Harry looked over at his mentor sitting up at the position of Headmaster and gave him a nod.
"There will be no interference from anyone. That goes for staff, too. Is that understood?" the Headmaster said with force.
"Yes Professor Tsung," came back the chorus of replies.
Across the Great Hall, Harry faced off with his nemesis. The Dark Lord Voldemort stood with a sneer on his face, wand drawn. "It is foolish of you to send Potter to face me alone. But I will certainly not object. My loyal Death Eaters, you will do nothing until the boy is dead at my hand."
The masked and robed wizards gave their acknowledgments with nods and a few scattered, "Yes, my lord's"
The Headmaster stood and yelled out, "Begin!"
There was a flurry of activity as Harry and Voldemort exchanged a dozen spells in quick succession. It started with bone breaking curses and cutting curses, then got much darker from there.
After a few seconds of being surprised by the fury and skill displayed by the seventeen year old, Voldemort began drawing from his repertoire of magic which he usually reserved for powerful opponents. He conjured a massive snake made of Fiendfyre.
A small smirk tugged at Harry's mouth upon seeing that spell. It was time for him to step up his own game.
In an instant, Harry's form blurred and warped, becoming a bit taller, a bit larger, a whole lot older, and exceedingly more flamboyant. Voldemort looked in shock as Albus Dumbledore stood before him.
'Albus' wasted no time in banter. He quickly twirled his wand, whistling all the while, and a flood of water sprang up from where he alone knew and overwhelmed the fire spell, dousing it before it could gain too much strength. Then the long-bearded wizard began transfiguring the tables and chairs into deadly soldiers, animated suits of armor, and turned the debris around him into deadly spears that hurled themselves at Voldemort unerringly.
The dark wizard screamed in anger, sending a shockwave of raw magic out to destroy the transfigured and conjured threats.
"No, this cannot be! You are dead!"
The form of the deceased Headmaster blurred and shifted, leaving Harry Potter standing there again. "So, he is, but he sends you his regards. He says he'll be seeing you soon."
The self-styled Dark Lord could not take that taunt. He jabbed his wand forward. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The green bolt flew towards Harry at an incredible speed, but the younger wizard side-stepped it. Then his form shifted again, this time into the form of his old, hated potions teacher. From his dark, billowing robes 'Severus Snape' pulled a few potions and downed them. He would need every advantage if he wanted to defeat this enemy.
But Voldemort laughed. "Snape? You should have chosen more wisely, Harry. You may have found my old faithful servant to be intimidating, but for me he was just a tool."
Having obtained the benefit he wanted from that form, Harry was all too glad to shed it. While Harry had not found the Potions Master intimidating since he had been training with his mentor, he did continue to loathe the man and being in his form was not at all enjoyable, despite what had happened at the end.
Harry shot off a few curses and dodged a few more, but this was getting him nowhere. He needed an edge. And there was one form he knew would give it to him.
A sudden blurring and Harry stood in a form sure to freak his opponent out. Voldemort's own evil red eyes stared back at the Dark Lord.
"Avada Kedavra!" "Avada Kedavra!"
The two cast at the same time, both barely dodging out of the way at the last second.
"You dare use my own form against me! I will destroy you the way I destroyed your parents you little--"
Harry's form blurred once--but faded into nothing immediately after. Appearing behind Voldemort he stretched out both of his hands and fired off a succession of flaming projectiles that caught the dark wizard mid-sentence.
The Dark Lord tried to rise, but he found it impossible. The attack had ruined him. Voldemort watched as Harry summoned his wand to him and snapped it in half as he strode over to him.
"Fool, you should not have started monologuing in the middle of Kombat," Headmaster Tsang Tsung said as Harry approached his fallen opponent.
Harry glanced up at the head table, careful to keep an eye on his enemy. That had been drilled into his head by his teacher.
"FINISH HIM!" the sorcerer commanded.
Harry grabbed the snaked-faced wizard with one hand, the other he raised above his head. "Your soul is mine!" Harry declared.
Sickly green magic poured from his hands into the man formerly known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, and then the energy poured back towards Harry, with what was left of Voldemort's soul along with it, back into Harry through his eyes and mouth. A ruined husk of withered and greyed flesh was all that was left of Voldemort's final body.
Gasps of shock and revulsion came from the Hogwarts teachers.
Harry rolled his eyes. "What?" he asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

Hello, you can call me Cory. I am a woman nearly 23 and just went no contact with my mom. It all happened so fact and I’m not regretting it at all, but I am trying to process it. I’ve always ALWAYS had horribly mixed feelings about my mom. She has always been so scared and angry and yet she was the only parent ever in my life. My dad came in and out ripping my heart to pieces and she was my only constant. She was at least taking care of us(my older brother and I) though my brother did most of the emotional part since she was always so scarily unpredictable. Lashing out for needing lunch money, signatures, talking to her too soon after she got home from work, asking about dinner was a regular if not daily occurrence in that house. She also didn’t want to be a mom and reminded us of that constantly. We ‘ruined’ her. We were always a burden it seemed. There was also the threat of her sending us to our father, who she knew was physically violent, if we protested or cause too much trouble. She primed us for college as if that was our life purpose, and now I’m here. My brother didn’t finish college and so the pressure shifted all to me in high school. I broke myself and burnt out trying to get all A’s and the best test scores possible. I did rotc, our band’s color guard, culinary, honor societies, you name it. I got to my senior year and Covid came. I honestly enjoyed being able to recluse for the time I was able, some may say I still am. It was the first time in my life if felt like I was able to realize college wasn’t a dream for me, it was hers. Telling her that came with the mixed message of she wanted me to be happy but she would not support me at all if I didn’t go; knowing I couldn’t support myself, I went. I just kept faltering though, I was unable to handle much of college after sophomore year but I just wanted to get it over with. During that time she married my ex’s dad and didn’t even bother to tell me. I found out while helping her edit a letting to his boss thanking them for the honeymoon. I was devastated. I felt like I wasn’t even a part of our own family anymore. This is after my brother went no contact with her too so I felt totally alone. She went across the country and left me alone in a state with no family. She did pay for my dorm but I felt abandoned. Telling her this was met with her telling me how selfish I was for not wanting her to go. Fast forward to now. I have moved in with my boyfriend, taken over all my bills and financially separated from her. Her new step son of course graduated on time and so she came down for it. I had been avoiding talking to her for months and involved her as little as I could in my life. Every conversation was so tense I never felt comfortable telling her anything in fear that it would be weaponized against me. So after days of her trying to push me into plans of seeing her, I finally cut the cord. I told her how far I felt from our relationship. I told her how hurt by our whole lives I was. I told her that I was glad that she had people around her for this so that she wasn’t alone. I told her that I couldn’t blame her for everything considering that she came from extreme abuse. Often times when I’m mad at her, I will see her as the little girl I saw in a picture of her when she was young. I look at her and I see such a broken woman who just decided that she would never seek help. I look at her and I see such a broken woman who just decided that she would never seek help. my father was physically abusive, so I got used to the feeling of not having a dad but for a while the thought that my mom might’ve eventually love me like I needed it got me through him and the loss of him. I feel like I’ve been begging with her for centuries to at least hear me out in a way that wasn’t dismissive. It never really worked. Any pain I expressed was taken as a criticism of her p dismissive. It never really worked. Any pain I expressed was taken as a criticism of her unwanted parentage. In a way I think it was that she got a whole new family that hurt the most. It feels like when she married him, she did everything she could to erase that we even existed. Bringing up my father was a no, her having a different last name was a no, suddenly our last name was bad and only representative of her father. It worked the same for him too though, her new husband. I don’t disagree with wanting to wipe the slate clean and begin anew, but to erase a father or a mother from your child’s life is to erase part of who that are. My dad abused all of us. Much of my life was defined by that. To erase him, came with her erasing this person who grew up only know how to fight or get hit. That’s who I’m trying to grow out of, but it is part of me. I can never deny that. I don’t ever want to talk to her, but I miss her so much. I miss feeling like we had a future, like he wanted me, like she felt safe with me. I miss feeling safe with her. I miss her smile and the way she laughed with me. I miss seeing her excited about life. I blocked her soon after because I thought she’d just tell me how horrible I was. I couldn’t imagine a situation where she would do what I wanted: hug me, apologize. I really wish I would have gotten a last hug or something because she hasn’t tried to contact me since. I know that is what I want, but that is only because she stopped trying to have a life with us. My adolescence felt like her race to the finish line. Before no contact, but after she moved, she had never come to visit me. She never called to talk about life past how I was in school. If I was too honest about my discontentment, we only fought, so everything became fake. I don’t know how to feel about this all. I’m struggling. I’m just looking for support and am in between therapists at the moment. Anything is something. I’m not looking to have my mind changed. I know she’s happy now that she can be in the world she wants. Thank you for reading.

Hi! New here. Using a different account as recommended.
I (22F) recently met my MM (35M) at my job. When first approached by him, He was really sweet/nice & respectful. After 3 days or so of seeing me around and talking to me, he asked for my number and offered to take me out.
I was very hesitant as to me it seemed unreal. He is from a different cultural background and he would send certain texts and say certain things about me (my looks) that I have never heard a man in the U.S. say to me before lol. After getting to know him a little more, I now know that is just how he talks and it isn’t fake. He tells me im beautiful all the time and how I take his breath away, how he wants to gaze into my beautiful eyes, etc lol. These things are sweet to me but also out of the norm for me so I don’t know how to exactly receive them other than blush and say thank you.
Fast forward, we were planning a date to the movies and a week or so before, his SO caught him in my car. We weren’t doing anything, just talking & he was kind of playing in my hair and touching my back, nothing crazy. We never got to go out as you would expect. We had met up in that parking lot two times. The first night, he drove to my city and all was fine & the second night, the same & that’s when everything happened. Come to find out, she was tracking him the first time but just couldn’t find out where he was.
I didn’t really know how to take that whole interaction and he apologized for it trying to get back into my good graces and told me that he didn’t know she was tracking him to where we were. He said he didn’t know she turned his location on his phone and it never occurred for him to check as he doesn’t recall when they shared locations before coming to the U.S. or even when they first got here. I do want to say that, he told me that this is the first time he’s ever gone out of his way to actually meet up with someone outside of his marriage and that he had never done this before & I do believe it as he is really sloppy and come to find out, he didn’t even delete our text messages in the beginning when we first started talking. For reference, it’s only been about a month and some change since we’ve been talking and engaging with each other.
We kept talking of course, he has sent me money, we’ve talked on the phone for hours some days/nights when she’s not around, he even told me that he’s in love with me. I told him, I’ve never been in love so im not sure if that’s what I feel for him or what exactly it feels like but I know I do have love and care for him (deeply). We connect on a different level than other people I have talked to, he’s emotionally mature and likes to talk things out, he makes me feel comfortable sexually and just in general and I can be my full self with him as with other people I sometimes feel as if I have to hold back lol. Things have moved kinda fast with us but it also doesn’t feel unnatural and it feels good and I like spending time with him and just talking to him about anything.
More time goes by and I end up just getting a hotel by myself (just for fun lol, I love hotels). I did invite him and we didn’t have sex but he definitely made me feel good and wanted. We go to the mall, walk around a little, and I see him that same night on his lunch break at work and we separate. Fast forward some more lol, his SO ends up finding out he sent me money and that’s a whole thing. We meet up a week or so after that at the mall & the park. Those two days, I went to his house after (im really not sure if this was bad or not as I have seen some people say on the adultery subreddit this is probably a bad idea). I go there and again, we didn’t have sex but he makes sure im good of course.
I have never engaged in a physical affair with anyone and I truly don’t believe he has before (bc of his sloppiness) There has been one women he told me about who was married like him & had kids, but from what he tells me, it didn’t go far (not as far as it has went with me). He also doesn’t have kids with his partner.
About 3 days or so after that, his SO finds out through a recording device put somewhere in the house. I can be heard on it of course. I’m not sure if you would call these D-Days or not but he’s been found out a lot within just this one month of talking and even still continues to go out of his way to contact me if not through his phone, through a friend at work or his other phone. We have not met up outside of work after those days at his house and have only talked on the phone or seen each other at work and talked there. We’ve also done a little more at work besides that as well. (Always out of view of course).
Their relationship right now from what he tells me and how we are communicating right now seems like prisoner and warden. There are recording devices all around their home. (He recently found one and moved it only for her to put it back). He goes outside to talk to me otp because of the devices in the home, every time he leaves work she demands to go through his phone, his location is always on, etc. she even came to work one time thinking he was up to something or maybe that I would be there and she would catch him. I wasn’t. (She doesn’t know exactly what I look like & doesn’t know my name). He’s never talks negatively of her and honestly I would feel weird if he did. I do ask questions and he answers them but generally he just tells me that what she is doing is in the norm (culturally, I think?) & even though he doesn’t like it, he has to abide by whatever agreement they have right now.
She’s tried to bait me a couple times. She went through his phone and called me, expecting me to answer but I didn’t and I ended up calling back but no answer and then she called back, I answered and then she hung up. I did think this was him at the time but she hung up right when I said “hello?”. There was then a follow up text (as her, but I thought it was him) saying that “my wife just wanted to make sure I ended things and called to confirm.” She texted me from the app we use and said “hey” wanting to catch him in something (our thread was deleted but she found my number on the app). It was also the weekend and that didn’t make sense to me. (I was also sleep lol). We usually don’t talk on the weekends for obvious reasons and also the weekends are times for myself as me and him do talk throughout the week and at work.
After all of this, we talked recently & I am not exactly sure im looking for a solution but maybe just opinions, advice, anything you can offer lol. I really do like him but I am fine with cutting contact as it hasn’t been that long and even though I really connect with him, he sometimes talks as if he deserves the lack of privacy she’s given him within his own home and even work life.
I never asked him to leave his partner or choose because I know I don’t want that (I’m poly) but I do want to spend more alone time with him and see more of him (he might be moving states, not sure). But, his situation just seems like it might not be setup for us to do that like we did a couple times before. I also tell him that I feel as if there is more he could do as far as trying to see me, finding out ways to hang out but like I said I’m not sure if what we have is even a possibility anymore. I don’t feel as if I should be telling someone how to act in an affair (if that makes sense lmao). I guess I’m just not sure if I should move forward with continuing talking to him or not?? I know he definitely wants to continue talking.
I will say that even though his location has been being tracked & also those times we hung out before, he’s found a way to see me multiple times.
I have seen a lot of people talk about OPSEC but it kinda feels as if he wants to get caught or either doesn’t care which is why he is so sloppy. He has said himself (while exploring his own thoughts) that maybe he has acted this way because he wanted to get caught. He’s told me since he’s met me that he doesn’t feel the same for her as he did. (They’ve been married 8 years now I think?)

Plan for today: finish and submit assignments, iron clothes, research yuba
WILT: 1. Rechecked my estimates (plans for the day) ^ 2. Yuba
Streaks streak1 (routines): 99d (-26), streak2 (sirens): 17x (-10) streak3 (llss): 1 streak4 (2mad): 2
1yeargoal WorkingBrainPracticing (WBP) HedgingHabits (HH)
HH 1YP ○ point&tell ○ double check estimates ^ ○ vignettes x3: goal, llss,revise:( ○ review end of day over kmr ○ labels out ○ focus exercisesx5
HH 5YP ○ e-cup ○ focus ○ cuts
Tweaks to routines: Shower asap & dress-up Rush & batch outdoors sun Exercise4mastery Walk every 2nd day Relax @ focus-exercisesx5
Weekly list: 1check in on vital stats 2clear folder 3 informative read 4 exercise 5 sort h&y&prep forward
Notes2me: Root@2escape Inble: switch, gauge, recall N☆ .... Switch1 or Switch2Calle2 0MultiTsks Soc: Mask. Fast. Form. Q. Isle. ..... Visibility: Labels Focs5pd: ....... 1d@aT H5

hi everybody. i apologize for the long post in advance, I tend to overwrite.
so i have known for a while that my mom has a problem with drinking. i remember when I was young, around 11 or so, she made me come downstairs from my room and dance with her in the kitchen. she kept praising my dancing, and made my brother come down too. i told her that I just wanted to sleep, but she insisted upon our dancing. apple bottom jeans was playing and even today i cannot fully enjoy the song because of this memory. this was right around the time of her divorce, so I guess that is when I first remember it. i never really remember her drinking before my parents got divorced.
flash forward today; I am in my late teens, and I go away for college. i am recently home on summer break and I feel a bit distraught whenever my mom drinks, though I have been feeling this way for a while now. it is like she becomes a different person, unrecognizable in behavior and attitudes. the sweet, intelligent, compassionate woman I know is gone, and is replaced with a happy-go-lucky, forgetful person that slurs their words. i can tell every time when she has been drinking, even when she is nearly sober.
she did not start drinking until later in life, a fact which my aunt has confirmed. lately my mom's job has not been so great (something, like her alcohol, which I scarcely speak to her about), and I think she has been coping by drinking. apparently I told my aunt one time that I overheard her being rude to a client on the phone, which my aunt characterized as being hungover, or even drunk. i wouldn't doubt the possibilities of either. she also once got pulled over and fucking arrested because she was driving over the speed limit and told the officer she had a glass of wine. my brother and i were younger and in the car, at least 40 minutes away from where we lived. though i thought that cop was an ASSHOLE and had no sympathy for the young children in the car, my mother was also behaving differently than she would have sober. she got pushed onto the back of the car and resisted arrest. someone else had to pull over to help the officer push her down onto the grass to cuff her. then he took her away in a cop car while his buddy cop sat in the front seat, watching my brother and i. i was in seventh grade, my brother in fourth, and we were coming back from a dinner 'celebration' after some tournament i competed in for the local library. i remember blaming myself for the incident, that if i hadn't been in the tournament and we hadn't stopped for food which i asked for, none of it would have happened. after that, my dad got full custody (something which i learned recently) and my brother and i had biweekly CPS visits. i remember that at the end of our visits, my mom grew bitterly resentful of the CPS agent visiting us. it didn't make her stop drinking.
a few weeks ago, I was at dinner with her, my brother, and some family/family friends. there, I was making snide remarks about her drinking, like saying that I am a lightweight too so she has nothing to be ashamed about. in retrospect these remarks were immature, but I couldn't help it at the time. if she won't talk about it, it's not like i can just up and pretend it isn't bothering me. she got extremely upset at me and held me in the car while she admonsihed me, my brother and family friends in a boba shop at the time. i don't really remember what she said to me, but i told her that i feel uncomfortable when she drinks. the rest of the night she acted extremely passive aggressive towards me; one time i needed to go get something in the car and when i returned her keys, she snatched them out of my hands. i know when my mother is mad because she will never say it to my face.
the next day she woke me up at eight in the morning, shaking my foot and telling me to come outside as soon as i woke up. outside of our airBNB we sat on the porch and she told me of how she thinks her life is a failure and how she has tried every coping method there is: meditation, therapy, weed (which she also partakes in now), yoga, you name it. she says that therapy has not worked for her, and that it feels good to just turn her brain off for a while. then she was saying some really alarming things, like that she could be dead by the time I'm out college like her father was, which made me start to cry. i didn't want to fight with her anymore, i just wanted my mom back.
anyway, cut forward a few weeks and i am here, back at home, witnessing what i have missed firsthand. today, she was drinking by around 4. i left the house around 2 and by the time i came back, i knew she had a drink. then around 5 i left to hang out with my friend. i opened her door to give her back something of hers i had, and her face was in her hands, her arms on the desk. when she heard me come in she perked up and asked me what's up, and i felt heartbroken. i didn't ask her about it, i just played it off like i hadn't noticed and happily accepted the refuge of my friend's car. but after speaking with my aunt, brother, and dad about it, i feel more worried than before. i think my mother's drinking is getting in the way of her work, and it is getting in the way of her life. she told me she is miserable. i don't know how i can help her. i can only watch. and the worst part is, my brother is alone while i am at college and must witness everything by himself. we at least had each other before, but now i am away half the year.
I'm thinking of going to my local AL-Anon meetings, because it is really bothering me now. i don't know if my words will mean anything to her about this, i think they will only cause her shame which will lead her into drinking. i am not sure why i wrote this whole thing out, but it has made me feel a bit better, even if nobody reads it. thank you to anyone that has read, this subreddit makes me feel less alone in my experiences <3

I hope this is in the right subreddit. If not, I will take down.
Backstory: my ex and I were in a 4 year relationship and he treated me pretty badly. No physical abuse or cheating, but after I broke things off, he later admitted that he did all that to “humble me” & because he thought, “I was too good for him”. Cut ties, done. A year after the breakup, I meet the love of my life & get married shortly after. I was living my happy life & he found out I was married & tried to contact me, but I shut him off & blocked him on ALL social media and my phone. Last summer, almost a year ago, he made a new Snapchat account and was able to message me. I told him how much I hate him, that I’m still happily married(5 years) & want nothing to do with him. Then I blocked him AGAIN. Made it very clear. Fast forward to last night, I delete my social media accounts(ig, fb, sc)except for here and TikTok(which is private) for a mental cleanse. Tell me why not even 24 hours after I deleted these accounts, he tried adding me on TikTok. My concern is that he’s been keeping tabs on me with new accounts and pretty much stalking my social media accounts& now that I deleted them, he’s trying to keep tabs on my only sm; TikTok. It’s honestly really disturbing that he has probably been keeping tabs on me for YEARS. I literally blocked him last year & he’s not getting the point.
My question for you guys is; should I block him again or just leave the request alone? My husband says just leave it alone because if I block him, I’m giving him more attention & he’ll just make another account anyway. Not doing anything or taking any action will pretty much make him non existent.
I’m starting to get really creeped out and concerned & I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore.

(continuation of part 1)

III. Searching for Aerith Beyond FFVII

There were absolutely no answers in Remake or OG (at this point in my research, Rebirth wasn’t released yet), no matter how much I looked; nothing at all hinted at how Cloud could’ve obtained the memories of OG that emerge in Remake as MOTFs. I knew I had to look elsewhere to search for more clues, so I decided to check every piece of media ever released by SE with a mention of Cloud or Aerith in it, digging for hints in the compilation and beyond.
And boy, did I find them.
III. a) Core Worlds and Suspension Worlds
There are a couple of general FF rules that we need to establish before going forward.
It’s important to note that there are multiple realms in which the FF stories take place, each with a different name, history and society. This ensures that all FF stories occur separately, never intercepting or interacting— though they do have creatures like moogles and chocobos in common, as well as concepts like airships, gil, magic and some form of crystal. For simplicity, I will refer to these separate worlds in which the numbered FF games (FFI, FFII, FFIII, etc) occur as “core worlds”.
Characters from different core worlds may appear together in non-numbered FF games, the events of which have no impact on the core world at all: it seems that sometime after a FF character has reached the end of their core world’s plot-line, they may somehow be summoned to far-removed realms where they will face new adventures. I call these far-removed realms “suspension worlds”. One example of a FF game that takes place in a suspension world is Dissidia Final Fantasy, wherein characters from multiple core worlds unite to accomplish a mission as a team.
III. b) Final Fantasy Tactics
First on our list of non-compilation SE games to explore is 1997’s Final Fantasy Tactics (FFT), a game whose plot takes place in the suspension world of Ivalice. Let’s plot out the relevant events, and then analyze!
III. b) i. Fact-Finding
The main character of FFT, Ramza, encounters a brunette flower peddler with Aerith’s iconic, gravity-defying bangs:
\"Aeris\" in FFT's Ivalice
If you choose to buy a flower from her, she express her relief: apparently, business isn’t going well because no one is interested in flowers. The girl wistfully dreams aloud:

“When is my knight in shining armor going to take me away from here...?”

Later, Ramza and his companions encounter a mysterious machine that can summon people from across universes. The machine is activated, and a rather rude young man with spiky blonde hair appears. Cloud claims he used to be in SOLDIER, and says the last thing he remembers is “getting stuck in the current”. He looks to be disoriented and lost, and suffers from piercing headaches. Mere moments after being summoned to Ivalice, Cloud rambles:

“What’s this? My fingers are tingling… My eyes… they’re burning… Stop… stop it [Se]phiroth…”

He dashes out of the room, but not without announcing:

“I must go… must go to that place…”

Outside, Cloud encounters the brunette flower girl Ramza met earlier. She offers Cloud a flower, but he only stares at her wordlessly:

“Flower girl: Buy a flower? Only 1 gil.
Cloud: …
Flower girl: Something wrong? Do I resemble someone?”
Cloud: No… it’s nothing.”

As soon as Cloud leaves, a gang of ruffians surround the flower girl and start harassing her, demanding payment that’s apparently overdue. One of them finally calls her by her name: “Aeris”. He grabs her, insinuating that he might sexually assault her in lieu of payment. Aeris is not strong enough to push him away. That’s when Cloud returns:

“Cloud: Get your hand off her!
Thug: What did you say!?
Cloud: Didn't you hear me? Get your dirty hand off her!
[…]
Cloud, to Aeris: Go… now.”

Aeris heeds Cloud’s advice, fleeing the scene before a fight between Cloud and the thug can break out. After Cloud scares the ruffians off with the help of Ramza and his companions, he speaks once more:

“I lost… something very important… Ever since, I’ve been lost […]. What should I do? What about this pain [?] Must go… to the Promised Land.”

III. b) ii. Fact Analysis
There’s a lot to unpack here, all of which you probably clocked in your head upon reading, but let’s put it down in writing.
While FFT Cloud’s memory is far from perfect, the Aeris he encounters in Ivalice doesn’t recognize him at all. FFVII Ultimania Omega addresses this question without answering it:

“[The flower seller’s] name is Aeris, and she has the same appearance and tone of voice as the Aeris of FFVII. However, when she comes across Cloud, she does not recognize him. Could she really be the same Aerith who appears in FFVII but with memory loss, or is she a completely different character?” (“#4 Proof of Omega”, “FFVII in Other Games”, “Final Fantasy Tactics”, page 560).

Regardless of her unknown identity and inability to recognize Cloud, FFT Aeris’ fantasy of a “knight in shining armor” is quite reminiscent of the flower girl/bodyguard dynamic we’ve come to know and love. Cloud’s armor doesn’t shine, but in my opinion, if you’re looking for the dystopian, corporatocratic equivalent of a knight, you can’t get much closer than a supposed-former-SOLDIER-turned-bodyguard. Additionally, despite his rude and cold attitude toward Ramza’s gang, the urgency with which Cloud swoops in to save the flower girl from the ruffians betrays a softer, warmer side to him: the flower girl/bodyguard dynamic strikes again!
FFT Cloud’s dialogue borrows two lines from the speech OG Cloud makes as Aerith lies dead in his arms (disk 1, chapter 28): “My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!” and “What are we supposed to do? What about my pain?” You might’ve noticed that this glimpse of grief Cloud experiences in FFT bears a resemblance to the fourth MOTF 4 experienced by Remake Cloud (see section “II. a)”). Could it be that FFT Cloud and Remake Cloud have something in common?
Shortly after being summoned to Ivalice, FFT Cloud declares that he must go to “that place”, a mysterious line that is later elucidated when he tells Ramza that he must go to the Promised Land and find the “very important” thing he’s lost. The Promised Land is the Cetra culture’s afterlife, meaning FFT Cloud is looking for someone who’s died, someone “very important” to him. OG suggests this is none other than Aerith:

“Cait Sith, reading Cloud’s fortune: You will find [what] you pursue. However, you will lose the most precious thing” (disk 1, chapter 16, English translation by Kotaku’s “Let’s Mosey: A Slow Translation of Final Fantasy Seven: Part Eight” by Tim Rogers, 9:42-9:52).

&

“Cloud, after seeing Aerith’s hand reach for him through the Lifestream: … I think I'm beginning to understand.
Tifa: What?
Cloud: An answer from the Planet… the Promised Land... I think I can meet her... there” (disk 3, chapter 3).

Finally, let’s try to understand where on the OG timeline Cloud was summoned to this suspension world from and what he remembers. His comment about getting stuck in a current has to be about the Lifestream; apparently, on top of its atemporal nature, it can act as a conduit to other worlds. One only enters the Lifestream if they’ve somehow fallen into the core of the planet or once they’ve passed away and returned to the planet. Both scenarios merit consideration.
On the one hand, it’s possible that Cloud was summoned to Ivalice after he and Tifa fall into the core of the planet: this point in the FFVII OG timeline occurs after Aerith’s death and shortly before Cloud finds out he was never SOLDIER, which matches the gaps in FFT Cloud’s memory quite well. However, this scenario does not account for the vagueness with which FFT Cloud remembers Aerith and her death. Most importantly, Cloud’s realization that he can find Aerith in the Promised Land occurs much later in the game (FFVII OG, disk 3, chapter 3) than when he falls into the Lifestream with Tifa (FFVII OG, disk 2, chapter 8).
On the other hand, FFT Cloud’s vague yet persistent memories of Aerith suggest that he’s been summoned to Ivalice after his eventual death post-OG, but also that he’s lost quite a large portion of his memories. His incomplete memory loss is likely the result of Cloud’s individuality’s erosion by the Lifestream after death, which we discussed in section “II. a) ii.”. We can therefore surmise that by the time he is summoned to Ivalice from the Lifestream, Cloud has been dead for long enough that the Lifestream eroded a large portion of the memories of his lifetime. This post-death scenario is likelier than the first. The memory of Cloud’s realization that he was never SOLDIER must be gone, which explains why he claims otherwise upon being summoned to Ivalice. Contrastingly, vestiges of Cloud’s OG memories of Aerith cling to his soul, even after others have been wiped clean. Could this be a consequence of their soulmate bond? Could the strength of Cloud’s love and grief for Aerith have made his memories of her stronger and more difficult for the Lifestream to erode? Could it be both?
One thing is clear: Aerith is of fundamental importance to Cloud, even when he can’t quite remember her. In fact, the only other character he remembers and/or mentions in FFT is Sephiroth. It does make sense that the memories of those who have marked one’s soul forevermore would be the most difficult for the Lifestream to erode.
III. c) Dissidia Final Fantasy
The next stop on our travels through suspension worlds is 2008’s Dissidia Final Fantasy! Now strap in, because here’s where things get really serious.
III. c) i. Fact Finding
In the suspension world of Dissidia Final Fantasy (DFF), the goddess of harmony Cosmos and the god of discord Chaos are engaged in a never-ending cycle of conflict. Both deities need warriors to fight on their behalf, so they recruit core world characters into their respective teams by summoning them to DFF. Some of these summoned characters are FFIV’s Cecil, FFVI’s Terra, FFVII’s Sephiroth, FFX’s Tidus, and of course, FFVII’s Cloud. The warriors find themselves in the suspension world of DFF with no memories of their core worlds’ plotlines. However, as the DFF adventure progresses, they are able to recover pieces of their memories here and there. It isn’t clear how much they come to remember. Ultimately, the warriors hope to return home to their core worlds by fighting in this war and seeing to its end.
Cloud is summoned to DFF as a warrior on the side of Chaos, who seeks to destroy all existence. Sephiroth is also on Chaos’ side, meaning the two are teammates despite being enemies in their core world of FFVII. It just so happens that Tifa is a summoned warrior in DFF too, though she’s fighting on Cosmos’ side. Intrigued by her vague familiarity, Sephiroth hypothesizes that killing Tifa will bring back his memories of OG’s plot line: before long, the masamune wielder finds Tifa alone and corners her into a one-on-one fight. Thankfully, Cloud swoops in and saves her before Sephiroth can do any harm. Tifa is thankful for Cloud’s help, though confused that Cloud would elect to assist her and turn against a fellow warrior of Chaos; she doesn’t remember what Sephiroth and Cloud mean to each other in OG. In fact, Tifa doesn’t even remember Cloud’s name or that they share a core world, though Cloud feels somewhat familiar to her. For his part, Cloud at least remembers that Tifa is someone he cares about from his core world. As Tifa thanks Cloud for saving her from Sephiroth, something she says elicits an odd reaction from the warrior of Chaos:

“Tifa: The way you showed up and fought that guy off. It was a pretty cool thing to watch. You were like a hero, charging in to save the girl.
Cloud gasps at her words. She doesn’t notice” (Dissidia 012: Treachery of the Gods, report 5: “Unexpected Fulfillment 2”).

On another note, Cloud knows he will have to fight Tifa once the Cosmos-Chaos conflict comes to a head, as they are on opposing teams. He thinks to himself:

“Once [her] memories return, [she]’ll lose the will to fight just like I have. So... Before that can happen, I have to act...” (Dissidia 012: Treachery of the Gods, report 5: “Unexpected Fulfillment 2”).

In order to end the cycle of the conflict and to avoid fighting Tifa, Cloud decides to try and defeat Chaos himself. Predictably, Cloud is no match for the deity. As he dies, Cloud pleads the following to the goddess Cosmos:

“Cosmos, goddess of harmony. If you can hear me, listen to my plea. I beg you. Save her. Save my friend… Tifa.”

Cosmos hears him and responds immediately:

“Cosmos: An end to this conflict, and a life spared? This is your heart's desire? If your will remains unchanged, I shall bring you here when the battle draws to a close. Cloud. My chosen" (Dissidia 0.13: Treachery of the Gods, report 7: “Unexpected Fulfillment 3”).

Cloud’s wish is granted by Cosmos: the first phase of the conflict ends without Tifa getting hurt, and she is sent away from the suspension world of DFF before the second phase begins. Cloud is saved from death, and Cosmos enlists him into her team of warriors for phase two: this time, Cloud is fighting on the good side.
Now we enter phase two of the war. Cosmos tells her team of ten core world warriors that in order to save the world from Chaos’ destruction, they must collect what she describes as crystals containing the power to persist through darkness. I call these the “DFF crystals”. There are ten DFF crystals in total: one for every warrior in Cosmos’ group to find. To obtain their crystal, each hero must overcome a trial that will confront them with whatever personal struggle they faced in their core world; if they prove themselves worthy, their DFF crystal will appear to them. On one hand, some warriors’ DFF crystals simply take the form of the crystals found in their core world. For example, Onion Knight’s DFF crystal looks to be nothing more than one of FFIII’s elemental crystals, which hold little to no personal significance to him. On the other hand, some warriors’ DFF crystals symbolize something more personal to their respective warriors. For instance, Cecil’s DFF crystal looks to be one of FFIV’s dark crystals, which specifically represent the dichotomy of light and darkness he struggles with in his core world’s plot line. Cosmos describes the quest for the DFF crystals as follows:

“Cosmos: The crystals embody the strength to face despair. With ten gathered, there is hope yet to save the world. The path to your crystal will be perilous... and different for each and every one of you. But you must believe in and follow your own path. Even if you know not where that path leads" (Dissidia 013: Light to All, prologue: “A Final Hope”).

From this exposition, simply keep in mind that: Cloud must find his crystal by overcoming a personal trial, and his crystal may have the appearance of an object in OG that’s important to him.
Once the team is debriefed on their mission, Cloud remains reticent to fight; he doesn’t much like the mysterious nature of this conflict. Not knowing exactly what they’re all fighting for is clearly bothersome to the swordsman, and the idea of thoughtlessly engaging in battles leaves a bad taste in his mouth. Fellow warrior Firion understands that without a reason to fight, Cloud’s heart just isn’t in it. He imparts upon Cloud that he must have a dream he’s fighting to protect, something he wants to see come true, to motivate him to stop Chaos from destroying all existence. Unfortunately, Cloud doesn’t have a dream to preserve, or can’t find one for himself:

“Cloud: I've looked, but I'm still empty-handed. And without a dream, what do you suppose I should do? […] Maybe what I'm looking for... isn't here” (Dissidia 0.13: Light to All, chapter 1: “Beyond Doubt”, “Gateway of Good and Evil”).

Another fellow warrior, Cecil, expresses worry for Cloud, whose response evokes the main theme of FFVII OG:

“Cecil: Everyone's worried, Cloud. But... Do you shoulder a larger concern?
Cloud: Concern... Maybe a sense of loss" (Dissidia 0.13: Light to All, chapter 1: “Beyond Doubt”, “Beyond the Continent”).

Whatever Cloud is looking for “isn’t [there]”, and he feels “a sense of loss”: Cloud’s motivating dream has been lost to him. This is later reasserted in a conversation with Terra, another warrior of Cosmos:

“Terra: And you, Cloud... What's your dream?
Cloud: I've lost mine" (Dissidia 0.13: Light to All, chapter 3: “The Chosen Battle”, “Gateway of True Intent”).

Later, Cloud encounters and fights Sephiroth, who is still a part of Chaos’ team. Sephiroth is defeated, but not before he’s taunted Cloud with his habitual puppet talk. However, Cloud remains strong and refutes Sephiroth’s manipulation, asserting that only he can determine his own path. This must’ve been Cloud’s personal trial, because his crystal appears at that very moment: it is a small, light green orb that looks like materia from his core world. Having pocketed his crystal, Cloud decides he must find his own reason to fight. Interestingly, his search is depicted as intertwined with Fate:

“Cloud: Even if I have my doubts... I have to find my own answer […] Until then, I'll keep fighting.
Narration: The warrior has vowed to keep fighting— and keep fighting he will […]. Etched in destiny, his quest for answers continues on” (Dissidia 0.13: Light to All, chapter 1: “Beyond Doubt”, “Gulg Gateway”).

Later, the nemeses meet again in a segment called “Recurring Tragedy”. Their interactions here are particularly interesting. Sephiroth speaks of making Cloud suffer through despair and pain as though referencing their history together:

"Sephiroth: This disease called hope is eating you alive. The world of suffering was born out of such half-baked ideals.
Cloud: If that's the case, I have to endure the suffering. There's no moving on if I run from it.
Sephiroth: If that is what you wish for, you shall drown in the pain. I'll lead you to true despair. [My] shadow is burned into your heart. We'll meet again, Cloud. I'll keep coming back— as long as you are who you are."
Sephiroth disappears. Cloud looks out into the distance before the scene ends.
“Cloud: No thanks. The one I really want to meet is…” (Dissidia 013: Light to All, epilogue: “Conclusion of a Cycle”, “Recurring Tragedy”).

This final line suggests Cloud has finally found a reason to fight: he wants to meet someone unspecified.
Finally, after the war has ended, we arrive at the final cutscene of DFF. I will let you read the full script, with notes added by me in bold behind the spoiler censors. Please do not read my notes if you do not wish to encounter spoilers for FFI, FFII, FFIII, FFIV, FFV, FFVI, FFVIII, FFIX or FFX:

“[The] heroes are all standing together in a grassy field with a forest behind them. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining brightly, and the wind is blowing gently. The heroes look around them in awe. They're all holding their crystals.
WoL: The battle has come to an end...
Tidus notices that his crystal has begun to emanate a blue glow.>! His crystal is a movie sphere from his core world of FFX: a capsule containing sounds and images that people record for later viewing. Tidus’ crystal likely represents the specific movie sphere recorded by his love interest Yuna, which revealed that she’d loved him from the beginning.!<
Tidus: Gotta go, huh...
The blue glow transfers to him as well. He turns to look at the others
[…] Tidus grins at the others, then turns and runs toward a nearby lake. He leaps into it in a manner reminiscent of [the events] of FFX. He vanishes as he descends toward the lake.
Zidane: We're not vanishing. We're returning—
Zidane is sitting on a tree limb as he says this. His crystal begins to glow gold, as does he. His crystal is shaped like a highly important ‘progenitor of all life’ crystal from his core world of FFIX.
Zidane: — to where we're supposed to be.
Zidane spins around the tree limb with the use of his tail and launches toward the sun. He's lost to view.
A white feather then drifts down from that direction and Squall catches it. The feather is reminiscent of his love Rinoa Heartilly, whose character symbol is a white feather. In fact, Squall’s crystal looks like a mix of his revolver gunblade from FFVIII and Rinoa’s feather motif. [Squall glows blue.]
Squall: Perhaps we can go on a mission together again.
Squall vanishes.
Cloud is then visible, standing in [a] flower field. The flowers are white and yellow. Cloud has his crystal, a light green materia from his core world of FFVII, in hand.
Cloud: [(Chuckles shortly, like a scoff)] Not interested.
Cloud walks off into the flower field, gaining a green glow. He vanishes.
A snowflake then falls into Terra's right hand as her crystal begins to glow pink. The flames drawn on her crystal represent her power, which is connected to the element of fire: her character arc in FFVI.
Terra: I think I've learned how to keep going. Thank you— and take care.
Terra glows pink and then vanishes. Bartz throws a stick. He's glowing pink as well.
Bartz: When you're having the most fun, that's when time always flies. His crystal is the Adamantite from his core world of FFV.
Bartz vanishes.
Cecil: It's mine to pass on—
A moon appears behind Cecil and goes through its phases as he begins to glow blue. His crystal has shadowed and illuminated parts, representing the duality of his character, which is central to his personal arc in his core world of FFIV. It also represents his brother Golbez, who has chosen the darkness. Cecil considers his familial bond with Golbez his guiding light and hopes to be with him someday.
Cecil: — this strength I've gained from everyone.
Cecil vanishes.
Onion Knight hugs his crystal and looks up toward the sky. His crystal is shaped like those found in his core world of FFIII.
Onion Knight: Everyone... thank you!
OK briefly glows blue and then vanishes.
There are wild roses at Firion's feet. He and WoL are looking toward the sky. WoL suddenly begins walking away while Firion looks down and sees the roses.
Firion: This isn't the end. Another dream is waiting to begin.
His crystal is the color of the wild roses that were at the center of his dream and of his motivation to fight Chaos. The roses are also the emblem of the Rebel Army he was a part of in his core world of FFII. His crystal is shaped like Pandaemonium, the final dungeon of his core world story. Firion gains a violet glow and then vanishes.
WoL is walking through the field and then comes to a stop. He's looking at something.
WoL: May the light forever shine upon us.”

As you can see, everyone’s crystal is very important to the story of their core world, and in the cases of at least Tidus, Squall, Terra and Cecil, the crystals represent something very personal. What about Cloud and his crystal, then? What about the dream he lost and the person he wants to meet? Let’s begin analyzing to answer these questions.
III. c) ii. Fact Analysis
Firstly, it’s clear to me that the Cloud that appears in DFF is a post-OG Cloud, given how many plot points from OG he interacts with. I’m reticent to say whether or not this post-OG Cloud is dead like in FFT, as he recovers many of his memories of OG during DFF and there is no evidence of him having passed away and joined the Lifestream.
The second thing I’d like to point out is Cloud’s strange reaction when Tifa compares him to a hero who swoops in and saves the girl from the bad guy. Cloud gasps, indicating that her words mean something to him; the trope Tifa references must therefore be included somewhere in the FFVII OG plot-line. Some of you are surely ahead of me by now, having realized that only the tragic antithesis of this trope appears in OG: Cloud is unable to save Aerith from Sephiroth (disk 1, chapter 28). Whether or not DFF Cloud remembers Aerith herself at this point, it’s clear he recalls the pain and guilt of losing Aerith to Sephiroth.
Next, let’s address Cloud’s lost dream: to meet an unspecified person. It seems Cloud is aware at this point that in OG, he was eternally separated from the person he dreams of meeting. So, who was he separated from in his core world? Who can he never meet again, even if his team of warriors defeats Chaos and Cloud returns to the realm of FFVII? There are a few options —his mother, his father, Zack, Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, and any other person he knew who died—, but the sheer narrative weight that Aerith’s untimely death carries makes it clear who he truly wants to meet. This is corroborated by Cloud’s “I think I can meet her… there” line in OG (disk 3 chapter 3), by FFT Cloud’s search for Aerith during his appearance in Ivalice, and by Cloud’s strange reaction to Tifa’s comparing him to a hero who swoops in and saves the girl from the bad guy. All the available evidence suggests that Cloud’s dream is indeed to reunite with Aerith, and that this dream is “lost” to him because she was killed by Sephiroth (disk 1, chapter 28). This would also explain the title of the DFF segment “Recurring Tragedy”, since as we all know, the ultimate tragedy of FFVII OG is Aerith’s death. Considering Sephiroth was the one to take Aerith away from Cloud, Sephiroth’s threats of drowning him in despair in “Recurring Tragedy” only solidify this interpretation of Cloud’s lost dream.
Finally, we arrive at the ending cutscene. Cosmos’ warriors return to where they belong to try and accomplish whatever dream they held as motivation during the Cosmos-Chaos conflict, each carrying their DFF crystal. Cloud is shown standing in a field of white and yellow flowers and walking deeper into it with a light green materia in hand. Why was a white and yellow flower field chosen to represent DFF Cloud’s dream? The answer is obvious. White and yellow flowers symbolize Aerith: she sold Cloud a yellow blossom upon first meeting him in OG (disk 1, chapter 1), and her yellow and white flowerbed cushioned Cloud’s fall when the two reunited in the Sector 5 church (disk 1, chapter 4). What’s more, we have the iconic credits video of the original cut of Advent Children to refer to, wherein Cloud is seen driving near flower fields. Aerith stands there (3:20), seemingly waiting for him. Here’s what Nomura had to say about this credits scene:

"[...] we filmed the video for the ending credits in Hawaii. There are fields of flowers on both sides of the road, and the colors —yellow and white— are the same as the flowers in Aerith's church […]. With Aerith, 'flowers' have been her image throughout the series” (FFVII Reunion Files, “Countdown to Reunion”, “Stories from CG Production”, page 87).

Even in the Advent Children Complete cut of the film, where Aerith is not shown standing in the field, the flowers and their symbolism of Aerith remain. That being so, it’s more than fair to say that the white and yellow flowers in DFF’s ending cutscene serve as yet another confirmation that Cloud’s dream is to be with Aerith.
With all of this established, we can address the nature of Cloud’s DFF crystal. As we established, every core world has its own version of a crystal, each possessing a distinct appearance, function and meaning. Materia are the crystals of FFVII, so one could be satisfied by the proposition that Cloud’s DFF crystal is simply meant to represent a random materia. However, I think Cloud’s crystal is specifically the White Materia, as it represents Aerith’s sacrifice, her importance to the plot and what she died fighting for. If any one object symbolizes her death, it’s the White Materia; it’s even given closeups during the event (2:33-3:02). Besides, unlike any other materia in FFVII, the White Materia is known to glow a light green when Holy has been activated:

“Bugenhagen: If [the prayer] reaches the planet, the White Materia will begin to glow a pale green” (FFVII OG, disk 2, chapter 15).

Here are pictures of the White Materia in OG and Advent Children, and two pictures of Cloud's DFF crystal (in order) so you can compare for yourself:
https://preview.redd.it/0qtumfeyfq0d1.jpg?width=386&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3995f010738c83fca0c5842a0564d0a9ad206dfd
https://preview.redd.it/0kj525tzfq0d1.jpg?width=1144&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=575573ef1d2c937635cf569d4a376886a24b384c
Cloud's DFF Crystal
Cloud’s DFF crystal
So far, in both suspension world games we’ve examined (FFT and DFF), Cloud is searching for Aerith. As a final note on DFF, it may interest you to know that codirector of the Remake trilogy Toriyama was actually a writer for DFF: he may have carried some themes from DFF to Remake…
III. d) Detour: The Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Farewell Exposition
Before we hop onto the next suspension world, let’s return to ours for a quick detour: the 2018 Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Expo. Themed with farewells and tragedy, this expo showcased the heartbreaking goodbyes featured in different FF games. Artwork, clips, quotes and images aplenty here! As the highly anticipated Remake was going to be coming out approximately a year and a half later, the FFVII section of the expo featured a few sneak peek Remake designs. This means the expo was at least partly curated with the Remake trilogy in mind; there could be interesting material in the FFVII section of the expo related to Remake. Let’s dive in!
Unsurprisingly, the focus of the FFVII section is Cloud and Aerith, since she is the loved one he lost in OG. Zack is also given a mention, however Aerith was the glaringly central star of the show. To showcase how important Aerith’s farewell in particular was to the expo, the FFVII portion was introduced by a photo of Cloud lowering Aerith into her watery grave and a video of her tragic death:
Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Farewell Exposition, FFVII Introduction
The description under the video screen reads:

“She was gone in the blink of an eye. But the pain never went away.
Aerith awoke the ultimate magic to protect the planet and the people she loved. Yet her life came to a sudden end at the hands of Sephiroth, a man bent on seeing the world destroyed. Even the usually stoic Cloud couldn’t hide his grief at the unexpected death of an irreplaceable companion. ‘My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning.’ True words, revealing Cloud’s deep sorrow” (Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Exposition).

Conveniently enough for us, the expo’s tagline is “Who is the person you want to meet again?” Given that Aerith holds the spotlight in the FFVII section of the expo, it’s clear who SE is telling us Cloud wants to reunite with. Recall Cloud’s unfinished line in DFF: “The one I really want to meet is..." (Dissidia 013: Light to All, epilogue: “Conclusion of a Cycle”, “Recurring Tragedy”). We theorized that he must be referring to Aerith, and now, we are certain.
The expo also had pamphlet descriptions of the farewells depicted. Here is the general summary of FFVII‘s farewell story according to that pamphlet:

“The story follows the lead character Cloud, but it is the heroine, Aerith, who opens Cloud’s eyes and helps bring him closer to understanding the mystery that is his past. Through her, we draw closer to the truth of the story.
This scene, in which the heroine Aerith is lost, is easily the most shocking and tragic in the story. No one expected to say goodbye to such a major character in the middle of the story. Rumors of a secret way to revive Aerith spread, and it was clear players were having a hard time saying goodbye to her too. Even now, twenty years later, it still feels like a shocking turn of events” (Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Exposition Pamphlet, page 36).

It’s interesting that SE would mention the rumors of Aerith’s revival circulated by players back in 1997, especially as fans were awaiting Remake’s release…
In light of everything we’ve analyzed so far, it can be said that between FFT (1997) and this farewell expo (2018), SE has consistently demonstrated that reuniting with Aerith is post-OG Cloud’s goal. That’s a period of over two decades— two decades of wishing, seeking, longing in real-world time for this character. This is a huge long-term commitment for SE to make, and you can bet the devs don’t take it lightly. Again and again, once the events of the OG game have ended, Cloud is shown to desire a reunion with Aerith. This ever-present and ever-insistent theme will become very important to us later in this analysis.

I am 18, and I'll be graduating this year. With the economy being what it is, I'll have to take a gap year before going to a university, and unfortunately I'll have to stay at home with my parents. My father is incredibly physically abusive, and has violently and extremely beaten me down, smashed my head into the floor, stomped me out, all for little things like being late out of the door, and even attacking my (at the time) 12 year old little brother with a stock prod. He has Ofcourse cut this out for the time being after learning that I plan to cut him out of my life once I become able to support myself, and my mother doesn't want to have a healthy relationship with me, insisting that I pay for my own phone bill ($120) and once I graduate, that I should pay rent, because instead of having thousands of dollars to help once I move out, I need to know how to pay bills, 12 times. As well, she has never to my knowledge made things straight forward, turning chores into a guessing game instead of just letting me know what needs done, on top of being an enabler for my dads aforementioned violent tendencies. Anyways, I've been looking for a job since the one I currently have doesn't give enough hours. My mom has offered to help pay for gas in exchange for me doing some house chores. For three days in a row, she put down wash the floor, which I did, and I assumed that it was repeating due to the fact that our animals had kept dirtying the floor. Then, one day she stopped leaving chore lists, and so when I asked her why, she said it was because I wasn't washing the floor right, and after blaming it on me, giving me the silent treatment, accusing me of badgering her, and then my dad revealing that he's going through my personal belongings and that he found the weed my friend gave me, they decided they would not ask me for any more help, and that I would not be receiving anymore gas money, but I could ask them for a ride. I obviously want to spend as little time with them as possible, but I don't know what to do. For some extra context as to what kind of people l'm dealing with, when I was 7 and first got my puppy, my dads go to threat for the next few years was that he was going to sell her to dog fighters, he also makes creepy comments concerning 14 yo girls, and has an extreme obsession with respect, to the point where he didn't tip our waiter because he told him there was no lobster in a dish, and Ofcourse he dabbles in antivax, as the cherry on top of his cartoonishly evil exploits. The picture up top is a picture from 2023 after one of beatings to get an idea of how far he's willing to go, so can someone please tell me what to do

Well, Hi all! again! 4Th Wall here, I figured since I just got power back, I might as well play some catch up on both series. Hope you enjoy this episode!!
Yup, I fucked that up. This is a repost with the correct Episode number, LOL! It's been a while since I've done that.
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Benjamin smiled, watching the girls skip ahead of him. Today was a testing day of sorts for him. Unwilling to release firearms into this world haphazardly, yet unwilling to go without them as a backup; he had pulled from one of his sister’s favorite video games. He had “melted down” his bowie knife, repurposing the metal to be used in his latest creation. The final product rode on his hip like a short sword, but Ben was satisfied in the design when the vast majority of the people he passed ignored it as just another adventurer’s blade. Benjamin hoped, that with the existence of Majik, that he would be able to pass off any… peculiarities... as the realm of the supernatural.

The three of them arrived at the tailor’s establishment, and the girls were met with a customary indifference that seemed to present itself when a slave’s “master” was present. The moment Benjamin entered, the seamstress ceased to pay attention to the girls, and instead addressed him directly, “Ah, The Forgemaster’s Protégé. What can I do for you this day.” She said cooly, bowing slightly in welcome. “I’m here commission some clothing for these two, a reward for good service.” Benjamin began. It was technically true; the success of the forge had afforded him much more coin than a mere apprentice could have made. Qort had taken him on as a true partner, and Benjamin earned enough to comfortably afford to cloth his “slaves” in whatever he chose.

Some stigma’s remained however, and the seamstress seemed to glare sideways at the girls as they perused the fabrics adorning the walls. “Is that wise? A slave could lose her place with such gifts.” she asked, her polite tone barely hiding her disapproval. Benjamin sighed internally, ‘oh for fucks sake’ he groaned in his own mind before putting on facad, “I find that proper reward, afforded on the right servant can result in” he paused, projecting a smug expression and blatantly looking the girls up and down. “a profound dedication to their duties” he finished with a satisfied smile as the seamstress covered her mouth with a hand to hide a smile of her own. The gambit worked, and the Seamstress was obviously satisfied that the “Aereesen slave whores” were being properly “used”. “Ah, I understand. What did you have in mind for them.” She practically moaned back at Benjamin. ‘This hag needs a good pounding….’ Benjamin’s inner monologue threatened to crack his facade, “That’s the fun part, my good lady. It’s their choice. The surprise is half the excitement.” He chuckled.

The seamstress openly smiled at him this time before nodding and stepping over to the two girls. Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief as she seemed to treat them at least marginally more warmly. The old racist bag didn’t need to know that Benjamin was secretly building a small nest egg for his girls, or that his sending them out to do errands for him was how he was teaching them about money, value, and the application of Mathematics. She also didn’t need to know that the full Cutlery set that she had purchased last week had been made by Vi’s own hand as her first full solo commission set. Benjamin had stamped his “mark” on them, because slaves were not allowed to own anything, including their own work; but Vi had begun with raw steel and finished with one of the finest cooking knife sets he had seen in this world or his.

Benjamin settled onto a bench outside, using the excuse of wanting to enjoy the morning air to afford his girls some privacy. Now that Viola and Valtrya were eating a healthy diet, and the right calorie amount; they had blossomed into absolute bombshells. Their hair had recovered, and both sported long flowing locks that boasted a silky satin black color and texture that betrayed hints of deep royal purple. The color reminded Benjamin of one of those expensive custom car paints that changed color depending on the lighting.

Their skin recovered almost as quickly as their hair. The sickly, scabbed look was quickly replaced with the same satin quality as their hair to the touch, but with a light grey coloring that almost seemed to tease the edge of hinting at a greyish purple. A dense pattern of Small freckles of the same dark, almost royal, purple as the highlights in their hair frolicked on both girl’s cheeks, and down the sides of their necks. Because of their early lack of understanding on modestly, Ben knew that those freckles traveled much further. The sad truth was that Benjamin understood fully why Aereesen’s were the prize of slavers and brothels, and he silently prayed that he could give them enough self-worth and skill to have a better life than that, once he got them out of the Principality.

A door’s soft creaking broke Benjamin from his thoughts as the two sisters stepped out smiling, “Get everything you need?” he asked standing as the three of them departed the establishment. Val nodded vigorously, and Vi smiled as she spoke, “I think so, but I had to practically beg the woman to stop showing us lingerie… what did you tell her?” Benjamin felt his cheeks heat as he responded, “What I had to. The old hag doesn’t get enough at home. It’s not my fault that your ‘enthusiasm’ is in the forge and your studies, not between the sheets. I didn’t lie to her, I just let her draw her own conclusions, sorry.”

Vi’s eyes twinkled for a second, “Oh,” She smirked, “Thaaat’s why she broke out the silk. Some of her options were..” She blatantly bit her lip at Benjamin. “You didn’t…” He asked in shock, and Vi lifted up on her tippy toes to brush her lips against his ear, “Not telling” she purred, setting Bens senses on fire. She backed up a step, openly smirking at his beet red face. “But your expression is adorable… My Lord” She stated the last two words with a deep sultry tone, knowing that Ben couldn’t scold her in public before taking his hand, “May we visit the bazar next? Val saw some jewelry she wanted to look at.” Benjamin gave her a pointed look, that turned into a smile as she beamed at him, “Ok, sounds good. I need to pick up some food for the week.”

It was later that afternoon when the three of them left the bazar. They found Jukha waiting on the bench in front of their home. “Jukha! How are you!” Benjamin called, clasping the Orc’s hand firmly as the girls rushed inside to put up their purchases. Jukha reciprocated, if somewhat stiffly, to the strange to him gesture. “Benjamin, it is good to see you well.” His tone stopped Ben in his tracks, “What is it. Is your wife, ok?”
Jukha shook his head, “Vilora is well, but I have been tasked with finding you.” He said carefully, “The slaver, the one you dueled for those two,” he nodded to Vi and Val as they stepped back out of the building, “The Heir of The Romoregin house is here. He has lodged an official demand for satisfaction, and he brought a champion.”

Benjamin stiffened, “Another duel? You said an ‘official demand’… what happens if I refuse.” Jukha winced at Ben’s tone, “It is an archaic practice of my people, rarely remembered, and even more rarely demanded. You cannot deny a satisfaction claim, but should you prevail, no further claims can be made upon your person. I am sorry Benjamin, but if you flee or refuse, your life is forfeit; and your property goes to the claimant.” Jukha looked pointedly at Viola and Valtrya. “The young puke has put me in danger as well, if I do not deliver you and them to the duel, I can be detained. If they torture me….” Benjamin’s eyes widened before hardening in understanding. “Jukha…” He turned to find Viola standing next to him, with his musket in one arm and his ammunition bag in the other, and sighed, “Fuck”. He loaded his musket with a single roundball cartridge this time, unwilling to fire buck and ball in the town streets. He pealed the ball out of the paper wading after pouring the poweder, reaching into his haversack to retrieve a small round patch made of pillow ticking. Jukha looked on in mild fascination as Benjamin spit on the cloth patch before wrapping the ball in it and ramming the whole thing down the barrel. It wasn’t much, but it reduce windage, ensuring at least reasonable enough accuracy from the smoothbore to keep from hitting innocent bystanders. It would also virtually eliminate blow-by, upping the chamber pressure and giving him a little more velocity. “I’m ready.”

The four of them entered the small city square to be met with Qort and three Org guards. These soldiers wore different insignia that Benjamin had been taught were the mark of the capital. “Beenjaymen Shayfe” one of them butchered his name, “I am.” Ben nodded firmly, the other guard nodded, “And your two slaves, good. Has Jukha informed you of the proceedings.” Benjamin scowled, “A legalized way to attempt a revenge killing? Yea, I’ve been told.” Ben didn’t bother to hide his vitriol, “So I have to kill a motherfucker for defending myself from his father?”

“Not quite. The Heir has brought a champion. The rules are simple, all forms of combat are allowed” The first guard began as the second one began chaining the wrists of Viola and Valtrya. Benjamin began to move before thinking, only to be held back by Jukha, “Peace albino. They must do this. Fighting them will cause a forfeit.” Benjamin looked at the terrified faces of the two girls. He forced himself to calm down outwardly, but Benjamin could feel the rage building. He had worked so hard to save those two, to get them out.. now some snot nosed brat was going to try to kill him because his father didn’t know when to fuck off. Benjamin stepped out from around the guards. The “heir” was a young Durr. Ben had no frame of reference for age, but the Heir was substantially shorter, and his facial tentacles were almost mere buds. Beside him stood a crimson colossus, the same species as the Hunter he had shot saving Jukha. He was taller than that female, and was wearing plate armor, gilded in silver. He hefted a great sword of some kind and smiled openly at Benjamin. It was not a pleasant expression. “Ah, so You’re the puke I’ll be cleaning from my blade. I am Krastorin. Come here, pale one, I’ll make it quick.”

Benjamin looked him over, subtly shifting into a shooting stance but keeping his musket looking like he was resting the butt of a spear on the ground. “You look accomplished, what makes you do the bidding of the boy.” He asked, blatant scorn on his tone. The Young Durr flinched, his small tentacle buds writhing violently. “H’Dare Yee!” he bellowed, voice cracking with the strain of fury, “Aye’ll ‘ave Yee Head on Me’Wall!!”
Benjamin ignored him, focusing on the Hellirine. The man looked back at the boy with a raised eyebrow, “The young puke promised me one of those.” He pointed at Vi and Val, who had reverted to their former trembling submissive postures that Ben had met them in. “It appears that they are as well kept as claimed. I look forward to sampling them.” He leered. Benjamin looked over at the Young Durr and found his face a mixture of relief and anger. ‘Ah, lied about daddy’s slaves.’ He turned to the soldier standing next to him, “Is the duel on?” he growled.

“Combatants! Begin!” was the Soldiers response, and the crimson mercenary lifted his sword from his shoulders advancing forward with a long confident stride, “at last, let’s get this over wi..” a clap of thunder echo’d through the Feral wood, and most of the crowd cried out in surprise as Benjamin disappeared, seemingly behind a bubble of fire, and brimstone. The single round ball ignored the mercenary’s plate armor. Punching straight through as the soft lead mushroomed out into a ragged disk that measured almost an inch and a half. The mangled projectile, still travelling at almost half the speed of sound, eviscerated the chest cavity of the Mercenary before blowing a one foot wide hole out of the crimson man’s back. The exit wound missed Krastorin’s spine by an inch, but it didn’t matter. The projectile embedded itself into a post, thankfully missing any bystanders by mere inches in some cases. The Young Durr, who was standing just behind and to the side of his champion, was screaming as he pawed at the bits of pale yellow blood, bones, and fragments of internal organs now covering him from head to toe.

Benjamin handed the smoking musket to Jukha, drawing his short sword and walking over to a sputtering, choking, and coughing Krastorin. The Hellirine lay face down on the ground, having fallen that way from the momentum of his initial advance. The back of Benjamins mind was sickly amused as he remembered the old Hollywood trope of bullets throwing people backward, and a pinch of regret sparked in his soul as his opponent death rattled. He stepped up to the Heir, resting the blade against his neck, “Are we done here. Be a better man than your father and learn when to save your own life.” The Young Durr froze, staring up at him in abject terror for several moments as a puddle formed at his feet. Benjamin opened his mouth to speak again when the boy simply passed out, falling into the puddle of his own mess as his mind refused to stay conscious.

Benjamin turned to walk back towards Jukha and the girls. “Unchain them.” Benjamin’s tone could have frozen a raging forge’s inferno. To his surprise, two of the soldiers drew their weapons on him, “You need to come with us. All Touched must be registered with...” Benjamin pointed his short sword at the one talking… and pulled the trigger. The percussion revolver built into the hilt of the short sword was zero’d using a notch Benjamin cut into the crossguard, and the tip of the curved blade as a crude set of open sights. The barrel of the revolver lay along one side of the blade, and was rifled. The speaking soldier orc’s took the smaller pistol round through the forehead, exploding the back of his skull in a cone of dark green and grey mist. The exit wound showered his companion in bits of bone and brains. Benjamin’s thumb found the hammer, and four satisfying clicks echo’d in the stunned silence, “HEAR ME!” He growled, “I, am touched by the Gods. I posses the power to end any life I choose using the power of Hell itself!” ‘if I have to show them a gun, might as well throw them off the trail’ “The violence of the raging volcano obeys my very fingertips.” His revolvesword bucked a second time as another soldier orc made a move to rush him. The smaller pistol round still punched through the orcs armor and out the back, but only left him screaming on the ground. Benjamin re-cocked, and leveled his weapon at the orc holding the chains to Val and Vi. “Now, release them.” This last remaining Orc did as asked, before gathering up his screaming companion as the girls rushed to Benjamin, he pulled them close, whispering, “I’m sorry we wont be able to pick up your dresses.”

The three of them packed up that night. Qort had understood, knowing all too well what the Principality would do to acquire a Touched of Benjamins ability. “Stay safe my friend. I pray our paths cross again.” Jukha snuck them out of the village that night, using his wagon to get them to his home. They stayed a week, laying low while they planned their next move. The girls spent their time learning recipes from Jukha’s wife, and ben took the time to unwind a bit. Jukha and He went on a hunt, and Benjamin was given a run down on the flora and fauna of the Feral wood. The two of them brought back a pair of Stags, and the three women cooked them a feast.

“Dinner’s ready!!” called Viola, setting the last of the sides on the table as the dutch oven roasted meat was brought off of the stove top. It was a simple yet elegant meal. Stag, potatoes, some kind of Kale style vegetable that Benjamin had never seen before. Soon enough, everyone at the table was leaning back, as full as they could make themselves. “So, pinkskin,” Jukha asked, “Where do you plan on going. I wouldn’t mind you staying with me. I could use another hunter, but I suspect that they would notice the extra product I brought to the village.”

Benjamin Hummed, “The Maridian Combine. Qort told me that they banned slavery over a century ago, the girls have learned so much already. It would be easy to find jobs for them.” Vi and Val drooped slightly but hid it well. Jukha noticed it but said nothing. “A good choice, their boarders are well guarded, you would need to free them before you cross, or end up in a dungeon yourself.”

“Good point, I can write up a simple writ of freedom. Something I can sign and give to them.” Benjamin nodded, “I can get started on that to…” he paused as a hand fell on his. He looked to see Viola staring at him, fighting back tears, “Hey, what’s wrong. You will be free…” Jukha nodded slowly and stood. “love,” he said to Vilora, “I need some help with the livestock” The Farie met his eyes in unspoken understanding, fluttering out the front door with Jukha.

“Vi, what’s wrong.” Benjamin asked gently.

“No… go… Val… stay…” Both of them turned to Valtrya in shock. She was trembling, “I wont..leave.”

“You speak?” Benjamin looked in shock, but Viola spoke next, “Benjamin, we don’t want to leave. We want to stay, with you. I…” She paused. Ben sighed, “I want you to stay too.” He said, finally admitting it to himself, “But I can’t own you. It’s killing me that you are my property.” He reached up and wiped a tear from Vi’s eyes, “You are so much more than property. I feel evil, every day that I wake up knowing that I could do anything I wanted to you, or worse, die and have someone else hurt you for the fun of it.” Benjamin bowed his head. Viola reached out, lifting his chin to look into his eyes, “Then come with us.” She whispered as Val stood up and stepped around the table, “yes.. You, come.” She wrapped herself around Ben from the side leaning in until she was resting her head against his shoulder, “I’m… staying.. with you.” she said softly. Viola nodded, “Benjamin, how old do you think we are.”

Ben looked at her in confusion, “I have no idea, I’ve always assumed you were teenagers. 13-14 years old for Val, maybe 16 for you, but that was when you were skin and bones.” He admitted.

Viola’s eyes widened in understanding. “You did not want to bed us because you thought us children.” Benjamin nodded slowly, answering. “And forcing sex on a child is the worst kind of crime on my world”. Viola and Valtrya looked at each other, before Vi spoke. “Ben, my sister will turn one hundred and three in a fortnight. I just had my one hundred and fifteenth birthday last week.” She leaned in, pressing her lips to Bens as she kissed him passionately for a moment. “We are no children,” Viola paused as Valtrya leaned in, kissing Ben lightly on the neck, “You are not forcing us to do anything, but leave.” Viola whispered as she began to close in to a surprised Benjamin for another kiss.

The door to the cabin flew open violently, and the girls pulled back to a more modest distance. Jukha walked in, carrying a panting Vilora. “What happened.” Ben asked hurriedly, hoping he wasn’t blushing as hard as the heat on his cheeks suggested. Vilora waved a hand as Jukha set her down in her chair, “The Vin… My sisters… they reached out… They wish to meet…” The Farie gathered herself, “They also sent a warning. We must leave, tonight… hunters.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you made it this far, I very much appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed the episode! If you believe I have earned it, I have a Patreon that is two episodes ahead of the free releases for this series. I hope you feel taking a look is worth it. Either way, come hang out in the comments. Everyone's welcome! I've discovered Im a bit of a "warts and all" poster, so even critical comments are welcome. Hell, You might even teach me something (it happens more than I'd like to admit).
I have heard people off and on reference Royal road, So I am going to give it another shot. I'll be adding the Royal Road link from now on. If you like reading over there, It is on the same schedule as here. I would greatly appreciate a like/review/comment if you feel so inclined. Thank you again for stopping by.
First, Previous, Next (Patreon) Royal Road

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I recently purchased a used car from a friend and tried to insure it. My old car broke down in the fall, and after trying to fix it for months, I decided to cut my losses and had it junked. So after paying for car insurance for about 6 months on the car and not driving it I cancelled the insurance. When I did this, State Farm did not tell me I would have to re-apply for insurance and there would be a chance I would be dropped.
Fast forward to today. I thought I would be able to just purchase a new policy and have car insurance that day since I have had State Farm for 15+ years and I have other insurance policies with them including whole life insurance and renters insurance. They tell me that I have to reapply since I canceled my policy and I would take 2 weeks for the policy to be effective. New law in California apparently. Then I get a voicemail saying that they will not cover me because I had 2 accidents last winter.
This is what upsets me-
-the agent never told me that this was a possibility when I cancelled my insurance. They did offer to pause the policy until I got a new care but did not specify there was a chance I would not be able to receive a new policy under the new regulations and my driving history.
-both of my accidents were minor and a result of bad weather and road conditions. Where I live, we had record breaking snowfall. I worked as a first responder which required me to drive in atrocious weather to and from work so I could help people, I did not have a choice to not drive during bad weather and storms because it was my job to be on duty those days. My town was literally declared to be in an official state of emergency. FEMA and the National Guard were present, not that this is relevant to car insurance just painting a picture.

• I have never had a speeding ticket, DUI, traffic violation or been at fault for an accident causing anyone bodily injury in my 18 years of driving.

-My two dumb accidents were sliding down an icy road coming home from work and hitting my coworker who had slid in the same spot into a snow bank in front of me and was stuck in the the road and couldn’t avoid him and the other one was accidentally backing into someone very lightly in a parking lot where there were 10+ foot snow banks, I couldn’t see, and slightly dented the back panel of his truck with my spare tire.
I’m not claiming to have no fault, I am not a perfect driver or person but I feel like I could have been given more information from my agent before canceling my policy. I have been with this particular agent for 10 years.
I know this post is long and the chances of it being read are probably low, but if anyone has any insight, that would be great.

My husband and I (35M and 30F) have been married for 5 years. Initially when we got married, my husbands salary was really low. I was easily making more than 4 times his monthly wages. For this reason, I footed a lot of bills in the family. I paid our rent. I paid for food. I covered any unexpected bills. I paid for it all and allowed him contribute what he could. Over the years, he has made more and more money. His salary has increased significantly. I on the other hand, I gave birth to a baby. Went on maternity leave. Had a significant pay cut. For the first year or 2 after we had a baby, I was taking on most baby expenses. I still earned more than him. I still paid any unexpected costs. I still covered every emergency expense. I still paid about 60% of our bills.
Recently I lost my job and ended up in one that I make less money. Significantly less money than I used to. (Say 800k monthly to 250k monthly) Now I thought that was ok because I could make extra from my side hustle. I didn’t
My husbands salary has increased and he now makes about 700k monthly.
My husband now thinks it’s time to save money on his own. And buy house in his hometown and whatever. I am all for that. But I recently noticed he kept some money from me. Not a lot of money but he kept some money from me. I was so hurt. I was pained. I have brought every single dime I have made into this house. I have not kept any money to myself. Any extra cash I have we decide together. Yet he now has more money than me and he is busy thinking of himself and the things he wants to buy.
He is angry and said he doesn’t have to tell me everything he uses money for. But I have done that for over 5 years.
Everytime an expense comes up that was unplanned, I still have to buy it. Our baby’s stuff is still on me. I still buy stuff when clothes get small. When shoes get small. When school needs something. When absolutely any work needs done in the house. I pay. I am tired. I don’t want to carry this burden anymore. I still carry a huge burden on the home front doing so much chores. I don’t want to have to carry financial burden too. That is not my responsibility
How can I shift these unexpected burdens on my husband. I am tired and I don’t want to keep on paying these bills. I now make a lot less money and I don’t think I can continue to afford this. My credit card bills are overflowing. Yet he starts hiding money and thinks it’s ok.
I don’t even know how to move forward. He thinks I am the asshole for confronting him about keeping money aside. Because he has every right to and doesn’t have to hide his money from me. He is just allowed to keep whatever he likes.
I think he is an even bigger asshole for not even mentioning it at all.

(Very) Long Version:
My job was getting us dinner for overtime for a while. Coworker decides to ask me if I've ever had CFA, and I say no (I haven't because I've never been around them until recently for some reason) .
She explains part of the story I vaguely knew of and tells me lgbtq people work there and like it/eat it anyway. I said okay well, I'll think about it. I've been fed misinformation by said person before so I decide to look up the full story for myself and am, as to be expected, disturbed.
Next time we get dinner, she recommends chick fil a. I decide fuck it, it's free food. I order myself a chicken sandwich and hope it'll be good. By the time we're done working, I feel nauseous, on top of having little appetite from my medication.
When I come out, she personally hands me my bag, but I say it's okay you guys can have ny sandwich. On my way out I heard someone quietly say "just take it home..." Turns out to have been someone next to me who rocks pride regalia and had their own bag.
Fast forward 2 weeks during more overtime, coworker asks me AGAIN about chick fil a, but this time asks me why I didn't take my bag. I explain to her that I've told her be that my medication messes with my appetite. When I tell her she cuts me off and says out loud for the office to hear "X doesn't care what we eat by the way. What's everyone's favorite chicken sandwich?"
Very specific question, but everyone except a few people shouts CFA.
For at least 2 weeks after this , the coworker with the pride regalia brings up CFA. They keep talking about how good it is, which makes me slightly nauseous because I have no appetite and so the details do not sound appetizing but it feels weirdly pointed because this has only happened once ever in my time at this company so far.
One day I bring in a Subways cup from the gas station i got breakfast from, and they start talking about Subways and Jared, and how they haven't eaten there since that happened.
This is only like 1/10 of I THINK might be harassment from said individual(s), but also I don't want to play the victim.
Am I crazy and imagining this string of events as being connected (should I have eaten the CFA despite feeling off), or was it ok to refuse it?
The part about all this that bothers me is that it's not like I go around asking strangers if they eat CFA before I befriend them, and it doesn't bother me if someone does/has. I don't think there's much ethical consumption under capitalism if there is at all, so why assume this about me and spend so much time making sure I feel bad about it??? I wish someone would just ask me what I think of it already so I could speak my piece but I've been given 0 opportunity to do so
TLDR: Coworker seems to be upset I didn't eat chick fil a for reasons she won't accept and might be lashing out

I’m writing a sci-fi novel - tons of world building to pull from - my human characters have gotten to their first alien city and I’m having a devil of a time threading the needle between exposition heavy and burying my readers under alien terms and concepts.
I have a dynamic society that I think readers will love, but introducing species (plural), culture, technology while moving character and plot development has ground me to a halt.
I wrote a bunch of chapters from different perspectives to test ideas out and after 6 months of getting little done in outlined a bunch of small chapters and boom, I was off again.
Read the first draft to my brother and he has no idea what the hell I’m writing about.
I had chosen to take a young local’s POV as he interacts w the human strangers. I was comfortable w the reader being a bit confused and figured the new concepts/terms would be explained better in the following chapters.
I see a few paths forward - what are your thought on these or a better way I’m not considering.
1-retell the story solely from the human’s perspective. Reader and characters learn together but I will have much if the culture be opaque for much longer and will have to gin up reasons to ‘show not tell’ my world (or just leave it on the cutting room floor).
2- simplify the local’s journey through the story. Eliminate/simplify the friend interactions and how he’s tied into the different parts of the city/people.
Both seem valid options but both will have me kill a sacred cow or two. I’m leaning toward option one as I already have a dangerous number ofPOV characters. But it will make it harder to develop the plot due to the characters’ interactions with the culture.
Any ideas? (Not easy as you have next to no details of the story)

I F(32) am going through life trying to navigate my grief. I lost my baby and my partner M(32) and I aren’t on good terms. We live together but we haven’t been talking and we haven’t been intimate since a little before his passing. It’s been challenging going through this pain of losing a child and not having my partners support. We’ve been grieving alone. Long story short we’ve have some bad arguments since his passing and a lot of guilt and blaming each other is what has caused this silent treatment from his part. But I’ve looked past all of this and have accepted that we couldn’t control what happened and that we need to find a way to try and move forgive and move forward for our toddlers sake. Anyways, I’ve been giving him space and trying to just take things day by day and being patient. Lately he’s been a bit more calm and not so angry. Of course I miss him, I haven’t been able to kiss or really even hug him since everything happened. I don’t want to lose my family. It’s hard grieving and not having the one persons support that you need. Lately I’ve just been working on myself and trying to focus on my toddler. I realized I can’t control his actions but I can control mine. I want to become a better mom and partner so that’s been my goal. I started working out, and cut my hair, also listening to more podcasts to motivate myself and learn to live with this pain. So I’ve gotten to the point where I miss my partner so much, and I’ve been wanting to have some cuddles, kisses and possibly sex but I can’t find any way to approach this without getting rejected or might it be too pushy to even try to persue this now? He’s been a lot calmer around the house lately and he doesn’t know I found out that he was watching porn a few nights ago. I’m sure he’s masturbating when I leave the house. I know my partner and he’s always been a very sexual guy. So noticing that he’s been seeking some release makes me want to try and see if we can maybe have some intimacy, even if it’s just kissing and hugging. Any advice on how to approach this? Or has anyone encountered a situation like this
TL;DR! - I haven’t been intimate with my partner since our son’s passing. He won’t talk to me and we’ve been on bad terms but I caught him watching porn and I’ve been wanting some affection, how do I approach this?

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This one is actually fairly simple, I promise. In fact, this killer was born because I saw a comment in the main DBD sub that said only three of the 36 available killers were listed as "easy," so I decided to challenge myself to make one that could also be rated as "easy," with a simple power.
I've been struggling with figuring out how to do an idea I've wanted to make for a while, a killer whose touch was the most dangerous thing about them; I have in my mind the image of a killer who only has to put a single finger against a prop to break it, owing to some cursed touch they have. I went the route of decay and rot for a while, thinking up stuff a la Phage the Untouchable from MtG, then I pondered tapping into a really niche hit with Quachil Uttaus, the Treader in the Dust, a minor eldritch entity from the Cthulhu Mythos, but that one will likely be saved for a more complex take on the same idea. Don't yell at me when I basically post the same killer twice, but one with more bells and whistles.
I eventually settled on a gender-reversed take on King Midas, as I also have a sore lack of female killers in my fanmade roster (I have more genderless nightmare monsters than women). I believe in unhinged lady's rights, and so from that comes the Avarice. I only have a rough grasp on her overall appearance, but I know her left arm has been dramatically altered; her skin is solid gold, but not in a beautiful, elegant way; it's more like she dipped her arm in a molten vat and pulled it back out before it could fully incinerate her. Body horror as Entity thorns and spines jut from below the flesh, the thorns also transmuted into gold. Her body is run through by veins that pulse precious metal throughout her form. Gemstones grow like tumors and warts on her corrupt arm and rarely across her body, including one on the back of her left hand which looks more like an eye than anything else. Her left eye has been completely replaced by a bloody gemstone.
Despite what appears to be a grievous and horrid transformation, she has an air of playfulness in what she does. Her wall-breaking animation is her spinning her hand around before giving the wall a single, gentle poke with a single finger. She gently flicks generators to damage them. Her pallet break animation is grabbing the thing and sinking her fingers into it, letting her power shatter it. About the only thing that isn't playful is her stun animation, in which she's absolutely furious, where she growls and hisses, the sound joined by a chorus from the living jewelry she wears. Whenever she interacts destructively with a prop, veins of corrupt gold and silver boil across the surface she's touching until it breaks.
110% speed. 32 meter terror radius. Medium height (Pig height)
--Power: Gilded Transmutation. Pressing the ability button causes the Avarice to hold her cursed hand forward and begin to laugh. She laughs continuously for the 8 seconds she remains in her 'transmutation stance,' signaling all nearby survivors that the power is in play. While Transmutation is active, the Avarice moves 5% faster, and she can end the ability early to perform a special lunging attack which follows the logic of a normal M1 lunge. If she strikes a dropped pallet or breakable wall with the lunge, the impediment is destroyed after 0.80 seconds by her curse.
Upon striking a survivor, that survivor gains their sprint burst as if they had been damaged, and is afflicted with Golden Death. After 60 seconds pass, if the survivor is reduced to the dying state through any means, or if the survivor is struck with Gilded Transmutation a second time, the survivor is wracked with pain and screams as golden tendrils slither across their bodies and engulf them until they're a Gilt Statue. 7 seconds after becoming a statue, sacrifice progress begins as if the survivor had been hooked. If the survivor was on top of a prop, inside a locker, mid-vault, in midair, or otherwise not in contact with the ground when their timer ran out, the survivor staggers towards the nearest empty patch of ground that is at least 2 meters from any interactible props before transforming.
Anti-camp measures affect survivors transmuted gilt statues; they can break free of the transmutation at any stage if the Avarice spends too long within 16 meters of them. A survivor that dies from the transmutation is claimed by the Entity and pulled into the ground. Another survivor can free a transmuted survivor by taking 3 seconds to pull at the gruesome metal enough to free the trapped victim's limbs, after which they free themselves.
After hitting a survivor with Gilded Transmutation, the Avarice is slowed by 30% and cannot attack for 2.5 seconds as she giggles to herself. If she hits a pallet or wall, she is slowed by 15% and cannot attack for 1.5 seconds as she brushes wood scraps off her hand. If she impacts terrain or obstacles with her lunge, or misses completely, she is slowed by 20% and cannot attack for 2 seconds as she rages impotently. Gilded Transmutation has a cooldown of 35 seconds.
--Passive: Golden Rings. Four special rings mold themselves from the Fog at the beginning of the trial. Survivors can see the auras of these rings if they're within 24 meters of one, or from any distance if they're affected with Golden Death.
A survivor can stand over a ring and pick it up as if it were an item, wearing it on their right hand. A special icon pops up on their portrait (visible to other survivors, but not the killer) to show they have a ring. A survivor with a ring on has a band on their right hand which visibly glimmers every now and again when the survivor is in chase.
A survivor wearing a ring that is struck by Gilded Transmutation loses a health state, and their ring is destroyed, but they are not affected by Golden Death. A survivor affected by Golden Death who picks up a ring is locked in place for 2.5 seconds as the ring counteracts and ends the curse, then crumbles away. A survivor who is wearing a ring can slip it onto the finger of a transmuted survivor, which frees them in 0.75 seconds and destroys the ring. A ring on a survivor's finger is destroyed if they're reduced to the dying state or otherwise grabbed.
Rings take 45 seconds to respawn, and will attempt to respawn at least 32 meters from any survivor.
See? Simple! Sort of. ... Okay, this is logically probably a medium-difficulty killer, but in my head it's no more hard to grasp than Legion; you do a special lunge attack that either damages survivors (if they have a ring) or curses them (if they don't) and clears obstacles super quickly. The auto-hook mechanic returns again, as well, but this time it requires a special prop to end it early!
The primary tactics here are to either hit someone with the curse and then force them to scamper off and find a ring, which means they aren't doing gens; hit someone with the curse and then chase them for 30 seconds until the cooldown is done, then hit them again to instantly transmute them; OR hit them with the curse, then down them with two basic attacks to transmute them, using the transmutation to swiftly break obstacles in your path.
ADD-ONS
COMMON

1. Tarnished Silver: Golden rings respawn 5 seconds faster, and Golden Death takes 5 seconds longer to trigger. Double the bloodpoint reward for score events with Gilded Transmutation.
2. Golden File: The Avarice remains in her transmutation stance for 1 additional second.
3. Shattered Earrings: The Avarice moves 2% faster while in her transmutation stance.
4. Cracked Sapphire: The cooldown for hitting terrain or missing Gilded Transmutation is reduced by 0.5 seconds.

UNCOMMON

1. Gilt Hooks: The lunge distance of Gilded Transmutation is increased by 40%.
2. Polishing Rag: Gilded Transmutation's cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds.
3. Transmuted Lead: Golden Death triggers 5 seconds sooner, and the grace period is 1 second shorter.
4. Twisted Necklace: The Avarice moves 4% faster while in her transmutation stance.
5. Slag Pile: Golden rings take 5 more seconds to respawn and will attempt to spawn 4 meters further from survivors.

RARE

1. Greed's Toll: A survivor that performs a conspicuous action within 10 seconds of being unhooked becomes affected by Golden Death.
2. Gilt Scraps: The Avarice remains in her transmutation stance for 3 additional seconds.
3. Gnarled Rings: The Avarice moves 6% faster while in her transmutation stance.
4. Old Jewelry Box: Damaging a healthy survivor with a basic attack while they're wearing a golden ring destroys the ring.
5. Perfectly-Cut Ruby: Gilded Transmutation's cooldown is reduced by 8 seconds.

VERY RARE

1. Twisted Jewelry Box: The cooldown animations for Gilded Transmutation are all 0.5 seconds shorter. Reduces the speed penalty the Avarice suffers while in her cooldown animation by 5%.
2. Thorn Ring: The Avarice moves 5% faster while in her transmutation stance, and her transmutation stance lasts 3 additional seconds.
3. Weight of Gilt: Whenever a survivor becomes affected by Golden Death or is fully transmuted, all other survivors within 32 meters of that survivor become incapacitated for 5 seconds.
4. Appraisal Lens: Survivors outside the Avarice's terror radius cannot move their cameras completely off the aura of the nearest transmuted survivor.

IRIDESCENT

1. Iridescent Diamond: Breaking a pallet or wall does not end Gilded Transmutation, though it still forces the Avarice into her cooldown animation.
2. Malignant Gem Tumor: If you are further than 32 meters from a transmuted survivor, other survivors which free that transmuted survivor without using a ring are affected by Golden Death.

PERKS
Ravenous Want: It doesn't matter what it is or what it does; if someone wants it, you want it more. This perk activates while you're within 8 meters of an item on the ground or a chest and remains active for 4 seconds after leaving this radius. While this perk is active, the cooldown for your successful basic attacks is reduced by 24%.
Terrifying Rage: The sound you unleash when you're pained is so shockingly inhuman that anyone nearby is filled with supernatural fear. Whenever you are stunned through any means, all survivors within 18 meters of you become incapacitated for 5 seconds. Then, Terrifying Rage goes on cooldown for 20 seconds.
ALTERNATE: Affects all survivors in your terror radius, but the cooldown is 45 seconds.
Hex: Webs of Gold: An insidious sloth twines itself over those who find themselves seduced by greed, making it hard to concentrate on what truly matters. Whenever a survivor opens a chest, sabotages a gook, picks up a non-killer item, or cleanses any totem while this Hex stands, they become cursed for 20 seconds. While cursed by this Hex, they suffer a 14% penalty to repair and healing speeds. When this Hex totem is cleansed, the survivor who cleansed it is cursed for 35 seconds.

Hi, I am not sure how to properly post stuff here. So please feel free to tell me to make adjustments. Reposting it since previous post told me to add something at the later part of the post.
I'll cut it short.
Mali ba na masaktan ako at magselos ako sa isang artista?
My girlfriend and I went to a local event in my GF's hometown. The town Mayor paid celebrities to come into town and do some performances, that type of stuff.
One of the male celebrities, for his performance, asked girls to be on stage and perform with him. He saw my girlfriend and he grabbed her to come with him to stage.
Instinctively, I tried to stop it, but seeing my girlfriend very eager and happy to join, I decided to let it be and she went up on the stage with the guy celeb.
At the start, they were just asking simple questions to lighten up the mood etc. But things started to get uncomfortable for me yung sa dance part na. It was sexual, or at least it looked liked and felt like that to me.
They were intimately looking at each other, the guy was hugging her from the back, with his face on her neck while they were dancing, and then the guy made her turn around and carried her (like dawn zulueta type of thing), while touching her legs, and to top it all off, after the dance was over, the guy gestured to take off his jacket and belt to indicate na he was horny "in a fun and laughable way". Overall, I was very uncomfortable, parang natulala nalang ako at nanginig sa galit, and the cheers from the audience made me dizzy. They were having fun, they were all entertained, kinilig silang lahat. Except for me, I was there, on the point of breaking down. And the worst part of it all? All those intimate and sexual stuff they did, my girlfriend looked very happy and comfortable doing it.
So she went back to our seat, and then her and her girl friends were shrieking na para bang kinikilig silang lahat. She was very happy and proud of what she did. She tried to talk to me and my friends teased us na "lagot ka pag-uwi", I just smiled and went to my phone, preventing tears from dropping.
Fast forward, the event ended and we got home. I confronted her about it, we had an argument and I told her about how disrespected and uncomfortable I felt. She got mad and told me na all of it was just for fun, for entertainment purposes lang daw. Sabi pa niya "ano gusto mo gawin ko? bumababa sa stage at maging KJ?" She told me na I was being OA kasi nga bakit ko daw pagseselosan ang artista na "hindi naman kami magkakatuluyan nun". I was mad, but I was not vocal enough about it kase I was so drained. Ang sakit lang, kasi she was very proud of what she did, she posted it on her facebook semi bragging about it, and the way she responded to the comments and replies felt like it was one of her greatest achievements in life.
Nakikitulog kami sa parents niya that time, but I decided to leave her that night, I just waited for her to fall asleep and I got out of bed and drove 4 hours back into my hometown. I left a message for her and decided to block her right after.
I felt so lost, and what's worse is that, all of her friends, in which na kasama namin sa event messaged me days after that I am being silly and being unreasonable, and even her family is justifying her actions saying na it's not a valid reason for a break-up.
Side note, I am paying for all their bills sa family nila, (internet, water, house, groceries and even medication maintenance) , siguro that's part of the reason why they are telling me to stick with her through the end and pagusapan muna ang lahat, it may seem unrelated to the topic on hand pero di lang kasi mawala sa isip ko na out of all the things I am doing for them, I don't event get a single ounce of respect.
Sorry guys, ako ba talaga ang mali?
Ako ba yung gago for ending things with her right away? Unreasonable ba talaga na nagselos ako sa artista?