30th April, 2016

AH flew from LA to NYC in preparation for the MET Gala
Christian Carino and JD had the following text exchange

CC: Hey, just wanted you to know that if I can help with Amber, I am here for you.
JD: Thanks, pal. Weird shit. X.
CC: The three of us are all in New York City this week. If you want to go to dinner and try to sort it out, I would set it up if you want.
JD: No. I think the proverbial dukey has hit the fan this time. Thanks anyway. Big mucho, JD.
CC: Let me try. Okay for me to try?
JD: I wouldn't bother my brother. It's sad but necessary.

4th May, 2016

CC: Hey, she's really in pain. I've seen her hurting before, but not like this to the point where it scares me. She's completely devastated. I know it isn't my place to say this, but she needs you to be there for her. Regardless of whether you guys stay together or not, she needs you as a friend and as a husband to get her through. I know you love her and would do anything to protect her. She needs you now. I love you both. We can talk today if you want. Please just reach out to her. Find peace for each other whether it means together or apart. Love each other through the process. Please, JD, help my friend. Love ya, C."

May 5th, 2016

JD: What can I do, brother? I would do anything to take away her pain. I'd literally do fucking anything for her, especially from hurting. Though word on the street from NYC says that apparently she's all smiles, even bagged a meeting with Ralph Lauren. Aw, irony. Let me know. X, JD.
CC: I will call her later today. What city are you in? And just tell me you still love her.
JD: I'm in London and of course I love her. I would kill for her. At this point, I'm just not so enthused about dying for her over such ludicrous and petty wars.
CC: Okay. When are you coming home? I will get you together.
JD: I'm here until around the 15th and then in L.A. for like two days and then off for rehearsals and vampire tour. What the fuck is her deal, man? Did she tell you why we are where we are?
CC: Yeah, I've heard the story. I'm sure there are two versions. Here's what I know. You both love each other, and you both need each other, and you both need to change some behaviors if you want to be together. Simple as that. What are the two days you will be in L.A.?
JD: I'm back on the 16th, 17th, and 18th, but there will be no need for any of this at that point. I can only imagine what her version is, but I'm not going to live my life the way that I have been.
CC: Relax. Give me a minute. I'm going to get you guys to talk today, but you need to see each other sooner than that. But let's cross that bridge later.

May 7, 2016,

JD: Whenever mate. X
CC: Haven't gotten her yet. I'll let you know as soon as I do get her, but can't get through on your cell. Call me.

May 11th, 2016

CC: Hey, tried you. Change of heart. Are you still up to talk with her?

JD responds to message from David Heard

…’we’ve not spoken to one another since I left at 4.30am on the morning of the 22nd, her birthday, the argument , once again, brought her straight to that uncontrollable rage and she started throwing fuckin’ haymakers around again, I cannot allow ANYONE to believe that it’s okay to insult me, disrespect me and then feel as though she can apply violence to a situation that is already spinning out of control…’

References
Christian Carino Deposition Vol.2%20(OCRed).pdf)
Johnny Depp's Second UK Witness Statement.pdf)

I'll start off with my Thesis Statement, so you can tell exactly what the takeaway here is: I hate the way Character Attribute systems present characters, and I always have. The biggest issue I have is that they're full of Stats that are essentially "If you don't take this, you suck conceptually", but because of game design, players are forced into what ends up being incredibly limited archetypes. eg. It's forever optimal for a Fighter character to dump INT, so every fighter becomes a lunkhead.
If you don't agree with that Thesis Statement then you probably won't get a lot from this, but otherwise I'll explain:
Now, with that thesis statement, lemme clarify that I realise things are a little more flexibile when it comes to actual tabletop gaming because there you're not meant to create hyper-optimised characters and it'd often be fine to have a character with strange stat allocations. I'm talking primarily about videogame implementation where you're somewhere between heavily encourage to outright required to optimise your characters.
And I'm not saying I dislike the idea of Character Attributes, I don't want to see them gone, I love them. I'm exactly the kind'a guy who spends an hour on character creation deciding on my race, class, stat allocation, balancing the kind of gameplay needs I have for the character against how I envision them as a character in this world.
So, with that out of the way, very simply: I fucking haaaate the idea the way DnD and it's successor systems do Stats, and the archetypes that've been built from that.
The Fighter is always dumb, because fighters have to put all their stats in STR. The Mage is always super smart, because mages have to put all their stats in INT. None of them are any good at social situations, because CHA is a dump stat, but hey, the Thief has that under control, depending on how overpowered DEX is in the system we're talking about.
Why can't a fighter be smart? And why does learning magic mean you have to be smart? What about Wisdom, the Mage has to be smart but incredibly limited in application because that's the Priest's role?
It's archetypical as hell, and I think the worst part of it (and why I've used the example twice), is that the three stats INT, WIS, and CHA are all "If you don't take these, then your character just sucks conceptually. Even if they're perfect from a gameplay perspective." If you play a character that doesn't benefit from INT/WIS then you're dumb, if you don't benefit from CHA then you're a loser who can't talk to people. Strength may be just as valuable in game, but let's not pretend we as society don't view high Intelligence as far cooler conceptually than high Strength or Dex.
The outcome of this is you either completely disconnect the Stats from Roleplay (see Minsc in BG3 having 12 Str...) or you end up being insanely limited in how you create and present characters.
Go see Pathfinder where people talk about how Valerie only has 9 INT? Isn't that hilarious? She talks such a big game, but she's a complete meathead! Amiri, the actual meathead is smarter than her! But the reason Valerie only has 9 INT is because she's a Tower Defense fighter and Int does very little of nothing for her, her character is built to exist in the gameplay systems even if it completely contradicts the character's presentation.
Same deal with Fallout New Vegas discussions, "Obviously Ceasar is a moron that doesn't know what he's talking about, look, he's only got 5 INT!" Then I guess Ulysses with 10+ in all stats is a living God who's correct about everything?
And while we're on the topic, no, there's no fucking difference between INT and WIS. "Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, but Wisdom is knowing not to put it on a fruit salad!" fucking hell, intelligent people know not to put tomatoes in their fruit salad. You're telling me a 300yr old Elf Wizard with 18 INT, 12WIS doesn't know where his tomatoes go? Every single example of "This is Intelligence, and this is Wisdom" is just something an intelligent person would learn, making Wisdom not even exist as a Stat, or at least not one that would be even slightly constant. Seriously, the discussions about INT v WIS are like watching people try pretend Neutral Good and Neutral Evil are actually alignments, it's all just hair-splitting semantics to invent a box to put people in. It doesn't correspond to reality at all, it doesn't even correspond to the presentation of the game's reality they're talking about.
And even if it did, even if I was wrong about that, that would only make things worse, because now not only do you have to play your Mage as a super smart guy (only Sorcerers get to be dummies), now you have to also be "autistic" and not understand people, or the world or anything around you. Again- I'm not talking about people playing suboptimised players on tabletop, I'm talking primarily about environments like videogames where you're practically shooting yourself in the foot if you don't hyper optimise your character. "Yes, you may feel better about your Fighter only having 16Str so you could have 14Int so he's not a moron that can't even tie his own shoes... But now you've made every single combat encounter harder and made your character useless." At that point, just play a Mage in every single game, that's what I often default to. At least then you're optimal without being stupid, and only having average strength is fine, that's no different than how most people are in reality.
Of course there's other examples, Cyberpunk and WoD use very different systems that capture character designs in different ways, and even the Fallout SPECIAL system is pretty good, since INT and CHA are roughly as good for everyone. Pillars made a good attempt at making all stats good for everyone, but kind'a made stats feel worthless at the same time.
But mostly, and especially in fantasy settings, we default back to the way DnD and the DnD derivatives have done things for a million years. If you're making an action RPG with a very simple stat system, you'll use STDEX/STAM/INT and maybe LUCK, and even if you're making a far deeper, much more intricate 300hour CRPG, you're probably using an extremely similar system.
How I'd do it? I'd do away with Stats that conceptually make your character "lame" if you don't have them. You can play a Smart fighter or a Dumb fighter, or a Dumb Wizard, or a Charismatic Barbarian, or anything else, but it wouldn't be tied directly to your statline.
Str for hitting, moving and carrying things. Agi for movement. Perception or Visualisation for Magic spells. Stamina to deal with endurance and resilience. Luck for fun. Probably something like Awareness for how vigilant they are. Maybe even Initiative or something similar for how hot-headed and ready to spring into action they are.
Anyway, there's better ways but it doesn't matter since nobody's going to do them and 10 years from now I'll still be reading about how "This character who's meant to be really strong in game only has 10 STR lololo, and look this guy talks like he's so smart, but his INT Stat is only 12!"

Dear Broadchurch fans, I have posted a series of rewatches of season 1 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadchurch\_series\_1) of Broadchurch. Now I find it is time to review some of the prevalent themes within the series. Please be aware that I will discuss season 1 as a whole, so there may be spoilers ahead.
If you enjoy reading this essay, feel free to stop by my AnalysisVault to see if you find some more of my work to your liking. Please note that this subreddit is read only and comments should be made with the original posts rather than the cross-posted ones.

Egotism vs Altruism
One of the more prevalent themes in Broadchurch is the question of egotism vs altruism. I will give you a short overview of both concepts as well as the spectrum they represent, then speak about their implementation in the series and finally make a statement about why the makers chose to make it a central theme.

Wikipedia states:

Egotism is defined as the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself and generally features an inflated opinion of one's personal features and importance distinguished by a person's amplified vision of one's self and self-importance. It often includes intellectual, physical, social, and other overestimations. The egotist has an overwhelming sense of the centrality of the "me" regarding their personal qualities.

In essence, egotism is the personal philosophy of “me first”. A person with strong egotistical tendencies will make sure their own needs are met before those of others. Think, if you will, of the people who will take the best slice of cake for themselves or drive a gas guzzler out of convenience or cut the line at the airport to get the best seat. All of these are egotistical actions. On the other hand, some egotism is warranted for self-preservation. The parent who gives their all for their children but runs themself ragged in the process may need to exercise more egotism. The health care professional who routinely skips their break to care for never-ending patients may want to be more self-preserving by being more selfish. Things like that. In general, society views egotistic action and unfavorable while oftentime people with egotistical traits tend to be more successful in certain areas of life.

Altruism is the principle and practice of concern for the well-being and/or happiness of other humans or animals above oneself. While objects of altruistic concern vary, it is an important moral value in many cultures and religions. It may be considered a synonym of selflessness, the opposite of selfishness.

In essence, altruism is the personal philosophy of “others first”. A person with strong altruistic tendencies will make sure the needs of others are met before their own. Think, if you will, of the people who will hand out food to others happily but forget to get any of their own, take great strides to pick up trash in a local park or offer up their seat for a disabled person on the bus. All of these are altruistic actions. In general, society views altruism as beneficial and a trait to strive for while oftentimes people with altruistic traits tend to be less successful and may feel taken advantage of.

Basically, egotism vs altruism is the Captain Kirk vs Mr Spock discussion. Spock says: “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”, goes into a highly irradiated engine room to save the Enterprise and dies in the process. Kirk says “The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many” and risks war with the Klingons because he can’t live without his buddy.
However, every action has aspects of both in them. Each action every person takes has both egotistic and altruistic nuances to them. The interesting part is where the balance falls. I will let you decide for yourself which way the pendulum swings on the following examples.
Some examples:
The healthcare worker who overworks themselves acts in an altruistic way because they support patients and help them get better. But they are also egotistical in their own way because being “the supportive one” strokes their ego.
The person who drives the gas guzzler acts in an egotistic way because they pollute the environment unnecessarily, take up a lot of space with their vehicle and probably stink up the place with their fumes. But they might also have an altruistic aspect because they need to move large groups of people, feel they are supporting an industry that gives jobs to workers or even further the economy by spending money.
The person handing out food but not taking any for themselves can be very altruistic but depending on the person they can be very egotistic instead, for example when they decide to hog the table, demand ever-lasting gratitude for their “sacrifice” and/or post their actions on social media for clout.
Finally, a person who writes lengthy analyses and posts them on Reddit may appear altruistic because they attempt to enrich the lives of others with their observations and (hopefully) witty posts. They may also be egotistic in an attempt to garner attention and positive reinforcement through the community they choose to post in.

Implementation in the series:
One of the great things about the series is the fact that they are aware of the different sides of egotism and altruism and allow the viewer to form their own opinion. Hardly ever is anything said bluntly, most of the time we are left to figure out things of our own. We see the way the characters act, we see the way they interact and are interacted with and we are left to make our own decision. Hardly ever are things black and white, hardly ever are we given the one true answer ™.
This is one of the main reasons the series is as emotionally impactful as it is. Because life is messy. Life isn’t neat. Life isn’t simple. Stories with simple and clear answers are not realistic because life doesn’t work that way. Think about it. In the last decade or so there were a lot of shows and movies looking deeper into the question of fairy tale villains and whether they were villains at all. Star Wars does this masterfully by looking at Anakin Skywalker’s arch. He seems like a clear-cut villain in episode 4, the first to hit the screens, but as more of his story is revealed, he becomes much less cartoonishly evil.
In fact, the idea of egotism vs altruism is the driving factor in the various aspects of the investigation the detectives conduct. Look at the different suspects, if you will. All of them have (at the very least) some very egotistical behaviors. Steve Conelly, con man and maybe psychic is getting a feeling of importance when passing on his “messages” to the great expense of Beth Latimer, among others. Mark Latimer is so very much wrapped up in his selfishness he neglects just about everyone around him unless caring for them fulfills his needs. Nigel Carter engulfs himself with righteous anger against Jack Marshal, not for the community but seeking Mark’s approval. Paul Coates revels in the attention he and his church gain from the case. Susan Wright is so eager to protect herself, she harms others pre-emptively. Jack Marshal, the man who slept with a child, then married her. No 40-year-old man would do that for selfless reasons.
All of the suspects we are presented in the show are – in one way or the other – selfish. And that’s perfect. Murdering a child is an inherently selfish action. The true joy of the show comes with finding out that the murderer is a man who we are made to perceive as deeply selfless.
Let’s take a look at Joe Miller and how he is portrayed on the show. As I have stated in the various rewatch posts, most of the time Joe Miller is shown as loving, caring and genuinely supportive parent and partner. As u/Vioralarama stated so well in my post about episode 5, “He's got the plot armor of the supportive spouse who handles all the emotional work for the person working the crime.” On the surface, he does. Every time we see Joe Miller, he is seen with a member of his family. And every time he is seen he is doing some sort of supportive work for them.
Case in point, when Joe and DS Miller invite DI Hardy to their home for dinner, Joe does it all. Puts the kids to bed, prepares dinner, does the dishes. He tries to mediate between DI Hardy and DS Miller, too, and makes a great effort to lighten the mood.
Once you look below the surface, though, things look entirely different. We see glimpses here and there that things are not what they seem, mostly through things we DON’T see rather than the things to DO see.
Joe Miller shows some worrying signs of being a neglectful parent and partner quite early on in the show. To pick up the example of the dinner experience, when DS Miller leaves the room, Joe Miller uses the time he has alone with DI Hardy to probe him for information. If he truly were the supportive husband the show wants us to believe, he would’ve used that time to help both find common ground in their working relationship. DI Hardy is the one who brings that up and asks about whether DS Miller likes him. The conversation is cut short though as Joe Miller filled the narrow time slot with questions about the case and didn’t leave DI Hardy enough to ask about how to improve his working relationship with DS Miller. Case in point, DS Miller keeps complaining that DI Hardy addresses her as “DS Miller” instead of “Ellie”. This would have been a great talking point for Joe Miller in that moment, asking “why” and mediating between them. Also, did Joe Miller make a dinner invitation to help DS Miller and DI Hardy form a working relationship or did he do it to garnish information?
More examples:
When DS Miller and Joe Miller tell Tom Miller about Danny’s passing, both leave him alone in his bedroom. Neither offer a shoulder to cry on. Sure, DS Miller is just as responsible as Joe here but Joe is the stay-at-home parent and therefore the more direct caretaker than DS Miller. Also, over the course of the show we never see Joe actually engaging with Tom, there is no attempt at comforting him, not even when he is obviously distraught. Joe Miller lets Tom out of his sight at the Arcade in episode 5, right in the middle of the “pedophile panic” surrounding Jack Marshal. Just in general, Tom spends a LOT of time wandering the town alone. This image doesn’t sit well with the façade of caring, loving, altruistic father.
Indeed, the filmmakers are pulling one over our eyes with Joe, who turns out to be one of the most egotistic persons in the town. Joe spends time and family money on Danny, he breaks into a holiday hut to do so, manipulates the boy with abuser language and, when threatened to be deprived of his attention, gets so angry he strangles the boy. Whom he still believes to be his son’s best friend. And who is his best friend’s son. The same best friend he then begs for praise because he didn’t drop the body into the ocean so he didn’t have to spend years wondering what happened to the boy.
But why do the filmmakers do this? The series REVELS in red herrings, side plots, dead ends and misdirection. The greatest misdirection they can give us is showing us the “perfect” man and making him turn out to be the most terrible one of all. It’s an emotional gut punch and the type of storytelling that works really well with the type of story they want to convey. Because the story of Broadchurch is not about Danny’s murder, it’s about the fallout that follows. A community like this learning that one of their “best people” is indeed a child murderer has to have a terrible ripple course through it, upsetting it deeply.
With so many other characters filling the “egotism” bill, we are offered a view beyond the picturesque coastal town in Dorset, England, where things look perfect, harmonious and just lovely. The series revels in showing us this image and dissecting it piece by piece, looking deeper and deeper into the cesspool of secrets and bad decisions. As such, the viewer is given the change to observe the deep hurt inflicted upon the more altruistic characters – most of which happen to be women – by the egotistic characters – many of which happen to be men. It is the direct and even more terribly indirect hurt that is inflicted upon the altruistic ones that gives the story the emotional impact it has.
Case in point, Beth Latimer and DS Miller both are exploited by their husbands and end up not only dealing with the direct fallout of their respective actions but hurt to a point they cannot even rely on each other anymore. They are both stripped of the delusion of happiness and family being their haven. They are also both stripped of a friendship which could supply each with a friend who “gets it”. Heck, just for the fun of it the makers toss in Susan Wright, a woman who has been so terribly hurt by her husband that she became jaded enough to “join the other team”. She has become the egotistic abuser her husband was simply because she (probably) used to be altruistic. Her experience with her husband, the police and the loss of her kids have kicked her to the other side of egotism simply out of a deep need for self-preservation.
Before the question comes up, no, the series is not about men vs women, or men = bad, women = good. And neither is this post. There are egotistic women in the story, like Karen White, Susan Wright or Becca Fisher. There are altruistic men in the story, too, like DI Hardy. But the trend is quite distinct. In my own personal experience this comes from the general societal expectation that women should be altruistic and work for the group. An expectation that is not socialized as thoroughly in men. The show picks up on this and showcases it to great effect, placing a great emphasis on the price some women are made to pay for following this expectation.
Finally, the question of egotism vs altruism is a thinking point the viewer is left to ponder with beyond the end credits of the last episode. The discussion of who is what and how much can keep the viewer’s mind busy for some time. Several people on this sub posted they hated Mark Latimer’s selfishness, and many commenters agree. If you ask me, this is a great result for a series, making the viewers contemplate things such as this beyond the actual viewing experience.

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Karghol stepped forward. As Rob he might be scared, but he'd been the leader of the group for a long time, operating as our main tank across a ton of games, and now, I could see him taking that step again, "Okay, first thing's first. If they're gonna pop us out of this from the outside, then that's not on us, but we've all seen this anime. If they're not coming, then we need to get to the endgame as fast as possible."
"Nope," I shook my head, surprising even myself at how quickly I'd said something.
He turned, "What? I mean, we gotta get out ahead of this."
"In most games, I'd agree, but not here, not in this game. Also, side-point but decision time for everyone: Real names or character names? I can't keep flipping between them. Lugh is what's on my party registry, so I'm sticking with Lugh," It seemed small but wasn't.
I'd learned well enough that giving people all of the information was most often counter-productive at best. Giving people a small, immediate choice was far preferable and got them on the path to understanding better. Temur snorted slightly at the absurdity, "Well, I suppose you can call me either Temur, or Temur. Whichever floats your boat."
Several groans came out, and finally, some laughter. I mean, it was dad joke humor to be sure, but jokes were probably going to become a much more specific thing for us. From there, everyone chose their character names, either because it was simply easier given the nametags in our party rotation, or because they just didn't want everyone knowing their real ones. Khargol however, was a slight agitated, "Alright, so why not speedrun it?"
"Because speedrunners die and reset constantly."
The slight mirth died out in the room, but Khargol wasn't ready to yield the point, "I've watched you do a no-death run of Dark Souls!"
I nodded, "And do you have any idea how many times I died in that game getting to that level of skill? Look, this isn't Dark Souls. That game has set difficulty levels. Yeah, it's got solid AI, but here? The AI adapts to tactics, and I'm pretty sure the beta test players are about to learn that the hard way."
Everyone was a bit curious at the statement, but it was Shelara who spoke up, "What does that 'adaptive AI' mean?"
I sighed, and took a seat at the head of the table, with Khargol finally sitting down next to me, "It means the AI of the system is learning. Beta testers essentially get to play ahead of the general public to try and stress test the system under actual play conditions. Most usually, they'll try to learn as many exploits as possible, so even if they start out on brand new characters, they're still going to be far ahead of the pack, getting gear and coin ahead of others. Assume that the beta testers have watched things like SAO or other 'trapped in a video game' style series, and they're doing the same as Khargol is suggesting. Problem is, that's exactly what a bunch of them already did, and if the AI works like it's supposed to, then it's ready for them.
"For Valorian Saga, one of the biggest selling points was its adaptive AI system, a system that learns. What that means is that the system behind bosses has already learned those exploits from beta testers and has some sort of answer for them, and they're going to run dead into them."
Chrysta sat forward, leaning her elbows on the table, at least in part to show off her biceps, "Well if a speedrun is out of the question, then what do we do instead?"
Shelara cut back in, "But... shouldn't we try and go save the beta testers?"
I considered, "Shelara, in answer to your question, we can't. Even assuming we could catch up to wherever they're at, there's almost no chance they'd listen to us if we did. They're just as likely to assume we're rivals, or to think we're idiots, but regardless they won't be following our instructions just because we say so. As far as they're concerned, they already know this game, and we're a bunch of sprouts who are panicking. Even if we could get past that point, we don't know the game like they do, and we're more likely to end up needing saving before we ever get to them.
"As to the other question, Chrysta, what we do now is finish up the starter quests, then we use our flyers to join the militia."
Every MMO veteran groaned openly. Arkadi especially was annoyed at the concept, "Come on, man, faction-grinding on day two? We're not even out of the gate yet!"
I'd expected this, and checked my in-game clock, and swore under my breath. We needed to get moving, with only roughly eighteen minutes of daylight left, "Guys, that's why we need to join the militia. It's safe, and grinding up our faction rep with Valoria opens a lot of doors, not least of which is giving us barracks space to live in free of charge, basic equipment upgrades, and getting coin. That's just the short-term gains. Yeah, not much, but it gives us a foundation. We get the lay of the land, and we build up our strategies. There's another reason though, and it's important."
Khargol nodded, "As militia, we get arrest powers in line with the laws of Farrelston."
"Wait, we'd be cops?" Shelera seemed slightly hyped about the concept.
I nodded, "More or less. We aren't out in the main room right now cause everyone's losing their minds out there. They're all coming to terms with the idea that this place is where they might die, and that breeds desperate reactions. Fourteen million players split between fifty servers, giving an average server population of... two-hundred-eighty thousand per server give or take for server popularity. Assume maybe one percent of that go fully around the bend and get violent, and that gives us two thousand eight hundred violent criminals that just hit the city on this server that have the ability to level up within the system.
"Farrelston has to be a safe space for players to return to, but that can't happen if there isn't order, and that means law enforcement."
One of our newcomers made her presence felt, the elf woman from the cathedral, shaking as she spoke, "I'm Layala. What about my brother?"
Tom... "I don't know. I don't what happens to those who die in the game. Maybe they wake up, maybe they're just comatose in a hospital somewhere, or maybe they're gone."
I let it sink in for everyone. Layala's eyes fell to the table as she slowly wept. I hate this, but sugarcoating the thing wasn't good for anyone, "All I can work on right now is keeping us all alive. This is a fantasy RPG, so for all I know, there might be another way to get them back, but I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. Anyone who knows someone who didn't respawn, we'll keep a journal of names, to see that they're remembered. We chronicle the dead, and if the opportunity to get them back presents itself, we go all-in on it.
"I know we all have questions... but we can't stay here to answer them all, and I don't have all the answers for you. We need to start moving, and moving now. We've got thirteen people here, our five and the eight we added on. We've got enough people to form a guild when the time comes, so we should start acting like a guild now."
Layala's voice cracked, "I-I nominate Lugh."
I was startled. I've been very game-knowledgeable, but I wasn't the leader type. It was never my role in the group.
"I second the nomination."
Khargol. My head whipped around, "Look, guys, I'm not a leader. I know stuff, that's what I've got. Khargol's the one who leads."
Khargol shook his head, "Not here, not in this game. I'm all good for the tanking, but you're the only one of us who's putting out a plan of attack, and I'm getting more lost by the minute. It sucks dude, and it hurts to admit it to myself, but you're the guy this time."
Nods occurred, and by show of hands, I was almost unanimously elected to command the 'guild', minus my own dissenting vote. Well.... crapbaskets, "Alright, fine. I won't argue it, but we've gotta get a move on. Get the starter quests going, and when we unlock the job change system, we'll work things out from there. Until then, we'll break into three parties, two four-man parties, and one five-man. Khargol, you're in charge of the five-man, Temur and myself are the other party leaders for now. We'll meet at the barracks come sundown. We spread out the neos amongst the three parties so they're all protected, and we get started. Don't do any combat quests alone."
I picked up Shelera for my party's neo, along with Chrysta and Layala, and the parties agreed to meet up in front of the barracks around sunset so we could join up together. We fought the press of bodies in the tavern to get out into the streets, and headed off for our quests. I could feel my heart racing a bit, the whole thing feeling like some sort of bad dream, but we would need a minute to get things together, "Okay, let's check everyone's quest logs. Any shareable quests, share them with the group so we can all help out and get rewards. We tackle them from lowest to highest."
We moved through the streets to the first quest, running messages around the city for the heralds. The quest was designed to get new players oriented with the larger city of Farrelston and what factions existed within it. The vast majority of players though, were barely moving, either pressed into the tavern or milling about in front of the cathedral. This was a huge problem, and we were finding clusters of people around, hiding and trying to just deal with the enormity of it all. We were running messages to guards, merchants, and nobles on what was a very low-key questline while watching people crying or raging. Shelera moved up next to me, close to tears herself, "We can't do anything?"
a I halted, and looked around again, and noticed some people who weren't in groups. Solo players who had come in by themselves, the same as you'd see in any MMO, and now they were cut off from the world, friends, family, and no party. Solo players really only existed in MMOs, people who would just fill in the gaps, and otherwise keep to themselves, and it worked in the world of video games. In the real world, though, it wasn't good, "We can do a little."
I jogged over to where a powerfully built Dracon with a sword and shield was balled up on the ground, weeping, purple-scaled head buried in his arms. I knelt down next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, what's your character name?"
The Dracon boy looked up imploringly, his voice quavering, "Umbaar..."
"Hi, Umbaar. I'm Lugh, and these are my friends. Why don't you come with us? You can join our party," I kept my tone even by pleasant.
He nodded sheepishly and accepted the party invite, "My mom's gonna kill me. I wasn't even supposed to be playing the game."
Oh God, no, "How old are you, Umbaar?"
"I'll be fourteen in December."
Due to the nature of the game, the minimum age for Valorian Saga was eighteen. He'd likely gotten access to the rig, and just jumped on, and now he was trapped, "I'm sure right now, your mom's just worried about you, but we'll keep you safe. Come on, we've got quests to do."
The absurdity of our questing was fully growing with each step we took. After running messages, we helped the watch with investigating some local crimes to learn the search system, worked with merchants on trading to get the economy down, and along the way, we found some more solos to fill us out to the party cap of eight. The jobs were immaterial to me, but Shelera and Layala both found comfort in picking up more people, with the latter taking over care of Umbaar. NPCs went about their day's work, and I started to catch on to something, "Hey... is this day... running long to anyone else?"
Games don't use full twenty-four-hour days, using a shorter day and night cycle to give the impression of a world without having to artificially inflate the game to make it feel like a full day. Valorian Saga had, in the videos, been shown to have a twenty-minute day, and twenty-minute night, but as we ran around, it had been far more than twenty minutes now. The sun had barely moved in the sky, which given the rest of the game's level of detail wasn't something they would've ignored. Chrysta spoke up after counting her clock, "Uh... well dearheart, I do believe we've got us a twenty-four cycle now."
There were several possibilities to this, perhaps either our minds changed gear to work with in-game time, or the game had altered to have twenty-four-hour time. Either way, we had no answers for it. I was getting a bit sick of having more and more questions I couldn't answer, but I couldn't focus on it in the here and now. I called a halt, and we found a small corner tavern to get food and drink. I took some time with the menu system, and up popped the character status window.
By statistics, we were moving up a bit, but the main stats of our jobs weren't changing very much at all. My basic stats for movement had risen, but not by much, and the gain was tapering off. That was probably from all the walking around the city we were doing. Reputations were going up in the city guilds attached to our quests, but again, they were minor improvements, and the effective XP was tapering off from doing them. I took out my character journal, a system conceit by the devs that the game world was simply too grand in scale to not allow a lot of notetaking, and did stat-math just like when I would spreadsheet my builds at home. From what I could see, the game had no true 'leveling' system. Instead, skills and attributes were built up by how you played, sort of like in Skyrim, but the same actions would not keep getting you the same degree of XP. A common enough point, or else someone could pull a South Park and just merc wolves until they hit the cap. Abilities would unlock as your stats rose, some coming online automatically like Sprint, while others you had to find a trainer for, such as the Double Knock ability for archers. From what I'd seen online, the abilities would unlock advanced jobs, and certain combinations would unlock hybrid jobs, so a Paladin would be a combination of a knight and acolyte. None of the testers had gotten that far, however, they'd just seen the possibility of it.
I noticed Shelera leaning over to look at my journal, and I smiled, "Just doing nerd stuff, plotting my progression to figure out what jobs I need."
She smiled back, "That seems weirdly normal. What are you thinking of doing?"
"Well, for now, I need to move up my abilities as a Hunter, right? Hunter eventually leads to a few choices, so I'm thinking I'll probably go for a Ranger build. That means I can train up Yndress here as a battle companion."
Yndress had been flying about with me, and sometimes resting on my shoulder, and now, she was curled up by my arm on the table as I continued. Shelera reached over and petted Yndress, "That is so cool. She's so warm. I totally should've figured out a way to get the limited edition... so what should I be leveling up?"
"Well, you're a vagabond, so you might look at something like Bounty Hunter since we're working with the militia. Combine that with another job.... huh."
"What?"
Daeva grinned, "Oh, sweetie, he just worked somethin' out. What do you need, Lugh?"
"Give me a minute. I need to go to the scrivener," I shot up and stepped out of the tavern.
It wasn't far to the scrivener where I could buy the supplies I needed. We'd just done an ink delivery there, and now, I would need paper and ink to work with. Returning, I cleared off the tavern table and laid out a large scroll used for maps, currently unmarked, "Okay, I need everyone to bring up your character pages and stand where I can read them."
Gamers generally do have a sense of when someone's worked out an exploit, and this was one of those times. They brought up their screens so I could start marking down abilities, attributes, and skills. Of note, my Scibing ability was ticking slowly upward as I laid things out. Scribing could turn into runic writing and other more arcane and mundane pursuits. What I was working on became a skill tree system, with the various jobs being grouped together. I had to move things around, and in real life I wouldn't be able to do that with ink, but in the game sense, it was pretty simple. I kept moving around my drawing, finally starting to come into a workable initial system of abilities, jobs, and other things that built off of one another. It look a bit mad, like if no one had stopped the devs on Path of Exile's skill tree, but it was there, "We're thinking about this wrong. We need to get to the barracks. I don't want to explain this twice."
Banded back up, I stopped by our newest unlock: Carriage Stations. The city was entirely too big to be running around it all the time, and for just half a silver, we could go to any other ward in the city. I signaled the coachman, handing him my flyer, "Take us to the militia barracks."
The coachman nodded sharply, "Right you are, sir."
The coaches held four, so we split between the two, and I rechecked my numbers. I was pretty certain I was right by the math, but these things didn't always pan out like you wanted, so it was best to recheck. It still seemed to be working out like I thought, but I needed Temur for a blind study of it. We got out at the barracks, a building made up of fortified walls and barred windows with internal shutters. Militiamen NPCs were standing guard out front, while we could just see some working in the training yard to the side. From what I could see, however, we were the only players here.
Temur's party arrived first, and apparently, I wasn't the only one picking up strays as two carriages emptied of people. He was running a full party as well now, and grinning in his uniquely Temur way, even if he did have draconic features now, "So, I see we're all taking in the lost little lambs?"
"I mean, sure, why not? That's how we met, so why not do it here, too?"
He nodded, "Questing went well, if a bit hum-drum, but you have a look in your eyes that says you've worked something out. You got math time!"
I nodded, "Waiting for... yeah, Khargol went off-road, I see."
Temur and I had shown up with two carriages each, only for Khargol to pull up with four, all packed. That put our new numbers at thirty-two players as he practically bounced up to us, "What?!"
We both shook our heads, "Nothing, man. Never change. I've got some news for everyone."
The full mass moved over to the side of the building so we weren't obstructing the entrance, "Party people, I worked something out at lunch."
I rolled out my map of the skills tree, "Okay, so I was going over my character screen, and did some math. I know what we need to do: We need to move up on every job."
Khargol shook his head, "Isn't that gonna leave us as jacks of all trades? We'd be running pretty average."
I gestured with my hands a bit in dismissal, "Usually, you're right, but here, it's different. The stats aren't really separated here, they're intended for cross-classing, and it's not just the combat jobs. I moved up a bit at Scribing here, and it looks like it'll be the same for crafting and gathering jobs. Move up in X, Y, and/or Z jobs and you unlock a hybrid. So like, say you move up as a blacksmith, armorer, and weaponsmith. All three have abilities building into one another, and that can unlock further abilities, other jobs, a whole classification of things we can't see yet.
"Using abilities works up the stats associated with that ability, and the higher the ability, the more XP it generates for the stats. Those stats still stay there when you do a job change, so you could be a Gladiator working up strength by working the forge."
Shelera looked over the drawing, "Okay, so you think if we take every job up, then that'll make us a lot stronger? But won't we end up with a bunch of usless stats?"
I shook my head, "No, for two primary reasons. For one, what if instead of Paladin, you went something like a Hexblade in D&D terms? Or, Shelera, you take Bounty Hunter, then build up your hunter job to Scout, and you have something akin to a Justicar class? Or Khargol, what if you master every weapon group?"
Temur's interest was peaked at mention of Hexblade, "And what is the second reason?"
I sucked in a breath, "It's a job change system. There's a job change skill, and every basic skill I've seen has upgrades, even if I can't see the end of the trees yet. The adaptive AI is going to adapt to our individual tactics, but even if all of us were playing hunters, we'd all approach hunting differently, maybe more reliant on archery, or snares, or pets. It would force the AI to keep readapting its own tactics on the fly. If we build up, we might just be able to get to something better than the sum of our parts."
Karghol nodded, "And that makes it doubly important we get going on the militia stuff. Shall we?"
The lot of us went over to the barracks, where a guard greeted us at the door, "Hold, citizens. What is your business with the thirteenth Valorian militia?"
I stepped forward, "We're here to enlist for service."
The guard perked right up, "Ah, good. Greetings and well met! I am Sergeant-at-Arms Brant. We are in need of stalwart folk to help protect Farrelston and wider Valoria in these trying times. Dark things are afoot both at home and afar, and it speaks well of you that you would choose service. Please, enter the hall, and register yourselves with Yeoman Granger. Welcome once again, may the purple dragon fly eternal!"
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I cannot go into loginto my email in Xfinity OR PAY MY BILL OR EVEN CONTACT TO COMCAST TV THAT I AM PAYING FOR online--.i AM getting my tv but when i call up the 800 number for comcast and state my problem they hang up on me.I can't even pay the bill.--and, I want to be able to sign into Comcast I am paying for this. --but it does not work.--Plus,I am trying to sign up so I can designate my homecare worker able to pay my bill;but Comcast says,"here is this complex contract you must fix,and do,all kinds of computer stuff,"I cannot do i !Im old 77, but I am educated, and have 140 IQ.--I can run a computer, but WHY can I not sign a simple statement saying this person can pay my Comcast bill?I'm crippled,in a wheelchair,I can't just come down either and pay my bill in person every month."Automatic payment"proved too unworkable.--So we ditched it.I just want my worker to be able to pay my bill,and me be able to sign into my xfiniry email--I don't seem to have the NEW USERNAME.(these,and pass,get changed all the time.)--so it's not working.Why they hang up on me when I state my problem,I really do not appreciate--and then I get a late charge if I can't pay the bill on time. Plus,I just got my cell fixed finally, what dept. do I separeately pay my bill to?I know it's separate from other bill. Thank you.---db in Eugene OR 97404

It is the strangest of terms that gravely perturbs the most well-known folks.
Even the most well-known folks can become hingeless given stimuli which, ourselves, may consider gentle as the telephone disconnect.
Air, The Battle of Kringen, Hapless, and Pulchritude are disconnected concepts, but the mind can make connections out of anything -- especially a mind that desperately thirsts for conflict.
To that mind, I can posit a simple mathematical postulate: "Two Plus Two Equals Four," and invariably I am met with the immediate "NO!" Beyond that precipice stands her so-confident threats of disconnect, of destitution, of discard. Experience dictates that she will always deploy them when challenged. It's her artillery. Where it lands is none of her concern. The shells were fired, and that's what matters to her.
That negative is screamed with such confidence that I can only recede and consider that my statement may, indeed, be incorrect.
I am terrified of her second pint, though I ever procure it for her without any hesitation.

I'm not the smartest with this stuff, so if someone could tell me the issue in this text, it would be greatly appreciated.

---- Minecraft Crash Report ---- // This doesn't make any sense! Time: 2024-06-09 00:44:33 Description: mouseClicked event handler java.lang.IllegalStateException: Failed to load registries due to above errors at net.minecraft.class_7655.method_45121(class_7655.java:111) at net.minecraft.class_7237.method_45142(class_7237.java:67) at net.minecraft.class_7237.method_45143(class_7237.java:71) at net.minecraft.class_7237.method_42098(class_7237.java:34) at net.minecraft.class_525.method_31130(class_525.java:333) at net.minecraft.class_526.method_19944(class_526.java:60) at net.minecraft.class_4185.method_25306(class_4185.java:94) at net.minecraft.class_4264.method_25348(class_4264.java:56) at net.minecraft.class_339.method_25402(class_339.java:189) at net.minecraft.class_4069.method_25402(class_4069.java:38) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_1611(class_312.java:98) at net.minecraft.class_437.method_25412(class_437.java:409) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_1601(class_312.java:98) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_22686(class_312.java:169) at net.minecraft.class_1255.execute(class_1255.java:102) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_22684(class_312.java:169) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFWMouseButtonCallback$Container.invoke(GLFWMouseButtonCallback.java:81) at imgui.glfw.ImGuiImplGlfw.mouseButtonCallback(ImGuiImplGlfw.java:123) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.callback(GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.java:43) at org.lwjgl.system.JNI.invokeV(Native Method) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFW.glfwWaitEventsTimeout(GLFW.java:3474) at com.mojang.blaze3d.systems.RenderSystem.limitDisplayFPS(RenderSystem.java:237) at net.minecraft.class_310.method_1523(class_310.java:1244) at net.minecraft.class_310.method_1514(class_310.java:802) at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:250) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.game.minecraft.MinecraftGameProvider.launch(MinecraftGameProvider.java:470) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.Knot.launch(Knot.java:74) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClient.main(KnotClient.java:23) 

A detailed walkthrough of the error, its code path and all known details is as follows:
-- Head --
Thread: Render thread
Stacktrace:

at net.minecraft.class\_7655.method\_45121(class\_7655.java:111) at net.minecraft.class\_7237.method\_45142(class\_7237.java:67) at net.minecraft.class\_7237.method\_45143(class\_7237.java:71) at net.minecraft.class\_7237.method\_42098(class\_7237.java:34) at net.minecraft.class\_525.method\_31130(class\_525.java:333) at net.minecraft.class\_526.method\_19944(class\_526.java:60) at net.minecraft.class\_4185.method\_25306(class\_4185.java:94) at net.minecraft.class\_4264.method\_25348(class\_4264.java:56) at net.minecraft.class\_339.method\_25402(class\_339.java:189) at net.minecraft.class\_4069.method\_25402(class\_4069.java:38) at net.minecraft.class\_312.method\_1611(class\_312.java:98) at net.minecraft.class\_437.method\_25412(class\_437.java:409) at net.minecraft.class\_312.method\_1601(class\_312.java:98) at net.minecraft.class\_312.method\_22686(class\_312.java:169) at net.minecraft.class\_1255.execute(class\_1255.java:102) at net.minecraft.class\_312.method\_22684(class\_312.java:169) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFWMouseButtonCallback$Container.invoke(GLFWMouseButtonCallback.java:81) at imgui.glfw.ImGuiImplGlfw.mouseButtonCallback(ImGuiImplGlfw.java:123) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.callback(GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.java:43) at org.lwjgl.system.JNI.invokeV(Native Method) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFW.glfwWaitEventsTimeout(GLFW.java:3474) 

-- Affected screen --
Details:

Screen name: net.minecraft.class\_526 

Stacktrace:

at net.minecraft.class\_437.method\_25412(class\_437.java:409) at net.minecraft.class\_312.method\_1601(class\_312.java:98) at net.minecraft.class\_312.method\_22686(class\_312.java:169) at net.minecraft.class\_1255.execute(class\_1255.java:102) at net.minecraft.class\_312.method\_22684(class\_312.java:169) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFWMouseButtonCallback$Container.invoke(GLFWMouseButtonCallback.java:81) at imgui.glfw.ImGuiImplGlfw.mouseButtonCallback(ImGuiImplGlfw.java:123) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.callback(GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.java:43) at org.lwjgl.system.JNI.invokeV(Native Method) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFW.glfwWaitEventsTimeout(GLFW.java:3474) at com.mojang.blaze3d.systems.RenderSystem.limitDisplayFPS(RenderSystem.java:237) at net.minecraft.class\_310.method\_1523(class\_310.java:1244) at net.minecraft.class\_310.method\_1514(class\_310.java:802) at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:250) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.game.minecraft.MinecraftGameProvider.launch(MinecraftGameProvider.java:470) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.Knot.launch(Knot.java:74) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClient.main(KnotClient.java:23) 

-- Last reload --
Details:

Reload number: 1 Reload reason: initial Finished: Yes Packs: vanilla, fabric, Moonlight Mods Dynamic Assets 

Stacktrace:

at net.minecraft.class\_6360.method\_36565(class\_6360.java:49) at net.minecraft.class\_310.method\_1587(class\_310.java:2413) at net.minecraft.class\_310.method\_1514(class\_310.java:821) at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:250) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.game.minecraft.MinecraftGameProvider.launch(MinecraftGameProvider.java:470) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.Knot.launch(Knot.java:74) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClient.main(KnotClient.java:23) 

-- System Details --
Details:

Minecraft Version: 1.20.1 Minecraft Version ID: 1.20.1 Operating System: Windows 10 (amd64) version 10.0 Java Version: 17.0.8, Microsoft Java VM Version: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (mixed mode), Microsoft Memory: 71215688 bytes (67 MiB) / 2147483648 bytes (2048 MiB) up to 2147483648 bytes (2048 MiB) CPUs: 8 Processor Vendor: AuthenticAMD Processor Name: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G with Radeon Vega Graphics Identifier: AuthenticAMD Family 23 Model 17 Stepping 0 Microarchitecture: Zen Frequency (GHz): 3.59 Number of physical packages: 1 Number of physical CPUs: 4 Number of logical CPUs: 8 Graphics card #0 name: Radeon(TM) RX 580 Graphics card #0 vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (0x1002) Graphics card #0 VRAM (MB): 4095.00 Graphics card #0 deviceId: 0x67df Graphics card #0 versionInfo: DriverVersion=31.0.21001.45002 Graphics card #1 name: AMD Radeon(TM) RX Vega 11 Graphics Graphics card #1 vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (0x1002) Graphics card #1 VRAM (MB): 2048.00 Graphics card #1 deviceId: 0x15dd Graphics card #1 versionInfo: DriverVersion=31.0.21001.45002 Memory slot #0 capacity (MB): 16384.00 Memory slot #0 clockSpeed (GHz): 2.13 Memory slot #0 type: DDR4 Memory slot #1 capacity (MB): 16384.00 Memory slot #1 clockSpeed (GHz): 2.13 Memory slot #1 type: DDR4 Virtual memory max (MB): 35237.30 Virtual memory used (MB): 14759.36 Swap memory total (MB): 4608.00 Swap memory used (MB): 60.70 JVM Flags: 9 total; -XX:HeapDumpPath=MojangTricksIntelDriversForPerformance\_javaw.exe\_minecraft.exe.heapdump -Xss1M -Xmx2G -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:G1NewSizePercent=20 -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=50 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=32M Fabric Mods: ambientenvironment: Ambient Environment [11.0.0.1](http://11.0.0.1) architectury: Architectury 9.2.14 autotag-convention: AutoTag Convention 2.0.2+1.20 autotag: AutoTag 2.0.2+1.20 backpacked: Backpacked 3.0.0-beta.4 mm: Manningham Mills 2.3 bettercombat: Better Combat 1.8.5+1.20.1 bountiful: Bountiful 6.0.3+1.20.1 brewinandchewin: Brewin And Chewin 3.0.3+1.20.1 cardinal-components: Cardinal Components API 5.2.2 cardinal-components-block: Cardinal Components API (blocks) 5.2.2 cardinal-components-chunk: Cardinal Components API (chunks) 5.2.2 cardinal-components-item: Cardinal Components API (items) 5.2.2 cardinal-components-level: Cardinal Components API (world saves) 5.2.2 cardinal-components-scoreboard: Cardinal Components API (scoreboard) 5.2.2 chefsdelight: Chefs Delight 1.0.3-fabric-1.20.1 cloth-config: Cloth Config v11 11.1.118 cloth-basic-math: cloth-basic-math 0.6.1 comforts: Comforts 6.3.5+1.20.1 spectrelib: SpectreLib 0.13.15+1.20.1 configured: Configured 2.2.3 copper\_pipe: Simple Copper Pipes 1.13.6 corgilib: CorgiLib [4.0.1.1](http://4.0.1.1) com\_electronwill\_night-config\_core: core 3.6.7 com\_electronwill\_night-config\_toml: toml 3.6.7 corndelight: Corn Delight 1.0.4 cratedelight: Crate Delight 2024.5.5-1.20-fabric creativecore: CreativeCore 2.11.30 net\_minecraftforge\_eventbus: eventbus 6.0.3 cristellib: Cristel Lib 1.1.5 blue\_endless\_jankson: jankson 1.2.3 ctov: ChoiceTheorem's Overhauled Village 3.4.3 culturaldelights: Cultural Delights Fabric 0.14.11+1.20.1 terraform-wood-api-v1: Terraform Wood API (v1) 7.0.1 dataattributes\_dc: Data Attributes: Directors Cut 1.6.0+1.20.1 dehydration: Dehydration 1.3.6 dummmmmmy: MmmMmmMmmMmm 1.20-1.8.17b enhancedcelestials: Enhanced Celestials [5.0.0.4](http://5.0.0.4) enhancedvisuals: EnhancedVisuals 1.8.1 enhancedweather: Enhanced Weather 1.0-Beta5.4 environmentz: EnvironmentZ 2.0.8 satin: Satin 1.13.0 epic\_knights\_japanese\_armory: Epic Knights: Japanese Armory 1.6.2 exlinecopperequipment: Copper Equipment 2.1.6 expandeddelight: Expanded Delight 0.3.1 omega-config: OmegaConfig 1.4.0+1.20.1 fabric-api: Fabric API 0.92.2+1.20.1 fabric-api-base: Fabric API Base 0.4.31+1802ada577 fabric-api-lookup-api-v1: Fabric API Lookup API (v1) 1.6.36+1802ada577 fabric-biome-api-v1: Fabric Biome API (v1) 13.0.13+1802ada577 fabric-block-api-v1: Fabric Block API (v1) 1.0.11+1802ada577 fabric-block-view-api-v2: Fabric BlockView API (v2) 1.0.1+1802ada577 fabric-blockrenderlayer-v1: Fabric BlockRenderLayer Registration (v1) 1.1.41+1802ada577 fabric-client-tags-api-v1: Fabric Client Tags 1.1.2+1802ada577 fabric-command-api-v1: Fabric Command API (v1) 1.2.34+f71b366f77 fabric-command-api-v2: Fabric Command API (v2) 2.2.13+1802ada577 fabric-commands-v0: Fabric Commands (v0) 0.2.51+df3654b377 fabric-containers-v0: Fabric Containers (v0) 0.1.64+df3654b377 fabric-content-registries-v0: Fabric Content Registries (v0) 4.0.11+1802ada577 fabric-convention-tags-v1: Fabric Convention Tags 1.5.5+1802ada577 fabric-crash-report-info-v1: Fabric Crash Report Info (v1) 0.2.19+1802ada577 fabric-data-attachment-api-v1: Fabric Data Attachment API (v1) 1.0.0+de0fd6d177 fabric-data-generation-api-v1: Fabric Data Generation API (v1) 12.3.4+1802ada577 fabric-dimensions-v1: Fabric Dimensions API (v1) 2.1.54+1802ada577 fabric-entity-events-v1: Fabric Entity Events (v1) 1.6.0+1c78457f77 fabric-events-interaction-v0: Fabric Events Interaction (v0) 0.6.2+1802ada577 fabric-events-lifecycle-v0: Fabric Events Lifecycle (v0) 0.2.63+df3654b377 fabric-game-rule-api-v1: Fabric Game Rule API (v1) 1.0.40+1802ada577 fabric-item-api-v1: Fabric Item API (v1) 2.1.28+1802ada577 fabric-item-group-api-v1: Fabric Item Group API (v1) 4.0.12+1802ada577 fabric-key-binding-api-v1: Fabric Key Binding API (v1) 1.0.37+1802ada577 fabric-keybindings-v0: Fabric Key Bindings (v0) 0.2.35+df3654b377 fabric-lifecycle-events-v1: Fabric Lifecycle Events (v1) 2.2.22+1802ada577 fabric-loot-api-v2: Fabric Loot API (v2) 1.2.1+1802ada577 fabric-loot-tables-v1: Fabric Loot Tables (v1) 1.1.45+9e7660c677 fabric-message-api-v1: Fabric Message API (v1) 5.1.9+1802ada577 fabric-mining-level-api-v1: Fabric Mining Level API (v1) 2.1.50+1802ada577 fabric-model-loading-api-v1: Fabric Model Loading API (v1) 1.0.3+1802ada577 fabric-models-v0: Fabric Models (v0) 0.4.2+9386d8a777 fabric-networking-api-v1: Fabric Networking API (v1) 1.3.11+1802ada577 fabric-networking-v0: Fabric Networking (v0) 0.3.51+df3654b377 fabric-object-builder-api-v1: Fabric Object Builder API (v1) 11.1.3+1802ada577 fabric-particles-v1: Fabric Particles (v1) 1.1.2+1802ada577 fabric-recipe-api-v1: Fabric Recipe API (v1) 1.0.21+1802ada577 fabric-registry-sync-v0: Fabric Registry Sync (v0) 2.3.3+1802ada577 fabric-renderer-api-v1: Fabric Renderer API (v1) 3.2.1+1802ada577 fabric-renderer-indigo: Fabric Renderer - Indigo 1.5.2+85287f9f77 fabric-renderer-registries-v1: Fabric Renderer Registries (v1) 3.2.46+df3654b377 fabric-rendering-data-attachment-v1: Fabric Rendering Data Attachment (v1) 0.3.37+92a0d36777 fabric-rendering-fluids-v1: Fabric Rendering Fluids (v1) 3.0.28+1802ada577 fabric-rendering-v0: Fabric Rendering (v0) 1.1.49+df3654b377 fabric-rendering-v1: Fabric Rendering (v1) 3.0.8+1802ada577 fabric-resource-conditions-api-v1: Fabric Resource Conditions API (v1) 2.3.8+1802ada577 fabric-resource-loader-v0: Fabric Resource Loader (v0) 0.11.10+1802ada577 fabric-screen-api-v1: Fabric Screen API (v1) 2.0.8+1802ada577 fabric-screen-handler-api-v1: Fabric Screen Handler API (v1) 1.3.30+1802ada577 fabric-sound-api-v1: Fabric Sound API (v1) 1.0.13+1802ada577 fabric-transfer-api-v1: Fabric Transfer API (v1) 3.3.5+8dd72ea377 fabric-transitive-access-wideners-v1: Fabric Transitive Access Wideners (v1) 4.3.1+1802ada577 fabric-language-kotlin: Fabric Language Kotlin 1.11.0+kotlin.2.0.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlin\_kotlin-reflect: kotlin-reflect 2.0.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlin\_kotlin-stdlib: kotlin-stdlib 2.0.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlin\_kotlin-stdlib-jdk7: kotlin-stdlib-jdk7 2.0.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlin\_kotlin-stdlib-jdk8: kotlin-stdlib-jdk8 2.0.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_atomicfu-jvm: atomicfu-jvm 0.24.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-coroutines-core-jvm: kotlinx-coroutines-core-jvm 1.8.1 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-coroutines-jdk8: kotlinx-coroutines-jdk8 1.8.1 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-datetime-jvm: kotlinx-datetime-jvm 0.6.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-serialization-cbor-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-cbor-jvm 1.6.3 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-serialization-core-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-core-jvm 1.6.3 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-serialization-json-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-json-jvm 1.6.3 fabricloader: Fabric Loader 0.15.11 mixinextras: MixinExtras 0.3.5 fallingleaves: Falling Leaves 1.15.6 farmersdelight: Farmer's Delight 1.20.1-2.1.1+refabricated porting\_lib\_accessors: Porting Lib Accessors 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting\_lib\_base: Porting Lib Base 2.3.4+1.20.1 

porting_lib_entity: Porting Lib Entity 2.3.4+1.20.1
porting_lib_fluids: Porting Lib Fluids 2.3.4+1.20.1
porting_lib_mixin_extensions: Porting Lib Mixin Extensions 2.3.4+1.20.1
porting_lib_transfer: Porting Lib Transfer 2.3.4+1.20.1
porting_lib_utility: Porting Lib Utility 2.3.4+1.20.1

 porting\_lib\_client\_events: Porting Lib Client Events 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting\_lib\_config: Porting Lib Config 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting\_lib\_extensions: Porting Lib Extensions 2.3.4+1.20.1 

porting_lib_attributes: Porting Lib Attributes 2.3.4+1.20.1
porting_lib_common: Porting Lib Common 2.3.4+1.20.1
reach-entity-attributes: Reach Entity Attributes 2.4.0

 porting\_lib\_lazy\_registration: Porting Lib Lazy Register 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting\_lib\_loot: Porting Lib Loot 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting\_lib\_networking: Porting Lib Networking 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting\_lib\_recipe\_book\_categories: Porting Lib Recipe Book Categories 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting\_lib\_registries: Porting Lib Registries 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting\_lib\_tags: Porting Lib Tags 3.0 

porting_lib_core: Porting Lib Core 2.3.4+1.20.1

 porting\_lib\_tool\_actions: Porting Lib Tool Actions 2.3.4+1.20.1 farmersknives: Farmer's Knives 3.2 fdjei: Just Enough Farmer's Recipes 1.0.1 festive\_delight: Festive Delight 1.0.0 firstperson: FirstPerson 2.4.1 fleshz: FleshZ 1.5.1 forgeconfigapiport: Forge Config API Port 8.0.0 framework: Framework 0.7.6 org\_javassist\_javassist: javassist 3.29.2-GA org\_reflections\_reflections: reflections 0.10.2 handcrafted: Handcrafted 3.0.6 harvest\_scythes: Harvest Scythes 2.5.6+mc1.20 immersive\_melodies: Immersive Melodies 0.2.0+1.20.1 immersive\_weathering: Immersive Weathering 1.20.1-2.0.1 indium: Indium 1.0.30+mc1.20.4 iris: Iris 1.7.0+mc1.20.1 io\_github\_douira\_glsl-transformer: glsl-transformer 2.0.0-pre13 org\_anarres\_jcpp: jcpp 1.4.14 org\_antlr\_antlr4-runtime: antlr4-runtime 4.11.1 jamlib: JamLib 0.6.1+1.20.x java: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM 17 jei: Just Enough Items [15.3.0.4](http://15.3.0.4) kambrik: Kambrik 6.1.1+1.20.1 lambdynlights: LambDynamicLights 2.3.2+1.20.1 pride: Pride Lib 1.2.0+1.19.4 spruceui: SpruceUI 5.0.0+1.20 magistuarmory: Epic Knights Mod 9.8 magistuarmoryaddon: Epic Knights: Addon 1.6 mca: Minecraft Comes Alive 7.5.18+1.20.1 minecraft: Minecraft 1.20.1 minefortress: MineFortress 1.8.6-beta automatone: Automatone 1.0.3+minefortress cardinal-components-base: Cardinal Components API (base) 5.2.6+minefortress cardinal-components-entity: Cardinal Components API (entities) 5.2.6+minefortress cardinal-components-world: Cardinal Components API (worlds) 5.2.6+minefortress modmenu: Mod Menu 7.2.2 moonlight: Moonlight 1.20-2.11.33 mr\_tidal\_towns: Tidal Towns 1.3 mru: Mineblock's Repeated Utilities 0.4.2+1.20.1 yet\_another\_config\_lib\_v3: YetAnotherConfigLib 3.4.2+1.20.1-fabric 

com_twelvemonkeys_common_common-image: common-image 3.10.0
com_twelvemonkeys_common_common-io: common-io 3.10.0
com_twelvemonkeys_common_common-lang: common-lang 3.10.0
com_twelvemonkeys_imageio_imageio-core: imageio-core 3.10.0
com_twelvemonkeys_imageio_imageio-metadata: imageio-metadata 3.10.0
com_twelvemonkeys_imageio_imageio-webp: imageio-webp 3.10.0
org_quiltmc_parsers_gson: gson 0.2.1
org_quiltmc_parsers_json: json 0.2.1

 notenoughanimations: NotEnoughAnimations 1.7.3 oceansdelight: Ocean's Delight fdrf-fabric-1.0.2-1.20 owo: oωo 0.11.2+1.20 player-animator: Player Animator 1.0.2-rc1+1.20 playerex: PlayerEx: Directors Cut 3.7.2+1.20.1 net\_objecthunter\_exp4j: exp4j 0.4.8 opc\_dc: Offline Player Cache: Directors Cut 0.6.5+1.20.1 placeholder-api: Placeholder API 2.1.1+1.20 ranged\_weapon\_api: RangedWeaponAPI 1.1.0+1.20.1 polymorph: Polymorph 0.49.5+1.20.1 puzzleslib: Puzzles Lib 8.1.20 puzzlesaccessapi: Puzzles Access Api 8.0.7 relicex: RelicEx 3.4.2+1.20.1 armorrenderlib: Armor Render Lib: Directors Cut 0.3.1+1.20.1 resourcefullib: Resourceful Lib 2.1.25 com\_teamresourceful\_bytecodecs: bytecodecs 1.0.2 com\_teamresourceful\_yabn: yabn 1.0.3 rpg-hud: RPG-Hud 3.10 seasons: Fabric Seasons 2.3+1.20 seasonsdelightcompat: Fabric Seasons: Delight Compat 1.0-1.3.9 shouldersurfing: Shoulder Surfing Reloaded 4.0.0 silentsdelight: Silents Delight fabric-1.0.0-1.20.1 slavicarmory: Epic Knights: Slavic Armory 1.4 smallships: Small Ships 2.0.0-b1.2 sodium: Sodium 0.5.8+mc1.20.1 sodium-extra: Sodium Extra 0.5.4+mc1.20.1-build.115 caffeineconfig: CaffeineConfig 1.3.0+1.17 crowdin-translate: CrowdinTranslate 1.4+1.19.3 starvation\_configured: Starvation Configured 1.0.0 statement: Statement 4.2.9+1.14.4-1.20.4 kanos\_config: Kanos Config 0.4.1+1.14.4-1.19.4 statement\_vanilla\_compatibility: Statement Vanilla Compatibility Module 1.0.1+1.16.5-1.17 treechop: HT's TreeChop 0.19.0 trinkets: Trinkets 3.7.2 tumbleweed: Tumbleweed 0.5.5 ubesdelight: Ube's Delight 1.20.1-0.1.5.4 unwrecked\_ships: Unwrecked Ships Plus 1.0.0-1.20 utilitybelt: Utility Belt 1.3.6+1.20.1 tutorial-lib: Tutorial Lib 1.1.2+1.20.x visualworkbench: Visual Workbench 8.0.0 walljump: Wall-Jump TXF 1.20.1-1.1.5-fabric configlibtxf: ConfigLib TXF 4.2.0-fabric keybindfixtxf: Keybind Fix TXF 1.0.0 walllanterns: Lanterns Belong on Walls 1.6.1+1.20.1 waterdripsound: Drip Sounds 1.19-0.3.2 woof: Woof 4.0.2+1.20.1 Loaded Shaderpack: (off) Launched Version: fabric-loader-0.15.11-1.20.1 Backend library: LWJGL version 3.3.1 SNAPSHOT Backend API: Radeon(TM) RX 580 GL version 3.2.0 Core Profile Context 23.7.1.230626, ATI Technologies Inc. Window size: 1920x1080 GL Caps: Using framebuffer using OpenGL 3.2 GL debug messages: Using VBOs: Yes Is Modded: Definitely; Client brand changed to 'fabric' Type: Client (map\_client.txt) Graphics mode: fancy Resource Packs: fabric Current Language: en\_us CPU: 8x AMD Ryzen 5 2400G with Radeon Vega Graphics 

Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 1: The Physical World (p. 29), Jinpa, Thupten; Dalai Lama; Coghlan, Ian.Wisdom Publications. Kindle Edition.
In general, the word science refers to a body of knowledge about the world that is obtained through a particular method and that is verifiable by anyone repeating the same experiment. The term can be applied to both the acquired body of knowledge and to the method by which such knowledge is obtained. More broadly, science can refer also to a systematic method of investigation. When a scientist explores a particular question, first he or she develops a hypothesis. Then, through experiments, certain results are found, and these findings are then subjected to the scrutiny of one’s colleagues. When the findings of different scientists come to converge, these findings come to be accepted as part of the larger body of scientific knowledge. The means by which these discoveries are made is characterized as scientific.
This basic feature of the scientific method seems to accord with the two criteria of existence proposed in Buddhist Madhyamaka texts: for something to exist,
(1) it must be known by a conventionally valid cognition, and
(2) it must not be contravened by some other conventionally valid cognition.
In the Buddhist tradition, the principle of “four reliances” sets out the basic discernments necessary when inquiring into the nature of reality:
(1) When analyzing a particular claim, we must not draw conclusions based on the renown of the person who is making the statement; rather we should draw conclusions on the basis of critically examining what the person has said.
(2) With respect to what has been stated, too, we should not deduce the truth or falsity of a statement from its literary merits or the quality of the writing; the content of the statement is more important than its form.
(3) With respect to the contents of the statement, too, we should not trust those that may have been stated provisionally for an expedient purpose; rather we should accord greater importance to the definitive meaning that pertains to the actual nature of reality.
(4) With respect to the definitive meaning, too, we should accord greater importance to the observations of direct perception and not be content with mere conjectures or word-based understandings. These four conditions should be applied when we engage in analysis, irrespective of the topic.
As for the actual analysis, the texts speak of the “four principles of reason.” Not only do these four principles demonstrate the Buddhist outlook on the natural world, if we examine carefully, we can also say that they embody the entire Buddhist presentation about reality.
The first, the principle of nature, explains how in the Buddhist understanding there is no absolute beginning or end to the universe when viewed from the perspective of its constitutive elements. For example, even though we can speak of a beginning to the macroscopic world, whether the structure of the world or its manifest aspects, we cannot posit an absolute beginning at the level of ultimate constitutive elements. For if there is such a beginning, that first source will have to be either devoid of cause or be created by some transcendent being. Similarly, if one posits an absolute beginning to consciousness, whose essential character is that of subjectivity, this would mean that consciousness emerges from the aggregation of matter, which is contrary to the nature of subjective experience. Were this the case, how would we explain the subsequent arising, on the basis of that alleged first moment of consciousness, of multiple distinct streams of cognition?
So, in the Buddhist sources, the fact that material things maintain their own integrity and propagate their continuity and the fact that consciousness exists as characterized by subjective experience are stated simply as part of the principle of nature. Things give rise to their own continuum — that is the way it is. Śāntideva makes an important distinction with respect to this principle of nature. In his Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds, Śāntideva explains how things arise in the world through a natural process of evolution. However, when this process reaches a point where the basis for the experience of happiness and suffering of a sentient being comes into play, at that point the process has gone beyond the simple principle of nature. At that point, he states, the principle of nature is still the basis, but adventitious factors, such as the intentional activity of a person, have also intervened and become part of the causal process.7
The second principle, the principle of dependence, relates to the way the features an effect displays are contingent on the characteristics of its cause. In other words, all the diverse attributes that exist in an effect are byproducts of the aggregation of the various characteristics present in the cause. To give an easy example, say there is to be an excellent crop with healthy stalks, unaffected by pests, and crops ripening at the right time, and so on. The presence of seeds is not enough; other important conditions must converge as well, such as soil, warmth, moisture, fertilizer, and dedicated human effort. One cannot say excellent crops are due merely to nature. Within this principle of dependence, we can distinguish three types of dependence:
(1) causal dependence,
(2) the way the integrity of a whole depends on its constitutive parts — even the perception of a whole is dependent upon the perception of its parts — and
(3) dependence in terms of conceptual designation, which is to say that given everything exists as mere conventional designation, their very identity as distinct phenomena is a function of the mind labeling them. This last sense of dependence is extremely profound.
The principle of function, the third principle, refers to specific functions individual entities perform because of their distinct natures and the functions they support. For example, the seed is the primary cause of a sprout, but conditions such as moisture and fertilizer each perform their own unique functions, and it is through the combination of these causes and conditions that a specific effect arises. In general, the earth element functions to ground and support, water functions to cohere, fire to mature, and the wind to enhance. It is functions such as these that are referred to when speaking of the principle of function.
The final principle, the principle of evidence, refers to what allows us to draw inferences, such as “If such and such is the current condition, then such and such will be the future state,” “Given these diverse features of a given effect, there must have been such and such diverse characteristics in the cause too,” and “Such and such is impermanent because it comes into being at certain times but not at others.”

Posting this from a friend's account because I got locked out of mine.
Hi all! I (28 F) am new to this sub so I hope this is the right place to seek help for my particular scenario. Mods, please bear with me if I am.
I am in the process of applying for a Visa to join NCI for its Higher Diploma in Science in Computing, an NFQ Level 8 conversion course designed to reskill people from non-IT background to graduate standard in the field. I have been accepted by NCI and now all that remains is to write a statement of purpose for the visa, but I have been having difficulties drawing inspiration from to write one meaningfully.
I have been looking for sources or templates online to measure my SoP against. But it seems there are none for the NFQ Level 8s. And herein is where my problem lies because I don’t have a way to know if the one I have written is impactful enough for a successful visa obtainment.
I'll try to keep this brief so here's a little about me. I graduated in Journalism & Mass Communication in 2017 and got my first job as a digital marketer. The whole thing wasn't my cup of tea but I learnt about web development from a couple of projects I worked on and discovered that I had quite a knack for it.
Fast forward to 2020, I quit my job to reskill myself because digital marketing was getting me nowhere. But then Covid struck and we went through some tough times so I had to keep myself afloat teaching Korean on the side. I learnt web development on my own knowing absolutely zilch about computers. But I was able to learn enough to build simple websites and web apps on my own. This took me up till the end of 2022. Luckily, I caught a break in 2023 and worked on a couple of jobs as a junior web developer. But I felt the need for a formal education while working at these jobs because I realised I could be out of my depth at times. This is also when I learnt about conversion courses for professionals from non-IT vocations and decided to apply at universities.
Thankfully, I got in at NCI and now need to get a visa. I have seen sample SoPs online for NFQ Level 9 courses but nothing for an international student wanting to go for an NFQ Level 8 conversion course. My question to the sub is, has anyone gone through a similar experience and share tips on how to compose an SoP? Or are there any places I am not looking online for sample SoPs tailored to my circumstance? I know I am asking for too much but I hope someone has an answer. Thank you!!

Getting organized to sit down and write a major term paper is such a daunting task for us folks with ADHD. As a student I would have vague ideas of what I want to write, but lacked the executive function to get to the job done. I would stare at a blank Word doc, type a sentence, delete a sentence, repeat. Unexpected for a writing major, I know. Are you looking for a way to break out of this cycle?
May I present: the Index Card Method.
As a high school student in the 1990s, I was forced to use this method to write a ten page senior thesis. Nearly all senior level English classes in my school used this method. Prior to that year, I had seen students carrying around fat stacks of index cards, protecting them like their ability to graduate depended on them. It did. I begrudgingly followed this methodical approach even though it wasn't "the way I write." Ironically, I found it so helpful I continued using this method throughout college, and admittedly even in grad school 25 years later.
What is it?
It's a low-tech system of organizing your sources, topics, details, citations, and anything else that goes into your paper.
Why low-tech?
It is a hands-on process loaded with sensory actions. Physically handling and arranging the index cards helps me focus on a task. Filling out an index card and setting it aside and then picking up another FEELS productive. Seeing a growing pile of index cards as you move through the project LOOKS like productivity. These sensory activities boost my momentum.
The best part of this method is how it breaks down a mountain of a project into smaller tasks without requiring me to create a big plan before I can start working on it. The size of each task is literally the size of an index card. Plus, it is an opportunity to use those cool pens you bought the last time you said you would start journaling.
The Index Card Method cannot be done the night before a paper is due, at least I wouldn't try it anyway. If you don't like writing outlines or drafts, give this method a try - but if you're cramming, do give yourself a week to get it done.
How does it work?

Step 1: Cards

Get some 3x5 index cards. For a 10-page, double spaced paper, you will need around 300 cards.
Do not get 150 4x6 cards. They must be 3x5.
For this post, I will assume anyone following this method is using lined index cards. It does not matter if the cards are lined, but know that when I say "On the top line write..." I mean where the actual top line of the card would be. This also means you will be writing across width of the cards in landscape orientation, meaning a full line of text on a 3x5 card runs 5 inches, not 3 inches.
There are two simple, but vital rules to remember when creating cards.

1. Only write on one side of the card. Leave the other side blank. You will need to see all of a card's contents at a quick glance.
   
2. If you make a mistake on a card, immediately tear it in half so it doesn't get mixed up with the ones you want to keep.
   

Step 2: Thesis card

You will only have a thesis card if you are writing a thesis (argument) paper.
In the center of the top line of your thesis card, write "Thesis Statement."
Now write your thesis statement below that.

Step 3: Topic cards

In the center of the top line write "Topic." Below that, write the name of a topic related to your thesis statement.
Topics should be broad, written as one or two words. Create as many topic cards as you think you will need. You can always create more later, so don't get stuck on this part.
Example: topics related to a thesis on the healthcare industry may include: Insurance, Costs, Medicare, Medicaid, Prevention, Prescription Drugs, Hospitals, etc.

Step 4: First Layout

Spread out your topic cards on a table. Select the broadest topics and line them up in a row in the order in which you would like them in your paper. Now arrange the narrower topics in columns below the broad topics in the order that makes sense to you. Using the example of the healthcare industry in the previous step, "Costs" may be a broad topic with "Insurance" and "Prescription Drugs" listed beneath it.
Split a topic if you need to. "Costs" could also be split into "Consumer Costs" and "National Costs", then "Insurance" and "Prescription Drugs".
Don't expect to have a lot of topic cards at this point. You may only have one or two subtopics for each broad topic. This is fine. You can always add more as you go along.
Take a picture of your topic cards in this arrangement.
Congratulations, you just made an outline!
Now type it out. Title it "Preliminary Outline."

Step 5: Sources

Go find sources you would like to use for your paper. When you find a source you would like to use, create a bibliography card.

Step 6: Bibliography cards

In the center of the top line write "Bibliography".
In the upper left hand corner of the card on the top line, write the number "1", as it is your first Bibliography card. This is your source ID.
Now write the complete and proper reference of your source, formatted according to your citation style. Include doi links, if applicable. Where italic font is used in a citation, underline it on your card.
Open a new document file. Title it "References", "Works Cited", etc., depending on your citation style. Type out your bibliography cards in the order appropriate to your citation style. Most likely they will be alphabetical by author. As you find more sources and write out bibliography cards, add them to this document.
About citation styles:
A citation style is a way to reference your sources, specifically how you list them out and how you identify where you found a fact or quote.
If you are in highschool, your teacher will tell you how to write write and format sources and citations. If they don't, ask.
If you are an undergrad, most professors don't care which style you choose, but they want it consistent. If this is the case, I recommend using APA or MLA because they use simple, in-line citations.
If you are a graduate student, use the appropriate style for your field. If your reference style uses foot notes or end notes, please be aware you may need to create citation IDs later to help you stay organized.

Step 7: Read and Highlight

As you read through your sources, highlight anything that stands out to you that you may want to use in your paper.
This is where I would normally say it does not matter if your sources are printed or digital, but for many of us it does matter. Stepping away from technology is one the reasons I find this method so effective. I encourage you to print articles or photocopy sources when possible.
Your school likely has access to full-text articles online that can be downloaded as PDFs and printed later.
If your source is text from a website, right click on in the body of the text and select Print. When the print window pops up, select PDF (or Adobe PDF) as your printer. In the next pop up, select where you would like to store your file. Your source is now saved as a PDF. By the way, printing to a PDF is the easiest way to save a file while maintaining its formatting. Try it from any program. Now when you print it to paper, it will look like the PDF.

STEP 8: Detail cards

In the center of the top line write the topic related to the highlighted text. If you do not have a related topic card, make one.
In the upper left corner on the top line, write the source ID that matches the one on its respective bibliography card.
In the upper right corner on the top line of each card write the page number(s) from your source as "p 87" or "pp 87-88". If your source does not have page numbers, write your source's equivalent as it applies (act/scene numbers, time stamp, etc.). Look up a style reference guide for requirements.
Now in your own words, write about an area you highlighted. If you want to directly quote the article, make sure you use quotation marks. Otherwise, simply paraphrase it. Use complete sentences.
If you are copying a long quote and run out of room on a card, write the topic, source ID, and page number on another new card and continue writing your quote. In the bottom right corners write "1 of 2" and "2 of 2" respectively.
Create bibliography and detail cards for all your sources. Find more sources as needed. For a 10-page double spaced paper, expect to have around 150-200 detail cards.

Step 9: Second Layout

Lay out all of your topic cards in the same order as your preliminary outline, only this time line them all up in one row.
By this time you may also want to combine or eliminate topics because your project took a different direction from when you first wrote them. This is fine.
When you think you have enough detail cards, sort them into piles by topic. Now arrange your detail cards in columns under their topics in a way that makes sense to you.
Take a picture of all your cards in this arrangement.
Congratulations, you just layed out your final outline!

Step 10: Type Your Outline

Save a copy of your preliminary outline and title it "Final Outline." Fill in the text from the detail cards. Each detail card should be a separate bullet point on your outline. After typing out a detail card, add the citation at the end. You already know the source because you wrote the source number in the upper left hand corner of each card.
You should not have anything in your final outline that is not written down on an index card.

Step 11: First Draft

Save a copy of your final outline and name it "First Draft." Now arrange your bullet points into paragraphs. This is your draft.
Now print it . Proofread it. Ask a friend to proofread it. Mark it up and make any necessary changes on paper. Don't change any quoted text because quotes are ...well ...quotes.

Step 12: Final Copy

Save a copy of your First draft and name the file "Final Copy." Type the edits you handwrote on paper. I realize with today's technology a lot of proofreading and peer editing is done electronically. This is fine. If you're using Google Docs, be sure to use Suggestion Mode. If using Word, turn on Track Changes.
Your paper is done.
High school students, if your teacher doesn't think you've made enough changes between your draft and your final copy, hand over your stack of index cards, both outlines, and your highlighted sources. They will know you didn't use ChatGPT or copy someone else's work because you can't fake what you've just handed to them.
Edit: See my other post for a technique that harnesses your ADHD to help you organize a project or to present new ideas to a group.
https://www.reddit.com/TwoXADHD/s/Y4pUfQR0R3

We may be anonymous strangers on the internet, but we have one thing in common. We may be a world apart, but we're here together!
Welcome to the 24 hour pledge!
I'm pledging myself to not drinking today, and invite you to do the same.
Maybe you're new to /stopdrinking and have a hard time deciding what to do next. Maybe you're like me and feel you need a daily commitment or maybe you've been sober for a long time and want to inspire others.
It doesn't matter if you're still hung over from a three day bender or been sober for years, if you just woke up or have already completed a sober day. For the next 24 hours, lets not drink alcohol!
This pledge is a statement of intent. Today we don't set out trying not to drink, we make a conscious decision not to drink. It sounds simple, but all of us know it can be hard and sometimes impossible. The group can support and inspire us, yet only one person can decide if we drink today. Give that person the right mindset!
What happens if we can't keep to our pledge? We give up or try again. And since we're here in /stopdrinking, we're not ready to give up.
What this is: A simple thread where we commit to not drinking alcohol for the next 24 hours, posting to show others that they're not alone and making a pledge to ourselves. Anybody can join and participate at any time, you do not have to be a regular at /stopdrinking or have followed the pledges from the beginning.
What this isn't: A good place for a detailed introduction of yourself, directly seek advice or share lengthy stories. You'll get a more personal response in your own thread.
This post goes up at:

• US - Night/Early Morning
• Europe - Morning
• Asia and Australia - Evening/Night

A link to the current Daily Check-In post can always be found near the top of the sidebar.
Happy Sunday you sober heroes it's nice to be back at the helm, I'm Fred and I'm excited to give back in a little service this week.
I discovered the DCI early into this sober journey, and I lurked here for several months before finally creating a reddit account and starting to post. I'm so glad I moved from lurker to poster! In those days of covid lockdowns and early sobriety I would read through the entire check in, up voting and commenting. Somewhere along the line I saw the recommendation to “sort by new” and challenged myself to leave 3 comments. As I got busier with regular life following covid it was a more manageable way to use the DCI; now I generally spend 15 minutes here first thing before moving on to the rest of my sober life.
How about you, how do you like to use the DCI? I'd like to challenge you on this Sunday to sort by new and leave 3 interactions with folks that are checking in around the same time as you. Happy Sunday you sober heroes!

I do not expect anyone to “believe” what I say…nevertheless, the following description relates to my actual lived experience AND will speak about a metaphorical perspective that may be helpful to assimilate. It’s intent is not to be psychology, religion, faith, or a new belief system (nor is it intended to replace any of the aforementioned) but rather it exists only to serve as a tool of practical utility by which, should you understand it in its simplicity, you may potentially be able to forego needless years of both personal education +- psychotherapy.
Before I post this metaphorical perspective, this post exists only to determine whether any of you out there in Reddit land think reading a simple short fairytale/fable might be helpful in your self-exploration. If enough people express an interest, I will post a description of this perspective in its entirety despite being fairly brief.
For now, I will merely say, whether you “believe” me or not, that the thing Jung (and as his interested enthusiasts, likely you readers) espouse to be the “shadow self” does not exist very much, if at all in me. In that I mean, as a matter of survival as a young child, due to my neuro-cognitively anomalous experience, I was required to make a simple choice (that is related to the metaphorical perspective) that enabled “instantaneous shadow integration” meaning, as best I can express, I cannot lie to myself…if such self-deception were to occur, it is involuntarily recognized and addressed. Another consequence was that NO ONE can lie to me for long…please do not mistake this for a claim to mind-reading or omnipotence. It is those things not at all. It is merely, as the result of my deliberate, purposeful, and for me, necessary choice in order to survive another day at a very young age, that one consequence was that when information is acquired, any incongruence or inconsistencies are rapidly and involuntarily pattern matched to prior information, circumstance, and experience such that attempts at deceit are rapidly detected.
Be that as it may, whether you believe it or not (and I imagine that you all will more likely desire to engage in facetious play to test this, as that has been my experience, but if that is what you would like to do, I would prefer that you DM me, and then, once you have gloriously triumphed in this folly, we can post that for all to see).
To give you at least a little reassurance that I am not entirely off my rocker, Carl Jung himself likely experienced at least a modicum of psychosis, and Sigmund Freud was an insightful cocaine addict who reconceptualized the notion that the core components of the Abrahamic tradition of storytelling originated from an “internal locus” relating to what we would consider today as “neurocognitive function” rather than being attributable to an “external source”.
And the final statement that I will make, before we determine whether you are interested in hearing my nonsense is that the “shadow self” I DO experience is fundamentally NOT ME. I may only be able to experience it because of my human consciousness (as in I didn’t experience it under general anesthesia…and beyond that, I have no answers) but let me reassure you of a fact…it is NOT ME…
Because of this, you may be able to derive benefit from a perspective shared by one of the few lifelong treatment refractory psychotics who can actually relate this nonsense in a comprehensible way…and if you think I’m misrepresenting that statement, perhaps you would enjoy listening to one of Charlie Manson’s parole board hearings and try to make heads or tails of what that lunatic is spouting?
Whether you want the metaphorical perspective or not, I appreciate you even getting this far. Thank you for reading.

Hey, this is my first time posting on this reddit page. I just wanted to introduce myself before giving a full on theory in relation to my thoughts and predictions for any rdr content. I have been thinking, what if rdr2 had a dlc? How would rockstar do it right? There probably won't be a dlc or anytime soon so I came up with a storyline for the dlc in my opinion. Thank you and let's get started
It should include Sadie Trelawny and Charles within a switch character feature like in gta5. Sadie is deep into bounty hunting now, she is more quiet, living in the wetlands of Brazil and bounty hunting is paying the bills. But she is still thinking of the loved people she left behind, anyway, Sadie meets a nice young teenage guy who is also a bounty hunter and they are working for the same sheriffs around, let's say he is 'Fred'. Fred reminds Sadie of Arthur or at least a younger but wiser version, and this interests Sadie more into Fred, but she doesn't know why, Sadie is more quiet and Unsocial so why does she care? From dialogue, we know what her and Fred and thinking, there is a gap that needs to be filled with trust. One of the biggest criminal outlaws in Brazil who is let's say 'pedro' has captured a series of hostages and is holding them in a bunker in Southern Brazil, one of those being Fred, but sadie is in northern Brazil and it would be a really long journey, Sadie is scrambling and confused on what to do , if I save him will he just end up like everybody else I ever loved? She doesn't Trust herself to keep him safe, she agrees with a sheriff that she is only doing detective work but deep inside she needs to help him. While questioning one gang member in particular, he sees clear through Sadie and tells her that he knows who she really wants to save and why she's afraid, exposing the idgaf persona Sadie had. Sadie is angry and brutally beats this guy till he tells her what she wants , but she doesn't want to hear what she needs, he is beaten to a pulp and finally states where the bunker might be, and adds that there may be multiple bunkers. Anyway, Sadie thinks alot about what he said and she questions why she's even so interested in Fred. She then remembers Arthur, which brings a side of weakness in Sadie, crying in her rented hotel rembering Arthur's kindness and sacrifice. She figures out why she's so interested and finally decides to go out and look for Fred and the hostages herself. She asks, what would Arthur do? I'm doing this for him, is what she is saying to stop the truth from coming any longer. The truth is Sadie needs another 'Arthur' in her life, she can't stop holding onto him cuz she scares at losing him again, but she can't try again at loving people so she hides behind heroic personas and excuses to escape while on her journey. But she runs into Pedro in a garden party at a palace and they talk for long, Pedro is a parallel of Sadie, They are both bloody and brutal but Pedro at least understands what he wants and what he needs, he's wealthy but not spoiled with greed, he moves smart and kind. Anyone in his way is killed immediately, ok this is bout to get a lil pg18 so keep touch. Sadie decides to trick Pedro into giving info on the plan, with ultimate guilt, she flirts with him and they end up in a private bedroom upstairs the palace. He finally admits while succumbed in Sadie's seduction, funny thing is, this is WAY out of character for Sadie right? Because she's scrambling with emotions and truthfully she would do anything to find Fred, but she says that she'll do anything for her job and stopping Pedro. In the admist of seduction, lawman and police break into the hotel room and arrest Pedro immediately. Of course, Sadie is put to interrogate Pedro, this is where we finally get a hint of Pedro and Sadie's dynamic. Sadie is disgusted by Pedro's accused actions but she is also deeply disgusted by what she had to do to get here. anyway, Pedro is seen externally as a mob and rider killer with dark thoughts , internally as a smart and thoughtful man with a secret and deceitful truth, hiding behind a persona he tries to believe in, just like Sadie. They are both fighting a battle. Sadie believes she is saving them for her honor, but truthfully she is really saving Fred. As Sadie gets closer to saving Fred the more difficult it gets to hide. Before the climatic battle, Sadie and a few other lawmen find the final bunker and see amber disguised as a hostage tied up. Sadie sees through it and just loses it, she takes one look at beats him to death while screaming why he is hiding behind his true self. This is Sadie talking to herself. The law men are mortified and traumatized and do not speak to Sadie for the rest of the search. When they find the hostages, Sadie scrambles looking for Fred but doesn't find him, one lawman suggests that he is in Pedro's main house. They find the main house and funnily enough he is right, Fred is held hostage by Pedro. Once they raid Pedro's room they capture Pedro but he reveals dynamite strapped on Fred's back which is lighting from the door handle in a long line. Saide freaks out and tears the dynamite just as it is about to blow and throws it away but accidentally throws it near the lawmen but sadie doesn't seem to care, only if Fred is safe, see Fred is like Arthur, but Arthur is HIM, so Fred can never be an 'Arthur' but he can be Arthur emotionally for Sadie to move forward. Sadie and Fred escape the mansion in the big climactic gunfight where they fight together and walk of into the distance with dead bodies all around them, such as like the red dead revolver ending. Sadie has come out, while not romantically, Sadie and Fred are great friends and Sadie gains faith in society and love again, not romantically lol.
Okay let's switch to Charles. Canada, btw it is spring season so it is really cold and snowy. Charles is more quiet and older but he still has a really close friend of his, his best friend, Victoria, a woman he met on the coast of Canada when he arrived. They have a really great friendship and fit together perfectly, they've been friends for a year and have bonded together really well. The opening scene should have Charles and Victoria chatting to show Charles character when he's with and without her. So basically, these guys for really well and the small town they live in, like Jackson in TLOU2 , knows that they could make a great couple. Suddenly, an agent pops up and tells Charles in a cafe that Victoria is a convincted felon and criminal of the country, but so far, Victoria's character is easily likeable by her importance to Charles, we mostly hate micah cuz what he is to Arthur. Same dynamic here, if Charles loves her, easily likeable, but she is also a genuinely good person, so just like Charles we are confused and refuse that fact because, this agent let's say is 'micheal' Mike seems very greedy and rude in their first encounter. But all of a sudden, Victoria disappears, and cannot be found near their town. So now both Charles and Mike are fighting the same goal, but their is internal conflict their, because mike represents everything Charles hate but Is also everything Charles would take a life for a decade back. He is like Dutch and Charles seeing that questions, if Dutch was that manipulative, then why isn't Mike? Because he didn't seem to be confident is saying that Victoria is a criminal in fact with very little research. This builds suspicion of motive in the antagonist which intrigues us into mike and his motive. As Charles searches for Victoria, he constantly thinks of Dutch and had encounters with Mike that even us the player cna see Dutch inside him, bringing up the plan meme and in one encounter, Mike and Charles fight, but Charles turns this guy into a pancake and flattens him. But Mike seems happy and just walks away. Okay lemme skip forward a bit, Charles keeps encoutering with Mike and keeps getting closer to Victoria until he finally finds Victoria in a jail cell in a sheriff's office in the middle of nowhere at night. He busts her out with his sheir strength and breaks the rusted bars, but Victoria seems to avoid Charles and is distancing herself from him. They talk and Charles asks why she is being distant on the horse ride back to the town and just as Victoria is about to say , a long line of trees beside the road begin to start falling and they ride forward dodging the falling trees in the snowy weather, like that scene in the opening fight of gow Ragnarok. They ride fast and eventually stop in an open snow field and looked behind at the fallen trees and even within the fog Charles spots a group of masked gunmen rushes and taking cover on the fallen trees. Charles immediately dismounts and fights of the gunmen while forcing Victoria to ride away into the distance. One last gunman is left and Charles asks why they are attacking him. He refuses but Charles beats him till his admits, turns out it's not just Mike. This is the wider government, spread out across all of north America, and we find out how agent Ross easily tracked down John and reveal that agent ross' glazer after Javier dies is part of this government organization, the Pinkertons remastered. They are all hunting for them and some undercover agents are killing them through love. This is where truth is revealed. We are given cuts to an agent slicing Reverend Swanson's neck in a hallway, a group of male agents grabbing Mary Beth in a restaurant, and one of Pedro's men, the one who sadie tried to interrogate in particular. This make sense as he was trying to get more out of Sadie but failed and was beaten, something that we thought held no purpose as a scene turned out to leave hints when we okay it back. This makes the organization very unlikable which gives a heavily hated antagonist as we see the characters we love get shamed and beaten. Charles and Victoria have a talk after in a rented motel, Victoria admits that Mike was telling her lies about Charles to tarnish his name but seemed very unconfident in saying it and showed evidence by bruises for their fight. So why is he constantly lying? Is he a bad liar? That is what they say. This talk shows the internal view from both sides, Charles wants to have a family with her and Victoria wants to know about his past. Charles is focusing of future while she is focusing on past, in order for them to move forward. Victoria has to love him, but in order to love him, he has to tell her about his past to form trust. They agree to work together to find out about this organization. This creates a fun gaming experience but also story wise it can transform the theme so quickly in game fashion, something only rdr could do. Throughout the search, they get closer and closer to finding out the truth, but also to each other. They form a dynamic with love, trust and teamwork. In the climax, Charles and Victoria meet Mike together for the first time and they are said to kill mike once and for all. Mike is fishing near the Atlantic ocean and they approach him in the fishing hut. They are supposed to find a gun owned by agent milton and hostages. This scene builds tension like the iconic one in Inglorious Bastards. Charles brings up wolves and ravens and their relationship. Which in subtext means Charles and Victoria's relationship, and how they find prey together, which means them finding Mike together. Charles brings up how the wolves and ravens see each other as equal but see prey as lesser, but prey can be whatever they like with teamwork. Charles finally asks if Mike is hiding hostages and Mike says yes. They find the gun and the hostages and as soon as they exit, they find a group of armed suited gunmen at the door and realize that this is a setup. We get a glimpse of a shotgun shell pressed against the door like the glimpse of the Jews in Inglorious Bastards. Charles duels the gunmen and he finally kills without thought, he kills without Mercy and hastily. Charles always says he kills when he needs to, to protect who he loves but he could have easily overpowered these guys, they had jammed guns and all so he could just beta them and run. But he doesn't, he kills them, he takes their lives. This shows he truly loves Victoria, breaking his one rule just to fully assure her safety. But maybe it was also for the hostages safety right? No, he looks at Victoria and just that one look was enough for him to get to killing. The final gunfight ensues and Charles and Victoria are keeping the hut away from the incoming gunmen which gives the player flashbacks to the final John mission in rdr1, building tension and suspicion on what could happen. In the end, Charles kills Mike in a standoff and gets his leg shoot in the process. He passes out and awakes in a warm bed, he looks to his right and sees Victoysnd immediately smiles, but he looks down and sees his leg is Missing. Victoria explains that they had to amputate his leg to avoid infection, Charles seems worried at first, but a simple gesture of putting her hand on his chest is enough to calm him down. The talk they have is admitting something. Finally, they hug and kiss and boomm that's the end
Okay with Trelawny we can move quick cuz this is getting good. Trelawny has always been distant on the gang and he has always despised the way the gang moved believing there is always a way with peace. In New York, the most violent side, Trelawny gets a first hand at what the gang had to do to survive. He bumps into a man in a bar and they entice s bar brawl which Trelawny walks away from. Trelawny is more quiet and intelligent now but still avoids violence. In the morning Trelawny find out he has sparked a war with a gang let's say is 'Jack Grinners'. These guys are the most dangerous gang in this side of the city, the other sides are the mafia and stuff. He is being hunted and isn't safe there so he moves to the more mafia motioned streets of NY but is still in trouble because he has a daughter and she may be killed. In sorrow, he bumps into another gang member, but a Mafia member instead , expecting a fight he immediately apologizes and the guy is super nice and kind, Trelawny kind of bonds with him and explains his situationb and he helps Trelawny, let's say he is 'Gary' (weak ahh name Ik). Gary is part of a heavily respected Mafia family and Trelawny with no other place to turn asks for advice on how to deal with the guys. Gary suggests he should build his own gang, Trelawny immediately disagrees stating his disgust in violence. Fast forward, Trelawny keeps getting pressured by this gang and they hold him to a state where he is homeless and his daughter is starving, he has no other choice. He visits a priest but the priest seems to only want money so that was hopeless. He even attempts to take his life, but finally he decides to start a gang, but a Mafia like gang. Mixing both parts of the town. At first, Trelawny starts a bar business with the little money he has left and hangs posters for the bar. He gains a lot of customers very fast due to the alcohol issues in NY. He one day takes all of these volunteers to a basement as begins his plan, they start with cattleman revolvers but ease up. At first they refuse but eventually Trelawny reveals why he needs them and they agree in the pitiful moment. They start weapon deals with the mafia and the Jack Grinners' rival gangs. This adds a new feature in the rdr franchise, leading a gang, similar to camp in rdr2 but ur the leader and you call shots and you can make your own parties and stuff. This liquor business slowly becomes a large gang association and Trelawny gets more and more money for the player's own grind. And eventually, Trelawny's name and gang is a public statement and he is now respected for his authenticity as a leader and as a man while other gang leaders rely on sales or henchmen to be authentic. This heavy respect makes Trelawny finally gain the respect of the Jack Grinners but he feels something missing, these guys took everything from him and he wants revenge. Even though his daughter pleaded he begins his rivalry.. okay fats forward, the rivalry is at an all time high, but also taking a toll on Trelawny's mental state, he is filled with pride and vengeance he's forgotten the people that built him up. Ignoring raising his daughter and even ignoring and power abusing his men. This slowly crumbles his personality and makes him more and more brutal and heartless. Even one night beating his daughter after she yelled at him for sleeping with multiple women and prostitutes. In the climactic ending, Trelawny enters a fancy and luxurious bar at night with intent to meet someone who has been seen taking his guns and oil. He sits down and has a tensing conversation with him with both bodyguards behind their seats. Things go hellwire and Trelawny reveals he has bombs planted all around the bar and will blow everyone up. He has officially lost it, in the beginning he had concern for every life, he was never loyal to the gang. Now, the gang is all his has left to be loyal to, and doesn't care about any human life including his own. He explodes the bar while exiting but he gets vision of his daughter and looks behind to see her crying on her knees just as he presses the button. He runs back in to save her but it is too late. She is dead. All of a sudden, Trelawny wakes up in his mansion with his guards beside him. His body is Corrupt Trelawny but his mind is Old Trelawny. He awakes in a mansion confused and walks around realizes what he has done. Pride had destroyed him and it ends with him trying to cross the road while limping and a wagon moving fast hits him and a fade to black just before we see it hit him.
These stories explore different topics about the characters and how they cope with the loss of the gang they once had, and how they chose to move forward, how they've changed. With Charles the only one knowing that John has died, he goes back to Beecher's hope in a post credit scene of the dlc credits. And he buries John with javk and a fade to black again.... Boom the end. These stories cover love, pride, corruption, Depravity, romance, sacrifice and reputation. These stories dive deep into the characters and give them what they didn't have enough time to give on screen in rdr2. These antagonists fit perfectly with the characters and their motives and philosophies. Sadie believes that she can never love a human again or care for one, Pedro challenges that by testing her belief to the fullest making a person that embodies her of the last man she ever cared about and seeing if she is speaking or hiding, by making her do some out of character things like seduction or brutally beating a man to death. Mike is the one thing that stops Charles from having a future but is only the one thing that makes Charles go back to the past, by Victoria. Charles wanted a family and future for himself and believed only to kill with meaning. Mike challenges that by forcing himself or be so unlikable and dangerous for Victoria that there is no other escape than by killing to save the person he loves, not the people. Because mike was an embodiment of Dutch and Charles was riding with Dutch but had that rule at the same time which caused Charles to question his past, but also Victoria by lying to both of them intentionally causing confusing and need for truth for both of them, using manipulation as a tool, just like Dutch. The real antagonist of Trelawny's story was pride and in the end pride won but story wise it was the Jack Grinners, Trelawny's one rule was to never use violence if someone just gets in your way, but by riding with Dutch he was told that they aren't getting in the way, they're stopping the way. A philosophy he refused and never inflicted violence on anyone, the Jack Grinners push that move to the furthest to see what would happen if Trelawny was given the burden of Arthur and the potential of Dutch, it made him prideful and spoiled his spirit and harmed the people around him, forcing a vision of only power and not leadership, there is a big difference. My personal favorite is Trelawny's story but what about you
Toodles!

Sometimes, i randomly stop and look at places that feels familiar to my childhood, and all i can think of is "i will never experience true happiness again" what bothers me a bit is "again", i didn't have a really easy one.
My parents where separated and i was visiting my father for 2 days every 2 weeks. Except, i hated it there. To the point i would make myself sick to skip a week end. His wife used to beat me whenever something bad happened, even if totally unrelated to me and falsely accused me of horrible stuff that still haunts me today (things like "you tried to push your brother on the road" or "you cut the wire of my hair straightener to electrocute me") I swear she was paranoid, but since i have little to no memories, i can't help but think "what if i did tried to push him on the road" . I just had to live about 10 years of my life like this. Now, it's been about i'd say 6 or 7 years since i haven't seen them, and everything i can remember from them is my father's cigarette smell and my fear of getting up in the morning when his wife was the first awake.
I don't know if it's some sort of Stockholm Syndrome, but i started smoking because, as stated earlier, the only thing that i can remember from him is his cigarette smoke scent. I often catch myself wishing to die before being 30, this might be because of my mental condition, but i can't imagine building more nostalgia over dumb and unmeaningful stuff. I can't imagine losing what and who i have, I cant imagine slowly rotting in my body until my death and i'm terribly scared to forget. I can't remember neither of my brothers faces, nor my father's and his wife's. The simple thought of this "hole" in my memory is terrifying.
I post here, since my close friends would be unbearable about the statement "I often catch myself wishing to die before being 30" yet i really needed to let that out.
(sorry for eventual errors in my grammar or if i got lost and drifted of the initial topic; English is my second language and i was writing along my thoughts. + i'm not sure about the flare, but since that talks a bit about child violence, i'd rather not take the risk.)