I had tried to leave honest reviews after leaving 49 on Glassdoor, etc. They got taken down because Glassdoor caters to their paying customers image I imagine. It’s hard to write truly detailed reviews, because there are lots of small caveats as part of their corporate policies and the protection of their customer’s image that can get a post taken down.
So, take all that with a grain of salt. Also prior to leaving, I probably wrote 4-5 of the positive reviews because my manager told me to about once every 6 months or so. Therefore, anyone lucky enough to make it to this reddit thread for 49 Financial. Learn that so much out there is so fake, and it is hard to find real, true, honest information these days.
Who knows, with Reddit a public company these days and possibly going after monetary gain, even this may not be safe for long. Heck, Tik Tok might get banned, and a possible reason for that is the spread of free information that wasn’t being censored as much as the government would like. If any of you Tik Tok users reading this remember how you heard a lot about what was happening in the world there first, if not only there, versus the mainstream media.
So, all you young college grads, understand the real world/adult world, it is an interesting place, and there is a game about navigating it. It will take a little bit to learn, and for now, understand that not everything is really as it may seem sometimes. 49 Preys on this naivety, uses good sales tactics through positive review tactics, best place to work ranking tactics, etc. Which best place to work only asks the people still working there, it doesn’t ask people that left, so kind of a flawed system, really a marketing grift to get employers to pay to be able to use for deceptive recruiting practices, and not just 49, across every company anywhere. Sometimes they can be truthful, more often from salary paying companies, and companies with low turnover. However, for companies with zero salary, and high turnover, that information is not going to be very accurate.
49’s turnover is also very high, if you search LinkedIn and filter for “past company” and filter for “49 Financial” you’ll get 350+ and currently employed 200+ and that’s just the ones that list it on linked in. Which, sales is a difficult career, so that’s part of it, but also let that tell you that their “retention” numbers are a total lie, at least what I was told while working there was no where close to reality.

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

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I don't have any more room for semi-modular gear and the Moog Spectravox that just came out is causing major GAS. I will say that this is the one piece of gear I've help onto the longest besides my guitars so it is definitely special.
For pedals, I have a Walrus M1, a Beetronix Sea Bee, the brand new line6 hx one (sounds amazing I just don't like one pedal that does everything).
If you have a pedal that I'm super jealous about like that last couple Chase Bliss releases or any Hologram stuff, I would also offer a Thermae, a Gamechanger Light pedal, DBA Space Bender, and a Syntax error 2 (creating presets on this one is such a joy). Also I have an R1, but the hype on those kinda faded even after the update that gives the reverb a lot more room to breathe and clarity. I have a Blooper but that's kinda my fav pedal so it would have to be a really cool product to separate me from it.
If you're into eurorack I have the Dreadbox Ataxia and Euphoria that are pretty awesome for 100$.
Although I don't have feedback on this subreddit, I have four positive feedback reviews on /Synths4Sale which used the same feedback system as this subreddit. I've also done another half dozen sales/trades on /modular that I can point you to.

Recently I've encountered a mod who abuses their powers as moderator to permanently ban all users who question their actions, then mutes them in mod mail when they ask what the ban was for despite 1) the subreddit rules clearly dictating that any ban message would be given with a specific reason for the ban and 2) the material the moderator removed and banned users for being completely within the rules of the subreddit (appropriate and relevant topics, correct flair, etc.). This mod conducted a mass banning of ~50 accounts, including people who weren't even aware of the situation the mod began banning for, or people asking questions about the rules others were being banned for. This is in clear violation of the subreddit's own rules and also the Mod Code of Conduct section 5. This leads me to my ideas: better resources to combat such a thing.
Upon digging to find a way to report Moderator Code of Conduct violations, I encountered the report form which does such a thing, except it has major flaws which prevent it from actually being used. Below are flaws in the system currently in place and potential solutions:

1. Moderator names are hidden when mod mail is sent or received, including when bans messages are sent. Moderators can see the user's account, but the user cannot see the moderator's, thus giving an unfair balance and allowing abusive mods to violate the CoC without user's knowing who is doing so. The CoC violation report form has a section where you can list the offending moderator's account, but since you don't and can't actually know what moderator is abusing moderation, that section is entirely useless. This would mean that the mod team *as a whole* is being reported, not the offending mod. If the mod team is covering for the offending mod, then no action would be taken. Additionally, if you are banned from a subreddit, you no longer have access to the mod listing of that subreddit, so even if you had suspicions of abuse, you can't alone seek to rectify them with this form by offering names of mods who *may* be abusing moderation. Mods have free reign to silence your ability to criticize them *and* your ability to even know who you're criticizing to prevent proper reporting of abuse.
2. Moderators can immediately permanently ban a user. The ability to permaban a user despite no previous offenses allows for moderator abuse to be perpetrated whenever a moderator likes. Permanent bans should not be dealt lightly, they should not be given unless egregious rule violations are being perpetrated by the user (such as continuous violation or illegal content). I'm not suggesting permanent bans be tossed, I'm suggesting instead an independent review of permanent bans which are given to users who have no other offenses in the community. Moderators from other subs could opt-in to independently review these bans to verify that the rules of the subreddit were indeed violated in way to justify the permanent ban for a first offense. If the reviewer doesn't agree with the justification for the ban, it could be sent back to the mod who dealt it who will then have to justify it further. If justification couldn't be satisfied, then submitting those bans to admins for final decision would prevent moderator abuse of the permanent ban.
3. Similarly, moderators can mute you from mod mail at any time up to a maximum of 28 days at any given time. Similar to the permanent ban, muting someone from mod mail prevents their ability to appeal a permanent ban or even ask clarifying questions about the ban. This comes into play particularly with moderator abuse, as a ban can't be questioned and you have no way of appealing without waiting an entire month, even if the ban doesn't seem fair or the content which is marked as violation seems completely within the rules of the subreddit. This allows moderators to instantly and decisively stop all contact with anybody they decide, regardless of what the user has said in mod mail or posted on the subreddit. Mandatory escalation of mod mail muting duration would fix this issue, preventing a moderator from silencing critics of abuse instantaneously for a period of time long enough to obscure and bury that abuse. Rather than being granted the ability to give a 28-day block, the first offense should be the shortest duration, and escalating from there. In conjunction with that to prevent a moderator instantly escalating the duration as soon as the first ends, preventing the mute unless the user actually sends mod mail after the duration of the first mute ends would allow people who were muted to adequately appeal a ban or question without being silenced instantly. This process could be entirely automated. Alternatively, similar to the permanent ban independent review, a first mute being the maximum duration could also be reviewed to prevent mod abuse. The messages sent before the mute could be relayed and observed in a similar fashion, escalating to admins if abuse seems likely.
4. Users have no formal say in moderation. Moderators for small subreddits typically don't have many mods, so this may not apply to them given the amount of people involved, however for large subreddits which are number 1 in Reddit categories the following suggestion could be applied to ensure users have a direct impact on the moderation of the subreddit: moderation polls. Users who have met a karma and activity threshold on the subreddit should be given Reddit-directed surveys to gauge the moderation of the subreddit over periods of time, with such surveys being sent when the threshold is reached, when a moderator leaves their position, or when a new moderator enters the position (after sufficient time for the moderator to begin actually moderating). If a subreddit's moderation scores consistently low with the most active users of a subreddit, then Reddit admins could be contacted and directed to open an investigation. Because of the karma and activity threshold which would be required to submit this feedback, the potential for brigading it to oust mods for no reason is minimal. Similarly, surveys could be sent to the mod team of the subreddit to self-evaluate moderation. If the scores are consistently different from user scores, investigation could occur if the mods think they are doing an excellent job but users think the opposite.

This is not written in anger over a ban, this is intended to perhaps enlighten some to how moderation looks and how users can be exploited by bad-faith moderators despite no violation of subreddit rules.
In summary, the tools moderators have can and are abused by moderators on occasion, but users do not have any way to actually report or challenge this abuse in any significant way. In large subreddits where mass banning would be unnoticed by the majority of users, the potential for such abuse is far higher. More power should be given to users of Reddit to change the imbalance which is currently present. This would not only improve how moderators function on Reddit, but also improve user experience in communities both niche and ubiquitous. Current tools are simply inadequate to combat abuse from violations of the Moderator Code of Conduct; the report form asks for information which you cannot access after the abuse has been done, moderators can instantly and permanently silence your ability to critique them or appeal abusive actions, and moderators have free reign to decide who moderates, allowing for mod teams to cover for each other and perpetuate abuse longer. Thank you for reading.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

————————————————————


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

___________________________________________________________

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

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


“Viktor, are you up.” He typed.

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

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

*Jesus Christ, Tom.*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dear SEC executives and staff,
As an investor, I take my investing seriously - as I am sure all of you do!! I have read, fully, the potential rule change(s) pertaining to SR-OCC-2024-001 - and I have questions, as follows:
(1) If a clearing member defaults on their financial obligations, the OCC, as the central counterparty, has an obligation to the counterparties on the other side of , say, a short sale, correct ??
\* The answer should be "YES". *\**
(2) The OCC has a fiduciary duty to ensure that counterparties of short sales, such as the shareholders - ex: (GME), are protected in the event of defaults by clearing members involved in such short selling transactions. This is an essential responsibility for upholding the integrity and stability of the market!! As such, why would the OCC be creating a rule to bail out the 'short selling' Wall Street firms - essentially prolonging the inevitable if they lack the financial capacity to cover their bets??
\* That is what this rule, in essence, does - and that's just wrong!! The answer is: "It shouldn't". *\**
(3) If the SR-OCC-2024-001 rule is to ascertain parameters in the OCC's proprietary system for calculating margin threshold requirements during high volatility - why am I not provided with the specific details on how these parameters will be calculated ??
\* The answer is: They should be made available to everyone*\**
(4) I have no idea how these margin threshold requirements are calculated, and everything in the proposal's supporting evidence as related to this is REDACTED. Why?? \* The answer is: They shouldn't be redacted at all *\**
(5) If I understand this rule correctly, and I think I do, if multiple clearing members default, the OCC would also incur losses from having to cover those defaults, yes?? Therefore, it would indeed be in the OCC's best interest to prevent clearing members from defaulting - because the OCC would lose money also, yes??
\* The answer to both questions should be: "YES" *\**
(6) If I understand this next item correctly, the OCC wants to give significant authority to OCC's Financial Risk Management (FRM) section for approving idiosyncratic control settings. In my opinion, this introduces a significant risk to the OCC and it poses a conflict as they are required to safeguard both OCC's interests and at-risk Clearing Members. Being that this proposed rule favours Clearing Members at the expense of market fairness and investor protection, this issue has been flagged to the SEC for commentary and review.
In my opinion, it appears the OCC is fearful of clearing member default toppling the market. Not wanting to use their own funds to bail out bad CLEARING MEMBER bets, the OCC is proposing a rule to adjust margin thresholds during volatile market periods. The SEC had the good sense to REJECT this proposal - and now, regular OTC investors have the opportunity to support this decision and get it removed completely!!
After giving this rule change a thorough review, I am recommending that the SEC fully remove and eliminate this OCC rule completely. It is a rule fraught with peril and has enough conflict and risk to warrant its dismissal and removal!!
Thank you for your time and attention to this email!
Regards to all,

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Disclaimer

Only lawful residents of the U.S. can be considered for collaboration, payment, and revenue sharing.

Background

I am a professional software engineer with a few years of experience working at a well-known tech company in the U.S. Over the past 45 days, I've been developing an indie game solo, and now I'm seeking hobbyist game designers, developers, artists, modelers, and marketers to join the team.

Current Progress

The game is currently pre-prototype and is in the stages of polishing the gamefeel and level design, but the core mechanics are complete.
Currently completed features include:

• Drag-and-drop inventory system with right-click quick-move
• Equipment system that affects movespeed & resistances
• Combat mechanics including ranged weapons, melee weapons, and an nearly a dozen spells
• Skill tree / Magic tree unlock system
• XP system that distributes skill points
• Consumables, HP potions, Mana potions,
• Basic placeholder UI System
• NPC Dialogue System

Pictures of the game in its current state are attached here. Note that most elements are either placeholder elements or represent unfinished work. The layout and features are displayed as evidence of functioning mechanics.

To Do

The work that needs to be done on the project include:

• Strong game design direction (the game is currently 99% mechanics)
• Improved sound design
• Improved animations
• Add music
• Design & Add additional enemies
• Design and improve the gameplay loop
• Marketing as the game nears a functional playable prototype/demo

Compensation

Revenue sharing will be based on contribution and commitment, with up to a 50% possible share per person.
Direct monetary compensation for deliverables, including up to $5,000 (maximum is flexible and open to negotiation).
If funding is secured, long-term roles (part-time or full-time) will be available, and the budget for deliverables will significantly expand or be reallocated.
Additional Benefits: Though non-monetary, I can provide mentorship in programming, software development, game development, project management, and the tech industry in general. I may also offer references or insights to help you secure long-term positions in other companies, as well as resume review.

Requirements:

• U.S. citizenship
• Willingness and capability to contribute to the project

To inquire about joining the team and contributing, DM me on Reddit or message me on Discord at #imperialprince

In today's digital age, social media has become an indispensable tool for businesses looking to reach and engage with their target audience. With millions of users active on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, leveraging social media marketing (SMM) has become essential for any brand's success. However, with increasing competition and evolving algorithms, simply having a presence on social media is no longer enough. To truly stand out and make an impact, businesses need to adopt strategic approaches, and this is where the best SMM panels come into play.

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I am going to delete this after the post slows down, but I am lost and it is my own doing.
Spent 8 years in the US Air Force fixing medical equipment. Got caught up with drug charges and ended up with a misdemeanor and a bad conduct discharge. I got a job right out of the military at 28/hr, doing maintenance on medical equipment. I lost that two weeks in because I was not pulling 10+ hrs of OT a week, due to family obligations (school age children). I have a lot of electrical experience. I know how to troubleshoot circuits very well. I know how to be safe with electricity. I have never received a bad review on work performed. I just fucked up the good thing I had.
I also have extensive experience in high pressure steam systems. I've repaired steam sterilizers and I honestly am satisfied doing that type of physical/mental work.
I still have my GI Bill so I can get a full bachleors if I choose so.
I just don't know what to do. I fucked up so bad and lost everything, but I can't live forever dragging my ass and working odd jobs.
What do you think I would fit well in? I am not bothered by manual labor, I honestly feel satisfied using my hands to work (I work at a plant nursery currently and I bust my ass every day), heat does not bother me (thanks Qatar).
I just want to do right by my kids. I'm tired of being a POS who fucks everything up. Any advice is appreciated.

For most Americans, college is no longer working. A bachelor's degree doesn’t reliably guarantee what universities say it delivers: an investment that prepares you for the workplace and the world. While the income gap between college and high school grads is well documented, the wealth gap is “indistinguishable from zero” due to unconstrained costs, regardless of race or ethnicity. Put differently, college grads will earn more but because of their student loans, they’ll have the same amount in their bank account as someone who didn’t go to college at all¹ . Barely one in ten (11%) business leaders believe that college graduates have the skills and competencies that their workplaces need² . Instead, employers report recent hires showing up without the requisite skills required to contribute as productive employees³.
Traditional universities spend more on non-instructional initiatives like research and athletics instead of developing knowledge and skills that prepare its students. Today, 1M students annually report that they didn’t enroll or they dropped out of college because of the cost⁴ . Americans carry $1.8T in student loan debt while universities have increased the cost of tuition by 30-40%⁵ since 2010. Economists report that over the next ten years, businesses will have increasingly more job openings for college graduates with no adequate supply⁶ . Additionally, as artificial intelligence threatens jobs across industries, humans will be pushed up or out – up to more intellectually intensive and integrative roles, or out of the workforce altogether. Our nation’s economy needs a sustainable, accessible, and effective approach to college if we’re to compete globally.
SOLUTION Polymath University will produce more-prepared graduates through a three-major curriculum, delivered year-round and remotely to same-city cohorts, who will serve apprenticeships en route to graduation in three years.
A polymath is someone who has built depth, breadth, and integration of knowledge. Specifically, polymaths can operate fluently and with expertise (depth) in three or more non-adjacent domains (breadth), and have built the critical skill of applying concepts and frameworks in one domain to complex problems in other domains (integration). Polymath University empowers leaders and problem solvers to thrive in a more complex and technologically-enabled world.
RANGE Polymath University’s approach to education, and its namesake, is built on ensuring that graduates are curious, creative, collaborative, and critically-minded. Polymaths have been proven to be more creative and more adept at solving complex problems, and more resilient against economic shocks⁷. Building a broad, generalist field of knowledge and expertise, as opposed to the hyper-specialization that traditional higher education encourages, makes graduates more valuable in the world and workplace. According to a 2012 study of serial innovators⁸, polymaths are described as having a high tolerance for ambiguity and as systems thinkers. Polymaths can connect disparate pieces of information in new ways, making them highly effective at innovative problem solving. And they are adept at repurposing what is already available and synthesizing information from many different sources.⁹ A Future of Jobs report highlighted the following skills being increasingly demanded by employers (all of which polymaths excel at): creative thinking; analytical thinking; technological literacy; curiosity and lifelong learning; resilience, flexibility, and agility; and systems thinking.¹⁰
REAL-WORLD APPRENTICESHIPS Polymath University will partner with employers to ensure that its degree programs serve the talent acquisition needs of regional business and organizations, and that those degrees include skill development that is often short-changed by traditional universities. In years two and three, students will serve as apprentices with those employer partners in high-demand, early career roles. Across the country, more employers are building apprenticeship programs as a key part of their talent acquisition strategy, with Department of Labor registered apprenticeships doubling since 2010 to 250,000. Many of these employers pay some or all of the tuition for their apprentices to concurrently earn a college degree.
REMOTE Educational outcomes lead all other priorities for Polymath University, and we must hold this as our north star. This means that the most important activity for faculty will be teaching or the associated development through coaching and mentoring their students. As Polymath University is led by the former CEO of the Pat Tillman Foundation, and counts ten Tillman Scholars on its Advisory Board, the Tillman Scholar community will seed Polymath University’s initial set of faculty, drawing on their service and academic experiences to support student learning. Courses will be delivered remotely, but to same-city cohorts that will facilitate week-long immersive and collaborative in-person experiences as well as informal study groups throughout the year, unlocking persistent relationships and networks within our community.
Learn more at PolymathU.org.
highereducation college education HigherEd StudentLoans Polymath Leadership apprenticeship Apprenticeships University talentdevelopment
¹ Emmons, William R.; Kent, Ana H.; and Ricketts, Lowell R. “Is College Still Worth It? The New Calculus of Falling Returns.” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Working Paper, Jan. 7, 2019.
² Gallup-Lumina Foundation Poll on Higher Education; Higher Education’s Work Preparedness Paradox. 2013. Gallup; Lumina Foundation.
³ Hansen, Michael. “The U.S. Education System Isn’t Giving Students What Employers Need.” Harvard Business Review, May 18, 2021.
⁴ https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=75
⁵ Kerr, Emma; Wood, Sarah. “A Look at 20 Years of Tuition Costs at National Universities.” U.S. News & World Report. Sep. 23, 2023
⁶ Tough, Paul. “Americans Are Losing Faith in the Value of College. Whose Fault Is That?” NYT, Sep. 5, 2023
⁷ Hanks, Andrew; Jiang, Shengjun; Qian, Xuechao; Wang, Bo; Weinberg, Bruce. (2024). Do Double Majors Face Less Risk? An Analysis of Human Capital Diversification. NBER.
⁸ Vojak, Bruce; Griffin, Abbie; Price, Raymond L. (2012). Serial Innovators: How Individuals Create and Deliver Breakthrough Innovations in Mature Firms. Stanford, Stanford University Press.
⁹ Epstein, D. J. (2019). Range: why generalists triumph in a specialized world. New York, Riverhead Books.
¹⁰ Future of Jobs Report; World Economic Forum. 2023.

This is an update to my original post/complaint here: https://www.reddit.com/Spectrum/comments/1cnlzcw/25year_charter_customer_says_adios_after_bait/
I complain loudly when a company does wrong, but I try to be among the first to give kudos when something that's wrong is made right. On May 8, I reported (in the post above) about my interaction with a Retention rep at a Spectrum call center in Florida. I had called to cancel my Internet service because the rate would soon be increasing quite a bit, and T-Mobile Home Internet had just arrived in our rural town with faster speeds and a lower price. The rep offered me a good deal on Ultra (500 Mbps) for two years, and it was slightly better than TMHI's rate, so I agreed.
After a few days, when my speed remained stuck in the 300 Mbps range, I called regular CS and was told that the deal showing on my updated bill is not what I had agreed to. Instead, I was given 300 Mbps for $20 more than the amount I was quoted, and for a term of one year. I declined and put in a cancellation order. I also asked the CS rep to file a complaint about the original offer being misrepresented.
A few days ago, I received a DM from a Spectrum rep in management who had seen my complaint and asked for a few more details. He said that he would refer my case to the call center supervisor, who would review my recorded call.
Today, I received a call from that supervisor in Florida, who apologized for what had happened. He said that he had spoken with the Retention rep, who confirmed the promo rate he had offered me. He said he had entered it and thought it was a done deal. Our recorded conversation confirmed what the rep had offered. Evidently, something had gone awry in the billing system, and the order didn't process correctly. The supervisor said he would make it right, and I would receive what was promised: Ultra 500 Mbps for two years at the fixed rate originally offered. An hour later, I received an email from Spectrum stating that my service had been upgraded to Ultra, and the new billing summary correctly reflected what was discussed. A speed test confirms my speed is now close to 500 Mbps.
So, Spectrum did reach out to me about my complaint, they looked into it, and they made it right. I think it is appropriate to complain when a company does not honor its promises, but it's just as important to give kudos when a company is proactive and makes things right. Spectrum did that, and so I am updating my OP. Thanks to the Spectrum reps who looked into my case and got things sorted out.

I have created a test blockchain network and created a smart contract for validators to verify members, which I am trying to deploy with truffle.
A bootnode serves as the Host on the main network:
sudo geth --datadir ./bootnode --networkid 3129 --port 30305 --ipcpath geth-bootstrap.ipc --http --http.addr "192.168.2.103" --http.port 8545 --http.api "admin,eth,net,web3,personal" --http.corsdomain "*" --http.vhosts "*"
I run the validator through docker: docker run -d --name validator0 -v ~/Documents/Geth/validator0:/root/.ethereum -p 8547:8547 -p 30304:30304 ethereum/client-go:alltools-v1.10.26 geth --datadir /root/.ethereum --networkid 3129 --ipcpath /root/.ethereum/geth-validator0.ipc --bootnodes "enode://8b34ba634272ed781d64ea6c75e60b8948c14bb7e2188611951120805d46bec6a2fa691c29e8b4efe82bcee687648a717244c4d4802685e1f7ecbaa0efd12dca@192.168.0.223:30305" --syncmode "full" --port 30304 --http --http.addr "0.0.0.0" --http.port 8547 --http.api "admin,eth,net,web3,personal" --allow-insecure-unlock
This P2P connection is successful
My smart contract:

pragma solidity ^0.8.0; contract IdentityVerification { address public owner; mapping(address => bool) public validators; mapping(address => bool) public verifiedMembers; event MemberVerified(address member); modifier onlyOwner() { require(msg.sender == owner, "Only owner can call this function"); _; } modifier onlyValidator() { require(validators[msg.sender], "Only validators can call this function"); _; } constructor() { owner = msg.sender; } function addValidator(address _validator) public onlyOwner { validators[_validator] = true; } function verifyMember(address _member) public onlyValidator { verifiedMembers[_member] = true; emit MemberVerified(_member); } function isMemberVerified(address _member) public view returns (bool) { return verifiedMembers[_member]; } }``` Truffle Configuration ```module.exports = { networks: { development: { host: "192.168.2.103", // Bootnode's IP address port: 8545, // Geth HTTP RPC port network_id: "*", // Match any network id from: "0x4dA2472eDDe765C406035C813912108955BdF33B", gas: 4500000, // Gas limit gasPrice: 20000000000, // 20 Gwei networkCheckTimeout: 20000 }, }, compilers: { solc: { version: "0.8.0", }, }, };``` Migrations ```const IdentityVerification = artifacts.require("IdentityVerification"); module.exports = function (deployer) { deployer.deploy(IdentityVerification) .then(instance => { console.log(`Contract deployed at address: ${instance.address}`); }); };``` I unlock my validator account in the console and start mining, which I can view in bootnode. The contract compiles but when I run ```truffle migrate --network development``` I recieve an error: ```Starting migrations... ====================== > Network name: 'development' > Network id: 3129 > Block gas limit: 30000000 (0x1c9c380) 2_deploy_identity_verification.js ================================= Deploying 'IdentityVerification' -------------------------------- *** Deployment Failed *** "IdentityVerification" -- unknown account. Exiting: Review successful transactions manually by checking the transaction hashes above on Etherscan. Error: *** Deployment Failed *** "IdentityVerification" -- unknown account. at /uslib/node_modules/truffle/build/webpack:/packages/deployesrc/deployment.js:330:1 at processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:95:5) 

Running (await web3.eth.getAccounts()) returns the address of the bootnode, and await web3.eth.getBalance("0x4dA2472eDDe765C406035C813912108955BdF33B")) '100000000000000000000000' successfully returns the account balance of validator0. Therefore it must be recognised in some capacity by truffle and I'm unsure of how to successfully route traffic through bootnode or understand how to configure the system so that truffle can recognise validator0.

Context was similar to GDPR, in that after 5 years, apart from back ups, all data relating to an event should disappear. Ie. hard deletion from persistent storage. Now this sounds simple enough: All records in a set of known tables (ie our event tables) with timestamp age > 5 years should be hard deleted. Plus any associated blob storage NoSQL dbs as well (using ids from the relational database). Let's ignore the implications of distributed systems and stay solely within a singular db.
The tricky part was, how do you stop engineers submitting code that breaks this rule? For a more concrete example, a dev adds a new or modifies an existing sql table FOO with no foreign key to the previously concerned tables, but on event creation, FOO will now have some event related data (possibly transformed/hashed so it's completely unrecogniseable from original event data, but must still be deleted)?
It's simple to say Code Review, but I'm looking for basically as robust a solution here, preferably as part of the CI pipeline (eg github actions). Here are some things I thought of, but kind of got stumped towards the end when data can't be recognised.

• Static Analysis to recognise new tables -> code review carefully
• Static Analysis to see if the inputs, are eventually used on any tables not in an existing 'vetted' list (I assume this is possible)
• Stand up a db via docker, then see what tables change when an event is created, if not on a vetted list, alert. This might be through inspection of logs, or using some Change Data Capture lib to help.

I really liked the last one, but maybe there's some fundamental stuff I'm missing. Any one want to pitch in?

MS-ISAC CYBERSECURITY ADVISORY
MS-ISAC ADVISORY NUMBER: 2024-058
DATE(S) ISSUED: 05/15/2024
SUBJECT: Multiple Vulnerabilities in Google Chrome Could Allow for Arbitrary Code Execution
OVERVIEW: Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Google Chrome, the most severe of which could allow for arbitrary code execution. Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for arbitrary code execution in the context of the logged on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.
THREAT INTELLEGENCE: Google is aware that an exploit for CVE-2024-4947 exists in the wild.
SYSTEMS AFFECTED:

• Chrome prior to 125.0.6422.60/.61 for Windows and Mac
• Chrome prior to 125.0.6422.60 for Linux

RISK: Government:

• Large and medium government entities: High
• Small government entities: Medium

Businesses:

• Large and medium business entities: High
• Small business entities: Medium

Home users: Low
TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Google Chrome, the most severe of which could allow for arbitrary code execution. Details of these vulnerabilities are as follows:
Tactic: Initial Access (TA0001):
Technique: Drive-By Compromise (T1189):

• Type Confusion in V8. (CVE-2024- 4947)
• Use after free in Dawn. (CVE-2024- 4948)
• Use after free in V8. (CVE-2024- 4949)
• Inappropriate implementation in Downloads. (CVE-2024- 4950)

Successful exploitation of most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for arbitrary code execution in the context of the logged on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.
RECOMMENDATIONS: We recommend the following actions be taken:

• Apply appropriate updates provided by Google to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing. (M1051: Update Software)
  • Safeguard 7.1: Establish and Maintain a Vulnerability Management Process: Establish and maintain a documented vulnerability management process for enterprise assets. Review and update documentation annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
  • Safeguard 7.4: Perform Automated Application Patch Management: Perform application updates on enterprise assets through automated patch management on a monthly, or more frequent, basis.
  • Safeguard 7.7: Remediate Detected Vulnerabilities: Remediate detected vulnerabilities in software through processes and tooling on a monthly, or more frequent, basis, based on the remediation process.
  • Safeguard 9.1: Ensure Use of Only Fully Supported Browsers and Email Clients: Ensure only fully supported browsers and email clients are allowed to execute in the enterprise, only using the latest version of browsers and email clients provided through the vendor.
• Apply the Principle of Least Privilege to all systems and services. Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack. (M1026: Privileged Account Management)
  • Safeguard 4.7: Manage Default Accounts on Enterprise Assets and Software: Manage default accounts on enterprise assets and software, such as root, administrator, and other pre-configured vendor accounts. Example implementations can include: disabling default accounts or making them unusable.
  • Safeguard 5.4: Restrict Administrator Privileges to Dedicated Administrator Accounts: Restrict administrator privileges to dedicated administrator accounts on enterprise assets. Conduct general computing activities, such as internet browsing, email, and productivity suite use, from the user’s primary, non-privileged account.
• Restrict execution of code to a virtual environment on or in transit to an endpoint system. (M1048: Application Isolation and Sandboxing)
• Use capabilities to detect and block conditions that may lead to or be indicative of a software exploit occurring. (M1050: Exploit Protection)
  • Safeguard 10.5: Enable Anti-Exploitation Features: Enable anti-exploitation features on enterprise assets and software, where possible, such as Microsoft® Data Execution Prevention (DEP), Windows® Defender Exploit Guard (WDEG), or Apple® System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Gatekeeper™.
• Restrict use of certain websites, block downloads/attachments, block Javascript, restrict browser extensions, etc. (M1021: Restrict Web-Based Content)
  • Safeguard 9.2: Use DNS Filtering Services: Use DNS filtering services on all enterprise assets to block access to known malicious domains.
  • Safeguard 9.3: Maintain and Enforce Network-Based URL Filters: Enforce and update network-based URL filters to limit an enterprise asset from connecting to potentially malicious or unapproved websites. Example implementations include category-based filtering, reputation-based filtering, or through the use of block lists. Enforce filters for all enterprise assets.
  • Safeguard 9.6: Block Unnecessary File Types: Block unnecessary file types attempting to enter the enterprise’s email gateway.
• Inform and educate users regarding the threats posed by hypertext links contained in emails or attachments especially from un-trusted sources. Remind users not to visit un-trusted websites or follow links provided by unknown or un-trusted sources. (M1017: User Training)
  • Safeguard 14.1: Establish and Maintain a Security Awareness Program: Establish and maintain a security awareness program. The purpose of a security awareness program is to educate the enterprise’s workforce on how to interact with enterprise assets and data in a secure manner. Conduct training at hire and, at a minimum, annually. Review and update content annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
  • Safeguard 14.2: Train Workforce Members to Recognize Social Engineering Attacks: Train workforce members to recognize social engineering attacks, such as phishing, pre-texting, and tailgating.

REFERENCES:

Hi so I’m just curious if there’s any legal recourse here or a case of any sort. Really out of the principal of it.
So I applied to a North East state school February 2023. I received an email in May letting me know that Fall 2023 was full and if I’d like to be considered for Fall 2024. I was bummed but I said sure please consider my application for the following year.
I did reach out to this person in March 2024 to follow up since I started hearing from other schools. Fast forward to today May 2024…and well I received an email from the same person saying Fall 2024 class is full and they are not reviewing any additional applications.
So I’m just wondering if it’s rolling admissions don’t you have to review them in the order they are received? And if it’s not rolling admissions…don’t you have to review all applications before making a decision?
I’m honestly just frustrated by the process and this school is notorious for having broken systems, delays and a lack of transparency and it has impacted so many students. Myself being one of them.
TLDR: applied to a school in 2023 they told me the fall class is full and they’ll consider my application in 2024. Heard back from them that Fall 2024 is full and they didn’t read my application. Is that legal?