:
Levi really wants to go home. Like, he just told me he REALLY wants to go home. He's got a gift for his parents.
~~Edit 5 :) ~~
Levi is next to me right now, an odd smile on his face.
The bugs are not finished building him yet, but he'll be ready soon.
We will be ready soon.
Your son says hello! He is a wonderful boy, is he not?
Mr and Mrs Costella, I cannot wait for you to meet him.
He is our greatest achievement, and rest assured, you will give us what we want.
Warm regards.
The Cartwright's.

First day was great. Maybe it’s because it was Sunday and there were a proper mix of players. I’m not a great player to be honest. But considering I made it to finals I thought maybe I wasn’t that terrible. It’s definitely a different level compared to Rivals, at least for me. One thing I had to get use to was the constant press. I managed to win 3 and lose 4 on my first day which actually felt great. My wins weren’t stressful and my losses were usually one goal apart or on penalties so I felt good about myself.
Then I logged on today…
I just wanna say I know people have been boycotting this game and rightfully so for what’s been going on. I feel bad for playing but I do find it pretty fun (at least until today) and I wouldn’t be buying any packs anyways.
Anyways. I just played two games and the confidence I had yesterday is just completely gone. I thought I had the press pretty much well figured out, but I guess there’s an extra level above that skilled players have when it comes to pressing. There was really no way forward and I was out in positions where I should have passed to my fullbacks rather than a knee jerk reaction pass forward. I found it extremely difficult to get past the midfield or even lay off a pass to my forwards, having to resort to longballs and crosses, which only really worked at the end of the match as a consolation goal.
I look at my stats after each finals match to see where I can improve from and also see what passes my opponents make to maybe be ready for it next time. Yesterday I found the 424 formation very annoying, as it was so easy for my opponent to just give a direct pass to their forwards from the wing and dribble into the box, cut inside and either score or pass and dribble until i eventually concede. But even then, I was able to go forward, evade the press, counter, play the way I like to play and score. With today’s two matches, there was such a huge skill gap.
My first opponent always somehow found a way to win the ball from me. I noticed it immediately how physical it felt when playing against him and somehow no fouls were given. He consistently managed to block my passing lanes, stop me from going forward into favorable spots, and winning possession from me by somehow physically dominating every single person on my team. I don’t usually play cutbacks but even when I thought it was the only way through, I don’t get even near the box to be a threat. Not only that, but whenever he took back possession I feel like he had his players go in the box and he would just direct pass into the half spaces and dribble forward. After scoring maybe the first or second goal, he would take possession away from with a press then pass it back to his fullbacks and just lob it back and forth from lb to rb. I conceded 3 more goals because he wasn’t doing anything but that and I got annoyed and decided to team press, to at least try and get it back. Left me to open in the back obviously. I lost 5-1. He also kept griddying after each goal so that was great.
My second opponent I swear was on crack or something. The speed with which I was swarmed with opposing players was something I was not prepared for. The intensity of the match was dialed all the way to the max and I again struggled to even go forward. This guys dribbling was like prime Neymar, except he had Foden. I mean he even dribbled with Haaland so I knew I was cooked. We kinda kept getting possession from each other consecutively, but obviously he was better at it. I didn’t notice why he kept pausing until half time and I saw his cruyff got a red card for tackling..idk somebody I guess, the match was just so high paced, physical, fast and intense I didn’t even notice. Even still he just completely dominated me. Homie did this thing where he was going for a cutback so he was attacking the wing with Foden and he stopped the ball right on the line. Foden momentarily was off the ball so I went to slide tackle, and somehow he made it back in time to dribble an inch away and concede a penalty. I lose 3-1.
I’m probably not touching champs again today…maybe tomorrow. Or I’ll just stop after being humiliated. I honestly don’t know what tactics they used and how to counter it. Wish I could rewatch those matches to figure out but oh well

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I am on a journey of figuring out why my brain works the way it does and what I can do to live an actual life. I am fairly certain that I have issues with ADHD and I’m even more certain now considering I’m fairly certain that one of my parents has it, but there is also autism in the extended family and my mother deals with some learning disabilities as well as some traits that could come as a more “high functioning” (I am fully aware that this is not the term that is preferred, but genuinely cannot think of a better term at the moment, as I’m not fully sure I would contribute her behavior as possibly high masking. I promise I also do not agree with this phrasing as somebody who has dealt with mental health issues, my entire life.)
I was considered a gifted kid, even though I was super shy and quiet throughout school, which was summed up to social anxiety by my teachers and parents. Looking through my old report cards, trying to find some notes from teachers or a pattern in grades or test scores I found that all of my teachers would report on how well-behaved I was and quiet.
My mother said that I was able to read before kindergarten, however, my kindergarten teacher at the time of beginning kindergarten reported that I was below where I should be in regards to naming letters and sounds.
In first grade, I struggled with reading, but also had a teacher report that I showed talent in language arts.
In second grade, I seemed to do pretty well in math (which didn’t feel true at the time) and according to the Stanford achievement test I took at age 7, Seem to range more in the 90th percentile when it came to reading and literary subjects.
In third grade, I scored at level five in my reading on the FCC. My score was 2004 compared to the grade level 1198. For math I was level four with a score of 1689, with the grade level score being 1269. I made bees and language arts and A’s in reading. Overall, I was meeting grade level expectations as far as classes went though.
I got into honors classes in middle school and because I had already gotten my first English credit, I was in advanced starting in high school. By the time I was a sophomore I had a become able to do virtual school because at this point, in middle school I had missed so much school and constantly did not want to go to school for reasons I can only assume involved my social anxiety, but I have fully dissociated so I don’t really remember.
What are your experiences in school and being considered a “gifted child?” Did you excel from the beginning and falter later in school or have you stayed excelling, or did you excel in the middle of your school career and then drop back down? I would love to hear your experiences better education is at all correlated with the experience if somebody in this community.

I am on a journey of figuring out why my brain works the way it does and what I can do to live an actual life. I am fairly certain that I have issues with masking ADHD and am looking over ASD.
I was considered a gifted kid, even though I was super shy and quiet throughout school, which was summed up to social anxiety by my teachers and parents. Looking through my old report cards, trying to find some notes from teachers or a pattern in grades or test scores I found that all of my teachers would report on how well-behaved I was and quiet.
My mother said that I was able to read before kindergarten, however, my kindergarten teacher at the time of beginning kindergarten reported that I was below where I should be in regards to naming letters and sounds.
In first grade, I struggled with reading, but also had a teacher report that I showed talent in language arts.
In second grade, I seemed to do pretty well in math (which didn’t feel true at the time) and according to the Stanford achievement test I took at age 7, Seem to range more in the 90th percentile when it came to reading and literary subjects.
In third grade, I scored at level five in my reading on the FCC. My score was 2004 compared to the grade level 1198. For math I was level four with a score of 1689, with the grade level score being 1269. I made bees and language arts and A’s in reading. Overall, I was meeting grade level expectations as far as classes went though.
I got into honors classes in middle school and because I had already gotten my first English credit, I was in advanced starting in high school. By the time I was a sophomore I had a become able to do virtual school because at this point, in middle school I had missed so much school and constantly did not want to go to school for reasons I can only assume involved my social anxiety, but I have fully dissociated so I don’t really remember.
What are your experiences in school and being considered a “gifted child?” Did you excel from the beginning and falter later in school or have you stayed excelling, or did you excel in the middle of your school career and then drop back down? I would love to hear your experiences better education is at all correlated with the experience if somebody in this community.

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• Disclaimer About Rates: Completing someone else's exam, essay, or homework assignment is obviously NOT something you can just freely ask anyone to do, especially on the internet. Therefore, such help should be well-compensated. Services that are reliable and deliver high-quality results are difficult to find and are very high in demand. Thus, I expect to be compensated fairly for all the value, stress relief, and saved time & energy my services provide. However, I may be willing to negotiate rates if necessary.
• Payment Methods: I accept PayPal (required for all Canadian students), Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, and anonymous credit & debit card payments via online invoice.
• Payment Plans: I offer the following payment plans for my services: weekly (most expensive), monthly, half-now / half-later, and all upfront (least expensive).
• Money Back Guarantee: I guarantee the following grades for coursework completed: A+. A, A-, B+, B. and B-. However, I offer a 50% refund for C+, C, and C- grades, and a full 100% refund for D+, D, D-, and F grades.

CURRENT RATES -- AS OF SUMMER / FALL 2022 -- SUBJECT TO CHANGE:

• Full Class Help Rates: $595 – $2495 USD
• Exam & Test Help Rates: $150 – $350 USD
• Quiz Help Rates: $60 – $180 USD
• HW Assignment Help Rates: $60 – $420 USD
• Essay & Paper Writing Help Rates: $19 – $29 USD per 300 words

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

• Engage in a Telephone interview: Speak with you on the phone and answer any questions you may have so that you have the opportunity to assess and analyze my tone, articulation, and accent. I’m a New Jersey-born Irish/Italian-American, but I have been told that I speak in an erudite & articulate suburban American accent with a “professor style” voice somewhat resembling the voice of actor: Ben Stein.
• Provide Telephone References: Provide you with the contact information of students who have utilized my services in the past who would be more than willing to vouch for my skills.

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

• Not Worth the Money: I certainly wouldn’t do it for such paltry amounts of money. (i.e., anything less than $1,000 per victim.)
• Most Students are Broke: I certainly wouldn’t choose high school & college students as my “target audience” to scam, considering that most people without college degrees have abysmally low annual incomes.
• Waste of Time & Energy: Communicating back and forth with potential clients is an absurdly long time sink since only less than 10% of all potential clients who reach out to me actually become paying clients of mine.
• All My Payment Apps are Still Active: If you pay me to provide academic services and I don’t deliver, you can always dispute the payment with the payment app and easily get your money refunded. If I were in the habit of swindling money from people, then all of my payment accounts would have been investigated and be completely shut down by now.
• My Mission: Thank you for taking the time to read my Reddit post. I take what I do very seriously and I always strive to get the highest possible grades for all students who entrust me with their coursework.
• Closing Words: Please feel free to reach out to me if you're sincerely interested in having help you with your school work. I am available via text, email, and call almost 24/7/365.

Paid Help from Hiraedu: If You're struggling to handle your comptia or any other WGU Exam or any other coursework, get help from Hiraedu and pay after the exam. Contact details for Hiraedu is: WhatsApp: +1 (213) 594-5657 OR Call: +1 727 456 9641
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edit: i just realized today the title numbers have been wrong the past 20 or so days...so I'll repost them with correct number of the coming days/week because i dont want to get confused with a bot. I haven't decided if I will delete the old ones or not as they get replaced. I think I will but I may delete in batches or as I go im not sure yet.
Purtle's Internet Lineup for May 13th, 2024 3:52pm
Pics:

• my body https://twitter.com/Sploototo/status/1789772431688691720
  
• Marketers in the 90s have done irreperable damage to the concept of "bits" https://twitter.com/St1ka/status/1789982753372430764
  
• Pokemon news
  
  • Today is the birthday of Pokemon artist Kouki Saitou, Kouglof0513 who has drawn the most artwork in the series' history. his style is honestly inseparable with pokemon itself at this point https://twitter.com/Lewchube/status/1789929446482338297

Clips:

• Morning commute https://old.reddit.com/HolUp/comments/1cqtme1/morning_commute/
  
• ok youtube is the better streaming platform just because you can do this https://twitter.com/emmnyaa/status/1789744730269524419
  
• with all the microsoft news recently i just keep thinking back to this bit in episode 27 of double fine psychodyssey (the excellent making-of documentary for psychonauts 2) where matt booty tries to reassure the team post-acquisition and in the process says all the wrong things https://twitter.com/ponettplus/status/1789146095433425004
  
• my previous post how Super Smash Bros is an inspiration for my monster taming game: The combat is an interactive turn-based, ring-out-based system where monsters get knocked away further the less HP they have. https://twitter.com/MariosMess/status/1789357787455140014
  
• If Street Fighter was an RPG. - desk https://twitter.com/deskclips/status/1789988972015567133
  
• Triplets have the same reaction https://clips.twitch.tv/DeterminedEnergeticEagleTBTacoLeft-NPBAzQWaN2tOHX0G
  

Videos

• Whoa! In Switzerland, a mobile overpass bridge is used to carry out road work without stopping traffic https://twitter.com/TansuYegen/status/1789526872298008603

Articles/News/Other

• Joe Biden will double, triple and quadruple tariffs on some Chinese goods, with EV duties jumping to 102.5% from 27.5% https://old.reddit.com/worldnews/comments/1cqufci/joe_biden_will_double_triple_and_quadruple/
  
• ICYMI: SF6 pr account accidentally revealed jukebox/character specific music settings and then deleted the post. They'll be in the Akuma update. https://twitter.com/kujikawaii/status/1789967110438793493
  
• Square Enix will "aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs" https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1789911362291786066
  
• Assassin's Creed Shadows officially titled (previously Assassin's Creed Codename Red). Official Cinematic World Premiere Trailer coming May 15th, 9 AM PT https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1790050212049764677
  
• Major airlines sue Biden administration over fee disclosure rule https://old.reddit.com/news/comments/1cr18d4/major_airlines_sue_biden_administration_over_fee/
  
• Ordered back to the office, top tech talent left instead, study finds https://old.reddit.com/technology/comments/1cr4b7f/ordered_back_to_the_office_top_tech_talent_left/