Mystery case files return to revenhurst

I had an abusive therapist in 2021 whom I recently, and so kindly, made a review page for on RateMDs (Canada); turns out a lot of people feel the exact same way about her, and one person claimed they are reporting her to the ethics board due to her verbal attacks.
My next therapist in 2022 was abusive, even worst than the last. It was so bad I ended up reporting to the ethics board, and the therapist is now doing coaching for the time being. If I had recorded the sessions it would have been game over for that therapist. It killed me for a long time that I didn't record the sessions.
I later sought out a new therapist; my friend warned me that the one I chose had "crazy eyes" and it was red flags all over (based on their PP profile). I should have listened.
This new therapist, Alex, almost killed me, again. He was awful. The second I walked in the room, I warily mentioned my past experience with the abusive therapist. In response, Alex started accusing me of having "destructive" behaviours - despite that I didn't tell him anything about my behaviours yet. I hadn't told him anything at all, just that I was anxious due to a past experience. I think he has issues with younger women.
I saw Alex from August 2023 - April 2024. In this time, he became delusional from his own assumptions, confronted me constantly for things he pulled out of thin air (he would twist anything I said and then confront me for some alleged bad behaviour or cognitive distortion), and was entirely unwilling to try a different approach despite my (at first) gentle attempts to communicate that his approach wasn't working and was making me very unwell. I can gladly provide examples but it'd end up being a long ass post if I do that, so bear with me. He couldn't handle me even trying to talk about my past therapy abuse, because it was assumed to be my fault. Any dissent was "resistance" or rigidity. He refused to do trauma work despite that being the foundational problem. He refused to let me "free associate" (psychodynamic therapy) because he was convinced it would cause me some wild regression (as if his current approach wasn't fucking me up.
There was nothing for me to work with in the therapy. It wasn't grounded in reality; it was just all about how awful I am, yet not even in a way that was tangible - he could never explain himself. I was already hanging on a thread from my past abusive therapists, and I pretty quickly developed a substance use disorder (prescription) to try to cope. Began to vape nicotine constantly to try to stabilize myself. I began to isolate myself. By December 2023 I stopped going out at all - again. You know, almost died from the therapist in 2022, my life was almost ruined, and couldn't go out at all, and there I was basically back in the same place.
I never missed a single session. I even opted to increase to twice a week session in an attempt to resolve whatever was going amiss. I continuously tried to establish a working relationship with him. My self-confidence and sense of reality and self were devastated.
Anyway, March 2024 comes around and it comes out Alex diagnosed me with BPD and that was why he was been so confrontational (and delusional). Now, I'm pretty darn sure I have either schizotypal or a psychotic disorder. I was under the impression he was treating me for this, as he himself said he dx'd me with schizotypal. But I was also very confused because being confrontational with the kinds of populations I fit into is exactly not what you're supposed to do and has been proven to fuck them up. It's one of the reasons I stayed so long; I just dissociated into oblivion. Not to mention the CPTSD.
I end up sending Alex an email detailing my experiences, which was hard to do. He never asked me about my experiences before (it was all about his assumptions of me), and I thought I needed to try to put an end to this, to again try to establish a working relationship.
The next session, Alex immediately begins to apologize, tells me how he misdiagnosed me, that he's been treating me for a Cluster B disorder when he should have been treating me for a Cluster A, that the "treatment" not working wasn't my fault. He also was convinced that this is what went wrong in my past therapies; that they misdiagnosed me with BPD when the issue was schizotypal, and that it just so happens that applying the confrontational treatment for BPD to schizotypal can basically end the schizotype. (TBH he was way too generous to these past therapists; all him saying that proved to me was that he never believed me in the first place.) He told me he "failed me" and that I "humbled him." He was almost crying he seemed so sorry.
I was already looking for a new therapist, but I was grateful that at least it seemed like things were set straight with Alex. I mean, I now had a substance use disorder and all the more therapy trauma, but I'm pretty happy with little. It was mutually agreed upon that the termination was due to the ways in which the misdiagnosis made the treatment inhospitable for me. It was ended amicably but I noticed he began to act weird around me, very distant, etc. I didn't think much of it, figured maybe he was more emotionally involved when he thought I had BPD for whatever reason.
Found a new therapist at the beginning of April - a formally trained, international psychoanalyst who lives in Prague out of all things (was getting desperate) - and things are going well, finally. No therapy abuse; no issues that even closely resemble the issues I've had with the abusive therapists, etc. Things are finally "easy" with a therapist; the sailing is as smooth as it can be.
Well, two days ago I contacted Alex as I wanted to go to a boutique treatment centre for my prescription substance use issue and they were requesting recent past therapist notes. I thought what a better option than to have Alex send his notes with an explanation that he misdiagnosed me, that he thinks I have been misdiagnosed continuously in past therapies and that's why I've been "treatment resistant," and so on and so forth. Also, given that I developed the issue because of the stress from Alex, this way my story would be corroborated.
Alex was adamant sending his notes was a bad idea, and that the ethics board actually recommends that psychologists write summary letters of the treatment instead. I thought that was nice that Alex was looking out for me. I explained to Alex what I'm looking for in the letter (with the central focus being on the misdiagnosis issue), and that my main goal is to help prove my eligibility for the program (they only take "highly motivated" clients; it's more relaxed in terms of restrictions and what not). I agreed to pay Alex around $400 for his time. I really thought Alex and I were making further amends and that it was so nice he could have my back on this.
Alex gets back to me with the worst letter imaginable. All about how the treatment failed because of ME, how we never made any progress because of ME, that the "lack of consensus on treatment goals and methods" was a massive barrier, and that this all happened despite that the frequency was increased to twice a week (which he failed to mentioned only occurred because I requested it, in an effort to save the therapy!). He made no mention of the fact that I never missed a single therapy session or any fact that would make me sound good, not to mention that he didn't even so much as touch on the fact that the therapy failed because of HIS misdiagnosis. He made it sound like the termination occurred because of how treatment resistant I was.
He also downplayed my trauma (I asked him to speak out this in the letter), saying only how I have a family history of "neglect" and being "scapegoated." My mother would scream at me, like to the point her lungs were going to burst, as a small child until I blacked out, this continued up until I was kicked out at 18, and I have serious CPTSD. I was even diagnosed with PTSD at one point. Like? Alex is supposed to be a specialist in trauma.
So I read the letter and was confused. Got back to him assuring that I'd still pay him, but suggested maybe he remove some parts of it if he can't revise them. Told him I disagree with the reasons for termination and why the treatment didn't work out, and reminded him of the fact he misdiagnosed me. I was honestly very confused and thought maybe he forgot. Told him it's probably not helpful to minimize my trauma.
Cue a minute after I send that email, and it suddenly dawns on me. The pathetic excuse of a therapist never recorded his fuck up in my clinical file. He obviously maintained his delusional narrative within his notes, presumably to cover his ass in case I reported him or sued him for malpractice (unlikely anyway), given his misshapen and misapplied "treatment" caused me a ton of harm due to his incompetence.
I was seeing red and sent him another email informing him that I actually recorded our final session, given what happened with my previous therapist (and Alex knew about my regret of not recording those sessions, and I'd often leave my phone out during our sessions). It's one-party consent in Canada, and Alex at the very beginning told me he was fine if I recorded the sessions anyway. So yeah, I emailed Alex whilst appalled telling him all about how I recorded him stating he misdiagnosed me, was treating me for the wrong disorder, that therapy not working wasn't my fault, and so on.
Told him he can either write me a letter based on facts - facts I can corroborate given my session recordings - or I'm not paying him for shit. Told him to not even bother replying if he isn't willing to write me a letter grounded in reality. Shockingly, he never got back to me.
And now he'll never know if I was bluffing and he gets to spend the next few months in terror that I'm going to use session recordings to report him for knowingly putting false information in clinical documentation.
What the hell. He could have at least TRIED to make me sound decent in the letter given that he knew what he was saying was bullshit. I guess dissonance is a real bitch. I also don't for a second buy that if I had BPD, his shit-tier "treatment" would have magically worked. It was gaslighting and abusive. You can't just make horrible assumptions about people or create a false reality, shove that in the person's face, then gaslight them all the more when the person is fucking confused and, eventually, distraught.
What a gaslighting loser. I should legitimately report him. Leaving him a bad review as we speak.

The Last of Us Part III:
Title: The Last of Us Part III: Echoes of Hope
Prologue: The game opens with a flashback of Ellie and Joel at the farm, showing moments of peace and happiness before the events of Part II. This sets the tone of Ellie's ongoing struggle with her memories and the loss of Joel.
Act 1: Ellie: Ellie, now in her mid-20s, lives alone on the outskirts of Jackson. She's haunted by nightmares of Joel and her actions from Part II. Despite her attempts to find peace, she feels isolated and restless. Ellie receives a message from a surviving Firefly faction claiming they have a lead on a potential cure for the Cordyceps infection. Torn between her desire for a peaceful life and her lingering guilt over Joel's death, she decides to follow the lead, hoping to fulfill Joel's dying wish and find redemption.
Dina and JJ: Dina has moved on and settled in Jackson with their son, JJ. Dina is raising JJ in a safe, supportive community, but her relationship with Ellie remains strained. Ellie occasionally visits, trying to stay connected, but her internal conflict keeps her distant. Dina loves Ellie but is also protective of JJ, unsure if Ellie can be a stable presence in their lives.
Tommy: Tommy, who survived the events of Part II but with severe injuries, lives in Jackson. He is partially blind and has a limp, making him less active in the community's defense. Despite his physical limitations, he remains a source of wisdom and guidance for Jackson's residents. He has made peace with Ellie, although he still struggles with his own feelings of vengeance and loss.
Abby and Lev: Abby and Lev reach the remnants of the Firefly faction on Catalina Island. They are welcomed cautiously but eventually earn the group's trust. Abby, seeking redemption and a sense of purpose, becomes an active member of the Fireflies. Lev, now a skilled and determined young fighter, views Abby as a mentor and sister figure. They are tasked with scouting new locations for potential safe havens and gathering supplies.
Act 2: Ellie’s Journey: Ellie travels to a decaying, overgrown city in search of the Fireflies, encountering new factions and hostile environments. Along the way, she meets a young girl named Ava, who reminds her of her younger self. Ava is immune to the infection and is being hunted by a ruthless group called The Righteous, who believe she is a divine sign of humanity's salvation.
Abby and Lev’s Mission: Abby and Lev, on a mission for the Fireflies, discover evidence of The Righteous, a cult-like group with a violent ideology. Realizing the threat they pose, Abby and Lev decide to warn the Fireflies and gather allies.
Flashbacks with Joel: Throughout the game, Ellie experiences flashbacks of her time with Joel, revealing more about their bond and the impact he had on her. These flashbacks also show Joel's softer side, his guilt over lying to Ellie about the Fireflies, and his desire to protect her at all costs.
Act 3: The Righteous’ Attack: As Ellie and Ava reach the Firefly base, The Righteous launch an attack. Abby and Lev arrive just in time to assist in the defense. The combined forces of Ellie, Abby, Lev, and the Fireflies manage to hold off the attackers. During the battle, Ellie and Abby fight side by side, overcoming their past animosity for a common cause.
The Procedure: Dr. Lydia Reed, a former colleague of Marlene, leads the Fireflies in developing a new, experimental procedure using Ava’s immunity. Despite the risks, Ellie decides to stay and ensure Ava's safety. The procedure is a success, but the outcome remains uncertain, leaving hope for a potential cure.
Reconciliation and New Beginnings: After the battle, Ellie and Abby have a moment of reconciliation. They acknowledge the pain and loss they have caused each other but also recognize their shared goal of creating a better future. Ellie decides to return to Jackson to recuperate and reconnect with Dina and JJ, leaving Ava in the care of the Fireflies.
Epilogue: In the post-credits scene, Ava, now older and more experienced, leads a new group of Fireflies on a mission to distribute the cure. Abby and Lev are shown helping to establish a new Firefly base. Ellie stands on a hill overlooking Jackson, contemplating her journey and the sacrifices made. She reunites with Dina and JJ, hinting at the possibility of a new beginning and the faintest echo of hope for humanity.
This plot ties up loose ends from Parts I and II while introducing new characters and challenges for Ellie, providing a sense of closure and hope for the future.

Ran out of power and TNAS would no longer boot. I ran into this issue before where the system ran out of space, but back then I managed to regain access and delete some files. This time around, it won't boot. No GUI and SSH would just time out.
Ping returns unreachable or request timed out.
The culprit here is the BTRFS backup. It tries to consume more space than it should, to the point of preventing the system from booting up.
Is there any other way to get in, or am I screwed and need to reformat?

This is how my url looks like - /mock-exam/result/[mockId]/[questionId] This URL is to show the details of a particular question.
I am using server components and using fetch with cache:"forced-cache" option. I also have a navigation grid to access different questions directly.
The problem I am facing is like if I am on question 1 and goes to question 2 and then go back to q1 then it takes a bit to load. But sometimes it loads immediately. Sometimes the skeleton of the loading.tsx file is shown and sometimes it isn't ? I am confused if it is being cached or not.
I had to switch to client component and use React query to have a seamless navigation experience. Can someone tell me what did I do wrong ?

interface MockQuestionReviewPageProps { params: { mockId: string questionId: string } } export default async function MockQuestionReviewPage({ params, }: MockQuestionReviewPageProps) { const session = (await getServerSession(authOptions)) as Session const { mockId, questionId } = params // Fetching the details of this question const { data, status } = await getMockQuestionAnswer({ mockId, questionId, token: session.user.access_token, }) // Fetching the all questions of this mock test const { data: mockTestResult } = await getMockTestResult({ mockId, token: session.user.access_token, }) const calendar = mockTestResult.sections.find( (item) => item.type === "questions_overview_card" ) as QuestionCalendarSection // list of all questions const questions = calendar.data.values const currentQuestionIndex = questions.findIndex( (item) => item.question_id === questionId ) if (status !== 200) { redirect(`/mock-exam/result/${mockId}`) } return ( 
 {.... jsx} 
 ) } 

string encode(vector strs) { // ... your code return encoded_string; } 

vector decode(string s) { //... your code return strs; }. The encoded string is then sent over the network and is decoded back to the original list of strings. 

string encode(vector strs) { // ... your code return encoded_string; } 

Input: dummy_input = ["Hello","World"] Output: ["Hello","World"] Explanation: Machine 1: Codec encoder = new Codec(); String msg = encoder.encode(strs); Machine 1 ---msg- Machine 2 Machine 2: Codec decoder = new Codec(); String[] strs = decoder.decode(msg); 

var encode = function(strs) { // return strs.join("π") }; var decode = function(s) { return s.split("π")}; } 

/** * Encodes a list of strings to a single string. * * @param {string[]} strs * @return {string} */ var encode = function(strs) { let st = "" for (const str of strs) { st += `${str.length}#${str}` } return st; // return strs.join("π") }; /** * Decodes a single string to a list of strings. * * @param {string} s * @return {string[]} */ var decode = function(s) { // return s.split("π") let st = []; let i = 0; while(i For Rust:
 By following "#" it did not worked on all the case sometime so I used a liitle bit different variable but overall approach is the same.
 
struct Codec { } /** * `&self` means the method takes an immutable reference. * If you need a mutable reference, change it to `&mut self` instead. */ impl Codec { fn new() -> Self { Codec {} } fn encode(&self, strs: Vec) -> String { let mut encoded = String::new(); for s in strs { encoded.push_str(&format!("{}:{};", s.len(), s)); } encoded } fn decode(&self, s: String) -> Vec { // vec![String::from("value")] let mut i=0; let mut res: Vec = vec![]; while i< s.len() { if let Some(colon_pos) = s[i..].find(":") { let len:usize = s[i..i+colon_pos].parse().unwrap(); let start = i+colon_pos+1; let end=start + len; res.push(s[start..end].to_string()); i = end + 1; } } return res; } } /** * Your Codec object will be instantiated and called as such: * let obj = Codec::new(); * let s: String = obj.encode(strs); * let ans: VecVec = obj.decode(s); */ 
 

I wrote a post a month or so ago, about someone taking a currently selling book on Amazon, putting it up for audition. Short recap:
Mystery, VH1, The Pickup Artist, has a few books out. I saw this one on ACX, and jumped to audition. After I got the gig, I realized I wasn't dealing with Mystery, but someone claiming the book was in the public domain.
It took several emails to ACX to get the book cancelled. In the middle I contacted Mystery directly. We passed emails back and forth. I sent him my audition. He liked it, and contracted me to do the book.
We exchanged final files and payment last week, and it's selling off the shelf already.

Disclaimer: I do not speak Korean. This is purely translated by machine with a lot of cleanup afterward. With that in mind, I am open to criticism to improve these translations. Enjoy!
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Chapter 427
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On a December night, as winter's chill deepened, an unexpected snowstorm swept through the streets.
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The snow fell thick and fast, confounding those who had expected clear skies based on the latest weather forecasts. Confusion reigned among pedestrians hurrying home, and even the meteorological agency was caught off guard.
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"What’s going on? Where did this come from?"
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"We’re analyzing it now. There shouldn’t be an issue like this."
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"With snow as thick as hail pouring down, how can you say there shouldn’t be an issue? Stop the nonsense and bring the data. You must have real-time observations!"
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"I’m looking into it right now... Oh, it seems there's been a surge in mana in the Sichuan region of China causing these abnormal conditions. The expected snowfall is no joke."
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"Sichuan? Damn it. Is that bastard Arch Lich now controlling the weather too?"
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Ever since the Great Cataclysm, the agency's forecasts had become near prophetic, enhanced by the integration of magical insights.
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However, this unexpected storm suggested something far more sinister.
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Within an hour, after frantic recalibrations and re-observations, a national heavy snow warning was declared. The agency predicted a historic blizzard, the likes of which hadn't been seen in decades.
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But as people stopped to take shelter, their attention was captured by an announcement on the large public screens across the city centers.
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- On this day, I am thrilled to bring you this news.
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The screen showed an elderly Asian man.
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Sitting behind him were leaders from countries that are members of the UN Security Council, and the President of the People's Republic of China, with reddened eyes and a shaky voice, parted his lips towards the numerous microphones.
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- The Arch Lich has been extinguished. We ... have won.
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Victory.
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That one word was enough. For 34 days, an unprecedented monster wave had continued.
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The news that the great war, which had troubled the world beyond Sichuan Province, had finally ended left people gaping, and soon after, they let out a massive cheer.
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"Wowwwww!"
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"Wait! Hold on. I didn’t catch that. What did you just say?"
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"It's over!"
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"What?"
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"Look at the subtitles!"
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"The extinction of the Arch Lich... oh, it's true! Wowwww! I thought I was going to be fucking drafted!"
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The joyous uproar drowned out the subsequent thirty-minute address by President Shao Yang and further explanations from the UN spokesperson.
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With the Arch Lich's fall, his undead legions crumbled, extinguishing the looming threat and ushering in the long-awaited peace.
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"Mom, it's me. Uh, did you see the news? No? Watch it now. Yeah, yeah!"
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"That's it. Mr. Kim, let's go for a third round!"
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"A third round? There's a server update tomorrow. Manager Noh is going to freak out."
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"Manager Noh is also coming. He's bringing the corporate card."
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"Ugh, I really don't want to see that guy's face. Alright, let's go."
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"Reporting. Yes, Commander. This is Lieutenant Lee Jun-Beom. I would like to extend my leave for just one more day... No, I apologize."
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Despite some initial reservations, the jubilant energy in the streets proved infectious. People who had cautiously stayed indoors, fearing another calamity akin to the Great Cataclysm, now flooded out to join the revelry.
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Pubs filled to the brim with celebrants, and the cheers continued unabated even as the night turned into the early hours of the morning.
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The next day, and for several days thereafter, the atmosphere remained electric.
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The monumental victory announcement had the world buzzing with excitement, like a cauldron set ablaze on an open flame.
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Each day brought a flood of new articles in countless languages, discussing the events more than even the unusual weather patterns that had seen snow cover Korea for three consecutive days.
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And there was one name that appeared in every single one of those articles.
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[The New York Times, 'A Momentous Victory Introduces a New Hero to the World'] [Note: USA]
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[The Times, 'Eastern Promise: A New Hero Rises, With Connections to Prince Felix?'] [Note: UK]
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[The Asahi Shimbun, 'Jin Tae-Kyung: Asia's Beacon of Hope, But Japan's Elite Hunters Could Surpass Him!'] [Note: Japan]
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[People's Daily, 'A Young Korean Hero's Bravery Celebrated Amidst National Tragedy, Death of Wu Hei-Xing'] [Note: China]
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[China Youth Newsletter, 'Jin Tae-Kyung, A Descendant of the Ming Dynasty General Chen Lin - Soon to Be a Chinese Citizen?']
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[Korea Goryeo Daily, 'Uncertainty Shadows Ares Guild as Vice Guild Leader Lee Jeong-Ryong Goes Missing']
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[DAS Patch Korea Official, 'We've been investigating Jin Tae-Kyung for months but couldn't find out anything. His relationships with women were surprisingly clean.' When asked by a reporter whether his past relationships had all ended amicably, he replied "No, that's not it. I've been single since birth."]
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​
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For the various media outlets, the existence of Jin Tae-Kyung was nothing short of a Christmas present.
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All spotlights were focused on him, and stories about him flowed endlessly.
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The material was inexhaustible. Not to mention the so-called 'Winter War,' this recent monster wave, his past actions, and even minor personal details became fodder for the news.
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Typically, such sensationalist articles would have been scorned and cursed at, but now they captured interest.
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Such was the global attention drawn to this new hero who had led this great victory.
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But not all of that attention was positive.
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From the tight internal security, little bits of leaked information had begun to raise doubts.
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[Revealed: What Lies Hidden Behind the War's Great Victory? Growing Suspicions Cast Shadow on Jin Tae-Kyung]
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[Mystery Deepens: Tragic Deaths of S-rank Hunters Lee Jeong-Ryong and Wu Hei-Xing Raise Questions as New Hero Emerges]
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[Top Military Officials Question Battle's Intensity: Lack of Injuries on Jin Tae-Kyung Sparks Potion Use Probe; Clarity Expected Upon His Awakening]
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Though these conspiracy theories were few and often dismissed, they managed to sow seeds of doubt among some, igniting fervent online debates.
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The controversial articles were swiftly overwhelmed by waves of criticism and reports, but the questions they raised lingered in the public consciousness.
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Now, all eyes were on Jin Tae-Kyung, waiting for him to step forward and address the swirling rumors.
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When would he appear?
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* * *
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Beep. Beep.
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The room, reserved for a select few, was filled with the mechanical hum of the latest medical devices.
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Concerned faces looked down at Jin Tae-Kyung, who lay unconscious, an oxygen mask covering his face.
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「How is Mr. Jin's condition?」
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Choi Min-Woo responded to President Shao Yang's question.
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「It's always the same. Everything seems perfectly normal, yet strangely, he can't regain consciousness.」
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「Did both of them say the same thing?」
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「Yes. They can't determine the cause.」
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「Hmm. If that's the case, it must be certain... But why can't he regain consciousness?」
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President Shao Yang sighed.
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The two experts he referred to were leaders in their fields.
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One was a civilian doctor revered as a modern Hua Tuo, and the other was a world-renowned healer. [Note: Hua Tuo was a famous ancient Chinese physician. He is reportedly the first person in China to use anasthesia during surgery.]
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If both specialists they had brought in to treat Jin Tae-Kyung had said so, it must be true.
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「I heard his family has come.」
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「Our Peace Guild is taking good care of them. Fortunately, they are getting some rest at the moment.」
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「That’s good to hear. Might I be able to see them, even for a moment?」
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「Hmm... I will ask, but the family's wishes are most important...」
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「I understand. Who wouldn't feel the same, seeing their blood relative unable to wake up? I’d be grateful if you'd think of it as nothing more than an old man's foolish worry.」
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「Not at all, Mr. President. We appreciate you thinking so.」
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「Appreciate it? No need for such words. If it weren't for Mr. Jin, a much greater disaster would have occurred. Though I am an old man and may not have much time left, I will take this gratitude to my grave.」
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President Shao's words were sincere.
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Four days had passed since then, and a global team of experts investigating the Arch Lich's last stronghold uncovered traces of a Gate.
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The remnants of its immense magical power indicated a potential catastrophe.
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「If Mr. Jin hadn't stopped the Arch Lich that day, not only our country but all of Asia, perhaps even the entire world, might have become a battlefield.」
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「It's a very real possibility.」
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Although the statement was slightly exaggerated, it held substantial truth.
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Choi Min-Woo therefore acknowledged it with a nod.
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He saw no reason to shy away from the praise or to downplay the deep gratitude expressed by a leader of over a billion people.
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Indeed, gratitude, once extended, often yields rich dividends.
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「By the way, Mr. President, recently there have been some unfavorable rumors circulating about Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung... Are you aware of them?」
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「Are these internal issues, or external?」
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「They are internal. It would be more accurate to say they involve the upper echelons of the Communist Party, or rather, the Princelings.」
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President Shao Yang nodded knowingly.
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「I am well aware of those matters.」
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The matter concerned the death of Wu Hei-Xing.
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The investigation had uncovered his severely damaged body, fueling conspiracy theories both domestically and internationally.
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「There are those who suspect Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung. They point to a slight argument he had with Wu Hei-Xing at their first meeting and the fact that there were no significant injuries on Mr. Jin when he was first found.」
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There were two main theories circulating among these rumors.
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The first suggested that Jin Tae-Kyung, harboring resentment towards Wu Hei-Xing, had orchestrated his death and attributed it to the Arch Lich.
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The second theory proposed that Jin Tae-Kyung used Wu Hei-Xing as a scapegoat, potentially alongside Lee Jeong-Ryong, who is missing or presumed dead, to eliminate the Arch Lich.
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President Shao Yang, well aware of these narratives, had already formed his own judgement.
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With a stern voice, he assured Choi Min-Woo.
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「These are nothing but groundless slanders and conspiracy theories.」
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「Thank you for your trust, but...」
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It was a good response, but it was not enough.
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Choi Min-Woo hesitated, then added thoughtfully.
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「It seems the leader of the Princelings has a different view from yours, Mr. President.」
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Within China, these theories, seen by many as national disgraces, resonated with a father mourning his son.
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Wu Hei-Xing's father, the head of the Princelings and a figure wielding immense power within the Communist Party, was propelling these rumors forward.
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He didn't stop at just speculation; he had initiated an independent probe to investigate further.
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「If Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung regains consciousness, the truth will come to light. But for such high-ranking politicians to lead the spread of these absurd conspiracy theories...」
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As Choi Min-Woo's words tapered off, President Shao Yang's lips curled into a subtle smile.
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'No hesitation, I see.'
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Despite the young man's impressive feats, his circumstances differed markedly from those of President Shao Yang.
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Yet, here he was, confidently voicing his views, adeptly balancing his tone and stance.
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'Was that story true?'
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Recalling some personal details about Choi Min-Woo, President Shao Yang tapped the armrest of his chair thoughtfully.
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「Alright. It seems my explanation was insufficient, so I'll say it again.」
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「I'm listening.」
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「My comrades and I already know everything about it and have made all the necessary preparations.」
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「All the necessary preparations...?」
​
「He will be put on trial before he appeals for his son's death.」
​
The Arch Lich's fall wasn't the only outcome of this conflict.
​
Widespread corruption and fraud have come to light, necessitating the dismantling of the Princelings.
​
Choi Min-Woo's expression softened into a calm smile.
​
「Is that answer sufficient?」
​
「It is enough.」
​
That concluded their discussion for the day.
​
After a few more exchanges, President Shao Yang exited the room, leaving Choi Min-Woo alone. He murmured to himself thoughtfully.
​
"So, it is done."
​
Suddenly, someone's eyes snapped open.
​
"Ah, fuck. I thought I was going to die from frustration."
​
Previous Table of Contents

Was looking at an educational video and saw this polyfill request to create a method that allows a promise to retry a max N number of times. And if it fails, maybe throw an error.
I think this can be achieved using a for loop with async await inside, but most implementations I saw include promise.then chains and recursion. Any edge case I would miss if i simply do this:
const promiseWithAutoRetry = async (operation, maxCount) => {
let response = null;
for(let i = 0 ; i < maxCount;i++){
try{
const fetchResponse = await operation();
console.log({fetchResponse});
if(fetchResponse){
response = fetchResponse;
}
}
catch(e){
//empty block
}
if(response){
break;
}
}
if(!response) {
throw Error("all tries failed");
}
return response;
};
let count = 0;
const promiseGenerator = () => {
return new Promise((resolve,reject) => {
setTimeout(() => {
count++;
console.log({count});
if(count === 5){
console.log("resolve");
resolve("done");
}
else{
reject("notDone");
}
},2000);
});
}
(async () => {
const val = await promiseWithAutoRetry(promiseGenerator,3);
console.log({val});
})();
console.log("yolo2");
Codepen Link
Thanks in advance.

Disclaimer: I do not speak Korean. This is purely translated by machine with a lot of cleanup afterward. With that in mind, I am open to criticism to improve these translations. Enjoy!
​
Chapter 426
​
Whoosh!
​
The instant he confronted the colossal Fire Dragon emerging from the spearhead, the Arch Lich had a stark realization.
​
'It's too late.'
​
The attack was inescapable.
​
His unspoken spell and the nearly completed magic dissipated among the abrupt inferno that enveloped him.
​
Radiating the Fire of Calamity, the Fire Dragon opened its gaping maw towards the paralyzed Arch Lich, who had become numb to even pain.
​
Boom!
​
A draconian roar accompanied by billowing blue flames engulfed everything. The air warped, and the searing heat vaporized all in its path.
​
The Arch Lich felt his magical barriers and shields dissolving, reviving sensations he thought he had long forgotten.
​
'It's hot.'
​
Roar!
​
The blue Fire of Calamity dominated his vision. The Fire Dragon, unrelenting, swept over him and continued its relentless flight.
​
Its target was the enormous black Gate at the heart of the devastated city.
​
Wait, it was hurtling towards the Gate.
​
'No!'
​
In a surge of panic, the Arch Lich's red eyes widened, and he extended his hand futilely as the Fire Dragon consumed the Gate, nearly equal in size.
​
At that moment, when the flames met the extraordinary magical power fueled by the life force of countless humans, a blinding explosion erupted.
​
Boom!
​
A pillar of light visible from vast distances ascended.
​
Darkness clashed with blue flames, merging rapidly. The stripped skyscrapers that had barely held against the onslaught now crumbled, unleashing a ring of tempestuous winds.
​
Gurgurrrrrugug.
​
An unspeakable roar and tremor shook the earth.
​
The ash-gray sky cracked open, and the dense fog smothering the city dispersed like a dispelled illusion.
​
Then, as if it were all a fleeting dream, a tranquil silence descended.
​
'Ah.'
​
With a vacant stare, the Arch Lich surveyed the landscape.
​
The scene was ostensibly unchanged, yet he knew — everything, including himself, had irreversibly transformed. It had all crumbled, like a sandcastle at high tide.
​
Slowly, the Arch Lich turned his gaze. The trembling red glow fell upon a figure, imposing as a steel tower.
​
- I should have killed you.
​
A declaration that pierced the stillness.
​
Pale as death, Jin Tae-Kyung spoke. Despite appearing on the brink of collapse from the physical toll and mental strain of endless battles, his voice retained its unwavering force.
​
"I know. Why didn't you kill me quickly?"
​
The Arch Lich's lips sealed shut. The missed chance to end Jin Tae-Kyung's life was his error.
​
A lapse in vigilance had undone everything.
​
'My King, please forgive this disloyal servant.'
​
The Arch Lich sought forgiveness from his King, wherever he might be.
​
Had he not hesitated, had he slain Jin Tae-Kyung before the human's monstrous ally was reborn and drove that cursed sword into his chest... all would have unfolded as ordained.
​
He would have endured, finalized the Gate, and unleashed legions of monsters to devastate humanity and ignite their cities.
​
All while anticipating the return of the formidable King.
​
Yet, his flawless scheme had crumbled spectacularly.
​
All due to one man — Jin Tae-Kyung.
​
The crimson in the Arch Lich's eyes ignited with dwindling power.
​
He silently vowed vengeance, and his oath of retribution echoed towards Jin Tae-Kyung.
​
- Remember me. One day, I will trample your souls with my bare feet.
​
Jin Tae-Kyung spat out a glob of phlegm.
​
"The one that's about to die always spouts bullshit. How about you try calling Asmodeus a bastard instead? If you do, I may consider ending this quickly."
​
The Skeleton King hesitated before speaking.
​
- Asmodeus, you bastard...
​
"Not you."
​
- Ah, I know. I just wanted to try it once. But it feels wrong to say such disrespectful words.
​
"Why? You're a king now, too."
​
- Yes, that's right.
​
By the River of Death, he swore to tear those two apart.
​
The Arch Lich extended both hands towards Jin Tae-Kyung and the Skeleton King.
​
His skeletal fingers tightened as if to obliterate them from a distance, yet nothing ensued.
​
Instead, a stray wind caressed his entire form.
​
Swoosh.
​
It was disintegration. Beginning with the Arch Lich's hands, his very essence started to erode.
​
Arms, legs, torso, and at last, the skull housing the dimming red glow.
​
- Please survive. Until the day we meet again... [Note: the second villain who wishes the MC a long life.]
​
A voice steeped in bitterness mingled with the wind and faded away.
​
The growing tempest scattered the ashes that were once the Arch Lich.
​
As it howled, its reach extended to everything within the radius of One Strike, leaving behind a desolate landscape of collapsed skyscrapers, heaps of concrete, overturned vehicles, and lifeless bodies...
​
And the unfinished colossal Gate, which might have sparked an even more catastrophic war.
​
Whoosh.
​
In the midst of this desolation, Jin Tae-Kyung stood in silence, a solitary chime ringing in his ears, audible only to him amidst the chaos.
​
Ding. Ding. Ding.
​
A flood of System notifications clouded his vision, signaling the end of the ordeal.
​
Yet, Jin Tae-Kyung’s body, drained of all energy, began to sway towards the earth.
​
'I did it.'
​
With that single thought, he surrendered to a profound and serene slumber.
​
And the Skeleton King, carefully catching the falling form of Jin Tae-Kyung, could see it.
​
The faint smile spreading across his lips.
​
- You've worked hard.
​
Wicked but still a decent human, he murmured to himself.
​
Intent on transporting Jin Tae-Kyung to a place of rest and safety, the Skeleton King suddenly recalled something he had forgotten.
​
- Oh, right. The sword.
​
Was it called 'Hero's Soul'? He wasn't sure who had named it, but it was certain that a mysterious power was imbued in it.
​
It was thanks to that sword that he, once a Skeleton Warlord on the verge of extinction, had been awakened and able to deal a serious blow to the dreadful Arch Lich.
​
- I almost forgot. I must make sure to take it.
​
Locating the sword didn't take long. It had lain quietly at the spot where the Arch Lich last stood, embedded in its chest until the final moments.
​
Yet, as the Skeleton King lifted the [Hero's Soul], confusion furrowed his brow.
​
- Hmm, something feels off.
​
It was a strange sensation, difficult to explain.
​
It might be accurate to say that while it remained a legendary sword, its mystical aura seemed somewhat diminished.
​
- Did I pick up the wrong sword?
​
But despite a thorough search and close inspection of the sword, nothing seemed amiss.
​
After some contemplation, scratching his golden skull, the Skeleton King concluded.
​
- Hmm. It must be the right one, I suppose.
​
He thought it was just a momentary feeling. The sword he remembered looked the same, and he had seen it fall from Arch Lich's chest at the last moment.
​
'But why does this feel so unsettling?'
​
It was a perplexing anomaly. The Skeleton King shook his head and tucked the sword between his pelvic bones for safekeeping.
​
As he approached the fallen Jin Tae-Kyung, he remained oblivious.
​
Unseen by him, as Jin Tae-Kyung succumbed to unconsciousness, drained of all strength, a mist-like black energy mingled with the dispersing wind.
​
Simultaneously, the golden light that had clung to the [Hero's Soul] disapeared from the sword as it pursued this dark essence.
​
But this light was not merely riding the wind.
​
The black energy, intertwined with the wind, drifted along until his path was obstructed.
​
The Arch Lich, now merely a feeble fragment of his former soul, widened his eyes at the dazzling golden light shimmering before him.
​
'Such an absurdity.'
​
Before dissolving, the Arch Lich’s final words to Jin Tae-Kyung and the Skeleton King were sincere.
​
He vowed a swift return, ready to drench the land with blood, wielding greater power and commanding a vaster horde of monsters than ever before.
​
Life Force Vessel.
​
A high-level dark magic exclusive to the undead, capable of preserving fragments of souls, was thought to prevent eternal obliteration. [Note: like a horcrux from Harry Potter.]
​
Or so he had thought, until that resplendent golden light intercepted him.
​
- What are you?
​
Now reduced to a mere sliver of a soul, the Arch Lich was no match for the brilliance emanating from the light.
​
Mixed emotions of anger, astonishment, and fear intensified the black energy.
​
Despite the Arch Lich’s thoughts reaching out, the golden light remained impassive, merely intensifying its radiance and expanding in size.
​
Then, the Arch Lich understood the true essence of the light.
​
It was not magic but a soul. The soul of someone he had once crushed and defiled. Though formless, it persisted within the sword, sustained solely by sheer will.
​
The Arch Lich suddenly recalled one of the memories he had buried deep in his mind.
​
​
​
'You are noble, human. What is your name?'
​
​
​
On that day of carnage, where blood ran like rivers and corpses mounted like hills, amidst ruins and death, one human stood defiant till the end.
​
- Lei Fei.
​
The movement of the Arch Lich, or rather the black energy, halted abruptly.
​
The brilliant golden light burst forth from the void, enveloping him like a tidal wave.
​
Whoosh!
​
'...Damn it all.'
​
And those were the Arch Lich's final thoughts.
​
​
​
* * *
​
​
​
The atmosphere on the battlefield, where the main forces congregated, was electric.
​
As the S-rank Hunters and a contingent of troops moved to the rear to forge a pathway for the suicide squad, tens of thousands of monsters capitalized on the opportunity to launch an assault.
​
「Fire Rain!」
​
Boom!
​
From the back lines, the mage unit unleashed their area-wide magic, and a torrential downpour of fire descended upon the enemy.
​
In that moment, as hundreds of monsters were reduced to cinders, the mages' fists clenched in grim resolve.
​
Squeal! Crack!
​
「...Huh?」
​
One mage, his face etched with confusion, wiped away the blood that had splashed across his features.
​
The face of his comrade, who had shared a smile just moments ago, was obliterated. No, it had been blown apart.
​
This was the work of a black lance, piercing through the air like a beam of light from a distance.
​
Squeal, boom!
​
Another lance hurtled through the air, impaling several mages before their screams could even begin.
​
「Aaagh!」
​
「Death Knights! It's Death Knights!」
​
「Damn it, what the hell are you talking about! Weren't they all dealt with?」
​
「No, it seems not! It looks like they had hidden some elite monsters among them!」
​
This foreboding pronouncement quickly became a gruesome reality.
​
With the S-rank Hunters away, elite monsters emerged on the battlefield, initiating a brutal massacre.
​
Screech!
​
Boom!
​
Death Knights, Liches, and scores of invisible Wyverns materialized, unleashing a ruthless onslaught.
​
As people fell and monsters advanced without pause, a profound despair settled over those who fought desperately to hold their ground.
​
Even if the S-rank Hunters were present, this battle would have been tough to emerge victorious from.
​
'It's all over.'
​
And just when all seemed lost, as they braced for death.
​
Swoosh!
​
The blade of a Death Knight, caught mid-slash through a victim, suddenly halted.
​
No, it disintegrated into ash.
​
"W-what is this...?"
​
A hunter who had narrowly escaped death looked around in astonishment.
​
It was a sight beyond belief.
​
First, hundreds fell, then thousands disintegrated.
​
Before long, tens of thousands of monsters were disintegrating into ash and collapsing.
​
Swoosh.
​
It was the beginning of the end.
​
Previous Table of Contents Next

Unfortunately I only have vague memories of the game as I only played the demo as a kid. But I remember the game was kinda cartoony. I think it had a similar look to the ios murder mystery games. (I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything like them gameplay wise though)
The last thing I can remember about the game was the protag going to a mansion of some kind (it had a typical murder mystery house look to it) meeting up with someone they couldn't trust, handcuffed or tied the person to a chair, went to investigate a noise they heard elsewhere in the mansion, when they returned the character they handcuffed had been killed.
That's when the demo cut off. I have no idea if the game is good, but it's randomly popped into my mind again.

Below, I am posting the list of everything I've read in the last few years, organized by author. Please, help me find something new. An author I don't know, a fresh take on an established subgenre, an exceptionally well written piece, something I just missed somehow, or a unique story/perspective I haven't seen yet. I've been on a bit of a sci fi kick lately and want to come back to horror. I'm currently reading Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons and Fairy Tale by Stephen King. Should be done with both pretty soon. Your recommendations will be added to my queue! Thank you in advance!
Author Title
Agustina Bazterrica Tender is the Flesh
Alex White Alien: The Cold Forge
Andrew Shanahan Before and After
Ania Ahlborn Seed
Anne Rice Interview with the Vampire
Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand The Fountainhead
Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Bram Stoker Dracula
Bret Easton Ellis American Psycho
Brian Hodge The Immaculate Void
Brian Hodge I’ll Bring You the Birds From Out of the Sky
Brian Hodge Skidding Into Oblivion
Brian Hodge The Darker Saints
C. S. Humble All These Subtle Deceits
C. S. Humble The Crusade of the Black Cross
C.S. Lewis The Magician’s Nephew
C.S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis The Horse and His Boy
C.S. Lewis Prince Caspian
C.S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
C.S. Lewis The Silver Chair
C.S. Lewis The Last Battle
Carlton Mellick III The Big Meat
Carson McCullers The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Cassandra Khaw Nothing But Blackened Teeth
Catriona Ward The Last House on Needless Street
Charles Bukowski A .45 to Pay the Rent
Christopher Buehlman Between Two Fires
Christopher Buehlman The Lesser Dead
Christopher Buehlman The Suicide Motor Club
Christopher Buehlman Those Across the River
Christopher Covello HowExpert: Guide to Obstacle Course Racing
Christopher Golden Ararat
Christopher Priest The Prestige
Chuck Palahniuk Fight Club
Chuck Palahniuk Lullaby
Cixin Liu The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu The Dark Forest
Cixin Liu Death’s End
Clay McLeod Chapman Whisper Down the Lane
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 1 to 3
Clive Barker Imajica
Clive Barker The Damnation Gam
Clive Barker The Hellhound Heart
Clive Barker The Thief of Always
Clive Barker Weaveworld
Clive Barker Coldheart Canyon
Clive Barker The Scarlet Gospels
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 4: The Inhuman Condition
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 5: In the Flesh
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 6: Lord of Illusion
Clive Barker Mister B. Gone
Cormac McCarthy No Country for Old Men
Cormac McCarthy The Road
Dan Simmons A Winter Haunting
Dan Simmons The Terror
Dan Simmons Summer of Night
Danielle Vega The Merciless
Dave Pelzer A Child Called “It”
David Duchovny The Reservoir
David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest
David Goggins Can’t Hurt Me
David Goggins Never Finished
David J. Lieberman You Can Read Anyone
David Seltzer The Omen
Dean Koontz Darkfall
Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Edgar Allan Poe The Raven
Edward Lee Teratologist
Elan Gale You’re Not That Great
Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights
Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front
Ernest Cline Armada
Ernest Cline Ready Player One
Ernest Cline Ready Player Two
Ernest Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls
F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby
Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Crime and Punishment
George Orwell 1984
George Orwell Animal Farm
Gerald Brom Lost Gods
Glenn Beck Common Sense
Grady Hendrix My Best Friend’s Exorcism
Grady Hendrix We Sold Our Souls
Grady Hendrix Horrorstör
Grady Hendrix The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
Gus Moreno This Thing Between Us
H.G. Wells The War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells The Invisible Man
H.P. Lovecraft The Alchemist
H.P. Lovecraft At the Mountains of Madness
H.P. Lovecraft Azathoth
H.P. Lovecraft The Beast in the Cave
H.P. Lovecraft Beyond the Wall of Sleep
H.P. Lovecraft The Book
H.P. Lovecraft The Call of Cthulhu
H.P. Lovecraft The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
H.P. Lovecraft The Cats of Ulthar
H.P. Lovecraft Celephaïs
H.P. Lovecraft The Colour Out of Space
H.P. Lovecraft Cool Air
H.P. Lovecraft Dagon
H.P. Lovecraft The Dunwich Horror
Herman Raucher Maynard’s House
Hideaki Sena Parasite Eve
Hunter S. Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
J. M. Barlog God of War
J. Sheridan Le Fanu Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale
Jack Ketchum Off Season
Jack London The Call of the Wild
Jason Arnopp The Last Days of Jack Sparks
Jay Anson The Amityville Horror
Joe De Sena The Spartan Way
John Grisham The Firm
John Langan The Fisherman
Jon Robson The Psychopath Test
Jonathan Janz Exorcist Road
Jonathan Janz Exorcist Falls
Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Verne Journey to the Center of the Earth
Jules Verne From the Earth to the Moon
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 0.5: The Hospital
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 2: Safari
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 3: Hellifax
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 4: Well Fed
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 5: Make Me King
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 6: Mindless
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man: Prequel
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man: 2nd Prequel
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 7: Skull Road
Keith R. A. DeCandido Alien: Isolation
Kristina Streva The Inked
Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse-Five
L.I. Albemont A Haunting: The Horror on Rue Lane
Lauren Beukes Ungirls
Lee Mountford The Demonic
Lee Mountford The Mark
Lee Mountford Forest of the Damned
Leo Tolstoy The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Mary Doria Russell The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell Children of God
Mary Higgins Clark I’ve Got My Eyes On You
Mary Shelley Frankenstein
Michael McDowell Cold Moon Over Babylon
Michael McDowell The Elementals
Mitch Albom Tuesdays with Morrie
Neil Gaiman American Gods
Neil Gaiman The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman Coraline
Nick Cutter The Troop
Nick Cutter The Deep
Nick Roberts The Exorcist’s House
Patrick McGrath Asylum
Paul Tremblay A Head Full of Ghosts
Peter Straub Ghost Story
R. L. Stine Red Rain
Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451
Rex Stout The Golden Spiders
Richard Laymon The Traveling Vampire Show
Richard Matheson A Stir of Echoes
Rick Poldark Primordial Island
Rick Poldark Return to Primordial Island
Rick Poldark Cryptid Slayer
Robert Browning Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came
Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Robert Masello The Night Crossing
Ronald Malfi Black Mouth
Ronald Malfi The Night Parade
Ronald Malfi Come With Me
Ryan James Girdusky They’re Not Listening
Ryu Murakami Audition
S. E. England Father of Lies
Sara Gran Come Closer
Scott Kenemore The Grand Hotel
Shirley Jackson The Haunting of Hill House
Silvia Moreno-Garcia Mexican Gothic
Stephen Graham Jones The Only Good Indians
Stephen J. Dubner Freakonomics
Stephen King The Shining
Stephen King Doctor Sleep
Stephen King It
Stephen King Everything’s Eventual
Stephen King The Stand: Complete and Uncut Edition
Stephen King On Writing
Stephen King Hearts in Atlantis
Stephen King Salem’s Lot
Stephen King The Mist
Stephen King The Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger
Stephen King The Dark Tower 2: The Drawing of the Three
Stephen King The Dark Tower 3: The Waste Lands
Stephen King The Dark Tower 4: Wizard and Glass
Stephen King The Dark Tower 5: Wolves of the Calla
Stephen King The Dark Tower 6: Song of Susannah
Stephen King Insomnia
Stephen King The Talisman
Stephen King Black House
Stephen King The Dark Tower 7: The Dark Tower
Stephen King The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole
Stephen King Pet Sematary
Stephen King Quitters, Inc.
Stephen King In the Tall Grass
Stephen King The Dark Half
Stephen King 11/22/63
Stephen King Under the Dome
Stephen King Rage
Steven Pressfield Gates of Fire
Sun Tzu The Art of War
Susan Hill Dolly: A Ghost Story
T. Kingfisher The Hollow Places
T. Kingfisher The Twisted Ones
Tess Gerritsen Vanish
Theodore Sturgeon Some of Your Blood
Thomas F. Moneleone The Resurrectionist
Thomas Hardy The Return of the Native
Thomas Harris The Silence of the Lambs
Thomas Harris Hannibal
Thomas Harris Red Dragon
Thomas Harris Hannibal Rising
Thomas Olde Heuvelt HEX
Tom Wolfe The Bonfire of the Vanities
Truman Capote Breakfast at Tiffany’s
V. Castro Goddess of Filth
Vladimir Nabokov Lolita
Walter Tevis The Queen’s Gambit
Washington Irving The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
William Peter Blatty The Exorcist
William Peter Blatty Legion
William Shakespeare King Lear

Figure I’d come to Reddit since you get a different answer from HR and leadership. With the sign-on bonus, once you become eligible for it, can you get a percentage through any time pay, or do you have to wait for it to pay out on your check?
If you had a medical leave and returned to work but the case is still open, will it prevent you from being eligible for anytime pay or regular payout?

I am starting work putting together a DnD 5e campaign for level 5 adventurers that would go up to level 11. The main hook will be Rogue (not the PC class) alchemists and performance drug dealers in conflict with the guilds of the 6 Nation's Unified Guilds and local law enforcement.
With alchemy being a major theme, I brainstormed a bunch of things for more advanced versions of adventuring gear for the guilds or criminals to sell, or the party to loot off their corpses. Elemental resistance and vulnerabilities will play a part in the homebrew enemies.
I am looking for feedback on
•how much to charge for the items. •Any recommendations on changes to damage or DCs. •wording changes for clarity.
(Some Ideas are more thought out than others)
Here we go.
Alchemist's Fire (flask)
This sticky, adhesive fluid ignites when exposed to air. As an action, or replacing an attack as part of the attack action you can throw this flask up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Make a ranged Attack against a creature or object, treating the alchemist's fire as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 1d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature can end this damage by using its action to make a DC 10 Dexterity check to extinguish the flames.
War Fire (flask)
This alchemically enhanced adhesive fluid ignites when exposed to air. A vial held in hand may be thrown up to 20 ft. replacing an attack made as part of the attack action on your turn shattering on impact. Make a ranged Attack against a creature or object, treating the alchemist's fire as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 2d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature can end this damage by using its action to make a DC 12 Dexterity check to extinguish the flames. Hit or miss, the liquid ignites a square 15 ft on a side of the ground centered on the target. Creatures who enter an ignited area for the first time on a turn or start their turn there take 2d4 fire damage. A square 5 foot section of ignited area can be extinguished as an action.
Dragons breath (Canister) This volatile concoction is illegal to carry into most cities. Typically stored in a magically reinforced container, militaries and criminal master alchemists are the only source, neither of which are likely to give up their secrets. As an action you can speak the command word and throw the canister up to 30 ft where it shatters in a conflagration. Everyone in a 15 ft radius must make a DC 16 Dex save taking 6d4 fire damage on a failure and are ignited. Objects not worn or carried automatically fail this save. Ignited creatures take 6d4 fire damage at the start of each of their turns. A creature may use an action to attempt to put out the fire on themselves or others with a DC 16 Dexterity Check. Creatures who succeed on their saving throw take half damage and are not ignited.
caltrops As an action, you can spread a single bag of caltrops to cover a 5-foot-square area. Any creature that enters the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or stop moving and take 1 piercing damage. Until the creature regains at least 1 hit point, its walking speed is reduced by 10 feet. A creature moving through the area at half speed doesn't need to make the saving throw.
Barbed Caltrops
As with caltrops, but the damage is 1d4 piercing and the caltrops stick to those who fail their saving throw dealing 1 point of piercing damage for every 5 feet of movement spent. The caltrops can be removed as an action and they must be removed before recovering HP in order to regain movement speed.
Footbane caltrop bag
This magic bag contains 20 caltrops. When the command word is spoken, the caltops spring out of the bag to a location within 15 ft of the caster and spread themselves out over a 10-ft square area. They continue to move around that area until another command word is spoken to return them to the bag, an hour passes, or five creatures fail their saving throw against them as they become too spread out to be effective. Any caltrops not returned to the bag within 1 hour become non-magical. The constant movement of the caltrops make them impossible to hide, however, it also means that moving at half speed does not let a creature avoid having to make the save. If caltrops are lost or left behind they can be replaced by filling the bag with 20 non-magical caltrops and leaving them in the bag for 8 hours.
Acid Vial
As an action, or replacing an attack as part of the attack action, you can splash the contents of this vial onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw the vial up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged Attack against a creature or object, treating the acid as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage.
Elemental vial As with acid Vial, but dealing fire, frost, poison, lightning, or thunder damage.
Clinging acid As an action, or replacing an attack as part of the attack action, you can splash the contents of this vial onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw the vial up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged Attack against a creature or object, treating the acid as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 3d6 acid damage. At the end of each of the creatures' turns it takes a number of D6s of acid damage one less than the previous instance. (If it took 3d6 last time it takes 2d6 this time.) A creature may take the use an object action to reduce the next instance of this damage on themselves or an ally within 5 ft by 1d6. A creature proficient with alchemy tools may use the tools as part of the use an object action to reduce the next instance of damage damage by 2d6 instead.
Dragon's Bile [Flavor text] As with clinging acid but the starting damage is 5d6, creatures have disadvantage on saving throws to maintain concentration and while taking the ongoing damage, and the action now requires a DC 15 dexterity check to succeed. (alchemy tool proficiency applies)
Holy water
As an action, or replacing an attack as part of the attack action, you can splash the contents of this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged attack against a target creature, treating the holy water as an improvised weapon. If the target is a fiend or undead, it takes 2d6 radiant damage.
Sacred oil As an action you can apply this oil to a melee or ranged weapon. For 1 minute, attacks made with the weapon are considered magical and deal an additional 1d6 radiant damage to fiends or undead. This oil smells abhorrent to fiends. Once opened, and for one hour after it is applied to a weapon, fiends within 100 feet of the open vial or weapon will not suffer the surprised condition.
Tears of the Saints/Blood of the Martyrs [Flavor text] As an action, you speak a command phrase (usually a prayer of censure) and throw the reliquary up to 30 feet away from you. The souls of the wronged cry out for vengeance and each undead (for tears) or Fiend (for blood) within 30 feet of the target location, that can see or hear, takes 2d6 radiant damage and must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, and its CR is 1 or less it is destroyed (undead) or banished to its home plane (fiends). A creature above CR 1 that fails it's save is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.
A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from the target location as it can, and it can't willingly move to a space within 30 feet of it. The creature also can't take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.
Healing potion You regain 2d4+2 hit points when you drink this potion. Drinking or administering a potion takes an action.
Bloodmush! "For people who don't have enough blood in them, so that they can have more blood in them!" -NoRefunds, wandering kobold trader
"Usually made by those who are not serviced by the guilds and do not have the necessary expertise or available raw materials to make healing potions, satchets of this dark red paste are far more likely to be found in orc, goblinoid, and kobold tribes than civilized areas." Archaic Alchemy of the Six Nations, chapter 7
You regain 1d4+1 hit points when you eat this paste or apply it directly to a wound. This takes an action.
Salve "There has been a great deal of arguments regarding Salve. Some claim it is merely another means of applying a healing potion, but be wary. Salve is not regulated by the guild, so there are no laws protecting its quality. Use at your own risk." -Archaic Alchemy of the Six Nations, chapter 2
As an action, one dose of Salve can be swallowed or applied to the skin. The creature that receives it gains benefits according to the following list.
Fake Salve: pain is relieved, but receive no actual benefits.
Fowl Salve: gain 2d4+2 temporary HP. At the end of 1 minute take 2d4 poison damage and lose any remaining temporary HP.
Mediocre salve: regain 1 HP and 2d4 temp HP. At the end of 1 minute if any temp HP from this salve remains, lose the temp HP and regain the same amount of HP.
Quality salve: regain 2d4+2 HP.
Exquisite salve: regain 2d8 + 2 hit points, cease to be poisoned, and becured of up to one non-magical disease.
Unidentified salve: can be identified by using it, or by a creature proficient in alchemist's supplies making a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Alchemist's tools) check as part of a short rest. When identified, roll a D20 and compare it to the following table. 1 fake Salve 2-3 fowl Salve 4-10 mediocre salve 11-19 quality Salve 20 exquisite Salve
DM note: the range of Salve quality in the setting is worse than indicated by the table. The fact that most sellers will not intentionally sell fake or fowl Salve to the heavily armed, notoriously violent adventurers skews the table in their favor.

Reddit has completely locked me down. How do I file a case to have them unlock my account?

May got out to a lightning start for me, continuing the torrid April pace for a while before cooling off a bit in the back end of the month. That's partially by design, as I jumped into a pair of longer games (one enormously so) which I won't finish until deeper into June, but I've also noticed I'm slowly bleeding gaming time from my evenings. As my kids get incrementally older and the days grow incrementally longer entering summer, an hour that would previously be my own is now deferred to them, and that adds up over the course of an entire month.
Not that I'd trade my kids, you understand.
(Games are presented in chronological completion order; the numerical indicator represents the YTD count.)
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#27 - Contra: Hard Corps - GEN - 8/10 (Great)
It's been fascinating to watch the Contra series evolve over time, and Hard Corps on the Sega Genesis is no different. With no Mode 7 (the SNES' proprietary isometric viewpoint mode) available on the system, necessarily some of the top down content from Contra III would need to be altered or removed, and that begged the question of what would take its place: after all, a return to basic sidescrolling action might feel like a big step down, and we can't have that. So I think I expected Hard Corps to throw in a new wrinkle to keep the formula a bit more fresh. What I did not expect was for it to make three enormous changes.
For one, Hard Corps has four different characters to choose from, and each is actually unique. It's not just the look - where else can you play a cybernetic wolfman? - but they've got different sizes and hurtboxes as well. And while each starts with the same basic low power machine gun, each has a completely different loadout of possible weapon upgrades, ensuring that all four play very differently from one another outside of the fundamentals of movement. To that end, the two weapon toggle of Contra III is expanded in Hard Corps, allowing you to hold all four of your upgraded weapons simultaneously and switch between them at will, which adds a new layer of depth and strategy to the action. Building upon this notion of enhanced player choice even further, the second big change is that the game has branching paths. After the first stage you make a choice that determines where you head for the second level, and then later on you make another choice that creates further divergence, such that the game has four main endings (and a secret fifth!), all with their own dedicated unique stages. It's for that reason possibly the most replayable game so far in the franchise; I myself did a run through of each ending using a different character per run to get a feel for them all.
This leads to the final big change, which is the only one I don't regard a resounding success: the entire game is basically a boss rush. Let's zero in on the main path that I followed on my primary playthrough and add up all mini-bosses and full boss phases. What number might you expect that to come out as? A dozen or so? Well, sorry about your naiveté, but the answer is 43: it's bosses all the way down. This is a MUCH more mentally taxing load than previous Contra games where you could kind of skate through the non-boss sections with good fundamentals. And that's just one of four possible paths through the game! It's absurd! It's also way more fun than it sounds it would be from the description, but I've heard people say Hard Corps is the toughest Contra game and now I know why. I do miss just running and gunning and dropping dudes in one hit before a thrilling finale; it's hard to be properly wowed by a boss fight when that's all you ever see. But nevertheless Contra: Hard Corps is lives up to the legacy of greatness the franchise had up until that point established...just steel yourself mentally for the extensive memorization it requires of you.
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#28 - Ancient Enemy - PC - 5.5/10 (Semi-Competent)
Solitaire is one of those games that nobody really wants to play. It’s a game of convenience and opportunity, only attractive in the absence of something better, which is to say “nearly anything else at all.” Slightly more entertaining are variations on the form, such as Mahjong Solitaire or Free Cell, where certain cards/tiles are locked until the ones above them have been cleared away. These are still just time wasting games for people with nothing else to do, but when presented as a discrete set of challenges there’s a bit more appeal. Do you know they say that every one of the 32,000 numbered games of FreeCell on classic Windows operating systems was supposedly beatable? Did you know a very bored teenage me once decided to see if I could prove it by playing and beating every single unique game of FreeCell in order? I got into the low 30s or so before I questioned what the hell I was doing with my life and wisely moved on.
Well, Ancient Enemy is a game for people with nothing better to do, masquerading as a game that would qualify as "something better to do." It’s an RPG, I guess, but the gameplay revolves entirely around a solitaire variant. You have a deck of “stock cards” numbered 0-9 and start each encounter (“hand”) by flipping the top one. Then on the board you have to collect a card with a number adjacent to the one you’re displaying - 0 serving as a bridge between 1 and 9. Getting a card reveals any card trapped immediately below it and enables that card to be collected as well. If you can’t make a move, you can flip a new stock card over to get a random new number until your deck runs out. Some levels are simple puzzles in this vein, trying to clear all the cards from the board. Most encounters though are battles, where you do the exact same thing, except the color of the card you collect enables you to attack, defend, or cast a spell. So it’s turn-based combat, except each turn is you basically clearing as many cards as you can from the board to juice up your attack or bolster your defense, and that’s about it.
Now, at first, this is actually way more fun than I’m making it sound. I mean, I like solitaire type games for what they are, and the extra mechanics definitely do enrich the experience. You get consumable wild cards, battle boards have bonus cards with instant benefits, you get powers that manipulate the board, new types of cards appear, all good stuff. The problem is that the game completely runs out of these new ideas about a quarter of the way through, at which point you’re just going through the motions until the end, accompanied by a complete nothing of a story that I was confident I had figured out, only to find that the ending was somehow worse than the cliche I’d been anticipating. Thus, the game sadly settled into that exact same niche of games it was supposed to improve upon and supplant. Which I suppose is ok…if you’ve got nothing better to do.
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#29 - Snakebird Primer - PC - 7/10 (Good)
I follow a general rule of always playing game franchises in order, but Snakebird Primer is a unique case wherein the developers of the original Snakebird decided that it was too off-putting to new players, and so they made a sequel that they explicitly wanted newcomers to play first. A "primer" in truth to ease you into the overall Snakebird challenge, as it were. So when I decided to check out Snakebird, I thought all right: just this once I'll do it your way.
So how does Snakebird Primer shake out? Well...it's fine. It's a jaunty kind of puzzle game, with bright colors, friendly art and music, and general good vibes. In each stage you control one or more segmented "snakebirds" and have to get them all to the rainbow portal to complete the level. Sometimes you need to eat fruit to open the portal as well, but that's the entire game in a nutshell. It's a very simple concept, complicated only by the fact that a snakebird that has no body segments touching the ground will fall, and so each stage is a kind of pathing challenge, tasking you to figure out the right order of operations to reach the end. The levels are very well paced and designed if you just go in order: there aren't any hand-holdy tutorials, but new ideas are introduced organically at various intervals, and the challenge always feels reasonable, especially because you can undo any number of moves at will, like stepping through code to find an error.
There is, however, a significant difficulty spike for the last couple levels, which is pretty jarring. And when you add to that the fact that the designer of Baba Is You said he built a lot of his design philosophy around the original Snakebird, I've got to admit I'm a lot less keen on checking that one out. It's in that same realm of "enter these six dozen commands in precisely the right order" that made Baba Is You eventually feel more tedious and frustrating to me than anything else, so I think for now I'm happy to have just played the "lite" version instead.
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#30 - It Takes Two - PS4 - 8.5/10 (Excellent)
When trying to write down a genre for It Takes Two in my tracking spreadsheet, I wanted to put "Yes". It's as though the developers wanted to make a bunch of different kinds of games and, rather than accepting any limitations (self-imposed or otherwise), they just found a way to do it all at once. It Takes Two is a platformer. It's a third-person shooter. It's a puzzle game. It's a rhythm game. It's a racing game. It's a stealth game. It's a boss battling action adventure. It's a minigame collection. It's a romantic comedy. It's an exploration playground. One minute you're flying around on a jetpack chucking Captain America shields at devils and the next you're literally playing a timed game of chess. None of the things that It Takes Two does would be characterized as masterpiece forms of their respective genres, but that's not the point. There's sufficient depth and development of each mechanic that it never feels like a lazy tack-on to check a box - and that in itself is beyond impressive - but it's the sheer number of different ideas tossed into this package that make it truly special.
It's hard for me to even review this game, frankly. Part of that is because I feel a strong bias towards the game for the audaciousness of what it tries to achieve, and for the way it inspires me to keep stretching myself in new ways however I can. But it's also hard because I don't remember the whole thing. It Takes Two is both fresh in memory, having just finished it, and yet far away and mingled in my mind with similar bits of similar other adventures (Tearaway foremost among them). Why is that? Well, I first booted up It Takes Two in May of 2022 as a co-op experience to share with my wife - quite fitting, as it turns out, given the nature of the game's plot of trying to reconcile an embattled couple. We'd only play in smaller bursts of 1-2 hours at a time, but every session we played it felt like we were playing a new, different game. Music to my ears, but much harder on my gaming-challenged wife, who took longer to adjust to each mechanical shift. Pretty soon we were playing less and less often, even as I was playing a game like Tearaway early on that occupied some similar design space in my head. Soon we stopped playing at all. When I tried to suggest resuming this title over the past year, I was repeatedly rebuffed until finally a month ago I managed to wear her down enough that we picked it up again for about an hour a week. So it is that the first half of the game is fuzzy and nebulous to me, even as I recall that I loved playing, whereas the back half is much fresher, and it's nigh impossible for me to separate my wife's frequent frustrations from my own experience - especially since I've been playing on a controller experiencing heavy stick drift, so managing the camera was a nightmare through no fault of the game's.
All that said, how could I not recommend this game? It's best played with two experienced gamers, but the story only fully lands if you play as a couple, so there's a bit of potential for a disconnect there, as I experienced. It's not a perfect game. But it is an incredibly ambitious one that had me routinely grinning from ear to ear, despite the grumblings on the couch next to me. When I pointed out to my wife that we finished the game in May 2024, almost to the day when we started back in '22, she said "They should've called it It Takes Two Years." We're both glad it's over, but I think for very different reasons.
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#31 - Rogue Legacy 2 - PS5 - 7/10 (Good)
Some game sequels try to really shake things up and try something different from the one before. Final Fantasy is probably the biggest and most obvious example of this, but you can also see it in virtually every Super Mario Bros. game, in the Castlevania series, and the list goes on extensively from there. On the other hand, some game sequels treat their predecessors like rough drafts to be perfected. With these, the idea is to take the vision for the previous game, use the increase in time/budget/developer expertise now available, and try to execute on it more completely than was possible before. When a game like this is successful, there becomes almost zero reason to ever play the original game (other than possibly its story), because the new version has replaced it entirely as the definitive experience.
Rogue Legacy 2 is one of these latter types of games. Everything from the first game is pretty much still there (bosses excepted): enemies, basic combat and room design, character classes, traits, progression, etc. It immediately feels like "Hey, I've played this before," yet a cursory look reveals a huge wealth of additional content over the first game. Classes are better differentiated, you get new weapons, more spells, special abilities, new items, new upgrades, new explorable regions, new mechanics, new new new. It truly is a total replacement for Rogue Legacy 1 in this regard, a "go ahead and uninstall that thing forever because we've got it all right here and then some" type of mission statement. I was amazed at how I kept finding ever more avenues of progression and discovery, even many hours into the game, In fact, I never did manage to play as every class, and each class has a variant form as well, most of which I didn't even unlock. It's overflowing with stuff.
And I think that's why it didn't work quite as well for me as the first game: it's all too much. Now there are four different types of currency, all acquired in different ways, all for different upgrade paths. You're always competing with yourself on what to level up between runs because there are too many choices and all of them seem pretty good, but as you're finding your early groove the game throws a big wrench in there: labor costs. While each upgrade has a set gold cost that increases as you level it up, early on the game adds a universal tax mechanic to the entire upgrade tree, making it increasingly prohibitive to spend your money on stuff, and it feels awful. Rogue Legacy 1 had a similar system where each upgrade cost 10g more than the previous, but in the sequel these escalate far more rapidly, to the point where you'll complete a huge run and still feel like you can only afford one or two upgrades that barely move the needle. It's a pure inflationary grinding system meant to pad playtime, and I'm not about that. I played RL1 through multiple New Game + levels, but I was thrilled to beat RL2's final boss and move on because the economy is so frustrating. Other than that though, it's got quite a lot going for it.
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#32 - Undertale - PS4 - 7/10 (Good)
When is some information too much information? Undertale is notorious for its rabid fan community insisting that there is only one "right" way to play the game, and so if you've ever heard of Undertale there's a good chance you already know what that preferred method is: pacifism. Undertale takes a unique approach to the JRPG in two primary ways: first, that defending against enemy attacks is an active system pretty much akin to dodging in a bullet hell game, and second that you almost never actually need to choose the "Fight" command from the battle menu in order to succeed in an encounter. The argument from the community is that you must play in this fully pacifist manner, largely because of a design decision that thoroughly punishes players who do not, only revealed after the game's conclusion. Thus, these players are "helping" curious newcomers by saving them from falling victim to a fairly vindictive design choice that would create a lot of frustration.
The problem with that approach is that Undertale makes it abundantly clear from the outset that you have the option for these alternative combat approaches, trains you on how to use them, and then gives you a positive feedback loop for choosing that direction with your gameplay. Which means the discourse surrounding this game effectively undermines not only the game's own ability to surprise and educate you, but also the authorial intent of that same design decision, which in context is a conscious player decision to go against the grain and suffer the possible consequences of doing so. In short, I wish I'd never heard of Undertale before I played it, as I'm sure I would've had a much better time.
As it stands, Undertale is still a highly creative take on the genre that, despite an aesthetic I didn't care for and writing that leaned a bit too hard at times into "lol I'm so random" territory for my tastes, still managed to get me invested with some of its characters and even make me laugh aloud at times. I was particularly impressed with that aforementioned approach to combat, as each enemy introduced unique hazards to avoid, so fighting a new monster was far more exciting here than in a standard turn-based RPG where the only meaningful question is "How much damage did this whatever move do to me?" So for those reasons I applaud Undertale. Even still, there's a lot of walking back and forth with no major purpose beyond "it was decided the game should be a little bit inconvenient here," adding some unnecessary tedium to the mix. In short, Undertale's a generally good time, but if you want it to be even better, just pretend you haven't read anything I just said.
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#33 - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - PS5 - 7.5/10 (Solid)
2018 was a big year for Miles Morales. In the fall he showed up in the PS4 title Marvel's Spider-Man as a major supporting character, and by the end of the year he was stunning cinema audiences in the fantastic Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as the primary protagonist. It's no surprise then that by 2020, with his brand so hot, Sony and Insomniac Games would cash in with a follow-up title to the hit PS4 game with Miles front and center. And for the most part, the game is what you'd expect it to be from that basic pitch: more of the same from 2018, only focusing on Miles' family, his new home of Harlem and its people, and his path to becoming a fully fledged hero in his own right. That's all fine, but here's the problem: all of it has been done better before, and recently to boot. Miles' story of personal growth and family drama was handled better in the Spider-Verse series, even though MSM:MM wisely walks chooses to walk some different beats along the way. "Superhero of Harlem" was done masterfully by Netflix with the Luke Cage series (the first season, at least) back in 2016, and MSM:MM doesn't even try to address any issues beyond the most surface level. And the "more of the same" gameplay?
Well, admittedly that's still pretty good. Web swinging is as fun as ever to the point that there's an XP challenge to web swing at high speed for a full cumulative hour of real time and I caught myself thinking, "Hmm, maybe..." There are fast travel points that unlock relatively early on, but the joy of traversal feels like the main point of the game, so why would you bother? Miles also gets some new Spidey moves related to his bio-electric powers, and these are really fun and impactful to pull off, such that "more of the same" isn't in this case a damning phrase. And yet, it's also distinctly not "more, but better." In order to emphasize your new powers, the goons you fight (now including women for the first time I can recall ever seeing in a superhero game like this) have upgraded their own abilities as well, which means the simple pleasure of chaining big combos is a bit diminished. Maybe this enemy just blocks all your basic attacks and stops you cold. Maybe this one turns the tables to dodge and counter you. Or maybe you're just constantly surrounded by a flood of dudes with guns and rocket launchers and you feel like you never get a chance to press "punch" without being thoroughly punished.
Now add to that the game's relatively brief length and general lack of meaningful activities compared to its predecessor, as well as its truly awful villains and the ho-hum plot that they service, and you've got a title that's decidedly a step back from what came before. Of course, what came before was excellent, so even a step back still lands you in territory that's quite fun to play around with. My 6-year-old summed it up best when he came downstairs to ask me a question one day and caught me playing: "Whoa...how are you Spider-Man?!" Which is to say that Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a game that really makes you feel like a wannabe Spider-Man who hasn't gotten it all figured out just yet. And I guess that's all right.
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Coming in June:

• I've had less time for PC gaming lately for a couple of different reasons, but I'm expecting that to be a temporary thing, and I don't think I'm in danger of failing to finish Mass Effect 3 by the end of June. I didn't realize the version of the game I had included all the DLC. Nor did I actually know what any of the DLC was. So I was quite a ways into the game and feeling great about my progress when I got suspicious that the section I was playing wasn't actually base game content. I looked it up and found that, in fact, about 90% of what I'd played to date was DLC and I'd barely actually started the base game itself. That explains why the main story was taking a while to get off the ground, at any rate.
• Speaking of getting off the ground, my journey through The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom began impatiently a few months after release, but I took an extended break from the game and have now spent pretty much all of May continuing my thorough trek through the game world. I'm well over 200 hours into the game and am only several days away from having explored the entirety of the game's map. At which point I believe I'll finally advance the main quest past its initial stage.
• In my review for Rogue Legacy 2 above I mentioned the Castlevania franchise, which I feel I can speak to as a whole given that I've finished nearly every game in the series to date. Unsurprisingly I felt most drawn to the metroidvania style games, so there was a layer of disappointment in exhausting the last of those to discover. Disappointment that will soon be temporarily eradicated when I boot up Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, produced by that same creative mind.
• And more...

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I am starting work putting together a DnD 5e campaign for level 5 adventurers that would go up to level 11. The main hook will be Rogue (not the PC class) alchemists and performance drug dealers in conflict with the guilds of the 6 Nation's Unified Guilds and local law enforcement.
With alchemy being a major theme, I brainstormed a bunch of things for more advanced versions of adventuring gear for the guilds or criminals to sell, or the party to loot off their corpses. Elemental resistance and vulnerabilities will play a part in the homebrew enemies.
I am looking for feedback on
•how much to charge for the items. •Any recommendations on changes to damage or DCs. •wording changes for clarity.
(Some Ideas are more thought out than others)
Here we go.
Alchemist's Fire (flask)
This sticky, adhesive fluid ignites when exposed to air. As an action, or replacing an attack as part of the attack action you can throw this flask up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Make a ranged Attack against a creature or object, treating the alchemist's fire as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 1d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature can end this damage by using its action to make a DC 10 Dexterity check to extinguish the flames.
War Fire (flask)
This alchemically enhanced adhesive fluid ignites when exposed to air. A vial held in hand may be thrown up to 20 ft. replacing an attack made as part of the attack action on your turn shattering on impact. Make a ranged Attack against a creature or object, treating the alchemist's fire as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 2d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature can end this damage by using its action to make a DC 12 Dexterity check to extinguish the flames. Hit or miss, the liquid ignites a square 15 ft on a side of the ground centered on the target. Creatures who enter an ignited area for the first time on a turn or start their turn there take 2d4 fire damage. A square 5 foot section of ignited area can be extinguished as an action.
Dragons breath (Canister) This volatile concoction is illegal to carry into most cities. Typically stored in a magically reinforced container, militaries and criminal master alchemists are the only source, neither of which are likely to give up their secrets. As an action you can speak the command word and throw the canister up to 30 ft where it shatters in a conflagration. Everyone in a 15 ft radius must make a DC 16 Dex save taking 6d4 fire damage on a failure and are ignited. Objects not worn or carried automatically fail this save. Ignited creatures take 6d4 fire damage at the start of each of their turns. A creature may use an action to attempt to put out the fire on themselves or others with a DC 16 Dexterity Check. Creatures who succeed on their saving throw take half damage and are not ignited.
caltrops As an action, you can spread a single bag of caltrops to cover a 5-foot-square area. Any creature that enters the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or stop moving and take 1 piercing damage. Until the creature regains at least 1 hit point, its walking speed is reduced by 10 feet. A creature moving through the area at half speed doesn't need to make the saving throw.
Barbed Caltrops
As with caltrops, but the damage is 1d4 piercing and the caltrops stick to those who fail their saving throw dealing 1 point of piercing damage for every 5 feet of movement spent. The caltrops can be removed as an action and they must be removed before recovering HP in order to regain movement speed.
Footbane caltrop bag
This magic bag contains 20 caltrops. When the command word is spoken, the caltops spring out of the bag to a location within 15 ft of the caster and spread themselves out over a 10-ft square area. They continue to move around that area until another command word is spoken to return them to the bag, an hour passes, or five creatures fail their saving throw against them as they become too spread out to be effective. Any caltrops not returned to the bag within 1 hour become non-magical. The constant movement of the caltrops make them impossible to hide, however, it also means that moving at half speed does not let a creature avoid having to make the save. If caltrops are lost or left behind they can be replaced by filling the bag with 20 non-magical caltrops and leaving them in the bag for 8 hours.
Acid Vial
As an action, or replacing an attack as part of the attack action, you can splash the contents of this vial onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw the vial up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged Attack against a creature or object, treating the acid as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage.
Elemental vial As with acid Vial, but dealing fire, frost, poison, lightning, or thunder damage.
Clinging acid As an action, or replacing an attack as part of the attack action, you can splash the contents of this vial onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw the vial up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged Attack against a creature or object, treating the acid as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 3d6 acid damage. At the end of each of the creatures' turns it takes a number of D6s of acid damage one less than the previous instance. (If it took 3d6 last time it takes 2d6 this time.) A creature may take the use an object action to reduce the next instance of this damage on themselves or an ally within 5 ft by 1d6. A creature proficient with alchemy tools may use the tools as part of the use an object action to reduce the next instance of damage damage by 2d6 instead.
Dragon's Bile [Flavor text] As with clinging acid but the starting damage is 5d6, creatures have disadvantage on saving throws to maintain concentration and while taking the ongoing damage, and the action now requires a DC 15 dexterity check to succeed. (alchemy tool proficiency applies)
Holy water
As an action, or replacing an attack as part of the attack action, you can splash the contents of this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged attack against a target creature, treating the holy water as an improvised weapon. If the target is a fiend or undead, it takes 2d6 radiant damage.
Sacred oil As an action you can apply this oil to a melee or ranged weapon. For 1 minute, attacks made with the weapon are considered magical and deal an additional 1d6 radiant damage to fiends or undead. This oil smells abhorrent to fiends. Once opened, and for one hour after it is applied to a weapon, fiends within 100 feet of the open vial or weapon will not suffer the surprised condition.
Tears of the Saints/Blood of the Martyrs [Flavor text] As an action, you speak a command phrase (usually a prayer of censure) and throw the reliquary up to 30 feet away from you. The souls of the wronged cry out for vengeance and each undead (for tears) or Fiend (for blood) within 30 feet of the target location, that can see or hear, takes 2d6 radiant damage and must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, and its CR is 1 or less it is destroyed (undead) or banished to its home plane (fiends). A creature above CR 1 that fails it's save is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.
A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from the target location as it can, and it can't willingly move to a space within 30 feet of it. The creature also can't take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.
Healing potion You regain 2d4+2 hit points when you drink this potion. Drinking or administering a potion takes an action.
Bloodmush! "For people who don't have enough blood in them, so that they can have more blood in them!" -NoRefunds, wandering kobold trader
"Usually made by those who are not serviced by the guilds and do not have the necessary expertise or available raw materials to make healing potions, satchets of this dark red paste are far more likely to be found in orc, goblinoid, and kobold tribes than civilized areas." Archaic Alchemy of the Six Nations, chapter 7
You regain 1d4+1 hit points when you eat this paste or apply it directly to a wound. This takes an action.
Salve "There has been a great deal of arguments regarding Salve. Some claim it is merely another means of applying a healing potion, but be wary. Salve is not regulated by the guild, so there are no laws protecting its quality. Use at your own risk." -Archaic Alchemy of the Six Nations, chapter 2
As an action, one dose of Salve can be swallowed or applied to the skin. The creature that receives it gains benefits according to the following list.
Fake Salve: pain is relieved, but receive no actual benefits.
Fowl Salve: gain 2d4+2 temporary HP. At the end of 1 minute take 2d4 poison damage and lose any remaining temporary HP.
Mediocre salve: regain 1 HP and 2d4 temp HP. At the end of 1 minute if any temp HP from this salve remains, lose the temp HP and regain the same amount of HP.
Quality salve: regain 2d4+2 HP.
Exquisite salve: regain 2d8 + 2 hit points, cease to be poisoned, and becured of up to one non-magical disease.
Unidentified salve: can be identified by using it, or by a creature proficient in alchemist's supplies making a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Alchemist's tools) check as part of a short rest. When identified, roll a D20 and compare it to the following table. 1 fake Salve 2-3 fowl Salve 4-10 mediocre salve 11-19 quality Salve 20 exquisite Salve
DM note: the range of Salve quality in the setting is worse than indicated by the table. The fact that most sellers will not intentionally sell fake or fowl Salve to the heavily armed, notoriously violent adventurers skews the table in their favor.

I am so confused, it's been almost 30 years for the company and it's not exactly cheap, why would they think right angles/sharp edges at the edge of the retainers would be a good idea? Why not slightly rounded especially for the inside portion.
Tray 1 I was ok, awkward, uncomfortable figured this would be the case.
Tray 2 less teeth pain after 1-2 days but started to realize my tongue would continue to rub all the sharp edges inside my mouth, I would wake up and my tongue would be sore/irritated.
Tray 3, I put this on this Wednesday and the edges are brutal, the bottom of my tongue now has a small cut and rubs the same spot 73389302 times a day and each time it's a shock of sharp pain.
I did some searches and it seems I am not alone, I just picked up Ortho wax, it was weird to get it on there and need to redo it every time I eat/rinse my tray so 4-5x a day. But it did help so much with the pain, feels weird but now at least it's smooth back there. My next step is using a small nail file to remove all the right angles from trays 4-10 if my dentist doesn't do something on money when I go.
You would think invisilign would think this one through and fixed this 30 years ago "hey maybe we shouldn't have sharp plastic angles on the inside of the mouth"

Review of season 2 : So, Season 1 had a lot of issues with me like overused trope, bad acting and bad writing at some occasions. But season 1 had also it's strenght that works with me. Season 2 for me, fixed a lot of issues that I had with the show on season 1 and turn into a really good show. First of all, Allison and Scott romance was really beautiful and I like how they make them "Romeo and Juliette" of the show with the Argent family. Speaking of the Argent family, I love how they mainly focus on their story especially with the return of Allison's grandfather Gerard who was genuinely scary to me and was a good villain. The Lydia mystery was also compelling and make me care about Lydia, something.. I didn't in the first season. Jackson has finally something to do with the Kanima storyline. I love how the writers play with Allison moral compass in this season. In the first season of the show, Allison was really this nice, kind person bu when she found out about the supernatural world, you can see that she crave for power . In season 2 ep 2, I noticed how Allison just shot someone with an arrow and just smile without feel any sort of compassion like we seen in season 1. In the episode where Lydia make a party and everyone has hallucinations of their worst fear, Allison's one was to be weak and always cry for help. Allison like to be in control and like to have the power of it. When her mom died, Gerard use this as a triger who open the door to the inner dark side of Allison. This last arc with Allison being just ruthless is just brillant and contrast so well with the now gone innocence of Allison. By the end, the break up scene between Allison and Scott was so beautiful and not make in a dumb way like most teen dramas. Stiles also get to have a lot more outside of the comedy relief and I really seen depth in the character, especially with such quote like "I'm not a hero dad" ... this one hurt because for some reasons, Stiles was mostly running everywhere trying to help everyone and for what ? The hero will never be him no matter what. In the hallucination episode, Stiles has the fear that he's responsable for his mother's dead and this scene hurt too. Where in season 1, Stiles has no real character arc and is mostly here to be the sidekick of Scott and be a loser in love with the popular girl, Stiles has a real arc here and we get to see more struggles from him. The scene where he's talking to the therapist is really good and well-handled with Stiles issues and the events of the season overall. The last episode was good but... what was Gerard actual goal ? So like I said, Gerard was scary and good in the villain role but you're gonna tell me that everything Gerard make this season and I mean EVERYTHING because there were a LOT was only to get a werewolf bite... WHAT? The premise of him being here to revenge his girl (Kate) and engaging an official war between werewolf and the hunters was good, and the events of the season helps the character developpement BUT when you get to final conclusion you realize... was it all that necessary like I mean come on now think about it for second. Where season 1 wrap up the storytelling of season 1 pretty good, season 2 finale is good but doesn't make a bunch of sense as a conclusion to all the stuff that happen in this season.
Season 3 now : So I am in the 8th episode fo this season and it's great. Did I mention how brillant I found the episode "Motel California" everything from the direction of the episode, to the writing and the pacing... everything was top notch television. The Alpha pack's story is compelling alongside with the charaters arcs. I love the fact that Allison and Scott are not coming back from each others, not because I don't like them, actually I love them, but mostly because I founded their decision mature and good, so thank you to the wirters. Also did I also mention how hot Stiles become this season, like this is not normal, because he was good looking in season 2 and 1 but season 3 ? nooo this another level. I widely seen that season 3 by a lot of people is seen as not only one of the best of the show but also of television. And for now, I don't see anything that make me disagree with that statement.

Last month, The Bad Batch came to its end with a quite explosive finale. And I made no mystery that I had a few issues with how this story wrapped up. After all the build-up we had in the previous episodes, the finale kinda fell flat, especially on a few meaningful plot threads that were basically dropped unceremoniously. Of course, I still love this show despite everything; this post is not meant to be a criticism towards the show creators: it's their show, and they did what they wanted with it. But I figured it wouldn't hurt to try to imagine a different ending just for the fun of it. I have no pretension to claim that my take is objectively better by any means; it's just different, some people may like it, other my prefer the ending we got or a completely different one and there is nothing wrong with it.
Also, I need to clarify that this whole thing came to me almost by itself in a moment when I just had the right inspiration to collect all the random ideas I had in the back of my mind and put them in a somewhat cohesive order. I admit that it might feel a little disjointed at times, and for that I apologize, but I wrote it in less than two hours and I didn't want to change it too much before posting it. I'm not a professional writer, and this post is meant to be just a fun experiment. Now, in order for this ending to work, we would definitely need to make the finale longer: half an hour should be enough and would make the finale as long as the pilot. Also, a few scenes, like Omega's escape with the kids and the unleashing of the Zillo beast could be moved at the end of the penultimate episode, to gain a little more time for the finale (would be nice if Omega were the one to control it through the Force, but that's a whole other can of worms I'm not ready to open).
My alternate ending differs from the original in three key aspects: first, Rex is present to play a small but important part in the mission on Tantiss, and ideally he would bring along a few of his men, including Howzer and Gregor. Rescuing the clones from Tantiss has always been his quest since late season 2; the Batch basically tagged along just to save Crosshair, and later Omega. Why would Rex only send Echo on this very important mission? They could have easily explained his arrival on Tantiss in various ways. Maybe they could have said Echo sent him the coordinates. Or even better, they could have showed that the ship they used to hitch a ride on the science vessel had a tracker on it, so that Rex could follow: just like they originally planned to do on Eriadu.
Second, the CX troopers would have a more meaningful role in the climax, without being just reduced to mindless NPCs that need to be killed: Rex and the others know very well that those clones are all victims; which leads me to the third, most obvious, point: Tech is revealed as CX-2. Now, I don't want to start another debate on the subject: no use to argue about it now that the show is over. I had my reasons to believe that the story could only benefit from Tech being alive, and I had plenty of reasons to believe CX-2 was actually him. This is just my opinion, and you are not forced to agree with it; if you think Tech's disappearance was handled correctly or that it was necessary for "stakes" or whatever reason, then it's fine. It's just that my version works with him being alive, in order to give us a proper pay-off with a complete family reunion. So, now that the premise is over, I can finally start to explain how the ending would be different in my take:
The big changes would start during the scene in the training chamber. Like in the original, while Hunter, Crosshair and Wrecker are being reconditioned, Hemlock does his evil monologue, where he mentions the last time they saw each other, after losing a brother and says that "history my repeat itself". To me, those lines seemed to be specifically written for a Tech reveal, so in this scene Hemlock actually has CX-2 unmask himself: maybe he could say something like "Isn't this a lovely family reunion?", while the others are being reconditioned, and can't even say a word as they look in horror at what their brother has become. As Hemlock leaves the room to answer Tarkin's call, Echo, Rex and the others are the ones dealing with the CX troopers down below while CX-2 (and not the other big guy) is the one watching over the others as Omega comes to rescue them. As soon as Omega recognizes Tech, she calls him by his name, and hearing it for the first time causes something to trigger in the assassin's mind. Then the scene goes differently after Omega frees the others.
They all try to fight against Tech who still has the upper hand for various reasons. We know he's a capable fighter and the smartest of the group. He's also actively trying to harm them, while the others are pulling their punches. Not to mention Omega is too weak for him, Hunter and Crosshair are already depleted and Wrecker is also injured. During the fight, however, the others try to talk to him, and he clearly starts to hesitate, especially when he hears some words that he might recognize. Even after being incapacitated, Crosshair is the one that's more desperate in trying to reason with his brother, by bringing up his personal experience with the chip and telling him that it's never too late to do the right choice. But then Hemlock, noticing Tech's weird behavior, calls him with the order to bring Omega to the landing platform for a quick escape. So he's the one who drags her on the bridge while she still desperately tries to reason with her brother, begging him to remember who he is, possibly referencing that conversation they had in the cave back in season 2.
Now, before the climax, we need to talk about the other 3/4 assassins that Echo, Rex and the others would be dealing with. Of course, they wouldn't just kill them, but they would make an effort not to harm them, trying to stun them instead. Unlike Tech, these assassins won't be freed from their mind control immediately, we could say it's because the chip has made the reconditioning take better hold of them. We'll leave the door open for Rex and the others to figure out a way to cure them after taking them away from Tantiss (no matter what, they're still their brothers). As an added bonus, we could reveal two of them to be named clones that we know of. One could be Cody, since Rampart could have lied about him being AWOL; in this scenario, I would also say that Cody should be the one to cut Crosshair's hand, adding another layer to their interesting dynamic. Another one might be Wolfe, who also might have tried to desert after Teth, or maybe they just took him before he could even start to doubt the Empire (apologies if this doesn't align well with Rebels: correct me if that's the case). This will, of course, add even more tension to the fight with Rex and the others; maybe, as cruel as it might be, he could be the one to kill Howzer, tough it's not mandatory, and personally I don't like pointless deaths.
Now, on the bridge the scene is a little different; my ideas can be a little confusing from now on so bear with me. Omega still gets handcuffed to Hemlock while Tech and Scorch are guarding his escape, maybe with a few more stormtroopers who are easily shot down by Hunter and Crosshair. Wrecker is also there this time: though he doesn't have a blaster, he charges straight towards Hemlock, but Tech shoots him on the shoulder and the leg, neutralizing him. So now we have Crosshair and Hunter on one side, Hemlock and Omega on the other like in the show, but we also have Tech, Scorch and the incapacitated Wrecker in the mix. The ship still needs to arrive and land on this specific platform, so we still have time for a brief verbal confrontation between Tech and the others during this stalemate. Hemlock tries to prove a point by giving Tech the order to finish off his brother, but Crosshair finally manages to breach through him by asking him "When have you ever followed orders?", to which Tech finally breaks free of the reconditioning on his own ("We do not need help. We will figure out a solution, as we always do").
Without thinking twice, Tech shoots Scorch to disarm him but in turn Scorch tackles him off the railing and they both fall; Tech manages to throw a grappling hook on the bridge and Wrecker, crawling on his side, is able to catch the rope before it snaps. Tech is still dangling for his life while Scorch is still clutching his leg, but Wrecker, despite his injuries, is not willing to let him go this time. The tension is high, and the ship for Hemlock has finally arrived, but Omega manages to stay calm and collected and so do Hunter and Crosshair. Just like in the show, she manages to stab Hemlock, allowing Crosshair to shoot the handcuffs with Hunter as a "tripod". Finally free from Hemlock, Omega rushes to help Tech, grabbing his hand after he finally manages to kick away Scorch. After everyone is safe, Wrecker starts to embrace Tech with all the strength he has left, crying as he promises that he'll never let him fall again, while Omega runs to Crosshair and Hunter, and they hug just like in the show: that scene was perfect, so I wouldn't change it one bit. Then of course there is a whole group hug (Echo may join as well), with a softer yet triumphal variation of the main theme in the background.
After the clones are back on the ship, headed to Pabu, Tech apologizes to his brothers for the harm he caused as Hemlock's puppet, describing how terrible it was to act as a soulless assassin while desperately struggling with his mind to break free. Crosshair apologizes to Tech for choosing the Empire over them and for indirectly causing his fall and capture. Tech reassures him not to feel guilty about it, and says that he made his choice when he executed Plan 99, and that, if he could go back, he would still do it, though Hunter jokingly orders him to never do that again, with Omega immediately backing him up. And I don't think I would need to add anything else after this. The rest can go on pretty much as in the original episode; we only need to spare a minute for a proper reunion between Tech and Phee ("Better late than dead") and of course everyone will be sitting under that tree in the end.
And there you have it, this is the best I could come up with after letting my mind wander for a couple of hours. Could have this been plausible? Maybe not. Is it perfect? Definitely not. Is it better than the original ending? I'll let you be the judge to that. But I still wanted to share it with you guys, as a testament to how much I love this show and these characters. Thank you, if you managed to stick this far; whether you liked it or not, hopefully I managed to entertain you a little with my ramblings. Have a good day, and may the Force be with you, always.