I just thrifted them, so I don’t know how old they are - but Carolina still makes this model, so probably not more than a few yearsv old. The heels are VERY worn, so I’ll have my cobbler fix that.

But the uppers are incredibly nice. The leather was pretty dry, so I oiled them a bit, and they softened up quite nicely. They’re pretty comfy.

I’ll likely keep them as general-purpose boots - friends moving, general outdoor work, etc. - and then wear them just when I feel like wearing a pair of boots.

Cleaned up these boots. And I hate speed hooks, so I converted them to D-rings.

Look up cat rescues in your area. Some of them might help with free or discounted vet care. Years ago, when I was broke and rescuing, a local group helped take care of most of the bills.

I’d name it “In Communist Russia, fantasy football team name you!”

Thanks! Took a lot of practice to get good at saving shoes.

Shoe restoration.

The public will never know for sure.

He was a very broken person, in many ways. That doesn’t prove or disprove that he did anything illegal or immoral.

Some of the ways he acted? They seem questionable to most folks, myself included. But through the lens of his emotional and psychological issues? They could have appeared harmful but actually been harmless.

For example: Is it weird for an adult celebrity to have pajama parties with kids? Yes. Is it harmful if it was, in fact, only a pajama party? Probably not.

Michael Jackson is a complex figure with huge cultural import. That doesn’t change the fact that he may have been a problematic individual.

In some ways, he may have been less harmful than other historic figures. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t question the possible bad things he did.

Living wages in exchange for work.

The macguffin should be a guy whose name is MacGuffin.

Could be an opportunity for “a hidden ally with their own agenda.”

Maybe it’s another prisoner who has found a secret way to escape.

Maybe it’s another cult member who wants to prove the leader’s weakness, so orchestrates a coup using the PCs as either bait or allies.

Maybe it’s someone who infiltrated the cult to seek revenge, and they have a plan for the party to break out and sow chaos so that the revenge-seeker can get their revenge.

Fire is simply an easy thing to unexpectedly happen.

Buildings are filled with flammable things. In a fantasy world, candles and lanterns are often the most common forms of lighting.

A long time ago, I ran a game in which the PCs unintentionally burned down an entire village because they were careless and unlucky.

When the party, the evil collector, and the museum rep are all together - there’s a minor scuffle and then a fire “accidentally” gets started.

It can be as simple as someone tripping while holding a candle, and the candle landing on some drapes or carpets.

As DM, if you’re good at what you do, you can play it up so the players think it actually WAS an accident that they need to deal with.

The collector will, naturally, start freaking out over their collection. And in their rage, the collector might blame and attack the museum rep (even if there’s no way the rep could be at fault).

The players will then have many options:

• They put out the fire. If that happens, the collector may be so pleased the bulk of their collection is safe, they’ll tell the players to hang onto the items… For now. And at what price?

• They run away as quickly as they can, saving the museum rep and escaping with the items. They talk, and the rep learns of their quest. The rep sees it as noble and just, and he allows them to borrow the artifacts until their mission is complete.

• In the chaos of the fire, they attack the collector, with the goal of taking as many of his other magic items as they can carry. They eventually succeed and escape… but they make a powerful enemy that day.

• Through no direct action of the players, the museum rep dies. The collector sees it as an opportunity to escape all blame, so he “allows” the party to escape with the artifacts… Only to immediately notify the watch of the murder and arson. Now, in addition to their quest, the party has a price on its head. And the watch wants to recover the items to give back to their “rightful” owner, the collector.

There are lots of creative ways to deal with the players, whether or not they take any of the obvious courses.

All you need is an easily-explained-in-game “accidental” fire. :)

Either it would polymorph them, or it would make the bad guy THINK they were polymorphed. Depending on level of power and/or what the DM thinks is funnier

“I wish this dog pile were actually a pile of dogs.”

Not a specific post, but if you browse around there, you’ll find one pretty early.

Thank you very much. It took a lot of practice to learn to do it so well.

Styleforum has plenty. For example, people congratulating each other on thrift store finds or helping each other learn about shoe care.

Retroarch box for your TV?

You can buy a USB blu-ray drive for like $50.

Rather than build a computer, check out NAS devices.

My Synology NAS does everything you mention except ripping, and you can rip with any computer that has an optional drive.

A NAS is lower power than a tower server, and many are designed to let you swap hard drives.