Vacation nail ideas

Read Chapter 1 Here
Previous Chapter Here
My other SSB story, Writing on the Wall, Here
I was sitting here in the dark, pantsless and writing (as you do), and I decided to check how far my progress was going on a few things. Turns out I was way past my "release a new chapter" threshold!
Enjoy the continued adventures of our favorite fuckups.
*****
“...about those sculptures. I know we told the Aboriginal Art Institute of Karnif that they could hold onto them for another two months, but apparently they are part of some shrine and the Governess of the South Pacific is getting on my case about returning them before a holy day.” Jem’si looked to his right, where his wife Torel was walking alongside him. She was his partner in more than just his marriage, and he was a little surprised to see that she didn’t have a pad out to take notes. “Are you paying attention?”
“Not really,” Torel replied. She had been strangely subdued, quiet all morning. On his left, his wife Keller tried to match pace. She was so much bigger than both of them that it was difficult, but she had a lot of practice and the halls of House Chel’xa’s ancestral home were a familiar place.
“Now.” Keller’s word was punctuated by her left arm shooting across her body to grab Jem’si by the upper arm. It was a firmer grip than Jem’si had ever felt from his wives, and for it to come from gentle Keller was doubly surprising. Before he could comment, Torel grabbed his other arm. The pair lifted and Jem’si found himself being dragged along, feet barely touching the floor.
“Put me down!” He tried to wiggle out of their grip, but neither woman seemed to be in the mood to play nice. “If you wanted to have some fun this morning you could have just asked!” Neither Torel or Keller said anything in reply, just continued to drag him along as his commands to be let go turned into pleading whines. They wouldn’t even look at him.
Jem’si wasn’t scared, not really. Just confused. He trusted his family utterly, and even as they maneuvered him out of the corridor, down a hall, and into an empty dining room he felt confusion more than fear. The room was dark, curtains drawn, and Jem’si let out a small “oof” as he found himself practically flung into a chair. The door clacked shut and he was plunged into nearly complete blackness.
After a few moments of sitting in the dark, trying to figure whatever sort of madness seemed to be running in his wives, Jem’si had enough. He raised his voice, put in every bit of commanding tone he had learned through years of Noble intrigue and business with Humans, and called out to the darkness.
“Well?!”
Light flared suddenly from the chandelier, dazzling his eyes. Fear froze his heart as he realized he and his wives weren’t actually alone. It began to thaw right back up as he saw who sat across from him.
“Why were you all sitting in the dark?” Jem’si tried to keep his voice casual.
“For the emotional impact,” Samuel Forsythe-Painter replied.
“Obviously,” Sammi Painter-Forsythe added.
Flanking the pair of tiny humans sat Elera Heleum and Marin Elbruk. Elera reached into her lap and leaned forward, placing something down on the table. It settled on the ancient wood with a dull thunk.
“The same reason I brought this,” she added helpfully.
Jem’si vaguely recognized the pistol. It was a massive hunk of silver steel with a barrel so wide he could stick a finger into it. The same gun that played so prominently in the story of that whole adventure in the frozen north. He hadn’t realized it had survived the rocket attack at the hotel, or that it had been brought to Shil.
Now thoroughly spooked, Jem’si glanced up at Keller where she stood next to him. She had brought him here, but surely she would protect him from these lunatics.
Keller looked down at him sadly, dark eyes showing little more than disappointment. “Sorry, Jem, you’re on your own.”
Torel was no better. She wouldn’t even look at him. When he glanced to the other side of the table, Marin nodded at Elera. The spikey haired Marine leaned her bulk forward and steepled her fingers together, the spindly shadows from her hands falling across the gun on the table.
“Lieutenant Colonel Marin and I had an interesting visitor yesterday. We’ve both been promoted, retired from active service, and given an Imperial Writ to deal with. It’s a great deal, really; we have been ordered by the Empress Herself to protect our little Human friends here.” With that, Elera reached out and gave Sammi what was likely intended to be a friendly pat on the back but nearly knocked the much smaller Human clear of their chair. “And, if things don’t go well, we’ve been ordered to kill them both.”
“I don’t really care much for that part,” Samuel said quietly.
“Samesies,” added Sammi.
“We’ve also been ordered to ensure that nobody learns about the OTHER project. You know the one.” Marin punctuated her statement by placing her own pistol on the table. This one was much smaller, more modern, but at least as deadly. She looked down at it, then glanced at Elera’s. “These are a really poor representation of our orders. Orbital strikes were mentioned.”
Jem’si grasped in his mind for the swordfighter’s calm he had cultivated the last few years, but it wouldn’t come. He had his ass planted in an oversized chair, was surrounded by people who meant him harm, and even his wives had abandoned him. The best control he could manage was to pull in a deep breath, swallow, and try to hold down the sour, sick feeling twisting through his guts.
“I really didn’t know what to do.” Elera put her hands flat on the table, and Jem’si, hyper-focused now on potential dangers, watched as the fingers on her right hand twitched. “So I figured I’d call the only person I knew who might have experience dealing with this sort of thing. Someone who might know why we were suddenly getting orders from the Empress after working so hard to keep this whole thing quiet.”
Keller’s huge hand landed on Jem’si’s shoulder, causing him to jerk. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to.
“The orders make sense, but they leave something very important out. So I’m going to ask you, Jem’si. I’m going to ask you as a holder of an Imperial Writ, ordered by the Empress Herself to ensure the security of the Painter Research Institute and the Lone Caribou Survival Company.” Elera’s hands were fists now and the light from the chandelier reflected in the tears forming in her eyes.
“What did you tell them? What happened to Stace? Is he even alive out there?” The questions seemed to hang in the air, and Jem’si wondered if the wrong answer would kill him. He had never doubted Keller’s loyalty before, but if the Empress said he had to die, would she stop it? He hoped so, but she had been a Deathshead Commando long before she became his wife.
In the end, he only had one response he could give. He swallowed again, cleared his throat, and hoped that the truth would keep him alive.
“I don’t know what’s happening on Nix. I reached out through Iria Stolsk, who often acts as a scientific policy advisor to the Empress, and I gave her everything I had. Much of it was technical documents from the PRI’s research, but not much more than what was used for the investor’s meeting.”
Jem’si cleared his throat again, then jerked in panic as a loud thunk sounded next to him. If Keller’s hand wasn’t keeping him in place, he might have bolted. Instead, he nodded his thanks to Torel and picked up the glass of water she had found for him. A couple of sips did little to steady his nerves; he would have killed for some of that flavored bourbon Stace made.
“As for the… other project. When Stace started making preparations, I gave him access to a highly encrypted data archive. It contains all of the notes Demir Chel’xa made during her time on Nix, all her observations of the people there. Every bit of video we had, audio clips of their language, topographical and seismic scans of the planet… House Chel’xa kept everything, and I gave all of it to him.
“When he started working on his own plans to save Nix, he was linked to that server. I don’t know if it was intentional or just Stace not knowing how he set up his accounts, but all of his notes were backed up to the same archive. I gave the Empress all of it.”
“But you don’t know what She decided. If Stace is being left alone or if he’s in a blacksite prison.” Elera closed her eyes and a single tear slipped free. “If he’s even alive.”
“No. I don’t know, but if the Empress meant to silence this whole enterprise, you wouldn’t have a Writ. You’d have a smoking hole in your skull.”
Elera nodded. “And so would you. We all would.”
“Why don’t we?” Sammi’s voice was so innocent, so free of the pain and fear everyone else seemed to be wrapped up in, that it seemed to shatter the tension in the room. Shoulders slumped, hands unclenched, and Jem’si had the sudden hope that, just maybe, he’d finish this meeting without throwing up in his lap.
Samuel spoke next. “It’s obvious that the Empress, if she hasn’t exactly given us permission for the Nix project, is at least willing to look the other way. I don’t know what’s going on out there, but I think we can count on Stace doing his thing.” He tapped his fingers on the table in a quick rat-tat-tat, blue-painted nails clicking on the wood. “The real question is why she would let us do it at all. Tons of risk with no real reward for the Empire, which is why we agreed to keep all this quiet in the first place.”
“My husband is a businessman.” Torel’s voice was surprisingly affectionate given the circumstances, and when her hand came up to ruffle Jem’si’s hair he relished the contact. It didn’t matter if his coiffure was ruined. “Even if he’s not the brains of the operation, he occasionally makes a deal.”
“The research you two have been doing; is it real?” Jem’si nodded at the two Humans at the table. “Can you really do that incredible line of turox shit you sold to the investors?”
Sammi let out a very undignified snort. “You have no idea. What the investors are getting is real, but it’s babytown frolics compared to what we could really do with it. We’re keeping the good stuff; I wanna see if I can turn a star inside out.”
“That’s… horrifying.” Jem’si felt on firmer ground now; the crisis had passed and he was going to live through this. “Well, I may have passed the word that the technological superiority you’re providing would put us decades, perhaps centuries ahead of the Consortium and the Alliance.”
He let the moment settle with a performer’s ease before dropping the punchline.
“And if we aren’t allowed to fix Nix it would turn out that you two didn’t actually know what you were doing. It would have destroyed House Chel’xa along with the two of you, but it would turn out we were huxsters all along.”
Samuel laughed bitterly. “And to think, if you actually told us your plan we probably would have agreed to it. Instead, we now have to deal with having two members of our family who have signed and sealed orders from the Empress of the Shil’vati to kill the rest of us. Not exactly something that makes it easy to maintain a relationship.”
Elera pulled herself to her feet before picking up the heavy Human handgun. She carefully checked it, then put it in her pocket. Marin followed her example and did the same with her own pistol, and the two Humans hopped down off their chairs.
“I am sorry.” Jem’si firmed up his voice, felt the old confidence start to pool in his chest. “For not telling you, I mean. I don’t regret what I did.”
“Of course you don’t,” Samuel said sadly as the group headed towards the door. “You’re Shil’vati. We’re leaving, by the way. Going home. It doesn’t feel right to be living off your charity. I’d tell you not to follow us, but we can’t realistically stop you since you own a third of the company.”
“Just know that you won’t be welcome,” Sammi added before slamming the door behind them.
Jem’si let out a sigh as he sank into his chair, feeling suddenly boneless. Keller and Torel moved around him, pulling up chairs of their own.
“That went better than it could have,” Keller said casually. She barely seemed bothered by the whole thing.
“Oh, really?” Jem’si really couldn’t see the bright side.
“We could all be dead,” Torel clarified. “According to the scope of their Writ, either one of those two would have been perfectly within their rights to have the entire Chel’xa compound incinerated.”
“....what.”
“Knowledge of Nix is to be limited to the PRI and Lone Caribou. House Chel’xa clearly knows about it, or this whole thing wouldn’t have gotten started.” Keller sounded too matter of fact, too calm. “You may be the one who got this whole thing going, but the Humans wouldn’t have even known about it if you hadn’t told them. You’re clearly a security risk.”
“You could make the argument that Jem’si is in the clear, as part owner of PRI. I do a lot of the clerical work, so I’m safe too.” Torel smirked over at Keller. “Sounds like you’re the odd one out.”
“Yep. It would have been perfectly reasonable, from a legal standpoint at least, if Elera had shot me in the face as soon as we sat down.” Keller smirked. “Not that she would. I think she kinda has a thing for me.”
“And what, you’d have let her do it?” The panic was back, bile sour and acidic in Jem’si’s throat.
“I’m not bulletproof, Jem. Couldn’t have done a whole lot about it.”
Jem’si pressed his hands to the table, slowly pulling himself to his feet. “I think…” He swallowed. It didn’t help. “I think I’m going to throw up. Then I’m going to talk to Iria and see if I can talk to the Empress in person. I need to get a handle on this before someone ends up dead.”
“Someone else, you mean.” Torel gave Jem’si a very unflattering glare. “On top of all the other deaths we’ve had so far.”
Jem’si bit down a retort as he turned away, walking towards the door. Oh yes. Couldn’t forget those.
–
When it came down to it, Lewis could admit that this was at least partially his fault.
He had left the grocery store with plastic bags in his hands and a spring in his step. The rusty minivan parked next to Lewis's SUV completely failed to get his attention, which was likely the whole reason it was chosen for the job. He had just finished putting the bags in the backseat when the van’s side door opened behind him, a bag slipped over his head, and Lewis was bodily pulled into the vehicle. He barely even had time to squeak out a panicked yelp.
Even with his head covered, Lewis knew at once who his captors were. The large hands, the ease with which they were manhandling him, and the sheer brazenness of the kidnapping left no doubt in his mind that he was in the hands of the Shil'vati. They pulled his hands behind his back and cuffed them together before he was plopped down in the middle seat. Meaty fingers stayed firmly grasped around his biceps as the van rumbled to life. They were on the move.
"So..." Lewis tried to keep his voice even. He wasn't a fighter, and if he started throwing elbows he would still end up at his destination. Just with a broken jaw. "If you're sex traffickers, you probably could do better than me."
There was no reply but silence.
As they bounced along, Lewis was surprised to find that he wasn't as frightened as he expected. After nearly a decade fighting the invaders in his own way, the idea of eventually being captured or killed had percolated through his mind for long enough that it was comfortable. In a way, it was a relief; wherever he was going, whatever was going to happen to him, Lewis was done with the fight. He could hang up his spurs, at least until the gallows called.
Instead of dwelling on the situation, he tried to follow where the van was going. It only took a few turns for Lewis to become hopelessly lost. His lack of a sense of direction was legendary among his friends, and thanks to the ubiquitous ease of GPS and smartphones he never really had to pick up the skill. He regretted his reliance on technology now, not that it would really change anything. The van rumbled on, its old and tired suspension creaking with every bump, and Lewis waited to die.
The van pulled to a stop with a lurch and Lewis jerked awake. He had been half-dozing, a fact that he took in with a bit of surprise. After the first hour or so, the anxiety of being captured had faded into a dull shock, which had turned into a stupor. Now he had completely lost track of time. The door to his right slid open and Lewis was pulled out with a sudden jerk. He tried to catch himself on half-numb legs, stumbled, was caught, and found himself being half carried and half marched on the rough gravel underfoot.
Even with the hood obscuring his vision, Lewis could still hear perfectly fine. He could still smell, too, and the rumble of a large diesel engine was accompanied by the smell of rancid exhaust. The gravel under his feet became a metal ramp and he stumbled again, letting his Shil'vati captors drag him up by his biceps. There would be some nasty bruises later, but for now the pain helped him regain focus.
The ramp leveled out and the metal clang was replaced by the dull thud of thin wood under his feet. Lewis was only dragged a few more steps before a quick shove threw him into a chair. It didn't move at all, evidently attached to the floor, and before he could really process the situation further a loud clatter behind him made evident that Lewis was now trapped. The smell of exhaust was even worse here, sour on his throat. Fear was finally beginning to settle in his guts as he tried to prepare himself for the inevitable torture.
"Ashley Lewis. Age twenty-six standard, degrees in psychology and philosophy, currently employed in an administrative capacity for a phone and 'net based therapy service. Being able to telework has made it easy for you to travel for your other job, working as a data courier and soft asset for the terrorist organization colloquially known as The Numbers.
"A few months ago, you were involved in an attack on a man named Eustace Grant that left him nearly dead and eventually led to a region-wide shakeup of law enforcement and the public execution of the Regional Governess." Lewis's head jerked forward as the hood was pulled off in a single sharp tug.
Black eyes with irises like gold rings floating in pools of ink stared at him from a face of purple skin. In the moment, the Shil'vati looked exactly as alien as she was, and the familiarization he had spent years building flashed away as if they were never there. The alien smiled, drawing attention to her tusks, then nodded once. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Lewis took in his captor. She was average height for a female Shil, though not as massively built as the majority of marines he had seen. Her hair was stark white and pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore a long coat of heavy black. Around him, all he could see was dirty wood and aluminum paneling. The rumbling of an engine continued, as did the stink of fumes. He was in the back of a small box truck.
And in front of him stood Investigator Jel’si Chel'xa.
*****
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This is a fanfic that takes place in the “Between Worlds” universe (aka Sexy Space Babes), created and owned by u/BlueFishcake. No ownership of the settings or core concepts is expressed or implied by myself.
This is for fun. Can’t you just have fun?

I was (maybe still am) convinced that Move would never be a thing. With Gwen I've made a very basic Move deck and so far it's not just winning, it's crazy fun.
It's like the opponent just has no idea where I'm going to end up with power. Geen, Vision and Captain Marvel have been the nails in the coffins as Vulture and Torch build power. I've logged off twice to go to bed and have loaded back up twice to play some more. Lol I freaking love it and can't wait for 2099.

I am currently redoing my bathroom with this is our third major project in our house and first bathroom renovation. Our second project turned out well, so we rehired our reputable contractor who is familiar with bathroom renovations. He has even done the same bathroom in a house that is the same model as ours.
However, we have run into major hiccups with him. The main issue is that he produced a not level floor. The week he did the subfloor (is that what it’s called?) with cement board we happened to be on vacation. We got back the weekend before tile work started. When the tile guy arrived, he commented on the floor as he said it was not nailed in right. It was moving up and down as you stepped on it, which was a issue the contractor told us he was fixing. I/We didn’t even notice it was not level at the time, just that issue. Our tile guy is extremely popular and trustworthy, if we delayed to fix the floors we would have had to delay the bathroom by 2 months at least and he only works with this contractor in this area. He said they would try to fix it and he did an excellent job laying the difficult tile we chose.
After it was completed, I noticed the bathroom was completely uneven. One side of the floor is a good 1-1.5 inch higher than the other side. I could feel (and see) that the floor is not level both side to side and walking in (if that makes sense). The old bathroom was most definitely even, of all its problems that was not one. Most of the slope is centered at the walkway so I just ignored it. However, they finished installing my vanity today and vanity legs are floating about ½ inch above the floor. You notice it as soon as you walk in because the doorway faces vanity. I hate to think how the floor is going to fare over time and hope it won’t reduce the bathroom’s value.
I need help because I honestly don’t know what to do at this point. I am desperate to finish this project as we went significantly over budget because of the contractor and I'm going crazy without my bedroom/bathroom. However, when I walk in I just want to tear the floor up and re do it. Could we get insurance money or any other money to redo? Is there any way for us to save it? The tile was expensive (for me) and I really don't want to replace it with cheaper. We don’t have a contract. There has just been issue after issue, today they broke our air conditioning unit which is just great. We already decided to use a different, cheaper contractor for future projects so issue is just for current.

I need to get this off of my chest as I don’t feel like I have anyone in my life I can really go to about this. I (F) am coming up on 30 years old. I’ve never had a REAL serious relationship. I’ve had flings, situationships, and short relationships that have never gone past a couple of months. That being no fault of my own as I was always cheated on and used sexually and financially. I always find myself going above and beyond to try and make another person happy and feel appreciated, as that’s what I’ve always wanted.
Friends always say “it’s not you, it’s them.” And for a while I believed that. But when it has happened over and over for years and years… it feels like me, you know?
I know I’m not a 10/10, but I have a heart of gold and love making others happy. A couple of years ago I started my own charity and help rescue animals in need. I take pride in being a good person. I know I don’t deserve how I’ve been treated.
I was a late bloomer for sure. I was an ugly kid and teen, I’ll admit that LOL. I never had guys showing me any interest until AFTER high school ended. I was picked on for my looks, I never was asked to a school dance, never asked on a date. I feel like that may have something to do with how I feel. I can’t describe it, but I’ve seen tiktoks about it that have hit the nail on the head. I hope you know what I mean!
Every time something ends with a guy, it sends me into a depression and I end up isolating for a while. I’ve been alone for a few years now and before you say anything, yes I have found happiness alone. I do everything alone, and I’m even going on my very first vacation in my whole life this summer: yep, alone. I’m happy alone otherwise. I have been on every dating app and the pickings are very slim. “Love will come when you’re not looking for it.” That’s what I’m always told. Well for a while I stopped looking because I gave up and just did my own thing. Still nothing. Just more and more failed “talking” stages that go nowhere or end with them choosing another girl over me. Or them only seeing me as a sexual object and not as a human being. I don’t understand… all of my exes have treated me like garbage, but I see them dating other people and treating them better than they ever did me. I feel like people only date me to feel better about themself or date me if they are broken and need fixing, and then go off to somebody else when I have served my purpose to them. They claimed to care about me, but then did me so so so dirty. I don’t understand. I know my purpose on this earth isn’t to be a human punching bag, but that’s how it feels.
I’m sorry this is so all over the place. Writing is not my strong suit and my ADHD brain goes a mile a minute. I guess the point is…. I just feel alone. No one else in my life has this problem. They’re all in happy relationships and marriages. They can’t relate when I try to get this off of my chest and therefore don’t have anything really constructive to say. I am a good person… When is it my turn to have love? When is it my turn to be someone’s main priority and the love of their life? When is it my turn to not have to do every single piece of life by myself? When will someone choose me over other girls they may be talking to or choose me over scrolling on dating apps? When will someone say they love me and actually mean it and not be talking to other girls at the same time? When is it my turn to not be ghosted at every turn when I do nothing wrong? When is it my turn to get random phone calls and text messages with sweet words that make me feel on top of the world? When can I come home to somebody after a long day and find solace in their company? I long for the day where everything about a relationship is no longer one-sided, where I am no longer making all of the effort and paying for everything just so we can do things, where someone looks forward to hearing from me every day. I’ve even tried making less effort and trying hard not to be “too much”, trying to be the “cool girl” who doesn’t come off as overly interested, and I still don’t have guys chasing me like everyone says that attitude will bring, if that makes sense without sounding pretentious. I still can’t help but to feel like I am doing something wrong or that something is wrong with me. Having BPD, anxiety, and depression really messes with my head.
Again, I am content alone, I have found happiness in myself and doing things that I enjoy without having to worry about another person. I do so many fun things by myself. All of my friends live far away, I don’t have anyone where I live now that I can hang out with and do things with and even be introduced to other people from. Making real friendships as an adult has proved to be very difficult. I kind of have the same feelings about relationships as I do towards friendships as well, never being anyone’s first choice, but that’s a post for another time lol. But as I go through life and see couples in public and in movies/videos, I just can’t help but feel bitter and jealous. I can’t even listen to songs about love without getting a little upset. I really enjoy the time I can spend by myself doing whatever I want whenever I want, but sometimes I can’t help but to think how amazing it must be to share life with somebody. To have someone I can talk to and share everything with and vice versa. I long for the day that I can have somebody to buy a house with, as where I live is very expensive and though I have tried, I can’t afford it alone and I really want to get out of the living situation that I am in now. I just want a companion and to feel real love for the first time in my life, something I have never experienced. I really hope that I am not alone in this, and that somewhere, someone else feels the same and can relate to me. Constant isolation is really taking its toll on me. I don’t want to feel this way anymore, I want to be happy and find love, but I am sick and tired of being treated like shit by guys when I do nothing wrong to deserve it. Trust me, I’m not going to jump into a relationship with the first guy who gives me attention; I am not settling for anything less than what I know I deserve. But I can’t help feeling the way that I feel… I am doing my best despite everything life is throwing at me and all of the other stressors in my every day life.
Again, I am so sorry this was all over the place, it’s so hard to get my thoughts together and I really needed to get this off of my chest as I have been crying about this for days straight. Thank you for letting me vent, and if you have anything kind to say, some good solid advice, or share the same feelings, please let me know. I’m not quite sure what to do anymore..

Gonna write a 10-page essay for 2 comments and a 33% upvote rate but whatever
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It's true.
The Ace Attorney fanbase is generally more analytically intelligent than most other visual novel fanbases, so it's very disappointing to see so many people lulled by AAI2's cheap parlor tricks while failing to grasp the beauty of AAI. Truly the biggest L for this subreddit.
Let's start with the overarching story: AAI is about an international smuggling ring, and AAI2 is about a man who tricks people into committing murder. That alone should dictate which game is better, but everyone seems to love Simon Keyes because of how random and unpredictable the twist was. I fail to see why the smuggling ring is so slept-on; perhaps it's too realistic or down-to-earth and the community would rather have a final villain plotting to steal the moon? But more on that later.
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AAI has the biggest cases of "Seinfield is unfunny" in the series, because AAI2 is an unofficial translation and thus more accessible to people. On the other hand, AAI is only available as a DS cartridge (rather expensive), the only game not available on the 3DS eshop or Steam. Of course most people played AAI2 before AAI. SO MANY things got ruined by AAI2. I honestly think this is one of the reasons AAI2 did not get a localization.
Let's see some of the highlights:
The Great Thief Yagatarasu - Hit the hardest by this. Kay Faraday parading around the fact that she is the Yagatarasu in AAI2 is vastly different from her doing the same in Kidnapped and Ablaze. In AAI, starting from the first case, the Yagatarasu is this mysterious thief that supposedly has a lot of intel on the smuggling ring and we only get to see his silhouette and calling card. And don't forget his theme, Yagatarasu - The Gentleman Thief, which really does set the mood and fit him perfectly during the fleeting moments it plays. Kay only pretended to be the thief in two cases. I think the scarcity of the Yagatarasu appearances is what really makes the reveal so intriguing.
Yeah, and the final reveal: be honest here. The twist of it being Byrne, Calisto and Badd would have hit much harder on everyone's first playthrough of AAI without knowing anything from AAI2. What really dampens the Yatagarasu is the fact that he is brought up too many times by Kay in AAI2 (and even just her soundtrack name). Also the fact that the Yagatarasu calling card is the inverted version of the smuggling ring leader's instruction cards, to send a message that the Yagatarasu was only a few steps behind the ringleader, was absolutely brilliant and a much better last-minute twist than anything else the series ever came up with.
Calisto Yew/Shih-na - She was with Lang for his first appearance, and every consecutive one. That's what made her reveal so impactful. After AAI2 came along, she was just another one-off character. To be honest, the twist that she was Calisto Yew was completely unexpected, although maybe I should have realized beforehand. I also think the way she is finally cornered is pretty awesome. Setting alight the coat to reveal the Bahbalese ink burning green, pretty symbolic of her smuggling acts finally brought to light.
Shi-Long Lang character development - I'm surprised how no one mentions this. It's on the same level as Sebastian's development, and I think the only reason it's so slept-on is because in AAI2, the cases are normally so dull that you have no other choice but to focus on the characters, while AAI Lang shares the stage with the rest of the plot. The way he goes from respectfully hating on prosecutors as a super serious officer to "Lang Zi says: ...just go already!" and supporting Edgeworth in his trial after the credits is super awesome. Him getting fired from Interpol is worse than Yuri Cosmos getting demoted after Turnabout For Tomorrow in terms of discomfort food. I feel like the way Lang is introduced in AAI2 really does discredit all his character development in AAI.
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Now let's compare all aspects of each game:
Case 1 (general): Visitor > Target. Visitor is the most underrated case in the series, and Target is a 3-hour long snooze-fest. Target is a case 1 yet fails to be an intro case and thus is not good, that's what it boils down to.
Case 1 (witnesses): Visitor == Target. Visitor brought back Maggey who is one of the blandest characters in the series, but Target's defendant wasn't any better. Target also managed to fumble de Killer's appearance into a very boring confrontation, so they are about tied.
Case 1 (culprit, single-case): Portsman > Knightley. The prosecutorial interactions were much more fun than that overconfident bodyguard.
Example --
Portsman: It's a possibility. Maybe your salary's been cut so much that life is getting a little too rough to handle...?
Gumshoe: I'll have you know that I eat three square meals every day, pal! ...OK, so all three of them happen to be instant noodles, but...
Portsman: Poor thing. What an evil prosecutor you were paired up with. And what a motive, no?
Case 1 (culprit, whole game): Knightley > Portsman. Sure. The case 1 culprit can have a huge impact on the overarching story. Knightley was one of the better plotwise characters of AAI2.
Case 2 (general): Airlines > Imprisoned. Airlines just edges out Imprisoned slightly, but I admit Imprisoned is the only AAI2 case that deserves all the praise it gets. But I think the twists and turns were just a bit better for Airlines, especially the final Logic flashback segment as Lablanc slowly fell over the railing.
Case 2 (witnesses): Airlines > Imprisoned. Zinc Lablanc carries the entire case, like Luke Atmey did. Rhoda Teneiro was also cool. Jay Elbird and Frank Sahwit can't compare, and even Keyes' performance in this case, even knowing that he manipulated Knightley's death, doesn't quite reach Airlines' level of beautiful simplicity here. Dogen was just a plot device in this episode.
Case 2 (culprit, single-case): Meele == Roland. Both had godawful motives and mild characters.
Case 2 (culprit, whole game): Roland > Meele. Of course, because Roland got a whole other backstory while Meele stayed the same.
Case 3 (general): Inherited > Kidnapped. Yeah, alright. Who knew that letting you play as Gregory Edgeworth in the events leading up to DL-6 would be more interesting for the audience than actually coming up with an original idea? F for effort, I guess.
Case 3 (witnesses): Inherited > Kidnapped. Mainly because Ema Skye was absolutely useless in Kidnapped. Lauren Paups was also pretty bad. Inherited only had some meh witnesses, nothing outstanding, but still better than Kidnapped.
Case 3 (culprit, single-case): Gustavia > Lance. Well, yeah. Lance did kill only in self defense, while Gustavia and Dover had a whole storyline going. I feel like Kidnapped was meant to be a breath of fresh air from the constant murder grind, like Stolen. Too bad neither case ended up being great.
Case 3 (culprit, whole game): Lance > Gustavia. Well, not quite Lance himself, but the effect it had by prompting Ernest Amano to forge evidence, get caught and questioned, and give up the evidence to the KG-8 incident was pretty impactful. Gustavia, while the first of many things that ticked off Keyes, was also the only part of his story that wasn't really carefully intertwined with anything else.
Case 4 (general): Reminiscence == Forgotten. Interestingly, the one case everyone seems to like in AAI is actually not that great, all things considered. Forgotten was a very slow case with boring investigation sequences all around, but Reminiscence had terrible character interactions and was paced horribly.
Case 4 (witnesses): Reminiscence > Forgotten. Detective Badd blows everyone else out of the water. The Judge was alright, and Gumshoe was pretty subpar. But still, better than whatever AAI2 was trying to do with Lotta Hart and Nicole Swift.
Case 4 (culprit, single-case): Calisto == Blaise. I can't really say one was better than the other. Calisto's double murder and escape managed to top the previous 3-4 for "best loose end", but Blaise was no slouch either.
Case 4 (culprit, whole game): Calisto > Blaise. Doesn't need an explanation.
Now for the opinion that will get me downvoted. Turnabout Ablaze is a better case than The Grand Turnabout, both as a finale and in general.
Firstly, Colias Palaeno was a better final plot device character than John Marsh. Palaeno was introduced as this very suspicious character, only to later become the most helpful witness in the entire series, and the only person who didn't lie, ever. Despite overdoing his coupon-dealing gimmick, it never really got old or tedious. And come on, he was just a cool guy all around. His interactions with Alba were also very interesting considering the history between their countries. Palaeno is the perfect example of how to write a compelling plot device character.
On the other hand, John Marsh never really made an impact and his edgy teenager persona was just meh. Him refusing to take revenge on Dogen in the end was cool, but he was still not as good a character overall. His kidnapping was mainly to develop Courtney's character, but even she was not that interesting in the end. And his twist of being the president's son was very underwhelming, if I'm being honest.
Every case 5 is traditionally the resolution of two different murders. For AAI, it was Ka-Shi Nou murdered in the Allebahstian embassy, and Manny Coachen murdered in the Bahbalese embassy on the same night. For AAI2, it was the body double's murder out of the blue and the real president's murder 12 years ago. Surely Ablaze has a much better premise already.
Ablaze is a very symmetrical, well-organized case with the themes of duality. Allebahst has strict migration laws and an old army general as the ambassador, who appears to be a kindly old man. Bahbal is a very lax tourist country with a young advertising ambassador who is suspiciously cheerful. And yet, Ambassador Alba is the villain behind the smuggling ring while Ambassador Palaeno is hopelessly clueless about his secretary Coachen. I really like the dynamic amongst the characters here. Even Coachen gets characterization from Palaeno's relationship with him and sadness at his death.
Honestly, I thought the premise of the country split in two was a very intriguing setup. Even for people who aren't super interested in history-esque topics, the case should provide a novel setting. The competition to see which embassy had the legitimate statue, the goodwill ambassadorship involving the Steel Samurai, the reuniting of Cohdopia, everything really felt like something big and exciting was happening.
How many people actually played Ablaze fully? I bet half the people who hate on Turnabout Ablaze here don't even know that the embassy was set on fire in the case. They only watched Alba's breakdown, went on the wiki to find out the two victims, and called it a day before formulating their opinion. They missed out on everything, like the safe-opening puzzle and the secret of the Yagatasaru key/"knife", and figuring out how the two statues and the body got transported between the embassies.
Unlike Ablaze's very uniform and straightforward setup, The Grand Turnabout is just a speed-rap of a case with very sporadic events that feel like it's just thrown at you randomly so you never get bored of one single topic. So right after exposing Blaise as the killer, you find the president of Zheng Fa is murdered. You go to question someone, but she is currently judging Roland's trial for the murder of Knightley. Then Blaise turns out to not get in any trouble for what happened in Forgotten. Then Marsh gets kidnapped and you decide to join the trial and help Sebastian. He then runs away and you stall for time until Marsh is found and Sebastian comes back and proves that Blaise tampered with evidence. So he gets arrested after all and Roland is guilty. Then you get a mysterious radio call telling you to go to an orphanage, where you find out that the real president (along with some other guy) was killed there 12 years ago. With a very tedious Little Thief investigation sequence. Now you trace back who called you on the radio and pin every single crime in the game onto him. And Dogen helped, a bit. The end.
There were zero compelling aspects of the case. It feels like the case was entirely written to showcase character development for half the cast, and the actual plot points are half-assed and not bothered with. The final reveal is just a cheap cop-out by going "oh actually A and B are connected. Wow!". I feel like The Grand Turnabout is actually the worst-written case of AAI2 in terms of sheer writing. Every event is random until the final reveal. The way the events proceed is also very weird and feels very unpolished. The investigation drags on way longer than Alba's confrontation does. No way people like this mess of a case more than Ablaze just because it has more rewarding/overstimulating moments at times and uses shock value.
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It's funny that AAI has the overarching plot be straightforward and each individual case have its twists and turns, while AAI2 is the exact opposite. Each case basically feels like the game just leads you along a long, drawn-out and boring path to the answer while the actual overarching plot is this convoluted, improbable steaming mess of a story.
I really don't think Keyes was all that special. Sure, there were minute hints scattered throughout the game before he is revealed to be the mastermind. Sure, he had a compelling motive. But in the end, it all boils down to "oh remember all that? well, the major twist is that they are connected!". Just a weak cop-out finale that manages to be flashy enough to woo half the audience. But what I really dislike about Keyes is the way he was caught. I personally think that final villains should try to not get caught. Keyes was so cocky that he was toying with Edgeworth on purpose. Kidnapping Kay and John, teasing Edgeworth over the radio, he basically flew too close to the sun and paid the price. Alba, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with Edgeworth or the rest of the cast.
I think half of what makes a compelling villain is how they try to avoid being caught. Alba managed to stay low and avoid detection for 10 years, while still running the smuggling ring. His confrontations felt very calm and collected, and just overall very professional at maintaining his innocence. Unlike Keyes who just keeps laughing at you and mocking you. Sure, both characters had high egos, but bottom line: Keyes got too cocky from a few successful manipulations while Alba maintained his confidence in his position which he has decades of experience in.
Yes, Alba was very stubborn and makes the final fight drag on, but that should be a good thing for his character. Shows he is very experienced and well-prepared for law enforcement. Honestly, my one complaint is that his fight didn't drag on even longer; I think that him losing his ambassadorship was a bit too easy and he should have put up more of a fight regarding that. People say Alba was too generically evil, but I think that he is actually unique in the way that he is the first pure villain as afinal villain. Remember, von Karma and Gant were not full-time criminals; they were law enforcement who killed once and then were caught trying to cover up their crime. Engarde was an actor who only cared about publicity. Godot was, well, not exactly a criminal. Gavin was a lawyer who did anything to win his case and held grudges. Up until then, we never had a professional criminal as a final villain until Alba. Taking someone like him down should be expected to be difficult, long and tedious. Also his breakdown was much more rewarding than Keyes' getting beat up by animals, mostly because Keyes kinda deserved more than that. If Keyes had been punished harder, his breakdown might have been more satisfying than Alba's, to be fair.
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AAI also has a better soundtrack than AAI2, and you can fight me on that. AAI2 may have some earwormy tracks, but it's like this: AAIs soundtrack actually sounds like it was composed for the game. Tracks like the Yagatarasu's theme (not Kay, the actual Yagatarasu) and Torn Apart Countries fit the mood and set the grandiose atmosphere perfectly. AAI2s soundtrack is just the artist taking a picture of the character, showing it to a composer, and going "make a theme for him". The Man Who Masterminds the Game may be more catchy than The Enemy Who Surpasses the Law, but the latter definitely suits its respective character and confrontation as a whole more. And I just gotta appreciate a fitting theme more than an earwormy one.
Honestly, Objection 2009 was better than Objection 2011 just because it felt so much more satisfying in a calm, procedural manner, like "Okay, so we figured this out. Make a mental note of this for later". Objection 2011 is a TV-show opening for Edgeworth. It might be very catchy, but I honestly think it doesn't fit a single moment in which it is played and is just an overstimulation.
Also I will get ostracized for saying this, but Lying Coldly was a perfect take on how a pursuit theme for Edgeworth would sound, that Wanting to Find the Truth completely ruined in favor of sounding more like a generic pursuit theme. It may be a good song, but it has none of the charm that Lying Coldly had.
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AAI2s translation team, to be honest, did a pretty bad job. (Preface: yes I know criticism like this is mean and uncalled for but since AAI2 isn't even their game, I think it is fair to criticize their take on it after they imposed themselves onto Capcom's game.)
Let's start with the voicelines. Sebastian Debeste's voice actor was the only one who did a good job. Everyone else's voices were way too "high-quality sound" to fit AAs theme. Like, especially ProZDs take on Gregory Edgeworth, who sounds like a 20 year old with a smoking problem and a mouth that's 2cm in diameter. It especially contrasts von Karma's voice in Inherited and is clearly out of place. Sorry, but ProZD was an absolute garbage casting choice for Gregory. I don't care what you say, Courtney is not British. Knightley and Shields' voices are just too realistic and not AA sounding. Keyes and Blaise are the only other objections that almost fit the bill, almost.
Again, though, massive props to Sebastian's voice actor. He absolutely nailed his voiceclip.
On a related note, I think Alba and Calisto's objections are actually not bad because remember, they are (Alba definitely, Calisto I assume so since she works for him) foreigners who originate from Cohdopia. It makes sense for them to have an accent when speaking English, and with only one word to go off of, their accent sounds exactly like one would expect. It's surprising how most people can't make that basic connection and instead go straight to mindless hating. Ace Attorney's fanbase is supposed to be smarter than that.
Okay now back to the translation team, the overall dialogue for AAI2 feels much more dry. It's not as easy as you'd expect to capture the tones of each character during the translation, and the translation team kind of failed at that. The dialogue for the returning characters, especially Gumshoe and Kay, feel much more uniform and really lack the charm that AAIs official translation had. Try playing AAI and AAI2 in alternating cases side-by-side and the difference becomes clear as day.
Not just the dialogue in general, but also the quips and banter during the investigation sequences between main characters. Especially that one time in Inherited in which young Shields quotes Godot's "blacker than a moonless night" soliloque, for Gregory to think to himself "note: coffee has a bad effect on lawyers". If you really think about it, this took place before T&T and there is no way Godot would just quote Shields, so it's a really weird continuity plothole that both people say the same thing, like a 4th wall break. It's supposed to be a joke, but come on. Capcom wouldn't actually do something so unprofessional like that, and the translation team really had to make that weird joke a permanent part of Capcom's game. It's an official game so it's supposed to be more professional than using 4th wall breaks like that. This may seem nitpicky, but again - official Capcom game.
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Of course, people can like whatever they like. You may prefer a culprit that is over-the-top crazy more than a down-to-Earth one. You can like an unpredictable, convoluted overarching story more than a well-written one. But objectively, from a critical, unbiased point of view, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is a much better-written, higher quality work than Gyakuten Kenji 2. No amount of rose-colored glasses can change that, sorry.

I've been playing cello for 2 months now and I have first position relatively nailed down with my teacher. We haven't approached second position yet but he's on vacation for the next few weeks and I found a piece I want to play! It reaches out of first position slightly before returning back to it and I could use some help navigating that.
It is all in first position except for these two scenarios: 1. Whole step out of position to the E on the A string and then does a stepwise descending line down to B.
2.It also does momentarily sneak up a half step out of position on the D string (descending G# to G natural) and G string (descending C# to C natural).
How would you advise approaching these changes?

I am a teenage girl from cali. Basically I have been in a friend group for my entire life and they are my family. Our parents are all best friends and we have gone on many vacations together. Before we all hit puberty nothing was wrong and we were the model friendships. sleepovers with everybody every weekend, movies, etc. However one member of the group is a bitch to say the least. the 2 girls have buddied up and i will give you a run down. One of them is a narcissist who has called the cops on my and pretended that she didn’t, a pathological liar and stolen from my family, and the other one is a down right idiot. For the record she strongly supports the fact that planets aren’t real and that dinosaurs never existed, as well as all gay people should die. Anyways i love every other member of the group so much and have had no provlems with them except they still love the 2 demons. They think nothing the 2 could be that bad and it’s funny, but it’s started to get out of hand, and the other members might be getting influenced by the others ideas, such as racism and sexism, even though both can apply to some. They are in every activity i do and go to my school so i don’t know if i drop them if i can maintain my other friendships if they are still close with twiddle dee and twiddle dum. So should i ignore them for the sake of my other friends or should i just cut contact all together?

I am a 15 year old female who lives with my mom. I love my mom, my mom has sacrificed a lot for me in my 15 years and I know that she loves me. My mom works as Nail Technician and she is a Vietnamese immigrant. My mom is super nice to everyone. On the outside, my friends think she’s super sweet, super understanding, and my friends all love her. My friends all believe she is the most hilarious person ever and in public everybody likes to believe that we have a really good relationship. The truth is, is that it’s not. I’ve spent 15 years living with my mom and I can just say that once I go to college I’m leaving and never coming back. Insider, my mom has a brother who left because he got kicked out of college so really, I’m the only child she has left. My mom has spent many years trying to teach me from right to wrong just like any other parent. But she did that by crushing my self confidence and self esteem. I was not the most skinny girl ever. In fact I was overweight and I have been for most of my life but only by ten to fifteen pounds. My mom spent countless years telling me that I was ugly and that I was a fat pig. During family vacations where I would have to wear a swimsuit she would just avoid me because I know that she was embarrassed about having me as her daughter . I know she did this to motivate me to lose weight but I turned to SH instead. I spent my freshman year of high school going to the gym constantly and I lost 40 pounds. I spent every morning running four miles for 4 days a week. On the days I didn’t run i rowed. I’m relatively skinny now and when relatives like to ask what I did to lose all of that, my mom likes to say that it was her. She made me lose all of the weight and she tells others to copy her techniques. But really, I was the one that worked hard. I spent homecoming and spring fling in the gym. I couldn’t even eat cake on my birthday because it was too many calories. I spent most of my time in the gym. My mom likes to hit me sometimes or kick me. And when she does that she likes to curse me out in Vietnamese when I do something wrong. In our culture it’s very normalized but my mom shows me no affection. She has never told me that she loved me, she has never hugged me ever since I was 7. My mom likes to insult me in english and in Vietnamese. I think she just expects me to be perfect all the time. I have a 4.1 unweighted GPA and I’m going into my sophomore year taking AP Calculus , AP Spanish, and AP American Lit. I play varsity Lacrosse , I’m Editor in Chief for Yearbook next year and I’m secretary of my class. I am in Chess Club and HOSA. I work very hard. Any other mother would be grateful for me. But to my mom it’s not enough. It will never be enough. She always points out my flaws. And what I do wrong. But she never congratulates me. My mom has never attended any of my lacrosse games,school events, graduations , or anything, never has . She’s never there for me. Anytime I try to speak to her about my problems she always yells at me about how I have nothing to stress about because I have food to eat and water to drink. My mom also does this really annoying thing where if she makes something and I don’t like it she’ll just tell me to eat it and give me a sob story. I’ve also noticed that ever since my parents got divorced my mom has been a really horrible girl friend. Not in a cheating way but she doesn’t trust. And to her everything must be perfect and if she’s having a bad day best believe that once you interact with her you will too. My mom assumes things all the time when I do something and she’ll yell at me for that. She prefers her feelings over the actual facts and that’s messed up the dynamic of our relationship. She also never moves on and will use things against me no matter what. Long story short, she’s shattered my confidence and was my very first bully, she always thinks she’s right and can’t admit when she’s in the wrong, she can’t compromise, she’s manipulative, and she’s never there for me. When people say that it’s a red flag when somebody treats their mom like crap I disagree. Not in all situations but you never know what’s happening behind closed doors. My mom truly makes me feel like she only loves me because she’s birthed me. I truly feel like the child she didn’t want. And I don’t think she likes me. I wish I had a good relationship with my mom like everyone else does but I just can’t . When I move out and start my career, I plan on just giving my mom a shit load of money and then leaving her. She took away my childhood all because she didn’t want to create the time or the effort. If she didn’t want to pay more money she shouldn’t have had me. And I wish I didn’t have her as my mom.

It asked me where I wanted to go. I put in "Mons, Belgium", because, why not?
It asked for travel dates. I said July 12 to July 27 of this year. Nice 2-week vacation.
It said "Choose your budget." Options were: low, medium, high, and luxury. I chose "low". Though I'll bet Mons, Belgium is a place where you could do "luxury".
It said "Choose your vacation type." Options were "Relaxed" and "Packed". I picked "Packed". (Can you actually picture me relaxing?)
It said "Choose your category." Options were "Romantic", "Adventure", "Touristic", "Party", "Family", "Cultural", "Mixed". I picked "Adventure", though I was tempted by "Party".
It said, "Choose your dietary preference." Options were "Vegan", "Vegetarian", "Pescatarian", "Halal", and "No preference". I picked "No preference". Vacation isn't the time to be picky, right?
Never heard of the word "pescatarian" before but the "fish" icon makes me think it means fish.
Anyway, I clicked "Submit".
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Recommended accommodation: Hotel Lido Mons Centre
​
Day 1:
Recommended transport mode: Taxi
Arrive at Brussels Airport and take a taxi to your hotel in Mons. Spend the day exploring the city on foot, visiting the Grand Place, the Belfry, and the SainteWaudru Collegiate Church. For dinner, head to Le Pain Quotidien for some delicious vegetarian options.
​
Day 2:
Recommended transport mode: Walking
Start your day with a visit to the Mons Memorial Museum to learn about the city's history. Then, take a walk to the Van Gogh House, where the famous artist lived for a short time. For lunch, try some traditional Belgian cuisine at Le Pain Quotidien. In the afternoon, take a stroll through the Parc du WauxHall and enjoy the beautiful scenery. For dinner, head to Le Pain Quotidien for some more vegetarian options.
​
Day 3:
Recommended transport mode: Train
Take a train to the nearby city of Tournai and spend the day exploring its beautiful architecture, including the NotreDame Cathedral and the Belfry. For lunch, try some local specialties at Le Pain Quotidien. In the evening, take the train back to Mons and enjoy dinner at Le Pain Quotidien.
​
Day 4:
Recommended transport mode: Walking
Explore the city's art scene by visiting the BAM Beaux-Arts Mons museum and the Mundaneum, a museum dedicated to the history of information and communication. For lunch, try some delicious vegetarian options at Le Pain Quotidien. In the evening, head to the Theatre Royal de Mons for a show.
​
Day 5:
Recommended transport mode: Bicycle
Rent a bicycle and take a ride through the beautiful countryside surrounding Mons. Stop for lunch at a local restaurant and try some traditional Belgian cuisine. In the evening, head back to the city and enjoy dinner at Le Pain Quotidien.
​
Day 6:
Recommended transport mode: Walking
Take a walking tour of the city's many parks and gardens, including the Jardin du Mayeur and the Parc du Beffroi. For lunch, try some vegetarian options at Le Pain Quotidien. In the evening, head to the Grand Place and enjoy a drink at one of the many bars.
​
Day 7:
Recommended transport mode: Train
Take a train to the nearby city of Charleroi and spend the day exploring its many museums and galleries. For lunch, try some local specialties at a restaurant in the city. In the evening, take the train back to Mons and enjoy dinner at Le Pain Quotidien.
​
Day 8:
Recommended transport mode: Walking
Explore the city's many churches and cathedrals, including the SainteElisabeth Church and the Saint-Nicolas Church. For lunch, try some vegetarian options at Le Pain Quotidien. In the evening, head to the Theatre Royal de Mons for a show.
​
Day 9:
Recommended transport mode: Bicycle
Rent a bicycle and take a ride through the beautiful countryside surrounding Mons. Stop for lunch at a local restaurant and try some traditional Belgian cuisine. In the evening, head back to the city and enjoy dinner at Le Pain Quotidien.
​
Day 10:
Recommended transport mode: Walking
Take a walking tour of the city's many museums and galleries, including the Musée François Duesberg and the Musée du Doudou. For lunch, try some vegetarian options at Le Pain Quotidien. In the evening, head to the Grand Place and enjoy a drink at one of the many bars.
​
Day 11:
Recommended transport mode: Train
Take a train to the nearby city of Namur and spend the day exploring its many castles and fortresses. For lunch, try some local specialties at a restaurant in the city. In the evening, take the train back to Mons and enjoy dinner at Le Pain Quotidien.
​
Day 12:
Recommended transport mode: Walking
Explore the city's many parks and gardens, including the Jardin du Mayeur and the Parc du Beffroi. For lunch, try some vegetarian options at Le Pain Quotidien. In the evening, head to the Theatre Royal de Mons for a show.
​
Day 13:
Recommended transport mode: Bicycle
Rent a bicycle and take a ride through the beautiful countryside surrounding Mons. Stop for lunch at a local restaurant and try some traditional Belgian cuisine. In the evening, head back to the city and enjoy dinner at Le Pain Quotidien.
​
Day 14:
Recommended transport mode: Walking
Take a walking tour of the city's many churches and cathedrals, including the SainteElisabeth Church and the Saint-Nicolas Church. For lunch, try some vegetarian options at Le Pain Quotidien. In the evening, head to the Grand Place and enjoy a drink at one of the many bars.
​
Day 15:
Recommended transport mode: Taxi
Take a taxi to
​
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​
Weirdly, it cut off that last entry. I assume back to the airport for the flight back.
Also weirdly, it thinks I want to eat at Le Pain Quotidien every day. Which actually means "The Daily Bread" in French. The bread must be just ridiculously awesome?
It does look like the trip ought to be rather low cost, with lots of walking and biking and the occasional train. Some of the attractions look like they're low-cost, like biking in nature, visiting churches and parks and gardens. Some might be expensive like art galleries. Most of the cost, though, probably just goes to getting a hotel that is so close to the center of the city. I suppose it's worth it to get so much within walking distance.
No idea how this system works. I'm guessing it's using a generative AI model, but what it generates is based on a database of destinations and attractions and is shoe-horned into the format of a trip plan. Wonder if they trained a model from scratch or fine-tuned a model from somewhere else.
https://geniustrip.ai/

I am fostering (hoping to adopt) a poodle terrier mix. Picked him up from the shelter in a bad state of matting, nails had likely never been trimmed. His ears were just caked in dirt. I have had him 2 weeks. He's been cleaned up, ears mostly cleaned by groomer and vet. To get the rest, they are waiting for when he is sedated for neutering. Meanwhile, his eyes are red and puffy and he scratches at them until he bleeds. https://imgur.com/a/6whCKrT I took him back to the vet at the shelter and they gave him Optixcare eye lube plus. I am also giving him zaditor eye drops (antihistamine) and 12.5 mg benedryl 2x/day. He wears a cone most of the day. The second it come off, he scratches his face raw. He cries while doing it. Someone suggested veteracin plus (antimicrobial ) sprayed in the eyes but haven't tried yet. Should I? Any ideas what this could be? Thank you.

I (20F) have been dating my boyfriend (21M) for a year & a half now. He’s a very easy-going and respectful guy. however, I feel bored and a getaway seems perfect. I have been working nonstop as I’m going on vacation in 10 days. there’s also a lot of miscommunication. On saturday I had family event in a small town with no service and when I woke up in the morning, I saw a long message of him saying that he had no idea that I didn’t service and that he’s sorry for being upset. I didn’t even know he was upset to begin with, and I talk to him yesterday saying I feel bored, and the only thing he said was there’s nothing to talk about since his life is boring and when I try to start a conversation, I would just get a simple “mhm” now here’s where I might be the asshole. I’m if you’re a believer that you should not find anybody else attractive while in a relationship. I’ve had a couple guys ask for my number while I’m working. and I didn’t turn them down because I had a boyfriend, but rather because I was working. and I want to be free on my vacation but i’m selfish for wanting to come back to him once i return. I told my friend about this, and he said no I’m stupid and I will regret it. but honestly, I believe that once I come back from vacation while I’m still dating him, the miscommunication will make things worse. even if I do decide to sever ties with him. Should I break up with him before I go on vacation or stay with him till the very end?

Most of this…well, actually, all of it stems from the sheer lack of information about how New Rome University operates.
Back in 2012 when SoN was released, the only criteria we had for admission was that you had to be a legionary who served your ten years, and even that was questionable, because what about the New Roman demigods/legacies that didn’t go into the legion? Either because they didn’t want to, begging the question of whether that’s even allowed in their city, a demigod being allowed to choose if they go into the legion or not, or because they had some kind of handicap, like they were missing limbs or had severe enough autism that they couldn’t function in the legion.
There’s also staffing to be considered. Who are the professors? Other demigods/legacies? Clear-sighted mortals? Perhaps the Lares, taking a page from Harry Potter, linger around the university and teach classes. We don’t know yet. Maybe more will be revealed in the upcoming Chalice book since it’s whole premise is Percy getting three recommendation letters…though apparently not Annabeth, curiously enough.
From what I recall anyway. Maybe she has to get her own letters, or she gets a letter by proxy for helping Percy? More unanswered questions that will hopefully be answered in due time, but I digress.
What we do know is that New Rome’s population is…abysmally low. Frank said the legion totalled at 250, and Hazel once speculated that between two and three hundred people lived in New Rome, but following the Tyrant’s Tomb battle, Apollo states that the combined survivors of the legion and the city all fit inside the Senate Building, and Percy described that as being the size of a high school lecture hall. With Percy coming from Manhattan, his idea of a high school lecture hall would be a room roughly big enough to seat a hundred or so people.
Oof.
Now, what I’m getting at is that when it comes to defending the city, all the Romans pitch in. All the retired legionnaires act as reserve forces, and during a battle like that in the Imperial War, everyone that could still fight did so, meaning that a huge chunk of NRU’s student body died in the battle with everyone else, since the battle took place in April, smack in the middle of the Spring semester.
With so many dead students, and so many dead professors depending on how many of those professors were former legionnaires, I’m left wondering how NRU had enough people left to even open its doors for the Fall.
Granted, Annabeth did say she figured her roommate (because for some strange reason she and Percy are actually obeying the NRU no co-ed policy despite everything they’ve been through together; you’d think that they would put their foot down and insist they’d be rooming together, especially after Tartarus something that was supposed to be hugely traumatic for them) wouldn’t be there until later in the summer, implying that a number of NRU students were studying elsewhere for the Spring.
Me, personally, that statement feels more like Rick is scrambling to clean up the mess he made more than anything.
“Oh, shit. I killed almost everyone in this city I created by not double-checking my numbers, and there’s plausible grounds for the university not opening for the Fall because they’re severely understaffed and don’t have enough students! Better throw in there somewhere about not all the demigods being in New Rome during the battle.”
That’s just me, though.
Again, all of this stems from the supreme lack of information revolving around how NRU works. Maybe most of the student body dual-enrolls at other colleges like Annabeth will be at Berkeley, or they were studying overseas, or maybe Rick will throw in there somewhere that the battle took place during Spring Break, and so many demigods were off on vacation or something and didn’t even know about the war because of the communication.
But based on what we know for sure, it’s not looking like NRU had enough people left alive to have a Fall Semester following the Tyrant’s Tomb battle.

Sorry in advance, this is a lot of words but I think it's important to lay out my background and how I ended up here.
I knew when I started highschool, all I wanted to do was enlist. I was smart, graduated with a 3.7 GPA, but honestly just hated public school and hated the idea of doing more school and having to pay for it when I had no idea what I'd even go to college for. I prefered working and earning my own income. No one in my family went to college and I felt overwhelmed with the whole process of applying/choosing classes/getting financial aid and taking out loans/balancing a job on top of everything. I graduated high school a few years before covid and attempted to enlist. I wanted to follow my friends who were deploying, but struggled to get a waiver for some things on my medical records. My home life was a wreck but I got emancipated and moved out from my family's home. I was still in highschool, semi-homeless but my mental health and general well-being drastically improved. But because of my medical record, it took me a few years and several recruiters to get my waiver cleared.
I gave up on enlisting. Worked some trades and service jobs, got some awards with some companies I've been at, my resume is pretty stacked for someone without a degree. A few years later, I met a recruiter who boldy assured me he could get my waiver cleared. I didn't want to get my hopes up again, enlisting was all I wanted to do and would've provided me much needed stability, housing, employment, tuition assistance, healthcare, etc. And it fucking hurt when I kept getting denied.
Genesis be damned, my new recruiter got my waiver on the first try. Crazy.
I wanted to go active duty, but at the time I was in a toxic relationship. Don't want to get into the details, but I was heavily persuaded against enlisting at all. So, we "compromised" and I swore into the reserves. I got the job I wanted, swore in as an E4, and as soon as I came home from MEPS all hell broke loose. I managed to escape that relationship and I was pretty broken and traumatized after it all, but basic training was the most fun I never want to have again. It was honestly a fucking vacation compared to the hell my life had become. I made friends for the first time in years (my ex shut me out of the world), the drills weren't shit compared to previous abuse I endured, and they actually respected my input and leadership among my peers (after red phase of course, we were all shitheads at first). I finally felt like I belonged, I was safe, and I looked forward to my future. AIT was even better. Made it on the dean's list, really looked up to my instructors, and felt comfortable being referred to as an adult, even though I know I got a lot to catch up on.
Then, I graduated. Came home. Struggled. A lot. Without my ex, I struggled affording housing, food, the works. Burnt through my savings while I looked for employment. My previous job promised me a promotion upon my return, only for them to say it "wasn't in the budget and they dissolved the role" when I got back. My reserves unit is laid back, no upcoming deployments, no real big trainings besides AT. There's some cool people there, nothing against them, but I hate the reserves. Now it feels like I'm wearing a costume with no purpose. Surprisingly, my unit was and remains very supportive of getting me a conditional release for active duty and my recruiter and I have already submitted a 368 and the associated counselings and memos. It's on its way up the chain, but will take some time until I get a solid answer back.
I still struggled with housing and income, racking up credit card debt just to survive. Somehow, I landed an amazing job that provides housing in a field I could very much see myself going to college for. However, this job is seasonal and I'm scared I'll end up back on the struggle bus this winter.
This is where my dilemma is. There is a few colleges in my state that have amazing programs for what I want to major in. I could get accepted, I could try to figure out exactly what the reserves can pay for, I could try to get student housing for the spring semester, and I could keep working these seasonal jobs for housing during the summer or figure out something else along the way. Academically, I know I'll struggle but I can adjust. However most of my income right now is being split trying to knock down my credit card debt and I'm afraid I won't have much when this season is over.
But, I get this feeling. This itch that won't let up unless I fuck around and spend some time on the active duty side of things. I know peace time army and garrison life is absolute trash. My friends tell me how it is. But they also tell me it could be worth it. I doubt I'd want to do the full 20 years, but 4-8 wouldn't be bad. The stability of housing and income would be a huge weight off my shoulders. I'd also benefit from finding a mentor or some friends that can catch my ass up on how to handle today's world. Maybe I'd actually have some mental space to fully plan out my next steps without being in survival mode 24/7.
I'm going to be looking into the realities of college and what that path will entail. But I also would like to get some insight as to what the active duty path would be like. Each path has its own challenges and obstacles, but at this point I just want to pick one and do it. I'm so burnt out from trying to survive and figure things out on my own. I've been doing it since I was 16. I'm tired. I wouldn't mind putting college off for a few more years if it meant I'd be more finacially set up for it. I should be hearing back about my conditional release in the next couple months (hopefully).
I don't have many people I can fully open up to and explain my story to, I'm sorry for this wall of text.
TLDR - Should I stay on the struggle bus and be a reservist college kid, or should I go active duty?
I'll take some extra crispy fries and a chocolate frosty to dip em in, thx

I'm not even sure where to begin, I'm deeply hurt by my mom's actions and words. She's spiraled into someone I cannot even recognize and I feel like I've lost her-even though she's still alive. I'm sorry for this being such a long rant. Our situation has not been the best in the last 3-4 years. We've been financially struggling, yet every time we're close to getting caught up, my mom decides to take a trip or impulsively spends her money. I won't lie, my family isn't the most financially literate, but they're all hard workers.
To start, in 2020, when lockdown happened, my mother reconnected with one of her old friends in another country. Eventually, she broke the news to my little sister, (we'll call her B) and I that she was in a new relationship, (V). This was a shocker for both of us, but we were happy for her because her previous relationship was rather toxic for my mother and was consistently on and off for years. The first time she left B and I, was later in 2020 when COVID was still at peak, we were both 13 and 16. At first it was supposed to be two weeks, then she extended her stay to a month, then to two months.
When my mom had left, my grandma was in charge of B and I. My grandma blocked my mother the moment she landed, she was convinced my mother was lying to her because grandma was getting notifications that the account password was trying to be changed in 3 places within the country my mother was going to. At this point, things were already tense, because B was already feeling like mom was invalidating her and still treating her like a child, even though she was turning into a teen. My mom made excuses to her staying longer by saying how there were storms and that, "she couldn't know him in just 2 weeks".
Mom and Grandma have never had a very stable relationship. They've both done hurt to each other that I hope they can get therapy. One thing my mom said to grandma is "Oh you're so hard to deal with even your husband finds you impossible". My grandpa hasn't talked to my mom since and can't stand the way she talks to grandma. Plus, mom has a tendency to lie, or as she puts it "keep people out her business", will say something completely off about the situation or leave out extremely important details. My mom would have me log in to some of her accounts while she was away and would have me submit a form almost every week for her relief or something of the sorts. Turns out, she was using it for her trip and asked me for her certificates and important papers to send to her friend who was going to send it to my mother. My mother was planning on marrying the guy without saying anything to B and I.
She even told my dad we needed groceries and would have him send 200 a week. I spoke to my dad and told him we don't go every week and that mom was out the country. Obviously, dad wasn't aware and was rightfully upset with her. He was sending money for B and I, while my mom was out probably using it for her trip. B and I had no idea he was sending money to her. Mom was outraged and told me she wasn't lying and just with holding information. My dad confronted mom over the phone, telling her how she should've told him. How concerned he was for our safety, which is valid. My mom calls me back and claimed my grandma was brainwashing me and how I was ruining her friendship with dad. She told me to call my dad and tell him we were okay. She told me how she deserved a vacation and to not get frustrated with her.
Like I mentioned before, my mom refused to treat my sister like a teenager, refused to let her watch age appropriate shows and just treated her like she was 6. My grandma, B, and I, all like watching crime. Mom hated when B would watch and told her, "I don't want you to be what OP is and I don't want you to be lost like her and how she is". I was 5 months into therapy around this time, I wanted to get help and get better. I cried when I saw the messages. Not even two weeks later mom came back. B and I didn't greet her, to which she said, "You girls are so ungrateful", slammed her door and didn't talk to us.
I love my mom, I wanted to have a good relationship with her and took it upon myself to do damage control. We "cleared" things up through our talk. Except she talked to where it would be in her favor and play her as the victim. Things were good for the next two months until she decided to go back again. This time she would be marrying V, her new man. Before my mom left, she was adamant on refusing to tell my dad she was leaving. She practically threatened B and I to not. My dad was upset we didn't tell him she went out the country again, and me being a dumb 16 year old, told him I didn't think it was my responsibility to inform him.
By the time mom came back, it was almost a week before B's birthday. Mom broke the news that she was pregnant. Neither of us were happy. B and I cried and mom wasn't happy with our reactions. She was upset for a couple of days and I turned around and offered my support to her. B was heart broken since she's always been the baby in the family. Mom having another was the straw that broke the camel's back. Their relationship was just torn from that moment. She did go with her out of the country just for vacation. As my sister puts it, it wasn't a great experience and mom was upset with her for not speaking much.
Mom was also slowly getting disowned by the family by the time she came back. When she was due in late 2021, I offered to stay in the hospital with her, but because I wasn't 18 and COVID was still an issue, they wouldn't allow me. My grandma instead stayed with her and eventually left after the baby was born. Rather than picking up my mom from the hospital, she offered to drop the seat and told my mom she could UBER home. I don't agree with how grandma handled it, my mom did just have a baby.
All was well, baby was fine. School was okay, I did struggle a bit because of other factors. However, by the time I had graduated, I decided to take a gap year. I didn't know what I wanted to major in. If I did go, I didn't want to drop out, continuously change majors, or worry about how it would get paid. At the time, my family was still struggling financially. I picked up hours at my job, and mom stayed with her friend who was also her boss. Her boss was not paying her at the time because she was in the process of a divorce after her husband put her business in jeopardy.
I became financially responsible in the meantime and had to pick up some of the bills, with the very little I received from my pay. Mom would get paid time to time, but it was so inconsistent that I was the one who was head of household. Sometime she would pay me back and other times, she refused to and would apply the amount to a bill she believed I needed to pay. She financed a new car that was well beyond what we could pay, same for the insurance for me. We split the car note and I split the insurance with my dad. Every month I was paying 450, including half the insurance, for a car I do not use a quarter of the time. Only time I would have it frequently was when mom was out on a trip to see her husband, since I don't have a car of my own.
Mom eventually invited her boss and kid to come live with us, told her to not pay the first months rent and let her stay until earlier this year. Her boss was late on payments and overall it was an uncomfortable experience living there because I felt like they were leeching off of us. The bills were doubled or tripled and I was expected to pay some of them. Before they moved in, I expressed to my mom how I didn't think it was a good idea since she was already behind paying her and was inconsistent with her payments and owed her so much. Mom refused to listen and just let it happen. B was uncomfortable and ended up staying with our grandma more often and rarely came over.
Around this time, mom became very pushy about me babysitting. She would ask when I was off and if I could watch baby. Not ask, more of demand. Sometimes I would offer, but it became a problem to which I barely had time to myself. One incident happened near the holidays. It was around Black Friday time, the car was in the shop because I accidently hit a deer that ran in front of me. We were using a rental at the time. I told my mom a week before that I needed the day I had off, because I would be working 5 days, only have one day off, and then work 6 days in a row. Mom didn't listen and the day before, asked me to babysit because the babysitter couldn't. I told her no and she guilt tripped me and told me she would be home at 3. She left at 11, came back at 3ish with hand tattoos. Showed me them and then left. I was in disbelief that my mom would do that. It was a punch to the face, she knew we were already struggling, and she knew I needed that day off. My grandma was the one who picked her up from the rental. Mom wasn't home until 6. Mom left for thanksgiving with her aunt. She came back and left again for a month for Christmas with baby to go out of the country to see her husband.
Before she came back, her boss packed her stuff and left without a word to my mom. By the time she came back, it was tense, she was let go and had to look for a new job. I was fed up with the constant babysitting and had either my grandma take me to work or my boyfriend, K. I rarely offered and mom would ask but I would rarely say yes or made an excuse. More as of recently, it's come to the point where I feel as though I'm living with a roommate and not my mom. B isn't at home and I don't blame her. Luckily I've reconnected with my family after being isolated and taking my mom's side for a few months. My family is supporting me and I'm going back to school next semester.
I made plans one weekend with K and my mom called me the next morning and asked me to watch baby. I offered to buy the things she needed and said "No, I have things to return". I offered to return them, she refused. She said "These are things I need to buy on my own". I asked her why she couldn't take baby, her only excuse was that baby and her had a long day yesterday and that, "it would be tedious and time consuming getting baby ready". I told her, "Yes, that's YOUR child." Mom sarcastically said, "Wow, you're right. Thanks for reminding me like I didn't know," and hung up.
My mom has a tendency to give silent treatment. Why? I don't know. I had gotten off of work late one night, mom picked me up and I asked if we could stop by somewhere that was still open. After receiving my food, we're pulling out, there's a car coming by and I told her to not go. She's on her phone texting, stops, and says "I know, I've been driving for years. When have you seen me turn and drive?" Without thinking, I respond, "When have I not." She blows up at me saying how she's tired of my stupid annoying comments and refuses to talk to me the rest of the way home. I tell her "goodnight, I love you," when we get home. I say it 5-6 times before she responds back saying goodnight.
The next day, she was silent with me when I came home. While I'm leaving with some of my stuff since I was staying the night at K's, I say "bye mom. I'm leaving, I love you." She only responds with a bye in a serious tone. I cried in K's car, even the next night when I stopped by for a few more things, she was cold. I decided to test to see if she was purposely refusing to say it back. When I told her bye and I love you, she just said bye. I repeated it one more time and it was the same response. She later texted me saying "I love you, don't ever doubt it." I didn't respond. She said it the next few days, but remained cold with me. Just recently, she texted me while at work and asked me about the move situation. I hadn't responded just yet and she sends a long paragraph about how I owe her the respect of answering her important messages and that I should find the time to. By the time I see the message, I tell her I'm at work, that she knows I do not look at my messages and that I have B's and I's situation under control.
Last night, as I was leaving to stay at K's again, I ask mom if she had already taken the day off for orientation. She's quiet and in a monotone voice replies, "yes, why?" I tell her my aunt offered to go since she's experienced school and would like to help. Plus, mom was already tense and I do not want to be stressed when we go. She goes off about how I'm an adult and I make my own decisions and how I should do whatever my heart desires. I stare at her for a second. I really wanted mom to go with me, but with the way things are, I decided it was best not to. I finally tell her that I think my aunt should go with me. When I tell her I'm leaving and to have a goodnight and that I love her. She only responds with a goodnight. I'm sobbing when I close the door and in my boyfriend's car. On our way to his house, mom calls, says my cats and I need to be out before the beginning of next month, and tells me she will be looking into handing over custody of B to me. I try not to cry while I say, okay, I love you. She hangs up without a word.
I'm extremely heartbroken and overwhelmed. I'm so mentally and physically drained from work and mom. I feel like I've given her all my support, all my time and money only to receive very little back. I miss my mom. I miss when we would talk and not just for 5 minutes a day. I miss when B, her and I would hang out, not just her on her phone calling her husband 24/7. I miss when mom didn't drag me into her issues and expect me to put her fires out with dad and the family. I miss making jokes with my mom and having conversations without her turning our talks against me. I miss mom.
The thing is, my mom's made her decisions and expected B and I to be okay with it. She's basically given up on B and just doesn't text her unless she needs something or to borrow money. I know B and I will be okay eventually, but I'm so distraught over the idea of cutting off mom. I know it's for the best, and hopefully she realizes her mistakes.
Mom has never been a bad mom. She's been a good mom. She's worked hard to provide for B and I. To make sure we lived comfortably. I know my mom has a lot of baggage and trauma I hope she can get help for. I love my mom and I want her to get the help she needs, but she's made it extremely apparent, she does not want it. I've tried my best to stick by her side, but I needed her to stick by mine too. I really do love my mom, but this is not my mom. I'm stuck on how mom used to be that I refuse to realize that this is how she is. I love mom, but I know that I have to let her go and be better than how she is now. Not just for me, but for B too.

Okay, I’m gonna try and explain this as best I can. I’m a 20 year military retiree with 100% disability, mostly for anxiety and depression. I got a job working as an e-sales agent back in October, part-time. At the time I did disclose all of that, but no one asked me for proof but did ask if I needed any accommodations. I didn’t know at the time I would need any so I said no. I think I posted here about it but just in case this job and it’s training has caused me to have anxiety attacks, to the point where I have had to leave my shift early or call in. It’s to do with dealing with irate customers and they don’t train very well to deal with that.
The last time I had to leave I let my boss know and she said it would be counted against me because I didn’t get a doctors note.
I didn’t think that was fair so I got in touch with HR and let them know and they said I should get one that says I should be able to leave early if I have an attack due to my anxiety (aka I do need accommodations). I told her that made sense and I already had a doc appt a few days after so I would get it to her then. This was on May 22nd.
I started my shift the same day and then towards the end my boss had me call her on teams to let me know she was taking me off the schedule until I send the doc note in to HR and it gets reviewed by them. This doesn’t make sense because she had asked for a fit for duty before and I got that note to her and now she’s saying I have her new information which I didn’t. Either way I sent the doc note to them on the 26th.
Today, 10 days later, I got a reply from HR that they apologize for the delay, that they received it and they’re reviewing it.
This whole time I have not been getting paid and when I looked at my schedule it says “Leave - Personal”. Like what? It’s not personal because I didn’t ask for leave and I have a vacation coming up the last week of June for my son’s birthday.
My husband says I should demand they pay me because it’s them that’s taking too long when I did what I was supposed to way before the deadline which is tomorrow.
I’m thinking about quitting because this is ridiculous. Now when I think about going back I get so much anxiety. But I need the money too.
Does any of this sound legal at all? It’s not my fault they didn’t ask me in the beginning when I was very upfront and honest with my conditions. I’ve just never had a job outside of the military so I had no idea what the rules or laws are.
Thanks in advance for any guidance!

First Olympic tri in a month. Completed one sprint tri maybe 8 years ago (37M). Any suggestions on how to train for the next month and how to pace the race?
Mediocre swimmer but getting a bit better with one swim a week (all I can fit in). Sprint swim leg was 18 minutes but all breaststroke, thinking I can go 50/50 this time.
Slightly better cyclist with FTP ~230w at 75kg. No idea what kind of speed I can maintain for 40k after a swim. Was 44 mins in the sprint but should have improved since.
Mediocre runner at ~22 min 5K race pace.
Right now I’m able to swim once a week, ride and run at least once if not twice (plus one game of hockey per week I’m not missing).
Any suggestions for the next month? Probably past the point I can build base, should I start pushing pace? Two young kids and busy job so recovery resources are stretched.
On vacation and at a lake the week before, so figure I can use that week to practice combining elements early in the week, then thinking I taper closer to the race and maybe rest the day before?
Any suggestions on how I should pace the race as I don’t have much experience combining the elements.
Thanks!