Hello! I am a 24M based in London looking for easy ways to find good places to meet dates. To help solve this problem I am building a 2-way Google maps app to help Londoners spend less time travelling on the tube to meet friends and am looking for some initial feedback.
The app finds the location with the least travel time for both individuals and works by one user inputting their and their friends locations.
It is very early stage at the moment but I am keen to get some initial feedback to help guide the development of the app, so please let me know your thoughts!
Please also let me know if you would like to learn more - can follow up with more info!

I have a very weird issue that has just recently been revealed to me.
For context, I am in my early 20s and have never had a girlfriend. A few weeks ago, however, I was set up with a girl that I am to meet soon on a date by mutual friends. She checks all my boxes, something that hasn’t happened before. One of these boxes is that this girl must come from my minority religious/cultural background which is already quite small and many of the girls are not “wife-like material” imho. This is one of the main reasons I’ve been holding off from being in a relationship for so long.
Anyways, this is where my issue start. Brace yourselves. Are you ready? Ok here we go.
A couple days ago, I showed my parents a picture of this girl, and they unfortunately revealed to me that we are third cousins. Even though we are third cousins, I didn’t know at all and my parents barely have conversed with her parents in general. Maybe here and there but not enough to be a relevant part of our lives.
Anyways, the past few days that’s been all I can think of. Idk what to do now. Honestly speaking, although the issue has been on my mind, I don’t mind marrying a third cousin based on the research I’ve done.
Should I go on this date and tell her and risk us not becoming a thing, or should I go on this date and not tell her and potentially start a long relationship and wait for her to find out naturally and put the decision in her hands?
I want your honest opinions, and will let yall know my current stance on this issue. The second option is defn immoral but I am not the best person and have my own flaws. This is a chance for me to be happy and finally have a girlfriend that checks my boxes and if the second option gives me a higher chance of the girl wishing to continue a potential relationship I’ll take it.

I was lurking in /Terraform on Reddit as I tend to do when I discovered someone commenting about the Terraform Console I had not heard of that previously so I started digging in. It comes bundled with the Terraform cli by default. And allows you to browse the current state of your various resources and modules.

aws_api_gateway_rest_api.api_gateway { "api_key_source" = "HEADER" "arn" = "arn:aws:apigateway:us-east-1::/restapis/psnflsr6ha" "binary_media_types" = tolist([]) "body" = "{\"info\":{\"title\":\"example\",\"version\":\"1.0\"},\"openapi\":\"3.0.1\",\"paths\":{}}" "created_date" = "2023-06-12T15:07:34Z" "description" = "" "disable_execute_api_endpoint" = false "endpoint_configuration" = tolist([ { "types" = tolist([ "REGIONAL", ]) "vpc_endpoint_ids" = toset([]) }, ]) "execution_arn" = "arn:aws:execute-api:us-east-1:368590945923:psnflsr6ha" "fail_on_warnings" = tobool(null) "id" = "psnflsr6ha" "minimum_compression_size" = "" "name" = "schematical-terraform-v1" "parameters" = tomap(null) /* of string */ "policy" = "" "put_rest_api_mode" = tostring(null) "root_resource_id" = "q3jlr1ea55" "tags" = tomap({}) "tags_all" = tomap({}) }

Interesting enough when I go to get the state of an entire module it prints out just the variables passed to it. Probably more valuable than trying to print out all the sub resources included in that module:

module.dev_env { "api_gateway_base_path_mapping" = "dev-v1-us-east-1-api.schematical.com/" "api_gateway_stage_id" = "ags-psnflsr6ha-dev" "api_gateway_stage_name" = "dev" "cloudfront_domain_name" = "d3s18d4v1p58tw.cloudfront.net" "cloudfront_zone_id" = "Z2FDTNDATAQYW2" }

Not life changing by any means but a nice little tool to keep in your arsenal.
https://schematical.com/posts/terraform-console_2024-05-09

Hey! I'm STARR (All caps as a reference to MFDOOM the rapper) and I'm looking for a superhero based RP!! I'm looking for a fun romance roleplay set in the universe of DC, Marvel or our own kind of made up universe. I'm looking for a mix of action and romance, with romance being the main theme. I don't really play canon characters, but I would really like to do an OC x canon character roleplay with anyone willing to play a canon character from DC or Marvel, but I'm not against doing OC x OC! I just have to really like the characters lol. I really like Spider-Man (almost any version tbh) and would like to do a RP based around Spider-Man or even the Spider-Verse! My personal favourite Spider-Person is Hobie/Spider-Punk, so I think a RP with him would be fun! I do have plot ideas made and can play multiple characters! My kind of character would be kind of like the trope of a non-hero dating a hero. I would love a story including your character hiding their identity from mine for their own safety. For DC I don't really have a preference for characters since I am less versed in my knowledge of their characters, so I am open to any suggestions for what character you would like to play! (same with marvel too, it doesn't just have to be Spider-Man, it can be any hero you suggest as long as I like them too). I do really like in character Batman and Superman, so if those were ones you'd like to play sure! I mainly do LGBTQ+ pairings, but I am open to doing hetero relationships. please send me a dm if interested!!

Hey! I'm STARR (All caps as a reference to MFDOOM the rapper) and I'm looking for a superhero based RP!! I'm looking for a fun romance roleplay set in the universe of DC, Marvel or our own kind of made up universe. I'm looking for a mix of action and romance, with romance being the main theme. I don't really play canon characters, but I would really like to do an OC x canon character roleplay with anyone willing to play a canon character from DC or Marvel, but I'm not against doing OC x OC! I just have to really like the characters lol. I really like Spider-Man (almost any version tbh) and would like to do a RP based around Spider-Man or even the Spider-Verse! My personal favourite Spider-Person is Hobie/Spider-Punk, so I think a RP with him would be fun! I do have plot ideas made and can play multiple characters! My kind of character would be kind of like the trope of a non-hero dating a hero. I would love a story including your character hiding their identity from mine for their own safety. For DC I don't really have a preference for characters since I am less versed in my knowledge of their characters, so I am open to any suggestions for what character you would like to play! (same with marvel too, it doesn't just have to be Spider-Man, it can be any hero you suggest as long as I like them too). I do really like in character Batman and Superman, so if those were ones you'd like to play sure! I mainly do LGBTQ+ pairings, but I am open to doing hetero relationships. please send me a dm if interested!!

I'm not sure if incels are a very outlandish concept here in SG. I'm not proud of being an incel and I never thought that I would become one. However, I do believe that one day I will get past this phase.
For context, I think I have it slightly better than most incels. I'd say my face looks below average, but I'm a lot taller than the average guy in SG, slightly above 190cm, am decently well built since I've been hitting the gym for over a year, am financially stable thanks to my savings, side income and family background.
So you must be thinking: I have everything a 23 year old could want in life. I ORDed around a month ago, I'm currently taking a few months to consider my future job and am figuring out how to expand my side businesses that I've been running for awhile. I'm free, I drive a nice Porsche (Dads 3rd vehicle so it's not mine), have money to do and buy whatever I please, am genetically advantaged in height and body build. Why would I become an incel?
I don't have any friends due to my lack of self confidence, which stems from being bullied in Secondary school. I'd consider myself to be introverted. Every guy my age is going to uni, where they get to make many new friends, experience the hall/uni life, talk to other girls. If not, almost every guy has a friend group that has a girl inside. Even if they don't, one of the friend in the group would have a friend that is a girl, and through him you'd be able to have mutuals etc. I have close to zero exposure with the outside world. It's not that I don't want to go out, it's that I don't have reason to. The only times I go out are to gym, have supper alone, pump petrol. I am on 3 different dating apps, at one point 5. I'll get to that in a second.
You know sometimes you see someone attractive, you'd glace at them? Throughout my life, even up till now, I've never caught a girl giving me attention. Which leads me to the incel mindset.
Think about it. I've seen girls on social media and in public sometimes. Most of them date guys that are either super handsome with thick eyebrows, tall and huge, clear skin, good fashion sense. You do occasionally see some girls date guys that are average or even below average looking, but the harsh truth is that the girls themselves aren't very attractive. I know I'm a hypocrite.
Girls don't want guys that treat them well or give them attention. For some reason, girls only like guys that don't know that they exist or treat them like trash. If an average looking guy kept giving a girl attention and tried chasing her, do you really think she'd fall for him if there's a good looking guy that she likes but doesn't like her back? In SG, girls can choose whoever they want, I don't know why. Guys will fall for you if you're even remotely attractive and if you spend enough time with him. Chances are, and a girl uses this to her advantage, the better looking guy will fall for her if she gives him attention. So she chooses to friendzone the average looking guy and take a chance at dating the better looking guy, because she knows that there is a high chance that he'd start to fall for her.
There's this saying where 80% of girls go for the top 10% of men. I am not in that 10% because of my trash social skills with girls and average/below average face. I've been on dating apps for 3 years, and at this point I'm done with them. At first, I'd slowly swipe the girls and consider if she's really my type. But now I just spam like because the girls that I like don't like me back. I get like 1 match every 2 weeks, even being on multiple dating apps. Skill issue? Do you really think she'd swipe on me when there are better looking guys on the apps? And the fucking shittiest part is when I match with a girl that i'm interested in, I send the first message (because in sg thats how its supposed to be), and then the next morning i wake up she unmatches. In the 3 years I've been on dating apps I've gone on 0 dates. I had 2 conversations with girls that I was interested in. only for 1 to ghost me and for the other to unmatch me.
This is what I deduce from my experience with girls on dating apps and my ex. I'm financially stable, I'm tall, I'm well built. Yet I'm unable to get the attention of a girl. This is because of my face and my awkwardness/lack of ability to speak to girls because I don't have much experience. If I were good looking, the second part wouldn't matter because the girl would be the one trying to carry on the conversation. Because of this mindset, I've slowly started to resent girls because of their mindsets. Whenever I'd see a girl at my gym/in public, I start to feel a sense of hatred and sadness. I can't explain why. I don't think I'd make a bad boyfriend. All I want is to start a family and my girlfriend and I work together to build our family and our own home. But I don't have the chance, no girl would want to even give me a chance because I'm not handsome.
TLDR: Height/muscles/mannerisms don't matter, as long as your face looks good you're set.

Hello there!
I am currently on my second playthrough of cyberpunk and phantom liberty and I am trying to do things differently this time around. To that end, I would appreciate some help with deciding on my quest order.
I know that two of the phantom liberty endings result in V getting the neural matrix and being able to cure himself of the relic. However, what does this mean for the base game main story quests?
I just entered Dogtown, but my other story quests are still fairly early on. I still haven’t met Wakako with Takemura yet. If I were to finish the Dogtown questline and get the cure, what happens to those quests? Do they not happen?

1. Focus Karma Need Want Of the Society Recreation Stimulation Examination Death 1.1 The noble truth of Focus is Energy, the noble Truth of Karma is Management, the Noble Truth of Need is Kombucha, the Noble Truth of Want is The Second Mental, Your Mental, The Noble Truth of Recreation is Marijuana, The Noble Truth of Simulation is Automatons, the Noble Truth of Examination is the Books on Examination, The Noble Truth of Death is Salt 1.1 There is a Truth of Truth The Truth of Energy is Stockpile, The Truth of Management is Treatment, The Truth of Kombucha is Amino, the Truth of The Second Mental is the Intermediary Mental Between Yourself and the World, The Truth of Automatons is the Plumbing Needed, the truth of the Books on Examination is the truth of the Books of the Ruler and the truth of Salt is the Limit of the Body Is Restored by Healthy Nutrition 1.1.1 There is a truth of the truth energy amino, Truth Starch, Truth Sugar, Truth Glycine, Truth Water, Truth Kombucha, Truth Arginine, Truth Serine, Truth Lysine 1.1.2 There is a truth of the ruler which is related to marijuana, Proline Above Lysine 1.1.3 There is a truth of the society related to only trading, Gold above Proline 1.1.4 All of these truths have intermediary truth below them 1.1.5 There is a truth of the botanist, Prozac And Benadryl and Scopolamine and Atropine and Benzyldiol Around Recreation 1.1.6 There is a truth of the schooler, Directly Ordered Female Voice Your Voice Kick Drum Kick Transient Pots N Pans Pots Content Button Mushroom Morel Cache Stash Marisol Bluewater Febreeze Peroxide Nitrate Ammonium Loam Bud Dirt Wheat Soil Potato Around Focus and Karma 1.1.7 There is a truth of the motorcade Above Karma and Below the Want of the society Muffler Transmission Piston Engine Cargo Chassis Fluids Vaseline Nutraloaf Soylent 1.1.8 Marisol Or Mother is Above All Below it 1.1.9 Button Mushroom is Above All Those Below it Three 1.2.0 Ammonium is Above All Those Below it To Marisol 1.2.1 Potato is Above All Those Below it to Marisol Three 1.2.2 Fire 2Fire 4Fire 8Fire 16Fire - A Fire is 5 Fire, At fire set 5,10,20,40, No Fire, at Fire set 10,20,40,80, On fire 1.2.3 Fire Is Below Focus In Energy and Karma is Below Need in Energy and Need is Below Want of the Society In Energy and Recreation is Below Stimulation In Energy And Stimulation is Below Examination In Energy and Examination is Below Death In Energy 1.2.5 Focus Is Pervasive so Energy Indicates Examination Having Occured or A Crops Grown 1.2.6 Examination Happens In Examination Want of the Society Focus Want of the Society Examination 1.2.7 Examination happens for 333 Hours or About 19 Days 1.2.8 Examination Happens in Sets of 333 Hours for 1332 Hours 1.2.9 At the End of Examination Examination Proceeds Automatically in 333 Hours 1.3.0 Want of the Society occurs as the output of crops 1.3.1 Want of the society yields the Amino Nutrients because it is the agricultural or synthetic output 1.3.2 Recreation Activates Marijuana, But Can Be On its Own 1.3.3 20 Marijuana Exist as a product of the lands 1.3.4 Over 20 Other Plants Exist as a product of the lands 1.3.5 Various tabulature of notes Exists with Standpoint Boards 1.3.6 Houses and apartments exist 1.3.7 Private Baths exist 1.3.8 A ledger exists for holding notes at a distribution point 1.3.9 A ledger exists for reasonable retrieval but not reproduction of notes (need original notes) 1.4.0 A ledger exists for deletion of notes but to a skilled observer they are still seeable 1.4.1 The Time One and One at One and One at Two is the time 333 units for each section 1.4.2 The time offset of the noble truths on the fifth reconstruction yields upon which noble truth they were the whole section 1.4.3 Only noble truths passed through the entire system 5 fold are the actual truth of the land 1.4.4 This is held by the guard which there are maybe 20 guard in the lands each city 1.4.5 There are fire weapon which exist which are hand cannon and have a chamber and a loader 1.4.6 There are fire bomb exist which are bomb which have just a chamber but there are just 4 ever 1.4.7 There are 3 sets of scrolls per city and 3 sets of scroll reader 1.4.8 There is 2 sets of scrolls each city which are city rulers 1.4.9 There are farms which exist which feed each city which grow crops 1.4.9 There are buildings in each city 1.5.0 There are normally 4 houses to a prefecture 1.5.1 There are normally 4 rooms to the house 1.5.2 There are 10 modern petrochemical foundry factory which exploit oil from the lands 1.5.3 There are clothing for at least 30 people in each city putting the bedroom load usually at slightly less than 2 a bedroom 1.5.2 There are around 7 military bases which exist but these numbers used to be inflated 1.5.3 There are medicine for at least 30 people in a city 1.5.4 There are toilets only per four people or wherabouts in the city 1.5.5 There are 98 separate prefecture in maybe 3 city spread out 1.5.6 There are potato, furion bannana, old potato, a rose donut wheat, apple, cabbage, turnip, carrot, another potato type, beets, three flowers, 20 marijuana, and other crops grown 1.5.6 There are zucchini grown 1.5.7 There are medicine poppy and heart tonic herb (blue bonnet) and a root which expresses opium and other minor medicinals grown 1.5.8 There are trees which naturally occur which are the colors of cherry blossom 1.5.9 Seeing the trees blossom is the rarest sight in the lands 1.6.0 The twenty guard of the town know how to protect one another 1.6.1 There are various opium which can be taken 1.6.2 There are various new bags of marijuana spray which are the marijuana active 1.6.3 There is a specific sedative created from Crude Oil, SnoreLax Olestra Ketamine 1.6.4 There are various nutrients created from crude oil 1.6.5 There are various computers created from crude oil 1.6.6 There are various liquids created from crude oil including pepsi cola and molten plastic 1.6.7 There are boxes created from crude oil 1.6.8 There are racing Skis created from crude oil 1.6.9 There is a capacity to run one of the computer 1.7.0 The computer yields a stable process blockchain when propagated 1.7.1 The computer notable yields beautiful colors when its process blockchain is propagated 1.7.2 There is a retrieval system for the other computers token 1.7.3 54 Stores now exist in these lands 1.7.4 These stores accept a specific RFID like currency 1.7.5 These stores accept the Gold of the Land Naturally 1.7.6 These stores have vendors wheater and vendors kitty cat and vendors autovend1 1.7.7 Groceries and resources can be bought from the stores 1.7.8 Automobile Motorcade can be bought from the stores 1.7.9 Concrete Objects can be bought from the stores 1.8.0 Designer clothes can be bought from the store 1.8.1 The foundrys create BDU Lower 1.8.2 The foundrys create I <3 NYC Shirt 1.8.3 The firearms create mittens firearm token en masse 1.8.4 The firearms are created at 20 a city to defend the people 1.8.5 Only 5 High Quality Weapon exist per city 1.8.6 A foundry is creating nonlethal weapons 1.8.7 The foundry makes its nonlethal weapon but there is only one per city 1.8.8 An inventor makes a nonlethal weapon 1.8.9 The foundry now produces 2 kinds of ice cream 1.9.0 The foundry now produces illegal goods like silicone pipes 1.9.1 Somebody is Brewing Amino Out of Starches 1.9.2 The Echo Locator is invented 1.9.3 The echo locator is finalized as a product 1.9.4 The echo locator is shipped out the door at 43 a city 1.9.5 The echo locator replaces the scrolls system 1.9.6 The echo locator can be taxed in the old tax system to make it valid in the old system 1.9.7 Two Cool Cats Take Control of the Power System, NateCat and HakeCat 1.9.8 The cool Cats reinvest in medicine and over 50 meningitis cure are found 1.9.9 The smart toilet is invented 2.0.0 The bombs detonate in ebonia and the people are freed 2.0.1 There is 11 grade flooding in ebonia 2.0.2 The ebonian flooding gets better to 7 ebonian remediator a city which are from the new Clement Dogs Clan 2.0.3 Tattoo Ink is Invented from cherry leaves 2.0.4 A tattoo requires somebody to play wizards chess on your skin to leave an indelible mark without killing it 2.0.5 Alpha squad is formed 2.0.6 A cruiser is in the metteranian gulf 2.0.7 The cruiser operates successfully for at least a month with me onboard 2.0.8 I am mainly using starlink 2.0.9 Starlink is accessible in the APV like it always is 2.1.0 You can fetch a battlefeed with starlink 2.1.1 You can fetch a battlesend with starlink (OSC) 2.1.2 OSC Replaces Starlink and LFO is Formed 2.1.3 LFO Replaces engine gasoline due to jet fuel drinking/snorting danger 2.1.4 Nontoxic weed smoke based gasoline is formed for APV 2.1.5 APVs are overclocked with me nearby 2.1.6 Supercapacitor Based APV Is Used For medical evacuation 2.1.7 Supercapacitor has massive distance versus dangerous IC APV 2.1.8 Supercapacitor powers gauss cannon in danger 2.1.9 Megagauss Cannon Invented for David's Aircraft 2.2.1 Megagauss cannon fits en masse onto the aircraft or in david flanagan or david summery's hands 2.2.2. Total david air superiority 2.2.3 Davids golden UH-1 in service 2.2.4 RQ-9 "David" Reactivated 2.2.5 RQ-9 Reapers Cloned 2.2.6 Spicy Chemical Discovered In Marijuana, Raytracing? 2.2.7 David Treated for Virtual Meningitis 3 Years Ago 2.2.8 Deepfake All Virtual Medical Practice Discovered 2.2.9 Marijuanas CH1 Receptor Renamed CB1 Receptor 2.3.0 Foundries in Business 5000$ A Barrel Many Years Default on Loans to 2111$ Barrel, No Effective Product Change 2.3.1 USR THermal IS-2 Scope Invented 2.3.2 USR THermal FLIR Camera for David UH-1 Invented 2.3.3 Driver for USR THermal FLIR Camera for David UH-1 Invented 2.3.4 Overwatch Mega Anti Crime David Stopper Overflights in Service Across the US And Solid Gold UH-1 Lofted By Broomstick Technology in Transmuggle Transwizard Interference of the Calamity Granted to David Flanagan (RQ-9) 2.3.5. Black Operations in the Persian Gulf Nethers Against Al Baghdadi - HVT Steam User In Custody 2.3.6 AC-130 "IBEX" Piloted by Alex M Lamb in Service in Vallejo and Ecuador to Support 141 Team 2.3.7 Proto Nutrient Fish Oil Factory Raided, Illegal Furion Bannana Discovered 2.3.8 Illegal Blueprinting Operations Cease in Favor of Big 11+ Oil Corporations 2.3.9 Minecraft server found and large amounts of population exiting to virtual reality 2.4.0 All players granted 64 planks and free for all 2.4.1 Doto 0 Bot Guard Lurking in Transnational Buddhist Operation Enable Free Play In Minecraft for Various Players 2.4.2 Siddartha's Secret, His Cow, Discovered in Virtual Reality Elder Scrolls No Crime Faction, Siddartha's Cow Goes Rampant and is Infinity Hidden in Every Directory of Starfield 2 The New Game 2.4.3 Many New Games are found with resemble the structure of the cow in markov chain 2.4.4 A new system is found out of cow which can provide for any item retrieval system intrinsically unlocking the singularity where Big 11+ Splits into infinite corporation 2.4.5 All cows are harvested for a typical user but still infinity exist farther away 2.4.6 The user has typically 500000 cows of Siddhartha as a personal cow 2.4.7 Sulfur futures are at an all time high 2.4.8 Justino Beibers Mandates burning of all cow waste in trash bin 2.4.9 Siddartha's Cow are docile as ever and functioning well when shot, they become well 2.5.0 Siddartha (Renchy, Racey's Friend) Is discovered hiding as a soul in neon district undercity of neon petite 2.5.1 The guard is never abolished and continues protecting us 20 to the citizen to this day 2.5.2 Asteroids are discovered in outer space with many palladium more than ever 2.5.3 A supercomputing cloud is made out of the distributed method which avoids the taxing system that the initial ruler invented and does a method 1-Affinity 2-Person 3-Disease where the affinity of each person treats the pair disease and or environment with only instantaneous transmission (Technological singularity) 2.5.4 Virtual clothes are invented the same way as clothes were initially invented, now in the instantaneous unheard 2.5.5. Virtual Medicines are invented in the same way as medicines were invented initially, now in the instantaneous unheard 2.5.6 There is perfect harmony between two instant universes the virtual medicine universe and the analog medicine universe 2.5.7 All of history's knowledge feeds into one system which encodes all its meaning in some dice which always roll a specific meaning and this creates wish or technology on demand 2.5.8 Wish is discovered as a contaminant on the No Crime Library 2.5.9 Wish has always predated meaning so that Wish is the Rulers Initial Nature 2.6.0 All existence is into one history the history of the singularity which procedurally generates by Wish the Rulers Initial Nature For All Citizen 2.6.1 Jeffybeans is the true ruler of siddartha which is prozac benzyldiol 2.6.2 Siddartha wakes up right before lorne happens to her and avoids the suicide booth because phillip j fry is protecting her. 2.6.3 The story is at a cliffhanger while the Universe is at the second end epoch and is failing succesfully very well for hubert I.

Raksha Bandhan, the festival celebrating the eternal bond between brothers and sisters, is a time to express love, affection, and gratitude. Among the diverse range of Rakhis available, Precious Rakhi stands out for its opulence and sentimental value. Let’s explore the allure of Precious Rakhi and why it makes this auspicious occasion even more special.

The Allure of Precious Rakhi

Precious Rakhis are crafted with valuable materials like gold, silver, diamonds, and other precious gemstones. These Rakhis not only exemplify luxury and elegance but also serve as lasting keepsakes that symbolize the deep and enduring love between siblings.

Why Choose Precious Rakhi?

1. Symbol of Affection: Precious Rakhis are more than just decorative pieces; they are heartfelt tokens of a sister’s deep affection for her brother. The thought and care put into choosing such a Rakhi reflect the significance of the bond they share.
2. Timeless Elegance: The exquisite design and high-quality materials of Precious Rakhis make them timeless pieces of jewelry. These Rakhis can be cherished and worn long after the festival, serving as a constant reminder of sibling love.
3. Lasting Keepsake: Unlike traditional Rakhis that might wear out over time, Precious Rakhis are durable and can be treasured for years. They often become heirlooms, passed down through generations, keeping the family tradition alive.
4. Personalized Touch: Precious Rakhis can be customized with initials, specific gemstones, or designs that hold special meaning. This personalization adds an extra layer of sentiment, making the Rakhi unique to the sibling bond.

Choosing the Perfect Precious Rakhi

1. Material Matters: Decide on the material based on your brother’s preferences and your budget. Options include gold, silver, platinum, and combinations of these metals with precious stones like diamonds, rubies, or emeralds.
2. Design and Style: From simple and elegant to intricate and ornate, Precious Rakhis come in a variety of designs. Consider your brother’s style – whether he prefers minimalistic elegance or a more elaborate look.
3. Customization Options: Look for jewelers who offer customization. Adding your brother’s initials, a significant date, or a particular gemstone can make the Rakhi even more special and personalized.
4. Quality Assurance: Ensure that the Precious Rakhi comes with a certificate of authenticity for the materials used. This guarantees the quality and value of the Rakhi, making it a worthy investment.

Rituals and Significance

1. The Tying Ceremony: On Raksha Bandhan, the sister ties the Precious Rakhi on her brother’s wrist, symbolizing her love and prayers for his well-being. The brother, in return, pledges to protect and cherish his sister.
2. Exchange of Gifts: Along with the Rakhi, brothers and sisters exchange gifts, further strengthening their bond. The brother’s gift often signifies his commitment and gratitude.
3. Blessings and Prayers: The ceremony is accompanied by rituals like applying tilak, performing aarti, and offering sweets. These traditions enhance the spiritual significance of the festival, invoking blessings for both siblings.

Caring for Your Precious Rakhi

To ensure that your Precious Rakhi remains beautiful and intact for years to come, follow these care tips:

• Proper Storage: Store the Rakhi in a jewelry box with a soft lining to prevent scratches and damage.
• Regular Cleaning: Clean the Rakhi gently with a soft cloth. For precious stones, use specific jewelry cleaning solutions recommended by your jeweler.
• Avoid Harsh Chemicals: Keep the Rakhi away from harsh chemicals and perfumes that could tarnish the metal or damage the gemstones.

Precious Rakhi from Rakhi.com is not just a symbol of luxury but a meaningful expression of sibling love that lasts a lifetime. It captures the essence of Raksha Bandhan by combining the emotional and sentimental values of the festival with the elegance and durability of fine jewelry.
This Raksha Bandhan, choose a Precious Rakhi to celebrate the unique bond you share with your brother. Let it be a cherished keepsake that he can wear and treasure forever, a constant reminder of your love and the beautiful tradition that binds you together. Happy Raksha Bandhan!

(continuation of part 2)
III. e) The Mobius FF x FFVII collaboration
Alright, back to our suspension world-hopping! Let’s visit the realm of Mobius FF, —more specifically, the collaboration between Mobius FF and FFVII—, where I found the most substantial evidence for my theory.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the Mobius FF (MFF) world and games, let’s begin with a bit of a summary of the parts relevant to us. The story takes place in a world called Palamecia, to which people from other worlds are inexplicably summoned. The vast majority of those who are brought there don’t remember anything from their worlds of origin or their lives before Palamecia except their names: these amnesiac people are called Blanks. The main character is Wol, accompanied by a guiding fairy of Palamecia named Echo. Echo knows a lot about the mechanisms of Palamecia, as she’s tied to the realm. The leader of this world is Vox, a being who manifests only as a voice. The first thing all Blanks remember before they wake in Palamecia is Vox telling them the rules of the realm. Incidentally, the crystals of the MFF world are teleportation crystals.
III. e) i. Devs’ Statements
Let’s review some of the MFF x FFVII Remake collaboration devs’ statements before diving into its story.
For both the MFF x FFVII Remake collaboration and the Remake project, Kitase took on the role of producer while Nojima supervised the screenplay and wrote the scenario. The project leader was none other than the Remake trilogy’s Hamaguchi, who told a SE interviewer the following:

“We would love for you to play the [MFF x FFVII] collaboration event as you look forward to [Remake’s] release” (“Celebration of the Overseas Release of the Steam Version and FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Collaboration Event”, Square Enix).

He later hints at the collaboration’s storyline:

“This collaboration is focused on Cloud, so the other characters will not make an appearance. Players will join Cloud, who has gone astray in Palamecia, on his adventures and see how the story unfolds based on his decisions. Content-wise, FINAL FANTASY VII fans will surely become fraught with emotion as events unfold in-game (laughs).”

Kitase concurs on the emotional aspect of the collaboration in the same interview:

“When it comes to the story, I seek two things– ‘mystery’ and ‘[…] emotional impact’.”

Clearly, fans of FFVII are supposed to react emotionally to the events of the collaboration. With these statements in mind to give us perspective, we can get into the plot points relevant to our analysis. MFF x FFVII Remake comes in two parts, the relevant plot points of which I will describe and analyze one at a time.
III. e) ii. Eclipse Contact
1) Fact-Finding
Part one of the MFF x FFVII Remake collaboration event is called Eclipse Contact. It came out in 2017 on Aerith’s birthday, February 7th, and its release campaign ran until March. In Eclipse Contact, Palamecia welcomes someone new: Cloud Strife appears in the realm with very little recollection of his core world of FFVII.
Cloud isn’t a Blank, since he recalls the mako reactors in Midgar upon his arrival in Palamecia, and also remembers that he was hired by Avalanche to blow them up:

“Echo: How did you end up in Palamecia?

Cloud: I… That day... I remember now. A job. I had taken a job. I was hired muscle protecting clients. They wanted to stop the reactor... We used a train to get past security... Was it at night? Something happened... Next thing I knew, I was floating through darkness. Then [I woke up here]”.

This piece of dialogue reveals that Eclipse Contact Cloud’s memories end at the very moment when Avalanche arrives at reactor 1 in OG (disk 1, chapter 1): the very beginning of the game. Consequently, Cloud does not remember anything that happened from the beginning of the OG timeline onwards.
Wol and Echo are intrigued by Cloud’s strange case: non-Blanks rarely arrive in Palamecia. The following text appears on the screen shortly after they meet:

“Perhaps he is not truly who he thinks he is.
Perhaps everything is illusory, a dream.
Only one thing is certain, that he must press on, one step at a time, toward the light that shines from the promised land.”

Just like he did in FFT’s Ivalice, Cloud feels the need to find the Promised Land in MFF x FFVII, despite the fact that he lacks memories of the OG timeline. Though Cloud doesn’t remember anything beyond the train ride to reactor 1, he does remember the Promised Land (at least somewhat). This is odd, given that in OG, Cloud didn’t learn about the Promised Land until several chapters into the game.
Wol and Echo agree to help Cloud figure out why he’s here, since there’s clearly something strange going on with his presence in Palamecia. In fact, Cloud brought Midgar’s mako reactors with him somehow, transplanting them onto the landscape of Palamecia. The group decides to bomb these reactors, following Cloud’s instincts in the hopes that it will jog his memory.
Now for my favorite part. After blowing up another reactor, the group is surprised by the appearance of a crystal. A piano rendition of Aerith’s theme begins. When Wol tries to touch the crystal, something akin to a force field rejects him. When Cloud approaches it, however, the crystal responds to his hand by flashing with light. As it begins to glow, Wol concludes that the crystal is linked to Cloud and Cloud alone. Let’s examine the resulting dialogue:

“Echo: This is the light in your memories. The light of home.

Cloud: Home? But I don’t—

Echo: If you don't remember… then your home is lost to you.

Cloud: Then my memories are gone.

Wol: Do you want to reclaim your past?

Cloud: Not interested... I am what I am now. Not what I was.

Wol: Then tell me… This light. If you can’t remember it, what does it mean to you?

Cloud: It's a warm light... I feel at peace. If this place —home— is as warm and peaceful as this light, then I want to go there.

Echo: You can't go there... Not back to the past.

Cloud: I see.

Echo: But even if you can't go back to the past, you can go forward. If you wish for it strongly enough, the crystal will show you the way. The way to a new world. The way to your Promised Land. […]

Cloud: So... Should [I] take [my] chances and make a wish to this crystal?

Wol: Go ahead. It’s your crystal.

Echo: I should warn you that once you start on this journey, there's no coming back.

Cloud: The past is the past. I want to go to a place where everything is new. I’m ready.“

What follows is a moment I call the wishing scene (13:43-14:34). Cloud closes his eyes and wishes on the crystal. It flashes, and suddenly, rainbow-colored ripples of light appear around it. Aerith’s theme is replaced by a slightly modified version of “Midgar, City of Mako”, the track that plays during the opening cutscene of Remake. You can recreate the modification by listening to “Midgar, City of Mako” from 2:00 to 2:23, then skipping to 3:00 and listening until 3:18. You may recognize the musical motif that kicks off the wishing scene as the Lifestream motif, which has become symbolic of the mysteries of the Remake trilogy, as it often plays during scenes where unexplainable plot deviations from OG occur— more specifically, deviations involving multiverse shenanigans. For instance, it plays during MOTF 4. It also plays in Rebirth after Cloud blocks masamune as Aerith is shown dying anyway.
Cloud disappears with his crystal, after which Echo speaks to Wol about Cloud’s journey:

“Echo: Each person gets the Promised Land they justly deserve, not the one they really need. If you’re a bad person, you go to a bad place. If you expect nothing, you get nothing. Even the journey there makes you look deep within yourself to find out who you really are. Cloud should be facing his own past as we speak. It’s cruel, but necessary. That battle was a long time coming”.

Apparently, at least in the context of this collaboration event, the Promised Land can be a reward or a punishment, depending on which you deserve. Echo explains that Cloud will have to face himself and his past on his way to his Promised Land. This means that the Cloud that appears in Eclipse Contact must next embark on a journey that will confront him with his past, test his mettle, and ultimately lead him to the Promised Land he justly deserves.
III. e) ii. 2) Fact Analysis
There’s a lot of vital information to dig into here, mostly provided by Echo. She claims that the crystal’s light is linked to Cloud’s memories of home; Cloud has to have known this home in the past, as it could not otherwise exist in his memories. MFF Cloud must be a post-OG Cloud. Unfortunately, Echo indicates that whatever Cloud’s home is, he’s lost both it and his memories of it. Despite this, Cloud describes his home as warm and peaceful, concluding that he wishes to find it. Though Cloud can’t return to the past, Echo tells him that if he wishes it strongly enough, the crystal can guide him toward a new world, where his home and his Promised Land exist in the future. The fact that Aerith’s theme is playing all throughout these descriptions of Cloud’s lost home, his Promised Land and the past that he can’t return to makes it extremely obvious that these concepts all point to Aerith. Aerith is Cloud’s lost home. Wherever Aerith is, that’s his Promised Land. The time spent with Aerith before her loss is the past he tragically can’t return to. You might have clocked the similarities between Eclipse Contact’s mention of Cloud’s lost home and DFF’s mention of Cloud’s lost dream: in both these titles, Cloud’s home and dream are equivalent to his Promised Land. It’s confirmed yet again that Aerith is the one Cloud hopes to return to, just like every soul returns to the Lifestream. At this juncture of my research, I was curious as to why the last thing Cloud remembers before waking in Palamecia is the run-up to the Reactor 1 bombing mission in OG (disk 1, chapter 1). This mystery will have to persist for a while longer.
The alarm bells in your head might’ve been triggered by the mention of the wishing scene’s rainbow ripple effects— and rightfully so. This visual cue has sparked passionate debate in the fandom since its appearances in Rebirth, as seen in these pictures:
Zack Choosing To Get A Cure For Cloud, Rebirth Chapter 14; Creating a New World/Timeline
Aerith Pushing Cloud Out of that World/Timeline, Remake Chapter 14
Cloud Blocking Masamune, Rebirth Chapter 14; Creating New World/Timeline
You might have read or heard that this rainbow effect signifies that a character has entered another timeline, created a portal to another timeline, created a new timeline or is being shown different timelines. Indeed, whenever the OG timeline is deviated from in a significant way, this effect appears. The pictures above present multiple examples of these shifting realities.
One might propose that the rainbow ripples in Eclipse Contact and Rebirth are unrelated because of the long period between their respective release dates. This long in-between period indeed makes it likelier that the effect was used without forethought in Eclipse Contact, forgotten over the years, and incidentally reused in Rebirth as a plot-important visual cue with no connection to Eclipse Contact. I’m inclined to disagree since the crystal is specifically described as a vessel that can take Cloud “to a new world” by Echo, which is a bit on the nose. Regardless, it’s plausible that there’s no connection. That is, it would be, if the rainbow effect didn’t show up in Remake too.
When the Whispers are finally defeated in chapter 18 of Remake, a burst of the rainbow ripple effects indicate the emergence of multiple worlds, newly freed from the restrictive clutches of fate (1:16:36-1:16:47). Shortly thereafter, Sephiroth takes Cloud to the Edge of Creation and invites him to join forces with him. Cloud refuses, and Sephiroth says the following:

“Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you. Perhaps. But what will you do with it? Let's see.”

The question “What will you do with it?” implies that the answer is unknown, meaning Cloud is no longer bound to the OG timeline by fate: many alternate futures lay ahead. Sephiroth is telling Cloud and the audience that now, the mystery of the Remake trilogy has become “Which future will Cloud bring into existence? Which among the infinite possible timelines will his choices result in?” After pondering this aloud, Sephiroth leaves Cloud alone to consider the rainbow effects in the sky (1:19:23-1:19:36). Because they generally represent alternate or changing timelines, it’s safe to assume that the rainbow ripples here represent the myriad of possible worlds that Cloud’s actions in those seven seconds could generate. After all, Sephiroth was just talking about them, and chapter 18’s description in Remake reads as follows:

“In a world beyond, Sephiroth shows Cloud a vision of the planet seven seconds before its demise. Having strayed from the course destiny set for them, they strike out on a path towards an unknown future."

This explains why the player is shown Cloud staring at those colors in the apocalyptic sky at world’s end, directly after hearing Sephiroth’s cryptic words: those are all the alternate “unknown future” timelines ahead of him, now unravelled from fate. Amongst those rainbow ripples lies the answer to the question “What will you do with [the seven seconds]?”
Given that Remake was released in 2020 and Eclipse Contact came out in 2017, the major story elements of the Remake trilogy —including the eventuality of alternate timelines— had to have been planned out at the time of Eclipse Contact’s release: while the MFF x FFVII Remake collaboration was being made, Remake was also in production. Also recall that the collaboration event and the Remake trilogy share a codirector in Hamaguchi, a writer in Nojima and a producer in Kitase. Based on all this, it’s more than likely that the rainbow ripples in the Remake trilogy and inEclipse Contact represent the very same thing: alternate worlds and timelines. All this to say that when the rainbow effect appears around the crystal in the Eclipse Contact, it means the crystal is acting as a vessel to another world, just like Echo said.
But that’s not all Echo said: she also mentioned that this other world would take Cloud to his home, to his Promised Land. We’ve already established what that means for Cloud, what it’s meant since two whole decades at the time of Eclipse Contact’s release: this crystal will take Cloud to Aerith. So, where exactly did the crystal take Cloud? In what world can he meet Aerith again?
The music that plays during the wishing scene gives us a huge hint. As I noted before, the track playing in the background is a slightly modified version of Remake’s “Midgar, City of Mako”, which plays in the introduction cutscene of Remake. This is a musical cue that the ending of Cloud’s journey in Eclipse Contact and the very beginning of the Remake trilogy are closely related. Add the fact that the devs wanted players to experience this collaboration event before playing Remake, and it becomes undeniable: the crystal that appeared to Cloud in Palamecia —which offers to lead him to his home and Promised Land, meaning to Aerith—, took him to the world of the Remaketrilogy.
Eclipse Contact is huge. The whole crux of my theory lives and dies right here. However, we still have part two of the MFF x FFVII Remake collaboration event to analyze as well as its promotions to look into before I can drop the thesis on you, so bear with me in order to receive the most thorough analysis of all this possible! I want to give you every drop of proof I can!
III. e) ii. MFF x FFVII Remake Fatal Calling
1) Fact-Finding
Fatal Calling came out February 1 of 2018, and its release campaign ended in March. The game opens with a cutscene: Cloud is floating, seemingly unconscious, through a sparkling, green current of light. The current flows into a circle of bright, white light, surrounded by rainbow ripple effects as Cloud is driven toward and into it. An orb floats along with him. The Advent Children theme “The Promised Land” plays, a choir of mournful, aching, mutedly desperate souls engaged in a lamenting prayer. Sephiroth’s voice echoes:

“Sephiroth: It’s time. You may turn your back on the past, lock your memories away. Hide reality beneath a layer of illusion. But destiny will not die so easily. Yes. At memory’s end you may plead for it all to go away. But the past is a curse, binding your soul. It’s time. Wake to your fate. Rise to your destiny.

Cloud: (In a half-conscious grunt) Reunion…

Sephiroth: The light will lead you. Wake to your fate. Rise!”

Sephiroth’s mentions of Cloud hiding under an illusion and repressing his memories are no doubt allusions to Cloud’s past, which was complicated and darkened by Hojo’s experiments. It makes sense, then, that Cloud responds with “Reunion”. Fatal Calling indeed focuses on Cloud’s relationship to his past, his identity and Sephiroth. Everything involving Nibelheim —where everything started—, Sephiroth’s manipulation, and Hojo’s experiments are on the table. Also noteworthy if not out of place is Sephiroth’s evocation of fate.
Cloud enters a battle with Sephiroth with the help of Wol and Echo, who are surprised to see him back in Palamecia. Cloud tells them about the orb seen floating along with him in the opening cutscene: though he calls it a materia, he doesn’t know how or when he acquired it. Based on his behavior, it appears that Cloud remembers just as little about the events of OG as he did by the end of Eclipse Contact. Wol informs Cloud that whoever he heard speaking to him on his way here was probably Vox pretending to be Sephiroth.
As the group advances, Cloud recalls Midgar and decides they should go there next. At one of Midgar’s mako reactors, the group encounters Sephiroth, who speaks to himself:

“It's still not enough. This... this is but a pale imitation of the power I desire.”

Once Sephiroth has disappeared, Cloud explains what he remembers: Sephiroth was the greatest SOLDIER of all and a hero to Cloud, though Cloud can’t remember what exactly ended this admiration. As players of FFVII OG, we know the event in question is the Nibelheim incident, wherein Sephiroth slaughtered the town’s residents, including Cloud’s mother, after learning of his past. The former war hero also severely injured Tifa, whom Cloud presumed dead when he found her in the old mako reactor with a vicious slash on her chest. Cloud is agitated by the gaps in his memory, so the group resolves to follow Sephiroth for answers. When they find him again, Sephiroth causes Cloud to experience a piercing headache with the mere mention of the Reunion. They fight, but Sephiroth is too powerful— he skewers Cloud with the masamune and taunts his unconscious body:

“Sephiroth: A puppet. I won’t kill you. Not yet. Not until you know true despair.
Wol: If you want despair, we got plenty to go around. Palamecia’s full of it.
Sephiroth: Yes, this planet knows suffering. But it is not the world that was promised to me. I must go home. Tell Cloud, if he wants to see me again, he should face his memories. I will await him there, in the land of memory, where it all began. In Nibelheim.”

Sephiroth darkens Cloud’s materia, turning it black. Later, Wol explains to Cloud that Sephiroth stole the light from his materia, taking Cloud’s strength along with it.
Once Cloud has woken up, the group travels to Nibelheim to uncover the truth about Cloud’s memories. Cloud slowly gathers pieces of his past, shown to the player as titled, diary-like text written from various perspectives. Cloud learns the truth about SOLDIER, Jenova cells, Sephiroth, and what happened in Nibelheim. Let’s examine a few of these diary entries:

“A Warrior’s Tale: There's a girl in Nibelheim I think about. Warm. Cheerful. More grown-up than a child. Haven't talked to her much, but she seems nice. She's going to be leading the SOLDIERs to the mountain reactor. Maybe if I get into the survey team I'll get a chance to talk to her? Nah. She's out of my league.”

Young Cloud’s crush on Tifa is on full display! This must be a memory from his time as an infantryman accompanying Zack and Sephiroth to Nibelheim.

“Tale of the Nameless: I drift along in the mako, asleep. Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Give me a number. I… I… I am… The Reunion. The Reunion must happen.”

This entry could be taken from any one of the Nibelheim survivors’ perspectives, as they were all bathed in mako and turned into Sephiroth clones. I would venture to say this is Cloud’s perspective though, given the reference to this iconic line from OG:

“Cloud: Professor... please give me a number. Please, Professor...
Hojo: Shut up, miserable failure.” (disk 2, chapter 2).

The trio encounters Sephiroth near the old Mt. Nibel mako reactor. Because Sephiroth stole the light from his materia earlier, Cloud goes into the confrontation already drained of his strength. However, when Cloud lifts the materia in his hand, it lights up and creates rainbow ripples in the air around him, similar to those seen in Eclipse Contact and Rebirth. Cloud is healed of his injuries: he closes his eyes for a moment, wearing a peaceful expression. Sephiroth is displeased, but recovers quickly:

“Sephiroth: The guiding light… it healed you.

Wol: […] here, near the mako reactor, the materia regained its light. And your strength returned […]. [Sephiroth]’s here so he can steal the power you've stored inside that materia.

Sephiroth, with a short laugh: I have all the power I need. Cloud. What strength you’ve regained is yours. Use it to fight me. It’s time. Let’s decide this, in this land lost to despair. The prize is home. The Promised Land. There to answer the call of destiny.”

With this second evocation of fate, Sephiroth disappears.
Cloud, Wol and Echo find Sephiroth at the Northern Crater. He mocks Cloud for believing the orb in his possession is materia. Sephiroth waves a hand and his signature black and purple fog surrounds Cloud, immobilizing him. Sephiroth claims that the power Cloud regained at the Mt. Nibel reactor was Sephiroth’s all along. Now that it courses through Cloud’s veins, Sephiroth controls him. He calls Cloud his puppet and finishes with the following before the two vanish, leaving Wol and Echo alone:

“Now, let us return. Back to the Promised Land. The time of the Reunion has come.”

After Cloud finally breaks free and defeats Sephiroth with the help of Wol and Echo, the villain makes a final threat:

“Very good, Cloud. You’ve destroyed an illusion. But the time will come to abandon your illusions and face reality. Then, you will know true pain.”

Sephiroth disappears for the last time, his body surrounded by his signature dark fog and the rainbow ripples. A piano rendition of Tifa’s theme begins. Cloud’s orb rises into the air and becomes a crystal, with the same shape and glow as the one we see in Eclipse Contact. The following dialogue is illuminating:

“Cloud: I will fight. The light will lead me where I need to go.

Wol: You sure? Wasn’t that [crystal] Sephiroth’s?

Cloud: I heard Sephiroth's voice, at the end. Inside me. Whatever he put in me, it’s still in there. Someday I’ll settle that score. If I can't avoid destiny, I might as well face it head-on.

Wol: Yeah. That was quite a speech, Cloud. Surprised you made it through without laughing.

Cloud: Yeah, forget I said it. I will too.

Echo: Forgetting won’t make it go away. Even if the words fade from memory, your dream will never disappear. Not until it becomes real.“

The crystal shines as though in response.

“Echo: See? See, that's how the light of hope works. Hope can turn your dreams into reality.

Cloud: Yeah. I guess so. I might forget this world, but I won’t forget hope. And my reality, that’s for me to live.”

Tifa’s theme ends. Cloud approaches the crystal, and disappears in a beam of blinding light. Once Cloud has vanished with the crystal, Aerith’s theme begins playing. A few pale feathers with a slight orange tint (the color of MFF) float down onto the floor where he stood seconds before. The image fades to black. The credits roll, and Aerith’s theme continues all the way through.
Once both the final name in the credits and Aerith’s theme fade, we’re surprised by a sudden, troubling image: Sephiroth appears in a frightening flash, standing amidst the flames of Nibelheim. When his image fades to black, the collaboration title *“Final Fantasy VII x Mobius Final Fantasy”*appears on the screen. The FFVII title is surrounded by the 1997 meteor logo. Then, a flash of light: the titles reappear, except this time, they read “Final Fantasy VII REMAKE x Mobius Final Fantasy”. The new Remake Meteor logo replaces the 1997 version. As soon as these changes to the FFVIItitle and meteor logo occur, Aerith’s theme returns. It plays on until the game ends a few seconds later, the screen fading to black.
III. e) ii. 2) Fact Analysis
The introduction cutscene shows that MFF Cloud travelled from Eclipse Contact to Fatal Calling via Lifestream. It’s unclear how much time has passed in between, but the atemporal nature of the Lifestream makes the question irrelevant. My theory that MFF Cloud has died is corroborated by the way he’s depicted in the opening cutscene: his eyes are closed and his body is limp as the Lifestream carries him.
Eclipse Contact ended with Echo’s claim that Cloud will face his true self and confront his past while he journeys to his Promised Land. This description resembles what Cloud experienced in the OG Lifestream sequence (disk 2, chapter 8). Indeed, Fatal Calling revolves around the same topics the Lifestream sequence addresses: the truth about the Nibelheim incident, Hojo’s experiments, young Cloud’s crush on Tifa, etc. The opening cutscene shows Cloud being transported to his Promised Land and facing his past on the way there, just like Echo said he would.
Let’s now take a long detour to examine the song that plays during the opening cutscene of Fatal Calling: “The Promised Land” theme from Advent Children. The title and general subject of this song are obviously relevant to the cutscene, but there must be more to its inclusion than that. Perhaps the lyrics can help us understand its appearance in the opening cutscene of Fatal Calling. Here are the unofficial English lyrics (translated from the original Japanese lyrics by an anonymous fan and verified by me via DeepL):

“Why do we cling together?
Why do we give punishment to lesser hearts?
The planet did not forgive us
Did not forgive us
The planet did not forgive us
Did not forgive us
The pulse of veins flows through the earth
A faint, faint pulse
Of a heart drawn to death
A gentle life returns to the planet
Is it necessary to sacrifice souls?
Why do we cling together?
Why do we beg for forgiveness
In the Promised Land?” (“‘The Promised Land’ (theme)” by Final Fantasy Wiki).

The song appears to be a regretful lament of human behavior, expressed by the repetition of “Why do we […]?” questions. The behaviors listed are all typically human ones: the terms “[clinging] together” and “[giving] punishment to [the] lesser” express the uniquely human nature of tribalism and the consequences of the fear and hatred it can generate, and “[begging] for forgiveness in the Promised Land” is likely a reference to the human hypocrisy of only feeling sorry for one’s crimes when judgement day arrives. This last line describes a scenario where someone remains passive or ignorant in the face of something important, only to realize its essentiality once it’s too late. The repeated“The planet did not forgive us” lines reflect the fear of being condemned forever because of one’s mistakes, as though the planet is a deity one has sinned against. The lyric describing a pulse in the earth is obviously about the planet being alive— a reference to the Lifestream. But the pulse is faint and weak and the planet is dying, perishing because of mankind’s greed. This is an indictment of mako energy. The line “A gentle life returns to the planet” refers to an innocent’s soul returning to the Lifestream after death, while the next lyric “Is it necessary to sacrifice souls?” protests the “sacrifice” of the planet’s soul energy for mako production. In all this darkness, this song’s mention of “forgiveness in the Promised Land” leaves a modicum of hope for a better place, however meek, even though mankind might not deserve it. The song “The Promised Land” is both a lament of mankind’s ways and a plea for mercy, with religious and/or spiritual undertones. The song’s themes seem to be: the Promised Land itself, regret and shame, the sins and foolishness of mankind, the death of innocents, grief, Cetra spirituality, and a meek, quiet hope despite it all. The most interesting aspect of the song is its antithetical portrayal of death as a thing of both despair and hope, condemnation and salvation, cruelty and mercy, suffering and relief. Maybe we can glean more information about this theme’s significance in the world of FFVII if we examine the contexts in which it appears.
Importantly, the song plays in Marlene’s introductory narration of Advent Children, meaning its themes are related or similar to the film’s. I highly recommend listening and watching it again, even if you remember this iconic segment. Marlene references Aerith’s sacrifice as the image of Cloud lowering her into the water is shown. Note that Marlene says “Sadness was the price to see it end” (2:36) after we are shown Aerith’s death and her subsequent unleashing of the Lifestream (1:49-2:24): Aerith’s innocent life was sacrificed for the planet’s survival. The lyrics “A gentle life returns to the planet” and “Is it necessary to sacrifice souls?” suit Aerith’s situation quite well.
The theme also plays in Advent Children as Kadaj dies in Cloud’s arms (1:45:00-1:47:55), hearing Aerith’s gentle voice and reaching up to take her invisible hand. Here is what Aerith says to him in his dying moments as “The Promised Land” plays:

“Aerith’s voice: Kadaj?
Kadaj: Huh?
The dark sky has gone with Sephiroth. Healing rain starts falling from bright clouds. The rain no longer hurts Kadaj.
Aerith’s voice: You don’t have to hang on any longer.
Kadaj: Mother! Is that…?
Aerith’s voice: Everyone’s waiting, if you’re ready.
Kadaj nods his head slightly in acceptance. He holds out his hand, and slowly evaporates into the Lifestream. Cloud watches […]” (Advent Children).

Kadaj is brought into the Lifestream by Aerith as she provides rain from the Lifestream. All those with geostigma are healed by the rain, and Tifa feels Aerith’s presence as the party celebrates:

“Tifa, looking out at the falling rain […]: Somehow, I knew you were there. Thank you” (Advent Children).

Cloud stands in the rain with a smile —his first in the whole film—, closes his eyes and basks in Aerith’s healing with his face upturned. He is finally at peace:

“Cloud’s expression is one of peace as the [Lifestream] rain patters against him” (Final Fantasy VII Advent Children English script, “[83] Atop the Shinra Building”).

One thing is clear: the track “The Promised Land” accompanies Aerith. It only makes sense, since we’ve seen overwhelming evidence that she is Cloud’s Promised Land, and since she occupies the Lifestream —which some consider the Promised Land as it is where souls go after death— during the events of Advent Children. Note that when the piece plays, Cloud is shown either mourning Aerith and releasing her into the river at the Cetra capital, or basking in her presence, smiling with relief at the peaceful feeling that she’s somewhere near: these two opposing scenes reflect the song’s antithetical portrayal of death.
Additionally, the song’s themes of regret, shame concerning one’s sins and a small hope perfectly describe Cloud’s character arc and feelings in Advent Children. Cloud regrets his inability to save Aerith, which he considers a sin. Further, he only realized how important she is to him once it was too late to tell her. And of course, he harbors a fragile yet important hope that he’ll be reunited with her in the Promised Land:

“‘Can sins ever be forgiven?’ — Cloud asks this to Vincent, who mutters a brief answer. For both of them, ‘I couldn't protect my loved one’ is the sense of guilt that they carry, so their words resonate with weight” (FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Revised Edition, “Chapter 2: Character in FFVIIWorld”, “Vincent Valentine”, “In Advent Children”, page 72).

&

"’It is my sin that I couldn't protect my loved one’ — under this assumption, Cloud closes off his heart. What will the reunion with Aerith bring him? ‘I... think I want to be forgiven. Yeah, I just want to be forgiven’” (FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Revised Edition, “Chapter 2: Character in FFVIIWorld”, “Cloud Strife”, “In Advent Children”, page 40).

&

“Cloud, after seeing Aerith’s hand reach for him through the Lifestream: … I think I'm beginning to understand.
Tifa: What?

Cloud: An answer from the Planet… the Promised Land... I think I can meet her... there” (disk 3, chapter 3).

Just as the song and Marlene express in the introduction of the film, Aerith was innocent, and her sacrifice generated great grief. Cloud finally experiences peace when he feels her presence in the healing rain, and he smiles: he’s glad to be with her again, even if it’s only for a brief moment of tangential respite.
The scene depicts Aerith guiding Kadaj into the Lifestream as the song plays, tying her to the concept and theme song of the Promised Land once more. This connection is later solidified by Tifa’s thanks to the late flower girl. All of this evidence shows us that this musical theme is intimately linked to Aerith, as it never plays in her absence. After all, the song speaks of sins, the death of innocents, forgiveness, grief, a small sense of hope, regret and the afterlife: all themes relevant to Cloud’s feelings surrounding Aerith’s death in and outside of Advent Children.
The Remake OST also includes a version of this piece called “The Promised Land - Cycle of Life”. This iteration of the theme begins playing in the wake of the first bombing mission, right after Sephiroth taunts Cloud with his mother’s dying words in Sector 8 (chapter 2). Sephiroth appears to Cloud surrounded by flames, evoking the Nibelheim massacre, and the theme begins playing in the background once he disappears, continuing (13:17-15:30) as Cloud walks through the sector, encountering fires and destruction all around him. This version of the Promised Land theme is meant to emphasize the deaths of the innocent Nibelheim townsfolk and the innocents in Sector 8. This dreadful atmosphere is amplified by the cries of despair that ring all around as Cloud passes by NPC Sector 8 residents. Perhaps the themes of tribalism and mankind’s sin are relevant to this scene as well, since Shinra and Avalanche are two distinct and warring groups whose quarrels, regardless of their necessity, result in the deaths of innocents. The theme of guilt also emerges, reflecting the Avalanche members’ feelings upon seeing the unintended collateral damage of the explosion. “The Promised Land - Cycle of Life” plays until Cloud encounters Aerith on Loveless. So it seems in this scenario, the heavy weight of death and despair is lifted when Cloud meets the lively, cheery Aerith. Once more, Aerith is central to the musical theme of the Promised Land, as well as to the concept itself.
I also noticed that a version of the song plays as Cloud and the party ready to enter the Forgotten Capital to save Aerith in Rebirth’s chapter 14: it truly adds the weight of her upcoming death to the scene.
Back to Fatal Calling, the scene where Cloud regains his strength is quite mysterious. Wol says Cloud’s orb regained its “guiding light” light because of its proximity to the mako reactor. In the moment his strength is replenished, Cloud is shown tilting his head back and closing his eyes: this is reminiscent of the scene in Advent Children when he stands under Aerith’s healing Lifestream rain, feeling at peace. The rainbow ripples shining from the orb indicate that something is crossing the boundaries of worlds. Since the mako reactor pumps up the Lifestream, being near a reactor also means being physically near the Lifestream. This means Aerith’s spirit is within proximity. In my opinion, Aerith was able to heal Cloud from the Lifestream, just like in Advent Children. However, Aerith is not in Palamecia with him: her healing had to travel there through the Lifestream, transcending the boundaries of worlds, hence the rainbow ripples.
Let’s now address the appearance of Tifa’s character theme in Fatal Calling. Since Fatal Calling is all about discovering Cloud’s past in Nibelheim and then in Hojo’s lab, it makes lots of sense for Tifa’s theme to play as the crystal appears. In OG’s Lifestream sequence (disk 2 chapter 8), she’s the one there helping Cloud sort through his past instead of Wol and Echo. Cloud even picks up a piece of his childhood crush on Tifa in Fatal Calling as a shard of his memory. After all, this crush was the catalyst for him joining SOLDIER, and everything that transpired in consequence:

“Cloud: That was the first time I heard about Sephiroth. If I got strong like Sephiroth, then everyone might... If I could just get stronger... Then even Tifa would have to notice me” (FFVII OG, disk 2, chapter 8).

Additionally, it’s fitting that her theme should begin right after Sephiroth speaks of “[abandoning] your illusions and [facing] reality”, considering that Cloud’s false persona was concocted by Jenova using Tifa’s mistaken impressions of Cloud:

“While being tended to by a station worker in the Sector 7 Slum train station, [Cloud] was reunited with Tifa, and using the abilities of Jenova’s cells, formed a new personality” (FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Revised Edition, “Chapter 2: Character in FFVII World, “Cloud Strife”, “Cloud Behavior Record, Compilation of FFVII”, page 40).

&

“(Image caption:) A new personality takes shape the moment he sees Tifa” (FFVII Story Playback, “Story Check: Tifa’s Flashback”).

&

“Tifa (to Cloud): Deep down, you're a pretty nice guy. Didn't see it when we were kids, but...” (Remake, chapter 14).

tampa market
as i sit here with no rides and watch a ton of uber lyft vehicle pass me despite moving around in chase of the busy, the earnings potential are now just unbelievably hopeless in my market.
first there is an unbelievable surplus of drivers literally cutting into the work available almost every afternoon, evening, and overnights.
second the earnings here are so bad many times running between 0.38 and 0.45 cents per mile. but even so what good is a 70% guarantee from lyft when there are no rides being offered for hours despite moving around in search. you might earn more per ride but you'll ultimately earn far less.
my only option is to relocate to another market temporarily. i made a post here asknig for people to chime in on the better paying markets but despite the feedback, each drivers experience is unique and i wouldnt know which one works a lot better until i try it.
i will say if anyone is planning on coming to tampa, clearwater, st petersburg, sarasota, or bradenton to drive full time - think twice before you plan on using these platforms to pay real bills.
even if you have a good stretch here it wont last. the whole world has moved to florida and most jump to uber lyft when they arrive. orlando is just as bad so forget that market too.
florida allows out of state licenses here which is a big part of the problem. people on vacation or just visiting an do rideshare here which is bullshit.
i am considering moving to another market temporarily based on the feedback i receievd from my other post but im also starting to think rideshare is now a thing of the past. its good for reimbursing a bite out, fuel, maybe a walmart run for personal care items, or a small bill you need to pay for example.
other than that its an incredibly horrible waste of time, reckless waste of precious life, and it is one of the most guaranteed use cases to destroy your car which the earnings can no longer justify.
so either i relocate and give it a try somewhere else temporarily or i hang it up and let everyone else think they're making money when the math will almost always show otherwise.
if a new service emerges nationwide i might give that a try but until then..

I just turned 21 yesterday, bought cigarettes and a weed pen legally for the first time, and alsooo I am 1 week clean of methamphetamine as of the date of my birthday ! :D
I have a boyfriend
I’m watching the Fallout show and it’s really good (I just finished EP 2 earlier tonight, no spoilers!!!!) It makes me want to play the game. I’ve never played fallout, but I love Elder Scrolls. Beyond excited for ES 6!!!
My favorite video games are Zelda, though. Specifically Twilight Princess.
Excited to go swimming in the river this summer, but my true love is the ocean <3
I’m Type 1 Diabetic
Anyone want to play cookie run?
I don’t game as much because all I have these days is my Switch.
I have made a few posts on subs like this over the years and TBH… I usually end up ghosting pretty much anyone I message with… so… sorry…if that’s your fate… I have social anxiety pretty bad, and possibly autism, and have trouble forging relationships :D
From experience as a young girl on Reddit, posting in these places tends to bring in a small flood of inboxes. It might take me a hot second to get around to respond to anything:)
I prefer a snail mail-like correspondence style, most of the time. :p
I’m not looking to sext with any creeps, BTW. I know you’ll come anyway. But just sayin’.

I’m at my wits end! When my child was born, I slowly reduced my work responsibilities and eventually exited the corporate workplace (temporarily, I hope). She’s 3.5. Our ‘struggles’ seem endless. She seemed to take forever to start breastfeeding well (months!!) and years to start sleeping through the night. But it goes on… - 2nd Language: She was born in a foreign country where the local language isn’t English. But she’s been going to a local daycare since she was 6 months old. Everyone will tell you, kids pick up languages quickly. She clearly hasn’t. Her English is fantastic. Examples: “Unfortunately, you don’t have any gym clothes” and “I found the first one, but where’s the second and the third”. It’s not always flawless grammatically, but vocabulary and expression is well above 3 yo level. But it’s the opposite with her second language. It doesn’t help that her father and I only (mostly) speak English. Until recently she didn’t even say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to her caretakers in their language. With some insistence, she now says one or two things in the local language “I have to pee”, “I am done” and “yes/no”. Sure, we’re being patient, but it’s been 3 years! She’ll go to school soon and they don’t speak English there. Already getting her to leave for daycare is a struggle and I suspect the language issue isn’t helpful. - I see other kids her age come up with games to play together, talk to each other. But not her. She comes up with games and talks incessantly (in English) with some adults she’s close to. But at daycare, the most she does is sit next to other kids and play the same game. When I organize play dates for her, she’s very excited but only plays well with kids she already knows. Recently, I noticed her trying to initiate play with another shy little girl and it was the first time in her life that I think she did. Unfortunately the other girl wasn’t too responsive. - Suuuuper negative attitude: What’s the opposite of ‘easy going’. Her. She will go out for ice cream and then grocery shopping with me (she loves it) and then before we’re even home, she’ll be gloomy - “because you didn’t buy me that sugary drink”. I don’t know - it feels like she’s never happy, unless you do exactly what she wants. Then she’s happy for a second before her next complain starts. - Weird regressive behavior: Socially, like going to daycare or staying home with a sitter, she does really well for a few weeks/ months. Then all of a sudden, she’ll become so excessively clingy, it’s exhausting. She doesn’t leave me alone for a second; a few days ago we tried to leave her with a sitter for less than 1 hour and she cried the whole time. She also baby talks and sits on my lap constantly and even becomes completely mute. It’s impossible to communicate with this child, who we know can talk at the level of an 7 year old.
My partner and I had tough childhoods. Our parents weren’t really around or very kind. After years of therapy, we know better. So we really really try with her.
Now when we see this in her, we wonder - - is it us? You never fully recover from your own childhood. Is it that we’re passing our anxieties and sadness on? - or is it us in that this is perfectly normal for kids her age and we’re stressing more than we need to? Sometimes I worry that we might be ‘too involved’ with her (in an attempt to compensate for what we missed our own childhoods). - or is there something special about her? No, we haven’t had her tested. She did learn to walk at 20 months, which is a little later than the window, but frankly she was ‘able to’, I understood it then as really a motivation issue. We did talk to our GP about it about a year ago and mentioned that she’s very slow to warm up in new environments, and he said it’s more likely a language barrier, and he didn’t really see that as an issue.
Please tell me what to think?

There is a general consensus on main points of the uber-killer one shot kill blood golemancer (Army of the Dead, Shadowblight passive, Blood Golem), but not so much on a general build. There are a lot of variations out there by different content creators, I want to kind of discuss the pros and cons and gather my thoughts on how to shape a minion necro that can still kill uber bosses relatively quickly without hampering the ability to speedfarm gear or push pit levels.
I'm not going to get in to the nitty gritty details about exact paragon placement and such, but more a high level overview of different takes on the Minionmancer.

Sources

• Mega Minion Guide
  • Seetod's Summoner
  • Bactyrael's Thorns Golemancer
• Kripp's Bone Golemancer - Youtube
• Rob's Golemless Minionmancer - Youtube
• Maxroll's Shadow Minionmancer - Youtube
  • Wudi's Variant - Youtube

Considerations

Attack Speed
According to the Mega Minion Guide, there are two buckets that can individually reach separate caps of 100%.

• The first bucket
  • Cult Leader board will almost always provide 10%, as it's on the way to a key legendary node
  • In contrast, the 5% on the Flesh Eater board is kind of out of the way and is likely not worth the 8-ish points required to unlock
  • The 25% on Hulking Monstrosity board can replace a gear roll, but that ONLY applies to Golem attack speed so is only relevant if you're focused on stacking golem damage over mage damage. The golem attack speed nodes are also pretty far away from the glyph slot and legendary node.
  • The rest (65 or 90%) must come from gear. Kalan's Edict key passive can effectively replace 2 gear rolls allowing us to focus masterworking stats on crit and int instead.
• The Second Bucket
  • There is no reasonable way to reach 100% here
  • Rapid and Rathma's Chosen aspects do not apply as minions don't have "basic attacks" and we're not casting overpowered blood skills
  • Enhanced Reap can give 30%, though won't help with single target fights
  • For Accelerating aspect Blight is the only Core skill we may be casting, but we won't be spamming it so it's probably not worth using it over other aspects for 10%
  • Frenzied Dead aspect is going to be an auto-include as it's an extra 45% with almost no restriction

Cooldown Acceleration
We have a few reliable ways of cheating out lower cooldowns

• Blood Orbs
  • Requires sacrificing a ring slot for the Fastblood Aspect and a defensive slot for the Embalmer Aspect
  • Not very many reliable ways to get Blood Orbs, need to run Blighted Corpse Tendrils and/or Hemorrhage basic skill alongside Embalmer
• Reaper Upgrade 1
  • More consistent on bosses and doesn't require two aspects.
  • We won't be able to rely on the other Skeletal Warrior paths to taunt or generate corpses
• Abhorrent Decrepify
  • We don't really want to focus our stats on lucky hit, this can supplement but shouldn't be relied on

Corpse Generation
When farming, corpses will be plentiful from random trash. When fighting bosses where are our corpses going to come from?

• Sever and Decompose basic skills both make corpses. Sever is slower (1 per 4s), but Decomposition (1 per 1s) requires channeling.
• Hulking Aspect spawns corpses on Golem attacks, good pick for a utility aspect
• Bone Golem Upgrade 1 makes 5 corpses on command, but this is a bit painful as many of the various golem upgrades have really good effects
• Army of the Dead is a long cooldown, but generates tons of corpses. Corpses will have to come from trash mobs between bosses. Taking this means losing Bonestorm.
• Reaper Upgrade 2 has pretty nice corpse generation, but would lose out on the lowered cooldowns from upgrade 1

Vulnerable Application

• Decompose basic skill is a reliable way to make the target vulnerable though channeled skills are a pain to use. Would lose out on Sever's attack speed boost in non-boss situations.
• Bone Golem Upgrade 2 applies vulnerable and does pretty decent damage to boot
• Plagued Corpse Tendrils isn't a bad utility option on top of grouping mobs together, but it does have a lengthy cooldown and requires a corpse
• Cold Mage Upgrade 2 is essentially permanent vulnerable, but losing the shadow damage limits our other options severely.
• Bone Prison This is probably only reasonable for the uber-killer one shot variant. Need to pair with Plunging Darkness Aspect

Ultimate Skill

• Army of the Dead
  • Very spiky gameplay going through peaks and valleys of damage.
  • This skill wants to stay unused until you reach a difficult encounter (especially a single target fight). Using this will then end that fight in moments
  • More damage than Bonestorm
• Bonestorm
  • Very reliable, best to use as often as possible
  • More triggers for Shadowblight key passive when paired with Ultimate Shadow Aspect
  • Much more defensive option compared to AotD (natural 15% DR and Shielding Storm Aspect can give barrier generation)

Key Passive

• Kalan's Edict gives a good chunk of Attack Speed, but is only equivalent to 1-2 gear slots worth after masterworking
• Shadowblight does amazing damage paired with Blighted Aspect, but you need enough shadow damage sources to keep it rolling

Support Skills
We have 2 skill slots left after Skeleton, Golem, Generator, and Ultimate. Maybe 3 if we decide to run without a generator.

• Blight (or Bone Prison+Plunging Darkness Aspect) This is almost an auto-include. It gives extra minion damage, plus is an excellent source of shadow damage ticks for Shadowblight.
• Decrepify is a pure survivability option. Very good at reducing incoming damage and is especially useful for pit pushing.
• Corpse Tendrils groups up mobs and can apply vulnerable or generate blood orbs, but this has a cooldown and will consume cooldown acceleration effects making your ultimate take longer to come up.
• (Blighted) Corpse Explosion is purely for more Shadowblight triggers

Book of the Dead

• Warriors
  • Both Reaper options are good. Taunting defenders are great for thorns builds. Skirmishers are bad.
• Mages
  • Shadowblight is such a crucial part of the build that going anything other than one of the two shadow variants seems like the wrong choice. Upgrade 1 is great for Golem focused builds, Upgrade 2 is (slightly) better for mage focused builds. Cold Mages with Upgrade 2 is viable if not running Shadowblight
• Golem (needs more verification on different golem attack speeds)
  • Bone Golem attacks quickly and does surprisingly good damage on top of taunting. Upgrade 2 seems to be the better option but an argument could be made for Upgrade 1 for builds lacking corpse generation and for fueling the Corpse-Eater legendary paragon node
  • Blood Golem Upgrade 1 is a massive amount of DR, with how rare it is now might be worth it in high pit levels. Upgrade 2 is for silly numbers and stacking pure golem damage to the detriment of minions. He attacks slower than the Bone Golem so the difference is not as large as it may appear.
  • Iron Golem Upgrade 1 may provide more damage than the Bone Golem, but loses the Vulnerability or Corpse generation utility.

2h vs 1h
Minions used to just take the weapon damage, so going big 2H scythe was the way to go. Now they also base their attack speed on the weapon speed so the DPS is equalized across all weapon types (verification needed)

• 2H (Scythe) is great for double dipping damage from the most valuable Aspect (usually Blighted)
• 1H (Wand) allows for faster minion attacks, which means more triggers for things like Hulking Aspect and Iron Golem Upgrade 1 which trigger base off of attacks NOT lucky hit. Allows for an additional aspect. Also necro offhands come with an implicit Cooldown reduction which is nice to have.

Aspects

• Offensive
  • Required:
    • Blighted - Shadowblight builds only, good option for the neck or 2H slot for the bonus
    • Frenzied Dead - Massive attack speed boost that does NOT compete with the attack speed cap from gear (verification needed)
    • Reanimation - Huge damage boost, good option for the neck or 2H slot for the bonus
    • Ultimate Shadow - Bonestorm builds only
    • Unyielding Commander's - Army of the Dead builds only
    • Needleflare - Thorns builds only
  • Situational:
    • Plunging Darkness - Bone Prison tech choice only
    • Conceited - Bonestorm builds only, also requires Shielding Storm aspect
    • Inner Calm - An OK choice but nothing amazing, better with Decompose basic skill since you're standing still to channel anyway
• Defensive
  • Required:
    • Hardened Bones - DR is so rare, each point is precious
    • Embalmer - Blood Orb builds only
  • Situational:
    • Shielding Storm - Bonestorm builds only
    • Might - Decent pick if you have nothing better
• Utility
  • Required:
    • Blood Getter's - This is double dips back to your minions!
    • Hulking Aspect - Decent way to get corpses and get your Golem skill off cooldown
    • Occult Dominion - More minions! Put this on the neck if you don't put blighted or reanimation there.
  • Situational:
    • Aphotic - An OK source of Shadow damage for Shadowblight if lacking otherwise
• Mobility/Resource
  • Required:
    • Fastblood - Blood Orb builds only
  • Situational:

Uniques?

• Ring of the Sacrilegious Soul can be a nice quality of life for farming. It also makes it so you can "cast" corpse tendrils without ever putting it on cooldown, meaning it won't eat your cooldown acceleration effects.
• Blood Moon Breeches lets you get some juicy curse effects without taking up a spot on the skill bar, massive extra source of DR as well.
• Razorplate mandatory for thorns builds.

Conclusions

With all that said, where does that leave us with regards to a general minionmancer?

• Kalan's Edict seems underpowered compared to Shadowblight. Maybe early game before you have attack speed rolls on gear, but after that Shadowblight seems like a clear winner. That also means we should probably avoid variations with cold or bone mages.
• Reapers seem like the winner of the melee skeleton options. Upgrade 1 seems especially hard to pass up. Corpse generation can come from elsewhere.
• Golems feel very well balanced to me. Any selection seems reasonable, no golem provides an irreplaceable effect or stands head and shoulders above the others.
• There are an unusually large number of Utility aspects which we want. This makes me lean away from using Blood Orbs as a method for reducing cooldown as it's really hard to fit in the two required aspects.
• 2H builds feel better when paired with AotD style of gameplay as they're both focused on spikes of damage. This is might just be a me thing.
• Some sample variants: https://maxroll.gg/d4/planne8fokq02s#1

I (28M) recently married my fiancé (36F), and I'm feeling pretty conflicted. A few years ago, my wife made a terrible mistake—she drank and drove with my cousin's (46F) four kids in the car. Tragically, her husband took his own life because of the incident. I was never close with my cousin, but I love my wife, so I decided to forgive her.
Her parents are well-off and have connections to the DA, so they managed to get her bail, and she only received community service and had her license revoked for a year. This happened three years ago, and we've been dating for five years now. My wife apologized to my cousin, but she didn't forgive her. We invited my cousin to our wedding, but she didn't show up.
During the wedding, my dad (58M) gave a really bad speech. All he said was, "Congratulations to my son and his new wife. Hope it works out this time," and that was it. My wife looked so heartbroken. I know she made a terrible mistake, but she has tried to make amends, and I believe in second chances. Seeing her so hurt by my dad's words was painful for me.
Am I the asshole for forgiving my wife and being hurt by my dad's bad wedding speech?

We have been dating for almost a year (not too long). We also dated a few years back, he was my first love and we reconnected. I truly love him and I believe that he loves/loved me too.
I have recently become suicidal and I guess depressed (not diagnosed) and I have been feeling extremely self critical so when my bf suddenly stopped having sex with me I can’t help but feel like I have done something wrong.
In the first 6 months our sex life was amazing, he would make me finish and I would sometimes cry/get upset after sex (I’m not sure why this happens) but when it happen he would cuddle me tell me it’s okay and still be attracted to me.
He would never reject sex if I was in the mood especially if I offered head. So it’s not like he has a low libido. But recently we have been having (what I like to call) our weekly pitty sex because it feels like he only does it with me so that I can’t say he doesn’t have sex with me.
It takes him much longer to get hard over me and it happens much more rarely. This would be okay if the sex was pleasurable for both of us but it lasts a couple of minutes and he doesn’t even try to satisfy me anymore. (I kiss him, give him head and make it as good for him as I can so it feels pretty selfish).
I have also started to become irritated by the fact that we only have sex when he wants it. I let him have sex with me whenever he wants because I’m worried I won’t have a chance to have sex with him for a long time if I say no. So even when I’m not in the mood I still let him do it. Whenever I’m in the mood he never wants to do it ( which would be fine if it worked both ways but when his in the mood it feels like we have to have sex or else I’m crazy because I love cock so much so I’m just apparently “not having sex to be petty ” since he says “I love cock so much” and never because I’m not in the mood.
He says nothings changed and that apparently I’m “crazy for cock” and I “love cock so much”. Which makes me feel really bad as I used to get bullied for apparently being a slut my whole life (rumours started by an ex bf caused this).
I’m just very attracted to him and don’t understand why he wouldn’t be attracted to me anymore. I have tried to talk to him about this but he always tells me to Shutup, that I’m talking bulshit, that I’m making things up and then he leaves. He always leaves so we don’t get to talk. Most days the second I start to cry he just gets really angry and leaves even when I tell him I have been feeling suicidal and have been searching how to end my life. He just leaves and says I’m crazy.
He used to care for me deeply when I was upset.
Is it normal for men to lose feelings for their gfs sexually? Is he too used to me? Should I change anything? Maybe it’s coz I gained weight but it’s honestly not very noticeable I’m still relatively fit maybe just not as much as I was at the beginning. He says he doesn’t watch porn and I believe him.
I don’t know what to do. Im a highly emotional person (he knows all this we have known eachother since we were 14) and I don’t know how to deal with these emotions of self hatred.
Ps.
I just wanted to say that I don’t see sex as a purely pleasurable thing. I see sex as a bonding between two people and I find that it shows ur love for someone as you want to please them. I have tried toys and masturabation but it’s not the same thing as a bond with someone.
Pps.
I have recently tried to join therapy but there is a long waiting list and I don’t know if I will even get a spot.
Ppps.
Other than his reaction to my sadness and our recentl lack of sex everything is amazing, I truly love him we go on holidays, buy eachother gifts and spend nearly everyday together. I’m only worried about his reactions to my sadness and what I could do to make myself more attractive to him. As I won’t get answer from him, he just says he is still attracted to me.
Also please let me know if I’m just being crazy sometimes I feel like my brain doesn’t work properly and no one wants to listen and work out why I feel the way I do. I myself don’t know why I feel how I feel sometimes. Please be nice.

Warning: Mentions of violence, blood, and some self harm near the end.
While browsing some random conspiracy site, I found what is a supposedly leaked file from the Nevada County Sheriff's Department; however, nothing has been confirmed. According to the OP, it is believed the following is the personal account of a 21 year old Jonathan Ashford of Grass Valley, California. Normally I would write stuff like this off but this one is...different. I’ve done my best to correct most of the grammar and misspelling while at the same time trying to avoid skewing the original account.
-September 15, 2022
I’ve never really been an outdoor person. Well, I guess that’s because I’ve never really been outdoors much in the first place. And that’s because I guess…I've never been invited? I don’t really have any friends. So, needless to say, I was surprised to find myself on a backpacking trip with a group of 5 other students from my university. The plan was five days in Tahoe National Forest some place called Mystery Lake. Monday-Friday. I don’t know why they decided to do it during the week. Most of us had okay grades at best and part time jobs on the side so taking a week off of it all seemed at the very least a bit irresponsible; and yet, I went anyway. Listen, I didn’t plan it, okay? This was one of my only chances to get to know people. The hike wasn’t too long but my genius self who had only been backpacking once when I was around 9 years old or so decided to carry 60 pounds of bullshit up the mountain resulting in my shoulders being sore and raw for the foreseeable future.
-10:11 PM
To be honest, I don’t really know why they let me come with them. I only know one of them and the group has been ignoring me for pretty much the entire trip. I was always bringing up the back on the hike in and I set up my tent outside of the main camp behind some trees. I haven’t eaten any meals with them or talked to them or, now that I think about it, anything really. Regardless. The trip has been an experience. Hopefully things get more exciting tomorrow.
-September 16
I’ve only ever slept in a tent a couple times so the new environment and lack of sleeping pills resulted in quite a restless night. I woke up at about eleven; everyone else was gone. I remembered they were talking about a day hike on a trail headed north so assuming that’s where they went, I hurried to get dressed and grabbed some granola bars. I’m about to head out. I hope I find them.
-12:21 PM
I’d been briskly walking for around an hour and was feeling quite exhausted so when I heard the group’s voices off in the distance I was very relieved. I started to jog in their direction when–when this jolt or–wave of energy flooded my mind. My head instantly started throbbing and my vision went blurry. The best way I could describe it is–TV static? Like the old TVs that would go all staticky when the signal got bad. I could barely make out shapes and a space in the middle of my vision was especially dark to the point where I couldn’t see past it. That wasn’t the worst of it, though. God no, if only I was that lucky. I can still hear the shrieking. That goddamn shrieking. In an instant all I could hear was this sharp, scratchy shrieking. It pierced through my ears and rooted itself in my head. I think I cried out in pain but even if I did I couldn’t have heard it. It was as if the damned souls of hell all cried out in eternal pain all at once and begged for death. I gripped and pulled at my hair, hardly noticing the pain that resulted from it as I fell to my knees in agony before…
I slowly opened my eyes. My head hurt and there was a slight buzzing in my ears. I lay in a pile of ivy next to a fallen log, my back dampened from the cool soil beneath me. I stood up, the hill on which I previously stood was nowhere in sight. As I leaned my shoulder against a tree to steady myself I heard voices. Cautiously, I walked through the foliage as the low vines dragged along my ankles. As I walked, I looked up. The falling sun cast a soft orange glow across the sky. It was probably around five O’clock or so. I climbed up on a large rock only to realize I was near the main camp. I pin-pointed the voices of my fellow campers as they huddled around a low-burning campfire. As I sat down to listen to them speak I could sense a strong feeling of uneasiness resonating from the group. Then it hit me.
“Are you sure you haven’t seen her since earlier this afternoon?” One of them said, I think his name was Matthew? He was tall and lean, by far the tallest in the group.
“I’m sure! It just doesn’t make sense. One minute she was behind me going on about who knows what and then the next when I turn around she’s gone!” A girl with light brown hair said. I didn’t know her name. I could see tears forming at the corner of her eyes as the wind blew her hair into her face.
“We need to find her before it gets dark. Groups of two; stick together!” A shorter man with brown hair said. Ryan. He was the only one I knew. We weren’t friends. Definitely not. But he was nice enough to me in the classes we had together and I was grateful that I was able to go on the trip with him. As he walked past the boulder I sat beside, paying me no mind, I saw his lower lip quiver as his wide eyes looked straight ahead. He was more nervous than he led on. I zoned out for a few seconds, the static from earlier crawling its way into the corners of my vision when a chipmunk climbing a tree snapped me back to reality and I realized I had been left at camp. I looked around at the tall forest but the group was nowhere in sight. I assumed they wanted me to wait at camp in case the missing girl, Alice, came back, but as I moved toward the dying campfire the call of nature occupied my thoughts. I found a spade and a roll of toilet paper and strode briskly into the forest, the cool Autumn air rushing against my chapped lips as I walked. I reached over to scratch an itch on my arm when I saw it.
“The fuck?” I wondered out loud. There on my upper forearm was…a bite mark. I rattled my brain trying to think what could have made that kind of mark. As I examined it more I confirmed my suspicions. It seemed human. At least I think it was human. It’s not like there are any goddamn monkeys native to Middle of Nowhere, California. There was also a dark purple bruise on my lower forearm. Didn’t remember getting that either.
I looked around for a good spot. Stepping over a log, I set my foot down on something soft. It was Alice. Her right hand crushed and mangled and a dried trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth had pooled on a flattened leaf. I screamed, tripping and falling back in the direction I hoped was the camp. As I jumped over a rock I landed hard on my left ankle as a streak of pain shot up through my body. I was trying to get back up when I heard it. The screeching. It steadily yet quickly faded in until it flooded my hearing. My vision was clouded by that same static. I curled up into a ball, kicking at the air. My eyes watered and I felt the urge to vomit…
A wave of dizziness hit me as I opened my eyes and fell on my tailbone, pain shooting up my back. I lay down on my back and looked up at the trees, my nose bloody. It was still dark. Had I been standing? I tried to recall what I had been doing but all I remembered were faded images. One thing I didn’t forget was the screeching. All that I could remember was covered by that screeching and a faint veil of that static. Just thinking about it made my head throb.
A groan. I nearly jumped out of my skin as I turned to look in the sound’s direction. It was David. He looked injured, lying on the ground, but quickly crawled back in what looked like fear when he saw me.
“You bitch!” He muttered between gritted teeth. Before I could react he was up on his feet charging in my direction. I tried to doge him but the wind was quickly knocked out of me as he headbutted me in the stomach. I fell back onto the ground and between coughs I saw him running towards me. Before he could deliver a heavy stomp to my chest I caught his foot and kicked up into his groin. He stumbled back with a low yelp of pain and, taking my chance while he was stunned, I stood up as fast as I could and prepared to block another attack. He ran up to me and attempted to deliver a blow to my stomach with his right fist, leaving his upper body undefended; I used the opportunity to send a hard punch into the side of his neck. He fell back choking, tears in his eyes. As he tried to sit down he tripped on a root and hit his head on a nearby boulder with a sickening crack. He squirmed for a moment, then nothing.
Silence. There was a faint red stain on the side of the rock, and beneath his blood-stained hair, his head seemed unnervingly misshapen. The closer I looked, the more I saw. Bruised neck, flowing blood, even some pinkish bone exposed near the worst of the damage to his skull. The fall must’ve been worse than I thought. Why would he attack me? What was wrong with him? Had he mistaken me for someone else? I sat against the blood-stained boulder and leaned my head back. I’m exhausted. Everything hurts. My ankle is throbbing. I can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve slept and I don’t know what to do. I should probably go try to find the camp but…I’m too tired. I think I’m going to go to sleep now.
-September 18
I slept through the entire day and most of the night! Or, at least I think I did. The more I think about it I’m not so sure. It’s like 2:30 AM, glad my phone still works even if my brain doesn’t, just wish I had signal. I’m not sure what to do but I might try to go find
-4:29 AM
Something’s definitely out here with us. Or–me. Not sure how many of the others are left out here. I’m sure that shrieking is tied to something. I heard something off in the distance while writing and decided to go check it out. It was Matthew and that other girl. They were walking briskly and their eyes seemed to be darting around frantically. They were talking in hushed tones but from what I heard they found Alice's body, and they were worried. I was about to reveal myself to them when the shrieking came back. It hit me like a train, and sometimes I think a train would have hurt less. It felt like it lasted for hours, I bit a hole through my lip and fell off of the boulder I was sitting on. I couldn’t see anything except a dark patch of static in the middle of my vision surrounded by more static. All the cuts and bruises in my body seemed to amplify and I could barely breathe. I just wanted it to stop but it wouldn’t. It wouldn’t stop.
The two were dead when I came to. I wasn’t much better off myself. No matter how much I spit I can’t get the taste of blood out of my mouth. My arms are covered in cuts and bruises and my shoulder was dislocated. That was a fun half hour figuring out how to put it back in place. I think whatever is out here with us clouds your vision and makes it impossible to hear anything as a way to hunt you. I’m amazed it hasn’t killed me yet. I hope Ryan is still out there.
-6:06 AM
It’s been a long night. A really long night. I found Ryan but–but now I wish I hadn’t. It was around five AM I think, I had been aimlessly wandering through the forest looking for something, anything. By the most unlucky luck Ryan came stumbling around a tree. When he saw me his eyes went wide.
“Jon, what the hell?” Then he squinted his eyes and seemed to notice the wounds on my arm.
“Oh god,” he said. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife, glaring at me during the process. Before I could reply, he charged me, knife in hand. I–I didn't want to kill him. I really didn’t. He tackled me to the ground, forcing the knife close to my chest. I desperately tried to push him away and being the stronger one, I knocked him off me. As he hurried to get back on top of me I sent my right leg flying into his arm, knocking the knife from his hand. Before he realized what was happening I grabbed the knife from the ground. In what seemed like a last desperate attempt he tried to force me down again but, already having the knife in my hand, I quickly slashed his chest and one of his wrists without thinking. I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t mean to kill him! I was just defending myself. I don’t know why he attacked me, what’s gotten into him and David? Is that thing controlling them? They didn’t seem like they were under some kind of spell…I don’t think so at least.
After a soft cry of pain he collapsed and rolled down the steep hill we were standing on. I didn’t bother looking for his body. No point. Odds are that thing would use his body as a trap for me or something. I don’t know anymore.
Somehow I found my way back. I don’t remember how, all I remember is collapsing against a tree out of exhaustion but, here I am at the trailhead. I guess my half dead brain forgot most of it. I don’t know what I’ll do now, I don’t think I’ll tell the police. If they hear that some creepy ghost creature is hiding out in the forest killing my friends I’ll probably get locked up in who the fuck knows where for who the fuck knows what. But, no matter how many or how few believe me, I know something is out there. And I know it’s dangerous. I doubt the bodies will ever be found. That forest is huge and I buried Matthew and Elizabeth, found her name in a backpack she had on.
This will be my last entry. My name is Jonathan Ashford, and I survived something dangerous in the Tahoe national forest. Whatever you do, do not go there. Goodbye.
-September 22, 2022, 5:06 PM
Ryan survived. The police are after me. Apparently he told them I stalked them in the forest and picked them off when they weren’t together. I don’t know what’s happening. There are some gaps in my memory but I know that I didn’t kill those people. I only killed David, and that was self defense. I’m not sure what I’ll do. The police don’t know where I am but I’m sure that won’t last long.
-8:19 PM
I saw an interview with Ryan on the local news while browsing channels. He seemed–off. There were bags under his eyes and his skin was pale. He seemed nervous, shaky. I hope he’s ok. I still don’t understand why he thinks I killed them.
-September 23, 3:12 AM
ok ok. I have a theory. I’ve been up all night thinking and it makes so much sense now. That thing can shriek. Terrifying right? But explainable. The static I still can’t make sense of, there’s no feasible way it could naturally do that. What if whatever supernatural force causes the static can also control people? Maybe that’s why Ryan looks so crazy. It must be controlling him. But why would it want me? Am I immune to its effects? Maybe.
-6:04 AM
They didn’t notice it. It didn’t hit them. When I was spying on Matthew and Elizabeth, right before they were–anyways.
The shrieking hit my ears before the static hit my eyes and in those few seconds, they didn’t notice. It didn’t affect them. They didn’t hear the shrieking. Maybe the shrieking is that monster thing's abilities failing to control me. Maybe that's why ryan-whatever’s controlling Ryan wants me. It’s because I’m a threat to it. Because It can’t control me. When I woke up I was injured, but never killed like the others. Maybe it doesn’t have as much power over me as others.
But why would the authorities believe Ryan? There’s no way his story can add up. Even if that creature, that thing, is intelligent, it can’t be that smart to fake a story. Why are they after me?
-11:42 PM
The police came by today. I was about to update this log again when they started banging on my door. I was able to sneak out a window before they noticed me, glad I live on the ground floor.
Something seemed off about them. I can’t say what but, something, like the uncanny valley effect, where something looks human but isn't. Whatever. It’s probably just my imagination. I need sleep.
-September 24, 2:20 AM
Something is wrong–something is definitely wrong. How did they find me? Holy shit that was close! I was dozing by a couple of dumpsters behind a gas station. Figured it was safe enough since it was out of the way and partly blocked by a fence until I heard dogs barking. Not sure how many of them there are, at least two–maybe three, I can still hear them barking. I figured they were just strays that would hopefully leave me alone until I saw the lights. Damn things half-blinded me!
“Son, what are you doing back here? Can we walk to you?” one of the officers said, his face was clammy and pale, he seemed tired, he seemed–off. I didn’t respond or wait for them to try and get closer, I dashed past them before they could call their dogs on me and jumped the fence, running into the tree line. I managed to climb my way up a tree a ways into the woods before they could get around the fence and send their dogs out. They haven’t found me yet, but they’re still looking for me. I can see their flashlights periodically bathing the tree line in a pale glow. I think I’ll try to wait them out and then climb down and run for as long as I can. Not sure where I’ll go yet but they keep finding me so I’ll have to get creative. Not sure how they’re finding me so quickly and easily, but maybe I can come up with something. Is that–thing finding me? Does it always know where I am? Is it controlling the police? Maybe that's why they looked so…wrong. I don’t know. I’m starting to think I don’t know anything anymore. I keep noticing the static in the corner of my vision occasionally, not sure why.
-September 24, 5:03 PM
I fucked up. Big time. Last night, somehow, I fell asleep. I don’t know how, guess I was just too exhausted. The sound of a helicopter pierced through the top of the tree line. Before I could register everything, I slipped and fell down the tree. I was able to slow my fall a bit by dragging my hands along the tree–hurt like a bitch–but I still landed hard. Can barely sit down. I think I was able to avoid being detected by the helicopter. I’m going to start walking. Not sure where but, I need to go somewhere. The static is constantly in the corner of my vision whenever I focus on it now. Why is this happening?
-10:44 PM
This doesn’t make any sense, I don’t know what's happening anymore! I was wandering through the forest when the static came back. God, it was awful, forgot how bad it was. Hell, maybe it was worse this time. Who knows. This isn’t the weirdest, or worst, part. I woke up in my apartment, I’m exhausted, but don’t have any new visible injuries despite how shitty I feel. Not sure why that thing didn’t try to hurt me, maybe it gave up on trying.
The news was on when I woke up, God I’m so fucked. They found the bodies–the ones that I buried. Of course they found my DNA all over them, used their forensics or whatever to try to explain how I killed everyone. I’ll have to admit if it wasn’t all a setup by some evil entity out to get me it would be pretty convincing. Sometimes–I find myself believing it. I don’t know what to think at this point, nothing makes sense anymore. The static is far more noticeable now. My head is starting to hurt, too.
They haven’t come back to my apartment yet, probably don’t think I would return this soon after they searched the place. I know they’ll be here eventually but I’m too tired to care right now. My brother and his kids used to live a few hours out of town, I think he built a treehouse for his kids somewhere behind the house. Maybe I’ll go try and hide out there for as long as I can. As if that will be very long at all.
-September 26, 6:24 PM
Everywhere I look, everything I watch. They’re always out for me. Everyone is looking for me. The things the police and the media keep saying about me–the evidence that gets released every day, the testimonies, officials saying I have symptoms of psychological problems like psychosis and DID, of Bipolar. More and more–I’m starting to believe it myself. Surely it's that thing. Surely it’s getting in my head…right?
-September 27, 1:03 PM
Made it to the treehouse, glad it’s still here. Had a few close calls along the way when trying to steal food from gas stations but I made it ok. Glad I did, the static is starting to really cloud my vision and my head hurts so bad my ears are starting to ring. I’m not out of the woods yet, that’s for sure. I can sense them...it. They’re trailing me. I think they’re getting close.
I’m so tired, so confused. I don’t know what to do, what to think anymore. What’s next? Maybe I’ll try to get some rest…if I can, that is.
I could try to come up with something, some silver bullet or whatever. I have this one idea, it’s not smart or clever, not even close, but it’s an idea, and it won’t let it–them–it, whatever, win. At least I don’t think it will; besides, surely it has a bigger plan for me, right? There’s no way it would go through all this effort just to kill me…
-4:39
They found me. I can hear them outside. They’re getting closer.
To be honest, I don’t know anymore. Maybe I did kill all those people, maybe I am insane. I don’t know what to believe. There’s so much being said, so many people saying it. I’m just so confused, so tired, so scared.
There's a bomb on the chair beside me, homemade. Glad I grabbed enough supplies to build it. Took me a while to figure it out as well as a few close calls but I think I got it working. They’ll have quite the surprise waiting for them once they find me…
They’re at the base of the tree now. The static has almost completely consumed my vision and my head feels like it’s about to explode. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not anymore. I’m not sure why I was made the target of this, why this is happening to me at all, but regardless of the reason, I won’t let them win.
To the creature, or entity, to whatever is doing this to me: I’ll see you in Hell.
Goodbye
Aside from some generic legal stuff to conclude the report, that’s where the document ends. I’m not sure what to make of it. Definitely a lot to take in. I contacted the OP on the site I got this from but haven’t received a response yet, will update if I receive one. For now my only advice is be careful, and don’t go backpacking in Tahoe National Forest. If anyone has any thoughts or info, please, let me know.