Context: This roster mock off-season is what I want to happen within the realm of possibility. I tried to keep my moves as realistic as possible, I am no scout or GM so I’m not going to be 100%. Every move you see has had immense research done on it. This includes looking at past trades, media mocks, projected salaries, watching films on prospects etc. This has taken me over a month to make so I hope you guys enjoy it. my former mocks are on my account, nowhere as good as this one but I’ve been working on this for a while, imma nerd I know.
Draft:

1. ⁠San Jose Sharks: Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston University (NCAA
2. ⁠Chicago Blackhawks: Ivan Demidov, RW, SKA St. Petersburg Jr. (RUSSIA-JR.)
3. ⁠Anaheim Ducks: Artyom Levshunov, RHD, Michigan State
4. ⁠Columbus Blue Jackets: Anton Silayev, LHD, Torpedo (RUSSIA)
5. ⁠Montreal Canadiens: Beckett Sennecke, RW, Oshawa (OHL)
6. ⁠Utah HC: Cayden Lindstrom, C, Medicine Hat
7. Ottawa Senators: Carter Yakemchuk, RHD, Calgary (WHL) (Big RHD who uses the body well, is very aggressive, fits Ottawa perfectly. Needs to work on this defense but if we pair him with the right coaches he can become part of the core)
8. ⁠Seattle Kraken: Zeev Buium, LHD, University of Denver (NCAA)
9. ⁠ Calgary Flames: Tij Iginla, C, Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
10. New Jersey Devils: Sam Dickinson, LHD, London Knights (OHL)

Trade: Ottawa Senators trade Defenseman Jakob Chychrun to the Winnipeg Jets for Forward Nikolaj Ehlers. The trade is one-for-one. (Ottawa Senators trade Jakob Chychrun to Winnipeg for Nikolaj Ehlers, a pretty simple Hockey trade. Winnipeg needs a top 4 Offensive Defenceman and we need another top 6 forward, works well for both teams)

1. Ottawa Senators: Dean Letourneau, C, Boston College (NCAA) (6’7 Forward who has a scoring touch. Risky pick but this guy could become something special. Since we have two picks, this guy is worth the risk to me)

Free Agency:
Players
UFA notables
Alec Martinez, LHD, 1 Year x 2,000,000 (Big defender who will slot perfectly into the bottom pairing as a buffer for Tyler Kleven. Elite shot Blocker, will help the team from stopping shots from getting to the net, lessening the load off the defense. Pair him with JBD another elite shot blocker, and that bottom pairing will be up there with one of the best defensive pairings in the league. Alec will also add a vet presence to that blue line.)
Matt Roy, RHD, 4 Years x $4,000,000 (Another Big defender who’s defensively sound, can put up a bit of points but his main responsibility is being responsible defensively. Will be a huge addition to our top 4 and help our goalies perform better)
Cal Clutterbuck, RW, 1 Year x $1,000,000 (Veteran bottom 6 grinder who will play the game right and add experience to the locker room, we need a guy like this in our bottom 6)
Zach Aston Reese, RW/LW, 1 Year x $775,000 (Depth guy who can spend most of the time in the AHL, elite defensive forward, and can be called up when the bottom 6 has an injury)
RFA notables
Shane Pinto, Center, 4 Years x $3,500,000
Angus Crookshank, LW, 2 Years x $875,000
Parker Kelly, LW/C, 1 years x $825,000
Staff
John Gruden, Associate Coach, Defencemen Coach / Powerplay Coach (John Gruden was one of the main factors in Boston's historic season last year, he ran the Defence and Powerplay and helped that team break records. He has well-known connections to Steve Staios and Micheal Andlaur so have him brought in as an associate coach and let go of Jack Capuano. Have him run the Defence and Powerplay and hope he can replicate the magic he had in Boston)
Lane Lambert, Assistant Coach, Forwards Coach / Penalty Kill Coach (While this one is probably the most unlikely thing in the mock I think it could be possible. He only had a season and a half as head coach so I’m not sure it’s out of the question he could consider going back to an assistant role, he has worked with John Gruden in the past so there will be familiarity there. Lane Lambert was in control of the forwards and penalty kill on the islanders, he helped that team with their great two-way play and good penalty kill, so hopefully he can do the same here.)
Nolan Baumgartner, Assistant Coach, Defencemen Coach (Travis Green will likely want to bring in some familiar faces and I think this will be his choice, former assistant to him in Vancouver in both the NHL and AHL)
Jay Mckee, AHL Head Coach, Forward Coach (Connections to the front office staff, a good coach in the OHL, would be a nice addition to the AHL Staff)
Marc Methot, Player Development, Defense
Mark Borowiecki, Player Development, Defense
(Both of these signings will help the blue line get better with their defensive responsibilities)
Trade:
Ottawa: Erik Brannstrom (LHD), Mark Kastelic (C), Anton Forsberg (G), 2025 3rd Round pick (FLA)
Utah: Karel Vejmelka (G)
(Ottawa needs to add a new face in between the pipes, and with Korpisalo on an untradeable contract that leaves Forsberg on the chopping block, now, of course, no one is just going to take Forsberg, so he will need to be packaged with a player who can play in the top 4 if given a chance, and a bottom 6 player, as well as a 3rd round pick in 2025 which could be a 2nd by the time this trade happens)
Opening Day lineup:
Forwards: B. Tkachuk - T. Stützle - N. Ehlers
D. Batherson - J. Norris - C. Giroux
R. Greig - S. Pinto - M. Joseph
A. Crookshank - Z. Ostaphuk - C. Clutterbuck
Defence: J. Sanderson - M. Roy
T. Chabot - A. Zub
A. Martinez - J. Bernard-Docker
Goalies: J. Korpisalo
K. Vejmelka
Scratched: T. Hamonic (NMC or I’d trade him, also Steve Staios said he isn’t considering any buyouts at this time so unlikely he gets bought out)
Cap Space: $953
Opening Day Staff:
NHL
POHO / GM - Steve Staios
Vice POHO - Dave Poulin
AGM - Ryan Bowness
DOHO - Tim Pattyson
Senior Advisor - Jacques Martin
Head of Player Development - Daniel Alfredsson
Head Coach - Travis Green
Associate Coach - John Gruden (Defence Coach / Powerplay)
Assistant Coach - Lane Lambert (Forward Coach / Powerplay)
Assistant Coach - Nolan Baumgartner (Defence Coach)
Assistant Coach - David Bell (Defence/Forward Coach)
Goalie Coach - Justin Peters
Video Coach - Micheal King
Video Coach/Eyes in the Skies - Bob Jones
AHL
Head Coach - Jay McKee
Associate Coach - Ben Sexton (Forwards / Powerplay)
Assistant Coach - Nathan McIver (Defence / Penalty Kill)
Assistant Coach - Chris Dennis
Goalie Coach - Tyson Teichmann
Video Coach - Frederic Lemay
Player Development:
Daniel Alfredsson
Shean Donovan
Jesse Winchester
Wade Redden
Marc Methot
Mark Borowiecki
—————————
Well, that’s that. That’s my full off-season breakdown for the Ottawa Senators, I’m hoping most of these things happen. We need big changes for this team to become a contender.
Feel free to ask any questions about any of the moves I made, I’m open to criticism and discussion :)

Since it's been getting warmer my Chevy Equinox has been making this sound that doesn't sound right, I included a link to a video (uploading the video directly included no audio) where I record the car idling. I've heard this sound before on my old crappy car that I crashed, but I have no idea what it would be. Any ideas? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HD1Y0CsEt6F0_xjnu17XEr1PIaa39EHL/view?usp=sharing

Me 25M and my girlfriend 24F have been dating for ten months now, we live in different countries so it’s long distance for now, but we’ve obviously met multiple times and have stayed together in person since January-late April this year. Our next meet up is planned late june
We’ve had some ups and down recently, including a female friend of mine who was constantly trampling on our boundaries by sending me sexual messages, we’ve since cut her off. My girlfriend has felt massive guilt over this and says she feels toxic because I cut off a friend of mine for her, but really it was overdue, she was a bit of a train wreck. After this, my girlfriend proposed going no contact, said that it would help her clear her head and look at things from a more zoomed up perspective instead of just being wrapped up in her emotions.
I was very wary of this, it sounds horrible to me, especially because we’re already distanced because we’re both in our home countries and will be for the next month. she was understanding of this and we came up with a compromise of only messaging each other good morning and good night messages. We did this yesterday, and she seemed really happy when we spoke again later that evening, she said it didn’t work extremely well but she did feel less anxious and studied a bit better.
I said I definitely don’t want to make this a regular thing, which she said was OK but I could tell she was a bit let down by it. This is making me feel pretty shitty, that my girlfriend feels better when I’m not around. She is reassuring me that she loves me still, but feels like she just needs time to think because we’ve spent the last three months together basically every single day and with the recent drama there’s a lot on her mind. Is this unhealthy? Should I be worried? Anyone experienced anything similar?
TL;DR: My girlfriend and I have been dating long-distance for ten months, have met multiple times in person with the most recent one lasting for 3 months straight. Recently, drama with a female friend (sending sexual natured messages to me) led to my gf being uncomfortable and me cutting that friend off which makes my girlfriend feel a lot of shame for having “caused” the end of our friendship. She says she wants to go no contact to clear her head and focus on other aspects in her life. We compromised on just sending morning and night messages, Now, I'm worried she needs space because she feels better when I'm not around. Is this unhealthy? Should I be concerned?

So DIL was adopted and from my understanding has a wonderful and very close relationship with her parents. D was raised by the same foster family from age 3-5 (depending on which version she is telling) until adulthood but was never adopted by them because her grandmother didn’t allow it, per D.
I think there are two major background issues at play with this whole situation:
1) D cycled through 3 husbands while her children were growing up, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that she relied on her oldest son emotionally and made him a surrogate partner 2) D has deep rooted issues around abandonment and adoption. She has mentioned in multiple videos previously that her granddaughter was the only female she was related to biologically
I think with this back ground info it sheds a new light on just how terrible her comment was. She was jealous of her DIL who had been adopted by a loving and supportive family and had married a man that loved and supported her. She says in her video that she wasn’t close enough to her to ask if she was ok, but she was apparently close enough to make a jab that she knew would cut deep. She said that comment specifically to hurt her DIL because as another child not raised by birth parents, D specifically knew how painful that comment would be to her DIL. And she tries to say she said it under the guise of trying to make her laugh? D knew exactly what she was saying. She’s harped enough herself about the granddaughter being the only biological female relative she has. She knew exactly what she was saying and I wager that’s why it was received so poorly.
She tries to throw in that she said it because of comments on stepmom’s posts….again, just trying to throw more people under the bus. Sorry, stepmom actually has a relationship with your sons and DIL and granddaughter. Because she’s not a shitty, terrible human being.
TLDR: D knew exactly what she was saying and exactly why it would be as painful as it was

sorry for some reason speaker another wasn't playing(fixed it later idk how)
after fixing it it was night and view was not so majestic but sounds very cool
https://reddit.com/link/1ct278l/video/t4lrpd5e5p0d1/player

Why did the farmer visit the pharmacy? To speak with the farm-assist.
Hi and welcome to my post! Wanted to start off with a funny to me dad joke.
Nice to meet you, I'm Dylan! To put it simple, I am a single 22 year old man who has been pretty lonely in life and lacking in female connection and interaction. And part of what comes with that is the desire to be intimate with a person. I am very mature for my age and will always be respectful of your boundaries and feelings, especially with anything sexual. Lately all I have is myself when it comes to sexual desires, so I would like to have someone to keep company with in that regard too.
I'm just relaxing at work since there's nothing really going on and thinking about going home tonight and burning a woodwick candle. Perfect for when there's a storm outside. I love candles! 🕯️ Sometimes a campfire outside on a fall night or a crackling WoodWick candle is a relaxing constant among our busy and hectic world. It's nice to just disconnect, feel grounded and happy in your own little cozy space. Feeling calm and collected and at peace. Something that fewer people take the time to do these days.
I am seeking a woman around my age or older to build a close connection with that could possibly lead to a relationship and something intimate which includes the possibility of teasing/sharing pics etc. but only when we were comfortable. Figured I would be open in my Intentions as that's the best way to be.
You:
Kind, respectful, and easy going.
Comfortable with the idea of eventually sharing intimate things together.
Willing to eventually move off of Reddit.
Want something genuine and fun!
Are honest in your intentions and a good person to be around!
That's about it, we will get along great I know it.
I've been feeling a little bummed out lately. I always try and stay happy and see the best in things. But.. I've just been so alone. Most of my whole childhood and adult years have been spent feeling lonely. I grew up surrounded by cornfields which was peaceful but also has a lonely aspect to it. My family never really were close and never did anything as a family really. And part of it too is the fact that I never had any neighbors my age to interact with. But aside from that, my adult life has been very lonely. I'm just always by myself. I barely have any meaningful adult relationships or experiences, or even any friends.
I work a 3-11 job in building maintenance at my company world headquarters building which I love, but again it's very lonely. I work the off shift so the building is always empty. I don't get normal social interaction with people my age or a chance to build relationships. I only have 3 older men as co-workers and we are mostly in the basement away from any people on the floors from knowing our existence. I always walk the floors and see office people laughing and chatting with their coworkers and I just don't have that kind of experience. And just.. no one knows I exist really. Everyone probably assumes I have a lot of friends, but I'm struggling inside with being so alone and trying to meet people and get past the "hi how are you?" "I'm good thanks" stage. Most people don't seem to want to talk beyond that. And most women are already in relationships and thus it would seem weird to approach them in an office setting trying to get to know them deeper. But man those "hi how are yous" are the only real interactions I get during my day.. so thus I decided to come here lol. Rant over, sorry! I promise I'm not a downer. 😅
Now for some things about me!
As you can tell, I am very mature for my age and am polite and have good grammar which unfortunately not everyone my age does anymore lol. I am not active at all on social media/internet culture really and don't know much about all the slang the younger people these days use. I feel like I'm 50. 🤣
I am left handed which is pretty cool. I'm not much of a party person or a drinker, I much prefer a quiet night at home and maybe a beer or two on a weekend but that's about it. I am simple and stay out of drama and trouble and don't get much into politics or other things that cause drama with people. I much prefer a relaxing campfire and a night at home and to just let the world keep on turning haha. I consider myself pretty intelligent and mature, especially for my age which is why I'm open to older ladies.
Physically I'm 180 pounds, have brown hair, green eyes, and a typical build. There's a few pictures on my profile.
Some of my hobbies are:
• Photography
I have a Nikon D200 and D5500 that I love to shoot with. I love nature scenes, abstract, black and white/goth kinda photography, sunsets, etc. it's so fun to just let your mind explore. It's not about what camera you have, but those who are behind the camera! I'm gonna try and photograph the northern lights tonight!
• Cooking and baking
I loveeee to cook and bake! I enjoy making various meals but also love to just have a frozen pizza once in awhile or something like that. I recently made homemade chili which turned out great. I love to bake, especially in the fall! I love pies, cakes, pastries, cookies, etc. I restored a vintage KitchenAid mixer that needed tbe gearbox rebuilt. Eventually I would love to practice home canning my own food.
• Music
Oh my gosh, I like so much!! Alternative rock, punk, post punk, electronic, synth pop, psychedelic rock, hard rock, etc. I am very non judgemental and open when it comes to music. My three current favorite bands are Type O Negative, Joy Division, and the Cure.
• Nature walks and camping
I really enjoy camping, making fires, and relaxing by a campfire. I love to take walks outside and just enjoy the beauty and simplicity of nature. It's wonderful, especially in a world so focused on everything digital.
• Repairing things
I'm a maintenance guy and one of my hobbies is electronics repair so I am good with my hands and just all around good at troubleshooting and fixing all sorts of things around the house. Last week I helped my elderly neighbor get his tractor started, it needed a new component in the starting circuit. So I'm pretty handy which... Comes in handy! 😂
• Autumn 🍁
This isn't a hobby per say, but man do I love the fall!!! It's my absolute favorite time of the year. Oh my gosh. The beautiful colors, crisp cool air, misty and foggy days, rain, lack of bugs, being cuddled up with a candle or by the fire drinking a tea, etc. I love it! There's only two seasons for me. Fall, and waiting for fall! Haha.
• Scented Candles and incense
Going along with my love for fall, I absolutely love candles! I have like 30 something lol. 😂 Currently my favorite are WoodWick, which are owned by Yankee candle. They have such a soothing crackle and the scents are great! I also love to burn incense from time to time as well. I have cottagecore hippie vibes.
• Old houses and architecture
I love old houses! Especially 1900s and Victorian era homes. Old homes have so much character to them and are just so beautiful from a time when people took pride in their craft. I strongly dislike the modern cookie cutter cheap construction of homes today. I would love to live in an old home one day. I also love their architecture and uniqueness, as well as architecture of old cathedrals and other buildings.
• Relaxing
Basic I know, but sometimes on the weekend I just love to get cozy in bed and relax and put on a YouTube video or an album! 😊
That's about it for me, I'm a pretty laid back and simple person. My ideal person is someone who is respectful and honest! I am very straightforward and open minded and would hope that you are as well.
If I seem interesting to you at all I would love to hear from you!
Thank you so much for reading.

In a flash of inspiration I suggested a small AU idea on discord... And people encouraged me to cook and cook hard. So I did and here's the result. I will likely have this as a 'backburner' fic to Broken Birds, writing one when I have no energy for other, so this will be lower in priority, but I hope it's enjoyable for you anyway.
Thanks to SpacePaladin15 for great universe, characters and letting fanfiction flow, as well as JulianSkies for inspiring the name of the fic and several other discord members (you KNOW who you are) for encouraging my horribleness. Without further ado... Let's open the doors of this AU.
CW: Arxur Dietary Habits, Child Suffering, Dismemberment
Memory Transcription Subject: Stynek, Venlil Cattle
Date [standardized human time]: July 12, 2136
Fur surrounding my eyes hurt from layers upon layers of dried tears. I’ve cried so much over past months, with nobody to tell me it’s going to be okay. I missed mommy. I missed my teacher. I missed my friends. I was surrounded by strangers, some of different species, but mostly venlil. None of them cared when I cried. Most cried by themselves, and to themselves instead. Nobody wanted to really talk to me, except this one other venlil child I met. I don’t even remember the name he told me. But he did know something. That me and him wouldn’t be eaten for a while because we’re too young. Unless someone important wanted to eat us. That’s why adults are bitter at the children. We weren’t in the ‘breeding pen’, whatever that meant, but in the food pen. And until I was old enough to be ‘sufficiently edible’, I’d stay here. Adults knew that. They knew that when arxur came around and chose meals out of the crowd, they’d ignore the scrawny child, so they were bitter at my luck.
I wanted to cry again, but at this point, no tears were coming out. I wished I could talk to the boy, but we got separated when they moved me and a bunch of adults onto the ship. I overheard some adults mumbling about us being rations. That made me cry more when I realized what it meant. Did it mean I was lied to? That I really was old enough to be eaten after all? I regretted wanting to grow up sooner. I was always upset when mom told me I couldn’t do something. I had to listen both because she was my mom and because she was our Governor. Now I missed hearing her voice, even if it was just telling me that I must go to bed on time and stop snacking too much before second meal.
It’s been days since I was brought to the ship. Unlike the pens I’ve been in before, this one was slowly emptying. Before, new people always were thrown in to replace ones taken to be eaten. Every day a few people would be grabbed by the arxur and dragged out. Some screaming and pleading for mercy. Those just get ignored, as everyone, myself included, huddles together in far corner. Others would accept their fate and let themselves be taken. Those are even sadder. More people start crying after seeing someone who looks dead even while still breathing taken to be finished off.
I rubbed my temple where there was still a small wound. Every cattle taken to this ship had their implants removed. I couldn’t understand anything non-venlil were saying. Or arxur for that matter. Not that much was being said...
Suddenly every head was up and all ears were flicking. I slightly turned my head to see towards the entrance. An arxur, standing in doorway, slowly scanning the crowd with predatory glint. My sense of time was barely intact, but schedule was rigid, it was too early for feeding time today. So why are they here and why are they selecting a prey already?
Suddenly I realized that it was looking directly at me, its binocular gaze locking onto my eye. I couldn’t help my reaction, yelping and flinching away, trying to scuttle towards the corner. But it seems the arxur made its choice. As it stepped and started walking towards me, the crowd parted. It was almost like that experiment with anti-magnets my teacher showed once in class, except I was the one repelling everyone around me. I tried reaching out and crawling towards them, but they just furthered the distance. Nobody was willing to contest arxur’s chosen meal.
“Please... I don’t want to...”, I cried, but it fell on deaf ears. Then I felt it. A scaly hand of a monster wrapped around my ankle. I tried thrashing, but before I could, I was lifted upside down, hitting my head on cold hard floor in process. Ow... It hurt. My vision blurred, from both the hit dizzying me and the tears that were now filling my eyes. I was being taken out... To be devoured by predators... Daddy... Mommy... “Mommy... Mommy!”
I didn’t hear anything but my own cries and clacks of arxur claws against metal floor as I was taken out of the pen. Outside of pen always seemed like nicer place to be. It was better lit and cleaner from what little I could glimpse whenever door opened. Now I’d give anything just to go back to the dirty pen, huddled together with people who don’t care about me... I didn’t want to die! I wanted to go home! To my mom and dad... Why... Wasn’t I too young? Why did that boy lie to me?! I hated him!
I couldn’t even tell where I was being taken. I knew nothing about layout of the ship. It was cleaner, it was brighter. But also there were more arxur than singular one that kept coming into the pen to take people. Being carried upside down by the leg hurt and made it disorienting but even with that I couldn’t miss how every time I entered an arxur’s field of vision, their head sharply turning to stare directly at me right until we turned another corner. I realized that I was crying out loud by now, but of course predators knew no emotion, they ignored my anguish.
Then finally, it seems, we reached a destination. I was brought to a room with a big table. Table? It was ridiculous to think predators even use tables... But there were three sitting at it. One was an arxur, particularly large and imposing. But two others were... creatures I’ve never seen before. One glimpse was enough to tell me they were predators. And they were covered in clothing, more than I’ve seen anyone ever wear. Worst thing is though, they were clearly talking to the big arxur, with external translator on the table constantly translating arxur’s hisses into the other predator’s growling noises.
This is it. Arxur found another sapient predator. The worst monsters in the galaxy now found allies. Least I could comfort myself with was that mommy would be safe... But now I felt like it’s not just me that’s about to end, but whole universe.
The arxur that was carrying me smacked me down onto the table, a fair distance away from others. I kept crying and sobbing. I think some pleads for help and for my mom came out, but I couldn’t even make out my own words. I was so scared. I was ready for fangs to pierce into my neck. And yet I wasn’t, I wasn’t ready, please, anything by that. Both the big arxur and the new predators were staring me down in hunger as I felt the worst pain of my life. My leg, held firmly to the table, burned in agony... and then pain was all I knew there. I couldn’t feel anything below my knee other than pain. Pain... Pain! I cried out at the top of my lungs, but pain wasn’t getting better. My cry did not stop until my throat burnt, but that pain was like an itch compared to what my leg felt like.
With sight blurred, I saw it. The arxur that held me down dropped my own ankle down near the big one that seemed to be in charge, staining table with orange blood. Big arxur tore a chunk off, extending it towards other predators, but they seemed to just talk. Then big arxur stopped for a few moments, tossed the chunk into its horrid mouth, and motioned to one still holding me down.
Then, for a second time in last few minutes I experienced the most agonizing pain in my life, surpassing even the pain before at least tenfold. It burned! It hurt! My throat, already sore and barely able to make sounds got revived for just long enough to let out another cry before giving out again. I wanted to pass out as I was butchered alive, but it was just so painful that I couldn’t... I was forced to be aware of how the rest of the leg, from knee to hip, was brought towards the mystery predators, sliced in half and then... That explained why it hurt so much more. Why it still hurts even more. The blade that second chop was done with was red hot, and now used to burn away at the chunks presented to the predators. They recoiled from heat, as pieces of me were presented, but after a few moments of consideration, reached out and tore a few small pieces of orange legs off my dismembered calf, starting to chew. The one with long fur on their head, seemed to almost choke on the heat, while the one with dark coloration just stared at me intently, making eye contact that I could perceive even through pain and tears directly with me, hungrily chewing, no doubt wanting more than scrap it was given...
I couldn’t watch anymore I closed my eyes, beginning to whine and sniffle. I tried calling out for mom, but my mouth was suddenly clamped shut with a band, so I couldn’t even make any more noises. Pain made it hard to move at all, and with my leg chop being replaced with a burn, I wasn’t bleeding... so I couldn’t even get the release of death. Worse yet, predators were far from eager to finish me off. I was always told their bloodthirst was the only thing that defined them, but they just left me to suffer on the table as they kept talking in their horrible noises. Their sadism was much stronger than bloodlust, that’s the only explanation...
As I lay there, I eventually let my eyelids slide open. The new predators and arxur were engaged in some conversation, piece of leg in front of arxur in charge gone completely, and pieces in front of mystery predators visibly smaller. Arxur regularly typed some things, demonstrating some things on the screen. A bunch of warrior arxur banded together, a big star chart divided in weird ways, some weird colorless picture of countless dead prey animals, unfamiliar and likely non-sapient... And then a video. A venlil exterminator, fighting off a group of arxur. She managed to get two monsters burnt before getting overwhelmed, their mask torn off before their head is bitten off by one of the greys. The moment it happens, new predators both turn their eyes towards me instantly, opened wide with hunger. I flinched away again, tears managing to flow again. The arxur were horrible... They were about to sic those new predators on Venlil Prime, I knew it in my heart. They gave them taste of our flesh, and showed them how we might be dangerous... despite the fact that we were weakest and helpless. The new predators will make us into their cattle with ease and be empowered, before proceeding to move onto the rest of Federation...
There was movement. The predators and big arxur all stood up, then locked their hands in some contest of strength momentarily. The predator with long head fur pointed towards me, and then they all stared at me for a moment. Then the conversation moved on. The arxur holding me down grabbed me again, by my remaining leg and carried me off. I felt some blood drip down my fur with me being turned like that...
There was more walking, but it was even harder to pay attention in the haze that was covering my mind. I understood what the people that were taken without struggle felt now. I didn’t want to fight anymore. I just wanted it to be over... It hurts... It hurts so much...
I felt my arms moved, hands tied behind my back, and then I was handed over to the dark-colored mystery predator. It wasn’t as large as an arxur, but it could still lift me with ease, tossing me over the shoulder like I’m a sack of ipsom flour. A momentary look around showed that I was inside a smaller shuttle now, built very different from what the insides of larger ship was. I was... being taken elsewhere again. Why...?
Some more talking in the scary predator languages, and the door separating mystery predators and the arxur closed. Once that happened, there was instant rush. I found myself tossed into some white and cold room, still bound. I could hear the predators argue, that much loud yelling at one another could only be an argument. I felt the hum of ship starting up and vibration of launch. Then after a bit, I saw the long furred predator rush past me and towards something in the back of room, at which points it made noises so horrid, that I found myself crying again. I don’t know what it was doing back there, and I didn’t want to know. The dark colored one just kept looking over the burnt stump where my leg once was. And all throughout they kept growling and shouting at one another... I was going to be torn in half between the two, wasn’t I?
Instead I felt the binds on my arms and around my face cut. First thing, I opened my mouth and took a deep breath... Only to choke on air, as it was even cooler than I expected... White room, cool air, hungry predators looking over my bloodied bits and making horrid noises... I was about to be refrigerated to be kept for future. I was rations that arxur graciously gifted to these monsters. Why...? Why me?!
I tried crying, but my throat refused to make noise after earlier screaming tore it apart. Only low coughs escaped as tears completely filled my vision. There was more. More pain, a burst of it where my leg was supposed to be, then a small prick at my other leg... More memories, of my happy family and friends at school, replaced with grimy cattle pens and constant fear... More regrets at things I wanted to do and try, but never got to... But none of it mattered. I was already dead. Even if I was still breathing and moving, I was dead the moment a grey grabbed me and dragged me onto that cursed cattle ship of theirs... It just took me until now to truly comprehend it.
The last thing I thought of as pain dulled out, finally giving way to bliss of unconsciousness, was my mom’s soft wool and warm embrace, and how I never got to feel it properly for last time before dying... Mommy... I’m sorry...

The context: built my own PC and didn't realize that headphone jacks cannot double as microphone jacks. So my wired headphone set would receive audio but I could not speak into it. I tried using my bluetooth headset, but there is an egregious amount of feedback and echo.
Now: In the past I have been able to set my wired headphones as my audio output and communications output with my bluetooth headset connected as a mic.
I have not gamed in a while, so I had to update some video drivers and an intel bluetooth drive. Now my mic is only recognized if I have everything set to the bluetooth set AND there is audio playing elsewhere.
For instance if I try to test my mic alone, it will not read. However, if I have Youtube playing in the background it will read. If I have Youtube running and switch the audio out to my wired headphones, the mic will not respond at all.
I have reset drivers, uninstalled/reinstalled the Intel Wireless bluetooth, and played with all of the sound settings both in Settings and the Taskbar.
Wired Headphones: Steel Series Arctis 1
Wireless headset: Powerbeats 3
PC: Windows 10, OS Build 19045.4412, 64bit

I've been watching more nfl than cfb so I'll definitely be looking forward to hearing people's thoughts or expectations for the college world

1. Actually have a strategy.
2. No more 16+ leg parlays anymore...........unless if it's less than %10 of your roll' and even then I feel like they should be roundrobins
3. I have this theory that incentives or game strategies can definitely correlate to play contracts in certain instances.
4. Shedeur Sanders will crack 4k passing
5. Last I ignored or chickened out on calling week one in the nfl. I made a video of it for the sub in last year so check it out. But here's how I think it'll go down. Mind this is what I think if 90% of key players are healthy throughout training camp and preseason:

Ravens over Chiefs. Why? They'll have a top legit run game and andrews will be 100%, passing game opens up and the D will be stronger than ever. Chiefs lose because of multiple new receivers, super bowl hangover and who gives a shit of they lose the first one
Eagles over Packets. Why? Eagles D will help carry them to victory. Hurts ability to run adds more dimension than Love. D line will feast on love. Close game. I think jacobs takes a step back or needs a few games to find his groove. I'd personally would go +12 Packets for wiggle room
Falcons over Steelers. Why? Cousins needs to prove to every person with higher percentages of melatonin in this home opener in ATL that he's not a scrub and that he earned his 100$ guaranteed contact. He has every weapon known to man to succeed on that team plus a not to shabby D. Steelers, Tomlin, Tomlinson, Wilson, WizKhalifa and Justin fields can kick rocks and get their wins after this game.
Cards over bills. Why? Mostly because idk why but figure out the finer details yourself. But seriously, I believe they won't be able to contain Kyler. He's got more to prove than Josh Allen and the bills finally having a full season back from injury. I'd argue the Cards D will be hungrier as well.
Bears over Titans. Why? Caleb Williams seems to be more mature and focused on success than what reports initially were. I think he's gotta play a lil hero ball but I think with the receivers and the D being near top 10 at the end of the season last year the make a statement to the city that Da Bears are back. Levis will have a good team behind but.. ehh.. I think the D let's him down. They'll be good after this first week
Bengals over Patriots. Why? Because Boston hates black people but jokes aside I hope I don't have to explain why.
Colts over Texans. And that's the bottom line because Stone Cold said so!!! I'd like to leave this one up for discussion but I just feel that texans have had everything go for them since last season. Tripping up week 1 wouldn't be a knock to them but I think the O coordinator for the colts, Richardson, Pittman and Taylor..uh.. actually never- mind the Texans win. I think it'll be an interesting match though.
Phins over Jags. Why? Because the women in south Beach are approximately 100x hotter than the ones in Jacksonville. I think speed kills. If the D can pressure Sunshine(can't think of his name) then it'll be though to win the in state battle.
Saints over panthers. Why? Because unless Bryson added 'growing 5 inches' to his off-season todo list or unless all New Orleans floods again then the opener is going to be hype and Carr needs to prove he's not a waste. Also Legette and his southern draw isn't going to draw up anything special to make Carolina magically win this game. I don't give a shit if he can run as fast as his horse qwatah hoaw Dolla Bill.
Vikings over Giants why? I hope I don't need to explain this.
Chargers over Raiders why? Idk why
Seahawks over broncos why? Either Sam Howell or Gen Smith and the receivers and D have absolutely no god(s) damn business losing to a rookie in Nix or Zach Wilson or even Stidham. Also, I don't have better reasons
Browns shit on the Cockboys/Cowgirls why? I really don't feel like typing anymore
Bucs over Commanders why? Last year I said to every Viking living Nordic person in a bar to not under estimate Baker. Quite honestly I don't think Dan Quinns strikes any fear into any teams expect maybe the giants from last year so why would a guy like Baker with a new contract and still a cup on his shoulder and a team with a mostly super bowl caliber players give a fuck now?
Lions over Rams why? Reference Falcons summary and partially the superbowl caliber type players reasoning from above
Jets over the 49ers why? Because Rodgers will be closer to Pacfic ocean. Why does this matter? 76% of the dolphins that used those high frequency sound waves will be in the Bay area that night. That's essentially the equivalent of Super Man fighting near the sun. Quite frankly I don't know how this is even remotely fair or legal. JETS D puts the clamps on the Shanahans scheme picks purdy a couple times, Rodgers throws around 250ish yards and Hall runs for atleast 75 yards and a TD
Would like to know what you guys think.

I had a Watson Fundoplication on May 7th. Here’s what the pre-op, day of operation, and first week looked like.
Pre-op: My surgeon is big on taking things from other specialties and applying them to this procedure. Due to this he has all patients do a liver shrinking diet. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t think I was going to do it at first until I watched a video showing how impactful it can be. It’s a super restrictive diet, I lost 10 lbs in 7 days, but it paid off.
Day of operation: I had the Watson Fundoplication due to a previously known swallowing issue. It was done robotically. I have 6 incisions; one right below my sternum and five straight across my stomach. I was also enrolled in a study for a new mesh. The results so far sound promising.
I woke up in a lot of pain, but they gave me medication and within an hour I was eating pudding without issue or pain. By hour 2 I was walking and shortly after I was sent home. At home I had no issue with pain and honestly felt great. I couldn’t explain it, but everything finally felt like it was in the right spot. In fact as soon as the pain was managed, this was the first thing I said.
Days 1-2: my pain was managed well and things were going great. Had some diaphragm pain, but nothing major. I was off all pain meds, with the exception of ibuprofen within 36 hours. I was bloated, but walking, gas-x, and peppermint tea was a lifesaver. Another note, get an airplane pillow… another lifesaver.
Day 3: everything was going great until out of nowhere the infamous laparoscopic pain hit. It came out of no where and I could not seem to get away from it. It really only lasted about 24 hours, but it was by far the worst day. I still have some shoulder pain, but that is mainly due to the stitches in my diaphragm.
Day 4 to present: things have gotten better each day. I am able to move more each day. I am beyond tired of the liquid diet, but it is what it is.
Things I have learned. Thicker liquids are easier than water type liquids. Warmer is easier than colder. If you are gonna have soup, make sure it is well blended. East very slow. This was the hardest one for me, but it’s getting better.
If you have any questions let me know and I will do my best to get back to you. I am horrible at these things, but I’ll make an effort.

Obvs. it’s no coincidence that Rylee and Jess posted a video to the same sound! Pop off queens👑🤣

I had a Watson Fundoplication on May 7th. Here’s what the pre-op, day of operation, and first week looked like.
Pre-op: My surgeon is big on taking things from other specialties and applying them to this procedure. Due to this he has all patients do a liver shrinking diet. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t think I was going to do it at first until I watched a video showing how impactful it can be. It’s a super restrictive diet, I lost 10 lbs in 7 days, but it paid off.
Day of operation: I had the Watson Fundoplication due to a previously known swallowing issue. It was done robotically. I have 6 incisions; one right below my sternum and five straight across my stomach. I was also enrolled in a study for a new mesh. The results so far sound promising.
I woke up in a lot of pain, but they gave me medication and within an hour I was eating pudding without issue or pain. By hour 2 I was walking and shortly after I was sent home. At home I had no issue with pain and honestly felt great. I couldn’t explain it, but everything finally felt like it was in the right spot. In fact as soon as the pain was managed, this was the first thing I said.
Days 1-2: my pain was managed well and things were going great. Had some diaphragm pain, but nothing major. I was off all pain meds, with the exception of ibuprofen within 36 hours. I was bloated, but walking, gas-x, and peppermint tea was a lifesaver. Another note, get an airplane pillow… another lifesaver.
Day 3: everything was going great until out of nowhere the infamous laparoscopic pain hit. It came out of no where and I could not seem to get away from it. It really only lasted about 24 hours, but it was by far the worst day. I still have some shoulder pain, but that is mainly due to the stitches in my diaphragm.
Day 4 to present: things have gotten better each day. I am able to move more each day. I am beyond tired of the liquid diet, but it is what it is.
Things I have learned. Thicker liquids are easier than water type liquids. Warmer is easier than colder. If you are gonna have soup, make sure it is well blended. East very slow. This was the hardest one for me, but it’s getting better.
If you have any questions let me know and I will do my best to get back to you. I am horrible at these things, but I’ll make an effort.

Im a girl, which i think is part of the issue because my voice is naturally different than most of the screams i hear. Ive watched lots of videos and read countless articles on how to scream, but I cant find my voice able to do produce the correct sound healthily? I’ve only managed to do false or fry screams, or whisper screams, which have been rlly hurting my throat and making it even harder to practice. I can never hold a note long enough to scream actual lyrics, and when I do it sounds.. off. Kind of like im just using a pretend monster voice. Im just looking for advice or tips, or some knowledge that wouldnt be in these videos. Is it possible I just dont have the ability? Is there something Im missing? Would it be worth it to go to a vocal coach? I dont want to damage my vocal cords by continuing to do it wrong.

I got placed into a B2~C1 level of FSL university course in Quebec. I can understand my professor perfectly fine. The other day, my prof told me to read something in class and at the end, I heard him mumble to himself "merci.. c'était clair". Was he saying my pronunciation was OK or did I completely misunderstand that?
I can understand documentaries, YouTube videos, and music but when I talk face to face with a native here, their whole sentence just sounds like one word, and I get lost. In fact, i swear all i hear is air sometimes. But I don't get that problem when listening to resources online or with my prof.
Also, I found that 70% of the time, people understand me without much issue but there are some times when I get that terrified blank stare which instantly crushes my confidence. So I can't tell if I have a really thick accent or not.
So like I said, I can understand my professors just fine. However, I can't understand native speakers outside of the academic environment for some reason.

Is it the lack of confidence? Can the fear of making a mistake/the nervousness hinder comprehension? Im not sure if this is relevant, but I definitely have a mixture of Belgian, French, Quebecois, English, and maybe Korean accents HAHA. How can I make the most out of this 1 month? I'm shy but I'm ready to put myself out there!!

P.s. the merchants and servers in Vieux Quebec have been really sweet! I was afraid because Im asian and i heard there arent many asians here, and that "quebeckers are racist". But I found them to be very accommodating, full of smiles, and whenever I asked how to say a phrase in French, they patiently taught me every word :)) i just hope my face of utter terror, confusion, and awkwardness didn't give off bad vibes lol. I recommend Quebec City to other learners and don't be afraid to ask about their language <33

Rulers of the Outer World was stumping me to no end and while I am by no means an expert gamer, I prefer completing difficult challenges with my own strategies before taking to YouTube and seeing what the pros do. After a particularly harrowing night staying up until 4:30am and getting wrecked by Virtual Sephiroth, I decided to take a break and switch to the Legendary Challenges. Cait Sith was the most annoying but still, I managed to clear it which opened up the Zack and Sephiroth fights…
Nevertheless, I decided to give them a whirl because I had gotten sick of Rulers at that point.
Enter To be a Hero.
Cleared it on my first attempt via a casual “mess-around” run where I just wanted to play with Sephiroth (our time with him in the first chapter was way too short) and take virtual photos. You can see in the video that I was practically re-learning to play Sephiroth on the fly and was amazed that I was getting through each round in spite of the rocky start, not to mention Cloud is running a Buster Sword build purely for aesthetics.
Now it’s time for the big one, Bonds of Friendship.
Okay. From everything I was reading, the Sephiroth Challenge is more fun than anything else considering how OP he is so it is perfectly reasonable to clear it even on a blind run with enough luck on your side. Zack? Different story and oooof, did this challenge throw me through the wringer. Still, I managed to clear it after two days and was absolutely flabbergasted watching speed run videos afterwards with the vaunted “Wind Killer” build. Suffice it to say, I probably should have sucked it up and watched a guide or two beforehand as that would have saved me a lot of headache but still, it was a nice feeling of accomplishment knowing that I was able to clear this bout my way.
Finally, I came back to my most hated enemy — Rulers of the Outer World.
After some more failed attempts, I cracked and looked up a few guides. The “Yuffie Dance Attack” seemed perfectly viable and I was this close to implementing it until I stumbled upon a video that showed how to perfect parry Shadowy Chains for those of us (mostly old guys like me) who have lost the lightning fast reflexes from the days of their youth. It’s an infinitely sound strategy that I had never thought of and upon utilizing it, I finally managed to take out Virtual Sephiroth and earn the Götterdämmerung. My run through Rulers was a protracted battle of attrition that required two parts to encompass but still, I am proud of this achievement and will be happily spamming Brumal Form or any other meta setup the next time I give this challenge a whirl.
If you are curious, here is Part 1 and Part 2.
I am curious to know if anyone else here has had a similar experience to my own. From everything I have gathered, it would appear that the majority of the player base cleared Rulers first and then used the Götterdämmerung to make life easier with Zack and Sephiroth. After seeing so many rage about Bonds of Friendship, I am somewhat shocked that I managed to clear that before the Outer World.
To conclude, I have always been intimidated by FromSoft games due to their high difficulty spike and the fact that I would have an extremely difficult time fitting it into my busy schedule. I was this close to purchasing Sekiro back in the summer of 2020 but work finally picked up again so of course, I had to put gaming on the back burner. A lot of my friends have tried to convince me to give Elden Ring a shot but again, the learning curve dissuaded me. I enjoy platinuming games but usually prefer simple affairs as I am far from being an expert gamer. Remake was definitely challenging but fair as there were only a couple trophies that truly tested me. With Rebirth, I was tested over and over again to the point that I got numb to it. Hell, I spent an entire weekend on the Chocobo Races alone as I am basically crap at the racing genre.
Now having earned the Platinum, I have a question for all the FromSoft players on this forum. How would you rank Rebirth’s platinum compared to Elden and Sekiro? If I was able to survive the Brutal and Legendary Challenges here, would I stand a chance against Malenia even without elite players carrying me? What about the Sword Saint?

In 1945, the United States underwent Operation Paperclip which gave over 1,600 German scientists, engineers and technicians sanctuary and absolution of their crimes in exchange for the continuation of their research.
In 1953 those same individuals came up with and executed MK Ultra, an illegal human experiment that used its citizens (targeting schools, hospitals and prisons) as test subjects.
In 1954 the Plum Island was turned into a research center for diseases.
In 1975 the first documented case of Lyme disease occurred. Rumored to have escaped Plum Island.
In 2005 the DHS announced that all the work done at Plum Island would be continued in Kansas. Not just the center of the continental United States, but also home to crops seen in grocery stores all over the country.
The following is a true story.
Getting into work, one of the first things I do is check my mail. I’ve been a reporter for years and have amassed fans who like to write in and give me leads. Most of the time these leads don't amount to much (Sometimes I wonder if people send me things because of my apophenia and they are trying to get me off their scent), but every once in a while I strike gold.
I had been working at Whisper Alley Echos for a few months by the time I got my first lead. The package I got was small and when I opened it I saw a DVD that had the words “play me” written in black marker on it. Not knowing what was on it, I waited until I got home to put it on. Not just because I didnt know what was on it, but I was also busy working on a different project about how everyone in a nearby town just went missing. The official story is that they all went on vacation or went to visit a relative and decided to stay. I dont know about you, but I found that suspicious.
After getting home and shifting gears to get into the movie mood (popcorn, blinds pulled, etc…) I popped the DVD in and began watching.
There were dozens of different videos to pick from, some ranging from a minute to half an hour. Instead of picking one at random, I just played them in order. After all, all their titles were dates and times and I didnt want to miss anything that might make sense later.
The first video featured a tardigrade, at the time I didnt know what it was, but the scientist doing the voice over described it as being a microscopic animal as well as being extremely resilient. This went on for several minutes and for a moment it felt as though I was watching a nature documentary instead of something given to me by a government whistleblower.
The next few videos featured footage of the tardigrades being given something called “BB-F828” and the changes it caused.
The voiceover talked about how a tardigrade (this time he called them water bears and the two terms were interchangeable from this point on) was showing signs of several thousand generations of evolution in only a few days. Even though I know nothing about science, I could see that the thing on the television was not the same animal that was shown in the first video.
While they were never “cute”, at least they never looked like predators, but after a few videos I saw that the tardigrades were covered in what appeared to be padding. In a later video this padding would change into being chitin-like armor.
The last video was filmed two months after the water bears were given BB-F828 and in it the scientists could see them even without a microscope.
The next morning I went into work and started writing on my computer, copying notes from my small notebook. However by the time I started the second draft, Andrea, the office secretary, dropped a letter off at my desk.
It was the first time I got a letter about an “inside scoop” two days in a row.
The letter said that they were the ones who sent the DVD and if I wanted to know more I would have to go to The Rats Skeleton (a bar that used to be a speakeasy during prohibition. Because of this the place feels as though its a front for a comic book villain. The owners have leaned into this and did everything they could to reinforce this feeling with sparse lighting and everything that isn't red velvet on the walls being painted black) at a specific time.
Usually I wouldn't go meet strangers after getting an anonymous letter that tells me to come alone, but its a small town and I didn't have much going on that particular Thursday.
Parking behind the Merc (short for mercantile, where most of the grocery and general shopping is done in town), I descended the stairs and made my way to the back of the bar. There I found a woman that didnt look like she slept in days. Since no one else was in that back area I figured she must have been the person I was there to see.
“Hey, I’m Daniel West. Am I—”
“Sit” the woman said, motioning across from her. I sat down and asked her for her name but she didn’t want to answer me and when i asked for it a second time she claimed it was Jane, but there is no doubt that was not her real name.
“What made you reach out, Jane?”
“You saw the video?”
I nodded. “Yup.”
“And?”
“I have a lot of questions” I answered.
“Figured you would” Jane said. “Ask.”
“Well, first” I said, my journalistic inexperience showing as I went through my pocket notebook. “Who are you and why do you know all this?”
“Name isnt important” Jane answered. “Let me start from the beginning. We thought we were working on human survivability” Jane answered. “I thought that I was working for some company that had a government contract. That might be true, it might not be. Either way lots of money and resources have been put into this.”
“I saw the video” I answered. “What exactly was it that I was watching?”
Janes eyes were frantic as she looked at the stairs behind me. When I turned around to see what she was looking at I saw a local descending the steps and approach the bar. She only answered my question when she was convinced that the man wasn't eavesdropping, still, she spoke in whispers.
“We were working on human survivability.”
“You said that. What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. Consider we civilize mars and the long term effects from the static radiation there. Or another planet that demands thicker bones because of increased gravity? Evolution might give us those things eventually but what if we need it now? In this generation?”
“So you made super humans?”
Jane was annoyed and slapped the table. No one was around to hear or see her but I still looked around anyways.
“We didn’t work on humans. We piggybacked off of some other countries' genetic research and made some breakthroughs of our own. When—-“
“Other countries?” I interrupted instead of letting her talk.
“Yeah” Jane said with a shrug. “Some countries aren’t tied down by the same code of ethics as ours.”
“That’s why you got a hold of me? To tell—-“
“We were working on small parts. At first individual genes, building from that success we went on to more complex organisms. Eventually, hopefully, test on humans.”
“But you never made it that far?”
“No” Jane said, taking a sip from her glass. “We tested BB-F828 on other things, building up towards human testing.”
“Okay, like what?”
Jane inhaled through her nose and looked at me as though she wasnt sure if I could be trusted. Then she sighed when she realized it was too late not to trust me, she had already went too far to turn back. “What do you think has the best chance of not only surviving a planet wide disaster, but also thrive in it?”
“Cockroaches” I answered.
Jane nodded. “Sure. Lots of people would agree with you, however that wouldn't be the best pick.”
“Oh? Then what would be?”
“Rats.”
I laughed.
“They are tough and can thrive anywhere. Even before BB-F828 they are smarter than roaches, plus rats have a complicated social hierarchy, similar to humans. Remember, I didn't just say survive. I said thrive.”
“So you tested all this on rats?”
Jane nodded. “We did.”
I waited for Jane to continue, but thanks to her staring off into space due to lack of sleep, she waited longer.
“What happened?”
Janes eyes drifted back at me, she was running on fumes. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Rats, right?” she asked while pulling a folder out from the seat next to her. She set it on the table and slid it over to me. “Here, take a peek.”
I opened it, expecting redacted pages of ‘evidence’ and while I got some of that, it was the photos that drew my attention the most. At first the photos were individual rats and a designated number they received instead of a name.
“How many rats did you experiment—” I started, but my voice trailed off when I came across a photo of the one rat with unique markings on its back now appearing to be bred for a war on pleasant dreams. Its eyes were pearly gray, teeth became tusks, its whiskers were thick and barbed. According to the scale it was on when the second photo was taken it weighed twenty nine point four kilos.
“A few hundred?” Jane answered, though it was obvious that it was just a guess. “They were paired off and put in different environments to see how they adapt.”
“Why would you pair them off?”
“I think it was to see if some would branch out and become their own species” Jane answered as she checked her watch. Seeing the time she sped up. “See, when something with BB-F828 finds itself in a desert, it might adapt to the point that it grows a hump like a camel. Or grow gills if they are in the ocean. The original purpose was for human survivability on other planets. We thought if we could discover how the adaptations work, and it could be repeated exactly the same over and over again, we could do something for humans. After all you wouldn't want anything unexpected to happen when you're in the middle of growing another set of arms or a dorsal fin, right?”Jane said. “But to do this we needed lots of subjects and all in their own environments. Each one had their own surprises, after all, evolution is random. Favors some things over others. One species can branch out to be dozens or hundreds. Thousands with enough time and environmental factors. When the tardigrades started displaying more predatory behavior we thought it was due to the change in diet and the increase in protein, but now we think its due to the rapid change. It drives them insane. All of this was surprising, but none as surprising as the ‘dirt rats’.”
“Wait. They are all insane? Also, dirt rats?” I asked, flipping the photo over to show the next one. This one revealed what I thought was a bear, but when I was about to flip it over to look at the next one I noticed its teeth. Thats when I noticed that it was a huge, muscular rat.
“Six breeding pairs, all kept in an empty pool full of dirt. They weren't given enough room to get out of the dirt, so they had to adapt to living in it. Anyways, because they are in the dirt its harder to keep track of what they are doing. Because of that, by the time we discovered that they had burrowed their way out of the facility it was too late. They were gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean?”
“Escaped,” Jane whispered. “And they are growing.”
“Growing?”
“Last I heard, they were nearly sixty feet but we honestly don't know. It's not like we can compare them to anything else.”
“Sixty feet?” I laughed. “Someone would have saw them by—”
“Underground” Jane said with a shake of her head. “They are underground. I know it's hard to believe, but how else can you explain those earthquakes in Chicago? New York?”
“Are you saying there are giant rats under those cities?”
“I am saying they aren't rats anymore. They are something else entirely. I am saying six breeding pairs might not sound like a lot, but rats reproduce so quickly it's terrifying. I am saying that they are so big and there are so many of them that they are causing those earthquakes. I am saying that due to their size they burn off lots of calories and some have evolved to hibernating.”
“Why hibernation?”
“No idea, but when they wake up they are going to be very hungry. Ravenous.”
“Any idea when that might be?” I asked.
Jane shrugged. “Some already have. We just covered it up.”
It might have been my apophenia talking, but with that statement I started seeing the bigger picture and asked Jane about the town that went missing (The story I was working on before her DVD reached me). Jane gave me the politician's answer, saying something without actually saying something, and that was enough to confirm that I was indeed on the right track.
Unfortunately Jane and I did not speak for much longer, she got a call that freaked her out and she took off. Before she left she took the folder and the pictures I was still going through. I haven't seen or heard from her since and have dropped the story about the disappearances that have secretly been plaguing our country.
WAE

Hello, I am a college student and I won’t say much about my personal life, however I have been faced with thoughts I’ve never had before. My family is heavily Christian and are anti-LGBTQ+ so I never really had the time or space to explore my own gender. I never thought about it before until recently a friend of mine I had made during college said they had suspicions I might be an “egg.” I didn’t understand at first until I looked it up, it was funny and I enjoyed the joke. But each time the joke was made I was left questioning my own gender identity. I had a really deep, personal, and in-depth conversation with them about it and they told me they had their suspicions ever since they first met me.
To get a better understanding, I am biologically female and I’ve been told I look and dress more androgynously, not often do I dress hyperfeminine. There was one experience I had where I was confused for a man. I told others about this encounter and they felt bad. I wasn’t upset by what happened though, I was just surprised someone saw me as anything other then female. I’ve had someone tell me they were jealous of my androgynous features, I took it as a compliment and was even a little giddy. I never really questioned or thought heavily about my gender, I didn’t even think much about being female either.
I have a trans friend who gave me their binding tape and I decided to give it a try. It didn’t work out like I wanted and there was no noticeable change, which left me more emotional then I thought it would. Perhaps it was the tutorial I used? I just clicked the first one that popped up. But the method and techniques in the video left me with nasty blisters. It also had zero effect on how my chest looked.
Im going to try again, I don’t want to give up before really starting. I of course don’t want to act too rashly either, so I’m trying to take it slow. I’m just not sure about a lot right now. Any helpful tips would be great! Anything that perhaps helped you during your experiences would be great too (if you’re okay sharing obviously). I suddenly can’t really go without thinking about it and I want to know more about myself. Whether I do realize I am trans or not, I want to give room to explore. After all, I know college is one place people usually realize and discover more about themselves. Which sounds cheesy, but is turning out more true than I originally thought.

In 1945, the United States underwent Operation Paperclip which gave over 1,600 German scientists, engineers and technicians sanctuary and absolution of their crimes in exchange for the continuation of their research.
In 1953 those same individuals came up with and executed MK Ultra, an illegal human experiment that used its citizens (targeting schools, hospitals and prisons) as test subjects.
In 1954 the Plum Island was turned into a research center for diseases.
In 1975 the first documented case of Lyme disease occurred. Rumored to have escaped Plum Island.
In 2005 the DHS announced that all the work done at Plum Island would be continued in Kansas. Not just the center of the continental United States, but also home to crops seen in grocery stores all over the country.
The following is a true story.
Getting into work, one of the first things I do is check my mail. I’ve been a reporter for years and have amassed fans who like to write in and give me leads. Most of the time these leads don't amount to much (Sometimes I wonder if people send me things because of my apophenia and they are trying to get me off their scent), but every once in a while I strike gold.
I had been working at Whisper Alley Echos for a few months by the time I got my first lead. The package I got was small and when I opened it I saw a DVD that had the words “play me” written in black marker on it. Not knowing what was on it, I waited until I got home to put it on. Not just because I didnt know what was on it, but I was also busy working on a different project about how everyone in a nearby town just went missing. The official story is that they all went on vacation or went to visit a relative and decided to stay. I dont know about you, but I found that suspicious.
After getting home and shifting gears to get into the movie mood (popcorn, blinds pulled, etc…) I popped the DVD in and began watching.
There were dozens of different videos to pick from, some ranging from a minute to half an hour. Instead of picking one at random, I just played them in order. After all, all their titles were dates and times and I didnt want to miss anything that might make sense later.
The first video featured a tardigrade, at the time I didnt know what it was, but the scientist doing the voice over described it as being a microscopic animal as well as being extremely resilient. This went on for several minutes and for a moment it felt as though I was watching a nature documentary instead of something given to me by a government whistleblower.
The next few videos featured footage of the tardigrades being given something called “BB-F828” and the changes it caused.
The voiceover talked about how a tardigrade (this time he called them water bears and the two terms were interchangeable from this point on) was showing signs of several thousand generations of evolution in only a few days. Even though I know nothing about science, I could see that the thing on the television was not the same animal that was shown in the first video.
While they were never “cute”, at least they never looked like predators, but after a few videos I saw that the tardigrades were covered in what appeared to be padding. In a later video this padding would change into being chitin-like armor.
The last video was filmed two months after the water bears were given BB-F828 and in it the scientists could see them even without a microscope.
The next morning I went into work and started writing on my computer, copying notes from my small notebook. However by the time I started the second draft, Andrea, the office secretary, dropped a letter off at my desk.
It was the first time I got a letter about an “inside scoop” two days in a row.
The letter said that they were the ones who sent the DVD and if I wanted to know more I would have to go to The Rats Skeleton (a bar that used to be a speakeasy during prohibition. Because of this the place feels as though its a front for a comic book villain. The owners have leaned into this and did everything they could to reinforce this feeling with sparse lighting and everything that isn't red velvet on the walls being painted black) at a specific time.
Usually I wouldn't go meet strangers after getting an anonymous letter that tells me to come alone, but its a small town and I didn't have much going on that particular Thursday.
Parking behind the Merc (short for mercantile, where most of the grocery and general shopping is done in town), I descended the stairs and made my way to the back of the bar. There I found a woman that didnt look like she slept in days. Since no one else was in that back area I figured she must have been the person I was there to see.
“Hey, I’m Daniel West. Am I—”
“Sit” the woman said, motioning across from her. I sat down and asked her for her name but she didn’t want to answer me and when i asked for it a second time she claimed it was Jane, but there is no doubt that was not her real name.
“What made you reach out, Jane?”
“You saw the video?”
I nodded. “Yup.”
“And?”
“I have a lot of questions” I answered.
“Figured you would” Jane said. “Ask.”
“Well, first” I said, my journalistic inexperience showing as I went through my pocket notebook. “Who are you and why do you know all this?”
“Name isnt important” Jane answered. “Let me start from the beginning. We thought we were working on human survivability” Jane answered. “I thought that I was working for some company that had a government contract. That might be true, it might not be. Either way lots of money and resources have been put into this.”
“I saw the video” I answered. “What exactly was it that I was watching?”
Janes eyes were frantic as she looked at the stairs behind me. When I turned around to see what she was looking at I saw a local descending the steps and approach the bar. She only answered my question when she was convinced that the man wasn't eavesdropping, still, she spoke in whispers.
“We were working on human survivability.”
“You said that. What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. Consider we civilize mars and the long term effects from the static radiation there. Or another planet that demands thicker bones because of increased gravity? Evolution might give us those things eventually but what if we need it now? In this generation?”
“So you made super humans?”
Jane was annoyed and slapped the table. No one was around to hear or see her but I still looked around anyways.
“We didn’t work on humans. We piggybacked off of some other countries' genetic research and made some breakthroughs of our own. When—-“
“Other countries?” I interrupted instead of letting her talk.
“Yeah” Jane said with a shrug. “Some countries aren’t tied down by the same code of ethics as ours.”
“That’s why you got a hold of me? To tell—-“
“We were working on small parts. At first individual genes, building from that success we went on to more complex organisms. Eventually, hopefully, test on humans.”
“But you never made it that far?”
“No” Jane said, taking a sip from her glass. “We tested BB-F828 on other things, building up towards human testing.”
“Okay, like what?”
Jane inhaled through her nose and looked at me as though she wasnt sure if I could be trusted. Then she sighed when she realized it was too late not to trust me, she had already went too far to turn back. “What do you think has the best chance of not only surviving a planet wide disaster, but also thrive in it?”
“Cockroaches” I answered.
Jane nodded. “Sure. Lots of people would agree with you, however that wouldn't be the best pick.”
“Oh? Then what would be?”
“Rats.”
I laughed.
“They are tough and can thrive anywhere. Even before BB-F828 they are smarter than roaches, plus rats have a complicated social hierarchy, similar to humans. Remember, I didn't just say survive. I said thrive.”
“So you tested all this on rats?”
Jane nodded. “We did.”
I waited for Jane to continue, but thanks to her staring off into space due to lack of sleep, she waited longer.
“What happened?”
Janes eyes drifted back at me, she was running on fumes. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Rats, right?” she asked while pulling a folder out from the seat next to her. She set it on the table and slid it over to me. “Here, take a peek.”
I opened it, expecting redacted pages of ‘evidence’ and while I got some of that, it was the photos that drew my attention the most. At first the photos were individual rats and a designated number they received instead of a name.
“How many rats did you experiment—” I started, but my voice trailed off when I came across a photo of the one rat with unique markings on its back now appearing to be bred for a war on pleasant dreams. Its eyes were pearly gray, teeth became tusks, its whiskers were thick and barbed. According to the scale it was on when the second photo was taken it weighed twenty nine point four kilos.
“A few hundred?” Jane answered, though it was obvious that it was just a guess. “They were paired off and put in different environments to see how they adapt.”
“Why would you pair them off?”
“I think it was to see if some would branch out and become their own species” Jane answered as she checked her watch. Seeing the time she sped up. “See, when something with BB-F828 finds itself in a desert, it might adapt to the point that it grows a hump like a camel. Or grow gills if they are in the ocean. The original purpose was for human survivability on other planets. We thought if we could discover how the adaptations work, and it could be repeated exactly the same over and over again, we could do something for humans. After all you wouldn't want anything unexpected to happen when you're in the middle of growing another set of arms or a dorsal fin, right?”Jane said. “But to do this we needed lots of subjects and all in their own environments. Each one had their own surprises, after all, evolution is random. Favors some things over others. One species can branch out to be dozens or hundreds. Thousands with enough time and environmental factors. When the tardigrades started displaying more predatory behavior we thought it was due to the change in diet and the increase in protein, but now we think its due to the rapid change. It drives them insane. All of this was surprising, but none as surprising as the ‘dirt rats’.”
“Wait. They are all insane? Also, dirt rats?” I asked, flipping the photo over to show the next one. This one revealed what I thought was a bear, but when I was about to flip it over to look at the next one I noticed its teeth. Thats when I noticed that it was a huge, muscular rat.
“Six breeding pairs, all kept in an empty pool full of dirt. They weren't given enough room to get out of the dirt, so they had to adapt to living in it. Anyways, because they are in the dirt its harder to keep track of what they are doing. Because of that, by the time we discovered that they had burrowed their way out of the facility it was too late. They were gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean?”
“Escaped,” Jane whispered. “And they are growing.”
“Growing?”
“Last I heard, they were nearly sixty feet but we honestly don't know. It's not like we can compare them to anything else.”
“Sixty feet?” I laughed. “Someone would have saw them by—”
“Underground” Jane said with a shake of her head. “They are underground. I know it's hard to believe, but how else can you explain those earthquakes in Chicago? New York?”
“Are you saying there are giant rats under those cities?”
“I am saying they aren't rats anymore. They are something else entirely. I am saying six breeding pairs might not sound like a lot, but rats reproduce so quickly it's terrifying. I am saying that they are so big and there are so many of them that they are causing those earthquakes. I am saying that due to their size they burn off lots of calories and some have evolved to hibernating.”
“Why hibernation?”
“No idea, but when they wake up they are going to be very hungry. Ravenous.”
“Any idea when that might be?” I asked.
Jane shrugged. “Some already have. We just covered it up.”
It might have been my apophenia talking, but with that statement I started seeing the bigger picture and asked Jane about the town that went missing (The story I was working on before her DVD reached me). Jane gave me the politician's answer, saying something without actually saying something, and that was enough to confirm that I was indeed on the right track.
Unfortunately Jane and I did not speak for much longer, she got a call that freaked her out and she took off. Before she left she took the folder and the pictures I was still going through. I haven't seen or heard from her since and have dropped the story about the disappearances that have secretly been plaguing our country.
WAE

Hi Community, I saw Dave Asprey, “the father of biohacking”, post this video about BHT. I have never heard of BHT before but he sounds really confident about it’s effectiveness in treating herpes.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C7AmGM1O0om/?igsh=ZG5weTQ4M243cGYz
On my Google research I found a study from 1985 that supports what he says.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2988845/
Has anyone tried supplementing BHT yet?

Hello Reddit. Below is a one-shot designed for four level 8 characters. I would expect this to take approximately 2 sessions of a few hours (roughly 6 hours in total) to run through in its entirety. Your mileage may vary depending on how quickly your table handles combat.
You can find a PDF of this adventure along with battlemaps here.
Here's a quick adventure overview:
This is a combat focused adventure that takes place on an unnaturally frozen lake outside the mountain town of Maul, though it could be set on any lake of your choosing.
The players are tasked with killing a Frost Giant named Tirrog who has recently descended from nearby mountains. With the aid of a white dragon, he has frozen the lake and created an icy palace atop it.
The players must survive a series of challenging encounters before confronting Tirrog and his enslaved white dragon beneath his palace. After successfully ending the threat, the players will be rewarded with the favor of Maul’s residents.
If you get the chance to run this, or even just look through the whole thing, I would love feedback!
Here is the rest of the adventure:

For the DM: What’s Going on Here?

Some additional context just for the Dungeon Master:
· Tirrog, the Frost Giant, was cast out of his clan after losing a duel with his father.
· He stole a Young Adult White Dragon named Bymraynyl and used her power to freeze a nearby lake and construct an icy palace.
· Tirrog resides in a cavern beneath the palace, awaiting the challenge of Maul’s mightiest warriors, hoping to regain his clan’s favor by winning.
· Bymraynyl, the white dragon, is imprisoned by Tirrog and will only attack the players if they fail to free her.

Adventure Hooks

When determining why your players are involved with ending Tirrog’s icy presence, feel free to use any, or all, of the below Adventure Hooks when discussing this adventure with your players.

Aiding the Guards of Maul

The adventurers are approached by Brenlanna Orina, the Captain of the Guards of Maul. Brenlanna explains the situation caused by Tirrog is dire as his forces roam the countryside and many townsfolk have gone missing.
The constant threat has left the town’s defenses stretched thin and she needs capable adventurers to end his reign of terror. She emphasizes that defeating Tirrog will not only bring peace to Maul, but also earn the gratitude and favor of its people.

Ecological Balance

Mort, A local druid, approaches the adventurers to express his deep concerns about the unnatural freezing of the lake. Mort explains that the frozen lake has disrupted the local ecosystem, causing harm to wildlife and plants.
He implores the adventurers to defeat Tirrog and restore the natural balance. In return, the druid offers their knowledge of the land, rare herbs, and a powerful artifact as a reward. Restoring the lake to its natural state will help the region thrive once more.

Dragon Hunters

Word has travelled far and wide that Bymraynyl, a white dragon, is far from its natural territory and is imprisoned by Tirrog, the frost giant.
The adventurers are from a dragon hunting guild and see this as a prime opportunity to either hone their skills of slaying dragons or set free a majestic creature, allowing it to grow and become a more challenging hunt.

Before the Adventure Begins

This adventure begins by introducing your players at the gates of Tirrog’s frozen palace. They will be battling their way through Tirrog’s defenses, seeking to challenge him. Share the below excerpt with your players as they create their characters:
Your journeys have brought you to Maul, a small mountain town renowned for its gladiatorial games held beneath the mountain of Pike Rise.
Word has travelled quickly that Tirrog, a frost giant, has descended from the peaks of Pike Rise with Bymraynyl, a white dragon. They have frozen a nearby lake and constructed an icy palace. Frost is spreading farther from the lake with each passing day and Tirrog’s forces patrol the countryside, pillaging small villages.
For your own various reasons, you have agreed to help end Tirrog’s reign of terror by any means necessary.
As the game master, you should note down the passive perception for each character as this will be referenced in the adventure for ambush encounters.
The encounters provided in this adventure are balanced for four level 8 characters. To adjust for fewer players, consider removing ¼ of the monsters’ health pools for each player less than four. To adjust for more players, consider adding additional Duergar Berserkers or Ice Mephits in each encounter.

Approaching the Palace

When your players are ready to begin their adventure, start by reading the below excerpt to kick things off:
As you approach the lake, a chill unlike any you’ve felt before cuts through your armor. Before you is an unnaturally frozen expanse, its surface a flawless sheet of ice stretching as far as the eye can see. The air is eerily still, and the usual sounds of wildlife are absent, replaced only by the whispers of wind across the frozen wasteland.
In the center of this icy domain stands an imposing ice palace, its glistening walls reflect the pale sunlight from above. Four watchtowers, each 40 feet tall and crafted entirely of ice, stand at the corners of the palace.
The front door of the palace, a massive slab of ice 20 feet wide, looms before you. Its surface is intricately carved with frost patterns, but it is sealed shut, offering no immediate passage into the stronghold. The sense of foreboding is palpable, as if the palace itself is a living entity, waiting to challenge those who dare approach.
[Player A], please describe your character, what they are doing, and where they are on the map. (Ask this of all players before continuing)

Palace Locations

P1. Four Watchtowers

To open the palace's front door, the adventurers must pull four levers located at the tops of the four icy watchtowers. Each tower is guarded by a Duergar Berserker and two Ice Mephits. Engaging one group will alert the other towers.
Ice bridges connect the left and right towers and are considered difficult terrain. The 40-foot towers are nearly impossible to climb without magic or specialized gear. Once all four levers are pulled, the palace door will melt.

P2. Palace Entrance

The palace's interior boasts 30-foot-high ceilings supported by large ice pillars. Braziers of blue flame illuminate four ice sculptures, an icy throne, and the bones of Tirrog's unsuccessful challengers. In the center of the floor is a 20-foot circle of intricate carvings, which opens when two Ice Elementals are defeated.
Two Ice Elementals are hidden within the ice walls, ready to ambush the players once they all enter the palace. Upon defeating them, the circle in the floor melts away, revealing a 100-foot-deep hole with a wooden ladder descending beneath the lake.

P3. Beneath the Lake

The floors in all subsequent rooms are ice and considered difficult terrain. There are four pairs of Ice Cleats in room P4 which can aid with traversing the rooms. Most of the walls are perfectly sculpted ice, 25-feet-high, but some areas have caved in due to lake pressure or creature damage. All doorways are wooden and unlocked unless noted otherwise.
There are no torches in this room and constant howling wind can be heard from room P6.

P4. Ice Bunks

This well-lit room of ice contains four beds and supplies for the Duergar. If the boxes are searched, the players will easily find four pairs of Ice Cleats.
There are 2 Duergar Berserkers in this room and if engaged, they will alert the Duergar in room P5.
A DC 18 investigation check will uncover a +2 Greataxe hidden in an icy cavity underneath one of the beds. There is a small supply room that connects P4 to P5.

P5. Leisure Hall

This room is well-lit and contains tables, mostly empty casks of beer, and a rack of mugs along the wall. There is 1 Duergar Berserker and 1 Duergar Priest in this room. They will alert the Duergar in room P4 if engaged.
One of the casks has 6 servings of Mimic’s Brew left in it.

P6. The Frozen Hall

This area is the coldest room in the Palace and there is a deafening wind constantly blowing. It is well-lit and the entryway to this room is supported by two pillars.
There is a magical ice statue at the end of the hallway that is constantly blowing damaging ice winds. There is a stone on the back of the statue which deactivates it.
The wind blows from the statue and ends just before it reaches the room with the pillars. A creature can be damaged by the wind once per round. If a creature is in the presence of the icy wind, they must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (5d8) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.
The doorways to P10 and P11 are locked with padlocks. They can both be unlocked with a DC 17 Thieves’ Tools check.

P7. Prison Cell

This room contains one locked cell. It takes a Thieves’ Tools check (DC 15) to unlock the cell. There is also a chair made of ice sitting in the corner of this room.
Zathea, a female Duergar Berserker, is locked in the cell and visibly malnourished.
If Zathea is freed from her cell, she will warn the adventurers of the troll ahead, tell them how to deactivate the stone statue, and ask that they consider letting Bymraynyl go

P8. Lumber Storage

This unlit room is where lumber for fires is kept. There are a few axes for cutting wood. Three of the logs in this room are Mimics but will only attack if the players actively search through the logs.

P9. The Crumbling Hall

This illuminated hallway is visibly damaged. A Perception check (DC 15) will notice claw marks as the primary source of damage.
The doorway to P10 is locked with a padlock and can be unlocked with a DC 17 Thieves’ Tools check.

P10. Troll’s Den

This room is not lit, contains the bones of many dead fish, and smells putrid. There is 1 Troll in this room.
A DC 17 Investigation check will find a gemmed golden lure in the carcass of a dead fish worth approximately 50 gold pieces.

P11. Bymraynyl, The White Dragon

This room contains Bymraynyl, a young adult white dragon, who has just freed herself from Tirrog’s chains. She is visibly wounded and only has half of her health.
She will try to reason with the adventurers to let her go but is ready to fight if they will not.
If the players choose to free Bymraynyl, she will excavate a small amount of ice and reveal a +2 Breastplate hidden in the ice, which they are free to take.

P12. Tirrog, The Frost Giant

Tirrog sits patiently in this well-lit icy throne room, waiting for his challengers. Before engaging with the adventurers, he gently pats a large wooden chest next to his throne and says in Giant:
I took all that I could from Pike Rise and it’s all yours should you defeat me. But with your heads, I can return home. Let us see who will be rewarded this day.
The chest contains 15 sapphires worth 25 gold each, 2,000 gold, 2 potions of greater healing, and an Everwarm Blanket.

Random Encounters

Roll 1 4-sided die every hour to determine which monsters return to the palace from their patrol around the lake. All monsters should roam freely as you see fit.

Result	Monsters returning from Patrol
1	3 Duergar Berserkers & 2 Ice Mephits
2	1 Ice Elemental & 4 Ice Mephits
3	1 Troll
4	1 Ice Elemental & 1 Duergar Berserker

Concluding the Adventure
Upon defeating Tirrog, the players will have reached the end of this adventure. If you and your players wish to continue adventuring from this point, this would be an appropriate milestone to increase their character levels to 9.
Thank you for playing through The Frozen Palace of Tirrog. I hope you and your players had a fun time with this adventure!

Magical Items

Everwarm Blanket

Adventuring Gear, very rare
This quilted blanket is surrounded by a comfortably warm aura.
While this blanket is in your inventory, you do not suffer any exhaustion caused by sources of cold.

Ice Cleats

Adventuring Gear, common
These blue metal cleats can be attached to any footwear.
While equipped, ice is not considered difficult terrain when moving across it.

Mimic’s Brew (Brown Ale)

Beer, Uncommon
When you drink this beer, you can change your appearance as though you casted Alter Self for one hour.
An hour after you consume this beer, your tongue hangs from your mouth until you finish a long rest.
The bottom of this potent brown ale is a small layer of slime

Tirrog’s Helmet

Helmet, rare (requires attunement)
You gain a +1 bonus to AC and Constitution saving throws while you where this helmet.
While wearing this helmet, you can gain the “enlarge” effect of the enlarge/reduce spell for 1d4 hours (no concentration required). Once used, this effect cannot be used again until you complete a long rest.

i've had pretty intense fears involving being secretly surveilled, tracked, or followed for as long as i can remember. when i was first driving to school on my own, i used to take long, winding back-routes to avoid places i thought there were cameras, or to stop someone from "following behind me" (see also: going to the same high school), because i was terrified that a few moments of footage of me taking a turn too sharply or not stopping hard enough at an empty intersection would land me in legal trouble. that fear hasn't subsided since, just changed shape and context; cameras at intersections are now plainclothes officers waiting for me to jaywalk while picking up food in the middle of the night, and following cars are people that always walk their dog at the same time that i go to class.
(i understand that makes me sound crazy. maybe i am.)
recently, i took a seasonal job at a local theme park where i'll be partially responsible for guest safety. nothing crazy, i'm not emergency-service or anything like that, but i'll need basic CPR and first-aid training. i was told today, by the person training me, that the company that licenses us will be conducting random, unannounced, undercover "audits" on the workers to ensure guest safety rules are being followed.
that means that, over the course of the next few months, there will be several instances where i'll be being secretly recorded by agents of a mysterious company, with the express purpose of proving that i am doing benign things (like giving ride spiels or checking rider heights) wrong. it's not just lip service, either; the training course we went through had actual, not-staged videos of ride operators at other parks slacking off as taken by those undercover auditors.
how do i deal with this? i absolutely need this job, it's the only work i've been able to find, but i don't know how i'm going to last all summer with the constant paranoia.