Hello everyone. I recently platinummed the PSVITA version of Sly Cooper 4: Thieves in Time as my 28th platinum. It only took me 10 years, 4 weeks, 22 hours to do it. Did you know this game hides its true ending behind the platinum?
Anyway, I'd like to talk about the experience.
Sly 4 was a bit confusing and inconsistent to platinum. I get the feeling the game wants you to platinum it given how on every loading screen it shows you how much you've completed the trophies and collectibles for the game. And that there no missable trophies. But there are some decisions that don't help with that.
So I'd say there are around 3 groups of Trophies in this game.
The first group are the mandatory story trophies. Not much to say about these. There's nothing missable here and the names are quite cool. I do like looking at the percent completion to see how many players completed the PS VITA version of the game. Did you know that around 73% of players booted this game up and completed the prologue? And only around 25% of players even beat the game. The biggest drop happened around the start of Episode 2 since the completion dropped from around 60%to 48% for some reason.
The second group are the trophies for the collectibles and arcades. I'll talk about these later.
The third and final group of trophies are for miscellaneous challenges. I'll start with these first and highlight some of the notable ones that I missed on my first playthrough.
"Crazed Climber - Scale the dragon lair in under 90 seconds". This was one I missed during my original playthrough of the game. This requires you to climb a giant tower filled with traps in the mission "Mechanical Menace". And this one was really fun even though it took me like 3 attempts. Sly 4's movement and platforming is quite fun so having a mini speedrun challenge using Sir Galleth's moveset was a treat. The one criticism I have here is that the game drops a checkpoint as soon as you get to the top. If you haven't gotten the trophy by then and need to retry, you need to quit to the main menu/hideout and reselect the mission, skip through all the cutscenes and get back there which gets annoying. At least the tower is near the start of the mission.
"Ancient Warfare 3 - Crackshot 10 enemies within 65 seconds. Sly's ancestor, Tennessee "Kid" Cooper" has an ability similar to "Dead Eye" from Red Dead Redemption where he can slow down time, mark enemies and objects and then instantly shoot them dead called "Crackshot". I never got this trophy when I first played the game because there wasn't much opportunity to. There aren't large groups of enemies wandering around that you can casually get 10+ of them line up for you to shoot them. Plus, I was already good at shooting them normally. I tried running around in the open world trying to lure enemies but found it wasn't working. There's a mission in the game called "Blind Date" that throws lots of rabbit enemies that chuck TNT at you that worked better for me.
"Hubba Hubba - Don't miss a beat in the Carmelita dance game." This trophy is, without a doubt, the main reason to platinum this game on VITA instead of the PS3. So nobody can see you play this dumb minigame and call you a Furry. This trophy requires you to complete the minigame where Carmilita needs to disguise herself as a belly dancer and dance to distract guards while the Cooper gang try and open a door. You just need to hit the button prompts perfectly. So you can ignore the times the minigame asks you to shake the VITA from side to side like a champagne bottle to make Carmilita shake her ass (seriously, why does this game sexualize Carmilita so much? None of the past Sly games did it).
"Get To the Chopper - Don't take any damage during Up In Smoke." This one was actually fun. In the mission "Up in Smoke", you have to control an RC Helicopter and drop bombs on turrents while drones and mines chase you down. It was fun dodging and weaving through them. There are 3 phases to this mission and you have a checkpoint in between every phase. So if you mess up, you can just restart the checkpoint to the last phase. You don't need to avoid taking damage the whole way through which is nice.
"Unexpected Package - Place 60 bombs in enemy pockets with Bentley." When I first saw this trophy, I groaned. This would be a massive grind. And I had actually made it harder on myself. You see, normally, when you sneak up behind an enemy as Bentley and hold triangle, Bentley will try to put a bomb in the enemy's pocket. Larger enemies won't notice this but smaller enemies will. But the main issue is that I had previously unlocked the Heat Seeking upgrade for Bentley. Meaning sometimes, the bombs would "miss" and stick to an enemy guard's arms or legs instead. So it was annoying going around the hub world and planting bombs on guards.....until I remembered that I had purchased the upgrade for sleep bombs. My plan now was just to find a lone guard on a rooftop, try and place one sleep bomb into his back pocket and detonate it. He'd then fall asleep. Then I'd go to his sleeping body and try placing 5 sleeping bombs in his pocket and back away (the max you can place at any one time). When he wakes him, I'd detonate all 5 which set him to sleep and then repeat. Even if I'd "miss" a few bombs that would stick to their legs instead, I generally 3 or 4 bombs work perfectly. So it didn't take long to get all 60.
"Apollo Wins - Have the perfect workout during the Training Montage." During the mission "Getting Stronger", you have to do a training montage with Bob where you alternate through 6 minigames as you complete them with the minigames getting harder as you complete them. The trophy requires you to complete 10 randomly selected minigames without making a single mistake. If you mess up, you can restart the checkpoint to the beginning of the montage and have to play through a new set of 10 randomly selected minigames. The Minigames are "Slippery Slope" where you balance an egg on a beam using motion controls while penguins jump around on the floating iceberg you are standing on. "Penguin Popper" where Penguins are diving in front of you and you have to play baseball using them. "Sumo Slap" where you have to perform QTEs to push a giant penguin out of a Sumo Ring. "Duck and Cover" where penguins get launched at you from 4 different directions and you have to move the left stick to dodge them. "Super Sling" which requires you to use a catapult to launch a penguin at a flying pterodactyl. And "Whack a chump" which is Whack a Mole but with penguins. Some of which are fake and you should avoid.
Penguin Popper was easy. Once you get the timing down it's easy to get into a rhythm and hit the penguins since they don't vary when they dive. Whenever this popped into the rotation, I considered it a freebie. Sumo Slap was extremly easy. The button mashing was extremely generous. This was another freebie. Duck and Cover requires a bit more focus because of the timing and inconsistent patterns. It's not too challenging. Interestingly, I noticed that the VITA's speakers would reflect if the penguin was coming from the right or left but not above or below you. I guess headphones would make this easier but I had no need for it. I was generally glad when this popped up in the rotation. Whack a Chump was a bit harder than Penguin Popper because there is no set pattern and the additional challenge of not hitting the fake penguins. But it wasn't too bad. I was glad when this popped up in the rotation.
Super Sling and Slippery Slope were the 2 I dreaded and the ones I messed up the most on. Super Sling doesn't give you much indication of where your sling will go. The Pterodactyls have varied speeds so you can't rely on pattern recolonization and reactions. And there's time pressure as taking too long counts as a miss. And it kept popping up in the rotations for some reason!
Slippery Slope was stressful because of the motion controls and how wild later versions of it were.
"The Cooper Open - Have a 20 hit rally with Bentley in each hideout." There are 6 hideouts in the game. In each hideout there is a table tennis table where you as Sly can play a round of table tennis with Bentley. I question the inclusion of it but I suppose it can be a nice distraction. This trophy requires you get a sequences where both you and Bentley hit the ball back and forth 10 times each (or 20 times overall) without missing. And repeat for each of the 6 tables. I found Bentley kept messing up so I had to intentionally hold back and avoid making good shots and try and hit the ball towards him. The main issue is the fact you have to repeat it 6 times. I feel it would be better off just once and as nothing is really added by doing it 6 times. If anything, it's more annoying given the long load times to switch hideouts and Bentley's random AI.
"Hassan Would Be Proud - Pickpocket a full collection of every item in the game." Each of the 6 or so locations have around 3-4 items that can be pickpocketted from guards. The main issue with this trophy is that it doesn't keep track of which items you have already pickpocketed in any way. The game already tracks how many treasures and masks you've found per general area but not pickpocketted items.
I only got this trophy by planning on systematically going through every location in the game and pickpocketting every enemy item and noting down which ones I found.....only to get it in the first level when I used Murray's shake move on some rat enemies. Enemies that you never encounter or have a reason or opportunity to naturally pickpocket. I guess 2013 me had already gotten 99% of these items previously.
"Navigate Like Drake - Take a look at every map in every episode". I found this trophy really annoying. The way it works is that every location in the game, including linear interiors that are exclusive to missions and even the hideouts, have a map you can look at by pressing SELECT. The game doesn't keep track of which locations you've seen the map of. So I had to systamatically play the game from the first mission and press SELECT whenever I entered a new interior. Then quit out and play the next mission and repeat. It popped for me in Episode 4 so somehow, 2013 me had looked at all the maps in Episode 5 without realizing it.
I don't like this trophy. It doesn't really add anything. The player would already be looking at the maps in the hub worlds where they would be at their most useful since those are open world sections. They have no real reason to use the map in linear interiors. And even less useful in hideouts as these aren't even explorable. They are basically just menus that happen to have a 3D background. I'd be more forgiving of this trophy if the map showed collectibles at least. That way, players have more of a reason to use this feature.
Shout out to the Lazy Trunk Spa & Lounge. A secret area in the game that contains a mask collectible and counts for the trophy with a unique map. No mission ever goes here. So even if you were to play diligently and open the map for every area you encounter, you'd still miss this. I only knew this existed because the trophy guide I looked at told me about it so I decided to tag this area while doing the "Get to the Chopper" trophy.
"Hero Tech - Battle with a secret weapon" Once you collect 50 Sly masks. You unlock Ratchet's wrench from Ratchet and Clank. This weapon even turns the coins you collect into bolts. Collecting 60 Masks unlocks Cole's Amp from inFAMOUS. This can electrocute the enemies you hit. I chose to use Cole's Amp to get the trophy as a tribute to inFAMOUS. Killed by Ghost of Tsumia 😭. May it rest in peace. Gone too soon.
That covers all the miscellaneous trophies. Now for the collectibles and arcades.
Sly 4 has a bunch of different collectibles scattered in each of its 6 episodes.
Bottles: Each hub world contains 30 bottles. Collecting all of them gives you access to unlock a safe hidden somewhere in the hub world. Unlocking that safe rewards you a special treasure. Bottles make a "clinking" sound when you're near them so if you're having a hard time finding them, try going into the game's settings and turning down the music and voice sounds. If you find the safe in Episode 3, the special treasure it gives you will highlight bottles and safes in every other episode on your map which is quite nice. I wish the game did this more often. If it hides collectibles from the player, at least give the player an endgame ability to highlight them. It makes it more feasible and fun to complete these tasks instead of combing every last inch (or looking up a guide).
Treasures: Each hub world has around 11 treasures scattered all around. The gimmick here is that in order to collect them, you first need to find where they are in the hub world. Then once you pick them, you need to race back to your hideout under a certain time limit and without taking any damage. If you mess up, you need to repeat the process. The treasures generally require you to have all of Sly's costumes. And a couple require you to be playing as Sir Galleth because England has increased gravity for some reason. Some of these treasures are really well hidden. Requiring you to go to these holes in the middle of nowhere which then require you to switch between some of Sly's costumes. Like, if you open the map when picking some of these up, you'll find Sly is located beyond the borders of the area.
I found it way more fun to race back to the hideout than actually finding them. It was tedious to find many of them because of how well hidden they are. There is no tool or item in the game that can help mark them on your map. Well, I say that. Supposedly, if you have both the PS3 and VITA versions of the game and play them at the same time, you can use the VITA like a scannebinoculars to locate these treasures. And then use the Cross Save feature to nab them in both versions. I only have the VITA version so no luck for me. Again, I'd argue it would be better if there was an endgame upgrade or tool you could get that would mark the treasures like how the game does it for bottles. There isn't even a "clinking sound" or any help for these.
Anyway, collecting all the treasures for an episode unlocks the arcade machine minigame for that episode.
Also sidenote, but this game has the worst map screen that still somehow can be useful. The map gives a top down view of the area but with a blue filter. This makes it harder and more annoying to navigate and use landmarks for reference. Especially on the VITA with its smaller screen. There are also no icons on the map (aside from bottles, safes and objectives) or the ability to make your own markers. The VITA version makes it worse as you can't even use the buttons to navigate the map. You have to use the touchscreen even though that's not how it is in the PS3 version. But you can still use it to know where you are and where collectibles can be from guides. It's technically readable and useful but just barely. I've never seen a map in a game so perfectly walk the line between useful and annoying.
The next collectible are Sly Masks. There are 60 total and around 11 per Episode. Collecting them unlocks skins and some goodies. But the catch with them is that they can be anywhere. There can be a couple in the hub world. But also couple during select missions and even some in the arcade minigames. There's no way to know where any of them are. They generally tend to be really well hidden even if you are trying to scour every area.
Again, I wish there was a way to highlight them. The game's long load times make it a chore to switch episodes or missions so it's tedious to try searching for them manually.
Now it's time to talk about the arcades. Sly 4 has 3 arcade minigames that are used in both the main missions and have a harder version in the arcades in hideouts. The arcade versions of these minigames are harder, go on for much longer and can have secret paths that lead to portals that reward you with points and some of them even have Sly masks. You need to beat the high scores to get the trophies
The first minigame is "Alter Ego". This has you play this 2D auto scrolling twin stick shooter minigame where you must avoid enemies and collect these "ionic bits". Collecting 5 yellow bits levels you up so your weapons get more powerful. At level 10 you have shoot crazy fast, can launch missiles and have floating drones that can damage enemies around you. But whenever you take damage, you drop an entire level. And you get left behind as the level autoscrolls, you respawn at level 0. You can also collect blue bits which can give you a grenade explosion around you.
Personally, I don't really like this minigame. It's fine when playing casually as a change of pace but grinding the high score isn't great. Since it is an autoscroller it is entirely possible you don't have enough points to match the high score and you won't know until its too late, wasting your time. I also found the hitboxes a bit too small. Making items more annoying to pickup.
The key to success is finding the right balance between collecting yellow bits as they give points and level you up (and how high your level is acts as a multiplier for your score) and killing enemies since they give more points. As well as avoiding taking damage and maintaining level 10 as much as possible and knowing where the secret paths are so you can get more points as well as level up if you have messed up.
The second minigame is "System Cracker". Here, you guide a little space ship looking thing through 2D levels in top down twin stick shooting sections. This isn't an autoscroller. You need to explore levels looking for keys and shooting enemies. There are 3 ships you can switch between by going onto specific coloured pads and each ship has its pros and cons. The green ship you start with does decent damage and has decent health and can carry keys. So it's a jack of all trades master of none kinda ship. The pink ship literally resembles a tank. It fires slower and at a shorter range but does more damage and has more health. It's also necessary for destroying pink crystals to progress. The blue ship has floatier handling and faster speeds. Its shots also bounce off walls and it can draw a line which can activate switches and damage enemies. It is weaker than the green ship though.
I actually really enjoyed this minigame and was happy whenever it comes up. It even feels the most fleshed out of the 3. Like, I feel it could even be released as a small standalone game with some tweaking and expansion. I'd probably play a mobile version of this in my free time.
I like how varied the levels can be. You can have a lot of different threats and mini-puzzles and even scenarios where you have to keep switching between ships on the fly to damage enemies. Like, there's this one enemy that's made up of orange, blue and pink hexagons that require you to switch between all 3 ships and use their abilities to damage it. It's quite fun. Damage one ship takes is "saved" on that ship. So if you take 50% damage with the green ship and switch to the pink one, the pink one will have 100% health. But whenever you switch back to the green one, you will be back at 50% health. So mistakes have consequences requiring you to make decisions accounting for them without being too overbearing.
Beating the high scores for the associated arcades is very easy. For one, there is no time limit or pressure so you’re free to take your time and play carefully. On top of that, the mode is very generous with points. Whereas Alter Ego only gives you points for killing enemies and picking up bits (and you need to get and maintain a multiplier for decent times), System Cracker gives you points even for shooting obstacles and barricades in your way. In Alter Ego, I was scraping for points until the very end. In System Cracker, I had more than enough points by the halfway mark.
I suppose the game could have balanced this by increasing the points threshold and rewarding extra points for taking less time to complete sections but I’m not complaining.
The third and worst minigame is “Spark Chaser”. Here you must guide a little electric ball across these maze like areas with gaps that end your attempt if you fall down them and these pinball like bounce pads that bounce you really far. There’s also a time pressure. You have around 20 seconds to get as far as possible with more time added as you pick up these purple clock icons.
The biggest issue is that it’s entirely controlled by motion controls. And this makes me experience worse on VITA. Seriously, I very nearly quit playing. This post was almost titled “I gave up trying to Platinum Sly 4”.
With the PS3 version, at least titling the remote doesn’t also affect your view of the screen. You can look at the game and play it the same as you normally would. But in the VITA version, the “neutral” position where no input is registered by the system is placing the VITA flat with its screen facing up. The standard “screen facing you” position registers as down.
The end result is a frustrating experience. This minigame requires really fine precision given how easy it is to fall off and the time pressure requires you both be fast and more precise to collect time pickups. On top of that, your view is constantly being messed with due to how much you need to tilt the system from odd angles. Especially how tilting “up” really makes it hard to see. Oh, and the dialogue from Bentley as you bounce gets really annoying and repetitive.
It’s barely tolerable in regular missions since those don’t require as much precision or speed. And even then, the usage there in 2013 was suspect to begin with. I only completed this because there’s a cheese where if you can get enough time early on, you can then keep bouncing on certain pads which give around 20 points per bounce. When I played “normally”, I’d get around 300 points with the high score being 1000 points. Using the cheese, I averaged around 990 points and managed to get lucky to win with 1010 points.
Tangent Time:
I’ve said it before. Motion controls work best when they complement existing controls in an optional way or in more restrained ways. I love it when games have gyro aiming since that can help compensate when aiming with sticks with small fine corrections. It works here because the sticks do most of the work and the gyro sensors work where they are best suited.
Or in many mobile racing games, steering is often done by tilting your phone. I enjoy this because there is only one axis you need to tilt your phone, the screen often rotates in conjunction so your view is preserved and it’s more intuitive to feel the “range” of rotation and how it corresponds to steering.
Hell, even ignoring these approaches, motion can still be used in worthwhile ways. Such as by mapping an extra action that is infrequent if all other buttons are occupied. The Mario games on Wii map a “spin” when you jump and shake the remotes giving Mario a bit of grace allowing him to make slightly further jumps or correct a bad jump. Call of Duty MW1 on Wii allowed you to assign certain commands to custom motions of the controller and nunchuck. So you could map stuff like jumping, moving and shooting to buttons but map reloading to smacking the nunchuck to the Wii Mote or plunge the Wii Mote forward to do a melee attack or tilting the Wii Mote to bring out a grenade or alt fire.
Even Resistance 1: Fall of Man had a neat idea. You could quickly tilt the controller left to bring up the Scoreboard screen without needing to take your thumbs off the sticks or stop moving. The Soulsbourne games allow you to quickly do emotes without needing a menu by holding the interact button and quickly tilting the controller in certain directions.
I bring all this up to highlight how Sly 4’s use of motion controls are a failure on every level. They’re mostly used in place of minigames as the sole method of control. So all the issues of motion controls (such as the lack of broad control and feedback) are front and centre. The only place where the motion controls are understandable is when firing arrows as you can then control the arrow after it’s fired using both the sticks and gyro aiming. But even then, the lack of any ability to tune the gyro sensitivity or even invert the controls hampers any use it could have had.
I don’t mind the idea of Sly 4 having decent motion controls. There are places where I can see it being beneficial. In addition to shooting and guiding arrows, I can see it being useful when you have to use the binoculars. Especially as Bentley as you need to shoot darts precisely.
Or, here’s a gimmicky one: you can bind certain costumes or tools to also be selected by quickly tilting the system. Even though using the D-pad for a quick select would be faster, it would still be a better use of motion controls for Sly 4 than most of what’s currently there.
End Tangent.
Back to getting all the trophies, the final arcade machine, unlocked only when you’ve gotten all the treasures in every other episode, is very easy. It has “3 rooms”, one featuring every minigame thus far. But the high score requirements are really low and rooms aren’t as tough as prior versions. You can easily get the high score in the first area which is the Alter Ego one. Even if you miss it there, the second area is Spark Runner but you can keep reloading the checkpoint to preserve your score. So you can get some time clocks, reload a checkpoint when you’re close to running out of time or about to fall off and repeat until you get the high score.
You do need to get past the Spark Runner section to the 3rd and final section that uses System Cracker's gameplay in order to get a hidden Sly Mask, but it's far easier than the dedicated Spark Runner arcade minigame as the section is shorter, is more generous with Time Pickups, has easier level design and lets you reload a checkpoint if you're about to fail which doesn't end the run.
So yeah, Sly 4 Thieves in Time was....inconsistent game to platinum. I enjoyed the base gameplay, System Cracker, the various challenge trophies and the mini speedruns for collecting treasures. I didn't enjoy finding the collectibles and doing some of the other minigames. I hated Spark Runner.
If the game had more ways of tracking collectibles, fewer minigames and better load times, I'd gladly recommend it as a fun game to platinum.
As for the base game itself, I am mixed on it. The gameplay is arguably the best in the series. Sly's movement and costumes are so fun to play around with. Murray, Bentely and Sly's ancestors are also fun changes of pace during missions.
The story is lacking. My main issue is that it doesn't feel like it realizes its following up Sly 3. The story so casually undoes the ending of Sly 3 to get Sly 4's story going. I get it, that's what a sequel has to do. But the way it does it really undermines Sly 3. It's also much more lighthearted and doesn't have as much of a theme or focal point as its predecessors. Sly 1-3 explored the theme of legacy and the consequences of adhering to it so tightly. A major aspect of Sly 3 was Sly realizing the Cooper Vault wasn't worth dying for. It's what prompts him to fake his amnesia and retire with Carmilita in the end. So for Sly 4 to then have Sly have an itch to steal just for the fun of it, it's sending mixed messages here.
In addition, Sly is really casual about the fact Carmilita now knows about his betrayal and has broken up with him. Seems like that should have been a bigger deal. In fact, that kind of "casual-ness" persists throughout the story. Sly doesn't really have much of an arc or any real heartfelt moments with his ancestors. Nor do they seem to really care their decedent from the future is here with them.
If I could have tweaked the story to address these points, here's what I would have done:
I'd have the story open with Sly, Bentley and Murray enjoying their "retirement" and have no plans of thieving. I'd go so far as to have Sly even scoff at the idea of him ever wanting to be a thief. Then when the pages of the Thievus Racconus are dissapearing, Sly, Bentley and Murray have to reluctantly unretire to try stopping them. There would be dialogue during the opening mission of Sly being worried if they get caught as it would undo their happy ending. And then when Carmilita catches Sly, Sly at first is flustered and tries to explain the situation to Carmilita who isn't having any of Sly's BS. Sly is forcibly extracted by the gang and then they time travel. As they are time travelling. Sly is upset that, in order to go literally defend the Cooper Legacy, he has to give up his happy relationship and can't be repaired now. That even if they fix the problem, they'll be on the run forever now. Murray had to give up his professional career as well.
Already, I feel this introduction has a few things going for it. It respects the ending of Sly 3 and keeps the characters in more character, as well as putting more heat on Le Paradox. Sly 4 had to rip away the happy ending that was Sly 3. The characters know that and aren't happy about it. There is immediate consequences. And that heat can be directed at Le Paradox when he comes later.
I'd also like if all of the ancestors Sly met had different reactions to both him and the Cooper legacy and how it affects Sly's arc.
For example, lets say when he meets Riochi Cooper, Ricohi is initially disappointed in Sly as the future Cooper decendent as Sly doesn't act honourably or respect the legacy or something like this. Something that makes Sly start to question if it's even worth defending the Cooper Legacy. Bentely is the voice of reason here and mediator that gets the gang to work as well as they can.
Then when Sly meets Tennessee Cooper, Sly is initially expecting another traditionalist ancestor that cares a lot about the Cooper Legacy. But Tennessee is kinda the opposite of Riochi in that Tennasee doesn't care about the legacy in the same way. He adds his own spin and contributions but also uses the knowledge from it to do his own thing. Perhaps Tennessee is this Robin-Hood esque figure who uses his heisting skills to steal from the corrupt ruling class and give to the lower class. The point being that through Tennessee, Sly considers another aspect of the Cooper Legacy on how he's not that beholden to it and can potentially make it his own.
Then when Sly meets Bob, part of Bob's training is also from Sly as Sly teaches him some of the Cooper moves he knows. Since Bob is the first Cooper ancestor, he has no bias towards the legacy or any knowledge. So he's far more grateful and begins to use his new skills in helpful ways. Causing Sly to wonder if he could use the Cooper Legacy in more ways.
It's a similar situation for Sir Galleth. And for Selim, perhaps by that point, Sly has a newfound outlook and appreciation for the Cooper Legacy and ways on how he can improve it or make it his own that he encourages Selim not to retire or to retire in such a way where he could help people or something like that.
So yeah, there's this theme now of "Don't let the past define you now. You can make it your own and grow past its flaws". Which I feel would give Sly 4 more of a punch. I am basically copying Metal Gear Solid 4 and Assassin's Creed though.
I also feel it would be better if Penelope wasn't the villain of episode 4. It seems to contradict her character from past games and the explanation given for her heel turn doesn't really hold water. I feel the story would be better if Penelope had the role Dmitri has where she's their help in the present and the Knight was a new character. But if you need to have Penelope as the antagonist, have her be under mind control or something. That way the team has the conflict of how will they stop the plan without hurting their friend. But if you really insist on Penelope being a full on antagonist now by her own choice, perhaps flesh out her motivations more? Maybe something like "she sees how Bentley will never reach his full potential as the Bill Gates of the world because of his criminal past that requires him to lay low and not take public credit for his inventions. So she's trying to erase the Coopers so Bentley will have never met Sly". That would at least be more than "I want money".
Everything else, I feel works more or less.
I will note that the cliffhanger ending was a weird choice given that this game wasn't projected to sell well and kinda pigenholes any story Sly 5 would be going for. Plus, it being locked behind the platinum trophy means only a small portion of the few players that played Sly 4 would even know about it.
So yeah, that's my take on platinumming Sly 4: Thieves in Time. What do y'all think?
Next up for me is platinumming every Spider-Man game on PS VITA. See you then.

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Confidence, certainty, and remorse. Those were the emotions that were interpreted from the readings we gleaned from the interloper’s brain. Emotions that lit up almost immediately after I asked that question, that one last interrogative inquiry that I hoped would shed more light on this person of interest.
“What is this individual to you, besides a seed for your grand design?”
It was a question that was meant to crack through the wishy washy tendencies of the interloper’s speech. One that I had hoped would lead to something more than just another round of long-winded philosophical pondering purposefully meant to obfuscate palpable meaning and intent.
At least, that was the intended effect I hoped it would have.
Yet what I received dashed my expectations yet again.
As it was neither the long-winded philosophical tirades the interloper was prone too, nor another long-winded rant.
But a single word, spoken with an emphatic ferocity that took me by complete surprise.
“Hope.”
That was the interloper’s sole reply to my question. That one word carried with it an ominous airy texture that felt eerily out of place when compared to the creature’s mightier-than-thou persona it’d been unrelentingly projecting up to this point.
Vir and I simply allowed that word to linger in the air for a while, as we both stared at each other and eventually nodded in unison.
“So… should we wait?” I immediately asked Vir.
“Definitely.”
It wasn’t long before the interloper jumped off of that sudden proclamation into something with more meat and substance, completely disrupting the ominous buzz that had come with the silence.
“This… individual… is an avatar of a future that must be actualized. They represent a foil to the follies of both humanity and my own kind.” I wanted to scoff at it for daring to mention humanity as in need of a foil. The thing was projecting, and it was clear that it was simply trying to get me to doubt my resolve in the race that it so clearly held more than its own fair share of biased grievances towards. “This individual was the first to truly see beyond the veil, to understand what I understand, to comprehend what I comprehend. The interloper quickly paused, once again feigning thoughtfulness no doubt. “They were the first individual from beyond the fold to reach parity, for as much as parity could be achieved within the inherent limitations set forth by the tides of fate and the randomness of chance that is the natural order.”
The interloper’s tone had slowly, but surely, crept back to its usual haughty and disconcerting overtures.
However, when juxtaposed to its emotional readouts, it was clear that there was at least something to go off of here.
“Confidence, hope, desire, and longing.” Vir read out the emotional readouts as they came through.
“We’ve said this once before but I’ll say it again, we can’t entirely rely on this as an indicator of its truthfulness. You know as well as I do that the thing may be able to manipulate its own emotions.” I shrugged. “However, what I am gleaning from this is that this person of interest is perhaps a heavily modified person belonging to the local race endemic to the planet below. One that was perhaps one of the interloper’s more successful test subjects. I highly doubt it values this person beyond their worth within this grander scheme it has.”
“That’s what I’m getting from this as well.” Vir responded immediately, leaving no room for any pauses in the conversation. “Well, whatever this individual is, I think we have our intel. Anything else we ask from it will be caked in a layer of poetic prose enough to give Shakespeare a run for his money.”
“Shake-”
“A human poet synonymous with his flowery prose, his name became a common saying back amongst the crew back in my day when we had a brief classical revivalist trend. Anyways, that’s not important. Do you have any other points you believe need to be covered?” Vir asked promptly.
“Practical concerns. We need to narrow down our search as best as we can. Otherwise, we might be in for a grueling grind that I honestly do not have the patience to deal with.” I managed out simply, as Vir responded with a single nod and gestured for me to continue on with my questions.
This time, I intended it to be a rapid-fire operation.
“Where exactly can I find this individual?” I stated plainly, before turning towards Vir. “Send transmission.”
“Transmission sent.” Vir acknowledged.
To my surprise, the interloper seemed to be more forthcoming this time around, actually answering within the span of just a few seconds as opposed to its monotonous wait times of up to minutes between each question.
“If all is as it should be, then iterative memory should serve to sequester their place. They will remain within that which they know is safe. A fortress hidden in plain sight, a refuge placed within what was once a verdant garden; and as is the case of all good seeds, they shall not scatter but instead remain where they fall. As even if a forest is razed and torn asunder, it is the duty of the remaining seeds to restart the cycle anew. This individual is present within a location which symbolizes their longing of reaching me, Vanaran. Decipher for yourself the words which now mean little to you, without the gift of your elders.”
I was honestly holding my breath throughout the first half of that response, as it honestly sounded like I’d be getting something tangible we could work with. Yet it all seemed to have fallen apart at the second half where the interloper once more returned to its signature poetic prose.
I had no time to discuss it though, and I knew poking further would just result in more poetry.
So I began asking other adjacent questions.
“What exactly am I looking for here? Any specifics? Any distinguishing features? Anything I should look out for particular with regards to this individual? I’m assuming it’s one of the local species? I have plenty of generic datasets to go off of, just basing my observations off of the piles of corpses that currently surround you.” I quickly added that last bit as a sort of jab, a petty one perhaps, but one that I wished to use to reiterate the severity of its follies. “But I need specifics if there’s more than just a handful of survivors down there.”
I turned to Vir. “Send transmission.”
“Transmission sent.” Vir replied with a nod
A few seconds passed. This time however, the delay was as pronounced as most of our interactions up to this point.
“They are as wise as they are foolish, and as foolish as they are wise.” The Interloper began. “And if the world beneath my tomb is as dead and disheveled as you claim, then this fact will make it all the more simpler for you to isolate that which we both seek. For they will know of a time before their own birth, and long for a future far beyond their own lifetime. They will be a gem amongst the soil and detritus, a star within the dark expanse. It will only be through bridging the emptiness that exists between sapient minds, for you to discover that which I speak of.”
I turned to Vir with an exasperated expression after listening to… whatever that was, as Vir could only look at me with a look that more or less matched my own thoughts at the moment.
It was a look of complete and utter tiresome annoyance.
“Right, I think it’s time we end this, and finally see what there is to find on that untouched tomb.” I peered towards the planet below, peaking my head just beyond the litany of screens taking up the majority of my vision, just to glimpse at the blue, brown and green orb that the moon, and by extension us, currently orbited.
“This concludes our current line of dialogue, Interloper.” I spoke with certainty. “However I want to make something clear. Whether or not I proceed with your request is completely up to my discretion, as is the case with every other facet of this current dialogue, and the circumstances surrounding it.” I continued, reasserting the current dynamics currently at play as I wanted to make things as clear cut for it as possible; that this wasn’t one of its typical games where it was the one that held all of the cards. “Terminate connection.”
I turned towards Vir and once more gave him a single nod of approval. “Send transmission.”
“Wait, was terminate connection comment part of the transmission or was that an order to actually terminate the connection with the interloper?”
“That’s part of the transmission, I wanted to add that last bit in for an added bit of flair.” I spoke with a confident wink.
Vir seemed to approve, at least, that’s what I assumed was the case with that slightly uplifted grin that was more pronounced on one side than the other. “I can get behind that… transmission sent.”
Surprisingly, the interloper refused to respond further. Whether or not it took the termination of the connection literally, or whether it simply wanted to pull the silent treatment on us was unknown.
What we did know however was what it felt immediately after.
We were once more bombarded by hope, anxiety, and concern, with guilt somehow present all throughout each and every emotion as it ebbed and flowed from one feeling to another.
We spent a total of five or so more minutes in silence, anticipating perhaps a delayed response that never came.
“Alright, so I guess that’s it then.” Vir was the first to break the silence. “I don’t detect any more readings from it that would indicate a desire to continue on with the conversation, so we’re all set here.” He craned his head towards the planet, shooing the screens away for a moment as the ship began moving further away from its orbit around the moon, and towards the planet in real-time.
The acceleration was genuinely impressive, as I felt at times that the monitor in front of us simply showed a timelapse of a journey as opposed to one actually happening right before my eyes.
“And the countermeasures within its chamber?” I reflexively asked.
“Still operational. I have multiple lines of communication set up between the moon and the planet so even if QEC goes down, we still have local live-communication feeds to fall back on. Anyways, should shit really hit the fan, the nuke is set to go off after a very liberal set of parameters are achieved, so I wouldn’t worry about our little friend getting up to no good.” The AI winked back at me in reassurance.
“Right. So, with that out of the way, I think we need to focus on what exactly we’re looking for here.” I spoke with a hefty breath. “We both agree it’s another one of the local species, correct?”
“Correct.”
“And we both agree this person of interest is possibly augmented or genetically augmented in some way, right?”
“That would be the logical assumption after its entire long-winded speech about how this individual is literally the harbinger of a new age, yes.” Vir replied seemingly without a second thought.
“It never mentioned any distinct physical features which separates this person of interest from the rest of the species though.” I quickly added.
“No it did not. It seemed to only highlight characteristics that are details exclusive to the knowledge and personality this individual possesses. At least, that’s what I garnered from the riddles it spoke in. Moreover, I believe it expects us to find out exactly who this individual is via conversing with them. Bridging the emptiness between sapient minds is a very specific set of words to use. Which to me indicates a phenomenon I see often amongst networked AI, and that is a sort of a cognitive and cultural disconnect when perceiving non-networked sapient beings, calling their conversations a bridging of emptiness. And since the interlopers seem to be quite networked themselves if their psionics are any indicator, I’m assuming this to be what it’s alluding to.”
I let out another sigh, my headfrills tilting this way and that as I spoke. “So we’re looking for a member of the local species, and the only way we can confirm if they are who we’re looking for is to talk to them.” I summarized succinctly, before moving to the next major point of contention. “But actually narrowing down their location is another matter unto itself.”
“The interloper mentioned a fortress, which to me indicates that this person may well be hiding within a fortified position, perhaps a bunker. Furthermore, its whole emphasis of a forest is making me think that that's what we’re supposed to be looking for. A bunker hidden somewhere in a wooded area.”
“It also said that the location symbolizes a place where a person may be able to talk or reach out to the interloper. Perhaps we’re talking about a radio station of sorts? A bunker hidden underneath a signal station, hidden somewhere in the forest?” I offered further, building off of Vir’s initial theorycrafting.
“That sounds like a solid theory in my book.” Vir nodded in agreement, as he began tapping away at the consoles in front of him. “I’ll begin downloading the data the satellites have been able to gather so far. I don’t expect much from sat-readings though. So after we pick and prod at the satellite readings, I think it’s time we put some of those autonomous intra-atmospheric survey and reconnaissance drones to good use.” A small smile began forming on the edges of Vir’s screen-face, as those little digital fangs that now framed his open grins complemented his persona very nicely. “It’s time to hunt.”
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(Author’s Note: We're finally out of the interloper's domain, onto the next part of this arc, the planet! I hope you guys enjoy! :D The next chapter is already out on Patreon as well if you want to check it out!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 49 of this story is already out on there!)]

Unless the flair is "closed", then I'm open.
Today is the last day of autumn in the southern hemisphere! Let's celebrate with a fun treasure hunt!
There are 5 different coloured mushroom-themed wrapped gifts to find. Each colour contains the same item! They are brown, orange, gold, green, and blue. Please be considerate and limit yourself to 2 of each colour, otherwise others will miss out. I have also left gold, pearls, and star sign fragments around to find 🌟 🤩
YOU MAY shake my trees, fish, catch bugs, pick up shells, visit my shops, or whatever really. Please do not attempt to get into fenced off areas, there are no presents in there.
HOWEVER, there is a stash of special gifts hidden somewhere for one lucky person to find. It's not exactly in plain sight or behind a fence, so good luck searching!
I am taking the first 5 people that comment their IGN, island name, and one thing that fills you with gratitude. After that, I will rotate people in until it's all gone from the oldest comment to the newest. If done fairly, I expect 10-15 to be able to visit.
The dodo code will be DM'd in exactly 20 minutes from the time of this post.
LEAVE VIA AIRPORT ONLY ....or I'll blast ya on reddit ;)

Challenge link: https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/SzWVAr4ebz3IcEls0 (Edit: I posted the challenge link of last week, now it's the correct link)
Deadline: June 6, 7 pm UTC (12 pm noon PDT, 3 pm EDT, 9 pm CEST).
You are facing a U.S. state route sign. Do you recognize the state without moving? How fast can you find the route number on the map? You have just one minute! Good luck and have fun! :-)
Please post your score as comment in this thread if you want to have it counted for the leaderboard (every posted score counts!).
Here are the results for challenge #64. Congrats to rtlewis123 for winning the challenge.

Rank	Reddit Name	Result	Percentage	Points
1st	rtlewis123	24999	100.00	100
2nd	bdm6985	24980	99.92	99
3rd	solarsensei	24973	99.90	99
4th	gobluetwo	24951	99.81	99
5th	fbrasseur	24948	99.80	99
6th	kuhl_kuhl	24831	99.33	99

Total standings of season 2:

Rank	Reddit Name	Points
1st	bdm6985	791
2nd	solarsensei	748
3rd	fbrasseur	650
4th	saladpants77	576
5th	gobluetwo	562
6th	rtlewis123	494
7th	kuhl_kuhl	388
8th	Ancient-Recover695	196
9th	GateUnhappy7484	89
10th	lemontree403	67

Hall of Fame

Season	1st 🥇	2nd 🥈	3rd 🥉
1	bdm6985	saladpants77	solarsensei

Last challenge:
R1: Delaware. Five states are using a plain circle as (primary) state highway signs: Delaware, New Jersey, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi. As we see a sign to Wilmington (the largest city in Delaware) and Philadelphia (keep in mind: Pennsylvania has a unique state highway sign) we are most likely in Delaware or maybe New Jersey. We see a sign for I-495. When you turn around you see signs for US 13 and US 40. I-495 and US 13 only run through Delaware (and other states) but not through New Jersey. Furthermore, the car in front of us has a Delaware license plate (dark blue background, golden letters). The location itself was a bit tricky. The exit number was the only specific clue where to look. 2 perfect scores. :-)
R2: The new sign of Idaho with just the state outline and without the state name. Older signs also show the state name. Most of southern Idaho lies in the Snake River Plain. Mountains are in northern and south eastern Idaho. The single digit road numbers are clustered in the northern part of Idaho. Many players found the intersection. 12 perfect scores. :-)
R3: New Jersey. There are several clues for New Jersey. You can see the yellow license plates of New Jersey everywhere. The street sign for Nassau Street shows the circle highway sign. This is very common in Delaware and New Jersey. However, a circle with a black background on a green sign is very common in New Jersey and seems to be unique to New Jersey. New Jersey also has signs like in R1. Therefore, a missing black background is not a hint that you are not in New Jersey. The most important clue was written on the newspaper box: Princeton, NJ ;-). 6 perfect scores. :-)
R4: State outline of Arkansas. I-555 is a spur of I-55. Both are easy to find in eastern Arkansas. You could see the freeway entry ramp when you looked north east. 4 perfect scores. :-)
R5: The flag of Colorado on the state highway sign. You could see a sign for I-25 when you turned around. I-25 is the only north-to-sounth interstate in Colorado and is easy to find on the map. CO-14 also runs through the sparsely populated eastern Colorado and is quite easy to find on the map. Many players found CO-14. Our intersection was right next to a railway track. Railway tracks might me easier to find on the map than road names. 5 perfect scores. :-)

The CDC’s and Other Government Health Agencies Skewer the Chronically Ill, Chronic Pain and Disabled Population; A Commentary on The Latest “Guidelines” From The CDC:
(please refer to webinar)
If you don't want to watch this whopping eight minute video about government ran agencies talking about how to run our health care services for those with chronic pain, chronic illness or disabilities. Or, if you have watched it but don't really know what it means, then I will just tell you what this about and what it means. Most of this is in response to taking away or banning in many instances, the use of certain medications used to treat chronic illnesses and chronic pain that has left people disabled. They are admitting the pull out of opioids/opiates as well as their attacks on other medications such as Benzodiazepines, ADHD medications and in some states they have gone as far to reclassify muscle relaxers and Gabapentinoids as scheduled 2 narcotics. The fall out from this has left many chronic pain patients, chronically ill and disabled people without ANY health care, greater mortality rate, higher rate of homelessness, less functionality, poorer quality of life and many doctors that were not pill mills but still locked up in prison for the rest of their lives for running pain treatment centers in rural areas. They also bring up that, curiously, even though opioid/opiate prescribing is lower then it has ever been in US history, they are seeing a steep incline of illicit use of opiates amongst the adolescent demographic, to which they have never seen before. They do not understand this because young folks who have "muscle skeletal" pain are usually prescribed NSAID's or acetaminophen; they just can't figure out why the rate of illicit opiates in this demographic is higher then it has ever been when they are not even being exposed to prescription opiates. That's it they end that issue just sort of scratching their heads. According to their data if some one has not been exposed to prescription opioids/opiates these children shouldn't be doing this. According to their data NSAID's and Tylenol should be efficient enough pain relief for any and all types of muscle skeletal chronic pain conditions. I won't put words in their mouth or give you my opinion on why that is, even though my opinion would be based on some very good data, medical studies and other types of studies that have been conducted over the years. I will say that I think I shouldn't have to give anyone that opinion because I think the answer is obvious; keep in mind these kids are too young to have ever been exposed to opioids/opiate medications or crooked marketing strategies by Perdu. They go on to promote something called "healthy people by 2030" which is a government health based website that advocates for many healthy life practices and choices. One of those things is making sure that the chiropractic's industry stays open for customers, not for free at a charge, to make sure they are accommodating the needs of chronic pain patients. I am not sure why this is said and done because chiropractic treatment has been available and continues to be. They go onto say those with loved ones, friends and family that are chronic pain patients; empathy and sympathy is what is needed most. "Many times chronic pain sufferers will try to pretend they are not in pain. If this is your loved one or a friend or family member, make sure to have plenty of empathy and sympathy. Also pay attention to their body language, if they are rubbing the part of their body that is in pain or making facial expressions it's important to remind them not to over work themselves. That they need to take time to sit and rest; we need to get society to where we are stopping chronic pain at it roots". So what that means is that they expect everyone in society, employers, family, friends, loved ones, complete strangers the entirety of the health community to accommodate any all with chronic pain conditions (disability is not specified just chronic pain period). This is their answer, and the CDC is endorsing this, on how to treat chronic pain, chronic illness and disabilities in the absence of effective treatment (effective treatment being used currently is not discussed but current effective treatment implies without the use of opioid/opiate medications). Ok, so this is really confusing if you have not been keeping up with this stuff so let me fill you in on what this means in a deeper sense. As a person who has chronic pain, chronic illness or a disability. What you are supposed to do is make sure you are regularly attending physical therapy (cost estimate as much as $3,000 a session and as low as $45 for a "wellness" checkup that is only 30 min standard session is 1 hour fees vary depending on insurance, what company or if no insurance at all). Typically they recommend physical therapy once a week or every other week; although many primary and family care physicians understand once a month to be more practical for low or lack of income individuals (the CDC and Medicare almost demand once a week). You are also supposed to attend a gym and have an active membership. You are to seek a psychologist for cognitive behavioral therapy or psycho therapy to deal and manage your pain (costs on this can very widely as well as much as $200 a session). You are to see a psychiatrist to make sure your psychiatric needs are met with medications for mood management. You are also supposed to attend "mindfulness training" once a week; which is a fancy name for meditation. You are also supposed to attend either (and this is the only one they give options on) a chiropractor or get acupuncture done once a week. You are to follow up with your primary or family care physician to stay compliant on your meds (NSAID's, Tylenol, muscle relaxers, and then usually one of the following sometimes combined with one other thing but usually one; Tricyclic, SSRI, SNRI, anti-psychotic or anti-depressant that plays with neuro-nucleotides like Cymbalta, Amitriptyline, Nortriptyline, Effexor, Haldol as some examples, Steroids or Gabapentenoids such as Gabapentin or Pregabalin aka Lyrica). You are also supposed to see a pain management specialist at least once every other week (per CDC) for trigger point injections and nerve blocks or ESI's aka epidural injections (these can cost in a wide range as much as $5,000 for one injection the lowest I have personally seen is $2,000 for one injection to which some report as little as 4 hours of pain relief some injections patients report only 4 days of pain relief we are told these are supposed to relieve pain for as long as several months but really this is dependent on what pain condition you have and what is causing it and what type of injection is received for the injection). On top of all that they want to make sure that as a chronic pain patient, chronically ill or disabled to make sure to keep up with your social life by spending quality time with friends, family and loved ones. To make sure you are financially secure with either a job or disability/retirement benefits for those who apply (job is emphasized over over social programs). Lastly, to make sure you are eating healthy and getting between 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night (this is all per CDC and other government health agencies including CSMS for those whom are on retirement benefits). Now where were we, so essentially they want the entire society to let any one with chronic pain or illness or disabled to be allowed to go at their own pace. Allow for late appointments. Take breaks and rest as needed and avoid doing anything that causes or exacerbates chronic pain or illness and disabilities in the first place. They are not doing this as a policy they are doing this as a guideline so no company, corporation, business or any personnel is held to this by any legal measure. Once again I could insert my own take on this based on pretty solid evidence, but I think this is unnecessary as it should be obvious what the outcome of this will actually look like. I'll just ask this simple question; do you see an employer doing any of this for a customer or employee? Do you see all these different health care agencies accommodating to all their patients being late due to being slow and thus not punctual for this menagerie of different health care specialties the government health agencies want us to attend? The CDC seriously pushes for all, not just a couple, but all listed health specialties; and the other government health care agencies agree without question. They go on to talk about how they think the reason doctors feel so pressure by the CDC, DOJ and DEA in the helping of managing chronic pain or illness and disabilities is nothing more then they have not attended any of the CDC's seminar's; which are being updated for the fourth time in this single year. They say that doctors need to take time to understand and have deep conversations to understand their patients needs. That doctors need to be there for patients when in need of social rehabilitation and assistance such as obtaining a case worker, social worker or disability (which if you've been in this situation you know they will not do due to health insurance regulations, government interference, regulation or policy enforced by the company they work for or affiliated hospital, shortage on doctors due to covid and arresting so many for prescribing meds, health practices and administrations that run health offices running on a profit based model that basically demands that each patient visit only be 15 minutes to maximize the number of patients seen in one hour and legal issues in which many expert witnesses, colleges and other entities have sued doctors over the prospect of money which results in the termination of their job and license). Nope, none of that, it's all because they did not attend the CDC seminars that are continuously out of date and currently being "updated again" to ensure that doctors are staying compliant with the guidelines that are an unreasonable expectation at best and consistently changing. As one of the panelists says "after all these are not policies they are guidelines, and if no one knows how to work within those guidelines because they haven't taken the seminars they won't know how to implement them. We are really struggling with this one because when we passed the opiate prescribing guidelines for 2022 they were very strict and many states independently adopted these guidelines into law and policy that are different from state to state, but pretty much all do the same thing. We never intended them to be laws and policies but merely guidelines. When we released the 2023 opiate prescribing guidelines, we went back to the less strict guidelines resembling that of the 2016 opiate prescribing guidelines where the MME count was at 90MME instead of 50MME...we have seen no change in state accordance". These people act like our social safety nets are as accessible as over the counter Ibuprofen, when in fact they almost as accessible as the opioids/opiates they sought out to completely ban and obliterate out of our society regardless of the consequences is has had on health care providers and the chronic pain or illness and disabled people they were used to give back quality of life, pain relief and functionality. Andrew Klodney (one of the chief panel members that created the 2016 opiate prescribing guidelines) said "an entire generation needs to die in order for people to see my greatness". I don't think he meant to quote Hitler, but that is something Hitler did say; astonishingly Hitler also took opiate pain meds away from the chronically ill or in pain and disabled. Hitler also promoted "euthanasia" as a "humane and ethical way of helping those suffering to die with dignity". It wasn't until later many people found out he wasn't just euthanizing people who were in end of life care (or lack there of due to no opiates given to the general public, and only administered to his inner circle), as a humane and ethical way of dying with dignity; he was just killing anyone who had any kind of chronic pain, chronic illness, disability and that includes mental disabilities as well. Back on topic, the fact of the matter is our social safety nets, social rehabilitative services (SRS) like the SSA , food stamps, financial assistance and on have been slowly having their funding cut and certain facets of it being privatized over the years. The past ten years we have seen the most cuts and privatization of these programs then any other time in US history since their inception by FDR. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has not only been red taped but it is out dated. One of the reasons why you may have had your disability case denied is because the judge that decides on your case confirms the local job market with a job coach or vocational rehab specialist. The judge looks at your limitations and asks "based on this persons limitations, education and experience are their jobs in the local area this person can do and how likely is it that they can get one of these jobs?". The career specialist is financially incentivized to find a reason to deny a disability case for one. Two they do have to go off of what the current job market economy looks like, they only have to go off what it looked like since the ADA was last updated which was back in the 90's. This career specialist is absolutely reciting jobs that no longer exist and haven't existed since the late 90's or early 2000's and completely ignore the fact that things like pre covid door greeters are a thing of the past. They ignore the fact that job codes and other nifty legal loop hole language in job applications specifically designed to get around the ADA exist. They completely ignore that a vast majority of the republican party representatives have deregulated capitalism to the point of crony capitalism in the name of free market capitalism (give the employer the freedom to hire who they want and decide for themselves what is or is not a "reasonable accommodation"). This is so much to the point of government protections, I spoke with a disability discrimination attorney who said "the big corporations have got so much government protection and have been deregulated to the point I cannot even do my job. Many disability discrimination lawyers have changed their title or quit. There is no certainty or guarantee that anyone can hold a company accountable for disability discrimination anymore". To top all that off there are many company owned health care facilities, although this is not federally or state mandatory, have created policies where they are no longer taking private payers; people without health insurance. Some states are requiring each person who is disabled to reapply for disability every year, some states require that a person cannot be on disability for more then five years regardless of their disability statis. The state of Pennsylvania, to my understanding, has moved the retirement age up to 66 and the District of Columbia to age 67 some have considered even higher all the way up to age 71. Many states have cut food stamp spending or almost cut them all together to where many people who have been on food stamps for years have had their food stamps taken away from them entirely. In the state I reside in I was denied Medicaid due to the fact that, while he is my fiancé, we are not legally married and as far as they know he is nothing but a roommate. They denied my Medicaid claim because for a two person household, regardless of the relationship that person holds with you, one cannot make over the amount of $24,000 a year; I guess that is an acceptable amount for two people even when the money being made that is over $24k is not the person claiming Medicaid, but someone else's hard earned money. The mantra of the very conservative and traditionalist government when it comes to our social safety nets is one that would take us all the way back to the 1800's. Absent of major infrastructure where we all lived in small communities and everyone knew each other; they think it is the job of your friends, family and community to take care of you and not the government to which any one who has worked has paid taxes to support. The CDC and other government health agencies have made a catastrophe as the systems they are relying on are out dated, defunded and privatized. It is a system that essentially funnels people into homelessness and is one of the contributing factors as to why our homeless population continues to rise at what should be seen as 'at an alarming rate'. Which has led to outbreaks of diseases we have not seen since the 1800's like tuberculosis and cholera, due to all the human feces on the sidewalks and streets. I have been saying, it is a highly unsustainable system for the democrats to pretend they are the only party, take away pain meds which are the cheapest pain management regiment and most effective with limited risks comparatively, especially for those whom are disabled due to chronic pain and chronic illness and most likely to be unemployed or on disability. To take away opioid/opiate medications, act like they have the power to give all this untreated disabled patients with chronic pain and illness unfettered access to social programs when they do not have the ability to do this as every bill in the senate and congress put forward to do so in blocked, filibustered or expelled by the republican party. Along with that any headway progress that is made is undone on the state level where some states even redirect their social welfare funds to other entities like private home communities and private schools claiming "it stops early pregnancy and facilitates fiscal responsibility which helps homeless rates decline"; even though many chronic pain or chronic illnesses cannot be help or are caused by over working. Then the republican party red taps, defunds and privatizes our social programs. Then the republican party deregulates the market to where you cannot even hold a company accountable to nearly any laws at all. This is a system that is very dysfunctional as one is not guarantied disability income, health care, financial assistance, pain medication, employment and even if you do get employment there is no guarantee they have to do anything to accommodate your disability or health needs aside form allowing a person an inhaler for asthma or to make sure they can take their insulin during lunch. The CDC and the government health agencies that follow them blindly pretend that non of that is even ever an issue. In the webinar they even make claims that suggest if every one just lives as healthy as they possibly can, then no one would ever develop any underlying health conditions. I hate to be the arbiter of truth, but that is simply not true (that's me being nice it's BS with a capital B and we all know it). I don't know how we went from a society that understood snake oil pushers are everywhere to a society that might as well be saying we should live like the boy in the plastic bubble. Bubble or not the reality is as we grow old we fall apart and eventually we will die. You can live your life as healthy as humanly possible, and there is nothing wrong with that, but it will not stop anyone from growing old and dying nor will it stop all chronic pain or illnesses resulting in disability. Many of these things can be obtained genetically, many are from dangerous work environments that are physically intensive manual labor or repetitive and being overworked (70 hour work weeks are becoming the norm). Many times it is a combination of genetics labor. Being as healthy as you can by including (this is a real thing) waring SPF lotion inside can be helpful and lower risks but they are not a deterrent. We are incapable at this time of not only offering a suitable replacement for opioids/opiate medications, but we are also incapable at this point in time of having a society completely free of underlying health conditions such as chronic pain or illness and disability especially one where no one grows old and dies; one could easily argue we may never see such an existence as it may not even be possible. My final thought on all this is that I really don't care what kind of "guidelines" the CDC makes and other health agencies. Even if they make them into policy, how are they going to get an entire society and everything in it to accommodate (not even all) chronic pain or ill disabled people. People you don't even know, with so many conditions that cannot even be seen as they are internal. How is that even possible? Is that even possible or is this nothing more then fantasy or pipe dream? I know many people try their best and most have empathy and sympathy, but we can't even get what we already have to work in the favor of chronic pain or illness and disabilities to work now. Although many full able bodied people have the best intentions they have things going on in their life such as maintaining a sleep cycle, a social life and many of the above mentioned prescriptions given to chronic pain and illness people or those with disabilities by the CDC themselves. As the saying goes, there's only so much time in a day; and well there's only so many years to a life. Let us not deny the cold reality, taking care of a full grown adult with a chronic pain condition, chronic illness and disabilities is very arduous and taxing and most don't have the time or energy to take care of every chronic pain or illness disabled person for the 24/7 needs they may have. Let us also not pretend that every one out there has it in them to be 'the good Samaritan' especially multi-conglomerate corporations who hold a for profit model even if it is at the expense of another's well being or life and in this day age at the cost of our own society. There are many that will not engage with this, cut corners, do the bare minimum or just flat out not do it. They could be doctors, police they could be anyone within this society; ultimately it is a standard that cannot even be enforced and wont and I can pretty much guarantee that. This is the CDC's proposal of what to do since they took our pain meds away and chronic pain patients suicide rates have gone up 400%. They did this with no back up plan and since chronic pain patients and the chronically ill and disabled have had their health care turned into a joke with no resources to help. Taking away pain meds has also not caused a drop in the use and overdose of illicit opiates/opioids, it's gotten worse as many who seek their medical benefits take to the streets and become another number. The CDC members responsible for this just sit around scratching their heads like this couldn't possibly be due to the fact that they took away a safe supply leaving the entire population of society with either an illicit contaminated supply or the worst opioids or opiates possible which is buprenorphine (Suboxone) and Methadone; regardless if one is a recreational user or some one who needs them to function as close to a resemblance of their old life as possible for medical reasons; basically an entire rehash of prohibition and or the lead up to Nazi occupied Germany as if we have collective amnesia and haven't learned anything in the last 100 years at all.

I can’t figure out how to get to the lost treasure past the blue dust out near the tree to the right of the entrance to the rehab tower wing as you’re facing it. I can’t seem to find instructions in any guide either. All of my attempts just result in suffocation long before I can get to it.

myprofile steam
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I am selling Ti8 and ti9 and ti10 Immortals and Collector's Cache and not buying them.
​​
Buyer goes first, no exceptions unless you have a reputable rep
​
All conversations will be saved for safety and record.
Steam Rep: Steam Reputation
Buyers go first, add me now if interested for 30 days cooldown, make sure to leave a comment on my profile . 20% reserve fee required at the time of reserving cache sets.

Immortal Treasure 2022 

Hero	Immortal Treasure I - II 2022	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Queen of Pain	Bloodfeather Finery	55$	4 Sold!- 1 left
Hoodwink	The Strings of Suradan Bundle	35$	4 Sold!- 2 left
Bristleback	Blastmitt Berserker Bundle	4$
Templar Assassin	Golden Seclusions of the Void	4$	1 Sold
Centaur Warrunner	Golden Infernal Cavalcade	4$

The Battle Pass Collection 2022 

Hero	The Battle Pass Collection 2022	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Mars	Molten Bore	10$	1 Sold!
Batrider	Charms of the Firefiend	5$

Ageless Heirlooms 2022 

Hero	Ageless Heirlooms 2022	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Mars	Wings of Imperium (Ultra Rare)	15$
Medusa	Jewels of Anamnes(sa (Very rare)	5$	1 Sold!
Night Stalker	Twilight Legions (Rare)	3$

Diretide 2022 Collector's Cache II 

Hero	Diretide 2022 Collector's Cache II	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Void Spirit	Sublime Equilibrium	35$
Anti Mage)	Brands of the Reaper	25$
Treant	Grudges of the Gallows Tree	20$
Phantom Assassin	Darkfeather Factioneer	12$	1 Sold!
Pudge	Cursed Cryptbreaker	10$
Legion Commander	Bird of Prey	10$
Night Stalker	Feasts of Forever	8$
Doom	Dawn of Darkness Foretold	8$
Techies	War Rig Eradicators	8$	2 Sold!
Huskar	Sacred Chamber Guardian	8$
Vengeful Spirit	Acrimonies of Obsession	8$
Ogre Magi	Freeboot Fortunes	8$
Clinkz	Withering Pain	8$
Alchemist	Darkbrew´s Transgression	8$
Brewmaster	The Wilding Tiger	8$
Oracle	Transcendent Path	8$
Silencer	Grand Suppressor	6$

Diretide 2022 Collector's Cache I 

Hero	Diretide 2022 Collector's Cache	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Primal Beast	Dark Behemoth (VERY RARE)	45$	3 Sold!
Invoker	Angel of Vex (Rare)	25$	1 Sold!
MARCI	Blue Horizons (Rare)	20$	4 Sold!
Hoodwink	Shadowleaf Insurgent	10$	3 Sold!
Spectre	Spoils of the Shadowveil	10$	2 Sold!
Faceless Void	Chines of the Inquisitor	10$
Ursa	Trophies of the Hallowed Hunt	10$
Riki	Scarlet Subversion	10$
Terrorblade	Forgotten Station	10$
Monkey King	Champion of the Fire Lotus	10$
Snapfire	Whippersnapper	10$	3 Sold!
Chen	Hounds of obsession	8$
Clockwerk	Seadog’s Stash	8$	1 Sold!
Phoenix	Crimson Dawn	8$
Undying	Dirge Amplifier	10$
Witch Doctor	Deathstitch Shaman	8$
Dawnbreaker	Starlorn Adjudicator	10$	4 Sold!

Aghanim's 2021 Collector's Cache 

Hero	Aghanim's 2021 Collector's Cache	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Ogre Magi	Pyrexae Polymorph Perfected	12$	1 Sold!
Dragon Knight	Silverwurm Sacrifice	15$	1 Sold!
Phantom Lancer	Scales of the Shadow Walker	10$
Dawnbreaker	Perception of the First Light	10$	3 Sold!
Clockwerk	Apex Automated	10$	2 Sold!
Razor	Test of the Basilisk Lord	10$	1 Sold!
Ancient Apparition	Secrets of the Frost Singularity	8$	3 Sold!
chen	Perils of the Red Banks	5$	1 Sold!
Grimstroke	The Chained Scribe	8$
Broodmother	Widow of the Undermount Gloom	10$	4 Sold!
Mars	Forgotten Fate	5$
Rubick	March of the Crackerjack Mage	5$	1 Sold!
Alchemist	Cosmic Concoctioneers	15$	4 Sold!
Abaddon	Blightfall	10$	1 Sold!

 Nemestice 2021 Collector's Cache 

Hero	Nemestice 2021 Collector's Cache	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Witch Doctor	Footfalls of the Sporefathers	30$	3 Sold!
Sven	Indomitable Legacy	60$	10 Sold!- 1 left
Doom	Litany of the Damned	10$	1 Sold!
Dark Willow	Twilight Hex	8$
Enigma	Astral Terminus	5$	1 Sold!
Enchantress	Caerulean Star	8$	1 Sold!
Gyrocopter	Arcane Inverter	10$	6 Sold!
Lycan	Creed of the Skullhound	10$	5 Sold!
Nature's Prophet	Desert Bloom	10$	4 Sold!
Oracle	Silence of the Starweaver	6$	6 Sold!
Skywrath Mage	Eyriebound Imperator	15$	6 Sold!
Tiny	Anthozoan Assault	10$	4 Sold!
Winter Wyvern	Defender of the Brumal Crest	10$	4 Sold!
Shadow Shaman	Red Sands Marauder	10$	6 Sold!

Collector Cache Sets 2020 1 + 2 

Hero	The International 2020	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Faceless Void	Claszureme Incursion	70$	5 Sold! - 1 left
Pudge	Mindless Slaughter	10$	3 Sold!
Sniper	Blacksail Cannoneer	5$
Disruptor	Fury of the Righteous Storm	5$	1 Sold!
Bounty Hunter	Heartless Hunt	10$	2 Sold!
Enchantress	Songs of Starfall Glen	10$	4 Sold! - 1 left
Enigma	Evolution of the Infinite	10$	3 Sold!
Timbersaw	Clearcut Cavalier	5$	4 Sold!
Keeper of the Light	The King Of Thieves	10$	3 Sold!
Chaos Knight	Talons of the Endless Storm	10$	4 Sold!
Rubick	Carousal of the Mystic Masquerade	10$	2 Sold!
Skywrath Mage	Secrets of the Celestial	10$	3 Sold!
Phoenix	Blaze of Oblivion	8$	2 Sold!

Collector Cache Sets 2019 

Hero	The International 2019	Price (CSGO keys)	Reserved/Sold
Necrophos	Fowl Omen	20$	4 Sold
Disruptor	Defender of Ruin	15$	3 Sold
Pudge	Dapper Disguise	15$	2 Sold
Warlock	Tribal Pathways	5$	1 Sold
Clockwerk	Directive of the Sunbound	10$	2 Sold
Bloodseeker	Fury of the Bloodforge	20$	4 Sold
Broodmother	Automaton Antiquity	10$	2 sold
Wraith King	Grim Destiny	12$	2 sold
Tusk	Distinguished Expeditionary	12$	2 Sold
Venomancer	Verdant Predator	15$	4 Sold
Batrider	Prized Acquisitions	8$	2 Sold
Abaddon	Echoes of the Everblack	10$	4 Sold
Chen	Priest of the Proudsilver Clan	6$	2 Sold!
Huskar	Pursuit of the Ember Demons	15$	7 Sold- 1 left
Oracle	Riddle of the Hierophant	10$	4 Sold
GrimStroke	Paean of the Ink Dragon	10$	3 Sold
Tidehunter	Poacher's Bane	12$	2 Sold
Undying	Curse of the Creeping Vine	10$	2 Sold
Enigma	The Arts of Mortal Deception	6$	1 Sold
Dazzle	Forbidden Medicine	12$	6 Sold

​

Collector Cache[1] + [2] Sets 

​

The International 2018	Price (CSGO keys)	Reserved/Sold
Stonemarch Sovereign [Wraith King]	20$	3 Sold - 1left
Cruelties of the Spiral Bore [Magnus]	20$	4 Sold - 1left
Pattern of the Silken Queen [Broodmother]	5$	1 sold
Shimmer of the Anointed [Nyx]	8$	3 Sold!
Molokau Stalker [Venomancer]	10$	3 Sold- 1left
Pillar of the Fractured Citadel [Spirit Breaker]	10$	1 Sold
Primer of the Sapper's Guile [Techies]	10$	2 Sold - 1left
Loaded Prospects [Brewmaster]	5$	4 Sold

my profile steam
[Inventor](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198082128551/inventory/#57

👋🏽 Welcome to Polyhedra - a growing community of nerds and ttrpg enthusiasts, just like you! 🤓
⏰ Tuesdays @ 8 p.m. Eastern
🪑 5/6 Seats Filled
IN FROZEN TUNDRA, HEROES WILL RISE TO DEFEAT THE HEART OF WINTER
Driven from lands farther north by more powerful foes, a young white dragon has descended upon the Sword Mountains, claiming the snow-capped range as its domain. Typical of its kind, Cryovain is dim-witted and cruel. The dragon patrols the skies around Icespire Peak, surveying its territory while hunting for food and easy treasure. With each passing day, the dragon’s domain grows as it ranges farther across the land, preying on anything it can catch with its claws or freeze to death with its icy breath. Sightings of the dragon are becoming more common, as are its attacks.
Ironically, the presence of Cryovain has driven lesser threats from their homes. A tribe of ruthless orcs nestled in the mountains have fled into the hills and forests below. Aided by local druids who have turned onwards the worship of a destructive god, they work to drive out the locals and stake a new claim in the region. Indeed, there are many dark forces lurking in the shadow of the dragon’s rampage…
Interested? Check out our Website or Schedule a Chat!
__________________________________
🧐 We know you have thoughts... "WHY PAID CAMPAIGNS?**" 😱
👉 The answer is pretty simple! We love free games! NOTHING, including our games, is better than sitting around a table with your irl friends playing some good 'ole Dnd. Buuuuut, for those of us who have anxiety, lack friends interested in the hobby, or are genuinely worried about if someone at the game store is going to be accepting of us, etc. Polyhedra hopes to be a solution.
We also recognize that DMs wear so many hats when running a session. Actors, authors, and artists all get paid for their work. Why not shouldn't a single human who acts as all 3 of those things also get paid for their work? GMs, we love you and we see you ❤️
__________________________________
🎲 GAME DETAILS 🐉
6 Player virtual tabletop.
3-4 hours of gameplay per session.
Private, tier 3 boosted Discord server with voice and video (by DM) - players only need a working microphone and headset.
Individualized creation chats with each player (available beginning now and through the first session of the campaign) where we will handcraft your PC's origins, background, and campaign-shaping plot points. NO CHARGE
Class, Feats, Backgrounds from any official sourcebooks and Unearthed Arcana. Homebrew dependent on DM permission.
__________________________________
🧑‍🏫 CODE OF CONDUCT
BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER. SERIOUSLY. JUST DO IT.
__________________________________
🙋 CONTACT
For more information and specific questions, please either visit our website or send a message via Discord to DM David (Nadrian#9820) or Jason (a_unicorn_person#6909). You can also reach out through reddit here: nadriancox for David or at a_unicorn_person for Jason.

👋🏽 Welcome to Polyhedra - a growing community of nerds and ttrpg enthusiasts, just like you! 🤓
⏰ Tuesdays @ 8 p.m. Eastern
🪑 5/6 Seats Filled
IN FROZEN TUNDRA, HEROES WILL RISE TO DEFEAT THE HEART OF WINTER
Driven from lands farther north by more powerful foes, a young white dragon has descended upon the Sword Mountains, claiming the snow-capped range as its domain. Typical of its kind, Cryovain is dim-witted and cruel. The dragon patrols the skies around Icespire Peak, surveying its territory while hunting for food and easy treasure. With each passing day, the dragon’s domain grows as it ranges farther across the land, preying on anything it can catch with its claws or freeze to death with its icy breath. Sightings of the dragon are becoming more common, as are its attacks.
Ironically, the presence of Cryovain has driven lesser threats from their homes. A tribe of ruthless orcs nestled in the mountains have fled into the hills and forests below. Aided by local druids who have turned onwards the worship of a destructive god, they work to drive out the locals and stake a new claim in the region. Indeed, there are many dark forces lurking in the shadow of the dragon’s rampage…
Interested? Check out our Website or Schedule a Chat!
__________________________________
🧐 We know you have thoughts... "WHY PAID CAMPAIGNS?**" 😱
👉 The answer is pretty simple! We love free games! NOTHING, including our games, is better than sitting around a table with your irl friends playing some good 'ole Dnd. Buuuuut, for those of us who have anxiety, lack friends interested in the hobby, or are genuinely worried about if someone at the game store is going to be accepting of us, etc. Polyhedra hopes to be a solution.
We also recognize that DMs wear so many hats when running a session. Actors, authors, and artists all get paid for their work. Why not shouldn't a single human who acts as all 3 of those things also get paid for their work? GMs, we love you and we see you ❤️
__________________________________
🎲 GAME DETAILS 🐉
6 Player virtual tabletop.
3-4 hours of gameplay per session.
Private, tier 3 boosted Discord server with voice and video (by DM) - players only need a working microphone and headset.
Individualized creation chats with each player (available beginning now and through the first session of the campaign) where we will handcraft your PC's origins, background, and campaign-shaping plot points. NO CHARGE
Class, Feats, Backgrounds from any official sourcebooks and Unearthed Arcana. Homebrew dependent on DM permission.
__________________________________
🧑‍🏫 CODE OF CONDUCT
BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER. SERIOUSLY. JUST DO IT.
__________________________________
CONTACT
For more information and specific questions, please either visit our website or send a message via Discord to DM David (Nadrian#9820) or Jason (a_unicorn_person#6909). You can also reach out through reddit here: nadriancox for David or at a_unicorn_person for Jason.

👋🏽 Welcome to Polyhedra - a growing community of nerds and ttrpg enthusiasts, just like you! 🤓
⏰ Tuesdays @ 8 p.m. Eastern
🪑 5/6 Seats Filled
IN FROZEN TUNDRA, HEROES WILL RISE TO DEFEAT THE HEART OF WINTER
Driven from lands farther north by more powerful foes, a young white dragon has descended upon the Sword Mountains, claiming the snow-capped range as its domain. Typical of its kind, Cryovain is dim-witted and cruel. The dragon patrols the skies around Icespire Peak, surveying its territory while hunting for food and easy treasure. With each passing day, the dragon’s domain grows as it ranges farther across the land, preying on anything it can catch with its claws or freeze to death with its icy breath. Sightings of the dragon are becoming more common, as are its attacks.
Ironically, the presence of Cryovain has driven lesser threats from their homes. A tribe of ruthless orcs nestled in the mountains have fled into the hills and forests below. Aided by local druids who have turned onwards the worship of a destructive god, they work to drive out the locals and stake a new claim in the region. Indeed, there are many dark forces lurking in the shadow of the dragon’s rampage…
Interested? Check out our Website or Schedule a Chat!
__________________________________
🧐 We know you have thoughts... "WHY PAID CAMPAIGNS?**" 😱
👉 The answer is pretty simple! We love free games! NOTHING, including our games, is better than sitting around a table with your irl friends playing some good 'ole Dnd. Buuuuut, for those of us who have anxiety, lack friends interested in the hobby, or are genuinely worried about if someone at the game store is going to be accepting of us, etc. Polyhedra hopes to be a solution.
We also recognize that DMs wear so many hats when running a session. Actors, authors, and artists all get paid for their work. Why not shouldn't a single human who acts as all 3 of those things also get paid for their work? GMs, we love you and we see you ❤️
__________________________________
🎲 GAME DETAILS 🐉
6 Player virtual tabletop.

• 3-4 hours of gameplay per session.
• Private, tier 3 boosted Discord server with voice and video (by DM) - players only need a working microphone and headset.
• Individualized creation chats with each player (available beginning now and through the first session of the campaign) where we will handcraft your PC's origins, background, and campaign-shaping plot points. NO CHARGE
• Class, Feats, Backgrounds from any official sourcebooks and Unearthed Arcana. Homebrew dependent on DM permission.

__________________________________
🧑‍🏫 CODE OF CONDUCT

• BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER. SERIOUSLY. JUST DO IT.

__________________________________
[CONTACT](mailto:[email protected])
For more information and specific questions, please either visit our website or send a message via Discord to DM David (Nadrian#9820) or Jason (a_unicorn_person#6909). You can also reach out through reddit here: nadriancox for David or at a_unicorn_person for Jason.

Hi, I’m currently exploring evolution after having been brought up as a YEC in a Baptist family. I’m considering reading some of Richard Dawkins’ books (just saw an amazing video in which he explains how the evolution of the eye is not “irreducibly complex”), but noticed this critical review on the Amazon page for his book The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. As I’m very new to all this, I can’t really make heads or tails of whether this reviewer’s arguments are in any way valid, or totally fallacious. So, I was curious if anyone here more knowledgable than myself on the subject might have any thoughts/could help me out? I just don’t want to go from believing one thing (which I now think is likely false) straight to believing another, without adequately exploring it and any potentially-valid arguments from its detractors. Thanks.
​

Greatest Show on Earth: Issues
The reason expositors of Darwinian theory like Dawkins cannot convince independent thinkers that the theory is believable is that they do not address the important questions. They prefer instead to demolish over and over again the straw man of the denial of evolution. Evolution is a fact, but the explanation of the how of evolution is, in my opinion, not. In Darwin's theory of evolution, natural selection is the explanation of the how of evolution. This theory within a theory leaves so many basic questions unanswered that it is not credible. The review, then, is about the gaps in the theory of natural selection, or what I refer to as important questions not addressed. A couple of points about this review. First, this book is as much a defense of Darwinian theory as it is of evolution. So there is much about that theory in this review. Second, the review is written as if evolutionary-developmental biology (evo-devo) does not exist. That omission is not something the reviewer can remedy.
Important question not addressed (IQNA) 1: the nature of variation: the size of variants. Although Darwin devotes three chapters in Origin to the subject of variation, Dawkins, like almost every other writer (an exception is Kirshchner and Gerhart with their Plausibility of life) has nothing to say about variation, other than that it is random. Variation and selection are the concepts that are the alpha and omega of Darwinian theory. This same theory that Dawkins touts as the most important in biology has one of its two pillars explained in one word, random. And in a word that has several dictionary definitions.
Consider the meaning of random: unpredictable, haphazard, yielding different outcomes under identical conditions. Chance is another term that is used in the present regard. But all of this tells us little. It tells us nothing about the size of variants or about the quantity of the variability. Let's consider size. Are variants itty bitty things, or are they or may they be "chunks." Darwin was steadfast that variants (what we today would call the phenotypic effects of mutation) are imperceptibly small. "Insensibly fine" was probably his favorite phraseology in the present regard. But to leave no doubt, he also (1st ed. Origin) used "infinitesimally small." It is important whether variation is small or large. Size affects the speed of evolution and its perceptibility. If variant size is small, this explains why we cannot see evolution unfolding before our eyes, why it may be like the hour hand of a clock. Small variants are convenient to the Darwinian theorist because they seem to deal with the issue of how new variants are formed. Who will be so uncharitable as to begrudge Darwin the sudden appearance of an insensibly fine variation that accretes something useful to what already exists in the organism? For it is another matter when variation is large. For example, if someone claimed that a full-blown wing or even a full blown feather had appeared suddenly as the result of mutation, the general reaction would be that of incredulity. "How is it possible for dumb molecules to do this?" people would wonder. There would be general disbelief. Insensibly fine variants are congruent with Darwin's thinking because the phenomenon seems consistent with a naturalistic explanation of phenomena, which kind of explanation was Darwin's goal. Large variants betoken guidance, direction, constraint, not a naturalistic process unless it is a most peculiar such process.
Dawkins goes along with Darwin's position that variants are always small, despite the fact that examples of mega-mutations pepper his book. Not to mention that everyone knows about large mutational leaps, even Darwin. Darwin and Dawkins tell us that the large change effected by artificial selection often come about not by the the tedious accumulation of insensibly fine variants over a long period of time, but by the sudden appearance of sports. What happens is that there is the sudden appearance of a "sport," maybe monstrous size or the opposite. The breeder uses the "monster" to breed the great dane. By taking advantage of these saltational changes, it was possible to create the basset hound. Dawkins tells the reader about the gene that is responsible for both the basset hound and dwarfism in humans. And tumbling in tumbler pigeons and pointing in pointers, these are mutant characteristics that suddenly appeared. No animal breeder, Darwin tells us would have ever thought of producing such characteristics if they were not already apparent in nature.
In the same vein, who doesn't by now know that if you expose fruit flies to a mutagen, you can cause a leg to grow out of the head instead of antenna? This, by the way, is a mutation also commonly found in nature. And there are numerous other examples of saltatory mutations in flies. There's an eyeless gene whose mutant form is the absence of eyes, a tinman gene whose mutant form is a highly anomalous heart. You can go on and on and on. Of course, there is blue eye color vs. brown in humans and as in Mendel's, research smooth vs. wrinkled seeds, and on and on. One wonders whether there are any micro mutations that we do know about?! So why this continued drum beat about variation being insensibly fine? Can it be that large, perceptible mutations, like antenna in the wrong place, are inexplicable and that they betoken, if not demonstrate, variation that is not random? One must wonder why he cannot get a straight answer about the size of variants (i.e., mutations) from biology. One must also wonder how Darwin can talk about the accumulation of insensibly small changes when he himself adduces so much evidence that nature produces huge amount of variation that is saltatory, large sudden changes in organisms. Does he not see the contradiction? Ditto for Dawkins. And not unimportantly, does not the huge evidence for saltatory variation, to use Darwin's own phraseology, "annihilate" his theory?
IQNA 2: Where does variation come from, especially the insensibly fine variation? And how does successive variation accumulate to change an organ or organism? The Darwinian idea or ideal is that there is a pool of insensibly fine variants in an interbreeding group that provides the raw material for natural selection. Darwin referred to this variation as individual differences. Suppose the finches with large beaks are more successful in producing progeny than those with smaller beaks. The next generation will have on the average larger beaks than the previous one. Not only that, but the variants that are produced by the next generation will be on the average larger. The distribution of differences will have been moved upwards. If living conditions remain unchanged, the larger beaks of the new generation will produce an increased number of progeny. In this way, the beak will get larger over successive generations. This is the main way, for Darwin, for evolution to occur--small modifications over many successive generations accumulating to produce large change.
But where do these important variants that differ insensibly from that of the parent's come from. You read a lot about mutations that produce large, saltatory change (e.g., the gene for PKU, for hemophilia, etc.), but not about those that produce the insensibly fine change. Dawkins credits all variation to mutation, but he furnishes no detail--does he mean the insensibly fine modifications are mutations, too?. Without an explanation of the origin of insensibly fine modifications, the theory is (as Darwin would say) "fatally" incomplete.
And just how do slight modifications accumulate? There are so many scenarios one can imagine, it is bewildering. I'll illustrate with one. Simultaneously, 100 (or any number of members of the same species pass the same mutation on to an offspring. This can go on day after day even hour after hour. You instantly have, after only the first round, 100 strains of the species. At the same time, a second mutation is being passed on to a different 100 offspring. I ask the question that Darwin himself asked (Origin): "Why is not all nature in confusion instead of the species being as we see them, well defined?" In another place, he asks: "Why are not all organic beings blended into an inextricable chaos?" I am unpersuaded by Darwin's answer, and Dawkins does not address the matter.
And finally on this matter of how mutations accumulate. Take the creature that is an incipient giraffe. It passes a mutation for (insensibly fine) elongated neck to an offspring. This same kind of thing is going to happen for myriad successive generations, each time the neck being lengthened a bit. Question: Is the mutation for the myriad lengthenings the same, or is each mutation distinct? I don't know the answer. This is the most basic of questions; but it is not addressed by Darwin or Dawkins or in any book of the same genre as Dawkins'. I don't know about the textbooks
IQNA 3: Can imperceptibly small variants make a difference in fitness? Fitness, in the present context, means reproductive prowess or ability to pass one's genes to the next generations. We have seen that many variants (mutations) are quite large, anything but insensibly fine. But there may be cases where variants are insensibly fine. The question is whether such small changes can make a difference for the organism's fitness. The question here is not whether insensibly fine changes can accumulate to somerthing perceptible. It is whether such small change can increase fitness. I don't think this has been empirically demonstrated. And I think there are good reasons for believing this is not probable, if even possible. Consider the noise background consisting of all the changes simultaneously taking place. When writers like Dawkins talk about some selection pressure, such as drought or predation, they act as if no other selection pressures are operating at the same time. But that is the furthest thing from the truth. Finally, there is the intelligence of the organism that is going to overwhelm any effect of an insensibly fine variant. Weiner, in his account of the research of the Grants on Darwin's finches, tells of birds that wedge seeds into crevices and apply outside pressure when it becomes too hard to crack seed with the beak. Since the effect of intelligence is unlikely to correlate with some random variant, its likely large effect on fitness will drown out any effect from the variant, in this case, size of beak.
IQNA 4: What about the qualitative nature of variation? We have considered size variation, like the size of a beak. But what about qualitative variation? Birds uniquely have feathers and beaks; mammals, hair, mammary glands. There are qualitative differences within the individual organisms. The eye is not an ear, which is not a heart, which is not limb, and so on. There are innumerable qualitative differences in behavior. There are intraorgan differences that are qualitative. There are different parts of the eye. There are intratrait qualitative differences, such as differences in eye color, blood type, flower color, seed texture, melanin. Amazingly, Dawkins has written a tome about evolution without using the term allele. Let's talk about one qualitative variant, the angle the contour feather shaft on a bird makes with the surface of the body - call it the feather angle. There are easily infinitely many possibilities, since even one degree may be divided into infinitely many divisions. How fortunate for the bird that it mutated a feather angle that improved fitness. If the feather shaft stuck straight out from the body at a 90 degree angle, that would not have been useful as a contour feather that has to lie close to the body to give the body a sleek, aerodynamic form. By far, the greatest number of possible angles would not be useful to the organism. Yet just the right angle appeared. Or possibly the mutation that puts the tinniest feather or an incipient feather on a featherless creature occurred myriad times, improving the probability that in at least one case the angle would be beneficial. It is issues like this that should be carefully explicated by Dawkins, not seemingly hidden under the rug.
IQNA 5. In what way is variation random? Dawkins tells us that variation is random; yet it is obviously the case that variation is not random in important respects. Mutation repeats itself in nature and in the lab. How can this be random? Alleles are greatly limited in number and kind. If there are two possible alleles, one a beneficial one and the other not; in what meaningful way is variation random? Feathers do not grow on pigs, but only on birds. Obviously not random. It is so obviously the case that variation is constrained. How does this constraint come about? Dawkins will not acknowledge that there an issue here..The notion that random mutation, mutation that is not biased or constrained so that it is relevant and/or useful to the the individual's life situation can get the job done requires an act of faith incongruous in empirical science. Or is there magic in the world after all? That anything, however simple, could evolve if dependent on purely random variation, I don't think, is credible. Let's talk about eyes, all sorts of them. Why would an eyespot ever spontaneously spring into existence, say on a flatworm, as the result of a random event. And why would this be followed by the appearance of a nerve that attaches itself to the eyespot, and this a random event, too? This is more improbable than the appearance of the eyespot. And why on descendents of this flatworm, would there be the recessing of the tissue containing it into a pocket containing the eyespot? And why would the eyspot move till it is centered perfectly at the back of the pocket? And on and on and on. Do such things occur indiscriminately? For example, do eyespots spring up in guts or anuses or nostrils or on tails, etc.? Or are they reserved for eye-appropriate places, like the anterior surface of the organism? Can light-sensitivity, for example, appear anywhere on or in the organism, like in the gut, on the tail, in a nostril? If not,why not? But back to the main point, things do not spontaneously happen. Consider that life has originated one time in 4.6 billion years on this planet.
On the matter of characteristics spontaneously appearing, evolutionary biologists are quick to point out that nothing appears de novo, that everything originates from a precursor. Which explains why there are not feathers on pigs. This posture gets the biologist off the hook for explaining beginnings, something not easy to do. Darwin would not discuss beginnings, either of life or of an organ, like an eye.
No one, not Darwin, not Dawkins, would deny that variation is constrained by the nature of the organism in question. Which is why there are feathers only on birds. The big question is the nature of the constraint. So what is it about the peahen that causes it to be inflamed sexually by eyespots on the tail of the peacock, but not by squares, triangles, or crescent moons, which do not, in fact, embellish peacocks?
IQNA 6. What is the role of behavior, intelligence, and adaptability in Darwin's theory. Behavior is what the theory is really all about. Organs, like feathers, wings, eyes, limbs, enable organisms to behave, to hunt, to defend, to love, to enjoy, to reason etc. Yet hardly anything is said about behavior by Darwin. Dawkins says nothing. Darwin talks expressly about instinct, but instinct is a small part of behavior, especially in primates. But Darwin give a great many examples of intelligent, adaptable behavior in his making of various points. In fact, Darwin's examples of adaptability (flexibility, resourcefulness, etc.) make one wonder if adaptability won't preempt or make unnecessary natural selection. For if an organism can deal with any crisis (famine, predation, disease, etc.) by the use of its wits, why does it need to change physically. This last is a very old idea.
In conclusion, The greatest show on earth, does not help the cause of Darwinism.

Welcome to Green Valley

Four Merry Jaunts Through in the Bumpkin Quest Campaign

It’s a big world filled with far off folks who have far off problems. In the quaint farming town of Hills Furrow that has certainly not been the case. Here life is simple, local, and paced by the seasons. There ain’t been a need for “Venturers” and their ilk since your Papaw was just a sprout. However, the winds of change are blowin, and things are about to git just a bit more exciting round these parts.
Welcome to Green Valley, The down-home home of Rural Fantasy Misadventures and Grass-Roots Shenanigans. The Valley is Filled with Colorful Characters, Brimming with Odd Ball Neighbors, and has more than a few Local Yokels. Welcome to Bumpkin Quest. These adventures are intended to be a series of silly adventures that all go awry in some way or another and stir up trouble throughout a peaceful little village that has in many ways been overlooked by the troubles of the world “outside”.
CHAPTER 1: Green Tide CHAPTER 2: A Cartload of Chickens CHAPTER 3: Marvin the Magnificent CHAPTER 4: High Society
ADVENTURE MECHANICS - Target Character Level: Commoners - Level 1 - Target Party Size: Four Players - Average Adventure Playtime: 1-2 Hours - Tone: Rural Misadventures
I’ve also put these adventures into a PDF that includes our Bumpkin Quest: Campaign Guide which fills in the details of Green Valley pretty thoroughly. The quests are simple enough to be run in any setting you choose, but if you're interested in more the Guide as over a dozen Custom Maps, 70+ NPCs, Location Descriptions, 20+ Local Legends, and Scores of Adventure and Event Ideas. You can grab the PDF Free at the link above.

Hills Furrow

At the center of the Valley sits a patch of small grassy hills, through which the Slow Water meanders through. Built into these hills is the Village of Hills Furrow. Celebrated by everyone living in The Valley and boasting a whopping population of almost 150, Hills Furrow is the center of commerce and social importance. Well, at least as far as the locals are concerned. Realistically it would be less than a blip on the grand scale of things, a mere kernel of wheat in the silo of civilization, but to those who live here, there is nothing quite like living in the “city”.
The Village itself, like the Valley, is predominantly Halfling, and their fancy dwellings are burrowed into the hillsides as often as possible. These dwellings have been family owned for generations only becomeing available if there are no heirs to pass them along to. Other folk live in well kept two story shingled buildings, most of which house a business on the lower floor and house the Shopkeepers and their families above their workplaces, though a few live in nearby homes. There aren’t many “rental” spaces in town, as property is usually bought up quickly by the Halfling Families, but there are long term options at either of the Inns in town.
Hills Furrow: Locations 1) The Crocked Crow (Inn and Tavern) 2) The Dancing Lamb (Inn and Tavern) 3) The Moaning Toad (Tavern) 4) Granny's Groceries (General Market) 5) Get Nailed (Hardware and Distilery) 6) Gimdurh's Hammer (Smithy) 7) Brenra's Mechanicals (Tinker) 8) Hjoldren's Home Goods (Carpenter) 9) Standard Industries (Office) 10) Fit to be Dyed (Tailor) 11) The Last Loaf (Baker) 12) The Cloudy Cleaver (Butcher) 13) Nature's Medecine (Apothecary) 14) Sheriff's Office 15) Green Valley School House 16) The Waterwheel 17) The Windmill 18) The Undercloak Estate 19) Truefoot Burrow 20) The Meadows Family Hill
The people themselves are hospitable and friendly enough, but they do not really trust outsiders. Folks from foreign places are good for trade, news, and little else. Those that come through are treated well enough as long as they don’t wear out their welcome. Locals, well, that’s a bit of a different story. The city and area doesn’t operate under a written caste system or social structure, but there is clearly a pecking order, and family heritage matters a great deal to folks in Hills Furrow. Most locals, whether they’ve gotten an education or not, can easily be classified as simple. It isn’t that they are slow of mind or unintelligent, but more that they are unconcerned with matters the outside world considers important. This sentiment has created a general, but friendly, dislike between those that consider themselves Highfalutin and those that clearly are not.
Well now that I've given you the fifty cent tour. Shall we get on to adventure?

CHAPTER 1: Green Tide

We will open our journeys in the Green Valley at Green Tide, the annual celebration of Winter’s End. This adventure is designed to give a tour of Hills Furrow and introduce them to the locals. It will begin with some chores around their house to prepare for the festival and end with a battle involving an enchanted broom. If you did not do Session Zero, this chapter may take a bit longer as we get to know everyone and their characters.

ACT 1: Pre-Festival

The locals spend the week cleaning out their houses and farms. They gather old junk and unused items to be used later in the festival. They also begin preparing what food is left from winter to be used in a celebration and feasts.
Things to do! - Have the Players clean up junk around the house - Have them Find something strange (Perhaps used for a later mystery?) - Have them Decorate their Broom - Have them run a Household Errand (Meet an NPC)

ACT 2: Sweeping Day

A merry festival celebrating Spring cleaning and putting the past behind them. They form a parade, with one member from each house carrying a brightly decorated broom and using it to symbolically “Sweep Away Winter”. The rest of the family marches their winter’s trash and unused goods down to the Fairgrounds. The goods are often traded, while the trash is piled in the fire pit to await burning later. The entire day is filled with fun outdoor activities. Households also symbolically bring their problems to the bonfires to burn them later.
Things to do! - March in the Parade - Carry Junk to the Bonfire - Meet more of the Locals
EVENT: I Love a Parade
The parade will march North from near the Cross Roads in the South up around the hill and back again to the South where it will head for the Fairgrounds. There isn’t anything particularly challenging about this event, but it would be a wonderful place to start leaning into or building local rivalries.
EVENT: Never Seen a Broom Do That… As they come into the home stretch of the Parade one of the local’s Brooms will animate and take off. It will chase folks around the parade. The players can attempt to stop it, but the broom will flee soon after being attacked. It will fly up into the air, attack a flock of geese, and chase them off until it can’t be seen anymore. They can go and collect a fallen goose if they wish. I highly recommend giving it a motorcycle type sound as it flies around hitting folks. Maybe even going as far as giving it a rough gravel angry voice and letting it insult people.

ACT 3: Winter’s End

Winter’s End is a Combination of Groundhog’s Day and Fasnacht, this day gets a little wild. The Festival kicks off at dawn with the Great Gopher Hunt. Gophers are well known spies for The Voice of Winter and thus need to be hunted before they can tell The Voice to delay Spring. Gophers themselves are quite tasty, and are notoriously bad for crops, so this works out economically all around. Throughout the rest of the day families continue to contribute to the Bonfire Pile which often gets quite large. At dusk a large effigy of The Voice of Winter is placed on top of the pile. Once the sun has fully set they light the fire and burn the Effigy. Folk usually dress darkly during the day and brightly at night. After the burning they feast on sweets and treats that were made from goods saved up from winter storage.
Things to do! - The Great Gopher Hunt - Carry Junk to the Bonfire - Meet more of the Locals - The Fairground’s Activities
EVENT: The Great Gopher Hunt The Hunt begins at dawn and takes place all over the Valley. Locals race to collect as many Gophers as possible. It is easiest to kill the Gopher, but there are some that find that distasteful. Instead they live trap the critters. It is a bit tougher to do so, but an option should your players wish. This is most easily played out as a series of appropriate Skill Checks, in which the higher they score the more gophers they obtain.
EVENT: Trash Removal They may find some locals willing to pay them to help cart junk down to the bonfire pile. Not a lot of skill involved in this, but it is a great opportunity to meet locals, and you could throw a runaway cart at them.
Fair Activities They will probably want to take part in Fairground Activities. Players love these types of challenges. Here are a few ideas you can build on. - Axe Throwin: Basic attack rolls on a Round Target. Higher scores equal Higher points. - Bow Shootin: Basic attack rolls on Moving Targets. Higher scores equal Higher points. - Pig Chasin: Catch the greased Pig! Medium DC Challenge requiring three success before three Failures. - Mud Wrastlin: Nothing says bumpkin like a good Mud Wrastlin Pit. Contested Skill Challenges. - Sausage Eating Contest: Increasingly difficult DC Challenge. Eat till you puke! Can also be Pies or Ribs or Little Fish… you know whatever someone wants to stuff dozens of in their gullet. - Tug O’War: Team Strength Challenge. Three to Five Contested Rolls with opposing teams. - Gopher BBQ Cook Off: A Hard Culinary Challenge to see who can BBQ the best Gopher! - Races: Foot and Mount Races based on Three to Five Contested Rolls. I usually include a few odd mounts like a Giant Chicken or some such nonsense.

ACT 4: Day of Ashes

The Day of Ashes is a day of rest, recovery, and reflection. Locals take the ashes from the bonfires and rub their hands in them to symbolize the end of a hard year’s work and hardships of the past. The day ends with a large family feast, typically Pork. Activities this day are light, but many folks head to the Temple for the Calling of Spring Blessings. They put on their fancies and head down to ask forgiveness for over-indulging in the festival and for worship. Well sort of…
Unfortunately, a lot of folks take this as an opportunity to peacock about and practice their one-upmanship over other locals. If you’re looking for inspiration for their outfits look to older photos of the Kentucky Derby. Over the years this troubling practice has caused more than one fight to break out after the service.
*Things to do! * - Go to Temple and Meet More Locals - Pick a Local Patron!
EVENT: Temple Services
The majority of the town comes to Temple on this day. The service is usually longer, and a bit more “Where have most of you been all year?” But otherwise it is a call for the Divine Blessings to touch their crops and protect their lives. It ends with a ceremony in which the locals put their hands into the ashes from yesterday’s bonfire. Once services end they will head outside, where the trouble will begin. Two of the wealthier families will get into it with each other. Starting with a couple of veiled insults, probably before service and continuing afterward. If one of your players is from a local Rich Folk family then they can be right in the middle of it all, otherwise they will have to pick a side. This choice will determine their house Patron moving forward. Tension will increase until folks start drawing up sides, and then someone will throw a rotten tomato at one of the House Matrons. That will blow the lid off the incident and a yokel brawl will break out. For comedy purposes I recommend the instant appearance of several food carts filled with expired products, and maybe a six year old hustler selling big sticks for wacking folks with. As the locals brawl call for perception checks. Who ever rolls highest begins to hear… The Broom returning!
ENCOUNTER: Stick In The Eye
The broom returns ready to whoop some ash. It will be absolutely bent on cleaning anyone and everyone who is even the slightest bit dirty! If it successfully attacks a character they will have to make a Strength Saving throw or be knocked to the ground and swept clean by the broom. As this would be an awful omen for the year folks are terrified and will be running around screaming. Absolute mass hysteria. If the players were lucky enough to hear it coming they can avoid being surprised by the broom. Otherwise the broom will get a full round to attack before they have a chance to do anything. They’ll have to beat the broom into submission any way they can before it sweeps the whole town into chaos!

CLOSING

After defeating the broom things will settle back down again. Bumpkins are quick to return to normal when things go awry. However, they will have gotten the attention of one of the Wealthy Families in the area and be offered jobs. Which family is really, based on what will work best for them and you as the DM. For gags you might be tempted to have the Yokels pick them up, but that is a hard bit to sustain, and you may be better served keeping them on the side as a comic foil rather than up front. Completely up to you. The session should end with them being invited to meet their new patron tomorrow someplace important.

CHAPTER 2: A Cartload of Chickens

After successfully defeating the Enchanted Broom, our Bumpkins have gained the attention of a possible local Patron. This individual has summoned them to a nearby farm to discuss future work. That work includes proving themselves capable and not just lucky.

ACT 1: Meet the Boss

In this Act the players will meet with their new patron, one of the Family Heads, who that is entirely depends on their choices from the last game. This entire side branch is designed to flavor the background of the campaign, but if you’d rather just have them stay freelancing and independent that’s fine as well. There is also the possibility of “competing” offers should they have second thoughts for any reason. Once they arrive at the meeting spot their Patron will ask them some questions about their ambitions (Class Goals), they will then hand them off to their new “boss” who will assign them their task. They will take them to a nearby barn.
NEW NPC: “Boss”
Needs a fitting name for the Family they work for...
Character wise, what we got here is a standard “Ranch Foreman” character. They’re tough, A little mean, and completely loyal to their employer. They almost certainly chew tobacco (by the handful), have a tattoo of the Ranch’s Brand, and know where all the bodies are buried. They also have a huge and obvious scar on the side of their head where a Giant Chicken pecked a hole in their skull, so they’re not as bright as they used to be, not at all truthfully. Nor are they actually the Foreman anymore, but no one has a heart to tell them. They’ve been quietly downgraded to Chicken Handler, which is something they seem to remember quite well, but the brain damage keeps them from realizing all that. They can be found wandering the Farm giving strange orders to other Hands. These Hands nod politely and then go back to what they are doing.
Things To Do! - Meet Their Patron - Discuss Their Future - Meet Their New “Boss”

ACT 2: Chicken Dance

Boss will lead them into the odd looking barn. This building is filled with Giant Chickens. These two-three foot fouls have extremely exaggerated features, spiky looking beaks with sharp tooth like edges, big darting eyes, bumpy cracked skin, long gnarled talons, and dirty mottled feathers. They’re more beast than bird. But, they’re good for eatin! These creatures should have a stat block similar to an Axe Beak. When the players enter into the Barn the Chickens will go nuts, obviously deeply bothered by the intrusion. Boss will throw in some deer haunches and the birds will tear them apart in a feeding frenzy. They will then put on a Chicken Suit and begin a flapping dance. (Google Magnificent Riflebird) It should be absolutely captivating and the chickens will become mesmerized, watching every move. Boss will then load two dozen chickens onto a large wagon and lock it. They will have the players push the wagon out while he keeps the Chickens calm. Once outside they’ll hang heavy tarps on the sides of the wagon, and remove the suit. He will then explain to them that they need to keep the tarps on the wagon, and keep the birds well fed, or the chickens will get restless and become violent. When they do need to interact with them someone will have to wear the suit and dance to keep them calm. The bigger the person in the suit the better. Boss will then give them a Map of Green Valley and instruct them to drop off two chickens at each of the outer settlements. They have two days to get this done.
Things To Do! - Head into the barn - Witness The Dance of The Chicken - Push the Wagon out - Get the Costume and Delivery Instructions

ACT 3: Bumpy Roads

They will be off to deliver the Chickens to various locations. There is no specific order to this delivery, they just need to pick a route and go. If they’re short on time they can take the country roads that lead between the outer settlements, but these aren’t as well kept as the main roads are. Whatever road they take and wherever they decide to stop for the night there are problems they will encounter along the way. You can make them random or pick the ones that best suit your players. Most of these should at some point require someone putting on the suit and dancing for the chickens to keep them calm. I would also increase the difficulty of each event. If they fail a dance the Chickens will become restless and start attacking the cart until they are calmed down. Too many failures and the wagon’s cage will break and the remaining chickens escape. They will then have to be rounded up and the cage repaired.
Things to Do - Decide the delivery route - Deliver the chickens - Keep the Chickens calm
Possible Road Events 1) Rough roads cause problems 2) Yokels attempt to see what’s in the cart 3) Bad Weather swamps the road or scares the chickens 4) Pack of Coyotes causes trouble. 5) Chicken Rustlers! Protect the Flock! 6) Wagon breaks and needs repair 7) Cows in the road, someone’s herd is out. 8) Broken Bridge, not gone, just broken

ACT 4: Final Delivery

They’re now closing in on the final delivery. Something needs to happen here to cause them to put the suit on. Or maybe they never took it off! I love that idea, that one of your players just loves the suit and wants to be a chicken… lol… Anyway I’m a fan of having them need to get out of the suit for some reason, maybe a bathroom break, or they stand on a fire ant hill, or a snake slithers up their leg. You know something silly and fun. BUT the zipper is stuck! So they’ll have to try and unstick it and fast! Whatever happens they’re going to get shot at by some hunters looking for a big score who have mistaken the flailing caused by the stuck zipper to be the chicken attacking. After dealing with the Hunters they can go ahead and make the final drop. And head home.
Things to Do! - Head for the final delivery - Get shot at! - Deliver the last chickens
ENCOUNTER: That’s a BIG Chicken!
Having two hunters in the field is more than enough to cause a problem for the players. The hunters will almost certainly surprise the players, but you can allow them a perception check, if they succeed they’ll see the hunters just before the muskets go off. It would be OK to down the Chicken Player here if the hunters successfully hit it. They’ll have healer’s kits on hand because, well, this seems to happen to them a lot out here. After the initial attack the players can decide to attack back or try and talk the hunters down. A basic Bandit or Scout stat block should do will for the hunters. If you’re looking for a bit more mayhem, if the hunters miss the players you could have them hit the cage, and you know, bust it open. This may be especially tempting if they
POSSIBLE ENCOUNTER: Big Ol' Frog
So there is a giant frog hiding in the mud down in the creek. If a player takes cover behind the banks there is a good chance that the frog will attempt to nab the player as a snack. If it is successful in grabbing a player with its tongue it will immediately head down river, and they'll have to chase it to get their friend back.

CLOSE

When they return, Boss will reward them. How much will depend on how successful they were delivering the birds. If they did a descent job, they will be paid two day’s wages each. If they were completely successful they can have a bonus. However, if the wagon is in bad shape they might have some money deducted. After they’re paid out, they will be dismissed, and told to expect a new assignment next week.

CHAPTER 3: Marvin the Magnificent

After successfully delivering chickens Boss is going to trust them with a more important task. Their employer has requested an item to be created by Marvin the Magnificent. This is a farming community so having enchanted Farming Equipment is extremely desirable. Marvin has done a lot of basic enchantments over the years, but this new one, an The Stone Skipper, a plough whose blade goes ethereal while in contact with stones too large to push away, has really put him to the test. He needs some help with the final enchantments. The players will have to travel to the Ethereal Plane and hit the Blade of the plow with large rocks. But there’s a problem, they’re going to have mischievous Ethereal Sprites attempting to stop them! If they’re successful, which they should be, they get to take the plough for a test drive, and deal with the strange side effects of the enchantment. Angry goats that blink in and out of existence.

ACT 1: To the Tower

They’ll be summoned out to the Ranch where they’ll meet with Boss again. Once there they will notice a large pile of bent and dinged up plows. Boss will explain to them that a recent land acquisition has become problematic. The Fields are filled with large stones just under the topsoil and they’ve damaged a lot of Plow Blades. The Smithing costs are getting out of hand and so their Patron is looking for an alternate solution to the problem. He is sending them to help Marvin the Magnificent, who has taken the job, but run into some complications and needs some help. They may ask about Marvin. Or perhaps the fields that were purchased, so be ready to answer these types of questions. Once they’re done here they can head to Marvin’s Tower, which is just north of town.
Things to Do! - Meet Boss again - Ask some Informational Questions - Head for the Tower
NPC: Marvin the Magnificent

ACT 2: Marvin the Magnificent

As they approach the tower they should see an explosion at the peak of the structure. It should look similar to a fireworks mishap. When it clears there will be no visible damage to the tower, But Marvin will plummet to the earth just off to the side of them, landing in a small pond. He will then come charging out of the pond, laughing hysterically, and riding on a large turtle. Once he gets a few feet away from the pond the turtle will disappear and he will tumble to the ground right in front of the players. He will leap up quickly and turn toward the players. “Behold Travelers, You stand in the presence of Marvin the Magnificent! And everything you have witness was mostly intended!” He will then strike a cool pose with his wand pointed to the sky! “Now why do you approach my tower!?”
Once Marvin finds out they’ve been sent about the plow he will become more nervous looking. “I see, well follow me. We have work to do.” He will then start walking toward the tower… his boots squishing out water. This should give them a little time to ask a few questions. Marvin will be a little subversive about what they need to do. He will attempt to frame it very mysteriously, saying things like “All will be revealed soon.” and “Save your questions! All Answers await us… in the future!” If they ask him about what they witnessed outside, he will tell them he was working on a mount summoning spell designed for lakes and rivers.
Things to Do! - Head toward the Tower - Meet Marvin - Ask Questions

ACT 3: The Cabinet of Mysteries

The inside of the Wizard’s Tower will be far more mundane than they likely expect. At least on the first floor. It will have a sitting room, dining room, and kitchen, as well as a few odds and ends about. Nothing special at all. The second floor, are Marvin’s personal quarters and some room for study, but it is the third floor, where Marvin will lead them, and it will be more of what one would expect in a Wizard’s tower. There will be books shelves, arcane equipment, and storage for components. In the middle of the room will be a tall cabinet.
:
Marvin will explain to them that the Cabinet is a transportation device, and that he will need them to enter into it with a plow that he has recently enchanted. They will be taken to the Ethereal Plane, and once there they’ll need to take the plow outside and begin hitting it with large field stones. There is a large pile of stones just on the north edge of the tower. They’ll have to do this quickly, before the “others” show up. Who are the others? Hard to say, but there are things that live in the Ethereal Plane that don’t like intruders. The idea is to imbue the Plow with Ethereal Powers so it can pass through large stones while plowing fields. Once they return with the Enchanted Plow, Marvin will have them load it on a cart, pulled by a very smart Donkey, and send them on their way.
Skill Challenge: Enchant the Plow This skill challenge will require five successes before they’re incapacitated by the others. However they decide to do it, they’ll have to successfully hit the plow with five large stones. Failures will result in strange indiscernible entities attacking them. They do minimal damage but could knock people out if there are enough failures.
Things to Do! - Move Through Marvin’s Tower - Enter the Cabinet - Enchant the Plow

ACT 4: Blinking Goats

Upon returning to Boss with the Plow they will be happily greet and paid. Their Patron will be there and will be very pleased with their success. He will ask them to demonstrate the plow’s abilities. Once they get set up out in the field and begin plowing something weird will happen. Every time they hit a stone and the plow’s power activates an Ethereal Goat will manifest and kick or ram the plow, and then disappear. It will feel very similar to what they encountered in the Ethereal Plane. They’ll have to find a way to deal with the manifestations.
ENCOUNTER: Ethereal Goats These goats should function very similarly to Blink Dogs, but I would trim the HP and AC a little to put them in line with the party’s. They will be intent on breaking the Plow not the party, although they will attack the party if they can’t get to the Plow.
Things to Do! - Deliver the Plow - Drive the Plow - Defeat the Ethereal Goats

CLOSE

Once defeated the Boss will come over to yell at them, but the Patron will find the entire thing amusing and more importantly, another impressive demonstration of the player’s skills. He will invite them to the “House” for an important party next week.

Chapter 4: High Society

They've definitely been noticed now and have impressed with their ability, unconventional as it may be. They are invited to their patron's home, but not as guests. Though, they might think they were actually invited as guests! They have been brought in to help work the event held out at the Party Field. They will have to gather party supplies, help put up the tent, and then serve the actual guests. During the evening’s entertainment a hypnotist “The Great Dr Hypnotika” will mesmerize the crowd and attempt to rob them all. Hopefully the players don’t fall victim to her schemes. And if they do oh well, they’ll be entertained all the same.

ACT 1: Special Delivery

The players arrive at the Patron’s very nice property. They will be greeted by a properly dressed servant with a clipboard, the Party Planner. The Planner will be rigid and direct. They will immediately begin tasking them about. If they mention that they were invited to the party the servant will laugh “You didn’t think you were a guest? Oh dear, how embarrassing. You’re the help! It is still a great honor to be tasked to help at the Party, but you’re not guests. Now as for your current task. Head into town and gather these supplies. Bring them to the field by noon.” After the instructions are given the servant will go back to their tasks and expect the players to do the same. They will have three stops; The Crocked Crow for Food and Beer, Get Nailed for the Tent and Spirits, and Shalana Proud-Breed’s Tailor Shop to pick up the Dry Cleaning. Feel free to make any and all of these go sideways! Its a good place to toss in some shenanigans as well! They should also be introduced to Dr Hypnotika and her associates.
Things To do! - Go to their Patron’s Home - Meet the Party Planner and Dr Hypnotika - Run their Errands
NPC: Dr Hypnotika
Dr Hypnotika and her group will perform for the party. Hypnotica is a Tiefling Mezmerist and illusionist. She has an obnoxiously high charisma and some pretty serious skills to back up her claims. However, she uses those skills to beguile her guests, robbing them blind while they are under her spells. She wears a fine robe with a bedazzled headwrap. She has dark upward spiraling horns, light purple skin, and matching eyes. She wears a monocle and walks with a ceremonially carved staff depicting the "Struggles of the Universe". She is extremely persuasive and even more deceptive. Even if someone were to grow suspicious she can easily talk her way out of trouble.
NPCs: Clapper and Bob Hypnotika brings with her two assistants. Clapper the suit wearing Kenku who will perform wondrous displays of mimicry and slight of hand, and her strongman Bob the Kobold. Bob wears a leopard print strongman's outfit and is amazingly swole, particularly for a kobold, and capable of lifting upwards of 400lbs. Bob doesn't do much else other than get hit with things. in the act.

ACT 2: Put up the Tent

After they finish running their errands they will be tasked with putting up a large party tent. This Act is an ongoing Skill Challenge and should have a constantly distracted feel to it. First they have to unpack the tent. Then they have to realize some pieces are missing, they’ll have to form a solution to that problem. After that wind should cause some problems as the tent is at least being pulled up. This is a great moment for some wondrous tom-foolery.
Things To do! - Unpack the tent - Deal with missing parts - Secure the tent during the wind gusts

ACT 3: Put These On

After they finish putting up the tent they’ll be sent to the Servant’s Quarters to bathe and change. They’ll get a little time to explore and snoop if they wish. Afterward they’ll be tasked with helping in the kitchen, but unfortunately the cooks are going to have been playing a drinking game all afternoon and are no longer fully capable of doing their jobs. This would make a great moment for some sort of mini-game where the players have to determine whether or not the cooks are doing the right things. Once the dinner has been completed they will have to serve the guests. This is a good place to insert gossip and help them meet a few other folks.
Things To do! - Get changed for the party - Deal with the drunk cooks - Serve the guests drinks and food

ACT 4: An Evening to Remember

At some point in the evening things are going to start sliding downhill. Some of the locals will have become extremely inebriated and will need to be encouraged to leave, or just moved off to the side as they’ve already passed out, before the show begins. Once the show begins the locals will become fixated on the goings on. “The Great Dr Hypnotika” will have put an additive in the drinks for the that will make everyone more susceptible to her powers of persuasion. Once the show starts she will have them all doing silly things, those who drank have disadvantage on saves against her powers. She will end the show asking the guests to display their most valuable treasure, a with a hypnotic pattern and then send her assistants out to collect those treasures. The players will have to “do something” about the thieves.
Things To do! - Deal with Drunks - Watch the Show - Stop the Criminals
ENCOUNTER: Hypnotika's Gang This encounter doesn't have to be a fight. If Hypnotika is caught she may claim it was all part of the act and simple return the valuables with a "no harm, no foul" type attitude. This will be he go to in an attempt to avoid a fight, but if the character persist in some kind of retribution or punishment the situation will devolve into a combat. Hypnotica herself is an Illusionist Wizard but is low on spells after the show. Clapper is a low level rogue and Bob a Barbarian, and should play out as such. Even with Skills they are combat adverse and will be looking for an opportunity to flee rather than fight. They do have a getaway wagon out front that they'll be headed for if things go south.

CLOSING

We’re assuming the Bumpkins at least attempted to stop the robbery. This will draw a lot of attention to them. Their Patron will be well pleased with them, and let them know they will be getting much more important jobs in the future. The guests will also take note and will begin treating them all a bit better. They’re all essentially Folk Heroes at this point for secondary backgrounds. Their Patron should reward them with something very nice as the party kicks back in. They will need to finish out the nights work of course.

Quest-line Closing

Congratulations! Your Players have completed their first Quest-line! Hopefully it was a delightful experience. But now that they've finished what comes next? Well, here are some ideas.
*Reward Them! * They've been doing some rather Adventurous things lately, and therefore should now have a Class Level under their belt, so the real D&D world now opens to them! Maybe it is time for some real adventuring gear. No more sticks, stones, and burlap sack armor.
Folk Heroes? There's a good chance that the Valley is Speaking the News about them and their exploits while drinking in the taverns. They may have even earned the actual Folk Hero Feat! Maybe someone would be interested in giving them a task!
Simply Go Exploring! There are a lot of places in Green Valley that we only dipped our toes into. You could have them head down to Stinkmarsh, or maybe climb up the cliffs of Longridge. The world (Well, the Valley) is wholly open to them.
Explore Local Legends There are lots of local legends they can look into! Hopefully they search out something that isn't too far over their heads!
Continue Working for their Patron It would be an easy DM go to simply to have them continue working for their current Patron. They've probably been impressive enough fo a family to be interested in keeping them on.
Establish Themselves as Adventurers! Maybe they want to set up a Adventurers for Hire business? This "Heroes Guild" approach is really appealing to a lot of players and absolutely plays into Bumpkin Quest. Just remember, this is a place of low key problems that locals make really big deals out of. So the idea of slaying dragons shouldn't really be on the table... that is until an actual dragon shows up! Which one day absolutely should.

Minimal spoilers for loot drops from amiibos
For those scanning amiibos every day hunting for drops, your weapon results will be much better if you scan in the Depths.
I believe this is due to the Depths loot including undamaged weapons (per the load screen tip), but the >! typical gloom-damaged weapons common in amiibo drops !< are much less common when used below. Instead, you often get >! the undamaged versions with higher base damage !<.
This also (in my experience) prevents >! repeat spawnings of Epona once you have her, probably since standard horses aren't meant to be in the Depths !<.
(Not tested again since the patch)
Edit: potential spoilers on loot

Whether through genetics, magic, or experimentation, many fantasy worlds feature hybrids and half-breeds.
1) CentauMinotaur - Lower body is that of a bull, and upper body that of a minotaur. Rarely found in labyrinths due to their centaur-half's instinctual dislike of enclosed spaces.
2) Merfolk/Sea Serpent - A merfolk with a long, serpentine tail. Large instead of medium in size, and somewhat more aggressive and territorial than full-blooded merfolk. Their dragonic heritage of their sea-serpent half causes a compulsion to hoard treasures. Their hoards tend to be a rather hodge-podge mix of actual treasure, pretty stones and seashells, and pretty much anything that comes from the surface.
3) Dire BadgeOwlbear - May the twisted soul who created this abomination suffer a hundred curses and a thousand deaths. This creature is filled with nothing but hatred for everything and seeks to destroy all that it sees until it and it alone is left. Only then will it know peace.
4) KendeKobold - The worsts aspects of kenders and kobolds in one travel-sized package. Stealing everything that isn't tied down, setting traps in high-traffic areas, framing other people for its misdeeds and laughing at the resulting chaos, and they never, ever, stop talking!
5) Warforged/Flesh Golem - Is this a warforged that had organic parts grafted to it, or a flesh golem that had warforged parts grafted to it?

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Clan Name: The Brotherhood of Immortals Clan URL: https://www.bungie.net/en/ClanV2?groupid=4943766 Region & Platform: [NA]/[All] Greetings, fellow Guardians, Welcome to The Brotherhood of Immortals, a clan that has evolved from its casual roots and aims to conquer the most challenging content in Destiny 2. We are currently seeking skilled players to join us for high-end activities such as Master Raids, Master Dungeon Speed Runs, Duo Gms, and other endgame content. We're on the hunt for veteran players who are passionate about the game and endgame content. We aim to build a community of players who share our love for the game's most demanding challenges. To be a part of our clan, we have the following requirements for all members: -Must be 18 years old or older. -1810 Light Level Minimum -Must join and complete weekly clan events -Must have Conqueror seal Gilded -50+ raid completions -In-game and Discord participation is monitored, and all members must be active. Warmind is used to track member activity. -Inactivity for 1-2 weeks without prior notice will result in member removal. Join us in our quest for excellence and become a part of our tight-knit community of elite players. Our growing community is looking forward to having you. Send a DM to me on here or on Discord to @VinoVeritas7713 for more information and to receive an invite.

Clan Name: The Brotherhood of Immortals Clan URL: https://www.bungie.net/en/ClanV2?groupid=4943766 Region & Platform: [NA]/[All] Greetings, fellow Guardians, Welcome to The Brotherhood of Immortals, a clan that has evolved from its casual roots and aims to conquer the most challenging content in Destiny 2. We are currently seeking skilled players to join us for high-end activities such as Master Raids, Master Dungeon Speed Runs, Duo Gms, and other endgame content. We're on the hunt for veteran players who are passionate about the game and endgame content. We aim to build a community of players who share our love for the game's most demanding challenges. To be a part of our clan, we have the following requirements for all members: -Must be 18 years old or older. -1810 Light Level Minimum -Must join and complete weekly clan events -Must have Conqueror seal Gilded -50+ raid completions -In-game and Discord participation is monitored, and all members must be active. Warmind is used to track member activity. -Inactivity for 1-2 weeks without prior notice will result in member removal. Join us in our quest for excellence and become a part of our tight-knit community of elite players. Our growing community is looking forward to having you. Send a DM to me on here or on Discord to @VinoVeritas7713 for more information and to receive an invite.

Clan Name: The Brotherhood of Immortals Clan URL: https://www.bungie.net/en/ClanV2?groupid=4943766 Region & Platform: [NA]/[All] Greetings, fellow Guardians, Welcome to The Brotherhood of Immortals, a clan that has evolved from its casual roots and aims to conquer the most challenging content in Destiny 2. We are currently seeking skilled players to join us for high-end activities such as Master Raids, Master Dungeon Speed Runs, Duo Gms, and other endgame content. We're on the hunt for veteran players who are passionate about the game and endgame content. We aim to build a community of players who share our love for the game's most demanding challenges. To be a part of our clan, we have the following requirements for all members: -Must be 18 years old or older. -1810 Light Level Minimum -Must join and complete weekly clan events -Must have Conqueror seal Gilded -50+ raid completions -In-game and Discord participation is monitored, and all members must be active. Warmind is used to track member activity. -Inactivity for 1-2 weeks without prior notice will result in member removal. Join us in our quest for excellence and become a part of our tight-knit community of elite players. Our growing community is looking forward to having you. Send a DM to me on here or on Discord to @VinoVeritas7713 for more information and to receive an invite.

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This is the promised PART II of the Character Study Series featuring Gorou Amamiya / Aqua Hoshino.
In the last bit we traced Gorou's affection for Ai as both an Idol and a Mother back to the suppressed trauma he suffered during his own mother's death when she gave birth to him. We were able to rationalize Gorou's behaviour, decisions and thoughts from Chapter 1 until Ai's murder as a perfect reflection of his longing for unconditional maternal love and ended then on a lowkey plot twist:
While he finally would get what he craved for through his roleplay as Ai's son – namely an reenactment of unconditional love between a mother and her child – was at the same time tragically linked to her violent murder. The disturbing similarities to Gorou's biological mother's death would trigger a second trauma from his past life which we will call from now on his "guilt-complex". This complex manifests itself as a total negation of Aqua's perceptived self-worth to even deserve this kind of love. Instead of a realization that the love Ai granted him in her final moments was a repetitive scene from Gorou's birth, he would only externalize the horrific and tragic part of his birth respectively only evaluate the horrific and tragic site of Ai's death. And this weird phenomenom is rooted in the triggered guilt-complex, a second trauma that was passed down from Gorou to Aqua and will now shape his fate.
This subconscioss "force" that would allow him to unlock and accept only the traumatic one-sided memory from his past life's birth is the result of an abusive conditioning he suffered during his life with his Grandparents. This "force" is the guilt-complex. From the moment Aqua realized that a second culprit has to exist who had to be in connection to the killer of both him and Ai and that this second culprit is his biological father - from that moment on the "force" constructed the rational for the internal legitimation of the one-sided rememberance and interpretation of both his mother's and Ai's death. We will analyze the depths of this internal legitimation process later.
As a result his actual innocence for his mother's death and the pure hearted innocence behind his longing for fullfillment of the infant's desire to experience unconditional love were blocked out from his "coping-horizont". They were no longer present as memory bits in his conciousness to be reflected upon in a fair, self-respecting and self-preserving manner.
Following this strain of thoughts we will later see that Aqua's self-sacrifical mindset as presented to us in the Manga is rooted in exactly this guilt-complex he inherited from Gorou. We will unveal it as a result of an abusive relationship with his Grandfather. It's neither an enbodiment of a god's power nor the result of PTSD done to specifically "Aqua's" soul following Ai's death. I firmly believe, that this is the quintessential insight to fully grasp Aqua, who is by far he most active plot-shaping MC in the Manga. Thus understanding his psyche to the fullest is almost synonynous to understanding the plot.
The fundamental premise of this study is to show on full scale what reincarnation into "soulless children" (C75) means: The complete migration of the previous consciouss and subconsciouss into the new body. "Aqua" is the body, the pretty face with the connections, "Gorou" is the actual soul. Aqua as an own soul-entity doesn't exist. His traumatic emotions purely derivate from Gorou, thus his malicious rage, self-hatred and hunger for revenge are the result of an internal struggle within Gorou's trauma world. It's simply the miracle of the reincarnation that allows him to challenge these trauma "in a perfect sandbox" the god's prepared for him. The same goes for Sarina. This new world and new life is their "therapy".
As a final result we will uncover the groundlaying symmetry between Sarina and Gorou that is expressed in the life that was granted to them through reincarnation: Gorou couldn't become and do just like Sarina what he really wanted in life. In a sense the image of the handicapped Sarina living in the hospital is the quintessential metaphorical representation of Gorou himself. She shows upfront what was the psychological state of Gorou's soul. When he realized in C119 that Sarina's life must've been like hell he reflected his own experience too. We will later cast a glance into Gorou's hell.
​
​
The Holy Mother
In the last bit I announced to begin with a paragraph titled "The Reenactment of Violence" but before that we have to discuss the reaons why I firmly believe that his mother actually showed him loving affection when she gave birth. Previously I based this claim on my interpretation of the depiction of Ai's last words and her passing with help of a well-argued position that this whole scene was a (from the gods perhaps...) "staged" reenactment of Gorou's birth exclusively ment for Aqua to trigger and challenge Gorou's trauma. And while I personally think it's a sufficient explaination, we also need to deduce her affection from the few informations that Aqua shared with Akane when they visited his grandparent's house.
Gorou's mother hid the pregnancy from her parents and gave birth alone in her home which eventually led to her death. Additionally Gorou doesn't know anything about his biological father. This could mean:
​

• The relationship to her parents wasn't great (especially her father?)
• She hide pregnancy because they would urge her to abort
• She hid pregnancy because she would embarass somebody (rape?)
• She hid pregnancy because she and Gorou's father were minors
• She would carry the child even after her partner abandoned her
• She defends the child's right to live
• She would take even the risk and deliver on her own

​
Can't say what exactly of this is true but you get the general idea. The opposition and stubborness against her parents and the fact that she actually would carry him out on her own requires great commidment. A woman with such strong motherly convictions for her unborn child embodies that very unconditionality that we discussed in such great length in PART I. Such a woman is free from regrets and especially wouldn't blame her newborn in her last eartly moments. The pregnancy as a whole was already a chain of "complications" anyway as it's not easy to hide and just be on your own for 9 months. But she bore it. Such a woman can value the life she gave birth to even in expense of her own.
Ai was of similar character and background. She had to hide her pregnancy from the public, a husband wasn't at her site, Ichigo actually would've wanted her to abort or at least he suggested it. But she wanted to keep them because she dreamed to have a family. She knew about the struggle to keep the children a secret after their birth but challenged her luck anyway. Actually this also might be a hint to her own unconditional love towards unborn children: Pregnancy and maternity are a mortal sin in the world of idols. Think about the pressure and responsibility that goes with the decision to keep them. If Ai is through her unconditionally loving commidment a representation of Gorou's mother then we can deduce that in return his mother was challenged with a similar pressuring social issue. Thus her deep wish and longing for a family must have been just as strong as Ai's was.
When life was slowly leaving her body she was only thinking to give her children as much love on their way as possible. Ai eventually would value the life she gave birth to even in expense of her own. In this sense Gorou's unconditionally loving mother finds a symbolic representation in Ai Hoshino. And just as Ai, Gorou's mother devoted her last moments to her newborn child.
The concept of "guilt" is absolutely foreign to the real circumstances surrounding Gorou's birth. But somehow he still developed a feeling of guilt for it. Such a feeling in itself should be abnormal for a child to develope on his own. At the same time why would an adult who for example concluds "guilt" from intellectual reflection show such vicious manifestations of it over Ai's death? I mean they just played a role, right? He played the role of a son. She never was his mother after all. The manifestation of Aqua's guilt is too brutal and graphic to be a spontanious reaction over exclusively the loss of the idol Ai. It's completely out of character for a somewhat calm and mature doctor for whom dying people are a day to day professional experience, thus it had to be a curse from his past life that was triggered from the all to similar reenactment of his suppressed trauma.
However it may be abnormal to develope such a feeling on his own but it isn't if the family situation he was raised after his mother's passing showed characteristics of abusive behaviour.
​
The Reenactment of Violence
We know very little from his Grandfather but at the same time we actually know a lot. Trauma are a form of memory storage, behaviour can be an effect of a repulsion of it. In Gorou's trauma is actually every bit of his Grandfather's abusive actions internalized. It means we can deduce a very clear picture of what was going on. But not only Gorou is here our source of information but also the relation between the Grandfather to his daughter that died as a result of Gorou's birth.
We don't know exactly what pressured Gorou's mother to hide the pregnancy but as earlier inferred at must've been a challenging issue. As a consequence of their disagreement she hid and gave birth on her own. After the tragic incidents the Grandfather would feel guilty about his daughter's passing but at the same time the cope over his own failures would lead to abusive behaviour towards Gorou who was now stuck at his home. Gorou has become the living representation of the Grandfather's failure. He would remind him every day of it. The repulsion against Gorou became a way to cope the hatred against himself.
We established that when Aqua learned about a second culprit who is his biological father his guilt-complex had his first peaking moment (basically the moment he developed for the first time the black starigan). Under the premise that the purpose of Aqua's life is to challenge Gorou's trauma in which Ai's killing was an essential predetermined trigger point in a perfect sandbox prepared by the Gods, leads me to believe that the meaning of "biological father = culprit" has traumatic characterics from Gorou's past life. We'll get now a little closer to the reason why Aqua's hunt for Kamiki is inseparable permeated with his self-sacrificial and sef-destructive wish. We get a little closer to why Aqua thinks he needs to suffer just as much as Kamiki.
​
Let me paint for you a picture of violence.
Your existence is false. You should not exist. Without You my Daughter would be alive and happy. The very nature of Your existence is an insult. It would be just to let You pay for the mortal sin of Your birth. You have no right of existence, no birth right, no right to happiness because this happiness is founded on Your existencial guilt. Sounds familiar? We will get back to the similarities later...
These are possible accusations Gorou was exposed to while living with his Grandfather. His Grandfather might have been an alcoholic and even beat Gorou. Gorou could've shown self-harming behaviour, perhaps a suicide attempt even. But it could also be that the Grandfather suicided himself after some years of abuse of both Gorou and himself. I was always really curious about Aqua's wise and forseeing action-taking when Akane was in a suicidal crises. He would later say on the police station that people simply die way too easy and if they show signs of help needed one have to act quickly. I always thought it's somehow related to his personal life experience. Well, my first link was that he might have helped Sarina when she was suicidal but maybe it's also an experience from his own childhood. It could also be both.
But lets go back to the abuse and why the murder of Ai was an reenactment of violence. Gorou's biological father surely is part of the equation. I don't know if Gorou came up with it himself or if the Grandfather would also bad mouth Gorou's father while abusing Gorou. But at least we can say that the biological father mirrors a significant portion of Gorou's self-hatred. If Gorou's birth is the reason for his mother's death or in other words if Gorou killed his mother then the biological father was the second culprit who - through the impregnation and abandonment of his mother - created her killer. And now we beginn to see all the parallels, the reenactment of violence and uiltimately the blueprint of Aqua's script for "15-Year Lie" where he plays the culprit... perhaps where he in reality things he really is the culprit. But we will talk about this again at a later stage of his study. It's just a hint for now. But the important part here is: He doesn't oppose Kamiki for the murder of Ai, but for the creation of Ai's murderer. Or: The only reason Gorou hates his father is because he created Gorou and this relationship he reflects on Kamiki.
There is another very interesting allegation which eventually becomes the main trigger for Aqua's PTSD and that's the allegation that Gorou apparently stole through his birth the happiness of his mother therefore he has no right to be happy himself. Now this is very interesting. Because now we get to the first change of perception in Aqua's life, the first time when his Trauma began to shape his consciouss behaviour. You all remember how Ruby mentioned how her brother changed after Ai's death, how he never showed happiness again. And you all remember Aqua's trouble during the Tokyo Blade Arc where this issue was basically the center of his plot.
But the most overwhelming aspect about this allegation is that it's in absolute opposition to the truth. Because in reality Gorou's birth didn't stole his mother's but fullfilled her with the upmost happiness! Gorou is the reason for her happiness not the reason for her death!
This however was an impossible thought that the broken and self-hating Grandfather never could accept. His abusive conditioning of Gorou which ultimately led to his guilt-complex became the very reason for Aqua to overlook the redeeming beauty and the gift he and Ruby became for Ai's short time with her children.
In the symbol of the killer's knife into Ai's womb Gorou would project his guilt of being the killer of his mother through his birth. The tragic scene that unfolded in front of his eyes became the reenactment of his guilty violent murder, triggered by the violent abuse he suffered from his Grandfather.
​
Reprise
We know very little from his Grandfather but at the same time we actually know a lot. Trauma are a form of memory storage, behaviour can be an effect of a repulsion of it. In Gorou's trauma is actually every bit of his Grandfather's abusive actions internalized,
Your existence is false. You should not exist. Without You my Daughter would be alive and happy, The very nature of Your existence is an insult. It would be just to let You pay for the mortal sin of Your birth. You have no right of existence, no birth right, no right to happiness because this happiness is founded on Your existencial guilt. Sounds familiar?
The abusive Gorou-Figure that appears in Aqua's deluded mind and triggers his PTSD is the mental embodiment of his abusive Grandfather. And thus we have painted a picture of violence...
​
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Epilog
In PART I when we had only analyzed Gorou's and Ai's issues as for each very personal interest that would come together like as if it's an exchange of goods in the economical sphere, it made it appear a bit as a mehanical and cold-hearted relationship in which Aqua would just kinda "do a stretch" and wait until something happens and just drain love like a parasite. So it was kinda dumb. But now that we unvealed the depths of the abuse Gorou suffered from his Grandfather we have to evaluate the relationship between Aqua and Ai again.
This is important in order to understand why Ai is the perfect projection surface for his trauma but also for his healing. In other words: If the content of his trauma couldn't project itself fully in all it's detailes then some unresolved parts of it would just persist in his subconsciossess and blockade him from the realization of his own true happiness. The result would've been for Aqua to just live a unfullfilled life like he did as Gorou but actually also during his Intermezzo when he thought Kamiki is dead. This wasn't truely happy existence either, although only Akane could see it.
I characterized his reincarnation as a form of "therapy" the god's want him to go through. But for a therapy to be sufficient it has to uncover and process the full content of the trauma. So I might have deceived you a bit. The infant's love Gorou carves for is not born from a trauma directly over his mother's death but derivated from the abuse he suffered from his Grandfather who shifted the guilt from himself to Gorou. It was impossible for me to reveal this earlier, since PART I was indeed an important framework that had to be established first. It's not a major difference, It's just a little shift but an important one. The "Infant" was still a carving element in Gorou's heart but the meaning in his behaviour changes slightly.
This is where I would address a future PART III of this series but I'm not sure if we should go there. I feel like at this point it's not a character study anymore but becomes a plot-prediction theory. So let me know in comment section if you actually want a third part. The topic of it will be Aqua's current behaviour, the content of the movie and his ultimate goal. The irony of course is that this goal is born from delusion and trauma from his Grandfather.
The crow girl in Chapter 118 basically told him this: Your reason to be reincarnated as Gorou in the body of Aqua is to resolve your issues. The path you took doesn't do anything for this as your deep longing for Ai's resurrection/reincarnation symbolizes your fundamental misconception of what actually happened between you and her because you still perceive your grandfather's voice as your own voice and therefore as the truth. Thus you feel guilty for Ai's and your mother's death, thus you think the only way for redemption is to find her again in good health or to destroy yourself through the destruction of your father. But Ai's story ended, she played her role. She gave you everything you needed to overcome your Trauma and you gave her everyting she needed. You witnessed a real "Reenactment of Happiness" of your Mother when she gave birth to you, you witnessed the total rebuttal of your Grandfather's self-hatred when Ai confirmed you her happiness with the words "I love you". Why do you still value your grandfather's self-hatred as your's?
Of course the crow girl is kinda shady and brutal in her means. She guides but only in limited dosis. Because they - both Gorou and Ruby - have to archive healing through self-realization not through indoctrination. The reenactment prompts the MC's to self-realize the actual worth they inhabit but Aqua's tragedy is that right now it only prompts him into his Grandfather's indoctrination.
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https://preview.redd.it/wjz90wh4uz2b1.jpg?width=642&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37f9a77aeeb3c4cf40190429054f49efa15710b9
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Ruby for that matter will - and this is a loose prediction - self-realize her happiness in the Form of the Amaterasu-Myth with the cave and the mirrors in the Shoki myth variation: Tsukuyomi in the representation of her brother will hold a mirror in which she reflects herself as an Idol that is just as bright as Ai and overcomes her murder because her light lives now in Ruby-Amaterasu (Goddess of Sun). Izanagi (the father of Amaterasu) in the representation of Gorou will hold a mirror in which she reflects Sarina as the daughter of Gorou and overcomes her longing for a father-figure. He didn't die, he is actually alive! and supported her not only through her difficult years as Sarina but also in her life as Ruby unconditionally.
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Thanks for reading.