Shortly after *Final Fantasy VII* hit the gaming world in 1997, Cloud Strife’s howls of grief at the loss of his beloved companion Aerith Gainsborough were echoed by droves and droves of fans. These echoes gathered in swarms, reaching the developers in the form of petition signatures, each begging the makers of the game to allow Aerith’s resurrection. Though these prayers remained unanswered —until now—, there soon came more protests: this time, fans pleaded with the developers to consider making a remake of the original game. Both of these wishes were met with considerable derision, with large chunks of the fandom calling the requests delusional— which is why the Final Fantasy world had to prepare for another meteoric hit when the *Remake* project was finally announced in 2015. With Kitase, Nomura, Toriyama, Nojima, Uematsu and more of the original developers at the helm, along with longtime *FFVII* fan-turned-developer Hamaguchi, the *Remake* trilogy was met with great expectations. These were nevertheless surpassed, though one aspect of the trilogy’s first entry seemed to thoroughly puzzle some and enrage others. Far and wide, the resounding questions were “What are these Whisper things?”, “Why is Cloud having visions unrelated to Nibelheim and Zack?” and “Why and how in the hell did Zack survive?”
Friends, I believe the answer lies within this post. Welcome to my literary-analysis-based theory on the *Remake* trilogy’s most important and most secret plot point: Cloud’s hidden mission. I want to make this fun and suspenseful to read, so I will write my analyses in the same order and manner in which I encountered them while putting my theory together. You will be reading what initially sparked my curiosity, the path I took while researching for answers, the conclusions I made every step of the way, and only then will you read my theory, after which we’ll try and apply it to the *Remake* trilogy so far and see if it fits! I want you to experience the rollercoaster that I did when digging through SE content to bring you this post. Thank you so much for waiting for and anticipating this analysis, and I do hope you read every word to soak in every last bit of Clerith you can get. I also hope it’s really fun and touching for you (I cried at least once making this)! Let’s embark on our adventure through the compilation, other *FF* games and real-life events to find out what the *Remake* project is truly all about and anticipate the events of part 3.
N.B.: Please be aware that I have never seen this theory navigate online, so I have no idea if anyone has ever come up with a similar hypothesis. The big reveal I’m building toward might be something you’re already aware of or suspected. In that case, I hope this post doesn’t disappoint you if you’re one of the lovely people who requested it! At the very least, it will provide you with valuable literary and musical analysis, a ton of evidence you haven’t considered yet, and hopefully, entertainment too!
WARNING: Please be careful with the censored spoiler text, because I'll be referencing other *FF* games in this analysis and I don't want to ruin anything for you! Obviously, this analysis contains spoilers for the entirety of the *FFVII* compilation. Additionally, if you're not a fan of Clerith and you've stumbled upon this post, please stop here. I would hate it if something I worked on and posted made you angry, so please don't read this analysis. I have only good intentions and I just want everyone to enjoy the *FFVII* world as much as they can.
I. Groundwork: The Remake Timelines Theory
Before I take you on this ride, we must lay down the framework of the *Remake* Timelines Theory. In this section, we’ll be reviewing the general consensus of theorizers within the fandom on timeline/multiverse shenanigans, with some added specifications on my part. Please keep in mind that because the timeline mechanics are kept quite vague by the devs, there might be certain inaccuracies in my iteration of the timelines theory. Thankfully, these potential variances won’t have any effect on the legitimacy of the theory I’ll be presenting to you in this analysis.
I. a) Sephiroth’s Plan
The premise of the *Remake* trilogy is widely thought to be the result of post-OG Sephiroth attempting to succeed where he failed in OG. There are six key points we need to keep in mind to understand how this was possible.
I. a) i. Sephiroth in the Lifestream
Firstly, it’s important to remember that Sephiroth is dead and located in the Lifestream before OG even begins, and remains that way for almost all of OG's duration. He is only able to operate in the world of the living via his/Jenova's control over the living Sephiroth clones. In the OG timeline then, Sephiroth is sent to the Lifestream by Cloud twice: once before the game takes place on the night of the Nibelheim incident (pre-OG), and a second time during the final battle against Sephiroth (disk 3, chapter 3). During the long period between the Nibelheim incident and Sephiroth’s rebirth at the Northern Crater (disk 2, chapter 2), he exists in the Lifestream. After his ultimate defeat (post-OG), he returns there for good.
II. a) ii. Sephiroth Unintegrated
Secondly, because he is full of hatred and unyielding determination, Sephiroth’s spirit cannot become one with the planet. After both occasions where Cloud kills him in OG, Sephiroth retains his individual will and the memories of his lifetime, remaining a separate entity in the Lifestream. He says so himself in Nojima’s *Advent Children* prequel novel *On a Way to a Smile*:
“[Sephiroth] could sense the Lifestream trying to erode his spirit— the memories of his former experiences, thoughts and emotions. If he allowed himself be taken into the current, the being he once was would soon disseminate and disappear amongst the spirit energy cycling around the planet. [He] thought this unacceptable. The planet was to be his to rule, and to become a part of that system would be nothing short of defeat” (Lifestream Black 1).
Combined with Bugenhagen’s basic lesson on planetology (*FFVII* OG, disk 1, chapter 19), this excerpt provides interesting information on how the Lifestream normally works. Usually, when a life returns to the planet, its individuality (personality, will, consciousness, memories, etc.) is stripped away. The trappings of a soul’s former lifetime are progressively dissolved so that all that is left is the spirit itself, ready to integrate into the Lifestream. This way, soul energy can be “recycled” by the planet to animate new lifeforms in a sort of reincarnation process. The erasure of one’s memories in the Lifestream is necessary for the creation of a brand new life, poised to make its own memories: the slate must be wiped clean, so to speak. Sephiroth’s sheer hatred for and desire to dominate the planet is enough to keep him from undergoing this process.
It is also thought that Sephiroth cannot be integrated into the Lifestream because he was conceived with the use of Jenova cells in vitro. Given that so much of his consciousness and genetic makeup originate from an alien life force, it is impossible for him to become one with the planet.
Regardless of the reason, it is precisely this persisting individuality in death that allows Sephiroth to meddle in the world of the living during the post-OG events of *Advent Children*, as explained to us by post-OG Aerith in *On a Way to a Smile*:
“[Aerith] had sensed a different presence within the Lifestream cycling around the planet. It was the vehemence of a strong will, one that would never join with the planet. She knew this consciousness. It was [Sephiroth]. A merciless spirit hidden behind a beauteous wall. That spirit was now operating from within the Lifestream. [She] sensed that he was planning to exert his influence to the surface of the planet“ (Lifestream White 1).
I. a) iii. The Lifestream Beyond Time
Our third point is that the Lifestream has existed for as long as the planet, and has therefore touched every part of its history— including, of course, the events of OG. On that account, one could think of the Lifestream as atemporal. Considering this, it is possible for a spirit in the Lifestream to communicate with or even travel to the past, provided the necessary circumstances and/or abilities. For instance, the Aerith that appears in Cloud’s resolution scene in *Remake* (chapter 14) is commonly considered to be a post-OG Aerith, appearing to him from the future to try and dissuade him from falling for her. This time-defying event is made possible by the fact that post-OG Aerith’s spirit has access to the atemporal Lifestream because she's deceased. In my view, this explains why she dissolves into green light (Lifestream visual cue) at the end of [the resolution scene](https://youtu.be/ZPkqDB4guW8?si=JR1UTKl5cEFsFvfE&t=319) (5:19-5:45). This is not time travel per se, but it is a manner of communication unobstructed by the one-directionality of a linear timeline that only spirits can perform.
I. a) iv. Sephiroth Beyond Time
What we’ve covered so far amounts to our fourth point. Please familiarize yourself with the graph below before you continue reading. Refer back to the graph when you encounter **text in bold**.
The Remake Timelines Theory: FFVII OG Timeline
As we discussed in section “I. a) i.”, Sephiroth is dead and located in the Lifestream **for the duration of the green arrow and beyond point D**: in the context of the OG timeline, he can only ever be considered “alive” during the **period highlighted in purple**. In section “I. a) ii.”, we asserted that Sephiroth retained his individual will in the Lifestream, enabling him to exert his influence on the world of the living by manipulating his clones on the surface. In section “I. a) iii.”, we covered the atemporal nature of the Lifestream, which allows post-OG Aerith’s spirit to communicate with her past, living self thanks to her Cetra abilities. Now, I will explain to you how Sephiroth was able to do virtually the same thing, albeit his lack of Cetra blood.
To the characters of the story and a fully immersed first-time player of OG, the timeline above was not always an established series of events: when they first started playing *FFVII* OG, the player began at **point B**, with nothing existing beyond it. It is only as the player moved Cloud forward that the **black**, **arrowed timeline** was drawn, accumulating lived events (or **points**) in Cloud’s wake. The picture you see above is only available to Cloud and to the player with hindsight. All this to state the obvious: at **point B**, Cloud could not know what would occur, say, at **point C**.
During the **period highlighted in purple**, Sephiroth was “alive” again, accumulating new memories on the surface of the planet and adding them to his consciousness. When he entered the Lifestream for the second time at **point D**, he brought these memories with him. Simply put, after returning to the Lifestream at **point D**, Sephiroth remembers what happened during the **period highlighted in purple**. However, given that the Lifestream exists beyond time, upon Sephiroth’s consciousness’ return to the Lifestream at **point D**, his newly acquired memories were also made available to him at all points on the **green, double-arrowed line**— including **point A**, before the OG timeline even begins at **point B**. So while it is true that Cloud cannot know what will occur at **point C** if he is only at **point B**, Sephiroth indeed knows what will occur during the **period highlighted in purple** when he is only at **point A**. While a living, pre-OG Aerith would be able to receive post-OG Aerith’s spirit’s knowledge through the Lifestream thanks to her Cetra powers, Sephiroth has no need for this ability. The fact that he resides in the Lifestream for practically the entire ***FFVII*** **OG timeline** renders the limitations of time irrelevant: as far as the **timeline** is concerned, Sephiroth exists beyond time itself.
In summary, after **point D** was first encountered in OG, pre-OG Sephiroth (in the Lifestream) is made aware of his eventual defeat, and begins plotting an alternate path to victory. This time, with the benefit of hindsight, he will do things differently: we experience his "second” attempt at *FFVII* as the *Remake* trilogy.
I. a) v. Sephiroth Against Fate
Of course, the Whispers stand squarely in Sephiroth’s way. This leads us to our fifth point, which *Remake Ultimania* describes better than I ever could:
“According to Red XIII, who gained knowledge through his contact with Aerith, ‘The Whispers are drawn to those who attempt to alter destiny’s course and ensure they do not’ […]. It would appear that what the Whispers deem to be ‘fate’ is the original story of Final Fantasy VII” (section 08 “Secrets”, “Newly Arisen Mysteries”, “What Is the Goal of the Elusive Whispers?”, page 733).
OG’s plot line is the fated timeline, and the Whispers are tasked with its preservation. They prevent alternative paths from even beginning to branch out from the OG timeline, which poses a problem for Sephiroth: he cannot win *FFVII* if his destiny is to lose it.
I. a) vi. Sephiroth and the Multiverse
Consequently, our sixth point is that Sephiroth must dismantle the mechanisms of fate before he can even try to accomplish his dreams of godhood.
As Sephiroth explains in chapter 14 of *Rebirth*, “the planet encompasses \[an ever unfolding\] multitude of worlds”, and these“\[new worlds are born\] when the boundaries of fate are breached.” Since the Whispers uphold the “boundaries of fate”, a world in which Sephiroth’s evil plans succeed can only emerge after the Whispers have been defeated. Otherwise, destiny will continue to protect the OG plot line by preventing any significant deviations. Consequently, before the party vanquishes fate, the *Remake* timeline and the OG timeline are one and the same: before chapter 18, *Remake* Barret is OG Barret, *Remake* Tifa is OG Tifa, *Remake* Hojo is OG Hojo, etc. After the defeat of Destiny, the OG timeline is no longer protected by fate: there are now an infinite number of timelines or worlds, including those we see glimpses of in *Rebirth*: *Remake* Barret is no longer necessarily OG Barret, *Remake* Tifa is no longer necessarily OG Tifa, *Remake* Hojo is no longer necessarily OG Hojo, etc. Perhaps this is why Aerith gives the party the following warning at destiny’s crossroads in *Remake*:
“[This] is the wall of destiny. If we go through it… if we go beyond it… then all of us will change, too” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA script notes, “Destiny’s Crossroads”).
I. a) vii. Sephiroth’s Plan
Now that these six points have been elucidated, we can compose a solid hypothesis on how Sephiroth plots to win *FFVII*.
After gaining knowledge of his eventual demise (disk 3, chapter 3), pre-OG Sephiroth began thinking of what he must do in *Remake* from the Lifestream. First, Sephiroth must antagonize the Whispers in the initial stages of the OG timeline. He accomplishes this by commanding his clones to commit acts that drastically violate the fated timeline, engendering plot-line deviations that the Whispers must course-correct. The most extreme example transpires in *Remake*’s chapter 17 when the Sephiroth clone in President Shinra’s office kills Barret, forcing the Whispers to restore the fated plot line by coming forth and reviving him. The Whispers react to Sephiroth’s prodding by rushing in to protect fate, their efforts culminating in the protective wall of destiny that surrounds Midgar in chapter 18.
Secondly, after he’s created an opportunity for a battle against the Whispers, Sephiroth must convince the party to seize it and beat fate for him. After all, a mere Sephiroth clone is probably no match for Destiny. This second step is accomplished in *Remake*’s chapter 18 when Sephiroth successfully tempts Cloud to breach the boundaries of fate. Now that destiny is no longer a limitation, worlds deviating from the OG timeline can finally emerge; Sephiroth has a chance at victory.
The steps Sephiroth plans to take going forward are unknowable at this stage, but we do get more hints in *Rebirth*’s chapter 13. At the Temple of the Ancients, Sephiroth reveals a part of his plot:
“Sephiroth: My fragmented mother, these errant worlds... All shall be one again.
Aerith: The ‘Reunion’…!”
It seems Sephiroth eventually plans to merge the worlds created by destiny’s defeat in *Remake*’s chapter 18. My guess is he hopes to achieve godhood in part 3 and consolidate all diverting worlds into a single timeline protected by destiny once more— only this time, his victory will replace the ending of OG as the destined outcome. If he succeeds, Sephiroth’s Black Whispers will likely replace the planet’s Whispers as the arbiters of his desired fate.
I. b) Aerith’s Intervention
But Aerith can’t let this slide unchallenged!
We know that before chapter 18 of *Remake*, while the OG plot-line is still protected by fate, Aerith has knowledge of its future. This is insinuated by certain slips of the tongue: for instance, when Aerith reveals she knows Cloud is a mercenary upon meeting him for the second time in chapter 8, just like she knows Tifa will ask her to retrieve Marlene at Seventh Heaven in chapter 12. In the run-up to *Remake*, post-OG Aerith's spirit likely sensed Sephiroth planning his second try at *FFVII* in the Lifestream. She’s been able to anticipate Sephiroth’s plotting in the Lifestream before, namely in the context of *Advent Children*:
“[Aerith] had sensed a different presence within the Lifestream cycling around the planet […]. It was [Sephiroth] […]. That spirit was now operating from within the Lifestream. [She] sensed that he was planning to exert his influence [on] the surface of the planet” (On a Way to a Smile, Lifestream White 1).
If you’re wondering how Aerith was able to maintain her individuality in the Lifestream like Sephiroth, On a Way to a Smile provides the following explanation:
“[Aerith] was an Ancient, which explained how she was able to maintain her individuality even within the Lifestream. If she so wished she could become part of the planet at any time, but [she] thought it too early for that just yet” (Lifestream White 1).
It is thought that, as a countermeasure to Sephiroth's scheming, post-OG Aerith’s spirit used the atemporal nature of the Lifestream to inform her past, living self (pre-OG Aerith) of this new threat to the planet. Because the Cetra can commune with spirits, pre-OG Aerith would have been able to receive post-OG Aerith’s message from the Lifestream without a problem. Essentially, pre-OG Aerith received post-OG Aerith’s memories of the fated OG timeline. As a consequence, pre-OG Aerith embarks on the OG timeline with knowledge of the fated future that demands she give her life: the player experiences this version of her in *Remake*.
Be that as it may, it’s unclear how much *Remake* Aerith is aware of. You would think she’d be completely opposed to defeating, destiny since it protects the planet, but Aerith shows ambivalence toward the idea instead. Had she gotten a clear message from her future self that she must keep fate intact, she would not have allowed the party to enter the battle against fate in chapter 18. She doesn’t seem to know what the Whispers are the first time she encounters them either. Regardless, what’s important is that the Aerith seen in *Remake* is the result of pre-OG Aerith receiving knowledge from post-OG Aerith via the Lifestream.
I. c) Ambiguity: Memory Transfer or Time-Travel?
There remains an ambiguity pertaining to the Aerith we see in *Remake* and the question of time travel. What I’ve described to you in section “I. b)” is post-OG Aerith's spirit transferring her memories to her past self through the Lifestream. However, it’s possible that post-OG Aerith’s consciousness used the atemporal nature of the Lifestream to inhabit her living OG body instead, effectively time-traveling. There is no evidence to outright refute either explanation, since the gaps in Aerith’s memories of the OG plot-line in *Remake* can be explained in both cases. For instance, in a memory transfer scenario, it’s possible that post-OG Aerith only communicated the most essential information to pre-OG Aerith. On the other hand, in a time-travel scenario, one could interpret the following quotes as proof that the Whispers are progressively erasing Aerith’s memories of OG as *Remake* advances:
“Aerith: Every time the Whispers touch me, a piece of me falls away” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA script notes, “Aerith Speaks”)
“At any rate, Aerith is perplexed at how, like a flower being scattered, something inside is being taken away by the Whispers and lost to her” (Toriyama in FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA script notes, “Aerith Speaks”, “Scenario Staff Q&A - Answered by Motomu Toriyama”).
This ambiguity is completely irrelevant to Sephiroth’s situation in *Remake*, as we established in section “I. a) iv.”.
The specifics don’t matter nearly as much as I’m impressing upon you by explaining all these little alternatives. Simply keep in mind that: regardless of why, the Sephiroth and Aerith we see in *Remake* know the events of the OG game because they have acquired this knowledge from the future, and the events of *Remake* occur squarely within the OG timeline until the Whispers are defeated in chapter 18.
So there! That’s my iteration of the *Remake* Timelines Theory! I hope I’ve made it clear in your mind, or at least clearer. Now that we’ve established the widely theorized premise of the *Remake* trilogy, we can get into our theory on its hidden premise.
II. My Initial Curiosity
My theory first burgeoned upon going through *Remake* for the second time. I noticed something strange going on with Cloud, something that could not be explained by the *Remake* Timelines Theory. Key moments in *Remake* Cloud’s experience of the OG timeline (aka, everything before chapter 18) stuck out to me as strange and mysterious, and certain inexplicable audiovisual cues struck me as hugely significant. It was upon watching the tear fall from Cloud’s eye during my second go at chapter 8 that I knew I had to look into this.
At the very end of *Remake*’s chapter 8, Cloud watches Aerith walk away from him, humming happily into the night air as she sets off to lead the way to Sector 7. According to the VA script notes, “his heart skips a beat” and watching her walk away provokes a sudden “anxiety” within him. Triggered by the familiarity of the sight, a strange sensation overcomes Cloud:
“[There’s a] close-up shot of Cloud’s fingertips (they’re tingling). He presses them to his temples (his eyes are burning). A trickle of tears quickly rolls down from the eye hidden behind his hand” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA script notes, “A Midnight Ambush”).
If you’re clever, you’ll recognize these lines as a reference to the speech Cloud makes in OG following Aerith’s death at the City of the Ancients (“My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!”) (disk 1, chapter 28). In this small moment in chapter 8 of *Remake*, Cloud experiences a flash of the profound grief he is destined to feel upon Aerith’s fated death.
Many players immediately recognized the composition of this scene: the blue-greenish air, the straight path Aerith heads down, the sight of her walking away itself… this moment closely resembles Cloud’s Sleeping Forest dream of Aerith in OG, wherein Cloud and Aerith’s very last words are exchanged (disk 1, chapter 25). Toriyama, codirector of the *Remake* project, comments on this scene thusly:
“It’s possible these similarities […] cause a memory of the future to be called forth in Cloud” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA script notes, “A Midnight Ambush”).
The language used by Toriyama here is strange in both the English translation and the Japanese original: the term “memory of the future” makes no sense. One cannot remember things they haven’t already experienced, so why did Toriyama use the word “memory” to describe a "future" event? Couldn’t he have simply said that *Remake* Cloud experiences “visions of the future” rather than “\[memories\]”?
Cloud experiences a few moments like these throughout the game. These pseudo-premonitions are just as markedly exclusive to *Remake* as the Whispers are. I did not want to dismiss them as a foreshadowing device the devs included just to elicit emotional reactions from OG players; I felt they were more important. And thus began my digging! My mission was initially to figure out what these “\[memories of the future\]” (MOTFs) could signify… I had no clue it would turn into what I’m writing right now.
II. a) Each MOTF and Its Context
I began by finding every one of Cloud’s MOTFs so I could better understand them.
MOTF 1 occurs in chapter 2 on Sector 8’s Loveless Street, when Cloud sees Aerith struggling against the Whispers. The VA script notes reveal that even though this is only his first time seeing her, Cloud recognizes Aerith’s face:
“Recognizing Aerith’s face causes Cloud to experience [a hallucination]. Sephiroth is suddenly standing between him and Aerith” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA script notes, “Encountering Aerith”).
Sephiroth then taunts Cloud with words that, according to the script notes, “\[live\] inside of Cloud's heart”*:* “You can’t protect anyone. Not even yourself”. Cloud should not recognize Aerith’s face at this point in the OG timeline, nor should he associate it with not being able to protect people.
MOTF 2 occurs in chapter 3, at the plaza in front of the Sector 7 slums support pillar. Cloud experiences a MOTF of the plate falling, which is fated to occur at a much later point in chapter 12. The Whispers float near him, “watching Cloud alertly as he sees a vision of the future” (*FFVII Remake Ultimania*, section 08 “Secrets”, “Newly Arisen Mysteries”, “What Is the Goal of the Elusive Whispers?”, page 733).
MOTF 3 occurs in Aerith’s church at the start of chapter 8, when Aerith mentions that her mother’s materia is “not good for anything at all”. Triggered by the mention and sight of the White Materia, Cloud’s fourth MOTF takes the form of a vision: he sees quick flashes of the materia falling into the lake of the Forgotten Capital and Aerith holding her hands together in prayer. These are evidently visions of her death in OG (disk 1, chapter 28).
MOTF 4 is the one we first discussed, occurring at the very end of chapter 8 as Cloud watches Aerith walk away from him to lead the way toward Sector 7.
MOTF 5 occurs in chapter 13 shortly after the Sector 7 plate has fallen on the slums. Cloud tells Barret that Marlene is safe at Aerith’s house, and they begin heading there. As Cloud thinks about Aerith, the VA script notes describe the very next moment as follows:
“Cloud: Tifa, you know anything about the Ancients?
Tifa: I’ve heard of them before, but…
Barret walks on ahead, showing little interest in the topic.
Barret: Read a book on planetology and they’re sure to come up. They’re a tribe that cultivated the planet a real long time ago. Used to talk to it. That sort of stuff.
Cloud: That must be why the Turks were after her.
[Psychic] interference starts up.
[Cloud has a] flashback of Sephiroth from five years ago, after learning of his ancestry at Shinra Manor […].
Sephiroth [(in flashback, voice tinged with madness)]: Within my veins flows the blood of the Ancients. I am the rightful heir to this planet!
The flashback ends and Cloud looks lost in thought. The interference starts up once more. Cloud makes agonized sounds. When he opens his eyes, Sephiroth is actually standing before him.
Sephiroth: You failed again— failed to protect [her]*.
Cloud is startled. He shrinks back. Tifa watches what’s happening. The other two can’t see Sephiroth. All they see is Cloud acting frightened.
Sephiroth: But loss will make you strong. […] Isn’t that what you want?
With that, Sephiroth departs.”
*Sephiroth does not use a gendered pronoun here, because the grammatical structure of the original Japanese sentence doesn’t necessitate it. I've seen some debate as to whether the proper translation is “her” (Aerith, who’s just been kidnapped), or “them” (Jessie, Biggs or Wedge, who have seemingly just died). I believe Sephiroth was referring to Aerith for a few reasons. First, Cloud’s hallucinations of Sephiroth always appear as a response to whatever he is perceiving or thinking about at the moment. At this point in the scene, Cloud has been thinking and talking about Aerith for some time, and not about Jessie, Biggs or Wedge. The Sephiroth hallucination must therefore be referring to “her” rather than to “them”. Secondly, Cloud was never tasked with “[protecting]” Avalanche, but he was in fact tasked with “[protecting]” Aerith as her bodyguard back in chapter 8: it makes far more sense for Sephiroth to be referring to Aerith when he speaks about someone Cloud “failed to protect”. Finally, FFVII Remake Ultimania describes this piece of dialogue as “[Sephiroth aiming] these profound words at Cloud, who not only failed to prevent the tragedy in the Sector 7 slums but allowed Aerith to be abducted” (Sephiroth’s profile in section 01 “Character & World”, “Impressive Words”, page 29): the specific mention of Aerith here seals my decision to translate the line with the pronoun “her”.
Contrary to Sephiroth’s words, this is the first time in *Remake* that Cloud “\[fails\] to protect \[Aerith\]”, and he hasn’t “\[lost\]” her either— not yet, at least. This fifth MOTF must then be similar to MOTF 1, in that Sephiroth is referring to Cloud’s guilt surrounding Aerith’s death in OG.
MOTF 6 occurs in chapter 17, in Aerith and Ifalna’s old room at Shinra HQ. The Whispers swarm Aerith as she tells the party earnestly that she wants to do everything in her power to help her friends and the planet: according to the script notes, it is at this very moment that, “for some reason, Cloud feels his chest constrict tightly” (*FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus*, VA script notes, “Aerith Speaks”). In the corresponding cutscene, this unpleasant physiological reaction to Aerith’s words makes Cloud glance down at his chest with a confounded frown. This physical response to her speech about wanting to fulfill her duty to the planet implies that Cloud somehow knows deep down that saving the world will cost Aerith her life.
At this point, I noticed that five out of the six MOTFs Cloud experiences in *Remake* are triggered by and/or revolve around Aerith specifically, the one exception being a MOTF of the Sector 7 plate fall. One could actually argue that this MOTF revolves around Aerith too, considering the plate fall marks the first time Aerith is taken away from Cloud since reuniting with her in the Sector 5 slums church. This is more than plausible, as MOTF 5 proves that in the wake of the Sector 7 plate fall, Cloud’s main concern is Aerith (see section “II. a)”). How fitting is it, then, that the merc of few words’ longest uninterrupted piece of dialogue in all of *Remake* is:
“We found an underground Shinra lab where they've done human testing. This wasn't the first time and it won't be the last. I know these people, and I know they're never gonna let Aerith go. She's the last living Ancient on the planet. Think about what that means to Shinra's scientists. Especially to that son of a bitch Hojo. We're all just numbers and meat to him—“ (Remake, chapter 13).
Cloud would’ve gone on too, had Elmyra and Tifa not stopped him.
At this point in my research, my questions were only stacking up. What are these MOTFs? Why is Cloud the only one experiencing them? Why do all of them implicate Aerith? What did the devs hope to accomplish with their inclusion in the game? What do they mean for *Remake*’s story? But most importantly:
II. b) What Does Cloud Know?
The first assertion we have to make is simple, yet essential: the only reason Cloud would experience MOTFs is that whatever’s triggered them is significant to him in one way or another. Some part of him must recognize his triggers for them to be triggers at all. It’s clear he doesn’t consciously understand the meaning of his MOTF triggers, just like his Jenova triggers: for example, Cloud doesn’t know why Zack’s name causes him to experience psychic interference, but it sure does. We as players know Cloud’s MOTFs are hinting at Aerith’s fated death because of our awareness of OG, but as a character navigating the OG timeline, *Remake* Cloud shouldn't even be unconsciously aware of Aerith’s eventual death in the slightest! Whatever the nature of the MOTFs, it’s essential to understand that if Cloud “\[recognizes\]” Aerith’s face the first time he sees her, it must mean some part of him knows Aerith’s face in the first place. If this recognition triggers a hallucination of Sephiroth telling Cloud he “can’t protect anyone”, it must mean some part of him knows he was once unable to protect Aerith. The same goes for every other MOTF: subconsciously, *Remake* Cloud somehow has memories of the OG timeline. Most interestingly, it looks like he either only has OG memories related to Aerith, or like his OG memories of Aerith are simply the only ones prominent enough to trigger his MOTFs. Why and how does *Remake* Cloud have memories of OG, and why are they so focused on Aerith in particular? What does he know?
When examining a situation with no explanation, it’s wise to examine similar situations that have already been explained. Maybe the mystery of *Remake* Cloud’s MOTFs will become more approachable if we consider the cases of the only other *Remake* characters who seem to know the future: Aerith and Sephiroth. *Remake* Sephiroth knows the future of the OG timeline because his consciousness exists beyond time in the Lifestream, while *Remake* Aerith likely obtained her knowledge of the future from post-OG Aerith’s spirit via the Lifestream. But what about Cloud? Where does his weaker, fragmented knowledge come from?

Hey everyone, I'm back for yet another daily guide! Sorry I didn't get around to one the last couple of days - I tried on the 14th and oh boy was that hard. I gave up half way through because I ran out of time! Thankfully this one is much better because I still had my sanity by the end!
As we've previously found, reloading the browser makes changes to the rng, so now I have notes when the browser has been reloaded so you can reload it too :). As per usual, sorry about the reloads - it'd be much easier if there weren't any, but I had some issues and instead of being able to restart I had to reload. Also there's at least one place where I've said to quit to menu and continue - I don't think this is the same as a reload, so maybe don't reload and just quit to menu instead?
Also, as we've found out, it looks like different browsers have different RNG. I use firefox when making my guides, but if you use chrome, there may be some small differences here and there. If you do use chrome and have some differences, let me know - I'm trying to get some evidence so I can figure out what the changes are and see if there's a way to nullify them so we can have a single guide for any type of browser :)
I haven't had a chance to fully test this yet, but I've got a test going in the background. Until then, there might be some reloads or whatnot that I've missed
ALSO ALSO: we're still trying to figure out exactly what the relationship with reloading is. For now, if when you need to reload, reload once you've chosen your pokemon for the battle, as, on average, that's when I would reload. I don't know if it'll make a difference, but it can't hurt to try and see what happens :)
As per the others, I'm still learning about all this, so sorry for any mistakes I've made - I probably missed at least a couple of reloads, but hopefully I got the majority of them.
A couple of things to note: There's a DNA splicer on wave 38 rewards. I've never used it before and asked the discord who would be some good options to use it for, and people were saying it probably wasn't worth it. If you want to fuse some things together though, go ahead! I will say that if you do, I got offered a Garchompite on wave 41, so if you want to fuse two pokemon together, make sure to do it with garchomp first. That said, taking the DNA splicer may change your rng so you may not get the garchompite, but I'll leave that as an experiment for you to test :)
Lastly, it seems like there's a bug in the game - I've heard it's best to change the "EXP Party Display" to "Normal" as if it's not on normal, sometimes moves you've learnt will disappear when you exit to the menu.

Pokemon	Max stat (31)	Wave
Camerupt	HP	21
Scovillain	Sp. Atk	24
Orthworm	Sp. Def	38

I think I got all the unique mons for the candies except one (silly brambleghast didn't want to be caught?), but I might have missed some.
With the below steps, if I haven't said to take a move when one is offered, that means to not learn it. For the table, there's two columns relating to moves - one for moves to take and one for moves to replace. For example, if the "Move(s) to take..." column has Headbutt and the corresponding row in the "... by replacing move(s)" column has Wrap, it would mean you need to replace wrap with headbutt at this stage when it's offered - and if during that stage a different move is offered, don't take it if it's not on the list. Also if there's multiple moves to be offered, the moves offered in the table are listed from top to bottom of the order you get them - so if you have something like the below, it means that Crunch will be offered before Headbutt will, which will be before Firethrower (and their associated replacements):

Move(s) to take...	... by replacing move(s)
Crunch	Vine whip
Heatbutt	Astonish
Firethrower	Water gun

Also, if there are multiple waves back to back that have the same pokemon (or are within a few waves of each other), I'll label them as 1 and 2 - i.e. Linoone 1 and Linoone 2. This is to help avoid confusion if you're looking back and forth and trying to figure out where you're at
Lastly, with the steps below, if I don't say to switch out to a pokemon, that means you use the pokemon that's come out automatically.
With that, here's the guide:

Stage 1

Wave 1: Swablu
Steps:

1. Ancient power
2. Pokeball
3. Transfer charcoal from glimmet to raboot

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Pokeballs
Wave 2: Fletchinder
Steps:

1. Confuse ray
2. Pokeball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Venoshock	Rain dance

Reward: Potion swablu
Wave 3: Swablu
Steps:

1. Ancient power

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Super potion swablu
Wave 4: Pidgeotto and Spoink
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: So when I started this fight, Spoink got poisoned from toxic spikes somehow (though I can't remember how?) It felt weird, so I exited to the main menu and continued, and it removed the spikes and the poison, so you should too.
Steps:

1. Switch glimmet with fletch and clauncher with raboot
2. Flame charge x 2 on pidgeotto
3. Pokeball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Acrobatics	Growl

Reward: Ultraball
Wave 5: Trainer Joren and Myra
Steps:

1. Acrobatics and flame charge seviper
2. Flame charge x 2 mawile

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Mega bracelet
Wave 6: Pidgeotto
Steps:

1. Flame charge
2. Acrobatics

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Potion fletch
Wave 7: Swablu
Steps:

1. Acrobatics x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Pokeballs
Wave 8: Staravia
Steps:

1. Switch to clauncher
2. Pokeball x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Pokeballs
Wave 9: Geodude
Steps:

1. Aqua jet
2. Pokeball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Potion fletch
Wave 10: Shieldon
Steps:

1. Switch to raboot
2. Double kick
3. Pokeball x 3

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Stage end

Stage 2

Wave 11: Swablu
Steps:

1. Switch to fletch
2. Acrobatics x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Rare candy fletch
Wave 12: Goomy
Steps:

1. Switch to swablu
2. Dragon breath x 2
3. Pokeball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Potion swablu
Wave 13: Goomy and Goomy
Steps:

1. Switch claunder with fletch
2. Dragon breath and acrobatics left (L31) goomy
3. Dragon break and acrobatics

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: X Atk
Wave 14: Gabite
Steps:

1. Dragon breath x 3
2. Pokeball
3. Ultra ball
4. Replace swablu with gabite

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Headbutt	Baton pass

Reward: Potion gabite
Wave 15: Trainer Trisha
Steps:

1. Acrobatics
2. Switch to glimmet
3. Spikes (glimmet dies here)
4. Bring out fletch
5. Acrobatics
6. Switch to raboot
7. Heatbutt x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Water pulse	Snore
Rest	Splash
Power gem	Growl

Reward: Potion talonflame
Wave 16: Jangmo-o
Steps:

1. Pokeball x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Slash	Sand attack

Reward: Potion talonflame
Wave 17: Goomy
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: Exit to menu to remove spikes
Steps:

1. Switch to talonflame
2. Acrobatics

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Reroll, Super potion gabite
Wave 18: Drampa
Steps:

1. Pokeball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Pyro ball	Flame charge

Reward: Reviver seed talonflame
Wave 19: Goomy and Drampa
Steps:

1. Acrobatics goomy and double kick drampa
2. Talonflame dies and revives
3. Acrobatics and double kick drampa

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Aerial ace	Flail

Reward: Great balls (ps: you might be wondering why I would possibly choose great balls over the revive I so desperately need. Well, I was too excited to get the revive I accidentally went too far over and picked up the great balls :( )
Wave 20: Trainer Drayden
Steps:

1. Switch to gabite
2. Dragon breath x 2
3. Switch to grumpig
4. Rest
5. Psybeam (grumpig dies here)
6. Bring out talonflame
7. Acrobatics x 3 (talon dies here)
8. Bring out gabite
9. Dragon breath (gabite dies here)
10. Bring out clauncher
11. Smack down
12. Rest (claunder dies here)
13. Bring out cinder
14. Attact
15. Headbutt x 3

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Stage end (sheesh, what a fight)

Stage 3

Wave 21: Camerupt
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: This camerupt has max (31) HP stat
Steps:

1. Switch to clauncher
2. Pokeball x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Snore	Psych up

Reward: EXP All
Wave 22: Sinistcha
Steps:

1. Switch to glimmet
2. Venoshock x 2
3. Pokeball
4. Replace grumping with sinistcha

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Rock slide	Confuse Ray

Reward: Potion glimmet
Wave 23: Sandslash and Dugtrio
Steps:

1. Switch glimmet with claw and cinder with talonflame
2. Aqua jet sandslash and acrobatics dugtrio
3. Pokeball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Mortal spin	Rock slide

Reward: Ultraball
Wave 24: Scovillain
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: I reloaded my browser here; make sure to reload during the fight once it's started, and not too late
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: This scovillain has max (31) Sp. Atk stat
Steps:

1. Switch to cinder
2. Headbutt
3. Pokeball x 2
4. Ultra ball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Super potion cinder
Wave 25: Trainer Yvette
Steps:

1. Pyro ball x 2
2. Double kick
3. Switch to talonflame
4. Acrobatics
5. Switch to glimmora
6. Mortal spin
7. Venoshock x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Dragon claw	Slash
Power gem	Ancient power
Aura sphere	Rest
Stength sap	Matcha gotcha

Reward: Potion cinder
Wave 26: Mudsdale 1
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: I exited to menu here so the spikes disappeared
Steps:

1. Switch to sinistcha
2. Mega drain x 3 (this kills mudsdale, but we get another one on W29)

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Potion Sinistcha
Wave 27: Scovillain
Steps:

1. Switch to talonflame
2. Aerial ace x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Hyper potion Sinistcha
Wave 28: Donphan
Steps:

1. Great ball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Pokeballs
Wave 29: Mudsdale 2
Steps:

1. Switch to sinistcha
2. Mega drain x 2
3. Pokeball x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Crunch	Bite

Reward: Great balls
Wave 30: Trainer Clay
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: I reloaded my browser here; make sure to reload during the fight once it's started, and not too late
Steps:

1. Strength sap x 3
2. Mega drain x 4
3. Switch to claw (claw dies here)
4. Bring out garchomp
5. Bulldoze x 2
6. Crunch x 3
7. Bulldoze x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Shadow ball	Hex

Reward: Stage end

Stage 4

Wave 31: Drapion
Steps:

1. Pokeball
2. Bulldoze
3. Great ball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Bounce	Aqua jet

Reward: Pokeballs
Wave 32: Sandslash
Steps:

1. Switch to claw
2. Water pulse

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Pokeballs
Wave 33: Rabsca
Steps:

1. Switch to talonflame
2. Pokeball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Dire hit
Wave 34: Sandslash and Brambleghast
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: Sorry, I couldn't find a way to catch brambleghast no matter what I tried
Steps:

1. Switch cinder with claw
2. Aerial ace bramble and water pulse sandslash (this kills them)

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
Steel wing	Aerial ace

Reward: Super potion claw
Wave 35: Trainer Sonia
Steps:

1. Switch to garchomp
2. Crunch x 2
3. Bulldoze x 2

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Rarer candy
Wave 36: Orthworm 1
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: Couldn't catch it, but we get one one W38
Steps:

1. Switch to cinder
2. Pyro ball (this kills it)

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Potion garchomp
Wave 37: Brambleghast
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: Brambleghasts do NOT want to be caught today - sorry
Steps:

1. Pyro ball (this kills it)

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Dire hit
Wave 38: Orthworm 2
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: This orthworm has max (31) Def
Steps:

1. Double kick
2. Headbutt
3. Switch to talon
4. Ember
5. Ultra ball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Potion garchomp - note: there IS a DNA splicer here, but I haven't used it before. I asked around and people in the discord said it might not necessarily be worth it for these guys, but if you want to try for yourself, go ahead! It may change the RNG as discussed above, but it could be pretty fun!
Wave 39: Rabsca
Steps:

1. Acrobatics

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Super potion garchomp
Wave 40: Trainer Gordie
Steps:

1. Switch to sinistcha
2. Switch to claw
3. Water pulse
4. Aura sphere x 2
5. Water pulse
6. Aura sphere x 2 (claw dies)
7. Bring out sinistcha
8. Mega drain

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Stage end

Stage 5

Wave 41: Xatu
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: I reloaded my browser here; make sure to reload during the fight once it's started, and not too late
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: This one is killed but we catch another one on W48
Steps:

1. Shadow ball (this kills xatu, but we get one on W48)

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Garchompite on garchomp
Wave 42: Alakazam 1
Steps:

1. Ultra ball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Reroll, Super potion sinistcha
Wave 43: Sigilyph
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: I reloaded my browser here; make sure to reload during the fight once it's started, and not too late
Steps:

1. Switch to garchomp
2. Pokeball
3. Great ball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Enigma berry garchomp
Wave 44: Alakazam 2
Steps:

1. Crunch

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: PP Max garchomp's bulldoze
Wave 45: Trainer Walter and Janie
Steps:

1. Bulldoze and swap out claw with talonflame
2. Bulldoze and acrobatics

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Reroll x 2, X Sp. Atk
Wave 46: Claydol 1
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: This guy just self destructs ASAP, but we do catch another one next wave
Steps:

1. Switch to sinistra
2. Pokeball (claydol self destructs and dies)

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Ganlon berry garchomp
Wave 47: Claydol 2
Steps:

1. Mega drain
2. Pokeball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: X Speed
Wave 48: Xatu
Steps:

1. Pokeball
2. Ultra ball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: PP Up cinder's double pyro ball
Wave 49: Grumpig
Steps:

1. Mega drain
2. Ultra ball

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: X Speed
Wave 50: Dialga
NOTE FOR THIS WAVE: I reloaded my browser here; make sure to reload during the fight once it's started, and not too late. That said, for this wave it probably doesn't matter, but better to be safe than sorry.
Steps:

1. Strength sap x 4 (sinistcha dies here)
2. Bring out garchomp
3. Bulldoze x 4 (garchomp dies here)
4. Bring out claw
5. Aura sphere
6. DAILY DONE

Move(s) to take	... by replacing move(s)
None	None

Reward: Daily done!
That should be it! Enjoy your egg vouchers and I hope you get good things! As usual, any changes or anything let me know - I'll be doing a test run in the background when I can to hopefully catch anything else, but if you find waves that don't make sense or reloads that are needed let me know and I can add them in! Also like I said if you find any differences between this and your run and you're playing on a chromium browser, let me know as well :)

After much consideration, and planning, I am going to return to video production. When I began making videos on a weekly or monthly basis, I had plenty of free time due to the big coof. This was me learning things like scheduling, editing, how to make the microphone work, and I learned plenty through trial and error. There is a dramatic difference between my first videos and my recent ones because of this learning experience. But as I learned about how to make videos, I learned that I was wasting my time with them.
A LOT of time.
Whatever you’re thinking is a time waste for a video is not really it, unless you’ve been there and done that. During that time, I ruined my sleep schedule and would even pass up on small money opportunities, all because I thought my Youtube videos would send me into stardom. Plant a seed, watch it grow, that sort of thing. But, looking at my numbers, it was the exact opposite. Each video coming out, utilizing the keywords and subject matter as a reason to click, was essentially a false sense of activity.
Working on other people’s channels created even more false cases of activity, which created a false sense of justifying why I’m putting labor into something.
Like most artists, I was gaslighting myself into thinking that the time spent into a project was going to translate into a future income from something else. We always see these videos where it seems zero effort was put into it and it goes viral, not realizing that years of failing and group efforts were required to reach those results. And even then, a youtube video existing doesn’t cause a person to instantly gain money from that existence. I have a friend who made a viral video and he didn’t get anything from millions of views, because there was nothing to monetize. I have another friend who made a viral video, trying to recreate the magic, and nothing came of it after a year or two of trying.
Not only is it hard to receive results, but the amount of time it takes to attempt is ridiculous. I didn’t time myself, but if I knew how many hours were sunk into each video, I would probably pull out my balls in anger. The process of each video was a mess of:

1. Writing down a script (takes more than an hour to write an hour of script)
2. Recording the audio (takes more than an hour to record an hour)
3. Editing the audio (takes about double the time of whatever its recorded)
4. Making the thumbnail
5. Making the avatar
6. Collecting images
7. Collecting video clips
8. Making images and clips
9. Editing through clips that are too long
10. Adding sound effects
11. Finding and adding music
12. Waiting for it to render (usually this is where I go to do other things)
13. Rendering it AGAIN through handbrake so it’s a smaller file (quicker than waiting for uploading a multi GB file)
14. Uploading it across youtube, bitchute, and rumble

I don’t want to make this sound like I’m complaining, but this is the bare minimum effort that goes into a youtube video, not mentioning the details of how things are edited or the issues with troubleshooting. A lot of what ate up my time was realizing when things aren’t working way too late, such as how GIFs don’t register well and they slow down a larger project. Or better yet, how a large project slows down to a crawl and you have to render multiple segments separately in order to keep things running smoothly. My files, as organized as I tried to keep them, were unorganized as hell because I would set them up during production instead of before production. Then by the end of it, there would be something wrong that I would have to edit, remove, I forgot something, something vanished between saves, or even corrupted files because I moved something and didn’t realize it was part of something else.
Video editing is utter hell in the beginning, but it gets better after you look after your process and actually organize everything well.
I spent a night the other week changing up all of my files. I put them on my desktop, where I can easily access them, and away from my downloads. This is important because your downloads can be bogged down with anything you download, and eventually it becomes a massive mess of pictures, videos, game patches, or whatever else you’re downloading; all getting in the way of your actual project. You want your files to be files within files, and each file is marked clearly for its purpose and its direction. I had a million songs splayed out in different areas and couldn’t remember where they were, of course when I wanted them, all because they would get trapped in piles of other things I downloaded for later.
My file finding time is now only limited by the slowness of my computer acquiring it.
Audio began as a mess of me going through each line to make sure there was no extra noise, and having to fix anything that was too quiet or not full enough. Turns out I was making my audio way too maximized and wasting a lot of time on stuff that people wouldn’t even recognize as an issue. Now my audio mixing is done through OBS, already set up as a particular compression and volume that will stay in the acceptable range, with noise removal already set up.
My audio recording/editing time is closer to how long it takes to speak.
Developing each chapter card, clipping them together, having to find the font, typing everything out. These, along with getting sound effects working, took up too much time. What I did is make a plan to prepare all of these first, before anything else is added to the video, so that I know how many chapters there are. They don’t take that long to render, because of how short they are, and it takes way less time to do that than to shift gears at the end of the production day. Shifting gears every couple of minutes, that was wasting too much time, which is now changed to doing one specific task each session.
My “switching” time is removed, thus saving time.
Music was added in the beginning, as one of the first things. This was wrong to do, because of how many times I would want a clip where the music continues through it, only to realize that this continuation forced me to keep a massive background of editing history, which slows everything down through production. Adding music as the last bit, and after rendering, will save me minutes for every time I boot up the video editor, which saves hours over time when I’m going to have to go back and forth on video editing. My lifestyle only gives me an hour or two at a time to sit in front of the computer, and so editing will require less wait time for the process to warm up.
My rendering time will increase(as I go to do other things), but my waiting time will decrease.
Through my new process, I am also considering a different view of each video type. Recently, I saw a video about how kindle books are categorized between low, mid, and high content; related to how much effort it takes to make each one. My previous attempts were to, essentially, make high effort content as consistently as possible, which was going to be draining when these were events that came and went. Current news like Lindsay Ellis being stupid or DSP looking like a fool on Sidescrollers are incredibly time sensitive, which is why so many people stream these “news reports” instead of making high effort videos about them. And even if it was a long term type of video, we have to question if it REQUIRES that much effort to begin with.
My plans for the future are to measure how long I take with each session, what I get done, track down percentages, and measure what the longest steps are. Figuring out what’s causing a hold-up is the best way to prevent hold-ups, in the same way city builders (should) keep track of what’s causing traffic jams. Too many traffic jams? Get rid of cars or open more lanes. Keeping track of things is going to take minutes to save hours, which is something I should have practiced more on doing through my practicing year.
Videos are done with marketing in mind, because I don’t plan to make money from them. My “branding” is storytelling, art, art-related lolcows, and I guess that pesky culture war. People begged me to go fully political, but I think political is a step below philosophical, which is where I would rather go. I would rather explain the psychology and aesthetics of media, instead of repeating myself as to how offensive or woke something is. Yes, I make fun of Lindsay for being woke, but I explain why she is and where it comes from, which is something more important than some kind of drama farming that grifters do.
I would rather be a source of information than a pointless attack dog for someone above me, which is why I try to separate myself from the people who do such nonsense. I’m not with these movements, I don’t care to promote people I don’t care about, I’m not going to go easy on people just because “we’re on the same side”. Everyone gets made fun of or nobody gets made fun of, and I’m year of monkey, bitch. This monkey wants bananas and youtube is not going to supply any. But it supplies plenty of vines to swing around from, as I Donkey Kong my way from topic to topic.
Like anything else in life, videos need to be worth my time, meaning their expense needs to be dropped dramatically. Hour long, multi-hour long, these were excruciatingly hard to do. The next goal is to make sure everything is kept around 30min long, unless it’s going to be a bi-yearly 1 hour long video that will be the highlight of the year, which is where full book analysis videos come into play. The scripts for everything else will be written down as articles, with the better of the articles being made into low content videos.
Podcast style will be for low effort, being made weekly.
A new style will be for mid effort, which is where 30min of history or explanation is presented with video clips, being made monthly. Video game clips will be placed around here as well, unless they can be made bi-weekly.
And the classic, me in my room with my ASS computer, will be for the high content, for subjects that take far too long to make on a monthly basis.
This planning is still in the works, it’s an effort to create a strategy and a schedule for everything. The goal would be to place an hour a day per video, creating steps for each video, and using each other as progress reports for the bigger ones. It will be like placing smaller squares into bigger squares until the biggest square is complete, allowing me to visually determine my progress across such a subject. This is also a way for me to appear more productive, because content will be constantly coming out on a clear schedule. Only bad side about it is that this means 3 hours of my day are used for videos, and this won’t be possible for every day until content creation is my main job.
Before I can have this be a thing, it will be a slow, preemptive creation process, with smaller projects being made as my “short stories”, to then determine if I’m ready for a bigger “novel” of a project. And that’s how I have to approach video editing: the same way I would with storytelling. No more determining that length means better, or more time means more results. Now I’m going to obey the market, go for what’s expected of me, and react to feedback. If something doesn’t work, or doesn’t make a dent, I try something else.
I think that’s why people get mad at me, when they see that I am trying something else all the time. This is normal, but I’m told that I’m “an interloper” or “will never win” because I willingly give up on things that don’t work. Sorry, losers, but being unorganized and wasting my life is not worth it. I like money, and I like vaginas. If I wanted to be poor and wasting my life, I would have kept slamming my head against a wall and failing like most of what indie does.
And yes, the OPC reviews will be translated into videos, as well as my own short stories. I began as a crackpasta narrator, after all. I was thinking of putting a lot of radio drama production into my narrations, but I would want to keep them low effort until they start attracting all of the attention from their titles. A lot of people try to narrate their stories and they don’t make a spark anywhere with them. But as time goes on, and I get more videos under my belt, I could easily narrate for others, create a network, and get things going. It’s not that hard to get things working once you know what you’re doing.
The main time waste that we all fall for is chaotic activity and the lack of planning.

(Heads up, this is a long one as the background is a lot.)
I (22 F) was invited to my friend's baby shower. For fear and to protect myself due to past trauma, let's name her H. H was my friend since middle school. In high school, she dated G and now they are married and are expecting a baby.
Here's some background info. Before H and G started dating, H, our friends, and I found G and his group of friends annoying. All through high school, G and his group kept making fun of me and annoying me just because they had tried to set me up with one of G's friends, who I kept rejecting. (As a 1st gen, my family had me involved in school and I did after-school activities so I could get into good colleges in the future. I focused on school, and I didn't have much time for friends, much less for a guy. I also didn't want a relationship due to a past event.) Well, even after G's friend took the hit, his group wouldn’t leave me alone. My family is fairly known, so everyone knew where we lived. G's group would annoy me at school, which included classes we might’ve had in common, being in the same building, finding me before or after school, and would even drive by my home yelling "That's my girlfriend" at the top of their lungs. H was part of my friend group and she agreed that the guys were being childish and our friend group basically called it harassment. Many times, G's group actually got me in trouble with my parents. My parents would believe them if the group yelled outside the house. The group also called me out on social media once and when I stood up for myself, my family told me to delete what I had commented as they didn't want their perfect girl to be involved in drama. (In my opinion, I don’t think my parents wanted their friends to see the colorful language I used.)
Sometime later, H tells our group that she started dating G. They had ups and downs in the relationship. G cheated, he wasn't winning over H's family and wouldn't put her first in some situations. While they were dating, G and his group kept messing with me. When a friend and I planned lunches with H, the plans would automatically involve G last minute, to which my friend and I decided to stay on campus rather than to go with the "happy couple." My friends and I were convinced we would lose H eventually, which little by little, we did. She tried to convince us that G was changing and was trying to change to win over her parents. According to H, G even started staying after school to talk to teachers to get his grades up. None of us actually believed it as the teasing still continued.
Well, since graduation, I haven't spoken to H, or even texted. You know how it is, you go to college, friends grow distant, and because of assignments, there's rarely any time to hang out with anyone. Before H was married, my family and I would invite her to parties. Now this is where this rule might be an A-Hole move. A rule my family follows is that if you’re invited to an event, but don't show up, you are no longer invited to any other events. I always hated this rule because sometimes things happen. The thing is, with H, she always confirms she'll show up, but never does. I didn't invite her anymore after she didn't show up to any event in 2 years as I began to think I lost a friend as with many others. Well, my mother has actually continued to invite H, even after she was married. H continues with the same routine, confirms but doesn't show. I've told the friends I've made through work and college that I fear that one day H might actually show up to an event with her husband and that the same thing as high school might happen again. My friends tell me that since they actually show up, if anything happens, they'll be there to support me as they know I've changed and see I've become more of a bad b. They say that I shouldn't worry because I'm no longer that shy girl, and that I'm no longer defenseless. My friends have also accompanied me on my healing journey as they know I’ve been going to counseling to get over all this trauma as well as other past events.
Now, for the invite. I'll be honest, I didn't know H was married until she changed her status on social media. Yes, we still follow each other. I didn't think she would’ve ended up with G after everything that happened in their relationship. Months later, maternity pictures were on her page. Sometime later, I got an invite to the baby shower. Now, I know baby shower rules run differently. In Hispanic families, 99% of the time, men are welcome to celebrate as well and it’s not women only. With this, I discussed with my family that I don't want to go because H will have her husband there and G still has his group of friends from what other friends have told me. My mother and sister called me selfish for not going to the party and still living in the past. I told them I understood their point of view, but I told them I didn't want to go to a party where I'd feel uncomfortable. My sister started saying that I was H's friend and that I should be there for her. I then asked her that question about H, stating "Okay then when has she been here for me? She hasn't been to a party or gathering in years when this is the first time she invites me." My sister became silent and went to her room. Later that night, my mom and sister tried to talk to me again. I said no. I told them they could go without me. To make things worse, my family still paints me as the villain. They know I went to counseling, but stopped due to school and work hours. They knew I was basically bullied and harassed at school, and with college and work, I’m also sleep deprived and my health has become a difficult situation in these last few years. My family told me to go as I would want H to show up for me. But here's the thing, she hasn't shown up for me at all. Any question my family tried to throw at me, I threw it back as if they were asking H about me. (Let’s say dinner was silent that night.)
I spoke to my friends and told them everything that had been going on. They agreed that I shouldn't go as they know I'm not ready to see H or G. They told me that if I was going to be uncomfortable, I shouldn't go. Since they knew about my mental journey, they reminded me that my counselor told me to take things slowly. They said that if I decide to go, to contact our group, and that some of them will accompany me to the baby shower to make sure I stay safe. I thanked them for that and I told them I would update them if anything happened. I asked my grandmother as I wanted the point of view of someone with more life experience. Even she told me not to go and let my mother and sister go alone. She told me that if I'm uncomfortable, she sees no point in siding with her daughter (my mom) when she'd rather protect me, her granddaughter. I did tell her my friends’ plan. She liked it. My grandmother also knows that because of this situation, my blood pressure might get high again. She told me that if I go with my friends, to take my medication and to tell my friends where I’ll have it in case things go wrong, as she fears I might get a panic attack (I’ve only had one) and she trusts my friends as she’s met them (before my parents). (I don’t take my medication every day as it makes me sleepy, tired, or dizzy. I also don’t take it if there’s a party so I can drink alcohol if I choose to.)
I know that some might think I'm punishing my friend for something she technically had no control over as people marry who they want and she wasn’t part of the bullying, but I don't want to be at the baby shower and risk getting made fun off again by her husband and his friends. I also find baby showers boring. Some might think that I’m holding on to a grudge, but this harassment causes fear as I had also been through worse bullying experiences when I was a child. (I was bullied from 5th grade for being small, all through middle school for being small, people thinking I had money (when I didn’t), having a rolling backpack due to back problems, and then harassed by G’s group in high school.) I don’t know what to do as my mother and sister are still pressuring me. My friends have considered taking me out on the day of the baby shower. They know my family wants me to go out with friends more, so my friends plan on telling my family that it’s a “graduation celebration” before the actual graduation party scheduled a week later since some “won’t make it” ha ha. My friends are truly amazing! I am willing to accept judgment, but I need insight. AITA for not going to the baby shower?
PS: Will probably give an update after the baby shower date. I don’t use my computer much since it’s partially broken.

What's up all! 4th Wall here! I finally have power returned to my home, and can play a little catch up! This one's a heavy hitter, No NSFW needed (I hope) but if you've got kids, be warned.
First, Previous, Next
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A bright flash of blues and whites spat a greyish black object into normal space a mere one hundred Clicks from physical asteroid cloud that provided a natural barrier into the Lurix system. USN Olyvia’s drives instantly flared to life, and she made for the outer edges of the asteroid field with a purposeful stride. The senior Crew was at hand, having alternated shifts so they were well rested for this endeavor. Captain Correllus Grarzia shifted in his chair slightly, watching with interest as his star helmsman switched from his standard control configuration to a more “analog” twin joystick and pedals. ‘The kid really should be piloting a fighter’ he mused just as the young lad turned to look at him. “Ready, skipper”

“Take us in. All ahead slow.” Cory ordered calmly, before keying up the ship wide broadcasting channel. “This is the captain. We’ve just entered the Lurix system. Rig for silent running. I repeat, rig for silent running.” All across the ship, nonessential systems were shut down; their lack of electronic signature aiding the stealth coating on the bulky former troop transport. In engineering. Patrick, Cammy, and the rest of their section powered down a large portion of the larger systems onboard.

Life support was set to emergency backup, with old school oxygen candles lit in special housings that allowed their life-giving emissions to be circulated throughout the ship. Each major section of the vessel had their own supplies of these low-tech solutions, and Olyvia carried enough of these candles to survive for several days without functioning life support if needed.

Only a few were lit this time, using them as an augmentation to allow for minimal use of their perfectly functioning life support systems; and Cammy returned from the compartment just in time to aid in shutting down two thirds of Olyvia’s fusion reactors. This was not usually part of the silent running protocol, but Cory had added it for this mission. While they knew where their target would be, they still knew very little about what defenses awaited them inside the system.

Patrick keyed up the mic, “Engineering reporting in, silent running.”

*acknowledged* came a voice back. And Patrick leaned back in his chair just as Cammy arrived. “Well, that’s that.” He sighed.

Cammy stepped behind his chair, rubbing his shoulders for a second, “candles are lit. Two per section. At this rate we won’t run out for a year.”

Patrick chuckled, standing before looking over at his team, “sandwiches are in the mess hall. Half go now, half after. We’ll wait and go with second shift.” The team nodded and soon. The room was half as full. “Hurry up, and wait” Patrick mused, and turned to the rest. “Hold’em anyone?”

Over the next several days, shifts were kept short with a high rotation frequency. Olyvia picked her way through the natural minefield created by a destroyed world, slipping between the dead planetary shards with deadly caution. She ran quiet, with all but minimal deflectors shut down, and a single detuned laser online on each of her flanks as a last resort against impacts. Cory, Jesse, Patrick, and Cammy met regularly to keep tabs on the ship’s progress. The admiral’s transmission had reached them in time, and the four of them, plus Jacky when she could pry herself from the infirmary, worked to formulate a plan to get into the freighter without killing everyone. They had Hera and Jacobs reports, but those reports also admitted to a certain degree of incredible luck on their part. Things could have gone very differently, and the murder of the freighter during the admiral’s capture operation hinted at a change in tactics from their foe.

Mackenzie’s Privateers had liberated several freighters since they began operations, keeping to their cover as “pirates” by leaving nothing big enough to betray their secrets behind. A few of the other captains had left pieces of inoperative Unity tech, strategically damaged and jettisoned after the fight, as red herrings to convince both the Vorath, and the Thermians that these “pirates” had somehow gotten ahold of Unity warships.


Cory stepped into the cargo bay to meet Patric and Camorra. They were tinkering, carefully he hoped, with one of Olyvia’s harpoon missiles. It was a project triggered by Cammy’s brilliant, if outlandish, idea. “We know these freighters all ran the same codes, and the same infrastructure in their computer cores. Why can’t we hack it. Human computing should be perfectly capable of it.” Cory remembered her words as he stepped up to the two, “at ease” he waved them away as they threatened to salute him, “how’s out little project coming.”


“See for yourself” Patrick smiled handing him a data pad.

Cory took the offered device, quickly scanning through the data, “All I see is Olyvia’s system logs. Did you give me the wrong one?”

Patric smiled evilly, “that is coming from the missile, we found a common power regulator chip that dam near all Delmar freighters use in their integrated core management. Our mole here mimicked that regulators protocols to get into one we installed in a conduit over there” he pointed to an open panel. “It’s designed to cycle through several common chip sets and protocols to get access.”

“You hacked Olyvia?” Cory asked, eyebrow raised in a combination of amusement and irritation.

“Well, “Cammy said calmly, “we had to test it, and Oly’s the only ship close enough…”

“I see…” Cory mused, “it will have to do, we will be reaching the edge of the field in three days, how many of these can you have ready?”

Patrick scratched the red stubble punctuating his jaw line. “Hmm two, maybe three, including that one.” He winced at his captain’s expression, “took us a minute to get the virus right, sorry.”

Cory sounded to himself like a broken record, “I guess that will have to do as well. I’ll leave it to you.” He turned to return to his office but was interrupted half way there by an urgent request for his presence on the bridge.

Jesse rose to greet him as Cory stepped into Olyvia’s command center, and he nodded towards the ready room off to the side. The two of them quickly stepped inside and Jesse closed the door. “Jesse, what’s this about” Cory asked, settling into his desk chair.

Jesse, his first officer, and battle born brother looked at him seriously, “The first of our stealth probes have made it into the system proper….. It’s not good” He tapped at his data pad before handing it to his captain, “The enemy is doing something big down there, and we don’t know what. What we do know, Is that there are three heavy cruisers in orbit, and three more destroyers in floating patrols around the system.”

Cory scrolled through the pad as his first officer made his report, pausing at the same information on the planet’s surface, “These are military installations. This makes no since. We haven’t had a use for Lurix in millennia. It’s always just been a haven for aquatic and semi aquatic species. Why didn’t our intel warn us of this.”

Jesse nodded grimly, “I don’t know for sure, but I have my suspicions.” He reached over, tapping at the tab to open a particular file Cory had yet to find. “We found these in orbit as well.” He pointed to a pair of Delmar constructed freighters, parked in orbit over the marsh world. “I authorized a single transmission to a single drone, uploading Patrick and Camorra’s hacking program into it, and we sent it to one of those freighters... this is what we found.”

Cory opened the indicated file, and felt bile rise in the back of his throat as he watched. “Ready a tight beam, send it back the way we came, Towards Simo.” Jesse looked at his captain in understanding. The risks of transmitting this close to the enemy was a grave risk. Measured against the information they just witnessed; however, it was an absolute necessity. Jesse took the offered tablet, “The Admirals need to see this…. Both of them.”

————————————————————


Clint Stevens groaned as his communicator beeped from his desk. It was a very early morning on a weekend, and Frie had let Natalie stay at her grandparents for the weekend. He quietly slipped from the entanglements of a profoundly comfortable Delmar goddess he had somehow been gifted with as his wife, and silently cursed the inevitable destruction of his plans. The Com was linked to his computer console, and Clint tapped the file as he sat down.

The file opened, beginning with a grim looking Corellus Grarzia who made an intro statement that froze Clint in his thoughts. Before he could begin to prepare himself, images flooded in that turned grogginess into razors edge consciousness ringing with a white hot fury. Frie was ripped from her slumber instantly, reaching for her biometric pistol safe as a response to the unbridled rage she experienced from her husband. It took her a moment to realize that they were not being attacked, and she rushed from their bed, neglecting even basic decency to be by his side.

The two of them watched the Horrors unfold. Children… small children of multiple different races, stacked in a freighter’s hold like cattle, being thrown food like one would an animal. Massive screens played, promising safety and full bellies should they only but kiss the hand of a severe looking Vorath female. All who had not, were treated to daily ice cold sprays mixed with random beatings. He watched as desperate older siblings attempted to shelter their kin from the abuse, often times paying the ultimate price for their valor.

Clint and Frie were spared a further assault on their senses by a beeping light, indicating an urgent call from Clint’s adopted brother. Frie slipped out of view, reaching for a night gown as a furious Mac, accompanied by an equal parts shocked and livid Lyrian, appeared on screen.


“You’ve seen it” Clint stated. There were no barriers between them, no formalities. Only pure truth.

“I have,” Mac rumbled. “Why is it always kids..”

Clint shook his head, “I can have a battle group there in two weeks. It’s not soon enough, but.”

Mac nodded sharply, “I’m redirecting everyone not on critical missions. Simo and Kid are already there with Olyvia. Wisconsin is enroute. We will await your arrival….. Clint…” Clint’s eyes met Mac’s in a joined promise that reached across time and space.

“No, there won’t.” Clint answered, responding to Mac’s unspoken statement.

___________________________________________________________

A week later, The Chancellor Thomas Durrant of the Sol Federation perused the latest transmissions from Unity space. He was due for reelection this coming fall, and it was a close race. His opponent was labelling him a Warmonger, as he was an outspoken proponent of a more active role in the struggle against the Vorath, and it was working. The points were closing in the polls, and The Chancellor had not come out on top with the latest debate results. Humanity simply was not interested in further conflict. For the first time in human history, the vast majority of the Human race was content with peace.

The Chancellor took a sip of his mug as he opened a file from Admiral Stevens marked priority, but not top secret and promptly spit the contents in his mouth back into the mug. It was a complete file on some kind of intelligence operation, and Durrant almost wondered if it had been sent to him in error. The gruesome cover video dispelled that notion as the leader of Humanity itself watched horrors thought long dead play out in front of him. Several minutes later, he closed the file, and opened a message prompt.


“Viktor, are you up.” He typed.

*Yea, Tom. I’m up, the campaign ain’t gonna run itself into the ground.*

Durrant snorted at the dark humor, “Viktor, I was sent something. It changes… everything” he typed, attaching the cover video, and the longer form surveillance recording he had found inside the file from Clint. Several minutes passed in tense silence before…

*Jesus Christ, Tom.*

Tom Durrant took a long slow breath, “Do you still have your man at The Post.” He paused before sending, knowing what he was asking.

*Yea… yea I do, Tom. Are you sure you want to do this. This has ‘it will blow up in my face’ written all over it.*

“I know, but this bigger than me. Do it, and announce a press conference to follow if The Post runs with it.” Durrant typed and sent the last message, closing down his console. He stood slowly, feeling his age for the first time in recent memory, and walked heavily to bed.

The Post ran with the story. In the next 48 hours, the “leaked” scenes of tortured children, some barely more than infants ripped its way into Humanities Psyche. The revelations of what exactly was going on behind Vorath lines assailed Humanity, spurring many to call for blood, and Others to cry hoax. Around and around the political commentators debated, and redebated the shocking footage.

Chancellor Thomas Durrant followed through on his word, and was now stepping up to the platform and the Microphone as promised. He stood there for a full minute, meeting the eyes of as many of the hundreds of reporters before him as he could. The weight of his expression prompted a flurry of flashes as camera drones captured the image. Durrant allowed all of this to happen, waiting until the din of activity settled into a heavy silence. “People of Humanity… By now, you have undoubtedly seen the shocking pictures from the far side of the galaxy. Many of you believe it to be a hoax, a desperate ploy for political points. Allow me to be clear. This is no hoax, I received these disturbing images directly from Admiral Clint Stevens, who is marshalling the forces at his disposal as we speak. He aims to do something about these orbital concentration camps, and I support his actions with the full backing of my authority as Chancellor of the United Sol Federation.”

Durrant paused, letting the information sink in before continuing, “to answer the question as to whether this is a political ploy for points. Let me be perfectly clear, I alone released the footage from inside those torture ships, and I do not care if you believe it to be a political ploy. If Humanity can see the atrocities committed to the young innocents in those images and refuse to stand up for them; I no longer would wish to lead that Humanity. Yes, we are few compared to what we once were, but we have a strength that cannot be fathomed by those who chose to side with pure evil. Make no mistake, any being that is capable of torturing and murdering children deserves the title.” The Chancellor of United Sol skewered the silent crowd with a withering gaze, “All of you here know that I have been an ardent supporter of taking a more active role against this pure evil, and my opponent has made a great many statements regarding my supposed “warmongering”. I believe that to debate him further on this matter is as wasteful as it would be irrelevant. As such, I am suspending my campaign immediately. Pending permission from donors and the campaign review board, I will be donating the totality of my campaign war-chest to the purchase of relief supplies and construction of rehabilitation facilities for these children.” Durrant paused as a wave of gasps swept through the room as a volley of flashes assaulted his eyes. “Holding the position of leader of the Human race seems so insignificant in comparison,” he said softly, almost to himself before scanning the crowd. “The election is 4 months away. If you wish to reelect me, so be it; but know this.” Thomas Durrant rose to his full height, “If you elect me this fall, know that I will use the full weight of this office to unleash the full might of Humanity upon this evil, or I will resign from my post and travel to Unity space myself.”

With that. Chancellor Thomas Durrant spun on his heals and marched off the stage.
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If you made it this far, Thank You! I hope you enjoyed the episode. If this if your first time seeing this series, I hope you will join us from the beginning. I do have a patreon that has extra content that is not main story arc, but still cannon shorts, as well as exclusive content from some of my other series. If you believe I've earned it, feel free to give it a look; but know that just coming to hang is already enough.
Have a wonderful rest of your day.
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Just so I can bring everyone to the same page of context before actually starting the story.
World of Darkness: A setting of TTRPG’s that take place in a darker grittier version of our reality, where supernatural creatures such as werewolves, vampires, wraiths, mages and so on, exist and hide from the public eye creating their own means of protection, politics and secret societies to protect themselves against humans.
Werewolf the apocalypse/Werewolf 5th edition/Werewolf 20th edition: Is the setting/system where you play as werewolves and fight the enemies of the spirit of earth Gaia. Werewolf 5th edition is the newer system and werewolf 20th edition is an older system.
Vampire the masquerade/ Vampire 5th edition/ Vampire 20th edition/VTM: It’s the World of darkness system where you play as a vampire sneaking through the shadows of cities and feeding on humans. Vampire 5th edition is the newer system, Vampire 20th edition is the older system.
Storyteller: It's the World of Darkness way of saying “Dungeon Master”, the one that runs the campaign/Chronicle.
Flaws, Merits and Backgrounds: I can explain them as essentially D&D feats but with levels to it that determine how mechanically strong the “feat” you picked up is, I can mention one where you can make bullets bounce off surfaces to hit targets and it decreases the difficulty for hitting a target behind cover or being so shockingly beautiful that you gain extra dice when you are trying to seduce someone. Backgrounds are like feats but that need to be explained by your backstory, like magical pacts, riches or even spirit pacts. And flaws are mechanical and role-play disadvantages that you need to pick on character creation, like having an enemy or being illiterate.
Actual story:
So, I’ve been a forever Storyteller ever since I got to know World of Darkness and I was aching to drop the whole responsibilities as a Storyteller and for once enjoy this rich urban fantasy setting as a player thrown into the night as any of the multiple splats. So, I saw that someone just posted a werewolf 5th edition chronicle and applied, Werewolf 5th ed is not my cup of tea, but I’m the type that is desperate enough and open minded enough to just go ahead and try any system that I can get my hands on, so when the Storyteller of that chronicle dmed me the link to join his discord server I was just overjoyed.
I started interacting with other players, they all seemed pretty nice and I even started to plan a shared backstory with one of the girl players that was pretty nice to me (I’ll call her Avery, as she is part of the horror story too). So as me and Avery were planning the shared backstory we started to wonder what some of the merits and backgrounds mechanically did within the setting as I wanted spend all of my 7 merit points (everyone gets 7) into a specific advantage called spirit pact where I essentially made a pact with a powerful spirit to make them my companion and give me a minor supernatural ability/edge, however, how fantastical these edges and how the spirits behave varies from storyteller to storyteller as some like something more fantastical while others prefer something more realistic, so I reached out to him to get some more context on how crazy I could make the pact.
Several days passed and he didn’t replied my question at all, nor any other ones I made as I wanted to know if my knowledge about werewolf 20th edition lore would help at all (Werewolf 5th edition and Werewolf 20th edition have big lore differences despite being set in the same universe, so I needed to know to not metagame and/or ruin continuity) but well, I thought that he was just a busy guy, I mean, he was also running a Vampire the masquerade game in the same server, so I was just planning on tackling these doubts I had on Tuesday when the session started. But, then I saw one of the players in the server asking for help on how to set their character sheet as apparently they were lost on what to do, so I went ahead and offered to join VC with him and run him through the character creation, I’ll call this player OZ and he is the star of this cheating story.
So as I joined VC he just asked me how the Gifts, rites and renown system works, with Gifts and Rites being the akin to werewolf magic and renown being what you use to cast magic per say. After that he said he didn’t had no other doubts and so we started a conversation in world of darkness as a whole, there he showed me that he had pretty extensive knowledge on how Vampire the Masquerade functioned, telling me old lore related to Vampire 20th edition such as a specific bloodline of the Tzimisce vampire clan (that instead of their trademark flesh crafting ability had an extremely powerful blood magical superpower) and he even told me that he participated on several vampire chronicles before in the past and well, since he seemed to know what he was doing and there was a big, pretty simplified how to make your character summary right on the first page on the “how to make your character” section, I thought that he’d not have any other issue, as character creation (at least in the 5th editions of World of Darkness books, in my opinion.), got pretty simplified and are the types where if you understand how to create one character you can created all. So after some more talking and a friendly remind that I’m also a regular storyteller that loves to help newbies and so my dms are always open, I left the call.
Oz posted his character sheet on the server for the Storyteller to review and approve and well, he did within a literal minute of him posting it (something that at the time I didn’t noticed as I doing something else and well an experienced Storyteller could’ve noticed if he did anything wrong within a minute, so I really thought he didn’t do anything wrong and simply attended to my business). However, on Sunday Avery decided stop procrastinating and finished her character sheet, finally the whole crew had their character sheets done and since they were publically available I decided to take a peak and see what we as a pack would have as our arsenal and so on. However, when I looked into Oz’s sheet things got a bit rocky.
So, to start to addressing the problems I’ll say that Oz didn’t use a regular werewolf 5th edition sheet, no, he used an abomination (aka a vampire werewolf) sheet to actually make his character to begin with and not only that, he was way, way too op for a werewolf that just had their first change. And how OP you might ask? Well, I started to question him about it and he said that he picked a skill distribution called “Specialist” a skill distribution type that offers the following: One skill at four points, Three skills at Three points, Three skills at Two points and Three skills at one point, a skill distribution that makes your character very good at something, good at some other areas but lacking in several others, however, Oz in this particular moment has the following distribution: One skill at four points, five skills at three points, six skills at two and three skills at one and aside from that, instead of having spent 7 merit points he had spent 10 and for some reason he had also 4 specialities allocated all on his physical skills, something that is just not possible at character creation as the book specifically say that you can only add new specialities on these specific skills Academics, Craft, Performance, and Science IF you actually bought them upon character creation something that he totally didn’t do.
I know this must be hard to imagine how much stronger he was than the rest of the party, so to bring it down to a more digestible context, the amount of xp you’d need to get to get that strong is Storytellers in werewolf 5th edition are recommended to give out the following amount of XP per session:
Participation = gives you 1 XP
Perform something remarkable during the session = Gives you 1 XP
Use a Skill, Gift, or other Trait in a clever or critical way =Gives you 1 XP
“Tell me something important your character learned this session.”= Gives you 1 XP
Conclude a story within the greater chronicle = Gives you 2–3 XP
This means that if he concluded all of the requirements above he’d get a minimal of 6xp and a max of 7 xp. However, not all session you can use a gift in a creative way, not all session you can perform something remarkable and not all session you conclude an important story within the chronicle, this means that great majority of the time we’d be getting 2-3 XP per session, yep, no World of Darkness game is the type that you go from zero to hero and with that in mind, he’d need (if my calculation are correct) 114 XP to actually level up his PC to be that strong, something that it would take 35-40 sessions to normally get.
When I started to question him how he exactly got so many skill points and merits he said that the storyteller approved of his character and that he just filled stuff up. I proceeded to just inform him the right skill spread for specialist and what he did wrong on his sheet and he said that he’d fix it despite the fact that the storyteller approved of his character. After that 40 minutes passed and there was silence of both the storyteller and the player just so he’d post a new character sheet, this time containing the spread of One skill at 4 points, Three skills at 3 points, Six skills at two points and three skills at 1 point, with his merits still being 10 points and still keeping the 4 specialities. At this point I started to think that he was trying to sneak some extra skill points, specialities and merits through me, because there is no way he didn’t understood what needed to be fixed when my message has attached to it literally a print from the core rule book with the details on the specialist skill spread and what he needed to change was literally:
“You have 10 merit points instead of 7, you have one extra HP that you shouldn’t have, (Hp is calculated by adding Stamina + 3 and his stamina was 3, he has 7 hp there when he should actually have 6), you still have 6 skills at two points instead of what specialist gives (3 skills at 2 points). You have 4 specialities even though you didn’t pick Academics, Craft, Performance, or Science that are the only skill trees that actually give you free specialities, otherwise you’d just start with 1.”
At this point I started to reach out to Avery and ask for her opinion on that, so she pinged Oz and the Storyteller on chat only to ask thing like “have you guys read the book” specially because he was trying passively aggressively shift the blame on his google search that apparently “mixed up werewolf 20th edition character creation rules” that he had just “skimmed through the book due to a lack of time, that he had “no help at all creating the character and had no idea on what he was doing”. I just want to emphasize that me and Avery were not trying to intimidate him at all, nor try to get a confession out of him or anything, our questions were just about if they (OZ and Storyteller) read the book or not and about what fonts Oz used to generate that character. I was really trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he was just very misguided by some crazy algorithm and coincidence, but it was a very hard pill to swallow when you consider his previous knowledge about world of darkness system, the fact that I found a full fleshed out character creation guide on Youtube by simply typing “Werewolf 5th edition character creation guide” on Youtube at the fact that he used “I thought you didn’t want to stay on VC with me by your tone of voice” when me and him the other day were having such a lovely chat and I told him multiple times that my DM’s were open in case he needed any help and if he didn’t want to bother me he could’ve just asked help on our discord server instead of making his super Saiyan werewolf. Now, at this point of the story you’d think the Storyteller would’ve at least said something, right? But hah, no, look at the tittle again, he was just DEAD SILENT.
Oz then proceeded, while we were talking, to post his last character sheet update for us, reducing his merit points to 8, and his skill points to the following: 1 skill at four points, 3 skills at three points, four skills at 2 points and three skills at one point. At this point he was either fucking with us or straight up ignorant of the rules completely, so me and Avery wanted to talk to him over VC and explain the rules to him in case he was actually just a newbie completely lost on how it all worked and if he was actually a cheater, talk to him to stop doing that and offer him new solutions for his character in case he wanted a better skill distribution, he refused to join VC with us because he was “working” until late despite his discord saying that he was playing League of legends. So instead me and Avery decide to join early before session (that was supposed to be the day after all of this happened), settle what happened and properly help him make a character, and well he agreed to it.
So fast forward to the following day, the Storyteller remained completely silent through out the whole night, morning and afternoon and two hours before the session I simply pinged Avery and Oz to see if they could join VC so we could talk it out in about 1 hour, OZ simply left the server without saying anything and I stared at my computer screen for 2 minutes before I went out to do something else. After that me and Avery joined VC a bit before session started and hang out and talk about the situation… Almost a whole hour passed and the Storyteller or any of the other players didn’t even hop on VC, it got to the point where the Avery sent a message to the Storyteller and just then he hopped on, the first thing he said? “Sorry guys, I was on another session that I joined this week and I didn’t thought it’d take this long”.
I never got so mad in my entire life, I’ve been a forever Storyteller for the past years and I was so excited to actually be the PLAYER, but despite that I needed to keep civil. Me and Avery informed him of the situation that Oz was most likely cheating, and the Storyteller said that “He was going to talk to him” not even knowing that Oz had left the server almost 3 hours ago, me and Avery just proceeded to ask him what he was going to do next and he said that he was going to call out the whole chronicle, so me and Avery just proceeded to tell him how disappointing the whole thing was and give him a few words of advice on how to improve before we left VC. Later the same night he announced that he wanted to retire from world of darkness as a whole and tried to pass the responsibility on running his vampire chronicle for someone else, after that I just left that server and friended Avery.
Now, I guess it’s time for me to go back hunting for chronicles. Wish me luck everyone and hope you enjoyed my little story.

It’s been 3 years together and 2 living together. He always believed in god and followed the Baptist religion as he was raised to by his aunt since he was 10 and lost his mother. He believed but wasn’t all about it, he would question me from time to time as he didn’t understand how I couldn’t believe in Christ. I do believe there is a creator, a god, just not one who interferes and interacts with us, I do not believe in in any religion. I never dwelled on what’s after life, I just live. We shared points of view over the years and learned a lot from eachother, we always enjoyed our time together, had fun, went on adventures, non stop laughter, a ton of deep conversation and passion, we both feel so at home with eachother, he told me he’s never really pictured having a family of his own before, until meeting me, I know in my heart how much he loves me and I him. But he was flawed, as was I, but he cheated a few times and we worked through it. He made a vow that he wants to be better for me, he wants to change and he believes he can only do this if he gets closer to god and builds a better relationship with him. I was supportive of this and even joined him in prayer before every meal. I never questioned or hindered him about this even though I didn’t quite get it. Last year he moved back with his aunt for a few months as there was some personal family business going on, he returned back to me and nothing has been the same since. He’s so into all of this now, he’s sad and broken all the time, every time I ask what’s wrong, he’s in deep thought about god but feels he can’t talk to me about it, now he says he can’t raise kids with someone who isn’t “god fearing” he was always so gentle but when the conversation of this comes up in an argument now he’s hit me once, threw things a few times, grabbed me a few times, and slapped me with a belt once. I don’t read the Bible but I know god is supposed to teach love, patience and acceptance. He’s becoming the opposite of the person who taught me true love. He apologies and says he’s just confused that it’s hard for him to accept that who he wants to raise kids with one day doesn’t believe the same as him, he tells me he will be patient and that he wants no one else, we will be good for a while, then it all happens over and over. Religion has taken the love of my life and turned them toxic. Sometimes he’s great, but then he’s sad and depressed about god but blames me because I don’t believe. This is killing me but I have to leave, I’ve never loved someone so much and it’s horrible to see that religion has created yet another divide. I needed to vent about this somewhere, there is so much more detail missing here but I can’t type forever. Thank you whoever has taken this time to read this, my first ever Reddit post, feed back would be appreciated.

Hi guys :) I have something cool to show you.
From my studies, mostly introspective, I believe I have come across a great discovery: that the ancient primordial language of man is METAPHOR (and possibly also for animals as well; this might be a bridge). In other words, pictures. But there is a catch: metaphors are not mere pictures. If I say "God is the sun" I am not saying that God is literally a sun.
How I came about this discovery: if you try really really hard to express yourself, to come up with exactly the right sentence -- or even exactly the right WORD, you hit a massive wall. The closer you come to perfection, the more tantalizingly far away becomes the prize. You think you've found exactly the right word to describe something, or to describe your feelings but nothing quite fits. You get really close. But then you look in closer and see if the word truly resonates with what you want to say, and it is amiss. It is a fun game to play, in a way.
For me, when I hit this massive wall, it is very frustrating. I cannot truly capture what I mean and feel. But then a vista opens up, the walls disintegrate into light dust. A picture appears to me. An image. A symbol, if you will. AND this picture/metaphor captures what I wanted to say, what I really mean, PERFECTLY. And that is what shocks me, that anything can be perfect. But this is.
So my hypothesis is: preverbal metaphors are translated into words. We are generally not aware of this process. That's why it may require introspection. In other words, there is meaning, which is invisible and empty (or so it seems) which then, when we want to speak or write or make it materialize, we convert into words. Like one energy being translated into another. This translation is not perfect. This invisible energy is actually the metaphor.
Metaphors, such as "God is the sun", trap an enormous amount of meaning into them. People say "A picture is worth a million words." But this is even better -- metaphors trap a trillion words within them. This metaphor can be unpackaged, but the resulting words will never fully reflect its original state.
Here's some dumb examples:
"There is electricity all over my body" (I try to find the word to describe what I am feeling. I try "anxiety", "nervous", "scared", "worried", "tense". None of them fits. It is very frustrating. Perhaps I am a perfectionist. But, then, like I said perfection can actually be achieved. The image comes to: my body with electricity zigzagging through my whole body. This fits the feeling exactly, it is a perfect fit. Just the right resonance.)
I had another example but I forget it 🙁 My memory is very bad. (If I think of it I will put it in a comment.) What I mean by "dumb" examples isn't really that they're dumb, but just that's it's hard to find an example that isn't super personal and embarrassing but not too boring either so that the example loses all vividness entirely.
A softer version of my hypothesis: This metaphor stuff is only true of me. But I doubt that. It is possible that I am more visual than most, because I am deaf. These days, since this discovery, I think of metaphors as my natural language, my mother tongue. It is beautiful. My second language is writing (I don't know why). And my third language, quite dusty, is talking.
What about you? Do you share this experience too? Are metaphors your primordial harbingers of meaning? (Do you believe in the preverbal? And if so, what is its nature?) Thank you so much! I would love to hear your experiences.
Note: in my other posts I said I wasn't going to reply to comments, but I change my mind. I will definitely reply to your comments. I don't have much to say/post anymore, so I have time to reply now.

We're all keeping an eye out for the next big 'meme coin' project, the next Doge or Shib, something that can take us to the Moon and change our lives. And in the quagmire of rug pulls, bots, scammers, and wall to wall shilling of new projects it's hard to pick a winner, we're all in the same boat folks.
The metrics on Kendu are easy to find, and if you haven't you should DYOR there, but the metrics are not what seperate Kendu from the swamp, yes the metrics are growing rapidly, Shytoshi etc etc, but it is the vision of the Dev and the energy of the community that makes Kendu different.
If you've spent any time in meme coin telegram you'll know that so many of these new meme coin chats are full of bots, scammers and have low genuine community involvement. Kendus telegram chat gives a good indication of the solidarity of this project, it's extremely active and vibrant, but it's also very kind, welcoming and supportive, they do not allow any bots and scammers are booted within seconds. The community is cranking at all times (not uncommon to wake up to 4k unread messages), being driven by the lead Dev, the core team and early holders, who you can speak with directly at any time, they encourage everyone to get involved, they build hype and spread kindness, and most importantly they have fun.
Although I have personally spoken with the lead Dev Miazaki in one of their regular Dev spaces, I've spent a lot more time listening to him speak with his core team and to newcomers. This guy is different, I certainly wouldn't describe him as the most eloquent person I've followed, he's one of those people that is a little unhinged in some way, a bit of a nut, we all know the type, there's plenty of them out there and they're mostly considered to be a bit loose, but every now and then one of them does something great, beyond great even, in the way that no normal one of us could ever do, I believe that along with Miazaki's boundless vision and ambition, he is a born leader, and this combination makes him different.
Miazaki doesn't call kendu a meme coin, and that has lead me to ponder on what a meme coin is, which as far as I can tell is nothing, it has no inherent value, it doesn't even exist, it's built entirely on human emotion, the price rides on waves of emotion, nothing more. Perhaps what we call meme coins are part of the greater evolution of wealth and economies, we started trading shells, then coins, then folding, we built massive economies that merged together and are now merging with the internet. Perhaps the creation of meme coins is part of a greater evolution, leaving products and services behind and growing an economy on human emotion, and where does that lead? What is it showing us?
This is the type of vision Miazaki has. I believe he can see a bigger picture, and he has drive, and he's a leader. It's a deadly combination folks. He's pushing to create a movement that is 100% community driven that could be part of changing the game, part of the greater evolution.
The current price of Kendu is also a good indicator, it's holding a floor around $35M market cap so it's not a huge risk, all the metrics are growing and if this goes where Miazaki dreams, it's still very early.
I'm not suggesting you ape in, just relax your judgement for a moment, take a look at the telegram, take a look at some other community telegrams if you haven't, try to get a sense of the community, the vision and the potential of Kendu. If you can afford it, throw a bit in and get involved with the community, it's fun, you'll meet a lot of new and interesting people and make some new connections. And maybe, just maybe, Kendu will change the game

We're all keeping an eye out for the next big 'meme coin' project, the next Doge or Shib, something that can take us to the Moon and change our lives. And in the quagmire of rug pulls, bots, scammers, and wall to wall shilling of new projects it's hard to pick a winner, we're all in the same boat folks.
The metrics on Kendu are easy to find, and if you haven't you should DYOR there, but the metrics are not what seperate Kendu from the swamp, yes the metrics are growing rapidly, Shytoshi etc etc, but it is the vision of the Dev and the energy of the community that makes Kendu different.
If you've spent any time in meme coin telegram you'll know that so many of these new meme coin chats are full of bots, scammers and have low genuine community involvement. Kendus telegram chat gives a good indication of the solidarity of this project, it's extremely active and vibrant, but it's also very kind, welcoming and supportive, they do not allow any bots and scammers are booted within seconds. The community is cranking at all times (not uncommon to wake up to 4k unread messages), being driven by the lead Dev, the core team and early holders, who you can speak with directly at any time, they encourage everyone to get involved, they build hype and spread kindness, and most importantly they have fun.
Although I have personally spoken with the lead Dev Miazaki in one of their regular Dev spaces, I've spent a lot more time listening to him speak with his core team and to newcomers. This guy is different, I certainly wouldn't describe him as the most eloquent person I've followed, he's one of those people that is a little unhinged in some way, a bit of a nut, we all know the type, there's plenty of them out there and they're mostly considered to be a bit loose, but every now and then one of them does something great, beyond great even, in the way that no normal one of us could ever do, I believe that along with Miazaki's boundless vision and ambition, he is a born leader, and this combination makes him different.
Miazaki doesn't call kendu a meme coin, and that has lead me to ponder on what a meme coin is, which as far as I can tell is nothing, it has no inherent value, it doesn't even exist, it's built entirely on human emotion, the price rides on waves of emotion, nothing more. Perhaps what we call meme coins are part of the greater evolution of wealth and economies, we started trading shells, then coins, then folding, we built massive economies that merged together and are now merging with the internet. Perhaps the creation of meme coins is part of a greater evolution, leaving products and services behind and growing an economy on human emotion, and where does that lead? What is it showing us?
This is the type of vision Miazaki has. I believe he can see a bigger picture, and he has drive, and he's a leader. It's a deadly combination folks. He's pushing to create a movement that is 100% community driven that could be part of changing the game, part of the greater evolution.
The current price of Kendu is also a good indicator, it's holding a floor around $35M market cap so it's not a huge risk, all the metrics are growing and if this goes where Miazaki dreams, it's still very early.
I'm not suggesting you ape in, just relax your judgement for a moment, take a look at the telegram, take a look at some other community telegrams if you haven't, try to get a sense of the community, the vision and the potential of Kendu. If you can afford it, throw a bit in and get involved with the community, it's fun, you'll meet a lot of new and interesting people and make some new connections. And maybe, just maybe, Kendu will change the game

Welp. Sorry for the long time between posts, just been on the grind in ranked myself. But in any case lets cover a map that is becoming a make or break for VCT at the moment, Lotus.
As a general disclaimer, I am not a professional analyst, coach, or player (only recently have I peeked mid to high Silver) and this is just a theory crafting frame work inspired by LS and his methodology with League of Legends. All information is gathered from vlr.gg, going back as far as when the map was first playable in pro-play, and only aggregating results from the highest tiers of pro-play; the Partnered Leagues of VCT. This includes League play and International Events.
Here is a table of games played on Lotus, by event and region, and given a percentage of all maps played

League	2023 (824 maps played)	Kick-Off (189)	Masters Madrid (45)	Split 1 (382)
Americas	37 (4%)	3 (1%)	4 (8%)	17 (4%)
CN	35 (4%)	8 (4%)	1 (2%)	14 (3%)
EMEA	48 (5%)	9 (4%)	5 (11%)	15 (3%)
Pacific	35 (4%)	10 (5%)	6 (13%)	26 (6%)
Total	155 (18%)	30 (15%)	16 (35%)	72 (18%)

Major Features: As the second map to feature 3 sites; Lotus is an attacker sided map, with long cross map rotations, and a defending team needing to spread themselves thin to cover all the sites. With wide open areas on the A and C Sites, Area clearing, and scouting util is valued heavily. Thus it is no wonder that this is the predominant team composition that exists on Lotus
META

	Black	Blue	Green	Red	White
Fade		5	4		3
Killjoy		4	3		5
Omen	3	5			4
Raze		4		5
Viper		5	4	3
Total	3	23	11	8	12

At this moment, majority of professional play has settled that this comp is best equip to answer the demands of Lotus. With utilities that can cover large amounts of the map. There is a running theme with this comp, as Raze, Viper, Killjoy all have utils like Showstopper, Paint Shells, Snake Bite, and Nanoswarm that can either be used to slow/deny pushes, deny defuses, and in general litter damage on the heads of those in bad positions on Lotus. Because of the general size of Lotus, and the few close quarters areas of the map being isolated to B, Flashes don't necessarily gets lots of value, nor do they have impact when used on sites like A or C. Omen's From the Shadows assists in his ability to rotate on Defense and Attack, and also to pick up the spike for a cross map plant. Fade to not just gather intel, but also to have a better hit on a site with her Nightfall.
Several teams have attempted to make some changes and variations to this comp, but their results have been few and far between. Such as adding Breach, Neon, Deadlock, Astra, Gekko and Chamber. How ever much I wish there was better news, I don't really see Lotus' Meta changing any time soon. However for our own games, where it is a lot looser; I do have a suggestion of a comp for you five stacks to try out.
Comp Idea 1 - Retool

	Black	Blue	Green	Red	White
Fade		5	4		3
Gekko	4	5	3
Harbor		4	5
Killjoy		4	3		5
Raze		4		5
Total	4	22	15	5	8

Replacing the Viper with a Harbor, will provide more flexibility, and double up on site execution with Fade's Nightfall and Harbor's Reckoning. Gekko providing a 6th man, with Wingman plants and defuses, and possibly the largest non-ultimate Mollie in Moshpit. This comp is designed to hit and retake, and execute hard on a site.
Now the following composition is truly hair brained, and only those brave enough and coordinated enough to try it should attempt to use it.
Comp idea 2 - Silent but deadly

	Black	Blue	Green	Red	White
Astra	2	5	4		3
Fade		5	4		3
Omen	3	5			4
Raze		4		5
Yoru		4	3	5	2
Total	5	23	11	10	12

There is no looking back, only hit. With a combo of Omen Paranoia/Fade Nightfall with Astra Cosmic; we will enable a deep Yoru Dimensional Drift invade into a site. We strike decisively, rob them of their hearing, Yoru exits out of Dimensional Drift, gun and flash ready, melt 2 enemies in seconds, take hold of site and push into CT.
Hope these help with your own theory crafting.

We're all keeping an eye out for the next big 'meme coin' project, the next Doge or Shib, something that can take us to the Moon and change our lives. And in the quagmire of rug pulls, bots, scammers, and wall to wall shilling of new projects it's hard to pick a winner, we're all in the same boat folks.
The metrics on Kendu are easy to find, and if you haven't you should DYOR there, but the metrics are not what seperate Kendu from the swamp, yes the metrics are growing rapidly, Shytoshi etc etc, but it is the vision of the Dev and the energy of the community that makes Kendu different.
If you've spent any time in meme coin telegram you'll know that so many of these new meme coin chats are full of bots, scammers and have low genuine community involvement. Kendus telegram chat gives a good indication of the solidarity of this project, it's extremely active and vibrant, but it's also very kind, welcoming and supportive, they do not allow any bots and scammers are booted within seconds. The community is cranking at all times (not uncommon to wake up to 4k unread messages), being driven by the lead Dev, the core team and early holders, who you can speak with directly at any time, they encourage everyone to get involved, they build hype and spread kindness, and most importantly they have fun.
Although I have personally spoken with the lead Dev Miazaki in one of their regular Dev spaces, I've spent a lot more time listening to him speak with his core team and to newcomers. This guy is different, I certainly wouldn't describe him as the most eloquent person I've followed, he's one of those people that is a little unhinged in some way, a bit of a nut, we all know the type, there's plenty of them out there and they're mostly considered to be a bit loose, but every now and then one of them does something great, beyond great even, in the way that no normal one of us could ever do, I believe that along with Miazaki's boundless vision and ambition, he is a born leader, and this combination makes him different.
Miazaki doesn't call kendu a meme coin, and that has lead me to ponder on what a meme coin is, which as far as I can tell is nothing, it has no inherent value, it doesn't even exist, it's built entirely on human emotion, the price rides on waves of emotion, nothing more. Perhaps what we call meme coins are part of the greater evolution of wealth and economies, we started trading shells, then coins, then folding, we built massive economies that merged together and are now merging with the internet. Perhaps the creation of meme coins is part of a greater evolution, leaving products and services behind and growing an economy on human emotion, and where does that lead? What is it showing us?
This is the type of vision Miazaki has. I believe he can see a bigger picture, and he has drive, and he's a leader. It's a deadly combination folks. He's pushing to create a movement that is 100% community driven that could be part of changing the game, part of the greater evolution.
The current price of Kendu is also a good indicator, it's holding a floor around $35M market cap so it's not a huge risk, all the metrics are growing and if this goes where Miazaki dreams, it's still very early.
I'm not suggesting you ape in, just relax your judgement for a moment, take a look at the telegram, take a look at some other community telegrams if you haven't, try to get a sense of the community, the vision and the potential of Kendu. If you can afford it, throw a bit in and get involved with the community, it's fun, you'll meet a lot of new and interesting people and make some new connections. And maybe, just maybe, Kendu will change the game

So I’m currently going through some ugly stuff with my ex-husband, and it looks like it just keeps getting uglier.
I got a email tonight.
My Ex took a screenshot of our son (8) with MY daughter (2.5) in the background naked.
Email from Ex:
So I have issues with some parenting with our son who has gotten in trouble for touching people yet their daughter is allowed to naked wrestle. Jump on him naked right after this she opens her labia over his head .
It’s one thing to be in a diaper or something but this perpetuates a bad standard (Inserts Picture of my naked daughter)
His attorney:
Huge issues on the ‘x’ case. Please have this remedied ASAP. The child's sibling of a different sex does not need to be around their child naked. This is an enormous concern and could potentially require cabinet involvement. Please follow up with me tomorrow about this.
My attorney forwarded it all to me and just said children should not be naked around each other.
My daughter is potty training🤯 Her potty is set up in the living room. She’s doing great and I’m proud of her. At this point I’m happy when she chooses to strip down and get naked to potty. We celebrate!
(Note the trouble he’s talking about was my son was playing tag with the neighborhood kids and thought it would be funny to tag them by touching their butt. Nothing sexualized he has adhd and is really socially awkward. )
Is there guidelines somewhere pertaining to ages of siblings and bathing, changing clothes, potty training ect. Or if he presses this forward is it just up to CPS or the judges personal opinion?
Further more it’s weird AF he’s talking screenshots of my daughter naked. He’s a total narcissist and our relationship was and still is toxic AF. After I left him I caught wind that someone was accusing him of rape (not sure if he was found guilty but I did see official documents) and he was a serial cheater. I rarely got the opportunity to snoop through his laptop. But I did once (10-11 years ago) and there was tons of porn links; some which included ‘pre-teen’&’underage’ keywords. I did tell his momma at the time but no way in hell she’s vouch for me, so no proof.
I know there’s a stretch from 2.5 and teen. But still.
What would you do?

For those that don't look into Mortal Kombat Lore, the Hourglass from said series is what creates a timeline or two. It can even delete a timeline or two. With each timeline created from the Hourglass allows different destinies for every being. The Hourglass is not only the source of all time but all of reality itself as harming it (i.e poor usage and damage) would disrupt both time and reality together. Only a Keeper of Time can use the Hourglass.
Alright. Now that I mentioned the Hourglass from Mortal Kombat, here's a fun question for you all: If the Hourglass HAPPENED to create a new timeline for everyone and everything in Gensokyo, what will change? Roles? Events? etc.
Here's what I will change:
1.) Mizuchi is peacekeeping human shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine. The Shrine's goddess is Reimu who is also the mother figure to Mizuchi similar to Kanako and Sanae.
2.) The Sages, Yukari, Kasen and Okina consider eachother as allies through and through. They'll maintain order in Gensokyo together. They also acknowledge eachother as sisters.
3.) Yuyuko and Mokou fully acknowledge themselves as family since Saigyouji and Fujiwara are related.
So. How would you picture a new timeline for Gensokyo thanks to the Hourglass? Comment below.

Shortly before a final paper with pre-assigned topics was due for one of my last courses at Columbia University, our professor sent us an email telling us to forego the previous parameters of the essay, and to instead write about the events that had occurred not even forty-eight hours earlier, as well as our reflections on them, to be done in any manner we chose. Here is a very lightly revised version of what I submitted: read it, ignore it, upvote it, downvote it, hate it, love it.
I am prefacing this essay by stating that it is the culmination of several intense emotions that I have been dealing with over the last few weeks, more specifically, the last several days. It is a free-form expression of the many things occupying my mind, and, as such, it may seem overwhelming or disjointed. Nevertheless, I will do my best to convey my feelings into something representative of my beliefs, and my time at this institution.
My time at Columbia University has been bookended in an almost comically bad way; it started with Zoom classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now it ends with Zoom final exams due to the lockdown of Columbia’s campus after protests regarding the Israel – Palestine conflict reached a fever pitch not just within Morningside Campus, but the international stage. My classmates and I missed in-person orientation, and now, given recent developments, we will not have a University Commencement, a fact I found out not from Columbia, but a New York Times alert, somehow lowering my opinion of this administration’s handling of recent events even more. While the circumstances around my time at Columbia have now both begun and finished in the same manner, I am proud to say that I have not. I do not mean that Columbia has simply made me a better writer, a more critical thinker, or more well read, although it certainly has done those things, sometimes forcing me to when I was not particularly in the mood to do so, but those improvements pale in comparison to the maturity and empathy my time at this university has given me.
When the decision to transition to remote learning during the Spring 2020 semester was made, occurring only a short time after I had received my acceptance letter (email), my first thought was how the pandemic would affect my transfer from community college to Columbia in September. Admittedly, this was a selfish perspective, considering the tremendous challenges that many would endure during the ensuing lockdowns and other upheavals of life. My concerns were solely focused on myself because I was on a simple track to graduate, place my degree on my resumé, and continue my trajectory of military service to college to employment, leaving little else to consideration, to include other people who were not in my immediate circle. Sitting here now, two weeks from graduation, with a job at a Fortune 500 company lined up, I should be happy, with the plans I had made years ago coming to fruition. Yet I cannot help feeling a sense of sadness and concern for the school I have spent years of my life at, and for the world as a whole.
James Hatch, a former member of the United States’s elite Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU, for short, more commonly known by its nickname, Seal Team Six, famous for its involvement in the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the rescue of the Maersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips from pirates, amongst other things, spent over twenty years in the military. After being wounded on a mission to rescue American serviceman sergeant Bowe Bergdahl from enemy forces, he was medically discharged, and would eventually attend Yale University. While there, he wrote a piece titled My Semester with the Snowflakes (please give this a read, it will help people who have never been in the military understand its culture, along with some of the challenges veterans face when transitioning to college), where he details his initial discomfort with being in a vastly different environment than the military, surrounded by individuals who possessed opinions and beliefs contrary to the ones he was accustomed to. He recalls witnessing a student protest the country he spent over two decades serving by coating her hand in red paint, and leaving a palm print on an American flag, and details his shock when a classmate of his explained to him what a “safe space” was, as well as his pride when he began to understand the nuances of life both inside and outside of the nation he dedicated twenty-six years to.
I can relate to Mr. Hatch, (despite my service paling in comparison to his, as well as the fact that Columbia is far superior to Yale), because, like his friends who make fun of him for attending college with a bunch of “snowflakes,” mine do the same. More significantly, however, his personal growth during his time at school is something that I have experienced myself. When I started at Columbia, I did not even know which major I would choose, and was largely lost in a world very different than the one I had come from. Despite this, I made the decision to avoid communities such as MilVets and the students who made it very clear that they came from a military background, with their style of dress and demeanor, not because those organizations and individuals are a detriment; I know for a fact that MilVets has helped countless students succeed at Columbia and beyond, and the veterans that I have relationships with are all phenomenal people, but because I wanted to pressure myself into being exposed to something different. I was uncomfortable at first, but this turned out to be the right decision. I learned as much from simply talking to people whom I would normally never converse with about topics and ideas that I had never encountered as I did during classes about great works of art, polar and Cartesian coordinates, literature, astronomy, the list goes on.
If the protests about the Israel – Palestine conflict had occurred when I first started at Columbia, I would have been frustrated by the students taking up space, forcing us to be funneled on to campus by restricted access points and identification checks. Likely irritated by the disturbance of the quiet during finals season, I would have agreed with the people who called for students to simply focus on their assignments and stop inconveniencing others by shouting about something occurring on the other side of the world. Instead, I decided to learn about the conflict, educating myself about both sides of a war that has roots extending back millennia. While Columbia University did not agree to the demands of the protestors, they achieved something else they surely desired, reaching a goal they did not state to President Shafik and her advisors: they brought attention to their cause by educating at least one additional person about it.
After reading, talking to people, listening to input from students within various classes, and understanding that things such as the intertwined nature of financial workings, as well as conflicts not just in the Middle East, but all over the world, are a level of complexity that baffles some of the most brilliant minds of ours and previous generations, I will leave my thoughts about Israel and Palestine separate from this paper. I recognize that it is important to choose a side, as remaining impartial helps no one. However, when every news agency, group and individual makes their voice heard, satirical sources such as The Onion make these kind of posts, or Adult Swim’s Rick, the nihilistic, narcissistic, psychopathic, misanthropic lead character from the series Rick and Morty, addresses the conflict in this manner, I feel that it is better to relegate myself to a much smaller part of this debate, namely the occurrences on Columbia University’s Morningside Campus.
During basic training for the United States Army, a sense of brotherhood and camaraderie is hammered into recruits’ identities. When you graduate and are assigned to a unit, one where you could be thousands of miles from home on the opposite side of the country, or even in a completely different country, serving on one of the international bases, approaching someone who you have never met before is easy. Talking to them about shared experiences and stories you have in common, and the bonding that occurs, is the product of an indoctrination process and lifestyle that has existed longer than any of us have been alive, and is proof of its effectiveness. This sense of familiarity tends to continue even when one leaves the military. The Veterans of Foreign Wars community is a place for prior servicemembers of all conflicts to share a drink, a laugh, and sometimes a tear. When I go to the Veterans Administration Hospital for periodic check-ups or the occasional injury, men and woman wearing hats commemorating their service during Vietnam waiting for their appointments greet me with a smile and a handshake, as if we have known each other for years. While working at a golf club’s greens department before I transferred to Columbia from community college, a coworker of mine who had served in the Gulf War had heard from our supervisor that I had been in the Army, and he introduced himself to me on my first day, before anyone else, telling me that if I needed anything, I only had to ask. This camaraderie has expanded to encompass not just veterans, but first responders such as firemen, EMT’s, and the police as well.
Underneath the picture on my driver’s license, the word “veteran” is emblazoned next to a star, written in bright red text and all capital letters. I know for a fact that this one-and-a-half-inch indicator has helped me during interactions with law enforcement on multiple occasions. Only earlier this semester, during Presidents’ Day weekend, I went upstate to spend time with my family. While driving back, in an effort to make the seven-hour trip at a reasonable time, I was stopped for going twenty miles-per-hour over the speed limit. The officer who pulled me over, initially reserved, became noticeably more friendly when I handed him my license and registration. Ultimately, he gave me what amounted to a parking ticket for my actions, rather than the point-incurring, heavily fined moving violation he could have charged me with.
The ‘Thin Blue Line,’ as it is known, is a reference to the idea that the police are the barrier between law abiding citizens and criminals, order and chaos. The most common representation of this concept is a black-and-white American flag, with a single blue line in the place where a red or white stripe would normally be. This style has been expanded to include numerous other colors representing other first-responders: green for the military, red and white no longer to be interpreted as the traditional stripes of the American flag, but instead meant to represent the fire department and paramedics, and even grey for corrections officers. Seeing the appropriation of one of the most iconic symbols in the world, one that flies above the White House, schools, homes, national and international events, and even the Moon, I can say, as someone who has been unwillingly entangled within that appropriation, is nothing short of terrifying.
The fact that these entities and their supporters have literally sewn themselves into the fabric of the symbol of our nation makes one think that there is little room for the countless other occupations, aspects and people that make up this country. The idea of the police being the sole protectors of our society is patently absurd, and all one must do is point out the many instances of police brutality occurring over the years to refute it. I find myself thinking of how much power the officer who stopped me just three months ago had over me. Initially, I was happy that I had received a slap on the wrist, but recently I have found myself wondering what if my license did not state that I was a veteran, would he have charged me with a ticket that would have had much more serious implications? What if he was simply having a bad day, and he decided he did not like the look of me, or the color of my car, and I was the one who he ultimately decided to vent his frustrations on? This traffic infraction, an incredibly small incident compared to all the turmoil in the world, one that involves two strangers, supposedly bonded by our professions, on the side of a quiet, New York highway, serves as a metaphor to me, reminding me of the power structures at play on a much larger scale.
On April 22^nd, 2024, I received this email, one of the many Clery Crime Alerts that students are automatically sent. An affiliate of Columbia University had their car stolen at gunpoint by two masked men on Claremont Avenue, not even a five-minute walk from campus. I skimmed the report, and almost immediately forgot about it, recognizing that crime is an inevitability in major cities, and that I needed to start my commute to school. Days later, on the night of April 30^th, 2024, I received another email from Columbia, containing one of the most ominous messages I had ever seen, one that put the kind of fear in my heart that not even the alert of an armed carjacking could. Columbia’s Emergency Management Operations Team, offering no explanations, specifications, or even a greeting or sign-off, wrote in bold letters these three sentences: “Shelter in place for your safety due to heightened activity on the Morningside campus. Non-compliance may result in disciplinary action. Avoid the area until further notice.” Due to the protests on campus during recent weeks, President Shafik testifying before Congress, Columbia’s role as one of the main catalysts for student protests around the country, and the occupation of Hamilton Hall occurring in the earlier hours of that day, it was not hard to figure out what the email was referencing. Over the next several hours, I followed news agencies, remained glued to the Columbia subreddit, and listened to WKCR, in awe of these eighteen- to twenty-two-year-old students putting themselves at risk to deliver on the ground, accurate, unbiased coverage of one of the most significant events in the school’s history.
While tracking the events from multiple perspectives, to include the social media accounts of those near and on campus live streaming them, I held out hope that the university would make good on their promise from several days earlier to not invite the NYPD back, but a frightening picture began to unfold, one that I was intimately familiar with. One WKCR reporter stated that 114^th street had so many officers on it that he could not see the asphalt of the road beneath them, and I knew that the staging area the NYPD had chosen was one of the best routes for moving towards what the military, and presumably law enforcement, would call an ‘objective.’ The officers cleared the smaller ‘objective,’ the largely unoccupied tents in front of Butler, and then moved towards Hamilton Hall, ordering even those not associated with its occupation to disperse, raising my stress levels and likely those of others, as it is rarely a good sign when police do not want their actions recorded and archived. After the initial entry to campus and clearing of areas and people in the immediate vicinity of Hamilton Hall, came the Long-Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, a device that makes a megaphone sound like a whisper, and one known for its crowd-control potential, capable of producing sounds loud enough to cause damage to ear-drums, nausea, and headaches, ordering individuals to clear away. The NYPD began its execution of tactics in a way that my fellow soldiers and I used to rehearse, tactics I never dreamed that I would witness outside of the military, and certainly not by police officers who vastly outnumbered unarmed students on their own campus. The NYPD created a perimeter, or a ‘second layer of security’ to both provide reinforcements for the officers entering the building, and to prevent the fleeing of what are called ‘squirters,’ or individuals who attempt to escape the building after the raid begins. While the ‘breach’ team moved towards the front doors, using tools from a ‘hooligan kit,’ such as bolt cutters, hand-held battering rams and crowbars, a siege machine was brought in to allow access from a window; when taking over a building, the idea is to overwhelm it from as many different directions as possible to better disorient and overwhelm its occupants. Flash-bang grenades, described as non-lethal, but known to have harmful effects, were thrown inside, presumably before entering any room, hallway, or otherwise enclosed area to minimize the resistance of anyone unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of what can only be described as an assault on the visual and auditory senses. According to the Manhattan District Attorney, one of the officers inside Hamilton Hall had what is called in the military a “negligent discharge,” meaning his firearm went off unintentionally. While no one was hurt, the question remains why at least one, and more likely, numerous other officers were carrying guns loaded with live ammunition in the first place, when they so drastically outmatched the protestors in numbers and equipment. Additionally, a negligent discharge is an act of incompetence that would result in an active-duty soldier facing serious consequences, and derision from his peers. So far, the officer remains defended by his coworkers, and unpunished by his superiors.
As all this unfolded, I communicated with my friends from the past and present. My friends from the military checked on me to ensure that I was okay, as did my friends from school. The difference in how they viewed these events highlights what I believe is the change in myself that I stated I am most proud of at the beginning of this paper. My friends from the military were commenting that the assertion of order and control by way of militarized tactics was necessary, not concerning themselves with the human toll and destruction of trust that came along with it. Conversely, my schoolmates lamented the brutality and overstepping of boundaries that the NYPD and Columbia’s administration committed, one that turned a place meant to be a beacon of free speech, expression, and ideas, into what is now a police-state with strict control over who enters it.
My education inside and outside the classroom at this institution has challenged, thrilled, and changed me. Sitting here now, at the end of this paper, the end of the semester, and the end of my time at Columbia University, I am left feeling confused and sad regarding recent events, but also hopeful for the future. I know from experience that the students, teachers, and culture of this school have the power to encourage critical thinking and initiate personal growth. If it did those things for me, surely it can do the same for others

Recently bought a 2000 for quite cheap. It came with the original charger and 2 off-brand batteries. The batteries can only run for 1 hour of gaming, then automatically shut itself down. Two days ago I bought a 3.7V 603450 rechargable battery (with preinstalled circuit) to replace the cell in my battery. After replacing, the device boots up. P-Tester acknowledge the battery, and shows 71% health. I then shut it down and let it charge for a while when suddenly the screen lit up in white color, then shuts down. I tried to turn the PSP on using the switch, but it flashes green for a few sec then shuts down. Any other key combination won't boot up. When charging, the power LED turns red but can't boot up after the red light disappearing. Replacing the unmodified battery makes no change. I'm aware that it is either a blocked battery or bricked device. Below are pictures of my unmodified battery and the circuitry of the modified one.

alright y'all, i'm in cosmetology school right now and i have about a month before i'm in the clinic floor full time! this is my first all over color and i'm really happy with how it came out. only thing i would change about the result is a deeper shadow root - i was going for more of a brownish red, but her hair was really porous and took the color a little too well, resulting in a red hue at the root.
would love any advice, critique, praise, etc.! i'm here for it all, let me know what you think.

Animal‌-Man/Swamp‌ ‌Thing

Issue‌ 32:‌ ‌ The Pale Wanderer
Written‌ ‌by‌ ‌Deadislandman1
Edited‌ ‌by‌ PatrollinTheMojave
 
Next‌ ‌Issue‌ ‌> ‌Coming‌ ‌Soon
 
Arc: Flesh and Bark‌ ‌
 ‌ ‌
‌  ‌ ‌
Then
An arc of purple lightning flashed across the night sky of the Boneyard, splitting the dark sky in twain as Capucine trudged across the ashy wastes of the realm. A cold gale ripped through the land, chilling the warrior to the bone, yet after centuries of time living in the Rot’s home realm, it felt identical to the ocean breeze that graced her every evening of her monastic childhood. Anxious, she fiddled with her leather armor, tightening every strap and support to make sure they were all in the right positions. She double checked that her sheath was properly tied to her belt, and that the steel sword within was sharp and clean.
He would catch up to her sooner or later, almost certainly before she made it to the portal. It wasn’t hard to pick that fact up. The Boneyard always became a little rougher when he wasn’t happy. She’d endeavored to spare him a difficult conversation, but perhaps that was too optimistic a hope. He was smart for someone his age, even if he’d made such a grave mistake.
Perhaps she was trying to spare herself the labor of having a conversation, rather than trying to keep the adolescent Avatar’s emotions in check. Perhaps she was just running from her problems, something she couldn’t remember ever doing before. Perhaps her ambitions to steer the young Avatar towards better decisions was the wrong choice on her part.
…No. Her advice was invaluable, she knew that much, and William Holland took that advice well. She just wasn’t in much of a position to give advice anymore.
Climbing atop an gray, dusty hill, Capucine gazed at the portal back to the physical world, composed of a miasma of swirling bones and inky fluids. To the unadjusted nose, it smelled absolutely foul, but to Capucine it smelled no different than the rest of the Boneyard. This was her ticket back, to somewhere where she’d do… something.
She didn’t know what that something was. In fact, she felt nauseous at the idea of wandering the world for centuries yet again with no real goal or purpose, though when considering the alternative, Capucine was ready to step right through the portal, even if her reason for leaving was so small in the grand scheme of things.
Breathless, Capucine took one step towards the portal, only for a boom of thunder to shake the realm. Capucine stopped dead in her tracks, sighing. William didn’t need to say anything to get her attention, as she turned around, coming face to face with the young Avatar.
He’d grown quite a bit in the three years she’d been advising him. His mane of red hair had regained some of its color, and across his pale face stood the beginnings of a beard, with bits of pronounced stubble around his chin and above his lips. He remained as gaunt as ever, yet he’d also grown much taller since his beginning as the Rot’s leader. He looked Capucine in the eyes, keeping his expression as blank as possible, “I got your note.”
Capucine narrowed her eyes, “So you did.”
William’s bottom lip quivered, “There’s no way I can change your mind…is there?”
“Not that I can see,” Capucine remarked.
William’s head drifted to the side as he attempted to avert his gaze, hiding his eyes from Capucine behind his wild hair. He choked back something, maybe a sob, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I said. It was a mistake.”
Capucine took a step forward, feeling the urge to console the boy, yet as she reached out towards him, she found herself frozen by trepidation. She was not a woman of gentle words, and this was a situation that called for them. Rescinding her hand, she stepped back towards the portal, “What’s done is done. I do not hate you, William Arcane, but I cannot stay here.”
Capucine turned her back on William, readying herself to step through the portal. She took one step, then another before William spoke once more, “Tefé.”
Capucine stopped, electing not to turn back and face the young Avatar. Realizing that she was waiting for him to continue, William spoke again, “My sister. I know her, she’s got a good heart, but she’s not like me. She’s not an Avatar. She could always use someone to watch her back.”
For a moment, Capucine did not answer, and the silence seemed to push William to take a few steps back. Turning, he began to walk away, unable to think of much else to say, when Capucine finally answered back, “If she is the sister of William Arcane…then I know her to be someone of good character. Your advice is invaluable, Avatar. Thank you.”
Without another word, Capucine stepped through the portal, disappearing from the Boneyard. William stared at the portal for what felt like hours before he finally shuddered, his shaky breathing accompanied by a single tear that froze up on its way down his cheek, stopping short as a bead of ice just before it fell off of his jaw.
Now
“So you’re here because my brother suggested it?”
“That’s correct.”
Capucine answered Tefé’s inquiry in a dry manner, keeping most of her focus on cleaning the gasoline off her sword with a rag. She sat upon the corpse of the formerly living infected tree, using it as a comfortable log of sorts while Maxine and Tefé remained in their canoe, having managed to dock it by tying it to a nearby set of protruding roots. It was about noon now, and the Florida heat had become unbearable. Maxine wiped her forehead, expecting that she’d probably be dead without the trees as a shield from the sun.
Tefé rubbed her throat, recovering from the vice grip of the tree, “I…how is he? He’s not in trouble is he?”
“Far from it. Your brother is doing better than most. He’s got a keen mind for leadership, and the Rot endures with him as its head,” Capucine sheathed her sword. “He doesn’t need my advice anymore, and I do the world no favors remaining at his side. If I am to continue the preservation of a better world, then it’s best I accompany you instead.”
Tefé grumbled a little, but also couldn’t help but smile, “So the little rascal thinks I need a hand, huh? Thinks I need advice.”
Tefé smirked, then looked up at Capucine, “Got any words of wisdom for me?”
Capucine looked down at the tree carcass, then back at Tefé, “Don’t get grabbed by monstrous trees.”
Tefé swallowed, “Yeah…sound advice.”
Maxine stared at the water, noting that its viscosity had remained unchanged, “Uh…guys? I think there are more gasoline trees somewhere out there. I feel like it would’ve cleared up at least a little bit.”
Capucine jumped into the canoe, breaking the rope keeping it moored with her bare hands, “Then we find the source of the infestation, and remove it.”
Maxine and Tefé didn’t do anything to impede Capucine’s actions, though they were certainly taken aback by this old English era woman taking charge of their mission. Without a word, Capucine grabbed a paddle and began rowing upstream, her toned build making what was a laborious task for Tefé effortless. The trio moved upstream at a rapid pace, with Capucine barely making a single grunt or noise as she paddled onward. As the hours went by, the water to gasoline ratio of the river continued to tip in the gasoline’s favor, to the point that eventually Capucine looked like she was putting real effort into her paddling.
Tefé stared at the woman, unsure of what to make of her, “So…Capucine?”
“Yes?”
“I know your name, I know you’ve been…advising my brother. What else do you do? What’s your story?”
Capucine frowned, “To be brief…I was born over a thousand years ago in Lindisfarne Abbey. What happened after is a personal matter, and one I’d rather not discuss. Similarly, discussing how I came to be immortal, and what I’ve done in the many centuries afterwards would doubtlessly be a fruitless and boring exercise. That energy is better spent rowing.”
Tefé raised an eyebrow, “Okay….then, why are you doing any of this? What drives you to help us?”
Capucine paused for a moment, allowing the canoe to slow in its approach upriver. Then, she snorted, a small smile forming as she began to paddle once more, “I’ve lived long enough to know this is a good place, a good world. I like it intact and alive, and I’d do whatever it takes to keep it that way.”
“Uh…good answer,” Tefé turned her attention to the rest of the forest, watching carefully for threats. Capucine was certainly blunt, and maybe a little scary looking, but from what she could tell the woman wasn’t much of a danger. If she wanted to learn more, she could do that after the case of Silver Springs was solved.
Maxine grimaced, staring at the thick gasoline they were rowing through, “What do you think is causing this stuff? The closest thing I can think of is the Rot but…part of me can’t put that picture together.”
“Because this is not the Rot’s doing. William is well aware of these kinds of problems, and manages them well. He would never allow something like this to escalate as far as it has,” Capucine grunted, her sheath rattling against the interior of the canoe. “This is something different.”
“Oil’s a fossil fuel, right?” Maxine asked, “Could there be any connection?”
“Perhaps, but this isn’t just oil, it’s gasoline. It’s processed,” Capucine grunted, the act of rowing becoming tougher. “Something is turning the oil into Gasoline. Maybe it’s the trees, maybe it’s something else.”
“But what force would do that? There’s definitely something magical going on about these things,” Maxine asked.
Capucine frowned, “I am…unsure. I’ve not heard of any force that pertains to these properties. Perhaps one of them has evolved. Such an occurrence is not unheard of; the Red does it all the time.”
“Or maybe…someone’s twisting a force into something it isn’t,” said Tefé. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out soon enough.”
Eventually, the boat rounded a corner, passing another infected tree. Maxine and Tefé readied themselves, only for Capucine to keep paddling, “Do not bother with them. They’re symptoms, not the cause.”
Maxine raised an eyebrow, “And the cause is….where?”
Capucine pointed down the river, and past a muddy, poisoned shore sat an entire row of the ailing cypresses, encircling a clearing of some kind. As the canoe pushed up against the mid, Capucine trudged out, making her way towards the clearing with her hand on her longsword’s hilt. The trees seemed to regard her, blatantly still conscious, yet they did not attack. Maxine and Tefé followed in trepidation, eyeing the trees in suspicion.
“Why aren’t they attacking?” Maxine asked.
“I don’t know,” Capucine remarked. “Perhaps they’re afraid.”
“Of you…or of something else?” Tefé wondered aloud.
As the three entered the clearing, they came across a sight none of them would have expected…a human heart.
It laid in the mud, rooted by cartilage that snaked its way beneath the earth. It beat with a satisfying rhythm, pulsating as if it still rested inside the body of a living man. A thick liquid permeated the mud, shifting outward from the heart.
Gasoline.
Capucine drew her sword, preparing to stab the heart with it. Eyes wide, Maxine jumped in front of her, “Woah woah woah, what are you doing?!”
“I’m removing the problem,” Capucine remarked.
“But…but…we don’t know what this thing even is?”
Capucine sneered at Maxine, “Is it not obvious? Someone or something has perverted an object of the Red, and that infection is spreading to the Green. With its removal, this area can begin healing.”
“How can you know that for sure? I’m the Avatar of the Red, and I can’t feel any trace of the Red in there,” Maxine exclaimed.
“Then the corruption of the object has completely overridden its connection to the Red. All the more reason to destroy it.”
Maxine whirled around, staring at Tefé for help. Tefé opened her mouth to protest, yet she was unsure of how to proceed. On the one hand, the Green was suffering, this place was suffering. Getting rid of the heart seemed like the right answer, yet Maxine was right as well. They knew practically nothing about this heart, and if the trees weren’t attacking them, maybe it was an invitation to learn more.
Before she could voice her opinion on one approach or the other though, a new voice made itself known, a raspy, texan accent that came from vocal chords that didn’t realize they were long past their expiration date.
“Well, if you’d let me speak…I’d love to tell you why I deserve to live!”
The trio assumed defensive stances as the ground rumbled around the heart, at which point a dozen or so ribs began to poke out of the mud around the heart, followed by rotten yet well preserved flesh. The heart and ribs rose with the flesh, revealing a man with an open chest as he picked himself up from out of the mud. He was wearing an old coat and pants, and wore only one sock on his feet. Inconsistent, matted hair hung from his head, covered up slightly by a ruined cowboy hat. An ugly stubble dotted his cheeks, paired with yellow teeth and milky white eyes. He smiled, raising what looked to be an old revolver to his chin to scratch it with the barrel. With the other hand, he reached out to shake any of the trio’s hands, “Howdy folks. Pale Wanderer, representing the Parliament of Gears…how are you doing this fine day?”
The trio looked at each other in confusion, then Capucine spoke, “What are you? Are you the cause of the Malady plaguing this land.”
“Well…I wouldn’t call it a malady per-se! More of a necessary sacrifice.” The Pale Wanderer tipped his hat up. “As for what I am? Well honey…I’m a crusader. A force meant to alleviate suffering, and right now? That suffering is…well, it’s not exactly something any of the flora or fauna here really give a shit about.”
“And what’s that?” Tefé asked.
“Well…it’s a bit of a logistical nightmare to explain, but it starts with oil!” The Pale Wanderer gestured towards the ground. “We’re a car based society, here in the United States I mean! Trouble is, gas prices are fuckin’ outrageous these days, right?”
Capucine narrowed her eyes, “I do not see how that should concern us.”
“I’m not finished!” The Pale Wanderer remarked. “The average American has to pay an arm and a leg for gas nowadays, and they need gas if they want to get anywhere. Have a job, wanna see family, need to make a trip to the grocery store? Need to pay for gas if you wanna to any of that! Trouble is, gas comes from oil, and oil? It’s getting rarer by the minute…that’s why I made this place!”
The Pale Wanderer raised his arms, gesturing to the gasoline laced mud and the producing trees, “Think about it! More Gasoline means the market price of Gasoline’s gonna go down, which means gas is cheaper for everyone! At least, I think that’s how it works! Plus, my Gas is A+ quality, even comes in Diesel!”
As The Pale Wanderer continued on about his tirade on Gas prices, Maxine and Tefé shared a confused glance at each other. They’d never encountered something like this before, something this unusual, this keyed in and calculated in purpose yet scattershot in reasoning. The only thing two of them seemed to fixate on though was something the Pale Wanderer said when he introduced himself.
The Parliament of Gears.
Tefé stepped forward, “You said you were part of the Parliament of Gears? What is that? I’ve never heard of them.”
“Oh, That’s cause we’re new on the block, sweetie, but glad to be here,” The Pale Wanderer remarked. “Not qualified to sell them overall though, you’ll have to talk to marketing for that.”
“Enough!” Capucine declared, holding the point of the sword at the Pale Wanderer. “Your reasons for poisoning this place are simplistic and needless. Leave, or I will make you leave!”
The Pale Wanderer raised an eyebrow, “See, now I don’t like comments like that! We’re all just having a lovely discussion and now all you wanna do is escalate! Things don’t have to be this way! Maybe we can work something out?”
Tefé glanced between Capucine and the Pale Wanderer, making an educated guess that Capucine wasn’t the type to back down in these sorts of situations. Furthermore, she had a point. This place was suffering, and no matter the Pale Wanderer’s intentions, that was something that wouldn’t stand, “We don’t want to fight you, but what you’re doing is…horrifying. You’re killing everything around here for…Gasoline! We can’t stand by and let that happen.”
The Pale Wanderer glanced at Tefé, a glum look on his face. Maxine seemed to be holder her breath somewhat, but there was no question that she was on Tefé and Capucine’s side. Sighing, The Pale Wanderer scratched his thigh with his gun, “So that’s how it is?”
Capucine’s grip on her sword tightened, “That’s how it is.”
The Pale Wanderer pursed his lips, “...Well, if we’ve got no more words to share…I guess we better hop to it.”
The wanderer raised his revolver, only for Capucine to surge forward at lightning speed, piercing him in the heart with her sword. For a moment, he was still, motionless, and Capucine stared him dead in the eyes. Then, he shifted, and after meeting her gaze, he began to laugh, his guffawing causing gasoline to spurt from his heart and onto Capucine’s sword and armor, “Hah! Good try!”
Capucine attempted to back away from the Wanderer, only for him to grab her wrist, keeping her and the sword wedged firmly in his body. Raising his weapon, he prepared to put a bullet in Capucine’s eyes, only for her to deliver a swift fist to his arm, knocking the gun out of his hands. Smiling, he took advantage of his newly freed hand, grabbing her by the throat and squeezing tight. As Capucine struggled for air, the Wanderer could only hoot and holler, “Whooo-weeee! We’re getting down to it now!”
Maxine and Tefé rushed to help the ancient warrior, only for a mob of living trees to encroach upon them, blocking their way while attempting to grab or smash them with their heavy branched arms. Maxine dove to the left, dodging the crushing slam of one tree, while Tefé slipped through the roots of another, narrowly avoiding being picked up again. Separated, the two tried to get a read on each other while avoiding harm, yet it was difficult for either of them to really do anything to help Capucine.
They were both far from the Red and the Green’s safety. No animal would go anywhere near the Pale Wanderer, meaning Maxine’s powers were utterly neutered. Similarly, there was no living plant life near the battlefield, meaning Tefé couldn’t use her powers either. If they wanted to get out of this, they would need to think outside the box.
And that’s when Tefé spotted the Wanderer’s revolver sitting in the mud, and a wild idea crossed her mind as she scanned it and the gasoline laden ground around it. She glanced at Maxine, then to the gun, and Maxine seemed to pick up on what she was thinking. It was a gambit, an insane gambit, but without much power to draw on, it might be their only shot.
Together, the two began to race for the gun, trying desperately to keep out of the reach of the trees. Tefé tried to get there quickly, yet she found herself pursued by a half dozen trees, pressured by their presence. Maxine was closer, and managed to pick up the gun as Tefé was halfway over, only for a tree to come barreling towards her. She whirled around to run, only to snag her foot on a dead root, causing her to trip and fall. Afraid of losing their one chance at Victory, Maxine shared a split second look with Tefé before throwing the gun towards the Pale Wanderer, just as the tree came down on her. It stretched out its arms, its branches ensnaring her and trapping her in place.
Her mind in overdrive, Tefé pivoted and raced for the Pale Wanderer, leaping over the swinging branches of another tree in order to catch the gun. Capucine gasped for air, her eyes glazing over as the Wanderer choked the life out of her, laughing like a madman. With the trees about to grab her, Tefé leapt for the Wanderer’s back, looping one arm around his neck to hold on while planting the gun’s barrel against the gasoline soaked sword, “Stop!”
The trees froze in place, including the one holding Maxine captive. The Pale Wanderer raised his eyebrow, loosening his grip on Capucine and allowing her to breath, “What’s this now? Ready to call it quits?”
Tefé gritted her teeth, “I’m ready to make a deal, and if you refuse, I’ll blow us all sky high! Even you won’t survive that, will you?”
“The hell’re you…” The Pale Wanderer looked down at the gun planted against the sword, and finally realized what was at stake. There was a reason smoking a cigarette at a gas station was a stupid idea, and Tefé was willing to demonstrate. A bullet crashing against steel would cause sparks, and sparks can light many fires, especially ones where the ground was soaked in gasoline. She’s set miles of forest on fire, to nuke the entire place from the ground up….and from the tone of her words, the Wanderer knew Tefé meant it, “Ohhhhh…Clever girl….Ha! So, you’ve got me. What do you want from me?”
Tefé let out a grunt of exhaustion, “I want you…to fuck off and never come back here. Got it?”
The Wanderer chuckled, then winked at Capucine, letting go of her and allowing her to pull out the sword, “Well then, a deal’s a deal.”
Snapping his fingers, The Wanderer watched as every tree around him began to dissolve into an inky ooze, including the one holding onto Maxine, who became drencheds in the stuff. Similarly, the Wanderer himself began to dissolve, though much more slowly. As he sank into the earth, he looked up at Tefé and Capucine, “This place’ll return to what it once was, but don’t count me out just yet. We’ll be seeing each other…oh, and keep the gun. Think of it as a gift from little ol’ me.”
Eventually, the Pale Wanderer was gone, not even his hat remaining, leaving Maxine, Tefé, and Capucine to stare at the spot he once occupied. The crisis at hand was solved, at least as far as they knew, but the problems were only just beginning.
A new force of nature was here, and it did not seem to be a peaceful one.
 
Next Issue: A Trip to somewhere new!
 

Up for sale is my camera and lenses. I'm sad to part ways with them, but I don't use it enough to justify keeping. I'd consider selling some lenses and trading the body for X-T30 or X-E4 maybe.
Timestamps and pics
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1. Fuji X-T3 + 18-55 kit. Has small signs of wear on the body. Viewfinder and display are perfectly clean, all camera features work perfectly fine. Shutter count at 8002. Selling as a kit with 18-55mm so they can ship in the original box. Asking $900 for the kit shipped to CONUS.
2. XF50mm F2: comes in the original box with both caps and a hood. Asking $300.
3. XF27mm F2.8: comes with the cap, no hood, in original box. Asking $300.
4. Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 —not pictured — comes in the original box as well. Asking $200.

Bundle all of those together for $1550. All prices include shipping.
UPD: I’ve changed asking on 27mm from 240 to 300. I apologize, that was my mistake and I got a wave of offers in just a few minutes up to 280, and I’m in no rush.
I'm based in 97702. I have some trades on AVexchange and mechmarket. Please comment before PMs.