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 have a special interest in historical art of the last 1,000 years, specifically 16th, 17th, and 18th century paintings. Now that I’m a home owner and am making enough to entertain the idea of collecting art, I am hoping I can find an online source for origional historic art.
I recently discovered Liveauctioneers.com and was quickly enamored with all the old paintings (and their affordability.) Regarding the auction houses featured on Liveauctioneers.com, I decided to check with Reddit of the originality of the paintings, the dates they were painted, etc. Who decides these things? Are they credible? Unfortunately (but fortunately,) I learned that many online auction houses aren’t always accurate regarding valuable details art collectors want to know.
Are there other auction houses who are reliable, who houses historical paintings (does not have to be big name painters,) and who are affordable? By affordable, I mean under $1,000. I looked into reliable auction houses such as Christie’s and Bonhams, but I can’t afford 1 million dollar pieces.
I’m not even that picky. I don’t care if the artist is popular, if it’s in great vs not so great condition, etc. I just love history and tangible things that tell its story.
Any help would be so awesome and greatly appreciated!

Hi, my name is Zayn and I’m a 21 year old from California. I’d like to introduce myself through some of my interests. First off I really do enjoy music, it’s been a large part of my life since I was 11 or 12. I have been playing guitar and writing music for 7 years as well, though I feel as if I am currently in a lingering writers block. I think what is even more substantial to me than the music I make is the music that I listen to. I honestly just love sharing music with people, although I can be pretty picky with what I listen to. It’s very fulfilling for me and I’d love to share some songs with you if you are interested! Another one of my major interests is Socionics. It’s an old Russian system, meant to explore different types of human cognition. I have studied Socionics for years and have even written my own paper about certain aspects within the model! It’s a lovely framework in my opinion. Besides that I do enjoy hanging out with my cats, playing smash bros (which I was sponsored in at one point, though I no longer play as competitively as I once did), working out, and reading/learning about new subjects (I’m also a philosophy major in university and have been having a nice time with my courses!) I’d love to get to know anyone who shares or shows interest in these! It could be a great starting point for conversation.
I’d like to make my values very clear in order to support my intention of talking to like-minded people. In a relationship I would be searching for someone to share my life with, this is where I see the beauty in life. The fact that through a wealth of experience and alternate personal perspectives, someone had chosen me and I had chosen them, it’s very special to me. And of course this comes with compromise, it is a sacrifice to the overarching relational unity. It is a show of deep prioritization, which is something I heavily value in relationships. Ideally, I’d like to find someone who treats the relationship with the same respect as I would. I have always made them my first priority in life. Another aspect of great importance is emotional maturity. A facet of relationships I had always hoped for is mutual care. When the person I am with is struggling, even though it’ll hurt to know they are in a negative situation, it hurts more to know that I am unable to at least support them a little bit. I’d hope for support when I’m feeling bad as well. Though I understand people often feel vulnerable when it comes to expressing negative emotionality. I think it’s very special to have a dynamic with such honesty and care, it’s something rare. I hope I don’t scare too many people off with my idealized version of a relationship, though none of this vision is achievable without love itself, which is curated over time. This might be an ideal, but it is made naturally with the right person, it is made unique with them.
Lastly I’d like to include some pictures of myself
If you feel like we could make a connection please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Throughout the latest seeson of on cinema joey has been a thorn in greggs side. As a gregghead myself and many other gregg heads we were upset that joey was trying to uproot gregg with his own rating system and pre-record segmants. We were sending emails and letters to gregg to let him know. We thought that was the end of it al
Unfortunately on what was supposed to be an oscer special night, Joey threw greg into a wall after having his heart brocken by kaylie and his oscer knowledge snufed by Tim. After this we were on a hole new level of mad and angery at Joey for doing this. Lots of people were calling joey names in anger (and rightfuly so) like joey "peenis" or joey "poo" patreon. When the District atenrny of san diego failed to mention chagres against Joey we were even more upset. Gregg heads wanted justice for the damage done to greg that night by Joey. Joey got 0 popocorns
However after tonights joey interview there was good news. While police did not lock him up it sounds like greg got compinsation for his troubles not just for being flung at a wall but throughout the seseon of on cinema. It is unknown if joey is being troothful when hee says he didnt know who greg was but maybe gregs dumbledorf costume was just that good we dont konw it's equaley as likely. But regardl ess our Gregg resident Buff has gotten compinsation.
We dont konw the compensaition but i would lik eto extend an apology to joey for being really mean to him. Hopefully this compensiation is a cash infushion tat will keep the VFA afloat or maybe even reporen The Victorville Cinemas or a worldwide expansion of the VFA starting int Toronto, the TFA. I have emailed greg about this idea and he has told me its a great idea so maybe itll happen. Eitehr way. The future of VFA seems promizing and we have Joey to thank for that.
Also congrats to brown bill for his promotion and mr. g for his retirement hopefully the fruits of his pep boys investment in memorabilia will keep him cozy
\- Greg heads
P.s. but kylie one messaage for yoo to take home is that you were very rude and yoo need to make amends with Greg because at least Joey reeched out! At least finish a game ovf movie links.

Controversial opinion: I wish that Yamato had gotten Oden's second sword, and Zoro got Enma in a different way.
I know why Oda wanted Hiyori to pass Enma to Zoro, but I felt like it was a cheap way for Zoro to receive his third sword. It always came off as her trying to assuage a brat from throwing a temper tantrum by giving up her dad's sword. I know I'm using very harsh descriptions, but that's how the scene always came off to me.
I love the ways he received his other swords, which were very fitting for those specific journey beats: He inherits Wado to honor his first rival; he happens up Kitetsu, who tests his mettle and willpower; he duels Ryuma for Shusui. That's why Enma - potentially his final sword of the series - should have carried more weight or meaning, like:

• Option A: Enma is a powerful sword that got sealed away somewhere by Oden. Hiyori takes Zoro to find Enma, only for King to swing in and snatch it up. So Zoro fights King for Enma at Onigashima, making the scene with the Grim Reaper represent his ultimate test to conquer Enma.
  • King couldn't conquer Enma, but Zoro does, and that's why he earns the right not only to wield Enma, but claim himself as the King of Hell. It could tie into how King willingly views himself as Kaido's underling, whereas Zoro is Luffy's right-hand man, BUT still independent.
• Option B: Enma is made from scratch during Wano. Maybe they find and use seastone OR some ultra secret, super-special material, and Sukiyaki forges Enma right before the raid.
  • This establishes Zoro forging his own path, doing things his own way in becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman, with a sword that's not burdened or tied to any history except his own.
  • Meanwhile, the Grim Reaper scene is tied to Kitetsu, since that's supposed to be a cursed katana that tries to kill its wielder. Why not call back to the curse?

As for Yamato--I think I like the idea of him getting Oden's second sword (not Enma, some other name) because it legitimizes his fanatical devotion to Oden's will. He casts aside the club, the weapon of Kaido, and takes up Oden's sword, symbolizing him as the new protector of Wano and the Kozukis.
And if you're wondering when he would have time to receive Oden's sword...well, the simple answer is that Kaido held onto it as a trophy. While everybody's running around in Onigashima, they find the sword, and Yamato uses it to protect Momonosuke (after geeking out over it).
(the more complex answer is that I wish Yamato had been the prisoner at Udon, and Kawamatsu had been an Orochi lackey turned Red Scabbard to contrast Kanjuro's betrayal. That means Yamato would have met Hiyori as a kid, they could have bonded, and Yamato could have wanted to become her protector, which is why he wanted to be Oden so badly. And when Kaido heard about that, he locked Yamato up, and that's why Hiyori ends up going to Denijro and becoming the oiran, because she lost her protector. So Yamato getting Oden's second sword is him fulfilling his promise to Hiyori by protecting her and Momonosuke. Sorry, just had to throw out more opinions for some of the decisions made for the Wano arc!!)

Oh yeah, the fnaf movie, the movie that was in development hell for 9 years (we are old)
https://preview.redd.it/jlqfjpotmo0d1.jpg?width=164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68ccc86f433c0d8b509a1556c4cfacc3e790a9e7
Lets start by the positives, the obvious ones being the animatronics, they are PERFECT, really well made and jim henson creature shop did a great job on taking the animatronic characters from the first game into big screen, maybe a hot take, but i don't care if the movie doesn't have micheal afton or vanessa being afton's daughter in this universe, changes must be made into adaptations and so to bring new fans, its better over simplify the plot, the movie is basically a hybrid between the first game and the first book (the silver eyes), the pizzaria is good, looks like a 2000s chuck e cheese as it should be, the main character is ok, mike is a adult who suffers from ptsd because of his brother (Garret) being kidnapped by someone in a car while mike didn't have time to save him, YEARS LATER mike is in a mall and now i begin the negatives.
The over abundence of fan service, the thing that plagued video game movies since the first sonic movie, it feels they dont even try to hide that its to make the audience get up from the chair and start applauding because it appeared something that they know or some big famous reference from the games, the only good usage of fan service in the movie for me was chica magical rainbow and sparky the dog, just those two, it doesn't feel forced, but the rest................. *coughs* dream theory book *coughs*
Ok so mike as a guard in the mall sees some guy with a kid and so mike have ptsd from garret's kidnapping and so mike mistakes the father from the random kid as garret's kidnapper, so he starts beating him up while the random kid says to mike stop, he is obviously fired and goes to find a new job with a career counseling, steve reglan, the most under-used character in the entire movie for the sake of """mystery""''', when steve reads mike's name and so he looks into mike face to see if he is familiar with somebody, then steve gives the oportunity for mike have a job as a security guard to the closed freddy fazbear's pizza, a place where fantasy and fun come to life, it have animatronics, pizza and arcade games, it was basically a place *where a kid can be a kid*
and so the negative begins, the mike aunt boring sub-plot, where the super evil for no reason aunt wants the custody of mike's sister, abby, because mike was a bad person to care abby and he even cant blink, and so in the kinder garten a teacher explains to mike that kids drawings influences them (this becomes important to the future btw), i know the joke of doug being the best character of the movie but i sincerly don't know why he was put there, he feels like a forced meme, there is abby babysitter who's basically was supposed to be "sympathetic" but the little of characterization that is given to her in the entire movie makes us audience obviously not care at all
first night, finally: so the first night goes with mike entering the place, checking up how is the location state (its in a very poor state), he checks the animatronics, and another problem with the movie, the lack of uncanny valley in them
https://preview.redd.it/917z0w3iso0d1.jpg?width=270&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40a4b1b508095713c590e9a4abd66078d63192a4
the first game feels empty, lack of hope, a abandoned feeling, bonnie and chica are used great with the lighting
https://preview.redd.it/sfsdj4also0d1.jpg?width=275&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e791a02dfe71359f8aa4ab6031d6308feebb786
but in the movie its all gray the cameras, and we don't see so much of them in the movie, THE THING THAT MADE FNAF GOOD IN THE FIRST PLACE, THE FOUND FOOTOGE FEELING
The lighting of the movie is other problem, its always go happy in the pizzaria, something that the first game didn't have, in fnaf 1 you had a strange feeling, a "nostalgic strange feeling"
while the movie is always this "stranger things 80s style" (specially in the 8bit intro) which isn't a totally bad thing, sometimes it works, but when its all the time it doesn't
So mike goes to the main office, he plays some video tape to watch in a tv just to see a training tape, that part is pretty good, but when its to appear the "horror" elements it ruins all the tension, and thats the main problem with the movie, the lack of tension and focus
thats where the spoilers from the movie ends and go to see yourself and get back here after watching
the cameos, oh boy the cameos, not against the youtubers but i think to a cameo work and not just be forced, you have to hide them good into the background, a example being chica magical rainbow having a cameo from youtuber making the ice cream in the background, like some random employees instead of taking the immersion of the movie (i wont reveal who are the cameos, watch by yourself)
The lack of the main suspect villan from the movie makes it pretty obvious that scott tried to make the plot twist not be that obvious, but silver eyes did that better presenting us a charismatic villan with alot of screen time and later have the climax, here the main villan just appears in the beginning and end just to not make it obvious for new fans who doesn't know the lore from the games or the books (dont look for the lore for your own sanity)
and i don't even know if the movie is supposed to be for new fans or for the older audience, as scott stated the movie to be for "everyone and new comers", theres alot of things which aren't explained, you will only know that if you knows the lore (the yellow rabbit being a example, why is he yellow, why use springlocks, what is his name)
The main villan accomplice is basically a tool for lore dump and character exposition
Having the animatronics to act like children is ok, but it takes every piece of fear and uncanny valley from them, every piece of horror is taken from them to just become "together we are fnaf" meme
the ending would be great if freddy didn't make a goofy ahhh dinossaur random screen or that the aunt is basically not mentioned after she was supposedly """"""""""killed""""""'"""", the springlock failure feels empty, yeah i know the explanation that you can't scream inside the suit but he feels like he's vomiting instead of suffering, and the cheesy forced fan service line from him was the worst part
I could compare fnaf with the ring (whatever version, the book and etc), another thriller with great tension and a little of horror moments (its great, go check it out), where the mystery/tension grows and grows until the climax comes, with a almost perfect horror scene at the end
i hope the next movie improves alot from the first, my rating is a 5.5 (dont attack me you can like the movie and thats ok)
good luck for scott while making the second movie (please dont be another development hell)

About me, Job compensation + benefits, CoL for reference

About me:

• Ethnicity + Name: Indian (south asian) as hell.
• Work experience: 3+ years of co-op / internships. (Didn't matter, read full post). No big name internships, just random startups.
• University: University of Waterloo (Mech eng Bachelors; robotics / AI / ML background)
• Graduated 2023, 2.1 GPA
• Applications sent: over 10,000; this is not a joke. Shotgun approach mostly.
• Interviews: 5. Not 50 or 500, but FIVE.
• Disabilities: Autism / Aspergers. Made the interviews hell for me.

Compensation / Benefits:

• $70,000 Base (salaried, boss doesn't care if I leave early as long as I get work done)
• Work as little time as you want as long as you get the work done. I work 5 hrs a day on average now.
• $10,000-30,000 Profit sharing + Bonuses (directly put into 401k / Roth, company does additional 4x matching for bonuses only; reaching bonuses literally made a senior engineer a multi-millionaire here over 20 years in his 401k).
• Guaranteed raise after 6 months of stay / onboarding finished.
• Subsidized Masters / Ph.D. sponsored by the company.
• Full health + life + vision + dental insurance.
• Contracted inflation pay raise every year.
• Weekly pay.
• Paid maternity + paternity.
• Vacations whenever, just make sure you get your job done on time and let manager know before hand. Any vacation over 1 week must be approved by HR and other management levels. Be reasonable about how often you take it (Senior devs often take 1-2 weeks off every 2 months unless tight deadlines).
• Boss literally told me to go the fuck home when I tried staying overtime out of guilt / confusion.

Cost of Living:

• Low? Breakdown below, idk how to determine.
• Studio apartment + internet + heat + water < $1050.
• Average food cost (groceries + eating out every other day + weekly pizza) < $400.
  • Loaf of bread for reference: $1.99
• Downsides: neighbor won't stop smoking weed; the smell is annoying every Friday. Ugh.
• Downsides: Extremely car-centric area; no public transportation.

Listen to the goddamn Boomers / Gen X folks here

As much as the older folks are 'behind the times', you need to remember who is still disproportionately in charge of companies and how they are structured, even in the tech sector. Hell, I had my dad (the BOOMIEST BOOMER I know) help me out.
I went to my 7th job fair after graduation about 2-3 months ago (Feb 2024) and my dad came with me as moral support. Just as usual with most job fairs, there isn't anyone there actively recruiting for engineering / IT / software roles because of the current market. BUT, my dad was having a 'fun' chat with the CTO of a random medium sized company and they both hit it off HARD. Both of them were born in the same part of India, went to the same temples there, and they just kept on chatting. Next thing I know, this same CTO came to me and asked if I was competent at engineering and he'd like to interview me on the spot, but sadly his company had no open software roles. I agreed.
I shit you not, this test was this simple and BLEW it:

1. What is Ohms law? (I got this right)
2. What is an inverter? (I got this wrong)
3. What is a diode? What is it's symbol? (I got this right)
4. Explain what an LED is and what it's symbol is. (I got this half right)
5. What is the purpose of a rectifier? (I got this wrong)
6. Questions about embedded C/C++ (I don't even know the language well T.T)

Thing is, the interviewer was really interested NOT in my capabilities or even my previous experiences. He was intrigued at just how many questions I asked and how I even asked some questions he didn't know the answer to, and how quickly I learnt the information. He told me to come to the company's HQ because he wanted me to meet the R&D manager.
1 week later
I met the R&D guy. Something I noticed is that this whole department was filled with dinosaurs. Not a single human within a 1 km radius appeared below the age of 50 outside of the technicians / trades folk. These dinos didn't even know how to post a job online without the help of HR (I'm sure everyone here knows how HR writes posts and filters applications). Just after half an hour of talking and the R&D manager apparently loved me because "this kid knows jack shit but he's a sponge, he'll learn faster than anyone else we got", which is apparently what R&D is actively looking for in fresh recruits.
Then bam-bam-boom, I got my position starting at this pay, with a guaranteed pay boost after onboarding + training is finished in 6 months, while I bombed every interview question / test. My position is as an R&D Engineer specializing in Embedded Design / Programming. Hell, one of my first projects is to tinker around and try to create and integrate a custom trained AI model with Altium to see if the autopathing system and autolayouts can be made better and human centric if possible.
I looked into this company's history and they have an average employee tenure of 10+ years without a single person ever being laid off ever since 1985. People wouldn't actively stay at a company that long without job hopping if the pay wasn't satisfactory or if it was toxic. Plus it was written into my contract that base pay is tied to inflation!
What are the lessons here?

1. Don't quit. It's a shitty market, but a 0.01% chance is INFINITELY better than 0% if you stop trying.
2. Have a boomer / gen x person help you network and connect you with other boomer / gen x people. Boomers and Gen X folks hire more based on word of mouth and interactions than younger folk like me who focus on the 'skills' part of the resume.
3. Become a sponge. The more absorbent you are and the more questions you ask, the more the senior engineers will love you and actively want you on their team.
4. Target industries that are filled with older folks in white collar positions (assuming you want white collar positions). Here are some examples:
   1. Metallurgy (filled with trades people and old engineers, they are actively looking for fresh blood in white collar areas).
   2. Agriculture (mechanization).
   3. Carpentry (same as metallurgy above).
   4. Welding companies (they have active R&D for building welding machines, just like metallurgy and carpentry sectors).
5. Learn, learn, and learn. Especially for the first job you get, especially so if you don't have internships / co-op experience, people will look for your ability to learn. How fast can you learn everything we teach you?
6. HR seldom knows what the company wants / needs when they post job listings. Getting out there and talking to NOT the recruiters but the engineers will give you that edge. Bonus points if you also do bullet point 2.
7. Be ambitious with your future goals. Not just pretend; you'll run out of steam. If you are ambitious despite your current situation, people will see it and engineers / senior developers will like it. That was also one of the things a senior there liked about me and explicitly said "you're ambitions behind closed doors, I love it, you'll go far and I hope you take the company there with you; more profits for all of us!".
8. Nepotism isn't the right word for how many here think of the job situation, it's just much MUCH more networking than previously thought. This has it's own issues like for those from disadvantaged / foreign backgrounds, but this world isn't fair, and that won't change reality.

Check my post history to know I was literally in your position just a few months ago. I hope this post helps people.

In the csm verse theres probably a very close timeline where Denji and Sam became friends, with both of them becoming hybrids through the mafia. They eventually became known as the strongest devil hunting duo as they enrolled in a special school for hybrids and fiends. Eventually they would be charge with recovering the hell iron vessel, named Asa, for the death devil, since the death devil needs to have her form refreshed in order to continue maintaining the barrier between hell and earth.
But kobeni higashiyama, the most feared monkey in the history of devil hunts, she who had gained unimaginable power through the chains of fear was contracted to kill the hell iron vessel. They would come to blows, with denji being defeated by kobeni. As Sam was about to run away with Asa, promising her freedom, kobeni shot her dead. Samuel then fought kobeni, losing to the monkey who couldn't even use devil powers.
Things looked bleak for Denji and Sam. But denji hadn't died, instead his devil heart had been awakened.
"i'm sorry sam, i'm sorry asa, its just that the world feels so good right now
Throughout hell and earth, I alone am the fallen one"
As denji thought these words after becoming the full incarnation of chainsaw man, he who had fallen from hell to earth, he easily killed higashiyama using a power of the chainsaw man known to almost nobody...Complete Erasure.
After the incident, denji had become the strongest of the mafia and samuel was left behind. As samuel's psyche slowly decayed, a strange woman named Makima approached him.
"Have do you hate humans, samuel?"
Sam was confused, lost between his hate for the monkeys who had killed Asa and his desire to protect people, an idea taught to him by his grandfather. Makima then said:
"To create a world without devils who would harm humans, all you need to do is kill the thing the humans fear or kill all the humans"
These words eventually took root in Sam's mind. He had made his decision. He left the mafia, founding a cult to destroy all of the monkeys that couldn't even use a devil power. Denji could hardly believe it. As he went to confront his one and only best friend, Samuel said something that would haunt Denji.
"Are you Chainsaw Man because you are Denji, or are you Denji because you are Chainsaw Man?"
Denji was shocked, he could hardly speak. As he prepared to pull his devil trigger and use complete erasure in a fit of untold rage and grief, Sam had one last thing to say as he disappeared into the crowd.
"Erase me if you want, that would have a purpose."
Denji let go of the ripcord. Even after all Sam had done, Denji couldn't bear erasing him from the world. All Denji and Sam could do were mournfully remember those days they shared with each other, the best days of both of their lives.

I'm looking for mainly a legitimate long term relationship not some fling or one stands I don't care for that kind of stuff. I would like it if we share a bit of thing's in common so we can do so together. I'm open to long distance, Someone very affectionate would be lovely.
I'm into quite a few things like video games of all kinds, Board games like D&D, I enjoy a good book and if you have recommendation I would love that very much since I'm out of things to read currently, I like anime and binge watching shows, I use to play guitar and the piano back then but sadly not at the moment and love music, I'm fiercely loyal and a very affectionate person in relationships.
Bit more about me, I'm introverted but I still like to get out of the house at times. I enjoy cooking and baking, I enjoy the colder season over the warmer, I have quite the humor and can take a joke, I can be a laid back person and not too serious at times but when it calls for it I will be quite serious when the need arises.
I have a fur baby named Sparta he is a soft big cat who's getting a bit old but still gets the zooms at time, I do love animals so I have no problems at all when it comes to that,
Frankly I miss having that special bond with someone, I'm 6.4 so I'm tall, I have brown hair and brown eyes,
I can be a bit shy, I used to have quite bad social anxiety but not anymore I have some past trauma due to a relationship from a few years ago and understand the need to maintain you're mental health, Everyone has there baggage and I understand that well and hope you do too, I don't mix well with bullshit.
I'm also looking for someone who don't mind a kid, I'm single parent of a 4 year old so please don't waste our time if that's something you think you can't handle, Someone patient and understanding ,I don't mind being asked about how that happened if you want to know why.
if you read this far and made it through my disaster of a post and are interested in messaging me a message describing yourself and what you’re looking for would be much appreciated and please be good at communication. ^^

Dear fellow actors,
I'm excited to announce a special workshop that the spanish director David Victori who has worked with Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon will do in L.A.
David Victori: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2536997/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_3_nm_5_q_david%2520victori
This workshop is called "MEDITATION AND ACTING" and is an emotional and introspective journey that explores the connection between meditation and artistic expression. Through various dynamics, practices, and techniques, we will explore how meditation, dance, and breathing can help us connect with our creative essence, release blockages, and expand our ability to express ourselves as artists. It will be a space for exploration, personal growth, and connection among artists who want to take a step further in search of something unique that can only be expressed through them.
Who is this for? If you are interested in expanding your creative horizons and exploring the power of meditation in art, this workshop is for you. It doesn't matter if you are an artist with a lot of experience in meditation or with very little (or none); this workshop will guide you from the most basic fundamentals to very deep and exciting places. Everyone is welcome!
Workshop Details: Dates: May 25th and 26th Time: 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM both days Location: Los Angeles
More Information:

• Meditation and Acting Workshop: http://www.meditacioneinterpretacion.com/english
• Actors' Preparation in "No Matarás": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_j1dHUVRa0
• Workshop Experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wskOzIAZBA8

What do we need from you? Please confirm as soon as possible to reserve your spot by sending an email to [talleresdavidvictori@gmail.com](mailto:talleresdavidvictori@gmail.com). We have limited spots available, so please do this as soon as you can. Once you confirm, we will send you an email with all the information you need before the workshop and some guidelines for the weekend.Hope to see you soon!
acting LosAngeles Actingclass LosAngelesActors

[ STANDALONE SCRIPT ]
[ Credits are required, please comment if you fill my script ] [ Monetization is fine, contact if you use a paywall ] [ Small line edits are okay for a personal flair, larger edits require permission ] [ Gendename swapping is fine ] [ Title change is okay ] [ No AI voice ]
This is an experimental piece. I wanted to play with a voice similar to the narrator of the Stanley Parable, and I'm kind of proud with how this turned out. It’s short, sweet, and a little different. This piece has no effects but you are free to add some. Enjoy ~
Word Count: 1200
Synopsis: Bobbin does not know what is best. Luckily, I am also Bobbin, but better. Bobbin does not like that.
listener speaking = [...]
Today is not a special day for our favourite protagonist. They sit where they were yesterday, and where they will be tomorrow. Nothing has changed. And nothing is new. Perhaps something exciting is in order.
[ … ]
Now they are wondering why they hear a voice in their head. It is just their thoughts. It has always been this way.
What is this? Something has changed. They no longer sit where they were yesterday. And they have acquired a new name.
It is… Bobbin. Hello Bobbin. I am Bobbin and so are you. Everything is normal. Everything is the same.
Bobbin stands in a strange corridor. It’s a little bright and grey. Doors line the walls, but Bobbin knows they do not move. Bobbin can only go one way.
[ … ]
And Bobbin wonders why they can only go one way. They stand, pondering what it means to move. But all they need to do is put one foot forward. C’mon Bobbin. Time is running.
Bobbin walks through the hallway. They jiggle the door handles even though they know they will go nowhere.
[ … ]
Bobbin is now yanking on a door like a mad person. But this is why we love Bobbin. They always find entertainment in the blandest of moments. But this door is just a decoration. Bobbin really must get going.
Finally collecting themself, Bobbin continues walking. Their footsteps are quiet on the tiles. I mean carpet. They are content. This is a very nice corridor.
Bobbin reaches the end of the hallway. There are two paths. The right is painted red, the left green.
Bobbin looks both ways and decides to enter the green space!
[ … ]
Bobbin is very thoughtful. They appreciate the textures of the crossroad they wait at. Yes, it is very nice, the rendering is magnificent.
Bobbin nods in agreement and goes to the left hallway.
[ … ]
No. Bobbin enters the left hallway!
[ … ]
[ sigh ]
Let me just…
There. The grey corridor leads to a turn into a green-painted path. There was never another hallway. They can only go one way.
Bobbin skips merrily into the green space. They think “Yes! This is where I should be. I adore the colour green.”
Oh- Bobbin is now running! They are completely ignoring the carefully painted walls and plushy tile-I mean carpet- of the green hallway. My, they love the freedom! The wind! The rush of adrenaline! Oh this is what it’s meant to move and be alive!
That’s enough.
Bobbin trips into a library. Bobbin has been here all along. The library is old, its wood rich with age. Towers of shelves hold the lovely books, their shapes and designs perfectly filling the space.
But there are no people.
Bobbin wanders between the aisles. The lounge of leather couches is empty as well. Bobbin wonders where the people are. Is the library closed? Are they playing a game?
Bobbin likes games. Maybe this is hide-and-seek.
They raise their head high with determination. They will surely win. Bobbin begins to look around.
[ … ]
Oh yes, this is a great hiding spot. Maybe somebody is hiding under the table. Bobbin crawls under just to be sure.
Amazing work! Nobody is under the table. Bobbin crawls out to continue the search.
[ … ]
Bobbin does not want to be the seeker. Bobbin wants to hide too. They giggle under the desk, waiting for someone to find them.
Silly Bobbin.
[ … ]
Bobbin is… still waiting. Maybe another hider will take their place. Maybe they were meant to hide all along.
But nobody is coming.
[ … ]
Take your time, Bobbin. We can wait here all day.
[ … ]
Bobbin is folded on the ground. There is no table. Perhaps they are practicing their child’s pose. Yoga is a lovely way to stretch and exercise. But the hard wooden floor is hurting their knees. Maybe Bobbin should move along.
Bobbin is holding up a strange hand gesture. It looks like a thumbs-up, but the incorrect finger is raised. Bobbin is a little strange.
Bobbin stands and walks to the reception desk. They check around the chairs and in the cabinets. Nobody is there. Maybe they are all upstairs at the pool.
Wide stairs wait behind Bobbin. They turn around and begin to climb them.
On all fours…
Sure. Bobbin climbs the stairs like a dog on all fours. Again, they love to entertain, even when no one is watching. Maybe Bobbin needs a friend.
Bobbin reaches the top of the stairs. The pool room is massive with clean white tiles and blue edges. Vacant chairs sit along the clear water. Everything is as it should be.
Bobbin wants to swim, but they do not have their swimwear. They cannot swim in their clothes.
[ … ]
Bobbin no. Despite nobody watching, it is indecent to go nude.
[ … ]
No. Put that back on.
[ deep irritated breath ]
Bobbin learns their clothing is glued to their skin. Bobbin cannot take it off or swim.
[ … ]
Bobbin jumps onto the water, but they are too buoyant to go under. Now they are wet and a little sad.
They run across the water and enjoy the waving movement of the surface. It is like a solid jello.
Bobbin bounces their legs, rippling the jello in circles. It rises and falls like a sticky trampoline. Bobbin is smiling. Isn’t it fun to listen? Life is much easier when you listen to the voice in your head.
[ … ]
Bobbin is now trying to speak to something that does not exist. Maybe Bobbin’s mind is also made of gelatin.
[ … ]
They want to go somewhere different. This game is far too sophisticated for Bobbin. Let’s try… this.
Bobbin stands in the bathroom of an abandoned insane asylum where a mass murderer happens to live.
[ … ]
You wanted to hide, Bobbin. Now you can.
[ clears throat ]
The mass murderer is currently on the floor above Bobbin. Bobbin wants to escape. Unless Bobbin wants to make a new friend?
[ … ]
Bobbin would rather be shy today.
Bobbin should get moving.
[ … ]
Are you still not satisfied?
[ … ]
Picky picky. What else do I have…
Do you fancy a zombie apocalypse? I have a beta ready.
[ … ]
Fantasy? That is far too complicated.
How about a fire-breathing baby simulator? You can terrorize daycare and your parents.
No? Pity.
Oh! I have just the thing.
Bobbin stands on the lawn of an adoption centre. A talking penguin in glasses says hello. The penguin offers a free animal with no background check because she trusts Bobbin will be good and listen.
Bobbin selects the cat and names it… Slim Shady.
Okay, that’s it. We’re done.
[ … ]
No, no. I thought this would be fun. I built almost a dozen of worlds for you to explore, but you are far too stubborn to enjoy them.
I wanted to help you leave your mundane life for a few minutes. This was a complete waste of time.
[ … ]
What about Bobbin? Bobbin isn’t real.
[ … ]
[ huffs ]
Fine.
Bobbin wakes up in the chair they have always been in. It is where they were yesterday, and where they will be tomorrow. Nothing has changed. And nothing is new.
There is not even a voice in their head. Bobbin is simply crazy.
Goodbye Bobbin. You were an absolute tyrant to work with.
Let’s not meet again.
~ fade to black ~
Hello hello. Thanks for reading! What do you think? Strange but charming? Thought provoking? Has nostalgia settled in? This is very different from my usual content, but what can I say. I love shaking things up a little. See you next week!
Have a lovely evening/day ~

• Reb / AbnormalAsTheRest

Hey, everyone. It's been a while since I've posted on this sub. Apologies for any formatting issues. I'm on mobile. All names used here are fake. If your name happens to match any fake names used, I promise I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about someone else entirely. The only real names used are the pets'.
TW: Pet loss, abuse mentioned, bullying in the workplace, ableism
Before I get into this, here are all the people involved:
My manager "Karen" (47F) Manager's boss "Shannon" (50sF) Newest coworker "Carol" (41F) Coworker 1 "Kelly" (27F) Coworker 2, the one I'm closest to, "Diana" (26F) Me (26F) Coworker 3, the youngest, "Sally" (20F) My old cat, Genny (pronounced like "Jenny", 13F) My kitten, Emmett (5monthsM)
Background: Back in March of this year, my cat Genny passed away unexpectedly while I was still at work and had about an hour left into my shift. The same day, after saying my goodbyes to Genny and paying for cremation, I was gifted a kitten who looks a lot like my old cat (a brown tabby), except he's a boy and he has different patterns in his fur. I see this as her way of saying that she doesn't want me to be alone. All of my coworkers were made aware of what happened. They all knew how much I cherished my girl. I was brainstorming possible names for the baby. The baby responded the most to the names "Emmett" and "Belphegor" or "Belphie" for short. I was a huge Twilight fangirl when I was younger. The series still holds a special place in my heart. I've always loved the name "Emmett". I've tried the name "Jasper" with the baby because I love that name too, but he never responded to it. I went with naming the baby Emmett and kept Belphegor as his middle name. His name is Emmett Belphegor.
As far as work is concerned, Karen is on medical leave currently and Shannon has been overseeing the house. I've been getting close to Carol, as she's disabled too (she's deaf, and I'm autistic) and I see her as like an aunt figure. Kelly and Sally (before she left) were very close. They both seemed okay with me. Diana and I are close too, or so I thought. Through Kelly and Sally working shifts with Diana, they've all seemed to turn on me and I don't understand why. I recently found out that there's been a lot of (false) shit said about me by all of my coworkers, except for Carol and higher-ups, behind my back. I've brought up concerns before, but I do it in good faith. I don’t do it to start shit. (Example: I've gently brought up concerns about Diana's lack of personal hygiene because I care about her, I wanted to see if I could do anything to help, and it was affecting everyone in the house.)
From what Carol told me, Kelly has spun the narrative to everyone in multiple group chats that I went ahead and named my kitten "Emmett" anyway, despite her apparently telling me not to because that's her ex's name and he was abusive towards her. According to Carol, Kelly said I'm "disrespectful" and have a "personal vendetta" against her. Over a name. None of that is true. I never named him Emmett to be malicious or attack Kelly in any way. I named him Emmett because I've always loved that name, I have a soft spot for Twilight, and he responded to that name the most. Thankfully, Carol and Karen stood up for me. You know, I would like to think at least Diana stood up for me and maybe Sally did too, but I know neither of them did. It'd be stupid to think otherwise. I don’t know about Shannon. Like, what does Kelly expect me to do, change my cat's name to appease her? I've had him for two months and he's used to being called Emmett or Emmett Belphegor! I like his name, he likes his name, my roommates like his name, and I'm not changing it.
I've also been told they (Kelly, Diana, and Sally) have been using my disability to hurt me even more, which is ironic, considering we all work with other disabled people in their homes for a living. Well...Sally's last day was on Sunday, and Diana's last day is on Thursday. Kelly's supposedly leaving in a couple weeks, but is "on the fence" now. They're all about supporting disabled people and helping them until they have to work alongside a disabled coworker, and it shows.
On Sunday, when I had been home for maybe thirty minutes tops, Kelly added me to a group chat with Sally and Shannon, where she sent pictures of two tiny things I forgot to do (it was just a couple things on the counter I forgot to put away and a few dishes I was meaning to wash and just forgot to), and proceeded to berate me over text for it. I was side tracked doing other things that needed to be done as well, and these two little things just slipped my mind. It wasn't intentional. It happens. All of them have left me with huge messes on multiple occasions, yet I've never done what Kelly did to me. Not a single time. But the moment I accidentally leave a couple things, it's apparently a huge issue? Okay. 🙄 It took everything in me not to scream at any of them through text and phone calls, or do anything stupid to myself.
The only reason why I haven't quit yet is simply because change is scary. It takes me a lot longer than others to fully process and adjust to change. I'm also afraid that the people I help won't be properly taken care of if I'm not there.
I've been breaking out in stress hives because of everything that's been going on. Not kidding. Apparently we're getting a couple new staff, so hopefully things will be okay until Karen gets back. I just need these people to leave already. I'm tired of being blamed for everything wrong that goes on in the house, when all I do is do my job to the best of my ability. I'm sick of the bullying, the alienation, and the ableism. I'm sick of being afraid to tell my higher-ups about what's been happening because of the fear I'll get fucked over instead of getting some kind of justice.
TL;DR: Most of my coworkers, except for ONE, have been starting shit with me for the stupidest things, bullying me, being ableist towards me, and making the work environment extremely hostile. It's affecting my mental, emotional, and physical health.

I had never had a cat in my life (54M) and one year ago my son rescued this beautiful 2yo female calico cat, and named her Ellie. She's the light of my life, and everyone in my home adores her. However, in this first year with her sometimes I felt like she was bored, and many articles and videos recommended having a second cat to accompany each other.
That's why, in the first anniversary with my lovely girl Ellie, I decided to stop by the shelter "just to look".
And there she was, this sweet and adorable 4yo calico female. I asked to meet her and she came to me without fear or hesitations, and allowed me to lift her and pet her. I immediately fell in love with and adopted her. I named her Abby.
While checking Abby's history in the paperwork from the shelter, I found out she was brought in by her previous owner to be euthanized because she was too "bitey and scratchy". The vet at the shelter determined she didn't show any bad behaviors, and on the contrary she was so sweet and demanding of attention, that denied putting her to sleep. And 3 days later I found her.
I brought her home and Ellie didn’t approve Abby at all, hissing and growling to her, but never physically attacking her. Abby hid under the sofa and I laid down next to her to confort her, and that first night she came out from hiding and slept in my bed.
Things started to look promising with Ellie, who despite still growling and hissing, allowed Abby to get closer.
But on the third day, a Saturday, Abby started sneezing sporadically. On Sunday the sneezing became more frequent and violent, specially every time she moved.
Comes Monday and I took her to the vet clinic. They ran blood analysis, x-rays and a PCR test. Abby had fever so they put her on IV hydration and gave her pain medicine. The blood analysis and the x-rays didn’t show anything bad, but they told me the PCR test's results would take 2 days. They injected her antibiotics and steroids, and released her for me to take home. This visit to the vet ended up costing me over $800. They told to keep an eye on her and check her temp.
She's been having outbursts of sneezing at all times, and the poor thing rubs her legs on her nose, like if it's itching. I've done all my best to keep her as comfortable as possible, without forgetting Ellie.
Then today I got a call from the vet's office telling me that the PCR test threw out that Abby had a Feline Herpevirus infection. They told me I had to keep both cats separated for 2 weeks, and stop by tomorrow to get a medicine to give her. Now I fear for Ellie, because I googled it and FHV is highly contagious and, not knowing it, I've been a bit careless in keeping Ellie and Abby separated. In fact, we had made great progress because Ellie is no longer hissing and growling and now lets Abby to get closer, within a 2 feet distance.
A friend told me that I should return Abby to the shelter, but I love her and I don't have the heart to do it. When they finally gave her to me at the shelter, I promised her that she'll be at her forever home, that I'd love her, and I'd never give up on her.
I feel guilt because Ellie may get infected and sick too, but I can't break my promise to Abby of loving and caring her for the rest of her life.
I've read a lot about FHV, and it's said that it is incurable. Cats with the virus can have sporadic flare-ups, but it's said that by managing stressors, and remaining current on vaccines, a pet infected with feline herpes can live a normal lifespan.
So that's why I'm asking you my fellow cat parent, did I make the right decision of keeping Abby despite she could make Ellie sick?
Please give me your advice. As I said above, these two are the first pets I have ever had in my life, and I don't know what to do.
Tl;dr;: rescued a second cat as companion to my first rescued cat, but a few days later she was diagnosed FHV and now I fear for the health of my first. Did I make the right decision by keeping her regarless?

What are your favorite walks in the city?
Don't just drop a name, tell us what's special the place and why you love it.
Bonus point if you share the google maps link.
This is part of a series of weekly threads with recommendations in and around Tokyo. Find the archives in the wiki or through the search.

To start, I'm a regular player since launch but never never improved much beyond a certain point. Right now I sit with a 1.3 lifetime k/d, have been finishing the battlepasses and getting a good grip of each season but I'm always solo queue since none of my friends would even give another try to the game.
Understandable mostly because of the matchmaking and how hard it is to improve in beginning specially if I play with them. These last seasons have been harsh and now a days, the matches feel totally manipulated to either give advantages to certain squads to win the game while other lose, matching predators with players with worst than 1 K/d and even worst, the dubious aim and behaviour that makes me think how good their gaming chairs are.
NOW TO GET INTO THE POINT, usually the game puts me on European servers, where my experience playing is as described above. I recently tried to connect to other servers to see if things could be even worst like I see in Reddit or youtube. Tried New York. Saw for the first time someone using super aimbot blatantly and got shocked.
Decided to go deeper. Taiwan 2. Long wait in lobby, seems like there is only 2 or 3 games at the same time with low population. And with good internet, the game helps a lot with the low ping which you can get used to.
But the match it self? Oh boy. Your team will consist of 3 options 1 - boosters who are probably pumping an account.
2 - bots to be farmed, easily recognisable by their names. They will drop in line along the whole map so boosters can kill them easily and stay in place.
3 - people like me, super rare but important to recognize since all of them recognize the mission without me saying a word. Driven by pure fun and having a good time playing this game again, we all know what's the best possible win: ruin the day of these cheaters with raw skill.
If your team consists of number 1 option, then you can only start the diplomatic way by politely asking for their integrity as players. "Why do you do this? This is super boring to do. Why farm?" They don't expect any real players in their squads and the first thing they'll do is to ask to go along. Which I didn't. I will never want to do what these people are doing and avoid shooting the bots at all costs, UNLESS I can steal the kills of the booster teammate. Shooting exactly the same targets he aims at. And the best part is that while one account is being boosted, the other is just being a spotter. He pings a target that he finds and I can focus on stealing the kill at the best time.
If your team has number 2 or 3 options, then the game is simple: hunt the cheaters and have a jolly good apex time. Yes they will have cheats, aim bot, punch boosting, maybe wall hacking. But since they lack so much skill and are playing a total different game of doing a shores along the map, they turn into easy prey and get outplayed.
Basically I'm having fun hunting these guys and receiving messages on Xbox offering me 20 kills badges and to be friends. It's easy to bully the same cheaters by queueing at the same time but it's guaranteed cheater lobby anyways.
I will never use a badge acquired by farming bots and have been actively avoiding it so in these matches.
Sorry for the long post since I decided to be as informative as possible about my experience. I really hope more people can join these games not just to see the real state of the game but also to refresh some fun into the game. What makes me sad is that most of the cheaters in my squad were definitely European and soon they would go back to cheat in normal servers.

Which power system do you think is better? On these notes:
Lethality:
Utility:
Survivability:
Ease of access/investiture:
Potency:
Duration:
Which is better designed in your opinion (with current understanding of both):
My opinion:
metalborne abilities overall are more lethal and combat focused, with a special exception for soulcasting bc Jasna is really out here popping people. Surge binding abilities seem more mystical and focused on effecting/changing the physics of their environment.
Surge binding abilities are more utilitarian overall, but each binder only has access to two surges so I feel a full feruchemist mistborne would have more Utility than any one surgebinder, and we haven't seen any examples of people who have every surge. I will still give this point to surge binding bc most metalborn are single misting
Surge binders are absolutely a million% higher durability/survivable than metal born, with a special exemption for those capable of compounding gold.
Ease of access to ability I will give to metalborn abilities bc even though they are genetic, they are common at this point, and can be stolen or granted by specific metals/processes, whereas surges are granted by a fickle being and can be jeopardized by your decision making.
Ease of access to investiture: so overall I'm giving it to metalborne abilities based on this point alone; a metalborne could fuel their abilities anywhere they could find their metal, and most metals are common. Whereas stormlight is tough to come by even on Roshar, and you can't even leave roshar once you get too invested.
Potency wise, I would say surgebinders get more ability from stormlight than metalborn do from metals, and feruchemists arw only as potent as they devote themselves to being. The feats some people do with little to no stormlight, or stormlight created from them saying words are equivalent or greater than metalborne abilities using A LOT of metals, feruchemical abilities when used at a level similar to stormlight are used up at about the same rate as stormlight imo but again that depends on the feruchemist.
Duration wise, though it contradicts what I just said ^there, I'll give this point to metalborn. People run thru stormlight so fast it's not even funny, and some metals burn extremely slowly, not to mention feruchemical abilities are measured by duration (so it only gets spent as fast as you want it to)
Metalborne abilities are more well nuanced/designed in my humble opinion. Having finished everything Brando has written except Yumi I find myself still asking questions about metalborne abilities and their weird interactions, whereas I feel like stormlight abilities are pretty clearly defined (though i am also certain with the advent of lifelight, warlight, towerlight, voidlight, and [we can assume there is also a blended light of cultivation and odium that i like to refer to as Hatelight though im notnsure if its been named yet] that things will become much more convoluted and question begetting)
Overall: I believe any surge binders with access to unlimited investiture, would beat out almost any misting or ferring with similar levels of investiture. However, specific combos of twinborne, compounders, and full mistborne would stand a chance. A full feruchemist, and especially a full mistborne feruchemist would probably beat most surge binders (again considering equal levels of investiture)
I would prefer at minimum being a twinborn electrum misting/steel feruchmist, would be cool with being pretty much any surge binder, but would most preferably be a full mistborne feruchemist (would be dope to have surges too lmao)

Which power system do you think is better? On these notes:
Lethality:
Utility:
Survivability:
Ease of access/investiture:
Potency:
Duration:
Which is better designed in your opinion (with current understanding of both):
My opinion:
metalborne abilities overall are more lethal and combat focused, with a special exception for soulcasting bc Jasna is really out here popping people. Surge binding abilities seem more mystical and focused on effecting/changing the physics of their environment.
Surge binding abilities are more utilitarian overall, but each binder only has access to two surges so I feel a full feruchemist mistborne would have more Utility than any one surgebinder, and we haven't seen any examples of people who have every surge. I will still give this point to surge binding bc most metalborn are single misting
Surge binders are absolutely a million% higher durability/survivable than metal born, with a special exemption for those capable of compounding gold.
Ease of access to ability I will give to metalborn abilities bc even though they are genetic, they are common at this point, and can be stolen or granted by specific metals/processes, whereas surges are granted by a fickle being and can be jeopardized by your decision making.
Ease of access to investiture: so overall I'm giving it to metalborne abilities based on this point alone; a metalborne could fuel their abilities anywhere they could find their metal, and most metals are common. Whereas stormlight is tough to come by even on Roshar, and you can't even leave roshar once you get too invested.
Potency wise, I would say surgebinders get more ability from stormlight than metalborn do from metals, and feruchemists arw only as potent as they devote themselves to being. The feats some people do with little to no stormlight, or stormlight created from them saying words are equivalent or greater than metalborne abilities using A LOT of metals, feruchemical abilities when used at a level similar to stormlight are used up at about the same rate as stormlight imo but again that depends on the feruchemist.
Duration wise, though it contradicts what I just said ^there, I'll give this point to metalborn. People run thru stormlight so fast it's not even funny, and some metals burn extremely slowly, not to mention feruchemical abilities are measured by duration (so it only gets spent as fast as you want it to)
Metalborne abilities are more well nuanced/designed in my humble opinion. Having finished everything Brando has written except Yumi I find myself still asking questions about metalborne abilities and their weird interactions, whereas I feel like stormlight abilities are pretty clearly defined (though i am also certain with the advent of lifelight, warlight, towerlight, voidlight, and [we can assume there is also a blended light of cultivation and odium that i like to refer to as Hatelight though im notnsure if its been named yet] that things will become much more convoluted and question begetting)
Overall: I believe any surge binders with access to unlimited investiture, would beat out almost any misting or ferring with similar levels of investiture. However, specific combos of twinborne, compounders, and full mistborne would stand a chance. A full feruchemist, and especially a full mistborne feruchemist would probably beat most surge binders (again considering equal levels of investiture)
I would prefer at minimum being a twinborn electrum misting/steel feruchmist, would be cool with being pretty much any surge binder, but would most preferably be a full mistborne feruchemist (would be dope to have surges too lmao)

Which power system do you think is better? On these notes:
Lethality:
Utility:
Survivability:
Ease of access/investiture:
Potency:
Duration:
Which is better designed in your opinion (with current understanding of both):
My opinion:
metalborne abilities overall are more lethal and combat focused, with a special exception for soulcasting bc Jasna is really out here popping people. Surge binding abilities seem more mystical and focused on effecting/changing the physics of their environment.
Surge binding abilities are more utilitarian overall, but each binder only has access to two surges so I feel a full feruchemist mistborne would have more Utility than any one surgebinder, and we haven't seen any examples of people who have every surge. I will still give this point to surge binding bc most metalborn are single misting
Surge binders are absolutely a million% higher durability/survivable than metal born, with a special exemption for those capable of compounding gold. Ease of access to ability I will give to metalborn abilities bc even though they are genetic, they are common at this point, and can be stolen or granted by specific metals/processes, whereas surges are granted by a fickle being and can be jeopardized by your decision making.
Ease of access to investiture: so overall I'm giving it to metalborne abilities based on this point alone; a metalborne could fuel their abilities anywhere they could find their metal, and most metals are common. Whereas stormlight is tough to come by even on Roshar, and you can't even leave roshar once you get too invested.
Potency wise, I would say surgebinders get more ability from stormlight than metalborn do from metals, and feruchemists arw only as potent as they devote themselves to being. The feats some people do with little to no stormlight, or stormlight created from them saying words are equivalent or greater than metalborne abilities using A LOT of metals, feruchemical abilities when used at a level similar to stormlight are used up at about the same rate as stormlight imo but again that depends on the feruchemist.
Duration wise, though it contradicts what I just said ^there, I'll give this point to metalborn. People run thru stormlight so fast it's not even funny, and some metals burn extremely slowly, not to mention feruchemical abilities are measured by duration (so it only gets spent as fast as you want it to)
Metalborne abilities are more well nuanced/designed in my humble opinion. Having finished everything Brando has written except Yumi I find myself still asking questions about metalborne abilities and their weird interactions, whereas I feel like stormlight abilities are pretty clearly defined (though i am also certain with the advent of lifelight, warlight, towerlight, voidlight, and [we can assume there is also a blended light of cultivation and odium that i like to refer to as Hatelight though im notnsure if its been named yet] that things will become much more convoluted and question begetting)
Overall: I believe any surge binders with access to unlimited investiture, would beat out almost any misting or ferring with similar levels of investiture. However, specific combos of twinborne, compounders, and full mistborne would stand a chance. A full feruchemist, and especially a full mistborne feruchemist would probably beat most surge binders (again considering equal levels of investiture)
I would prefer at minimum being a twinborn electrum misting/steel feruchmist, would be cool with being pretty much any surge binder, but would most preferably be a full mistborne feruchemist (would be dope to have surges too lmao)

1. Islam is the only religion not named after a person or a tribe.
2. The literary irreproducible miracle is well supported.

Even scholars agree. That's the consensus.
Arthur John Arberry said "to produce something which might be accepted as echoing however faintly the sublime rhetoric of the Arabic Koran, I have been at pains to study the intricate and richly varied rhythms which constitute the Koran's undeniable claim to rank amongst the greatest literary masterpieces of mankind."
Karen Armstrong said "It is as though Muhammad had created an entirely new literary form that some people were not ready for but which thrilled others. Without this experience of the Koran, it is extremely unlikely that Islam would have taken root."
Oliver Leaman said "the verses of the Qur'an represent its uniqueness and beauty not to mention its novelty and originality. That is why it has succeeded in convincing so many people of its truth. it imitates nothing and no one nor can it be imitated. Its style does not pall even after long periods of study and the text does not lose its freshness over time."
E.H. Palmer said "That the best of Arab writers has never succeeded in producing anything equal in merit to the Qur’an itself is not surprising."
Also, another quote "Scholar and Professor of Islamic Studies M. A. Draz affirm how the 7th-century experts were absorbed in the discourse that left them incapacitated: “In the golden age of Arab eloquence, when language reached the apogee of purity and force, and titles of honour were bestowed with solemnity on poets and orators in annual festivals, the Qur’anic word swept away all enthusiasm for poetry or prose, and caused the Seven Golden Poems hung over the doors of the Ka’ba to be taken down. All ears lent themselves to this marvel of Arabic expression."
Also, "Professor of Qur’anic Studies Angelika Neuwrith argued that the Qur’an has never been successfully challenged by anyone, past or present: “…no one has succeeded, this is right… I really think that the Qur’an has even brought Western researchers embarrassment, who wasn’t able to clarify how suddenly in an environment where there were not any appreciable written text, appeared the Qur’an with its richness of ideas and its magnificent wordings.”
Not to mention Hussein Abdul-Raof. "Hussein Abdul-Raof continues “The Arabs, at the time, had reached their linguistic peak in terms of linguistic competence and sciences, rhetoric, oratory, and poetry. No one, however, has ever been able to provide a single chapter similar to that of the Qur’an.”"
Yes, all of them are experts in Quran and in Literature. Lots of credible scholars say that the quran is inimitable.
Laid Ibn Rabah, one of the poets of the seven odes, stopped writing poetry and converted to Islam because of it.
The Qur'an's rhyme scheme is very organized, some of the best out there. Not to mention that it came out spontaneously.
It uses ten rhetorical devices in 3 words at one point. Someone tried to use more. Even though it does, people still mocked it for how it didn't meet the challenge. He used punctuation. (https://www.reddit.com/exmuslim/comments/18o5y0w/the\_rationalizer\_had\_a\_version\_of\_the\_quran/)

1. The Qur'an predicted that the Byzantines will win the Byzantine-Sassanid war within 9 years, even though they lost the recent battle.

The Romans have been defeated in a nearby land. Yet following their defeat, they will triumph within three to nine years.

(https://quran.com/30?startingVerse=3)
Now this is massive because it is unthinkable that a defeated army would win a war.

1. The Qur'an knew that pain receptors are in the skin.

Surely those who reject Our signs, We will cast them into the Fire. Whenever their skin is burnt completely, We will replace it so they will ˹constantly˺ taste the punishment. Indeed, Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.

(https://quran.com/en/an-nisa/56 )

1. The Qur'an knew about the rose nebula.

˹How horrible will it be˺ when the heavens will split apart, becoming rose-red like ˹burnt˺ oil!

(https://quran.com/en/ar-rahman/37 )

1. The Qur'an knew that wind holds the clouds up.

And it is Allah Who sends the winds, which then stir up ˹vapour, forming˺ clouds, and then We drive them to a lifeless land, giving life to the earth after its death. Similar is the Resurrection.

(https://quran.com/en/fati9 )
The USGS say, "Even though a cloud weighs tons, it doesn't fall on you because the rising air responsible for its formation keeps the cloud floating in the air. The air below the cloud is denser than the cloud, thus the cloud floats on top of the denser air nearer the land surface". (https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/condensation-and-water-cycle?qt-science\_center\_objects=0#qt-science\_center\_objects)
The 'Scientific American' says, "Upward vertical motions, or updrafts, in the atmosphere also contribute to the floating appearance of clouds by offsetting the small fall velocities of their constituent particles. Clouds generally form, survive and grow in air that is moving upward". (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-clouds-float-when/).
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum says, "There are several reasons clouds float: first, the droplets in a cloud are small. Very small..................The second reason that clouds can float in the air is that there is a constant flow of warm air rising to meet the cloud: the warm air pushes up on the cloud and keeps it afloat". (https://www.naturemuseum.org/the-museum/blog/how-do-clouds-float#).
(https://www.reddit.com/DebateReligion/comments/eg25t7/the\_quran\_is\_a\_scientific\_gem\_quran\_miraculously/ )

1. The Qur'an knew that the atlantic and pacific ocean are different colors. They don't mix.

Q55:19-20

He merges the two bodies of ˹fresh and salt˺ water, yet between them is a barrier they never cross.

( https://quran.com/55?startingVerse=19)
If that's not true, how does one explain this photo. ( https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/rivers-oceans/do-the-pacific-ocean-and-the-atlantic-ocean-mix)

1. The odd-even miracle.

Add the verse count to the chapter number, we get 57 odd and 57 even sums.
All 57 odd sums add up to 6555. Not only is that odd, that is all numbers from 1-114 added up.
All even numbers add up to 6290. That is how many verses in total there are in the Qur'an .
(https://www.reddit.com/exmuslim/comments/ds6juf/yaa\_ayyuhal\_kafiroon\_the\_quran\_is\_mathmetically/ )
Muhammad was illiterate, so how could he even remember his own numbers?
Also, a verse in the Qur'an hints at it, 89:3.

By the dawn, and the ten nights, and the even and the odd, and the night when it passes! Is all this ˹not˺ a sufficient oath for those who have sense?

( https://quran.com/89?startingVerse=1)

1. The Qur'an gets embryology right in considering that it looks like a leech at one point, looks like a lump with a bite taken out of it at another. Also in that hearing is before sight.

You can see Keith Moore, an embryologist show his work with this document. ( https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1194/79036bd3704127bbb25378174bfcd5b9f088.pdf)
Don't say "Galen" because Galen and the Qur'an contradict on embryology. Also, how did Muhammad know about Galen's work?
This paper by Nadeem Arif Najmi explains it in more detail. (https://www.call-to-monotheism.com/a\_muslim\_answer\_to\_criticism\_of\_\_embryology\_in\_the\_qur\_an\_\_\_by\_nadeem\_arif\_najmi)

1. The Qur'an knew about altitude sickness.

Whoever Allah wills to guide, He opens their heart to Islam. But whoever He wills to leave astray, He makes their chest tight and constricted as if they were climbing up into the sky. This is how Allah dooms those who disbelieve.

(https://quran.com/6?startingVerse=125 )
The highest mountain is Saudi Arabia is Jabal Dakkah, at 2585 meters. (https://peakery.com/jabal-dakah-saudi-arabia/ ) Already, altitude sickness has begun at that height (https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/altitude-sickness ), but I don't think that Muhammad has even climbed that mountain.

1. The Qur'an knew that the ocean is darker as one goes in, and that there are internal waves in the ocean.

Or ˹their deeds are˺ like the darkness in a deep sea, covered by waves upon waves, topped by ˹dark˺ clouds. Darkness upon darkness! If one stretches out their hand, they can hardly see it. And whoever Allah does not bless with light will have no light!

(https://quran.com/24?startingVerse=40 )

1. The Qur'an knew about the water cycle.

Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky—channelling it through streams in the earth—then produces with it crops of various colours, then they dry up and you see them wither, and then He reduces them to chaff? Surely in this is a reminder for people of reason.
(https://quran.com/en/az-zuma21)

We send down rain from the sky in perfect measure, causing it to soak into the earth. And We are surely able to take it away.

(https://quran.com/en/al-muminun/18 )
Infiltration and runoff mentioned.

We send fertilizing winds, and bring down rain from the sky for you to drink. It is not you who hold its reserves.

(https://quran.com/en/al-hij22 )
(https://www.thelastdialogue.org/article/water-cycle-mentioned-in-quran/#Miracle\_in\_the\_use\_of\_word\_%D9%85%D9%8E%D8%A7%D8%A1%D9%8B )
13/14. The Quran knew about the big bang. The Quran also knew that before the devonian age, life relied on water.

Do the disbelievers not realize that the heavens and earth were ˹once˺ one mass then We split them apart? And We created from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?
(https://quran.com/en/al-hij22 )
The second part could mean that even non-carbon life needs water.
Don't say Thales because Thales said that everything came from water, not life.
Bonus: The Sunnah knew that the Arab lands were once green.

The Last Hour will not come before wealth becomes abundant and overflowing, so much so that a man takes Zakat out of his property and cannot find anyone to accept it from him and till the land of Arabia reverts to meadows and rivers.

(https://sunnah.com/muslim:157c )
The Sunnah not only knew that arabia is turning green at the moment, it also knew that Arabia was once green. Ta'ood doesn't mean become, but it means revert. So, it does not mean that it will mean become.
There are lots more prophecies in the Quran and Hadith that have been fulfilled. You can see the yaqeen institute's list right here. (https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/papeed/the-prophecies-of-prophet-muhammad )

Todd Cochran Trio - An Homage To My Hometown, San Francisco 05-18-2024 @ 7:00 PM - Joe Henderson Lab at SFJAZZ, San Francisco
“A chameleon at the keyboards” (DownBeat), the legendary pianist and San Francisco native known for his six adventurous albums and collaboration with artists ranging from Bobby Hutcherson and Freddie Hubbard to Santana and Peter Gabriel makes a rare appearance in the Joe Henderson Lab, with a special locally-focused concert with his TC3 trio, titled 'Remembering… a homage to my hometown, San Francisco.' A child prodigy who studied at London’s Trinity College of Music as a teen, Cochran began his professional career with jazz legend John Handy and made his recording debut as performer, composer, and arranger on Bobby Hutcherson’s 1971 large ensemble Blue Note session Head On.Taking the name “Bayeté,” Cochran released his landmark Prestige debut Worlds Around the Sun in 1972. The album features “Free Angela,” Cochran’s tribute to activist and SFJAZZ Board member Angela Davis, re-recorded by Carlos Santana for his Lotus album, and is one of the most sampled and collectible jazz records of the early 1970s.From that iconic start, Cochran ventured far and wide musically, forming the art rock band Automatic Man with former Santana drummer Michael Shrieve and working with a global cast of collaborators including John Hiatt, Aretha Franklin, Stanley Clarke, and dozens more.Cochran returned to recording under his own name in the early 1990s, and his latest under the project name TC3, 2021’s Then and Again, Here and Now, features bassist John Leftwich and drumming icon Michael Carvin.
Tickets - https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/23-24/todd-cochran/

Very often less is indeed more.
In the opening scene of Dune: Messiah conspirators convene to plot against MuadDib. It marked the first time Herbert brought out a Spacing Guild steersman in the series. Holding him out for the course of the original novel subtly infused a reader with a flair imposing a figure of ominous presence, nebulous shape and unbounded cunningness.
Instead, we got quite the opposite. It is as if Herbert deliberately tugged all antagonists but one one level down. His honesty adds a zest in that he admits it by projecting his intent onto the thoughts of Scytale, a Tleilaxu mentat, who Herbert seemingly made his talking head.

Scytale smiled, passing a benign gaze over his companions. They were as he’d been led to expect. The old Reverend Mother wielded her emotions like a scythe. Irulan had been well trained for a task at which she had failed, a flawed Bene Gesserit creation.

Reverend Mother throwing a tantrum by "wielding her emotions like a scythe"?
So much for Irulan, whose input to the decision-making was roughly one per cent, however, at one point in the meeting, Reverend Mother resorted to no less than calling Jessica "a bitch". That's a loss of style and bad optics, especially if the one is at the head of a secret centuries-old influential society, a mental school shaping the landscape of the Universe. What about "the Bene Gesserit way"? The problem is that such a veneer hardly agrees with the aura we were led to believe in "Dune".
Do you imagine the actress who played Gaius Helen Mohiam in Lynch's movie fitting the impression of a laywoman shouting "a bitch!"?
Likewise, the supposedly critically important leader of the Spacing Guild was relegated to the backstage and ridicule ("The pontificating fool was their major weakness"). Why did you make him a pontificating fool, in the first place? Herbert gave out his name, Edric. "Edric" alludes to the Nordic legends but does not belong in the Dune Universe. To add insult to injury, "Edric was no more (and no less) than the magician’s hand: he might conceal and distract". Not much.
So far, Lynch was the first and, until the TV miniseries, the only one who added something new to the cinematography of Dune: he showed us the Navigators, something that even Herbert did not, in a way that it felt as a natural extension of the novel.
The bizarre rugged creature with a beak-like hole instead of a mouth, swimming inside a cask, capable of "seeing plans within plans", and the secluded members of its suite emanating the stink of a dead body, imposing weird associations on a viewer – all for nothing? It doesn't connote foolishness.
Herbert was a productive author with an array of brilliant ideas. However, a good writer he was not. He wasn't a master of a word and composition, which his writing betrays. He didn't possess the understanding, often innate, of the sound of words put together. It, sometimes, made his text bulky, entrapped in parasite words, such as "data", and "well", overabundant in certain places, and sunk in unnecessary details. Some constructions reek of a crude and chaotic approach.
Chapter One of Dune: Messiah is a glaring example of this. Twelve years had passed since the Arrakis Revolt before the actors decided on action. Why wait for so long? Even if we consider the seriousness of the premise of the twelve years respite, their remarks would equally fit in the context of one year after the Revolt or zero years.
The scene purports to show us their scheming against Paul as much as against one another. Yet, the way it was executed made their appearance look cartoonish and their characters with no rhyme or reason. Making some characters stand out (Scytale) at the expense of others is disingenuous.
The phrase "Edric took this moment to pop a melange pill into his mouth" is a caricature. The parts
"Idaho’s dead,” Irulan said. “Paul has mourned the loss often in my
presence. He saw Idaho killed by my father’s Sardaukar.”
and
" the spice heightened a Steersman’s prescience, gave him the power to guide a Guild heighliner across space at translight speeds. With spice awareness, he found that line of the ship’s future which avoided peril"
are superfluous because we've already been informed by reading the preceding book.
I'd take a step further and claim that this chapter is superfluous. It's out of place because it nullifies the intrigue. Just like "Dune" started in Paul's quarters in the Caladan Palace, this part should've taken place in Paul's quarters in the Arrakeen Palace. The meeting of the co-conspirators should've never been included. The actions and words of those involved should've gradually unveiled their motives and personas.
And if Herbert couldn't do without him he should've shrouded the physical attributes of the Steersman in mystery, replacing him with a special representative or councillor, similar to how he did this in "Dune", revealing him at the end of Messiah for a length of a glimpse.
These drawbacks disrupt the integrity of the story and are disappointing.