Hotels near ashburnham ma

I'll be in town but don't want to stray to far from where I am prob staying! Would love something cool and nice but not too fancy/expensive!

Hi Kyoto people. Is anyone here familiar with the bouldering gyms in the city?
My daughter will be visiting the city in mid-June, but she's preparing for a comp so she wants to visit a local gym to stay in shape. Do you have recommendations for one that would be convenient for their hotel near Kyoto Station? We're looking for a place that's accessible, has challenging boulders, and where a non-regular wouldn't feel unwelcomed.
Thank you in advance!

If your reading this I had to split my post in two because Reddits chracter limit is 40,000 and ive gone well over that. anyway have fun.
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John Wick Chapter 3 – Parabellum
John Wick 3 starts directly off of John Wick 2 with john running through the streets. The opening clock shot gives us the time as 5.10pm on Friday Day 13.
Friday Day 13 5.10pm
· 5.10pm john running through the streets.
· Winston arrives back at the Continental at 5.11pm “I’d say the odds were about even”.
· “John Wick. Contract starts at 6pm” is announced.
· John runs into an alley (the watch makes it 5.12pm) “Tick Tock Mr Wick”.
· John gets in a cab to the NY public Library. The clock in the cab makes it 5.38-5.39pm.
· John leaves his dog and runs to the library.
· “John Wick excommunicardo 20 minutes” in the exchange.
· John enters the library at 5.41 thanks to the clock above the clerk.
· John gets directions to his book and finds it at 5.45pm
· Big Ukrainian guy appears.
· John kills big Ukrainian guy with a book in 5 mins. Time is 5.50pm.
· John leaves and runs to the Doctor “john Wick excommunicardo in effect 10 minutes”.
· The Doctor must be 5 minutes away. John arrives “I still have 5 minutes”.
· Doctor treats john and stops dead on 6pm. Contract on john goes live and texts go out.
· John finishes up and shoots the doc as requested.
· John leaves at 6.05pm
· John runs through China Town
· Chinese thugs see him and chase him into the museum.
· John reassembles the revolver.
· John kills lots of people (best scene in the film). Whole fight takes about 10 minutes.
· John leaves.
· The dog arrives at the hotel around 6.10pm which fits with the film.
· John is hit by 2 cars and runs into the stables.
· John kills lots of people and rides off on a horse (about a 20 minute fight).
· John rides on the horse and kills the motorbike assassins.
· The contract gets raised in the exchange around 6.40pm
· John makes it to the Tarkovsky Theatre at around 6.50pm.
· Conversation with the desk when he removes things and meets the director. We learn johns name is Jordarni Jonovovich (I might have that slighty wrong). They talk and she agrees to give him transport to Casablanca. Probably an hour has passed since arriving at 7.50pm.
· John leaves on a life boat.
Saturday Day 14 9.00am
· Next scene. Morning The adjudicator arrives at the hotel at 9am judging by the daylight.
· The adjudicator meets Winston at 9.10am 5 minute conversation and they view santinos body. The whole conversation was about 20 minutes.
· The adjudicator gives him 1 week to get his affairs in order. This is the first clear timeline that is established. Therefore the films big shoot out must be Saturday Day 21.
· The adjudicator then vists the Bowery King (assuming she left Winston and went straight there it probably took an hour. She seems the type).
· Adjudicator with the King “you see rats with wings but I see the internet”.
· Adjudicator brings out the gun from John Wick 2 (the one the Bowery King gave him). She could have got it before seeing Winston or after. I think before. Bowery King also gets 7 days. The time is roughly 10.30 am
Monday Day 16 3.50am USA 9.50am Casablanca.
Cut to Casablanca. Google tells me that New York to Casablanca by boat at 40 knots takes 3.7 days by sea. Seeing as it’s a shady world and the fastest boats can travel at 80 knots and, assuming they are using that boat, takes 1.3 days for john to reach his destination (32 hours) making it Monday Day 16 3.50 am. However Casablanca is 6 hours ahead so its 9.50 am when John arrives at the port which fits the film.
· John walks through the port
· Cut to evening/Night obviously it’s a very long way to the hotel from the port and hes a man of focus.
· John kills 2 guys in an alley and meets an assassin who offers him amnesty “welcome to casablanca Mr Wick”.
· John enters the continental and meet Sofia. I estimate that the time is 8pm
· Conversation with Sofia and the marker.
· Sofia gets ready “We leave in 10 minutes”. The whole thing was probably 15 minutes. Therefre 8.15pm Casblanca and 2.15 pm USA.
Cut to the next scene at night where the Adjudicator meets Zero. This is most likely during the time that Johnwas travelling so this is either Saturday Day 14 or Sunday Day 15. Im inclined to Saturday at 8pm. She seems efficient.
Saturday Day 14 8pm
· Adjudicator recruits Zero. There a continuity error where the Adjudicator says “he killed scores of men this week alone” which if youre still following is actually 13 days although can be considered vaguly accurate. I suspect she was reffering to John wick 2 though which would fit. They talk for 5 minutes.
· Next scene is back at the Tarkovsky Theatre where zero and his men attack the Russian and Director. It’s still raining so it can be assumed that it’s the same night probably an hour later. So 9pm.
· The directors conversation with the adjudicator where Zero stabs her hands. The whole thing probably was 30 mins to kill all the guards and 30 mins to talk and get stabbed so its 10pm.
Monday Day 16 8.15pm Casablanca and 2.15pm USA.
· Cut to John and Sofia. 5 min conversation and 30 minute trip to meet berrada.
· Conversation about Markers, coins and social contracts “Do you know where the word assassin comes from”.
· John learns how to meet the elders.
· John and Sofia kill lots of people.
· Berrada survives and probably 30 mins have passed.
· John and Sofia fight their way out through the gold melting vats eneterance (about 10 minutes since Berrada conversation and fight). The fight is fairly straight forward so probably on 20 minutes through there. They enter the courtyard and kill lots of people and escape in the cars. It’s a very long fight so very likely and hour and a half passes which makes the time 11.10pm casa and 5.10pm USA.
Tuesday Day 17 8am Casablanca and 2 am USA
· The next scene is john and Sofia arriving at the desert. Google tells me that Dawn in Casablanca is at 8am. Its safe to assume that they both shared the driving and got some rest for the previous 9 hours. The car is also quite a distance into the desert I assume so they’ve likely used the night to follow the dog star and get a head start on meeting the elder.
· Sofia drops john off in the desert, waters her dogs and john leaves with a thimbleful of watered backwash. John begins his walk.
· He walks all day and night and collapses around 10am Casa (judging by the sun in the sky) on Day 18 (Day 16 4 am USA).
Saturday Day 21 9am USA.
· The next scene is early am for the Bowery King and Zero guards are killing all his men. Juding by the light and that we know he had 7 days it has to be Saturday Day 21 about 9am.
This scene presents a small problem because they haven’t been seen since maiming the director on Saturday Day 14 at 10pm but maybe the adjudicator has had other duties to attend to in that time.
· The adjudicator and Bowery King talk and he gets 7 cuts at 9.30am assuming the conversation took 30 minutes.
Tuesday Day 17 11am Casablanca and 5 am USA
· Cut back to an unconious John who probably been out for an hour. Hes picked up and taken to the elder and spends time in the tent (say 2 hours (1pm)).
· The conversation took an hour (2pm) where he chops off his finger and gets a mission to kill Winston. Zayer helps prepare for Johns departure giving him a change of clothes and, its implied, help to get back so this takes longer (another 4 hours to treat his finger and recover? 7pm?). Its likely that they have methods of getting through the desert but its still a long journey but its likely they took 2 days to get back to Casablanca. Say 48 hours (because he got a car a fair way in to the desert and camels are slower) making arriving back in Casablanca Day 19 7pm Casa. If he then got the 80 knot boat back that’s then another 32 hours travel making it Day 21 3am which means that he arrives back at 9pm Saturday Day 21 usa.
Saturday Day 21 10pm
· The next scene is John getting off the train and meeting Zero and the assassins which was probably an hour later at 10pm which fits with the film.
· John conversation with Zero and escape on the bike 10 minutes.
· Bike chase across the bridge with swords. John kills lots of people. John arrives at the continental and escapes Zero on the consecrated ground after about 40 minutes making the time around 10.50.
· John meets Winston after a 10 minute wait and after talking to Zero. Zero is ruined for me at this point when he becomes an obsessive fan boy all of a sudden which doesn’t fit with his character up to this point. So its 11pm when John and Winston talks in the room of glass.
· Winston convinces John to change sides and “go to war with the high table”.
· The Adjudicator arrives 10 minutes later (11.10) “Mr Wick it is a pleasure to meet you”.
· The adjudicator deconsecrates the Contenital. The process probably takes 10 minutes to get the file and do. Adjudicator leaves and summons a kill squad which, judging by the way they arrive, she had tooled up and ready just in case.
· John, Winston and Choron the concierge tool up. The guests leave and the decronsecration order is processed. This probably took around an hour (movie land reasons for being so quick) and the kill squad arrived after everyone has left say another hour so the time is Sunday day 22 at 1.20am.
Sunday Day 22 1.20
· John and Charon attempt to kill lots of people but cant due to lack of firepower. The staff are all killed very quickly within 10 minutes of the kill squad arriving.
· It was approximately 30 seconds for john to realise that he needs more firepower and 29 minutes and 30 seconds to be able to be in a position for him to be able to get back and rearm.
· They arm up again (probably 30 minutes) and head back out hunting again.
· John and Charon kill lots of people.
· They’ve probably been fighting for an hour when the adjudicator makes her phone call to Winston where he hands up at 3.30am.
· John enters the room of glass at 3.35am and fights the two assassins who smash him into display cases. Zero taunts him and 5 minutes later the assassins are killed.
· Zero beckons John to come upstairs.
· The two respectful assassins from the raid (great films watch them both) attack and talk with Mr Wick.
· The fight lasts about 40 minutes. John leaves them alive and goes to face Zero.
· John faces Zero (fanboy worship 4.20am). The fight lasts another 40 minutes.
· Charon returns to the vault and the Adjudicator calls Winston at 4.55am.
· Zero dies at 5.15am after him and John talk “That was a pretty good fight”.
· Winston and Adjudicator are on the roof they look like they have been talking for a short while whilst the light (pre dawn) makes it about 5.30am when John arrives.
· Winston betrays John and shoots him off the roof at 5.45am. The Adjudicator leaves.
· Clean up and sorting the continental appears to start immediately but its likely the Adjudicator went to her room and packed before leaving so the time is more 7am when the adjudicator realizes Johns body is missing.
· John is picked up by Tick Tock man and taken to the Bowery King. If this is around the same time then he meets the King at 7am. The conversation lasts about 5 minutes “cos im really pissed off”.
John Wick 3 ends on Sunday Day 21 at 7.05am.
John Wick Chapter 4
We know this film starts 6 months after Chapter three which has allowed John to heal from his injuries of falling off the roof in the last film. This one is harder to pace properly because of all the travelling between places so my timeline may be out here and there but generally it should be fine. 6 months is equal to 183 days ish so John Wick 4 starts on Monday Day 205 (because John Wick 3 ended on day 22 and nothing good ever happens on a Monday (p.s it’s only a Monday because I can’t be bothered to properly work out what the actual day of the week it would be)).
Monday Day 205 7.20 pm
· Bowery King gives a speech and walks through to John walking Johns dog. John is training on a Makawara Board Which is a traditional way of making strong punches and toughening up your hands (I study martial arts and used to have one, he’s also punching with reasonable form but with a Shotokan method with the reverse hand at the hip instead of the chest). New York skyline shows its sunset which the internet tells me is about 7.20 pm in April which is 6 months from October and fits the film later on. “You ready John?”.
Thursday Day 208 6am
·Sunrise in the desert. John kills 3 people on horse back and meets the elder. This must be the desert near Casablanca from Chapter 3. Google tells me that NY to Casablanca by boat at 40 knots takes 3,7 days by sea and seeing as it’s a shady world and the fastest boats travel at 80 knots it takes 1.3 days foe John to reach Casablanca then he has to get into the desert which takes 48 hours to find the elder making it 3.3 days later or Day 208. It probably takes an hour to kill the three horsemen. John meets the elder and they talk for 5 minutes and john kills him at 7.05am. John leaves. “No one escapes the table”.
Saturday Day 210 Evening probably around 5pm
· Back in New York Continental Hotel. Assumption that news of the Elder has been notified to the relevant people and its say, two days later. The Harbinger arrives and asks Charon to speak to the manager. Approx 10 minutes later he meets Winston delivers his letter and gives a 1 hour time limit to evacuate the hotel and then leaves. They get to it.
· Next scene is in the Marquis tower Winston has obviously got things going and he and Charon have gone pretty much straight there. They meet the Marquis and talk for 10minutes and Marquis blows up the continental exactly 1 hour after the hourglass notification was given so it is 6.05 pm. Marquis kill Charon 30 seconds later. “It has been an honor my friend” and leaves a minute after that asking for Chidi (his main guy) to find Caine at 6.07ish.
Sunday Day 211 9am
·The next scene is Paris. New York to Paris is 7.5 hours by plane. The assumption is that the Marquis left and took 1 hour to airport, straight on to the plane and the straight to Paris in another hour meaning it took 9.5 hours making it 3 am in the USA. France is 6 hours ahead of America making the time 9am which fits the film. Caine is sitting listening to his daughter play violin. He then is seen going to see the Marquis so im assuming this is an hour later. They talk and Caine gets his name. It takes 10 mins and Caine leaves at 10.10 am.
Monday Day 212 10 pm
·Cut to Osaka Japan. Paris to Osaka flight time is 15 hours,1 hour to the airport and then to the hotel. The time difference is that Japan is 7 hours ahead of usa so it makes it 11 am but the scene is night so say 10 pm and say than rather than a continuity error there was a flight delay because of movieland reasons. Mr Nobody enters the Continental and meets Akira the concierge and checks in. We meet her and the manager.
Note here: There’s cherry blossom on the trees. Cherry blossom season in Japan is roughly march to April which fits with the 6 months since October but if you don’t think that then the trees are artificial or genetically altered to bloom all year round.
Nobody takes a seat after checking in (10mins) and checks his dairy. The Manager and Akira walk and talk about 20 minutes through the LED museum and the manager goes out to meet John a further 10 mins later at 10.30pm. They talk for 30 minutes.
·Chidi arrives with Caine and asks to see the manager. Nobody notices when they arrive at 11pm.
The evacuation starts immediately. Akira runs up to see the manager so it must be 5 mins later when she sees him. John waits. The manager gets his staff ready which takes about 10 mins ish and meets Chidi at 11.20 pm.
·The manager and Chidi and Caine talk for 10 minutes and it erupts into a massive rumble.
·The manager kills lots of people. The first part of the fight takes about 10 minutes until the kill squad arrives and the fight enters round 2 at 11.45 pm.
Tuesday Day 213 00.00 am
Back on the roof the kill squad find John and Akira. Must be about 15 minutes later making it 00.00am.
·John and Akira kill lots of people. Interesting note: you can clearly see John aiming for the breaks and chinks in the kill squads armour which is still bullet proof like John Wick 3.
The fight takes 20 minutes. (00.20am)
· Cut to the kitchen and the Manager. Caine is slurping noodles which take 5 minutes to make. Incidentally slurping noodles is a Japanese thing and Donnie Yen is Chinese (00.25). Caine kills lots of people.
·Cut to John and Akira killing lots of people at about the same time and Caine finishes his fight. Its quite a long fight (30 mins). The Manager arrives and saves Akira and John leaves. “Kill as many as you can”.
·John enters the LED museum and about 5 mins later is attacked by the kill squad. John kills lots of people. Another long fight which takes about 45 minutes especially with the nunchucks making the time about 2am.
·Caine arrives and they talk and fight which takes about 15 minutes until Mr Nobody arrives and tries to kill them. Note: Caine loses his sword cane sheath here because you don’t see it again from now on.
Cut to the exchange which must be the same time and Johns bounty is increased.
·Cut to John outside in a bamboo area. Its about 15 minutes since he escaped Caine so about 2.30 am. John is attacked. John kills lots of people. Takes about 5 minutes.
· John and Nobody and his dog talk for 5 minutes and john leaves. “Take better care of yourself”.
Cut to the Manager and Akira trying to leave. Caine has beat them to it and its around the same time as Johns escape. Caine and the Manager fight which takes 10 mins and Caine kills the manager at 2.50 am and Akira leaves.
·John is at the station and most likely has been for 10 minutes. He gets on the train. Akira arrives, they talk for 5 minutes and Akira leaves next stop,
·Cut to New York in the rain likely 2pm. Winston and Bowery king talk for 10 mins likely at the same time John was escaping.
Friday Day 215 12 pm
·Next is Marquis and the Harbinger in Paris. Its bright day time so likely midday. Caine and Nobody are there so they must have travelled straight from Japan. So 1 hour to airport, 15 hour flight to France and 1 hour to Paris makes it 17 hours Since Japan but its Midday because it should be 8 pm so the plane had an engine fault and there was a delay.
· Nobody and the Marquis talk and Marquis stabs Nobody and makes a deal. Note here: Why do they shake with their left hands in this scene? Marquis leaves and Cut to
Saturday Day 216 12pm
·John in New York visiting Charons grave site. Its Midday and Paris is 6 hours ahead so it has to be the following day so its Saturday Day 216. 6 days have passed since Charon was killed. I could have this slightly wrong but movieland reasons for burying him so quickly. John and Winston talk for 15 minutes. “They’re cold hard facts”. John heads to Berlin.
Monday Day 218 8 pm
·Next scene is John in Berlin at night. NY to Berlin is 8 hours ish. 1 hour to the airport, flight and 1 hour to Berlin is 10 hours. Berlin is 6 hours ahead of USA which means the time should be 6am which doesn’t fit with the film therefore there must have been another flight delay and it’s the day 218 Monday say 8pm.
·Nobody watches John enter the safe haven Church.
·John unburdens his guns and enters. He speaks to the priest who shoots him and gets taken away. “Nice Suit”. Prob 5 minutes so its 8.05pm
·Cut to Marquis at the ballet. My Nobody calls him to give him Johns location so it must be the same time.
·John awakes with a noose around his neck. He been there about 30 minutes with everyone surrounding him. Katia arrives and talks to John about age and Uncle Petior whilst continuously stringing him up. “We have a common enemy”. They make a deal to kill Killa and the whole thing took about 15 minutes. Claus smacks John. “I am Claus”.
·About an hour later John and Claus are in the club to see Killa. Note: Scott Adkins is brilliant as Killa. Claus delivers a letter. Killa and John talk. Caine arrives and joins them. Conversation about family and personal feelings and discord between old friends. Mr Nobody joins them and takes a seat. Converstaion on who wants to kill who.
·They play cards. Interesting note: Caine here looks at his cards and says what he has so therefore he must have some actual vision. By the time Killa lays his cards on the table about 30 minutes must have passed. Once he does-
·John, Caine and Nobody kill lots of people.
·Killa runs into the club and john follows.
·John kills lots of people. It’s a drawn out fight against all the men and Killa but doesn’t last that long say about 30 minutes whilst Caine and Nobody kill everyone else in Killas office.
·John kills lots of people and Killa dies at 10.40pm
·The whole club empties 5 minutes later. Nobody tries to shoot John but Caine stops him. John leaves.
·Back at the Church an Hour later (11.45pm). John gives Killas tooth to Katia and we cut to John’s welcome back ceremony. It takes time to prepare and melt gold so its another 2 hours later making it 1.45am on Day 219 Tuesday. The ceremony probably takes an hour with them burning their arms ala David Caradine from Kung Fu style. Jordani is accepted back at 2.45 am
Wednesday Day 220 12.00 pm
·Winston visits the Marquis who we know is in Paris. Theres no time difference between Paris and Berlin and theres no way to know what time it actually is so im saying midday. John is likely traveling to Paris because he shows up in a bit. Winston delivers the message and formal challenge and they talk about the old ways and rules. It’s a detailed conversation and likely takets 20 minutes. “Such is life”.
·Next scene is John walking across themarble in front of the effiel tower. Its dull so say early evening say 5 pm.
·John, the Marquis and Harbinger discuss terms of the duel. We also get a finishing time of sunrise on day 221 which is Thursday for the duel and film ending. Whole thing takes about 15 minutes. John leaves with Winston.
·Caine and Marquis talk for 5 minutes and Caine leaves.
·Cut to John in a church say 30 mins since. Caine is there and they talk and share a moment together. John leaves after 5 minutes at 5.35 pm.
·Cut to the Marquis and Harbinger talking. Its now night at about 8 pm and the conversation takes about 5 minutes.
·John arrives at the safe harbour probably at the same time and eneter the station and meets Winston and the King at 8.10. John gets his suit.
·Chidi and the Marquis talk and there a brief shot of a large clock on the wall saying the time is 11.50 so that’s the time.
Thursday Day 221 00.00am
·Chidi puts out the contract to the exchange and the radio station at 00.00am.
·All the assassins tool up. Things are going to get very busy for John.
·John gets his gun at 00.00am. “This Viper has ferocious fangs”.
·Some time later they get on the boat and 20 minutes journey to Johns destination. Converstaion about grave stones. We also discover sunrise is at 6.03 am.
·John enters the road in front of the Effiel tower at about 4.30 am. At this time the exchange informs everyone where he is.
·John kills lots of people. Some in a mustang (love that car) whilst getting his gun. 15 min fight (4uilding site house at 5.37am.45am).
·John arrives at the arc de triumpth 15 mins after that (5.00).
·John kills lots of people in a car, on foot, between traffic at the arc de triumpth. (long fight 30 minutes).
·Marquis takes a phone call from Nobody at 5.33 am (clock behind him).
·John continues to kill lots of peopleand escapes on a bike heading to the Sacre Coeur at 5.35.
·John kills lots of poepl on a bike and enters the building site house at 5.35.
·One of the best fight scenes in the film. Nobody enters.
·Nobody and john kill lots of people. Marquis call Nobody at 5.40 (Clock behind him again).
·John and Nobody continue to kill lots of people.
·Marquis calls Nobody at 5.43 $40 million.
·More assassins arrive. John kills lots of people. (top down fight love this so much).
·Nobody and john kill lots of people.
·Nobody and John fall through a hole in the floor at 5.45.
·john saves nobodys dog at 5.46.
·John escapes out the window. He looks at his watch which shows the time is 5.50am. John heads to the steps.
·John starts up the steps. The time is 5.55am. He has 7 minutes to get to the top.
·John kills lots of people.
·John gets almost to the top and falls back about half way when Chidi attacks him.
·John and Chidi fight and john falls to the bottom.
·Caine arrives at 5.59.
·Caine and John kill lots of people back up the steps.
·Nobody shoots Chidi at 6.00am. Chidi is killed by the dog and Nobody at 6.01am.
·John and Caine arrive at the church at 6.03am. Cain stabs johns hand.
·The Duel commences. It takes approximately 5 minutes. Nobody and the dog watch.
·John kills the Marquis at 6.08am.
·The Harbinger makes his announcements and takes his leave at 6.09 am
·Cain leaves after talking to John at 6.10am.
·Winston talks to John. “Will you take me home?”.
·John passes out on the church steps thinking of his wife at 6.11 am on Thursday Day 221.
Thursday Day 228 12.00pm
·Back to New York a few days have passed so im assuming a week later at midday. Bowery king and Winston are standing at Johns Grave. They talk and leave after 5 minutes .
·After credits scene assuming this is the same time as the graveyard scene. Caine is visting his daughter. Akira is going to kill him.
John Wick Chapter 4 ends on Thursday Day 228 12.00pm.

DTS is only showing 3 possible hotels, one on the installation and two that are nearly 12 miles away. And all three are booked up, according to DTS. The allowable amount per day is $96. Can I book a hotel that is near the price that's allowed? nearly every hotel is over $100 a night.
any recommendations on moving forward?
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and I report Monday.

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SE FUE A LA CAPITAL A VIVIR CON MI TÍA Y CON ELLA MI ABUELO ELLA VEIA POR ELLA Y MI HERMANO YO NO LLEVABA MERIENDA A LA ESCUELA NO COMIA BIEN TENIA QUE IR A LA ESCUELA Y CUIDAR A MI HERMANO HERMANO QUE ELLA TENIA CONSENTIDO Y NO PERMITIA NINGÚN LLAMADO DE ATENCIÓN DE MI PARTE HACIA EL YO SI PODKAy CUIDARLO PERO NO LLAMARLE LA ATENCIÓN ERA REBELDE CON MIGO UN NIÑO TEDIOSO QUE CUIDAR DEBIA PEDIR PRESTADO PARA COMER NADIE ME AYUDABA A COMPRENDER LO QUE NO ENTENDIA MI PADRE AUSENTE LLEGO A COMPLICAR MAS MI VIDA LES RESUMO EN QUE CASI ME VIOLA DOS VECES Y ME MANOSEO PONIA A MI MADRE EN MI CONTRA Y ME CHANTAJEADA DICIENDOME QUE NADIE ME CREERÍA Y DEMAS TODO ERA NEGRO Y GRIS YO DECIDÍ SALIRME DE LA ESCUELA YA QUE PARA UN MATERIAL QUE NECESITABA ERA UN PROBLEMA TODO LO SACABA EN CARA DECIDI SALIRME DE LA ESCUELA PARA PONERME A TRABAJAR BUSCAR UN EMPLEO XQ NECESITABA HACER ALGO POR MI ANTES DE MORIR DE HAMBRE O TERMINAR VIOLADA Y EMBARAZADA DE MI PADRE YA QUE CUANDO LE CONTE A MI MADRE ME 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DESAYUNAR TODOS YA HABIAN DESAYUNADO EN EL RESTAURANTE CERCA DE LA CASA LO SUPE POR LOS PLATOS Y A MI NI XQ ERA MI CUMPLEAÑOS LES IMPORTO TENIA SED DE UN JUGO AUNQUE FUERA PERO NO HABIA NADA PARA ACABAR DE COMPLETAR MI LINDA MAÑANA EL IDIOTA DE MI HERMANO CON SU MALA FE FUE DONDE MIS ABUELOS A INVETARLES NO SE QUE DE MI COSA QUE LOS PUSO FURIOSOS Y EN PLENO DIA DE MI CUMPLEAÑOS CON TANTA CALOR HAMBRE Y SED EMPEZARO A INSULTARME Y DECRIME IMPROPERIOS QUE IBAN DESDE IDIOTA HASTA PUTA NO SE QUE LES INVENTO PERO ESTABAN MOLESTOS O QUIZAS NADA Y SOLO TENIAM GANAS DE ARRUINARME EL DIA NADIE ME DIJO NADA NI FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS YO VALIA MENOS QUE EL PERRO DE MI CASA NADIE TAN SIQUIERA VOLTEO A VER O RECORDARSE EL DÍA LOS MINUTOS AVANZABA Y EL ENOJO DE ELLOS CRECIA YO ENTRE DORMIDA Y DESPIERTA ME METI AL BAÑO A BAÑARME NO SIN ANTES RECORDAR QUE LO ÚNICO QUE TENIA PARA BAÑARME ERA UN JABON BARATO MIENTRAS QUE A MIS AMIGAS LES COMPRARON CREMAS Y DE TODOS LOS PRODUCTOS PARA SU CUIDADO CORPORAL FACIAL XQ YA ERAN SEÑORITAS Y YO PUES A BAÑARME MAL BAÑADA RAPIDO XQ POR LO QUE SE VEIA SI NO LE IBA RÁPIDO DE AHI HASTA UN GOLPE PODIA YO RECIBIR SUPER APURADA ME MAL BAÑE ENTRE EL SUEÑO LA SED Y LA HAMBRE ME MAL CEPILLE ME MAL VESTI Y SALI CON PRISA RUMBO A LA CALLE AL LUGAR DÓNDE TRABAJABA MI MADRE PARA VER SI ELLA SI SE ACORDABA O SI ME PODIA AYUDAR AUN ILUSAMENTE EN EL AUTOBÚS IBA PENSANDO QUE ES LO QUE MÁS TRISTEZA LE DA CON MI YO DE 15 AÑOS QUE HABÍA PASADO POR TANTO Y ERAN TAN VULNERABLE Y LOS CAMBIO HORMONALES NO LE FAVORECÍAN YO PENSABA QUE ESTO ERA COMO EN LAS PELÍCULAS QUE QUIZAS ERA UNA FIESTA SORPRESA QUE ME TENIAN PREPARADA ENI MENTE NEGANDOME A VER LO QUE ERA MI FAMILIA LLEGUA A LA CALLE Y ME ACERQUE AL TRABAJO DE MI MADRE YA QUE NO EXISTÍA PROBLEMA SI YO ME LE ACERCABA ME PUSO UNA CARA TERRIBLE DE ODIO DESPRECIO Y ME CORRIO ME DIJO QUE ME FUERA YO ENTENDI QUE ESTABA TRABAJANDO Y COMO NO PODIA VOLVER HA MI CASA ME QUEDE TODO EL DIA SENTADA EN UNA BANCA SEGÚN PASABA EL DIA MAS CRECIA LA SED EL HAMBRE ME QUEME DEL SOL ME DESIDRATE POR COMPLETO ESO MAS LAS GANAS DE LLORAR RETENIDAD ME DIERON UN MALESTAR TERRIBLE TENIA MUCHA HAMBRE Y NO TENIA DINERO MAS QUE EL PASAJE CON EL QUE LLEGUE Y UN DOLLAR MAS ESPERE SU HORA DE ALMUERZO ELLA ME VIO Y SIMPLEMENTE ME IGNORO PENSE QUE QUIZAS POR EL DIA SE ACORDARIA Y ME LLEVARIA A COMER ALGO POR LO MENOS O LE DIRIA FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS AL VERME EN SU HORA DE ALMUERZO SIMPLEMENTE ME IGNORO Y SE FUE A COMER Y A TOMAR AGUA EL TIEMPO RESTANTE SE QUEDO CONVERSANDO CON SUS AMISTADES Y YO VALIA MADRES EN FIN YO LA JUSTIFICABA EN MI MENTE DICIENDO ES QUE NO TIENE TIEMPO O DEMÁS PARA NO SENTIME TAN DEL CULO ELLA ENTRO A TRABAJAR Y YO ME CONVENCIA QUE ESTO ERA PARTE DE UNA FIESTA SORPRESA HASTA CUANDO FUE PASANDO EL DIA Y ME DI CUENTA QUE ESTO NO ERA ASI .......PARTE DOS EN EL SIGUIENTE TEXTO

Hello everyone. I hope that you are well. I am a relatively new wheelchair user and I am very interested in seeing the beautiful city of Paris, but I am having a lot of difficulty trying to find an accessible hotel with a wet room (not a roll-in shower). A lot of people seem to use the terms “roll-in shower” and “wet room” interchangeably, when I say wet room I am referring to a showering space that is completely level, with no step or cubicle, where the whole room is tiled and can get wet. I am interested in visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Moulin Rouge, and Versailles (which I realise is quite a distance from the other two). I would be very grateful if someone could suggest some hotels near the attractions I have listed that have an accessible wet room. Merci :)

Nettie Peterson has known me at my best and at my worst, and after everything that's happened lately, I think I can finally say the same. I'm admittedly not very good at comforting her, though. I haven't had much practice, is all. Historically speaking, she's always been the one to take care of me. My introduction to earth was a confusing, horrifying time for me, and she had dealt with all of it. She'd handled every panic attack, brought me back from every low. When I woke up one night to a drilling pain in my stomach and blood soaking my panties, she managed to keep me calm while explaining that this would now happen every month.
What I'm saying is that the woman is insanely skilled.
Me, not so much. After we had gotten out of the cave, I tried to provide emotional support by petting her hair and talking soothingly. Seeing as I was also distressed, she was doing the same to me, so we were basically sitting on the beach holding each other. To the outside observer, we must have looked rather strange. I was relieved to finally get back to her house. We sat down in front of the TV and ate cupcakes. We have a special system for eating cupcakes. I peel off the frosting and give her rest. It's messy and I have to keep hand wipes nearby everytime, but it's how we do it. We both eat cupcakes whole when we're by ourselves, so it doesn't make much sense either, but when we share, it's always like this.
Once I was sure she was alright, I left her to go off to bed while I made my way back to the hotel, bracing myself for what I expected to be an extremely uncomfortable conversation.
The lobby was dim and quiet. The large, bright ceiling lights had been turned off with only a couple floor lamps illuminating the hall. I walked past the unmanned reception desk and up the stairs, then rapped my knuckles against the door to Frankie's room. After a couple seconds, he opened up. Upon meeting my gaze, he let out a soft gasp, but it wasn't followed by a smile this time. He made way for me to step inside, wordlessly, and I entered without breaking the silence. I sat down on the sofa where he joined me after placing a glass of coconut water in front of me.
For a beat, we both stared at the drink. I didn't take it.
"What you did felt really off earlier," I began. "You were trying to embarrass Nettie. If you were testing your boundaries, if you were trying to see how I'd react, you got your answer. Don't ever make me choose between you two. You'll lose."
"Yes," he said quietly.
"If you don't get along with Nettie, that's one thing. You don't need to. But she was needling you and you made a real effort to be cruel." I paused. "You act so strange sometimes. All bossy and cagey."
"Yes," he repeated, briefly falling silent as he worked away on his gum in slow, contemplative motions. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did it. I wanted to unsettle her. It's not that I don't like her, she's fine, but at that moment, I simply loathed her. I couldn't tell you why. But I wish I'd kept quiet. I feel gross for spouting off like that."
"Then… why?"
"I don't know! There's this weird feeling, it comes over me and makes me remember stuff that's in the past… Then I get caught up and confused. I run my mouth, but I don't want to make you upset. I swear I won't do it again. I'll rein myself in."
"Will you? This doesn't seem right." I took a deep breath. "Frankie, I have no idea what you are. Even though you know everything about me."
"Not everything," he argued. "You never said a thing about what life was like where you're from. Or who you were before. Yes, that's not what this is about, but I'm just speaking technically."
"You shouldn't have to rely on technicalities to make a point."
"No. Look, I keep wondering what I'm even doing here. I like you a lot. But I haven't thought this through and by now, I'm scared to."
"Stop talking in riddles," I implored him.
He huffed out a chuckle. "I'd have to stop thinking in them first." Before he could add anything else, his phone started vibrating on the TV table. "Oh, dammit," he muttered. Shooting me an uncertain gaze, he reached out for it, his hand hovering above the screen. "Can I?"
"Sure." I let go of a long breath, snatched up the glass and leaned back in my seat as Frankie answered the call. I pick up on a woman's voice talking on the other end.
He kept glancing over at me almost sheepishly as he mumbled words of affirmation into the phone. "Yes… Yeah, I remember… Well, it's not a good time, but I'll do it. Bye." Dropping the device into his lap, he gave me a twist of the mouth. "That was Mae-Lynn. She works at—"
"The diner with you," I cut him off. "I do take note of the other staff there, for your information." I took a sip of my water. "Occasionally."
"I promised to do some shopping for her. She's come down with the flu. Store's closing soon, though, so I'll have to go now."
"Well, that's convenient."
"I was going to ask you to come along."
I agreed. Having lost track of the conversation, the drive was a grim, quiet affair. Frankie took us to one of the more expensive stores in the area, saying that he wanted to treat Mae-Lynn.
"Take a cart," I ordered, and once he had acquired one, I had him hold it still while I climbed inside. He regarded me with a bemused expression but refrained from commenting as he began to roll me down the aisles.
Grocery shopping at night is something else. Eighties music was playing over the radio at a low volume, but the otherwise quiet space made it sound decidedly louder. There was almost the hint of an echo. Safe for two of three singular, tired-looking individuals, Frankie and I were the only people in the store. I had nestled against the back of the cart, my head tipped back to watch Fran's face from below as his eyes roamed the shelves. Occasionally, he'd stop to check the list Mae-Lynn had texted him on his phone.
"If you want anything, speak up," he told me.
"I'm out of cereal," I said, just as we passed the respective aisle. He turned the cart back around, let me pick out a carton of cornflakes and took up walking again. After five minutes of stoically regarding him from my mobile vantage point, I piped up again. "Go back. Wrong ones."
"Well, which ones do you want? I'll get them, it's faster than pushing this thing around."
I shook my head. "No, no, I have to look at them. Go back."
He shook his head to himself but obediently maneuvered the cart back to the shelf with the breakfast items. I took my time picking out a different box, then settled back down.
"Happy?" Fran asked.
"Delighted."
After fifteen minutes, we were getting close to finishing Mae-Lynn's list. Frankie was starting to move towards the cash register, only for me to tug on his arm. "Turn back," I told him, holding up the box. "I don't want them after all. I need different ones."
He stifled a groan. "Sure, Sunshine." I let him roll me all the way back to the cereal aisle where I studied the colorful boxes intensely. "Nevermind," I said, turning back to him. "Let's go."
He started making his way over to the register again when I cleared my throat. "Actually, I think I might have another look."
"Are you kidding me?" he squeaked, only for me to hold his gaze with a smile. "You are," he choked out. "I oughta send you rolling right into that stack of cans."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Is that a challenge?" He glanced about himself, finding that we were alone. Then, he pushed the cart, and it swerved, sliding across the shiny floor. The thrill of the launch washed over me and I started laughing. He lunged for it, grabbing it just in time to prevent the collision.
"Do it again!" I demanded.
He indulged me, sending me swerving and spinning a couple more times. Eventually, he took a running start and pushed me down a long, empty aisle at a breakneck speed. The giggles died in my throat when, seemingly out of thin air, someone appeared at the end of the aisle. My jaw dropped and I reflexively gripped the sides of the cart to protect myself from the impending crash, but the person simply reached out and caught the cart by its edges. Within the blink of an eye, they had managed to steady it. My vehicle had come to a standstill. It all happened incredibly fast, and for a moment, I found myself unable to react. One of the other person's hands had come to rest over mine in the process. Still at a loss for words, I raised my head to meet their gaze.
Those eyes.
My heart, already thundering in my chest, dropped entirely into my stomach. There were pupils filling the void in that formerly uninterrupted pale vastness this time, but I recognized them either way. Seeing them sit in an actual face instead of behind a nondescript black mask was strange, but there was not a doubt in my mind. It was them.
The cultist had jarringly pleasant features that struck me as neither overtly feminine nor masculine. Their tawny skin had an almost bronze sheen to it and short locks of platinum blond hair stuck to their smooth forehead, slick with the same sweat that formed stains beneath the armpits of their light gray t-shirt.
It was like time stood still. The interaction could not have been longer than two seconds in total, but it felt like a full hour. From me staring at our linked hands, to locking eyes with them, to the cold, raw realization, it seemed to me as though forty minutes or more had gone by, followed by another twenty when I watched the crude smile forming on their lips. Their fingers clamped down on my own, and before I knew it, it had happened.
The lights in the store had changed color, taking on a dimmer, sickly green tint. The shelves around us had emptied and the gentle, melodic hum of the radio had been replaced by a deep, droning buzz of static. I was still sitting in the shopping cart, and the cultist was still leaning over me, but their expression had morphed into one of shocked disbelief. Seeing fear on the face of the person who'd stabbed me might have been a great satisfaction to me in any other situation, but right then and there, I was equally as terrified.
I had switched dimensions and was now alone with my attempted murderer.
The thought took a while to sink in, but the clearer it became, the more I felt the need to scream. And yet, not a sound left my lips. My own saliva had turned sour, filling my mouth with an acidic taste. Dread pooled in the pit of my stomach like icy, chilled water and tears were stringing the corners of my eyes. I blinked them away in a hurry, redirecting my gaze at the cultist. They were staring past me in a daze, taking in our changed surroundings before fixing me with a sharp glare.
"Seriously?"
"What?" The word somehow slipped past the lump in my throat.
The cultist made a sweeping gesture at our surroundings. "Where are we? What the hell is this? You don't even have your dimension hopping under control? Not gonna lie, I had higher expectations of you."
"What?" I repeated eloquently.
"You just switched dimensions on my ass. And seeing as you literally crashed into me, I don't think you planned on doing that."
"I didn't," I confirmed.
"That's what I'm talking about."
"You know about dimensions?"
The cultist palmed their face, emitting a deep, low groan. "Clearly."
I scrambled back in the cart, trying to bring some distance between the two of us. I bared my teeth at them, both rows elongating and curving outward. At least I was getting the hang of my physical transformation. "If you come any closer, I'll rip your hand off," I hissed, spittle flying out between my fangs.
"I believe you," they replied, narrowing their eyes at me. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
"That's hard for me to believe."
"Yes, sure. I did and I would again, but not here. Not now. You understand?" they asked pointedly, their voice cutting like a razor blade.
"I'm not sure I do."
"Well, without you, I won't get out of here, and I've stuff to do on the other side." They stepped behind the cart and grabbed onto the handle.
I hastily twisted around to face them. "You know about the finer details of dimension hopping but you can't do it yourself?"
They let out a soft sigh as they began pushing the cart, with me inside, down the empty aisle. "I managed to do it once. Just once. Never again. It's not a great surprise to me that you should be able to switch to the other sides, but I'd thought you'd be able to control it. I think I have your number. I'm pretty sure I know what you are, and we have more in common than you could have probably guessed. That boy you were with on the other hand… I won't lie, he freaks me out. He's got the strangest face and he didn't react to my eyes at all."
"What are you?" I queried, quick to steer him away from the topic of Frankie Preston even though I didn't really expect an honest answer. "How'd you do that the other night? Your… your eye thing?"
"That unsettled you, didn't it? It's not anything I do per se." They shrugged leisurely. "I could just as well ask you where you're hiding your tentacles."
"So you're not human. I didn't think you were," I stated. "What's your business with the Collective? What are you after? Are any of you normal people?"
"As far as I know, I'm the only one who's not." They steered the cart around the corner with a swift, forcible yank and I bumped painfully against the side of the cart. Stifling a yelp, I kept my face straight, looking over the shelves as we passed them. I noticed that some of them weren't entirely empty—there were a couple jars, cans and bags of various goods standing scattered throughout. They looked almost lonely. The cultist, registering my wandering gaze, stopped and grabbed a random plastic jar that looked like it could be containing peanut butter or something of the sort. The label was faded and partially peeled off. They inspected it from all sides before thrusting it into my hands. "Here, open it," they commanded.
"I certainly won't," I replied, a mix of rage and apprehension bubbling in my chest.
"Aren't you curious?"
"No. But if you are, go on and open it yourself."
They grunted, grabbing the jar and unscrewing the red lid. They dropped it to the floor where it bounced off once and rolled away into the darkness. Peering in, their expression remained unchanged. "Nothing. Look." They held it out to me and sure enough, it was empty. I let them hand it to me, intrigue winning me over as I started examining the small container. It was completely unremarkable. I reached two of my fingers inside only for the digits to suddenly be stricken with a searing pain. It flashed through my bones like lightning and I cried out, withdrawing my hand. Suddenly, the floor seemed to quiver. The lights in the store flickered, seeming startlingly bright for a split second only to turn dimly green once more. The cultist let out an involuntary shriek, staggering back before managing to steady themself as everything went back to its former solid state.
"What the fuck was that?" they wheezed.
"An earthquake?" I suggested, not quite knowing what else to say. My pulse was thrumming in my ears, hard enough to split my head in half. It took me a minute to regain a relative state of calm.
"An earthquake? In another dimension? You're messing with me."
"I don't know! Maybe it was… maybe I was nearly jumping back, I have no idea." I shook my head, ignoring the throbbing pain shooting through my temples. "I don't have it all figured out yet, but it's an emotional response. Whenever my flight instinct gets triggered, these dimension switches happen. It was the jar. The jar is painful inside."
"What do you mean?" they asked, eagerly reaching for the jar and sticking their pinky finger into it. They pulled it back out with a howl, letting the jar drop to the floor. "What the hell is up with this place?"
"How would I know?" I argued hotly.
"Yeah, well. Anyways." All of a sudden, their hand was in my hair, tugging on my braid. They yanked my head to the side, and before I could break out my tentacles or try to snap my jaws at them, I could feel their hot breath on my nape. A scream died in my throat, equal parts painful and shocked. My eyes burned, my vision swimming when the cultist dragged their teeth across my skin, leaving a trail of warm saliva. And then, fast and without mercy, they bit down.
The lights turned bright white. The static buzzing that had been hanging in the stale air changed to the familiar eighties music tunes. Squinting into the sudden brightness, the colors of the countless types of packaged products filling the shelves almost seemed to be screaming at me.
We were back.
The cultist disentangled themself, quickly stepping away from me. I looked up, still dazed, to see why. Frankie Preston had come up behind us, snatching the cart away from the other person and pulling it out of their reach. I immediately scrambled up to wrap my arms around him. "That's them," I breathed. "From the Collective."
"I know," he said tonelessly. His eyes, trained on the blonde, spelled murder. "You should get out of here," he added, addressing them. "The shelves here are rickety, they might fall on you."
The cultist's expression was a frozen mix of suppressed uncertainty and confusion. Still, they held the server's gaze. "You should maybe not… do anything stupid," they uttered, their voice almost equally as flat as his.
"I'm all about stupid."
"Then I guess I ought to leave. See you guys soon. It was a pleasure." They threw us a smile that was faker than Frankie's when he waited tables before marching off, leaving the two of us alone in the aisle.
"Are you alright?" Fran asked, running a hand over my mussed braid. "What happened? I'm so… one minute you were here and the next…"
"We switched dimensions."
"I pieced that together. You weren't gone for long… just a couple minutes." He nervously twisted his wet bubble gum around the tip of his finger, drawing nervous strings.
"Were you worried?"
"Out of my mind," he said in a low voice, not meeting my gaze. "I mean, I knew you'd be okay on your own, I wasn't saying that—"
"I wasn't. I'm not," I interrupted him. "I got out alright, sure I did, but I'm not okay right now." I swallowed. My throat was bone dry. "I need to call Mary Markov. She should hear about this."
Frankie nodded along. "Do you want me to do it for you? I'm certain I can give her an accurate description."
I declined and sat back in the cart. Per my request, Fran brought me home after we'd paid for everything. I needed some time alone to relax and pretend everything was normal. I cleaned my room and then looked through job listings, which I admittedly haven't done in a little while. When I couldn't find any other way to procrastinate, I made the call to Mary Markov, which went about as well as could be expected. She wants to see me tomorrow, though. I wish she'd told me about what. For a newsreader, she's really not very forward with her information.
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
17: government work
18: something in the caves

I'm 27m (Scandinavia) currently working a full time job in hospitality. To be more specific, a zoo/park/hotel and so on. I'm mostly located in the hotel as a general maintenance man.
Now my second option would be a new job I was offered as a warehouse responsible in a furniture store. The store promises me to become a store manager trainee in the near future.
What should I do?
TL:DR Keep working maintenance in a hotel/zoo/entertainment park or change job to become a warehouse responsible for a furniture store?

First shot at a recap so let’s see how we do!
Race Info
What – IM 70.3: Chattanooga
Where – Chattanooga, TN USA
When - Sunday, May 21st, 2023
Overall Goals
- PR - Yes (previous PR was a 5:30:12 at Ohio 70.3 in 2022)
- Sub 5:00 - Heck no
- Not blow up on run - Sorta?
TL;DR and Results
This was my 3rd 70.3 and my first with my coach who has been training me since the start of the fall 2022
Swim – 35:07
T1 – 5:03
Bike – 2:49:55
T2 – 3:13
Run – 1:51:57
Total time – 5:25:14
58th in AG (M27), 579 overall
Background
Was a college soccer player (GK) and after college had a foray into BJJ and MMA with a couple fights. Realized that was dumb for longevity and switched to triathlon
Training
Swimming
2-3 sessions a week of 2.4K to 3.6K yards per session. Some workouts are speed focused, some are technique focused, so on and so forth. I have seen a good improvement on CSS these last few month from 1:40 to 1:33. I did swim team as a kid so I have been trying to recapture some of that swim experience. I also felt some recent breakthrough with decreasing my stroke rate and using fewer more powerful strokes. Have been very happy with my improvement these last months. I still remain a terrible to nonexistent kicker
Goal split - 35 Minutes
Biking
typically rides a week. Longer weekend ride and 2 during the week (on zwift trainer) with focus on cadence or power or VO2. I have a big problem with low cadence, recently been trying to get up into the 80s for when I am normally riding. However when I start putting power down I start reverting to the low 70s cadence of riding. As far as FTP I had worked my FTP up to 257 leading up to the start of the season. However I have felt pretty weak these last 2 month leading up to this actual race. It has been harder for me to put the power down. However on the outdoor longer rides I have felt very strong and very comfortable riding for longer periods. Outdoors I ride without power so will probably need to make that investment soon.
Goal Split - 2:30:00
Running
Running has steadily improved with increased mileage and more speedwork. Recent 5K test had improved me to 6:33 for my fastest 5K. Additionally in the most recent half marathon race I had I finished 1:30:12 with a 6:57 avg. biggest issues I have been dealing with are some pain in my left Achilles at the very start of runs that typically disappears after a mile or 2. Typically 3-4 runs a week (1 tempo short, longer run on the weekend, Z2 10k).
Goal Split - 1:40:00
Race Morning
Woke up at 4 AM to get the body rolling. Had my usual prerace breakfast of 2 English muffins with peanut butter and honey as well as a power armour with caffeine and a cup of coffee. Transition setup right at 4:40 to give me plenty of time for the most important part of the morning, THE BM. Went back to my hotel and was able to get showered and dressed up for the race. Headed over to the busses for drop-off to the swim and get to the swim start 20-30 mins before the race start
Swim – seeded myself in the 30-35 minute group and set off! for those that fear swimming Chatty is a great race. It is a with the current swim so it felt like we were flying down the river. Dealt with a slight leak in my left goggle the entire swim which was pretty annoying but it was far from terrible. Also I forgot that in Chatty the swim is actually 1.4 miles instead of 1.2, so as I swam over 2100 yards I was thinking WTF why are we still swimming? This was the first time I seeded myself in the 30-35 min so I did deal with less of the slower swimmers who seed incorrectly. However I did still find quite a few in front of me who should not have been where they were. Mini Rant here, but seriously people why are you doing this? IDK this is just a huge pet peeve of mine when I have to swim all the way around a person (small problems I know...) rant over. But got through it without any real major contact with anyone
35:07 @ 1:23/100 yards - 7:48 PR!
T1 – Never had a wetsuit stripper before! that was fun. But this transition is long as crap. My watch clocked my total transition distance as almost half a mile which was crazy to me. Also I was a little slow getting my socks on today which was unusual. all and all a odd transition where I just felt slow and unfocused on what I was doing.
5:03
Bike – Set off on what had previously been my nemesis for my first 70.3 but felt like I would have an area of great improvement for today! with my goal of 2:30 I knew my goal average speed was around 22MPH, and for the first bit we were well on track! If I look at my average speed through the first 26 miles I was averaging 21.6 MPH. And this is a course with rolling hills most of the way. Goals of the bike were to try and really spin to get through the hill and not stuck grinding it out as this would destroy my legs. Also wanted to keep on my nutrition as I felt this really caused me to blow up on my runs in Galveston and Ohio. Fueling per hour was 1 x 55g carb Gatorade mix bottle and a maurten gel to get to 80 g carb per hours. Would then rinse down the body and sip water through the aid stations. after I burned through my 2 bottles I sipped on the Gatorade endurance bottle taken from the aide stations. In total took 160 g carb + some of the Gatorade endurance for nutrition. So all was going ok until after the "big" climb halfway. Not sure if it was fueling or the headwind that started. But my average speed just tanked. I felt like I had no power. When I tried to flex and stretch my legs I could just feel the damage in them. Not good. Then with the slower speed my mental game fell apart. mile 40-50 I was in a really bad mental spot and had decided at several points to just quit when I got back into transition as there was no way in hell I would break 5 hours. I felt like a failure and a loser. why had I been training 9-12 hours every week to just suck? Talk about a tale of 2 half's. Managed to get back to transition. Mini rant #2 - draft packs... screw you. A literal peloton of 8-10 people 2 abreast 5 deep flew by me at mile 45 and let me tell you I was big mad. Rant over. Also saw a guy lose control at 30 MPH and hit the deck pretty hard, hope he's ok. That was a nice bike to wreck on :( Also another guy almost started peeing on me (I was behind him) near the end and definitely did not use enough water to wash himself down after LOL.
2:49:55 - 20.07 MPH - 11ish minutes slower than PR :(
T2 – Made it into T2 and said alright lets just run the first 5k and see how we are doing then we can DNF if you really are that miserable. So got everything racked and ditched the 10 maurtens I had somehow acquired on the bike. but threw on my trusty Saucony Endorphin Pro 2s and set off
3:13
Run – That first hill out of transition took my already bad mental state and threw it into the fire. So I have never come closer to quitting than that moment. I did not somehow. And then the run flattened out. So after 1.5 miles I actually started to feel good mentally and that's when I knew I was going to finish. I also saw how my pace was going and I knew I would at least PR on the day if I just held the pacing I was doing. after the 1st aid station I decided I wouldn't push too hard on the run and simply walk through the aid stations. avg pace as 7:40-8:00 while running then would walk through the aid stations. in the aid stations I would douse with water and take Gatorade in. Also was putting ice in the suit. I think in total I had 2-3 gels throughout the run? and I stopped at every single aide station for drink and splashing myself with water. Besides the aid stations the only section I had to walk was an incredibly steep little hill right before the first bridge crossing to the other side of the river. That hill is a real ball buster. In terms of improvements I think if I really want to chop some time I have some free time if I don't walk through aid stations. I need to get better at doing that on the run to enable me to get that free time. Also I really didn't push at all my heartrate was pretty much in high Z2 for me the whole run. Also I was dealing with side stitches off and on the whole run so not sure how I can prevent that in the future but if I could eliminate that I would be a much happier camper. Also lap 2 on the run was SO CROWDED mind you there were 3k athletes but man that was a busy run course for the second lap. Saw the shoot and had the tear well up a little. Got over the line and had a quick little 30 second sob so that was that.
1:51:57 - 8:31 AVG - 11 min PR
Final Thoughts
Chatty has me feeling some really mixed emotions. I really was sure I was in for massive PR., chopping 30 minutes off my last PR. Instead I got a measly 5. Maybe I am being to hard on myself or am being greedy with the amount of time I feel I should be dropping? However when I think about it practically it is a much harder course with 2.3K feet in climbing over the bike and 600 or so feet in climbing on the run. So to PR on a harder course is good right? Just a confusing weekend for me about how to feel about it. I think nutrition is still and issue as I am left thinking why did I feel so weak on the bike? I have read some literature that 90-100g carb may be even better now so I think I will implement this into training. Also could I have been tougher and gone harder on that run? If you saw me out there I was in an blue and orange suit with a white helmet riding and old black and blue trek equinox 7 or black running hat. Next race is in July with the Happy Valley 70.3 so I have even more climbing to look forward to there. Will I be able to further PR? Let me know what y'all think of this write up or your thoughts on all this!

I know Baidu is king now over there, but as an ABC with limited speaking and no Chinese reading ability, it’s been really hard to plan a trip.
For instance, I can’t even find a gym near my hotel using Bing or Google. I’ve tried WeChat search which seems quite flat.
I really want to find authentic food locations that aren’t pushed Trip Advisors very west leaning user base.
Any tips for recent travelers in my situation?
Thanks

My dad said hotels near ithaca are already booked out for 2024 graduation weekend wtf????? What do I do 💀

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Somebody told me of a time slip account that one of their friends told them and it was where they were staying in a hotel in London, but were planning on going to St Pancras train station so that they could travel to Paris.
After leaving the hotel, they found that they had a while yet before their train to Paris left. When they were walking down the street towards St Pancras train station, they found a casino situated nearby, across the road from the St Pancras train station.
They decided to go to the casino to help kill a bit of time, and when they went in, the place was full of cigarette smoke. The music being played sounded 1960s , and they got welcomed into the casino by a woman who had a similar style; and the general look of the place was very old fashioned.
The friend then won some money when playing at one of the slot machines, and they decided to get a quick drink at the bar before leaving. They then left the casino and went to the St Pancras train station and head off to Paris for the day.
Upon arriving back in London in the evening, they decide to go back to the casino again.
Except they couldn't. It was nowhere to be found. They went back to the hotel and tried looking for the casino again early in the morning, but couldn't find it anywhere. They asked various people if there had ever been a casino near the St Pancras train station and the answer they got was no.
What seemed strange was how the money they won at the slot machine was modern British currency and when they got a drink at the bar, their modern British money was accepted.

https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1649960/the-time-slip-thread

Some dumb virus or adware caleld ads by testpid is popping up when i search stuff on google. How do I remove it?
https://preview.redd.it/vncne1ncr03b1.jpg?width=1380&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82fbd41cda8d7c670e5eeb3f898cbd7950d6ec5d

What is the closest hotel near mirage? Anything walkable?

We are spending 4 nights in Bangkok this summer and hoping to stay neaaround Sukhumvit. We are considering these 5 hotels--anyone have good/bad experiences here or other suggestions? Hoping to stay near a metro/public transportation as well.
View Poll

Welcome back to our story. Let's jump right in with the summary:
Amat runs on a road into the woods but can't outrun the negative thoughts and comments. Less than a year ago, he had spent too much time in the gym lifting weights that he fell on the way home and sprained his wrist. Amat kept the injury to himself. He self medicated with painkillers and alcohol. All the expectations weighed him down. Tails told his mom that if he was drafted, he could continue to play for Beartown. The club would get three hundred thousand dollars, and Amat would get more experience and wins for the team.
On the train, the secret reporter asks Maya about her dad. The reporter takes notes about Ramona because she was on the committee and still talked with Peter.
Peter visited Amat to suggest what agent he should contact. He comments that he can smell alcohol on his breath. Peter is just like the others making money off him.
Matteo's sister had gotten a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder in secret. His sister ran away two and a half years ago by saying she was to be staying at a church for "problem" kids. Then she left the country. The next call about her was news of her death. "The devil took her" according to his mom. Matteo wishes they had been born somewhere else to different parents like the Anderssons.
A mysterious man watches Amat practice. He was Lev, a "trash bandit" from a trailer park near Hed with a bad reputation. It was because he was a poor immigrant like Amat. Lev prevented Amat from buying pills. Amat confronted him the next day. Lev is only trying to help. He gives him rides home and can get proper meds for him. Lev actually listens to him and understands. Lev takes the calls from agents now.
Teemu drives through the wreckage after the storm. He has Peter take the wheel so he can text someone. The match schedule is changed so Beartown will play against Hed. Teemu tells him there are rumors that Beartown will merge with Hed now that their club's roof collapsed. Tails is behind it. Teemu hates the idea. Peter tells him he could be a tool or a weapon for the town. Teemu says it's only a temporary truce between Beartown and Hed.
At the game, they were tied and had a face off. Zackell asked Amat's opinion, and he said to give him the puck. They won, but it felt hollow. It was a test, and Amat lost.
The reporter reunites with his daughter. She tells him that how he talked to Maya was unethical. But Maya would have been on her guard if he told her the truth about himself. People think Peter is above reproach. If the two clubs merge, the evidence will be buried. The daughter has to be careful how she gathers intel or it could be taken personally. She has to live in the area. The reporter dad wants to ruin them.
Johnny comes home late in the evening from clearing the roads. Big sister Tess takes on more responsibility which makes Hannah feel guilty. Ted is obsessed with hockey and is better at it than Tobias. Ture pipes up that they have to practice in Beartown now. He overheard his dad on the phone earlier. Ted wants to see Amat train. Tobias gets in a fight with his brother. They are sent a message on their phones of a picture of the town sign with green scarves and a "GO HOME" sign below it. What a welcome. /s
Adri Ovich cleans up after the storm. The older dogs start barking because Benji came back riding a bike. He breaks into the club and sneaks onto the ice thinking of old times. He doesn't feel anything but numbness.
Maya gets a ride into Beartown from a neighbor. The door to her old home is unlocked which is only something people do in Beartown. She surprises her dad as he's getting ready for the day. He didn't think she'd know when the funeral was. Her mom comes home and tackles her in a hug.
Benji had stolen Mateo's bicycle and left it at the rink. He had fixed the chain. It figures that an entitled hockey player would steal it. On the first frost of the year, Benji visits his dad's grave.
Amat lost his temper at another player and insulted assistant coach Bobo. He sat out the rest of the games. Rumors spread that he wasn't really injured and was ungrateful to the club. Lev told him the rich men would tell him to settle for less. Peter tells Amat that he will be lower in the NHL draft but should still take it seriously. The next day, Lev sent a dishwasher for Amat's mom as a loan for when he goes pro.
Lev couldn't go to America with him. Lev's friend didn't help him much. The man he met in the hotel gym was friends with Peter and only interviewed him as a favor. Amat wasn't picked. It was all for nothing. Lev misled him, and his friend wasn't a real agent at all. Amat drank all night and was too drunk the next morning for a second chance. He came home and drank all summer.
Amat texts Bobo for help. Amat has gained weight and is out of shape. Bobo runs with him til they can't anymore. He compares Amat to the lupine, a hardy flower that grows in the ditch. He has ten months until the next NHL draft.
Mateo's sister helped him to survive school. She told him the hiding places and to stay away from the hockey guys. His sister didn't take her own advice.
Lev visits Peter to thank him for trying to help Amat. He mocks Peter when it was his fake agent who messed up Amat's chances by asking for payment from the clubs. Lev claims Ramona owed him a bunch of money. He wants to own her bar, but he doesn't have any proof. Lev uses Peter's motives for helping Amat against him. Lev threatens his wife, and Peter pushes him in a rage. The young gangster in the car comes near. Lev leaves, and Peter calls Teemu.
Maya can't believe her dad is now friends with Teemu. Ramona had to borrow money from Lev because she gave all her money to help Teemu's friend's mom. Teemu says to let him handle it.
Tess is a figure skating coach and Ted and Toby have hockey practice. But this time it will be in Beartown. Ana surprises the family when she drives their van back to their home. Tess feels like Ana should have been Hannah's daughter. Johnny shouts more at Ted because he has more to lose on the ice.
Zackell tells Bobo they will be last on the ice. She is looking to replace Amat. If he needs encouragement, it's already too late. Amat is tortured by the word "almost" and negative self talk.
Ana reunites with Maya. He dad isn't drinking the day before the funeral. Maya hears of the possible merger between Beartown and Hed. Maya talks about how people get radicalized and sectarian violence.
Teemu visits Hog at his garage. He asks for a favor: to borrow a vehicle. A man in a suit from the funeral parlor comes to Lev's scrap yard to pick up a vehicle. Teemu snuck into Lev's house and left keys and a beer glass. The vehicle is in back, and it's a hearse.
The day the rink opens to Hed, all the old rivalries and grievances come roaring back. The parents act the most immature. Bobo helps Tess and her brothers get into the locker room. They all take their turns on the ice until the figure skating practice. A fight starts, and both blame the other side. Bobo breaks it up. Tobias got a black eye. Johnny wants to fight them all, but Tess appeals to his protective instincts. As he drives back to Hed, Teemu and company threaten them.
Tails is nervous about what happened. He tells the caretaker that the two teams could be dissolved and a new club could be formed in Beartown. Teemu makes the club look bad. A council member accuses Tails of being sentimental. Tails gives Mumble a ride back to Hed.
Johnny argues with Hannah that Toby fought out of self defense. Hannah has to agree. Toby got suspended from the team. Hannah tells Johnny not to do anything stupid with his coworkers against Beartown. Ted was the one who charged out to fight, but Toby finished the job to protect Ted from getting suspended.
Extras
Marginalia
Lupines
Bigleaf lupine is an invasive species in Maine.
Questions are in the comments.
Join me next week, June 6th, for chapters 44 to 59.

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Are the areas surrounding 16th street moving away from the ocean front still crime infested? They were in early 2000s. There was a lot of incidents of crime and drug arrests going on all along Mediterranean Avenue and a lot of drugs from 11th to 16th street as far as I remembers.
I stayed in numerous different hotels and apartments.. some near 11th street & pacific, Norfolk Ave, and lived on 14th as well too. When I lived on 11th, I remember people getting mugged often, things and cars stolen, a lot of drug addicts were my neighbors and there was just a lot of shit going on. I'm taking about 2003 specifically.
I'm just curious because I told myself I'd never go back but Im about to move that way again.

Ciao a tutti,
Sto pianificando di trascorrere una settimana in Val d'Aosta a metà Luglio con la mia ragazza. Abbiamo fatto molti trekking nelle dolomiti ma sempre in giornata prenotando negli hotel nella zona. Per questa vacanza ci piacerebbe provare a fare un trekking più lungo e provare a pernottare almeno una notte in rifugio.
Avete qualche trekking da consigliare?
Dovremmo essere apposto con l'abbigliamento, però abbiamo entrambi zaini da 20l. Stiamo pensando di prendere due sacchi lenzuolo e almeno uno zaino più capiente. Avete consigli?
Grazie

-Red-
April 19th, 11:13 A.M., The Sprawl
I sparked a dilapidated Vita-Cig that I’d snagged from Trodes and peered out into the Sprawl; the careful equilibrium of a well-orchestrated black-market had returned; pushers and gangers lined the alleys, watching for signals from rooftop lookouts to avoid the single Peacewatch cruiser that had been stupid enough to enter the dockside. The poor bastard would be dead before the afternoon was over… not that I had much sympathy for his kind. Peacewatch made it a habit to stay out of the Sprawl: unless the Eggheads predictive crime system said something catastrophic was coming, they policed their kind and left us in the hands of the mob. I’d never iced an officer. Not yet at least.
“Your partner should be ready shortly, I think he’s just tying up a few loose ends,” Akari said, snatching the cigarette from my hand and taking a long drag.
“Remind me again why you think I should take the shrimp with me instead of Nico and Roman?”
“He’s smart… and the other two are working on something else. Besides-- you need brains on this one, Red, not muscle,” she giggled, passing the cigarette back.
“Whatever you say,” I paused, grabbing the smoke, “what do you have them up to?”
“There’s a shipment of Xeno-grade weapons coming down from the colonies. Nico and Roman will be liberating them from the Slicers. Or, their share, at least. It won’t be much, maybe a dozen guns, but it’ll be worth it: the force field tech alone will pay for the trip as soon as Fincetti’s goons start trying to take your heads off with plasma cannons and mono blades.”
“What do you mean, their share?”
“The job was too big for us to take on alone. I linked up with another enterprising group of Freelancers. If it goes well, maybe we can hire them on for the heist, we’re going to need more people if we want to walk out of there alive.”
We?
“What, are you planning on coming along now?” I asked, snuffing out the smoke.
“It only seems right; Trodes is coming along, and I’m a better shot than he’ll ever be. Besides, you have a dangerous habit of getting shot, and I can’t have you going down in the field,” she said, winking as if to punctuate the sentence.
“You sure? We can manage, you don’t have to come with us, you’ve done so much already.”
“I know I have, that’s why I have to protect my investment. If you go down out there, then the team is without a leader. A military scale operation like this will go south real fast without someone competent in command.”
“You’ve got me wrong, Akari: I’m no leader. I’m just someone who wants to live in a better city and doesn’t mind taking the trash out himself. Besides, why do we need a leader? We’re all competent adults acting in concert, of our own free will. We all know what we’re doing, if a situation arises and someone needs to take charge, it’ll happen.”
“You’ve got a lot of faith in a crew you just met,” Akari said with a sneer.
“You know why I asked you to put the team together, Akari?”
“Because there’s a bounty on your head that could finance twenty retirements, and you know you can trust me?”
“No, well yeah, but that’s beside the point—I asked you because you’re not a Fixer, you’re a part time street doc that works the front desk at the most popular Freelancer hotel in the Sprawl. If there’s anyone who knows who’s gonna get the job done, it’s you. See, a Fixer is going to be okay with whatever losses they deem acceptable beforehand, but they’re fine with keeping that to themselves. If you thought any of these mooks were going to crack under pressure, or do something stupid, you wouldn’t have set me up with them.”
Before she could respond, Trodes emerged from the stairs leading to the lab. He winced as the sunlight hit his eyes, shrugging on the hood of the oversized sweatshirt that blanketed his meek frame. Glimpses of pain showed through every tremor laden step he took. A cloak of wires enveloped his skull, feeding into an old-world cyber console.
“It’s insufferably hot out here,” Trodes sighed.
“Don’t worry, we’re not going far. Chances are that whatever hole we’re meeting BFU in will have air conditioning,” I responded, clicking my key fob, and signaling the bike to pull around.
Trodes face fell flat when the Supersonic rolled around the corner; apparently, the prestige of carving through the skyway on a state-of-the-art Taffington jet-bike was lost on him.
“Are we taking… that?” Trodes stammered.
“We are. Unless you’ve got a pair of wheels with two seats?” I asked, mounting the bike and revving the engine.
With an exasperated sigh, Trodes boarded the passenger seat. I could feel him behind me, vibrating as tremors gripped his body.
“You good, buddy?” I asked.
He nodded vigorously, clenching the handrails with white knuckles.
Akari shook her head and headed back to the lab.
I heard Trodes mumble something under his breath, but it was quickly drowned out by the jet-bike’s purr. I carved into the skyway. Driving in the Sprawl was pure freedom: almost nobody owned vehicles with aerial capabilities in this part of town. It didn’t take long to reach top speed.
Slummers and gutterpunks walked the streets like zombies in a drug addled haze. The scent of gunpowder, pollution and burning ozone coalesced into a putrid stench that reeked of poverty and violence. Patches of azure moved in militant formation below; the Vorrath had taken to the streets. On a different day, a better day, I would’ve helped them. Most slummers hated the Offworlder Coalition, but not me—at the end of the day I always figured that I had more in common with poor people from another planet than rich people from another district of the city. At least we shared the same struggle.
The bike slowed to crawl; the Neo-Confederates were about, backed by a platoon of Brown-Shirts that looked like a tide of sewer run off, crashing through the streets with reckless abandon. Civilians fled for their homes. Fuck.
The jet-bike careened through the air before finally landing atop a building a few blocks away from the impending conflict.
“Get off,” I said, turning back to Trodes.
“Why? You don’t intend to abandon me at this altitude, do you?”
“Not as long as I survive—I’ll be quick, I just need to ventilate some Nazi fucks, understood?”
He shook his head and muttered a string of curses.
I tore through the air, circling around the impending conflict. I chased a handful of cheap amphetamines with a poorly rolled joint and swooped low, behind the rolling tide of brown shirts. This wasn’t the first time I’d made myself an enemy of the city’s Neo-Nazi’s; I’d killed at least a dozen of them in my career as a courier, but those were isolated incidents, back-alley brawls away from the mob.
This was a whole new ball game.
I fell slack as my Teleoperations module synchronized with the bike. My consciousness faded, reemerging into the HALO-Net’s stylized rendition of the bike’s interior. I wasn’t just the pilot now—I was the bike. Bullets carved twin streaks of crimson into the brown tide. It didn’t take long to hit top speed, 3.7 seconds, to be exact.
The group turned in nearly perfect unison, launching volley upon volley as I passed overhead. The bike’s shields barely held together; I felt every round, like a flock of birds violently slamming into my side—not enough to cause any real damage, but more than enough to get the blood pumping. I slid into an alley a few blocks off and waited for the shield generator to recharge. Gunshots rang out from the streets, alongside the sizzle of plasma meeting flesh. Soon the din was drowned beneath the roar of dozens of Vorrath war cries. I took to the sky.
Trodes was exactly where I left him, nervously clutching a knock off version of a Locust flechette pistol.
“I was beginning to doubt your survival,” Trodes said shakily.
“Wrong again, little guy,” I paused, reigniting a half smoked joint, “it was just a quick hit and run, we don’t have the time or the numbers for a pitched battle. Now, hop on.”
It didn’t take long to find BFU’s base of operations. Black flags and Anarchist graffiti covered the walls of the abandoned warehouse they’d apparently taken up residence in. A field of repurposed Peacewatch turrets were installed atop the roof, complimented by a web of cameras that spread across a three-block radius. Anarchists of all species and creeds loitered outside. The guards ranged from Cyborgs and Vat-Grown, to Vorrath and Vorstihl, each wearing a variant of the black flag with colors corresponding to their ideologies.
As I hovered above the building, I saw a familiar face: the rookie from earlier. Alarmingly, his cruiser was nowhere to be seen. His face was wrought with horror, as a pair of cyborgs led him inside the warehouse.
“They’re certainly less than subtle,” Trodes said.
“They don’t have to be subtle, they’re the biggest citizens political organization in the Sprawl. Peacewatch avoids them if they have anything less than a full platoon on hand,” I explained.
“Red… before we enter negotiations with these hooligans, I must inquire as to what your motivation hitting the vault is? Surely you know there’s a strong likelihood that you won’t make it out, and from what I’d heard about you, I always understood you to be a man who knew how to keep himself out of the line of sight of dangerous people,” Trodes said, nervously.
“Fincetti is the most dangerous man in the city, short of O’Bannon. He controls the black market with an iron fist and is instrumental in all the things I hate about living here. The problem is, I have no way to do anything about it right now… but there’s something big in the safe—there must be—for fucks sake, he iced his family over it. I’m hoping there’s something in there that can give me a little leverage, so I can cross him out afterwards.”
Trodes was silent for a moment, simply reaching as if to ask me to pass the joint. I obliged.
“I have my reasons to want O’Bannon dead too, I’m in,” he paused as a coughing fit seized him, causing the joint to fall to the ground, “there’s something you should know though: I’m working with an entity of great power in the Net; I don’t know what precisely it is, but I know it saved my life more than once. As a matter of fact, it’s the only reason I was able to obtain the blueprint of Fincetti’s bunker, and his security plan.”
“Is it… is it an unshackled AI?”
“Unlikely: it seems to understand compassion and empathy on a uniquely organic level, something that rarely slips past Netwatch.”
“Alright, well whatever it is, you keep an eye on it and let me know if things get shady. I appreciate you telling me.”
Trodes nodded in silence.
The crowd parted expectantly as I landed along the streetside. Dozens of eyes were immediately glued to Trodes and I. A cyborg with a steel double mohawk emerged from a sea of leather, patches, and smoke. A sawed-off shotgun hung at his side.
“Red, I presume?” the Cyborg asked, extending a steel hand.
“That’s right, and who’re you?” I answered, clasping the borgs hand as firm as I could manage.
“They call me Diezel, and I’ll be your host today,” he released my hand and looked me up and down as if assessing whether I was a threat, “follow me, everyone’s here so we can get straight down to business.”
The warehouse’s interior had been renovated drastically; layers of open-faced lofts sat stacked upon each other, consuming the walls. Nearly every non-violent law in the city was being broken in the lofts, from cooking chems and explosives to studying banned literature and Doomguard martial arts. It was beautiful. We followed Diezel through a winding hallway of munitions manufacturing stations, before finally emerging into an immense circular room, with rows of seats climbing the walls. I couldn’t believe it—there must have been two hundred people present.
The lights dimmed as we entered the arena. Diezel led us to the rooms center, ushering Trodes and I onto a great circular platform; he fell into place on a platform across from us, beside a Vat-Grown woman bearing an orange and black flag on her arm, and augmentations that cost more than my bike. Behind the duo a bulbous Vorstihl lurked; tentacles draped down his back, carefully pulled away from his cyclopean eye. A red and black flag was displayed on his arm… it was only then that I noticed the blue and black flag on Diezel’s arm.
The platforms each rose roughly fifteen feet into the air, before microphone stands emerged from the center of each platform. Diezel stepped forward, past the microphone.
“Before we start, I’ll explain how this works: the three of us are representatives of our specific unions—but the people are free to interject. One union voting to aid in your endeavors does not guarantee the help of the other two, as each union demands a perfect consensus. Likewise, if a faction without one union decides to help you, it does not necessarily mean you have the support of the entire union. The only way you’ll end up with total support is cross union consensus. Do you understand?”
A consensus: of course, they needed a damned consensus.
“I do,” I answered, speaking away from the microphone.
“Then let’s get this show on the road,” Diezel stepped back, finding his microphone before continuing, “Red, Trodes, welcome to the Bouleuterion,” he paused a moment as the crowd erupted into cheers, “beside me are my comrades Aria and Korvirex, and we stand ready to hear your proposal.”
“As most of you probably know, Don Fincetti is the most powerful man in the underworld, hell—maybe even the city—what you likely don’t know is that he has a vault beneath the city, guarded by an army of Harvesters. I intend to break into the vault, slaughter the Harvesters and strike a blow to Fincetti that he won’t forget… and I intend to kill him shortly after. What I ask is simple: you help me in what’s to come, and when he’s finally dead, you can all split his turf among yourselves. All I care about is making sure he doesn’t live long enough to poison the Sprawl more than he already has.”
A murmur emerged from the stands. I gazed across the way to see the three representatives huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Finally, Aria stepped towards her microphone.
“What you ask of us will likely mean the death of many of our people… we need something greater than what you offer—we need a guarantee of mutual aid—you have a reputation in the Sprawl, we would ask that you employ it in helping us when the time comes to resettle the Sprawl. Namely, we’d request your assistance against the gangs that may try to fill the power void you seek to create,” Aria explained.
“That seems reasonable,” I said.
Aria stepped back as Korvirex moved forward.
“Tell me, Red, are you familiar with the Offworlder Coalition?” Korvirex asked.
“I am—as a matter of fact, I aided them on the way here—they were marching against the Neo-Confederates and the Brown Shirts. I insured that they had the element of surprise.”
Korvirex stroked the beard-like tentacles that hung from his chin in contemplation.
“Good. What I ask is that you help us to secure their trust, we have offered solidarity where we could, but our forces are spread thin. The ideology of many of the exiled Vorrath rebels that found their way to Nova City—it matches that of our union. If our help was offered, would you agree to assist us in aiding the Coalition, so that they finally have an opportunity to get on their feet?”
Trodes leaned towards in, whispering in my ear.
“It would be prudent of you to make a counteroffer: proclaim that you’ll help with the Coalition, if they’ll spread the word to other groups whose goals may align with ours. There will likely be at least a couple hundred Harvesters in the Undercity when we strike… unless they’re occupied elsewhere.”
“I would happily help with the Coalition, on the condition that your faction spread the word about what we’re doing to like-minded organizations. As it stands, we could still use more numbers to match the Harvesters,” I said.
“These conditions may be satisfactory,” Korvirex said, before retreating into yet another group huddle.
The audience watched on in silence.
Finally, Diezel reapproached the microphone.
“The representatives have deemed this topic worthy of discussion: you’re free to leave, we’ll get ahold of Akari in a couple days, when all the details are ironed out.”
“A couple days?”
“Reaching a consensus can be a slow process at times—be prepared for a renegotiation of conditions, as there will likely be more stipulations made once the process is complete,” Diezel explained.
I nodded, and the platform beneath my feet began to descend towards the floor. The crowd erupted into cheers.
Hopefully Nico and Roman would beat us home.

-Red-
April 19th, 11:13 A.M., The Sprawl
I sparked a dilapidated Vita-Cig that I’d snagged from Trodes and peered out into the Sprawl; the careful equilibrium of a well-orchestrated black-market had returned; pushers and gangers lined the alleys, watching for signals from rooftop lookouts to avoid the single Peacewatch cruiser that had been stupid enough to enter the dockside. The poor bastard would be dead before the afternoon was over… not that I had much sympathy for his kind. Peacewatch made it a habit to stay out of the Sprawl: unless the Eggheads predictive crime system said something catastrophic was coming, they policed their kind and left us in the hands of the mob. I’d never iced an officer. Not yet at least.
“Your partner should be ready shortly, I think he’s just tying up a few loose ends,” Akari said, snatching the cigarette from my hand and taking a long drag.
“Remind me again why you think I should take the shrimp with me instead of Nico and Roman?”
“He’s smart… and the other two are working on something else. Besides-- you need brains on this one, Red, not muscle,” she giggled, passing the cigarette back.
“Whatever you say,” I paused, grabbing the smoke, “what do you have them up to?”
“There’s a shipment of Xeno-grade weapons coming down from the colonies. Nico and Roman will be liberating them from the Slicers. Or, their share, at least. It won’t be much, maybe a dozen guns, but it’ll be worth it: the force field tech alone will pay for the trip as soon as Fincetti’s goons start trying to take your heads off with plasma cannons and mono blades.”
“What do you mean, their share?”
“The job was too big for us to take on alone. I linked up with another enterprising group of Freelancers. If it goes well, maybe we can hire them on for the heist, we’re going to need more people if we want to walk out of there alive.”
We?
“What, are you planning on coming along now?” I asked, snuffing out the smoke.
“It only seems right; Trodes is coming along, and I’m a better shot than he’ll ever be. Besides, you have a dangerous habit of getting shot, and I can’t have you going down in the field,” she said, winking as if to punctuate the sentence.
“You sure? We can manage, you don’t have to come with us, you’ve done so much already.”
“I know I have, that’s why I have to protect my investment. If you go down out there, then the team is without a leader. A military scale operation like this will go south real fast without someone competent in command.”
“You’ve got me wrong, Akari: I’m no leader. I’m just someone who wants to live in a better city and doesn’t mind taking the trash out himself. Besides, why do we need a leader? We’re all competent adults acting in concert, of our own free will. We all know what we’re doing, if a situation arises and someone needs to take charge, it’ll happen.”
“You’ve got a lot of faith in a crew you just met,” Akari said with a sneer.
“You know why I asked you to put the team together, Akari?”
“Because there’s a bounty on your head that could finance twenty retirements, and you know you can trust me?”
“No, well yeah, but that’s beside the point—I asked you because you’re not a Fixer, you’re a part time street doc that works the front desk at the most popular Freelancer hotel in the Sprawl. If there’s anyone who knows who’s gonna get the job done, it’s you. See, a Fixer is going to be okay with whatever losses they deem acceptable beforehand, but they’re fine with keeping that to themselves. If you thought any of these mooks were going to crack under pressure, or do something stupid, you wouldn’t have set me up with them.”
Before she could respond, Trodes emerged from the stairs leading to the lab. He winced as the sunlight hit his eyes, shrugging on the hood of the oversized sweatshirt that blanketed his meek frame. Glimpses of pain showed through every tremor laden step he took. A cloak of wires enveloped his skull, feeding into an old-world cyber console.
“It’s insufferably hot out here,” Trodes sighed.
“Don’t worry, we’re not going far. Chances are that whatever hole we’re meeting BFU in will have air conditioning,” I responded, clicking my key fob, and signaling the bike to pull around.
Trodes face fell flat when the Supersonic rolled around the corner; apparently, the prestige of carving through the skyway on a state-of-the-art Taffington jet-bike was lost on him.
“Are we taking… that?” Trodes stammered.
“We are. Unless you’ve got a pair of wheels with two seats?” I asked, mounting the bike and revving the engine.
With an exasperated sigh, Trodes boarded the passenger seat. I could feel him behind me, vibrating as tremors gripped his body.
“You good, buddy?” I asked.
He nodded vigorously, clenching the handrails with white knuckles.
Akari shook her head and headed back to the lab.
I heard Trodes mumble something under his breath, but it was quickly drowned out by the jet-bike’s purr. I carved into the skyway. Driving in the Sprawl was pure freedom: almost nobody owned vehicles with aerial capabilities in this part of town. It didn’t take long to reach top speed.
Slummers and gutterpunks walked the streets like zombies in a drug addled haze. The scent of gunpowder, pollution and burning ozone coalesced into a putrid stench that reeked of poverty and violence. Patches of azure moved in militant formation below; the Vorrath had taken to the streets. On a different day, a better day, I would’ve helped them. Most slummers hated the Offworlder Coalition, but not me—at the end of the day I always figured that I had more in common with poor people from another planet than rich people from another district of the city. At least we shared the same struggle.
The bike slowed to crawl; the Neo-Confederates were about, backed by a platoon of Brown-Shirts that looked like a tide of sewer run off, crashing through the streets with reckless abandon. Civilians fled for their homes. Fuck.
The jet-bike careened through the air before finally landing atop a building a few blocks away from the impending conflict.
“Get off,” I said, turning back to Trodes.
“Why? You don’t intend to abandon me at this altitude, do you?”
“Not as long as I survive—I’ll be quick, I just need to ventilate some Nazi fucks, understood?”
He shook his head and muttered a string of curses.
I tore through the air, circling around the impending conflict. I chased a handful of cheap amphetamines with a poorly rolled joint and swooped low, behind the rolling tide of brown shirts. This wasn’t the first time I’d made myself an enemy of the city’s Neo-Nazi’s; I’d killed at least a dozen of them in my career as a courier, but those were isolated incidents, back-alley brawls away from the mob.
This was a whole new ball game.
I fell slack as my Teleoperations module synchronized with the bike. My consciousness faded, reemerging into the HALO-Net’s stylized rendition of the bike’s interior. I wasn’t just the pilot now—I was the bike. Bullets carved twin streaks of crimson into the brown tide. It didn’t take long to hit top speed, 3.7 seconds, to be exact.
The group turned in nearly perfect unison, launching volley upon volley as I passed overhead. The bike’s shields barely held together; I felt every round, like a flock of birds violently slamming into my side—not enough to cause any real damage, but more than enough to get the blood pumping. I slid into an alley a few blocks off and waited for the shield generator to recharge. Gunshots rang out from the streets, alongside the sizzle of plasma meeting flesh. Soon the din was drowned beneath the roar of dozens of Vorrath war cries. I took to the sky.
Trodes was exactly where I left him, nervously clutching a knock off version of a Locust flechette pistol.
“I was beginning to doubt your survival,” Trodes said shakily.
“Wrong again, little guy,” I paused, reigniting a half smoked joint, “it was just a quick hit and run, we don’t have the time or the numbers for a pitched battle. Now, hop on.”
It didn’t take long to find BFU’s base of operations. Black flags and Anarchist graffiti covered the walls of the abandoned warehouse they’d apparently taken up residence in. A field of repurposed Peacewatch turrets were installed atop the roof, complimented by a web of cameras that spread across a three-block radius. Anarchists of all species and creeds loitered outside. The guards ranged from Cyborgs and Vat-Grown, to Vorrath and Vorstihl, each wearing a variant of the black flag with colors corresponding to their ideologies.
As I hovered above the building, I saw a familiar face: the rookie from earlier. Alarmingly, his cruiser was nowhere to be seen. His face was wrought with horror, as a pair of cyborgs led him inside the warehouse.
“They’re certainly less than subtle,” Trodes said.
“They don’t have to be subtle, they’re the biggest citizens political organization in the Sprawl. Peacewatch avoids them if they have anything less than a full platoon on hand,” I explained.
“Red… before we enter negotiations with these hooligans, I must inquire as to what your motivation hitting the vault is? Surely you know there’s a strong likelihood that you won’t make it out, and from what I’d heard about you, I always understood you to be a man who knew how to keep himself out of the line of sight of dangerous people,” Trodes said, nervously.
“Fincetti is the most dangerous man in the city, short of O’Bannon. He controls the black market with an iron fist and is instrumental in all the things I hate about living here. The problem is, I have no way to do anything about it right now… but there’s something big in the safe—there must be—for fucks sake, he iced his family over it. I’m hoping there’s something in there that can give me a little leverage, so I can cross him out afterwards.”
Trodes was silent for a moment, simply reaching as if to ask me to pass the joint. I obliged.
“I have my reasons to want O’Bannon dead too, I’m in,” he paused as a coughing fit seized him, causing the joint to fall to the ground, “there’s something you should know though: I’m working with an entity of great power in the Net; I don’t know what precisely it is, but I know it saved my life more than once. As a matter of fact, it’s the only reason I was able to obtain the blueprint of Fincetti’s bunker, and his security plan.”
“Is it… is it an unshackled AI?”
“Unlikely: it seems to understand compassion and empathy on a uniquely organic level, something that rarely slips past Netwatch.”
“Alright, well whatever it is, you keep an eye on it and let me know if things get shady. I appreciate you telling me.”
Trodes nodded in silence.
The crowd parted expectantly as I landed along the streetside. Dozens of eyes were immediately glued to Trodes and I. A cyborg with a steel double mohawk emerged from a sea of leather, patches, and smoke. A sawed-off shotgun hung at his side.
“Red, I presume?” the Cyborg asked, extending a steel hand.
“That’s right, and who’re you?” I answered, clasping the borgs hand as firm as I could manage.
“They call me Diezel, and I’ll be your host today,” he released my hand and looked me up and down as if assessing whether I was a threat, “follow me, everyone’s here so we can get straight down to business.”
The warehouse’s interior had been renovated drastically; layers of open-faced lofts sat stacked upon each other, consuming the walls. Nearly every non-violent law in the city was being broken in the lofts, from cooking chems and explosives to studying banned literature and Doomguard martial arts. It was beautiful. We followed Diezel through a winding hallway of munitions manufacturing stations, before finally emerging into an immense circular room, with rows of seats climbing the walls. I couldn’t believe it—there must have been two hundred people present.
The lights dimmed as we entered the arena. Diezel led us to the rooms center, ushering Trodes and I onto a great circular platform; he fell into place on a platform across from us, beside a Vat-Grown woman bearing an orange and black flag on her arm, and augmentations that cost more than my bike. Behind the duo a bulbous Vorstihl lurked; tentacles draped down his back, carefully pulled away from his cyclopean eye. A red and black flag was displayed on his arm… it was only then that I noticed the blue and black flag on Diezel’s arm.
The platforms each rose roughly fifteen feet into the air, before microphone stands emerged from the center of each platform. Diezel stepped forward, past the microphone.
“Before we start, I’ll explain how this works: the three of us are representatives of our specific unions—but the people are free to interject. One union voting to aid in your endeavors does not guarantee the help of the other two, as each union demands a perfect consensus. Likewise, if a faction without one union decides to help you, it does not necessarily mean you have the support of the entire union. The only way you’ll end up with total support is cross union consensus. Do you understand?”
A consensus: of course, they needed a damned consensus.
“I do,” I answered, speaking away from the microphone.
“Then let’s get this show on the road,” Diezel stepped back, finding his microphone before continuing, “Red, Trodes, welcome to the Bouleuterion,” he paused a moment as the crowd erupted into cheers, “beside me are my comrades Aria and Korvirex, and we stand ready to hear your proposal.”
“As most of you probably know, Don Fincetti is the most powerful man in the underworld, hell—maybe even the city—what you likely don’t know is that he has a vault beneath the city, guarded by an army of Harvesters. I intend to break into the vault, slaughter the Harvesters and strike a blow to Fincetti that he won’t forget… and I intend to kill him shortly after. What I ask is simple: you help me in what’s to come, and when he’s finally dead, you can all split his turf among yourselves. All I care about is making sure he doesn’t live long enough to poison the Sprawl more than he already has.”
A murmur emerged from the stands. I gazed across the way to see the three representatives huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Finally, Aria stepped towards her microphone.
“What you ask of us will likely mean the death of many of our people… we need something greater than what you offer—we need a guarantee of mutual aid—you have a reputation in the Sprawl, we would ask that you employ it in helping us when the time comes to resettle the Sprawl. Namely, we’d request your assistance against the gangs that may try to fill the power void you seek to create,” Aria explained.
“That seems reasonable,” I said.
Aria stepped back as Korvirex moved forward.
“Tell me, Red, are you familiar with the Offworlder Coalition?” Korvirex asked.
“I am—as a matter of fact, I aided them on the way here—they were marching against the Neo-Confederates and the Brown Shirts. I insured that they had the element of surprise.”
Korvirex stroked the beard-like tentacles that hung from his chin in contemplation.
“Good. What I ask is that you help us to secure their trust, we have offered solidarity where we could, but our forces are spread thin. The ideology of many of the exiled Vorrath rebels that found their way to Nova City—it matches that of our union. If our help was offered, would you agree to assist us in aiding the Coalition, so that they finally have an opportunity to get on their feet?”
Trodes leaned towards in, whispering in my ear.
“It would be prudent of you to make a counteroffer: proclaim that you’ll help with the Coalition, if they’ll spread the word to other groups whose goals may align with ours. There will likely be at least a couple hundred Harvesters in the Undercity when we strike… unless they’re occupied elsewhere.”
“I would happily help with the Coalition, on the condition that your faction spread the word about what we’re doing to like-minded organizations. As it stands, we could still use more numbers to match the Harvesters,” I said.
“These conditions may be satisfactory,” Korvirex said, before retreating into yet another group huddle.
The audience watched on in silence.
Finally, Diezel reapproached the microphone.
“The representatives have deemed this topic worthy of discussion: you’re free to leave, we’ll get ahold of Akari in a couple days, when all the details are ironed out.”
“A couple days?”
“Reaching a consensus can be a slow process at times—be prepared for a renegotiation of conditions, as there will likely be more stipulations made once the process is complete,” Diezel explained.
I nodded, and the platform beneath my feet began to descend towards the floor. The crowd erupted into cheers.
Hopefully Nico and Roman would beat us home