Hyatt place mount pleasant towne

There was a discussion about weed at my work place today. Because of a rumopossibility that the Government is going to track our spending to take peoples 2nd Amendment rights away if they buy/use weed. Idk how much of that is true. But I used to work at a Medical Dispensary in my town and I was one of the best Budtenders until I left. I used what I have learned and also seen at the dispensary as key points when discussing topics pertaining to weed. But what I hate the most is when I don’t get a chance to finish a sentence or make the point I was trying to make because my boss is from a time where weed was a horrible addictive drug and won’t change his biased views because of his meth addicted son! But what really pissed me off was when he said “I know you’re big on weed!” I’m sorry but I’m not “big on weed” if I was I would be high on the job! The amount of ignorance he has no problem showing is ridiculous. Then wonders why my generation wants to make all the changes to the world. It’s because we are tired of getting our thoughts and rights stomped on and basically told we are wrong. I wish the baby boomer generation would actually look into stuff and then make decision on where to stand. Not make a decision on where to stand based on word of mouth or from what the government says!

Summary:
Improve Pop!_OS from having xruns for JACK/Pipewire applications with a quantum of 1024/48000 to having no xruns at 256/48000, very occasional xruns at 128/48000, and more frequent xruns at 64/48000.
For those who have computers from System76, there is a notable advantage in using ta distro with which system76-driver is compatible. The hardware setup is:

Hardware model: System76 Thelio Mira Memory: 64 GiB Processor: AMD® Ryzen 9 5900x 12-core processor × 24 OS: Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS 

No warranty of any kind is expressed or implied for the information below, which is provided for informational purposes at one's own risk. These steps worked in my use case. Feedback is welcome.
Intro:
Pop!_OS is not optimized to be an audio workstation, and it will not have the same ability as, for example, Ubuntu Studio to be one.
Yet the system76-driver and system76-power packages and their dependencies will not install easily e.g., on the default setup for Ubuntu Studio, resulting in loud fan spin. That fan spin creates a noise floor that is ill-suited for recording.
One would have more luck using default Ubuntu, then making changes to get something equivalent to Ubuntu Studio. Or one might use Fedora or Arch-based systems.
See also https://support.system76.com/articles/system76-drive
Yet one can get better performance from Pop!_OS.
Procedure:
With a default installation of Pop!_OS, do the following steps. There are two ways of handling these steps. One is to reboot after completing each step. The other is to do all the steps, then reboot. Those doing the steps for the first time might want to opt for multiple reboots.
1. Turn off zram cache.

sudo apt purge pop-default-settings-zram 

This is the simple way to get rid of the zram cache. The aggressive swappiness (180) involved with the zram cache does not work with pro audio use cases.
If purging the package fails because some files are in use, of if one wants to be cautious, try instead:

sudo apt remove pop-default-settings-zram 

Then reboot, and purge the remaining config files with:

sudo apt purge pop-default-settings-zram 

Note that I have a swap partition set up on an NVME drive. I would suggest setting up swap space, either as a partition or as a file, on a solid-state drive. Ill-behaved programs can consume available RAM quicker than one might think. Having a swap space equal to the RAM size, even with lots of semiconductor memory, allows one the chance to observe and kill the ill-behaved process before the machine halts.
The reader is referred to the appropriate documentation in setting up swap.
Upon reboot, one will be able to change swappiness. We do that in step 6 below.
The next steps will involve the Linux Audio Wiki, system config page:
https://wiki.linuxaudio.org/wiki/system_configuration
2. Allow threaded interrupt requests.

sudo kernelstub -a "threadirqs" 

Upon reboot, one should have threaded IRQs.
3. Set CPU governor to performance.

sudo apt install cpufrequtils sudo nano /etc/default/cpufrequtils 

One can use a sensible editor like vim instead of nano, but the idea is the same. Ensure that the file contains the following, then save the file:

ENABLE="true" GOVERNOR="performance" MAX_SPEED="0" MIN_SPEED="0" 

Upon reboot, one should have the CPU core governors set to performance.
4. Enable Quality of Service interface.
Download the file 99-cpu-dma-latency.rules from:
https://github.com/Ardouardoublob/mastetools/udev/99-cpu-dma-latency.rules
copy the file thus:

sudo cp 99-cpu-dma-latency.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/ 

Now restart udev:

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules sudo udevadm trigger 

Check permissions (0660 for root and audio group) via:

udevadm info -a -n /dev/cpu_dma_latency 

5. Set audio limits.

sudo nano /etc/security/limits.d/audio.conf 

Ensure that the file contains the following, then save the file:

@audio - rtprio 90 # maximum realtime priority @audio - memlock unlimited # maximum locked-in-memory address space (KB) 

Upon reboot, one should have the audio limits set properly.
6. Set virtual memory swappiness and file watches.
This step is needed especially when using services like Dropbox, among others. With the default install, applications like dropbox can consume so many file watches that even apt can run out of file watches during package installs. Some places recommend 524288 for fs.inotify.max_user_watches, while others recommend 1048576. I have seen all watches used up with the defaults and when using 524288, so I opted for the larger number, which works well in my use case.
Note also that having pop-default-settings-zram installed will negate and override the effects of the vm.swappiness control, which is another reason to remove that package.

sudo nano /etc/sysctl.conf 

Append the following to the file, and save it:

# User modified: set swappiness vm.swappiness=10 # User modified: more watches fs.inotify.max_user_watches=1048576 

Upon reboot, one should have virtual memory swappiness set properly and more file watches enabled.
7. Add user(s) to the audio group.
Check the man page for adduser (since we are on a Debian-based system). The general form you want to use is:

sudo adduser $USER audio 

Upon reboot, the user account should be in the audio group.
8. Check everything (optional).
An easy way of checking and handling these steps is by using rtcqs:
https://codeberg.org/rtcqs/rtcqs
https://github.com/autostatic/rtcqs
Running rtcqs after doing the steps above and rebooting should produce something like:

rtcqs - version 0.5.4 Root User ========= [ OK ] Not running as root. Audio/Realtime Group ==================== [ OK ] User is in the audio group. CPU Frequency Scaling ===================== [ OK ] The scaling governor of all CPUs is set at performance. Kernel Configuration ==================== [ OK ] Valid kernel configuration found. High Resolution Timers ====================== [ OK ] High resolution timers are enabled. Tickless Kernel =============== [ OK ] System is using a tickless kernel. Preempt RT ========== [ OK ] Kernel 6.2.6-76060206-generic is using threaded IRQs. Spectre/Meltdown Mitigations ============================ [ WARNING ] Kernel with Spectre/Meltdown mitigations found. This could have a negative impact on the performance of your system. See also https://wiki.linuxaudio.org/wiki/system_configuration#disabling_spectre_and_meltdown_mitigations RT Priorities ============= [ OK ] Realtime priorities can be set. Swappiness ========== [ OK ] Swappiness is set at 10. Filesystems =========== [ OK ] The following mounts can be used for audio purposes: /, /home [ WARNING ] The following mounts should be avoided for audio purposes: /run/use1000/gvfs, /run/use1000/doc. See also https://wiki.linuxaudio.org/wiki/system_configuration#filesystems IRQs ==== [ OK ] USB port xhci_hcd with IRQ does not share its IRQ. USB port xhci_hcd with IRQ does not share its IRQ. ... Soundcard snd_hda_intel:card0 with IRQ 140 does not share its IRQ. Soundcard snd_hda_intel:card2 with IRQ 142 does not share its IRQ. Power Management ================ [ OK ] Power management can be controlled from user space. This enables DAWs like Ardour and Reaper to set CPU DMA latency which could help prevent xruns. 

Note: I do not disable Spectre/Meltdown mitigations, nor do I advise anyone to do so. One chooses to do so at one's own risk, as it is a security breach. The command to do that would be:

sudo kernelstub -a "mitigations=off" 

9. Subsequent Use of JACK/Pipewire:
At this point, using pipewire, one can change the default quantup of the JACK server from 1024/48000 to a lower value via:

pw-metadata -n settings 0 clock.force-quantum 128/48000 

This method works with Carla and other applications that use JACK under pipewire. Changing the user's JACK configuration file in ~/.config/pipewire/ may cause Carla not to produce audio output, even though other JACK applications seem to work using that method. The method used here is recommended by the pipewire docs.
One can write a quick bash script to change and reset the quantum:

nano setquantum 

Put the following in the script, save it, and add executable permissions:

#!/bin/bash if [ "$1" ] then echo "Quantum size is $1/48000" pw-metadata -n settings 0 clock.force-quantum $1/48000 else echo "No quantum size given; resetting quantum." pw-metadata -n settings 0 clock.force-quantum 0 fi 

Now, if one puts this script into a searchable command path (like ~/.local/bin) then one can type "setquantum 128" to change the quantum to 128/48000.
TODO: error checking; change 48000 sample rate to another value if desired; perhaps use a case statement to pick powers of two for the quantum numerator.
As stated above, I have gotten reasonable results at 128/48000, but not lower. Still, for a non-realtime kernel, this is okay and still allows one to use Pop!_OS.

I see it listed many places, but it is always out of stock, and priced at double the more-common "diamond" lattice. I actually thought about figuring out how to mount the diamond lattice cornerwise so it presents as squares, but that seems silly...

Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/5kL38Pi
No ban states on mags. No items shipped or sold where prohibited.
Trijicon RMR06 - used for about 800 rnds on a rifle mount. It has upgraded contact points from Trijicon. $325 shipped
GG&G XPS2 QD like new selling for half retail or less-$130
Russian RPD top cover NOS. One of the two most important parts to have for spares. Not readily available anywhere that I know of. $350 shipped
T&E mechanism for an unknown system- can be used creatively for displays. $45 shipped
Meme mags KP9 svet style mag- $45 shipped
Xtech custom finish mag NEW - $30 shipped
Svt40 flash ends. You know you want to try and place them on something. - $15 shipped each
Russian plum stock with flecks-$55 shipped
Russian red stock NOS -$30 shipped
Ballistic advantage brand new M4 profile barrel in wrapper- $55 shipped
Ballistic advantage 9 inch 9mm barrel used about 800 rnds-$45 shipped
Russian WW2 era ribbed ppsh collector mag-$50 shipped
Zev custom Trilobite slide. Discontinued and hard to source. Has the best grip surfaces without all the new holes and mall ninja of their new products. Comes with RMR cover-$235 shipped obro
G19 barrel black threaded- don’t remember the brand -$45 shipped
Zev G19 barrel threaded used maybe 500rnds. Thread cap went through washer and dryer so its scuffed. $70 shipped
Zev G34 black barrel Brand new and discontinued -$90
KVP 9mm carrier used about 800 rnds. No issues. $50 shipped
Russian T3 bolt carrier. Nice spare for all the recently release milled kits.
ADD ONS ONLY- $2-$5
Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/EsDxhM4
Scopes are a $5 add on the rest is $2 Want to add on everything whale offer for $8 No ban states on mags

The Bat is Batman's anger and skills with none of Bruce Wayne resources or empathy. He's a revenge hungry vigilante who doesn't pull his punches, leaving comatose criminal laying in the alleyways no matter how minor their crimes. His funding comes from stealing money from the wallets of the criminals he brutalizes. He sources his weapons from cheaper places.
The Man is Bruce Wayne with none of Batman's anger and skills. He has all of his usual wealth but no longer puts ANY money towards Batman or the Justice League and instead devotes all of his resources to charity and the betterment of Gotham. He also personally funds the Gotham Police department and has high political influence.
The Batman is the fusion we all know and love - the Bat's skills and anger tempered by Bruce Wayne's empathy and resources.
The three get in a turf war with their own goals. The Bat wants to take brutally take down all of the criminals in Gotham indiscriminately. The Batman wants to stop The Bat in favor of his own softer, more understanding vigilantism. The Man wants all vigilantes out of his town, including The Bat and The Batman.
Who wins in this three way conflict?

Whether you need a quick trip into town or are looking to travel a distance, Mount Up Transit is here to help. Our transportation business is based in Chino and is committed to making sure you have a safe and relaxing trip. No more waiting for trains or taking expensive cabs. Easy to book and you'll always be satisfied with our service. Click on the link below to request for a quote:
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Hi, I am looking for doll maker games that used to be on 24toy.com. They are a variety of doll-maker games that featured this bright-themed, early-2010-Korean-flash-game-for-girl aesthetic (if you used to play a lot of Korean dress up or make up games in the late 2000s-early 2010s, you’d understand what I mean). Basically they were just the click-drag-and-drop kind of game where you pick items (houses, dresses, furnitures etc.) from a drop-down list and build your whole town/house/room/doll from scratch. Sorry for my terrible descriptive language - here are some screenshots of these games I just found (minus the item list).
Idk if this is the appropriate place to post this question since I actually remember all the (generic) information but the domain I used to visit 24toy.com is now closed and I can’t find the game anywhere else. Maybe the games are still available on Internet Archive, but I don’t know what their names are there. Any suggestions from you guys are greatly appreciated!
Thanks a lot 😍

Is there a decent place to go around town where you could expect to find other dogs, that isn't the spit? The salmon are just too much of an issue there for us, and every other spot is pretty solitary.
I don't know if there's a school yard people tend to go to after-hours, or something like that?

I'm a freshman in high school and for the past few months my English class has been working on passage analysis. To accommodate this unit, we've been reading Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. To wrap up the unit, we have to submit a 100 page essay detailing two claims---one about Mrs. Richardson, a character from the book's attitude toward Mia, another character from the book, and another about Mrs. Richardson's traits in general. Using these two claims, we have to add a theme in the conclusion paragraph which ties the two claims together to communicate an overarching message. Keep in mind that the theme is supposed to be a very small part of the essay, and doesn't need to be built up over the course of the writing.
I've had difficulties with essays in this class before, so I spent a lot of time on my essay. I looked at past feedback my teacher gave me for prior essays, and searched online how to make an essay as good as possible. I triple-checked to make sure there weren't any spelling errors. Honestly? I was pretty proud of my essay. I think it's an A paper.
When the final grade came out, my essay was an 80/100 (or B-), which pretty much cemented my semester grade as a B+. It's not the overarching grade I care about though. I'm genuinely pretty disappointed by my essay score. I don't wanna sound arrogant, but I wholeheartedly believed it was an A paper, so the fact that it wasn't just a B, but a B- kinda stung. My teacher wrote some feedback, but it was only about three or so comments so I don't really understand what I did wrong. I've asked her to regrade my paper, but she said that while she'll look at it, the grade probably won't change. I've been feeling very low about this for the past week or so, so I decided I needed to get it off my chest.
Can you guys look at my essay and decide, from a teaching perspective, what score it would get? If you all decide it's a B- essay, then I'll just deal with it. But I can't help but feel like the score doesn't represent the essay's true quality.
Here's the essay below. Keep in mind that I've removed some of the MLA formatting because reddit can be very finicky:
Burning houses, divisive court cases, and stolen babies—behind a backdrop of teenage drama and college admissions, Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere paints a tantalizing picture of suburban tensions as a once-harmonious neighborhood collapses in the face of imminent change. The novel sees Shaker Heights, an idyllic, affluent, planned community in Ohio thrust into disarray with the arrival of Mia, a nomadic artist, and her 15-year-old daughter, Pearl. The duo’s new landlord, Elena Richardson, hires Mia as her housekeeper. Slowly but surely, Pearl becomes accustomed to Shaker Heights’ rigid discipline, befriending Elena’s children, Lexie, Trip, Moody, and even the youngest, the rebellious Izzy. The town becomes divided when Linda and Mark McCullough, a white couple, adopt May Ling Chow, a Chinese baby given up by her immigrant mother, renaming her Mirabelle McCullough. Conflict arises when Bebe Chow, May Ling’s birth mother, regrets giving up her infant daughter, and, having been alerted by Mia of May Ling’s new persona, sues the McCulloughs for custody.
In an excerpt from the book, Mrs. Richardson, having realized Mia told Bebe that Mirabelle was her daughter, has an awkward exchange with her tenant. In the passage, Ng uses diction and detail to portray Mrs. Richardson as self-righteous, simultaneously portraying her attitude toward Mia as suspicious. This communicates Little Fires Everywhere’s theme of how people who are self-righteous are often suspicious of those with different morals and value systems than them.
Throughout the passage, Ng’s characterization of Mrs. Richardson as self-righteous becomes blatantly evident. In the third paragraph of the passage, Elena refers to her digging into Mia’s past as “justified retribution for the trouble Mia had stirred up” (138), alluding to Mia revealing to Bebe that Mirabelle and May Ling were the same person. “Justified” means that someone commits an action for a rational, legitimate reason, so from Ng’s usage of the word, one can infer that Mrs. Richardson regards her investigation into Mia’s background not as a gross invasion of privacy, but a reasonable, expected act of “retribution” or vengeance for the problems Mia has caused. Elena fails to acknowledge that Mia’s support for Bebe stems from a sense of empathy rather than some deep-rooted place of malice—empathy for Bebe Chow, an immigrant in her mid-twenties nurturing a newborn while living on minimum wage; empathy for May Ling Chow, a Chinese toddler stripped of her ethnic customs, left in the care of adoptive parents painfully unaware of the racial complexities of raising an Asian daughter. Elena paints Mia as the instigator, the villain, the maestro of all their troubles, when in actuality, the woman merely shows concern for the two outsiders, both of whom’s lives have been irreparably disheveled by Elena’s meddling. Elena’s inability to recognize the multifaceted nature of Mia’s deeds points to her self-righteousness. In her eyes, Mia has caused “trouble,” and in adherence to the karmic laws of the natural world, now faces her comeuppance, or “justified retribution.” By regarding Mia’s intentions as malignant, Elena indicates an astounding lack of awareness to Bebe and May Ling’s struggles, further cementing herself as self-righteous. In addition, no matter their differences, Mrs. Richardson has no right to probe into Mia’s history, especially to the extent she did. Dissecting one’s background represents one matter, but going so far as to deliberately manipulate one’s estranged parents to gain evidence, all because of the slightest bit of suspicion, represents another. The audacity to intrude upon someone’s familial relations and rationalize doing so as “retribution” suggests entitlement, entitlement indicative of self-righteousness. Ng reinforces Richardson’s self-righteousness immediately after the above quote, with Elena justifying her intrusion of Mia’s privacy as “purely for Linda’s sake, [Elena]’s oldest and dearest friend, a woman who’d only been trying to do right by this baby and now, because of Mia, was having her heart broken” (138). The quote depicts Elena reflecting sympathetically on Linda’s difficulties, all the while neglecting to even concede Bebe’s own difficulties. Alone and poverty-stricken, surrounded mostly by people who do not look like her, who speak a language she hardly speaks—life has not been easy for Bebe Chow. She did not have the financial security to care for May Ling then, which was why she gave the girl up. Now she is finally stable enough to support the toddler. No matter the legality of May Ling’s adoption, Linda and Mark have no right to keep the girl’s biological mother from seeing her daughter. By viewing this entire passage of events as Mia causing trouble for Linda, Elena yet again reveals her innate self-righteousness—she sees Linda and herself as morally superior to Mia, not even considering the adoption from Bebe’s perspective. Self-righteousness refers to when one incorrectly regards their own opinion as correct and the opinions of others as wrong, so Elena’s misguided belief that Mia’s only trying to cause trouble for her and her friend epitomizes the characteristic.
The passage also conveys Elena’s suspicious attitude toward Mia. Elena’s suspicion, prevalent throughout the passage, becomes most apparent when she describes Mia’s art. On the day they met, Elena noticed a photo depicting a woman as a spider inside Mia’s house. Thinking back to that moment, Elena wonders what kind of person would “transform a woman into a spider? … [see] a woman and even [think] spider?” (138). One of art’s inherent purposes lies in conveying messages through unique, at times “unrealistic” imagery. One’s art, however controversial, is not indicative of one’s beliefs. Mia portraying a woman as a spider does not mean she thinks all women are spiders. However narrow-minded Mrs. Richardson may be, even she should be able to recognize the nuances of artistic expression. Had Linda taken the photo, Elena would not have given the photo a second thought. Elena’s suspicion of Mia forces her to reexamine many of their past interactions, ultimately resulting in otherwise unassuming moments such as this seeming strange in retrospect. When they first meet, Elena, not yet suspicious of her tenant, does not pay much attention to Mia’s art. Only now, when the two have a newfound animosity, does she perceive Mia’s photo negatively. In essence, Elena considering the photo unfavorably now when she had barely noticed the photo earlier points to a change in her attitude toward Mia, with her now being suspicious of her tenant. Elena’s suspicion of Mia extends to Mia’s physical attributes as well. When the passage begins, Elena describes Mia as having a “sweet face. A young face, but not an innocent face” (138). Faces, though integral to outward appearance, are not usually described as “innocent.” “Innocent face” does not have a fixed definition—low brows, wide eyes, big noses, not one feature obviously denotes a face as innocent. Therefore, Elena cannot possibly infer whether one’s face possesses innocence or not. Since no physical criteria can determine the extent of one’s facial innocence, Elena must have a suspicious attitude toward Mia, or else she would not perceive Mia’s face as non-innocent. Elena reaffirms her suspicious attitude toward Mia in the closing paragraph of the passage, where she concedes that digging into Mia’s past was not for the baby’s sake after all, stemming instead from some “complicated thing about Mia herself, the dark discomfort this woman stirred up that Mrs. Richardson would have much preferred to have kept in its box” (138). This quote proves self-explanatory—Elena admits that Mia arouses a feeling of “dark discomfort” within her, even describing said discomfort as the “complicated thing about Mia herself.” Elena’s description of the feeling remains astoundingly vague throughout the quote, describing the sentiment only through intangible, indistinct phrases such as “complicated thing” and “dark discomfort.” As such, one can infer that Elena, despite her explicit disdain for Mia, does not know what exactly she finds off-putting about her tenant. Suspicion and ignorance go hand in hand with suspicion arising from instinct rather than fact, so from Elena’s ignorance Ng communicates the woman’s suspicion as well. “Discomfort” means when someone feels uneasy or uncomfortable, so Ng’s diction usage highlights the landlord’s unease regarding Mia. Elena does not know what encompasses the “dark discomfort” she speaks of, only that Mia exudes the discomfort. This embodies the very essence of suspicion, where one suspects another person of doing or being something without definite proof, so from this quote one can comfortably determine Elena’s suspicious attitude toward Mia.
Sharp, attentive, affectionate—Elena Richardson paints herself as the epitome of suburban, middle-class motherhood, nurturing her bright children in the same town she herself grew up in. Only as she interacts with Mia does her carefully cultivated facade crumble, toppled by Mia’s abrasive, open nature. This passage in particular highlights Elena’s true personality, with Ng utilizing diction and detail to reveal Elena as being self-righteous, also revealing her attitude toward Mia as being suspicious. By communicating Mia’s attributes to the reader, Ng simultaneously conveys the novel’s overall theme—self-righteous people are more likely to be suspicious of people with different morals and value systems than them. Instead of disregarding Bebe’s troubles for Linda’s sake, Mia chooses to put Bebe and her daughter first. Elena’s self-righteousness results in her seeing Mia’s actions, not as selflessness, but as the object of suspicion.

So my girlfriend just graduated college and as a gift before she started working I got us an airbnb in the city (in Old Town) for a couple of nights for us to go out and hang out.
We're both foodies and we've been to a couple byob places in Chicago that we loved (Chilam Balam and Tango Sur). Was just looking for other good food spots in the area to take a date to. Recommendations that are Byob/on the cheaper side would be nice as well.

I stayed at an airbnb hosted by "Mark from Emperor Rentals" in Tampa, FL and the place was absolutely infested with fleas. It was advertised as dog friendly, so we brought our dog so she wouldn't be lonely while we stayed on business. We checked in Friday with no issues. Saturday morning we woke up to our dog absolutely infested with fleas. Panic set it, since fleas can harbor disease and cause health issues. My guests and I began running around town getting flea removal supplies and spent the day removing hundreds of fleas. We let the host know Saturday night about the issue, and he offered no aid. We had nowhere to go (especially with a flea ridden dog) and no promise of a refund or aid, and business in the area to attend to so we did not vacate (which I regret). We kept making attempts to contact the host and ask for some sort of help, offering photos of the fleas in the bedding, photos of our dozens of flea bites, photos of our dogs vet bills and flea removals. When we checked out, the host had not offered any help, and was instead telling us we were extorting him for a free stay and lied saying he had thousands of 5 star reviews (he had less than 20) so we had to have brought the fleas...When contacting CS they offered a $40 refund per night but put it in the system wrong and it ended up only a $40 refund. I kept trying to escalate and showed proof of the flea infestation and money we spent on removal. They offered around $200 on an $800 stay which I wasn't happy with. So in the end, they refunded us $40 and removed my review as it was seen as "biased retaliation". So now, not only am I out a near $800 stay, hundreds in flea removal, and I now have to check myself and dog for disease, but now other people are free to stay on the property and get fleas too. Wtf airbnb?
tldr: flea infested airbnb gave my dog and guests fleas, only recieved $40 back on $800 reservation and my review was removed.

First Previous Next
Chapter 26 - Rest for the Righteous
Last Time: Aiden, Laran, Leor, and Oriwyn - under the employ of Arcadia - executed a daring plan to rescue Oxcard from the clutches of the crime boss Daisy. They managed to get to his room without trouble, but leaving proved to be much more difficult. Laran was cornered and forced to fight several thugs after being seen while skulking around Daisy’s compound. The rest of the party found him and made sure he won the fight but were unable to prevent one of the thugs from alerting the entire building to their presence. What followed was a harrowing flight from Daisy’s forces and Daisy herself. With Leor’s assistance, everyone was able to clear the building and run off into the night, but not without sustaining several injuries. The party made good their getaway however with their client and target in tow and, determined to stay ahead of Daisy’s reprisal, left the city of Tripit behind.
Daisy clutched my throat, the slashes across her face leaking crimson blood that pooled in her snarled teeth. She looked like a wild thing and had me both lifted and pinned to a wall as if I weighed almost nothing. I struggled to breath, kicking my legs feebly, until I suddenly woke up.
Laran was staring down at me. He looked very concerned and more than a little frightened. It took my brain another few seconds to adjust to our surroundings and fully shake off the nightmare.
All of us were arrayed around a clearing underneath hastily constructed tents. I could see Oriwyn crouched beside Ox, who was laying out in the middle of the clearing. Oriwyn’s nose was swollen and her green skin was mottled purple around it - her face looked a little crooked in general, but she seemed to be moving fine enough. Arcadia stood next to the pair, holding a fan and waving it at Oxcard’s face. Groaning, I sat up. Leor sat on a tree stump and glanced at me with a tired grin. Brams lay curled up by her feet, and every once in a while I noticed she would reach down and scratch his head while Oriwyn busied herself with Oxcard.
As I sat up, Laran’s concerned expression broke into a relieved smile so genuine that it made my heart hurt. I wasn’t even injured, yet here he was acting like I’d just gotten up off my death bed. My head still felt fuzzy, so when he held a canteen out to me I took it gladly and took a big drink of water. I granted myself a few moments of silence before getting down to the business of trying to lead again.
“Where exactly are we again? I remember slumping down on the road when Arcadia’s golem gave out, but I don’t really remember anything after that.”
Laran smiled and nodded. The sun shone down on his jade-green skin and helped burn away the remaining damp from the night before. Laran sat back and seemed to finally properly relax. As he did, I couldn’t stop my attention from being wholly drawn to him.
In that moment he was really, really good to look at. And listen to. And be around.
“Ain’t surprised you don’t remember much - we had a time a’ things for sure. Last night - g’morning by the way - a teamster named Alex found us and dragged our sorry hides to this clearin’ off the road. They didn’t ask much about us, though they seemed to get the impression we were in need a’ help something fierce. Right now they’re headed back to Tripit to get our stuff from the Sable Sky - I worked out a price to make it worth their time and delay, then they only accepted half o’ it - and we’re patching everyone up.”
I nodded thoughtfully and took another swig of water. As I swished it in my mouth I realized my throat felt raw as if I’d been yelling or screaming - I hoped I hadn’t been and that the raw feeling in my throat had been solely caused by stress. My mind flicked through a few things to say - I figured I was the Commander, and as bad as we all looked and felt we had still won - before I landed on a sardonic tone. It was time to celebrate with the troops.
“Well everyone, good work. Sorry for sleeping in - I need my beauty sleep much more than the rest of you!” I grinned in what I hoped was a confident way. Oriwyn laughed a bit - it sounded like it hurt her a little to laugh unfortunately - while Leor just snorted. My tone and face shifted to sincerity as I continued.
“More seriously everyone, I think we did it. I think we won despite the odds. How is Oxcard doing?”
I glanced at Arcadia. Tears welled in her eyes and I could tell she was furiously blinking them back.
“Ox is okay, or stable at least. He keeps on breathing and Ori thinks she’s finally managed to fully stem the bleeding.” Arcadia looked down, worried, at her brother. Oriwyn smiled up at her and stood, wiping her slightly bloody hands on a cloth she had on her person. The goblin-mouse reached over and patted the taller woman’s shoulder.
“He’ll be right as rain, especially when he wakes up I think. He’s really quite deft with a needle - I’ve seen sloppier stitch work on people’s pants than he managed to do to himself.”
The ghost of a smile touched Arcadia’s lips as she gazed down at the sleeping Oxcard.
“Yes, he’s always been good with needle and thread. He was the one who kept our clothes in good repair when we were growing up, and unfortunately this isn’t his first improvised surgery. Ox is a survivor. He’ll pull through.”
I noticed, but obviously chose not to comment on, the quiver in her voice when she said that her brother would pull through. I looked him over myself - he seemed to be breathing evenly, and there were some bandages tied around his whole torso that were yet to be spotted with blood, so that seemed like a good sign at least. Satisfied, I turned back to address the group as a whole.
“Can I get a status report from everyone? How are we all doing?”
Laran immediately answered.
“I thought you might want to know! For injuries, I’ve received a small cut on my torso. Arcadia has some pretty bad gashes on her left palm and right forearm. Oriwyn is bruised and her nose was broken - Leor snapped it back in place a few hours ago when Ori started having some trouble breathing, so it looks pretty nasty. Speaking of Leor, she has some burns on her hands from her stunt with the lightning, but Ori managed to find some weird plant I’d never heard of that’s been helping with the pain. Finally, Brams got something of a cut, but it isn’t very deep. It is on his wing though, so as it is healing he will need to be careful about moving too much.”
I nodded and thanked Laran for his report. He looked pleased with himself, and I resolved to thank him privately later for helping me lead the team. All in all, we had gotten off relatively okay. All of us were alive and we had managed to achieve our objective. I took a moment to savor the victory before my mind stumbled into the next inevitable question.
What now?
I sighed as I began to contemplate the question. We likely couldn’t go back to Tripit since Daisy knew what we looked like. Leor might be able to chance it since she’d been outside the whole time, but even then I didn’t think any of us were in a hurry to test that theory out. As another consideration, Arcadia had been through a lot with us, and I felt like I needed to address that fact before too awful long.
“Arcadia, what’s your plan? Or what was your plan? Because I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we don’t want to go back to Tripit any time soon.” I said it with a laugh, but Arcadia looked anxious. I suddenly realized what I said could come across as accusatory. “Hey, it’s not your fault. We knew what we were signing up for and we all did it willingly.”
“You shouldn’t have. Glad you did though.”
The voice was scratchy and strained, husky and rough. We all whipped around to see Ox’s head slightly raised. He had a hand up to shade his eyes from the sun. As we stared at the newly awakened orc, Arcadia sank to her knees and started crying what I could only assume were happy tears. Oxcard grinned thinly and shuffled back, bracing himself against the pillow that had been jammed under his head in an attempt to sit up a little straighter.
“Come on Arcay, get over here.”
Arcadia shuffled over to Ox, nearly crawling. She wrapped him in a gentle hug, careful not to disturb his wounds. He raised his arms and wrapped the human-shadeling in a hug. Her head nestled against his shoulder and she whispered something. The rest of us tried to give them what space we could. When Arcadia broke off the hug and sat back on her haunches, the white spots of skin on her face near her eyes were splotched red with tears. She turned to the rest of us.
“I cannot thank you enough. You all did what no one else was willing to.” It looked like she was searching for more words, but was having a hard time coming up with them. “We cannot thank you enough.”
Ox nodded low in an approximation of a bow.
“Assuming we’ve put enough distance between ourselves and the city, I think we’re safe for the moment. I should be ready to move on by nightfall.”
Oriwyn made a sound like someone lightly stepping on a chicken, a sort of strangled squawk with a burbling undercurrent thanks to her nose.
“Nightfall? As in nightfall tonight?!? As in you’re going to get up and walk tonight?” Her tone was incredulous, and I inclined to agree with her. Oxcard was clearly still not okay, and even if he could walk I didn’t think it would do his stitching any favors. Arcadia just smiled and stood up.
“Okay, we can get moving tonight if everyone else is okay to move. I’ve got a few golems here, and this time someone will be awake enough they won’t rip themselves open trying to get away from someone who is trying to help them.”
It was amazing how quickly her tone changed. She had just been tearfully hugging him, and now she sounded wry and sarcastic at her brother’s antics like he was a six year old who had brought her a mud pie or something. I shook my head in wonder - none of the rest of us in the party had siblings as we all were only children. Obviously Arcadia and Oxcard had not been born to the same mother - my rudimentary knowledge of how the birds and bees worked with the ancestries in Tala indicated as much - but still, they acted like how I thought siblings acted, and they obviously shared a deep bond. It felt good to have that dynamic around, as if it were something the rest of us might have been missing as a group. Shaking myself out of my reverie, I decided to make an announcement.
“I’ve been thinking, and I wanted to offer the two of you a chance to join our group.” I looked around at the existing members of the party, and they all nodded happily. Oriwyn nodded so aggressively she winced as the movement jostled her injured nose. Arcadia and Oxcard looked at each other. I hastened on to add more.
“You don’t need to decide now of course. Actually, if you’ll have us, I was going to ask if we could accompany you to wherever you planned to go Arcadia. We should be safer in a group if any part of the road is likely to be treacherous, plus new company is always a good thing.”
Oxcard said a few quiet things to Arcadia, who said a few quiet things back. I tried not to listen in despite my burning curiosity. Oxcard shrugged and said something else, and then Arcadia turned back to us all.
“My plan was to go to Diareen. It’s a trade city out towards the northern edge of the province. It’s not as big as Tripit, but I figured it would be big enough that we could find something to do.” Arcadia’s face fell a bit as she continued. “Also, I figured that having the river boats as well as the roads would make it easier to escape if Daisy caught up with us.”
The mood in the clearing soured as Daisy’s name was uttered, but after a few seconds Leor did her best to break the tension.
“Diareen, huh? Can’t say I’ve heard of it before, but it sounds like as good a plan as any. I vote that we follow along with Arcadia.”
There was a quick chorus of agreement as the rest of the party also expressed their support of the plan. We hadn’t spent long in Tripit, but we hoped this would also work well for us - we figured we could look for work as guards for a river boat or something. The only thing I was certain of was that it would be a long time before I accepted another rescue mission unless I absolutely couldn’t avoid it. I still felt a little nervous and jittery from the night before, and despite feeling mostly better the memory of the nightmare hung around in the back of my mind like the aftertaste of a bitter plant.
With our path being decided, I perked up and pushed down the previous night’s terrors. I felt a trickle of energy flow into my limbs and looked around the campground properly.
“Okay! With that being said, let’s make preparations for travel. How long is it to Diareen, Arcadia?”
Arcadia stayed kneeled next to Ox. As she spoke I noticed that she looked very tired - this whole ordeal had taken a huge toll on her, and it was beginning to show. I hoped I could convince her to take it easy for a bit. Regardless, she thought for a moment before giving me an estimate.
“About three weeks unfortunately, unless we get very lucky and the teamster is headed that way. Also at some point the road will go by the river so we could try and catch a river boat - they aren’t fast, especially since they’d be headed upstream instead of down, and we would need to pay our way, but we wouldn’t need to walk!”
I nodded, not particularly relishing the idea of that long spent traveling but resolved to its necessity. Leor spoke up with a question.
“Are there towns on the way? I don’t know how we’re doing with money exactly, but three weeks is a long time. We will definitely want lodging and we may even need to stop to take on work.”
Ox answered as Arcadia was trying to remember the route.
“Though Arcadia and I haven’t left Tripit much, I’m aware of some of the routes and where they lead. By my reckoning we have four or five small villages and two places big enough I’d call ‘em towns. Could be worse.”
I nodded, relieved. If the places that Ox had mentioned were spread out relatively evenly, that would be a village every few days - that felt a lot better than the ten day trek from Eightside to Tripit. With a grin, I stood and stretched.
“Well, I’ve been asleep too long today as it stands. Let’s get things prepared around here so we can head out tonight!”
There was a flurry of activity afterwards. With much protest, we managed to convince Arcadia to lay down for some rest. Despite her repeated insistence that she wasn’t tired, she was asleep within a minute of laying down and slept almost until nightfall. Oxcard also lounged, drifting into fitful bouts of sleep. As they rested, the rest of us tried to get things shifted around and packed as best we could. Most of our stuff had been at the Sable Sky since stealth had been so paramount to our mission, so we would need to wait for the teamster - Alex - to get back to actually be fully ready to go.
In addition to packing and resting, Oxcard, Oriwyn, and Laran took another go at closing Oxcard’s wound. I made the mistake of watching them remove the old stitching and had to stumble away to get sick in a bush. Eventually, I got the all-clear from Laran and came back into the clearing. Oriwyn had a bucket full of bloody rags that she was going to take to a river and wash. Leor volunteered to go with her, and the two of them left. Meanwhile Oxcard was sitting propped up fully after some time to recover and looked a little better, though redoing the stitches had obviously caused him pain. By the time Alex returned, Oxcard looked like he might actually be healthy enough to walk.
We still didn’t let him of course.
I talked with Alex a bit, thanking them for their help and making good on the price that they had haggled down from Laran the night previous. They offered to give us a ride, which we gladly accepted, and helped us pack our bags up as well. In return for their kindness I offered whatever services we could render to make their journey more comfortable. They accepted, though both of us knew there wasn’t much we could do to help. We learned that Alex would be able to take us as far as Squat’s Hollow - about a third of the total journey - before needing to attend to their own business, which was about as lucky as we could reasonably hope to be. As night began to fall, we had everything loaded on the teamster’s wagon, including Oxcard. Just in case, Oriwyn went ahead of the impromptu caravan to check for any of Daisy’s goons, but seeing no one, we made our way out to the road and started on the next stage of our journey.
Elsewhere: The large man was on his tiptoes trying to reach the top of a shelf, straining to get the can of beans down. Frustrated, he rocked his weight back down onto his heels and glared at the beans disdainfully. With a sigh, he called for his wife to help him out, hoping she wasn’t busy with customers. As his wife opened the door, he reflected on how lucky he had been to find her - she was kind, warm, smart, had a great way when dealing with people, and was taller than him by at least half a head. The man didn’t know why he liked tall women, but he knew he certainly did and fate had seen fit to imbue this lovely giantess with everything else he had been looking for in a partner. She immediately saw the offending can and got it down for him, taking a quick moment to give the man a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. A goofy smile spread across his face as she turned back and closed the storeroom door, returning to the desk at the front of the building. After all, Yada’s combination inn, bath-house, and general store was the only thing in the woods for miles, and someone would always show up eventually.
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I want to do this series where I name one horror movie that takes place in every state in the US. One of my favorites growing up was House of Wax and the Wikipedia names the town Ambrose. Just by pulling through some clips online I was trying to find any vehicles and the license plates to no avail.

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Chapter 26 - Rest for the Righteous
Last Time: Aiden, Laran, Leor, and Oriwyn - under the employ of Arcadia - executed a daring plan to rescue Oxcard from the clutches of the crime boss Daisy. They managed to get to his room without trouble, but leaving proved to be much more difficult. Laran was cornered and forced to fight several thugs after being seen while skulking around Daisy’s compound. The rest of the party found him and made sure he won the fight but were unable to prevent one of the thugs from alerting the entire building to their presence. What followed was a harrowing flight from Daisy’s forces and Daisy herself. With Leor’s assistance, everyone was able to clear the building and run off into the night, but not without sustaining several injuries. The party made good their getaway however with their client and target in tow and, determined to stay ahead of Daisy’s reprisal, left the city of Tripit behind.
Daisy clutched my throat, the slashes across her face leaking crimson blood that pooled in her snarled teeth. She looked like a wild thing and had me both lifted and pinned to a wall as if I weighed almost nothing. I struggled to breath, kicking my legs feebly, until I suddenly woke up.
Laran was staring down at me. He looked very concerned and more than a little frightened. It took my brain another few seconds to adjust to our surroundings and fully shake off the nightmare.
All of us were arrayed around a clearing underneath hastily constructed tents. I could see Oriwyn crouched beside Ox, who was laying out in the middle of the clearing. Oriwyn’s nose was swollen and her green skin was mottled purple around it - her face looked a little crooked in general, but she seemed to be moving fine enough. Arcadia stood next to the pair, holding a fan and waving it at Oxcard’s face. Groaning, I sat up. Leor sat on a tree stump and glanced at me with a tired grin. Brams lay curled up by her feet, and every once in a while I noticed she would reach down and scratch his head while Oriwyn busied herself with Oxcard.
As I sat up, Laran’s concerned expression broke into a relieved smile so genuine that it made my heart hurt. I wasn’t even injured, yet here he was acting like I’d just gotten up off my death bed. My head still felt fuzzy, so when he held a canteen out to me I took it gladly and took a big drink of water. I granted myself a few moments of silence before getting down to the business of trying to lead again.
“Where exactly are we again? I remember slumping down on the road when Arcadia’s golem gave out, but I don’t really remember anything after that.”
Laran smiled and nodded. The sun shone down on his jade-green skin and helped burn away the remaining damp from the night before. Laran sat back and seemed to finally properly relax. As he did, I couldn’t stop my attention from being wholly drawn to him.
In that moment he was really, really good to look at. And listen to. And be around.
“Ain’t surprised you don’t remember much - we had a time a’ things for sure. Last night - g’morning by the way - a teamster named Alex found us and dragged our sorry hides to this clearin’ off the road. They didn’t ask much about us, though they seemed to get the impression we were in need a’ help something fierce. Right now they’re headed back to Tripit to get our stuff from the Sable Sky - I worked out a price to make it worth their time and delay, then they only accepted half o’ it - and we’re patching everyone up.”
I nodded thoughtfully and took another swig of water. As I swished it in my mouth I realized my throat felt raw as if I’d been yelling or screaming - I hoped I hadn’t been and that the raw feeling in my throat had been solely caused by stress. My mind flicked through a few things to say - I figured I was the Commander, and as bad as we all looked and felt we had still won - before I landed on a sardonic tone. It was time to celebrate with the troops.
“Well everyone, good work. Sorry for sleeping in - I need my beauty sleep much more than the rest of you!” I grinned in what I hoped was a confident way. Oriwyn laughed a bit - it sounded like it hurt her a little to laugh unfortunately - while Leor just snorted. My tone and face shifted to sincerity as I continued.
“More seriously everyone, I think we did it. I think we won despite the odds. How is Oxcard doing?”
I glanced at Arcadia. Tears welled in her eyes and I could tell she was furiously blinking them back.
“Ox is okay, or stable at least. He keeps on breathing and Ori thinks she’s finally managed to fully stem the bleeding.” Arcadia looked down, worried, at her brother. Oriwyn smiled up at her and stood, wiping her slightly bloody hands on a cloth she had on her person. The goblin-mouse reached over and patted the taller woman’s shoulder.
“He’ll be right as rain, especially when he wakes up I think. He’s really quite deft with a needle - I’ve seen sloppier stitch work on people’s pants than he managed to do to himself.”
The ghost of a smile touched Arcadia’s lips as she gazed down at the sleeping Oxcard.
“Yes, he’s always been good with needle and thread. He was the one who kept our clothes in good repair when we were growing up, and unfortunately this isn’t his first improvised surgery. Ox is a survivor. He’ll pull through.”
I noticed, but obviously chose not to comment on, the quiver in her voice when she said that her brother would pull through. I looked him over myself - he seemed to be breathing evenly, and there were some bandages tied around his whole torso that were yet to be spotted with blood, so that seemed like a good sign at least. Satisfied, I turned back to address the group as a whole.
“Can I get a status report from everyone? How are we all doing?”
Laran immediately answered.
“I thought you might want to know! For injuries, I’ve received a small cut on my torso. Arcadia has some pretty bad gashes on her left palm and right forearm. Oriwyn is bruised and her nose was broken - Leor snapped it back in place a few hours ago when Ori started having some trouble breathing, so it looks pretty nasty. Speaking of Leor, she has some burns on her hands from her stunt with the lightning, but Ori managed to find some weird plant I’d never heard of that’s been helping with the pain. Finally, Brams got something of a cut, but it isn’t very deep. It is on his wing though, so as it is healing he will need to be careful about moving too much.”
I nodded and thanked Laran for his report. He looked pleased with himself, and I resolved to thank him privately later for helping me lead the team. All in all, we had gotten off relatively okay. All of us were alive and we had managed to achieve our objective. I took a moment to savor the victory before my mind stumbled into the next inevitable question.
What now?
I sighed as I began to contemplate the question. We likely couldn’t go back to Tripit since Daisy knew what we looked like. Leor might be able to chance it since she’d been outside the whole time, but even then I didn’t think any of us were in a hurry to test that theory out. As another consideration, Arcadia had been through a lot with us, and I felt like I needed to address that fact before too awful long.
“Arcadia, what’s your plan? Or what was your plan? Because I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we don’t want to go back to Tripit any time soon.” I said it with a laugh, but Arcadia looked anxious. I suddenly realized what I said could come across as accusatory. “Hey, it’s not your fault. We knew what we were signing up for and we all did it willingly.”
“You shouldn’t have. Glad you did though.”
The voice was scratchy and strained, husky and rough. We all whipped around to see Ox’s head slightly raised. He had a hand up to shade his eyes from the sun. As we stared at the newly awakened orc, Arcadia sank to her knees and started crying what I could only assume were happy tears. Oxcard grinned thinly and shuffled back, bracing himself against the pillow that had been jammed under his head in an attempt to sit up a little straighter.
“Come on Arcay, get over here.”
Arcadia shuffled over to Ox, nearly crawling. She wrapped him in a gentle hug, careful not to disturb his wounds. He raised his arms and wrapped the human-shadeling in a hug. Her head nestled against his shoulder and she whispered something. The rest of us tried to give them what space we could. When Arcadia broke off the hug and sat back on her haunches, the white spots of skin on her face near her eyes were splotched red with tears. She turned to the rest of us.
“I cannot thank you enough. You all did what no one else was willing to.” It looked like she was searching for more words, but was having a hard time coming up with them. “We cannot thank you enough.”
Ox nodded low in an approximation of a bow.
“Assuming we’ve put enough distance between ourselves and the city, I think we’re safe for the moment. I should be ready to move on by nightfall.”
Oriwyn made a sound like someone lightly stepping on a chicken, a sort of strangled squawk with a burbling undercurrent thanks to her nose.
“Nightfall? As in nightfall tonight?!? As in you’re going to get up and walk tonight?” Her tone was incredulous, and I inclined to agree with her. Oxcard was clearly still not okay, and even if he could walk I didn’t think it would do his stitching any favors. Arcadia just smiled and stood up.
“Okay, we can get moving tonight if everyone else is okay to move. I’ve got a few golems here, and this time someone will be awake enough they won’t rip themselves open trying to get away from someone who is trying to help them.”
It was amazing how quickly her tone changed. She had just been tearfully hugging him, and now she sounded wry and sarcastic at her brother’s antics like he was a six year old who had brought her a mud pie or something. I shook my head in wonder - none of the rest of us in the party had siblings as we all were only children. Obviously Arcadia and Oxcard had not been born to the same mother - my rudimentary knowledge of how the birds and bees worked with the ancestries in Tala indicated as much - but still, they acted like how I thought siblings acted, and they obviously shared a deep bond. It felt good to have that dynamic around, as if it were something the rest of us might have been missing as a group. Shaking myself out of my reverie, I decided to make an announcement.
“I’ve been thinking, and I wanted to offer the two of you a chance to join our group.” I looked around at the existing members of the party, and they all nodded happily. Oriwyn nodded so aggressively she winced as the movement jostled her injured nose. Arcadia and Oxcard looked at each other. I hastened on to add more.
“You don’t need to decide now of course. Actually, if you’ll have us, I was going to ask if we could accompany you to wherever you planned to go Arcadia. We should be safer in a group if any part of the road is likely to be treacherous, plus new company is always a good thing.”
Oxcard said a few quiet things to Arcadia, who said a few quiet things back. I tried not to listen in despite my burning curiosity. Oxcard shrugged and said something else, and then Arcadia turned back to us all.
“My plan was to go to Diareen. It’s a trade city out towards the northern edge of the province. It’s not as big as Tripit, but I figured it would be big enough that we could find something to do.” Arcadia’s face fell a bit as she continued. “Also, I figured that having the river boats as well as the roads would make it easier to escape if Daisy caught up with us.”
The mood in the clearing soured as Daisy’s name was uttered, but after a few seconds Leor did her best to break the tension.
“Diareen, huh? Can’t say I’ve heard of it before, but it sounds like as good a plan as any. I vote that we follow along with Arcadia.”
There was a quick chorus of agreement as the rest of the party also expressed their support of the plan. We hadn’t spent long in Tripit, but we hoped this would also work well for us - we figured we could look for work as guards for a river boat or something. The only thing I was certain of was that it would be a long time before I accepted another rescue mission unless I absolutely couldn’t avoid it. I still felt a little nervous and jittery from the night before, and despite feeling mostly better the memory of the nightmare hung around in the back of my mind like the aftertaste of a bitter plant.
With our path being decided, I perked up and pushed down the previous night’s terrors. I felt a trickle of energy flow into my limbs and looked around the campground properly.
“Okay! With that being said, let’s make preparations for travel. How long is it to Diareen, Arcadia?”
Arcadia stayed kneeled next to Ox. As she spoke I noticed that she looked very tired - this whole ordeal had taken a huge toll on her, and it was beginning to show. I hoped I could convince her to take it easy for a bit. Regardless, she thought for a moment before giving me an estimate.
“About three weeks unfortunately, unless we get very lucky and the teamster is headed that way. Also at some point the road will go by the river so we could try and catch a river boat - they aren’t fast, especially since they’d be headed upstream instead of down, and we would need to pay our way, but we wouldn’t need to walk!”
I nodded, not particularly relishing the idea of that long spent traveling but resolved to its necessity. Leor spoke up with a question.
“Are there towns on the way? I don’t know how we’re doing with money exactly, but three weeks is a long time. We will definitely want lodging and we may even need to stop to take on work.”
Ox answered as Arcadia was trying to remember the route.
“Though Arcadia and I haven’t left Tripit much, I’m aware of some of the routes and where they lead. By my reckoning we have four or five small villages and two places big enough I’d call ‘em towns. Could be worse.”
I nodded, relieved. If the places that Ox had mentioned were spread out relatively evenly, that would be a village every few days - that felt a lot better than the ten day trek from Eightside to Tripit. With a grin, I stood and stretched.
“Well, I’ve been asleep too long today as it stands. Let’s get things prepared around here so we can head out tonight!”
There was a flurry of activity afterwards. With much protest, we managed to convince Arcadia to lay down for some rest. Despite her repeated insistence that she wasn’t tired, she was asleep within a minute of laying down and slept almost until nightfall. Oxcard also lounged, drifting into fitful bouts of sleep. As they rested, the rest of us tried to get things shifted around and packed as best we could. Most of our stuff had been at the Sable Sky since stealth had been so paramount to our mission, so we would need to wait for the teamster - Alex - to get back to actually be fully ready to go.
In addition to packing and resting, Oxcard, Oriwyn, and Laran took another go at closing Oxcard’s wound. I made the mistake of watching them remove the old stitching and had to stumble away to get sick in a bush. Eventually, I got the all-clear from Laran and came back into the clearing. Oriwyn had a bucket full of bloody rags that she was going to take to a river and wash. Leor volunteered to go with her, and the two of them left. Meanwhile Oxcard was sitting propped up fully after some time to recover and looked a little better, though redoing the stitches had obviously caused him pain. By the time Alex returned, Oxcard looked like he might actually be healthy enough to walk.
We still didn’t let him of course.
I talked with Alex a bit, thanking them for their help and making good on the price that they had haggled down from Laran the night previous. They offered to give us a ride, which we gladly accepted, and helped us pack our bags up as well. In return for their kindness I offered whatever services we could render to make their journey more comfortable. They accepted, though both of us knew there wasn’t much we could do to help. We learned that Alex would be able to take us as far as Squat’s Hollow - about a third of the total journey - before needing to attend to their own business, which was about as lucky as we could reasonably hope to be. As night began to fall, we had everything loaded on the teamster’s wagon, including Oxcard. Just in case, Oriwyn went ahead of the impromptu caravan to check for any of Daisy’s goons, but seeing no one, we made our way out to the road and started on the next stage of our journey.
Elsewhere: The large man was on his tiptoes trying to reach the top of a shelf, straining to get the can of beans down. Frustrated, he rocked his weight back down onto his heels and glared at the beans disdainfully. With a sigh, he called for his wife to help him out, hoping she wasn’t busy with customers. As his wife opened the door, he reflected on how lucky he had been to find her - she was kind, warm, smart, had a great way when dealing with people, and was taller than him by at least half a head. The man didn’t know why he liked tall women, but he knew he certainly did and fate had seen fit to imbue this lovely giantess with everything else he had been looking for in a partner. She immediately saw the offending can and got it down for him, taking a quick moment to give the man a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. A goofy smile spread across his face as she turned back and closed the storeroom door, returning to the desk at the front of the building. After all, Yada’s combination inn, bath-house, and general store was the only thing in the woods for miles, and someone would always show up eventually.
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Are there any reputable places in town to have band instruments repaired? Tried Mel Owen last time and they did a horrible job. Thanks!

My local council (Medway - Kent) are proposing to put in place road access restrictions for the road I live on that would limit all non-permit holder traffic from entering the road between 08:00-09:00 and 15:00-16:00 per day. This initiative is in consideration of a school located in the road with some benefits stated of protecting children and reducing pollution and congestion. Enforcement would be through mounted cameras to check number plates and registered permits.
The proposal however would be restrictive to residents of the road, many of which have off-road parking on their driveway, in that it would not allow friends and family, deliveries or tradesmen to enter during those hours as they would not have permits. Similarly, it would add hassle to me should I wish to drive another car into the street that I do not own, hire cars or courtesy cars. It would also be a lot of hassle to contact the council to arrange for permits or exemptions.
There are exceptions for registered carers who would be exempt, but many people cannot afford a carer and rely on a mixture of friends and family for support.
I am wondering if there is any legal precedent or legislation that applies here that would mean this limits my freedoms to freely access my property, whether that is for myself, family, or other.
Please note that the road on which the restrictions would apply would be the only way to access the property. Please also note I would be ok with parking restrictions on the road but not restricting access altogether on the public road.
Any guidance or advice appreciated.

I see the same people drugs / homeless everyday and it’s ruining the place. I’ve been here 10 years and I don’t think it was this bad before. They usually come from Jevington Gardens, Elms Avenue.
Why did Brighton council place them in a retirement town? I know the police have to target the higher up drug dealers and not the people who need help but I’ve seen lots of drug deals, been directly asked by county lines if I want to sell for them. People standing in doorways injecting drugs with blood dripping down their arms. I’ve seen so much drug deals I feel like working for the police. What’s going on, are they doing enough but we don’t see anything?

My ex-husband and I have been separated for over a year now (after a second attempt to get back together again) which happened because he had a severe cocaine addiction he was hiding and paying for with our rent money. He was also emotionally and mentally abusive in the months prior to me moving out and being officially done, constantly gaslighting me, tearing me down, using my mental health against me, etc. I consequently had been living with my best friend and her family after I moved out, but after she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer we decided it was best I moved out. I had nowhere else to go, so I’m back at my ex’s house sleeping in our son’s bed for the time being.
During the separation a little over a year ago, my ex-husband’s best friend moved in to the second bedroom of this apartment to help with rent. I’ve never liked this friend, because he’s an addict beyond repair and is constantly making fucked up choices while taking zero accountability or remorse for how it affects others. This is also the friend that my ex-husband did a hallucinogen with while I was out of town and he was the sole caretaker of our son. They both took something that wasn’t what they thought it was, and it was BAD. I only found out what had happened when I had a gut feeling and looked through my ex’s phone, where he had talked extensively about what happened to several friends. All this to say, this friend absolutely sucks and I have hated him the entire 10 years I have been with/known my ex.
Yesterday I was making dinner for my five year old when his friend called me into his bedroom. He shut the door, pulled out a gun, and said that if ANYONE knocked on the door to cock it and carry it before I answered. He showed me how to shoot it (and I’ve never shot a gun in my entire 25 years of being a human). He admitted he’s been a drug mule for a cartel for a long time, and that bc he’s on probation for drugs right now he’s “too hot” to take that risk, but his higher ups are not happy with that. Apparently they mentioned our address, down to the apartment number, as a place they could find him if he continued to not comply. He told me if I did shoot and kill a man to drag his body into the apartment and wait to call the police until I’ve called him first. I started sobbing.
I’m so fucking scared. I am recovering from two back to back surgeries and am alone in the house all day with our child. My ex-husband was freaked out enough that he told me I needed to take our son and evacuate. So today I’m driving two hours to my mom’s to stay with her indefinitely so we can be safe until this is solved or blows over.
I’m also fucking bitter and angry with my ex-husband. Despite all of the dangerous, stupid, and self-centered, self-sabotaging this friend has done and been for 10 years now, my ex, who I thought was the love of my life, chose his friend and his cocaine addiction over his family. I wouldn’t be in this situation right now if he hadn’t destroyed our family. And it just hurts. He has brought all of this on us. It’s not fair.
I just needed to vent. And I’m definitely going back to therapy at this rate. Phew. If you made it this far, thanks for reading.
**ETA: I realize some people may think this is fake. I wish it was. My entire life feels like one big joke. If y’all even knew the shit I’ve been through… ha.

I recently purchased a raising desk with two large metal legs. I have a power strip next to the desk which I'm trying to consolidate into the entire workspace more cleanly.
My idea was to mount it to the leg of the desk (it would actually fit perfectly on there) but the issue I have is the desk is solid steel and I'm not sure what my options would be for mounting it.
I don't believe double-sided stick tape would be enough to hold it in place so I'm trying to see if maybe there's another mounting method that could work.
For the record, this is a beefy power strip with 12 plugs (6 in two rows).