Introduction

Christian religious education is defined as the process where by Christian learning takes place. It often involves “teaching which enables practicing Christians to adopt and deepen their Christian belief, values and dispositions to experience and act in a Christian way. It depends to a greater extent on how this process is adopted and practiced in different churches.

Different practices in Christian education in local churches

At some degree of certainty that all Christian churches have a similar aim’s and practices. The liturgical aspect is of paramount importance in the Trinitarian belief and practices in that it serves as introduction to what Christianity is all about. This is where the process of Cognitive learning takes places it involves the worship service where hymns are sang, lessons extracted from the books of the bible are read, sermon often punctuated with exhortation, admonishment and instruction in righteous living is delivered and prayers are said. It also involves the celebration of the holy Eucharist which Jesus Christ himself, recognized as the head of the church, initiated based on experience acquired in the worship service, it can be seen as Christian religious education is a confessional churchly activity of evangelism, instruction and nurture.
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I assure that “Youth are the most critical of all critics when it comes to religion”. Today, common inhabitants do pray and accept the holiness in church for Christ which they are aware that Christ constitutes the sacred bread and wine, but do not entirely act upon worshipping and fail to confront the thoughts and feelings to masses which would spread dignity of godliness among selves. The moral lies in the fact that this creates lackness to reach spiritual beliefs through worship and liturgy resulting in declination the faith which affects the divine nature approaching positivity.
Christian education is a vital important part in youth development. For Christian education to be explored, generation of today should be brought into contact through various practices. In the early centuries, reformers emphasized and trusted true faith and doctrines, to change and reform behaviour as the only solution for salvation in Christian education. Christian school movements prove a challenge as a messenger to convey god’s given mission and honour god.

Traditional approach

This approach was practiced since many decades and is still continued to be practiced which helps in binding and governing the ethics and morality within the religion and belief. Since beginning described, in leaving our homeland to teach the gospels throughout the world through scriptures, god conveyed his message – by sending his son Jesus for us, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Church, and Baptism for building unity.
Christianity consists of three things – Religious faith, way of life and community of mankind towards salvation are most important. The most vital of all belief preached is that there is only one god. The term Christian does not imply on the fact that a Christian should grow up in a Christian community, but precisely accepts Christian faith and belief, follows and leads the path of life on which Jesus walked on and made mankind accept Christian community through involvement and participation physically and mentally, as a result, traditional approach is how the local churches and preachers go about conducting their services. The apostle’s creed was apparently developed to summarize the Christian doctrine for man who baptised himself.

Theological and Biblical approach

This approach is regarded as an abstract discipline which teaches what bible is written. It is the study of god expressing god’s thought. The movement of bible indicates the doctrines to the kerygma to didache, to theological ethics, to revealed truth, to the way of living in Christian community.
God’s salvation to the world, worshipping the holy spirit, baptizing people in the name of god, preaching gospels as the word of god, share Christ’s own body and blood as bread and wine in holy communion, repenting and confessing god’s forgiveness etc are the concepts of theological and biblical foundation to Christian education. Even though mankind is aware but fail to involve due to the increasing evil and greed.
The service is organized to accept the call of god and to love him and others and which aims to gather people to worship him in return allowing him to take control over the world and through his presence spread peace, righteousness, justice, joy and helps in the growth of the life in an individual through increased faith.

Activities organized and performed in different local churches through to these practices

Some churches develop the initiative of the worshippers by confessing their faith in the words of the apostle creed. Each activity is correlated and composes a range of varied elements. Their current activities reflect the lives of an individual and drive them for a purpose through various numbers of activities to attain a better quality of life.
Due to activities, all age group gain variety of skills through many spiritual centred activities. Church acts as an interpreter between god and the worshippers to support in training the composition of these activities which are far more complex to solve a disturbed youth. They have to thereby standardize their curriculum and activities in regards to implement it. Different denominations organize activities to resolve the aim therefore to meet the need of the youth. Curriculum should be more focused than just on providing knowledge.
Activities are necessarily planned to build youth commitment. I believe it is necessary to reach them, i.e. train them to be strong future leaders. They should be kept one step ahead, for their life is very challenging. I believe that the best way to outreach youths mind is to be a youth like them to understand their psychology as it differs from every individual. The same activities do get affected as the youth is choosy and subtle.

Changing activities for tomorrow

Here the question is voiced that, what substantial change can be brought apart from the current activities to eradicate the above upcoming and dynamic problems in nature with respect to behavioural management or of what medication of healing would work out.
I would comment, the activities in the practices should be expanded and conduct likewise programmes workshops on educating purity before marriage, sex, child abuse, exploitation, rape, adultery, adolescence sex, teenage mothers, drugs addiction, aids, and divorce. Workshops, seminars for sex, abuse, peer mentoring, identifying preventive measures instead of curative measures targeting the social, political and the economical factors would be effective for incorporating the overall issues to bring the insight of the good and evil sides of every consequence, discussion on essential real life skills. Our goal is to create “world changers”, inviting the sacrifiers of evil and giving and sharing healthy priorities to save ourselves and the world, before it becomes a terrible fate and a debt for our own selves.
As the world is in unsafe fists of crime, terrorism, corruption, violence, youth have been diverted to a fast-paced and expects instant opportunities. Perhaps, the approaches of these local activities tend to be helpful and may bring positive results but I still feel that there is something missing, to monitor the youth from within. In an article – Practical: The Role of the Full-Time Youth Pastor in the Local Church, by Graeme Codrington, Denomination: Baptist (All), submitted on, May 18, 1997, states that, “In a world that is so busy, and demands so much of all of its inhabitants, young people need a secure environment, where they can experiment and decide who they want to be. They need significant people to be there to help them through this process. They need role models to follow”.
Above statement eventually satisfies the fact that these folks are craving for friendly support socially and for stimulation. Overall factors which conglomerate are peers, parents, teachers, church members and Christian community. All factors rely on one common feature which constitutes leadership. Ironically, most youth do understand the surrounding factors but the factors themselves become tough unknowingly that they can’t quite control the situation which then becomes too late to recover. The task is questioned commonly as what kind of leader a person should be to prove creditability and capability to influence the youth to pursue the direction towards god? In an article again stated by, Graeme Codrington, Denomination: Baptist (All), – Practical: The Role of the Full-Time Youth Pastor in the Local Church, submitted on, May 18, 1997, “Young people are not just “little adults” (cf. Elkind 1984:18). They are complex individuals who are battling to deal with the awesome transformation of their bodies, minds, and emotions. They are in a time of transition and growth, developing from the birthed bundle of potential to a fully integrated, functional member of society. The church is in a unique position to assist in this process”. Church as a role model fosters spiritual growth in every youth making them responsible to participate in Christian faith; she is a sign for an entrance of the god’s kingdom to the world of salvation, repentance, justice and peace to bring equality. She struggles hard and performs her duties wholly and solemnly reminds parents to structure their offspring’s life in Christian formation.
Church members acting as supporters, preach to establish and to promote a platform and share to encourage several types of civic, cultural, religious educational associations. In an article by Arthur Paul Boer – What must a Pastor know? Reflection on Congregational studies defines on writer James Hopewell’s statement saying beyond the embarrassment. “He has also observed that churches are sometimes chagrined by the change of hypocrisy and lament that they cannot measure upto ideals of Christian community”. Writer James Hopewell referred by Arthur Paul Boer notes that Christian leaders are incharge and build a church thereby rise in hypocrites. I observe practically that, though the world is changing, church strategy is also changing in complementing the growth. It still targets the set mission. Even though, somewhere in the corner hypocrites do exist but church leaders aim to find out what is the outcome in the people from the traditional, theological and biblical practices.
Perhaps according my research, I suggest they experiment bringing out good approaches to youth’s growth. Instead of the current activities followed in churches I would want to suggest the approach can be focused to bring in the outcome irrespective to exploration and innovation of ideas and thoughts for internal and external behaviour of an individual related to the surroundings around him, deepening of commitments to the teaching, provide opportunities to analyse socially and theologically and viewing his life in a theological manner. To build a framework of an activity consist of – to have an experience “like us”, to sense new boundaries by exploring new links to every Christian among themselves and to god across social and cultural boundaries.
In addition, exploration and inventive programmes can be executed to judge youth’s spirituality. Daily opportunities resulting in disorientation gets support through mission of god. Integration conceptual activities also can help in building and to capture ‘a born leader’. Church leader serves them as task leaders in the corrosion and freeing the task of a disconnected mind by planning tactics and dividing the burden of other’s through consultation. As the purpose is commitment, to serve the lost, skill based leadership formation training programmes can be organized to develop an effective leader so as to sustain the capability and capacity of the leader to solve the complaints lies in the dimensions of the ability. Workshops on intersections to shape boundaries of an individual and communities through theological and biblical language, symbols, and rituals to attain certain centered objectives.
As growth of globalization is tremendous, these leaders come across and face new opportunities and challenges. I believe they help in building an integral performance in conducting entrepreneurial business-based activities, describing the activities because youth’s mind is business-oriented, therefore the activities are to be structured keeping business in mind involving biblical and theological approaches with the existing resources for a business oriented youth. They tend to produce facilitate management sources to sustain and develop faith and love. When the youth develops a church from within, he will be able to observe and analyse the holistic environment.
The activities require presence of not only church members but also worshippers for youth development in successful implementation of these practices. Some worshippers form in small groups, some large varied to race culture. Arthur Paul Boer also examines simultaneously that when a group of pastors were having service of congregation, one among them exclaimed in deep breath “It showed me I’m not alone”. So often in our churches we berate ourselves for problems we face: not enough men, too few youth, preponderance of a certain race or culture. He is clear with the fact that a single person fails, unity increases strength. We ourselves give birth to a problem and then strive hard to face it because as there are few leaders left to catch a grip to support a large community. Due to less number of youth, less support is achieved to sustain the laws and policies of the church and unable to accomplish god’s mission. It is not only one who contributes but many. Above mentioned statement “It showed me I’m not alone” expresses that each race and culture form their own group; build small churches for their own community within their own boundaries, where god expects togetherness, wholeness. It requires lot of efforts to help small churches grow whereas large church with mass contribution grows as their already exist efforts in large numbers which take over the chained actions for development. Whether single church group or many, big or small, the development is important.
On this contradiction, I would suggest that this also includes that in small group the development is paid more attention and given a close eye, problems are spotted quickly and easily to meet the challenges. No matter how large or small challenges occur, the way we approach it is unique and comprehensive as this brings out effects of development in the youth. Whereas in large it becomes difficult to assist as there are more than one individuals. Due to small groups according to races and culture, differentiation exists. But the important criterion is group commitment and work effort in all sets of practice for congregations in any race or culture for a healthy youth so that to accomplish god’s mission. As a result both objectives are co-related to each other.
To understand the nature of Christian youth it is a very distinguished and a unique phenomenon. Due to the increasing issues of ‘peer pressure’, this has led to the obstruction in the development of youth. There are negative as well as positive aspects of it. Negative aspects influence a weaker mind. It is the most consistent findings revealed in observation. Due to the inquisitive innocence, an innocent becomes a prey of the negative aspect, thereby exploited and develops an evil companionship where he adopts negative qualities and habits. But there is positive aspects as in there are some groups who work towards peer relationship. Here innocent gets an opportunity to identify his fear, weakness and have control over his own power. The peer mentors play the part in organizing programmes to understand the behaviour. They interact with the teens and open lines of communication, build up action plans to change the behaviour by using the discipline skills wherever necessary. As church members play an integrate role, it is a challenge for them to develop the youth and make Christian education reachable to them.
Teachers are responsible preachers. Youth growth depends on a teacher infact they are the true facilitators of our learning, are Baptist figures and true authors of an individual’s life book. They also act as the resource developer and planner setting the curriculum for the healthy growth of an individual, depending how the curriculum is designed with the kind and level of leadership skills to recognize the youth psychology. Parents play a significant role in Christian education. They are the promising leaders which shape up Christianity, infact are the real teachers of Christian education. Parents act as a moral standard and support, therefore can synchronize to their growing youth to be aware from their early hood to gain knowledge in Christian faith and this is done when they themselves too experience a fullness of church.
Misunderstandings and miscommunication between parents and their children are one of the issues which follow breakings in the development of the youth. Due to parent’s own principles, for respect and love of family values often creates harmness to the children’s growth which tempts them to behave against them. Thus youth becomes a totalitarian of his own life by going against the values and ethics and unknowingly gets stucked in the torturous situations. Most Christian youth, fail to act upon the 10 commandments of bible.
I must say, I myself as a youth in my real life experience have observed that the originality of the commandments has changed excessively and replaced with the following:
Thou must worship money
Thou must “lyrically” murder
Thou must have evil possession
Thou must have sex
Thou must enjoy drug addiction
Thou must prosper, worship own self
Thou must not feel guilty
Thou must have no respect for ancestral values
Thou must not serve, sacrifice
Thou must differentiate
Due to the above, youth fails to feel guilty in which guiltness is a part of our conscience creating a false belief system as an obstacle in his maturity and creating structure of his own. Under such circumstances he avoids promoting prayer, sacrifice, grace, redemption, worship and meditation, atonement. Considering money and sex are the only two things reliable to satisfy the needs, creating a limitation and a boundary for establishing personal spiritual growth and development.
In general terms, when the efforts of religious and educational institutions, society lack to perform the planned task for Christian education, a positive approach is expected and constructed to gain knowledge and teaching through parents and teachers. Youth must be aware of guiltiness which is a gift from god to help us in being and doing well.
Still the question is raised in a Journal: Volume 5 Number 4, October 2003 by Author Charlene Tan, “Can Christian teachers and parents teach Christian beliefs without indoctrinating their students and children?”
Yes, they can teach Christian beliefs without indoctrinating their students and children they need to be careful when a child is to be handled as their minds are immature. At times it is difficult to understand them because their way of thinking is varied. Firstly before going to the next process, the first process has to be resolved. As teachers and parents are the role models for the development. In order to develop and understand these three role models should be systematically developed first. Only by abiding this rule, they can achieve the development in child. But the point lies beneath that how teachers and parents can prove themselves as an effective source of development by keeping in mind the relative factor of Child’s mind compatibility and psychology? As there are variations in psychological behavior teachers and parents should be mentally prepared, be changeable and adjustment oriented accordingly.
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The political and current affair of the nation is affected by corruption and evilness rationally which gave birth to vivid factors like jealousy, modesty and so on, making human’s built a tendency to mislead the positive factors. The situations have made the teachers adapt those inequalities within them, affecting the surrounding factors. Parents have too due to their increasing self priority created barriers of understanding among their families.
Many people are often drawn towards the attention of the church because of their felt needs and not for spiritual needs.
For instance, it does occur that why the youth is tuned out of his own way? Even in their interaction with their own members it tends to happen with them that they fail to hear a word said to them – stating “I didn’t hear a word you said?”, even though it is obvious that they have said something relating to us. This proves a kind of negligence in contacting the positive mechanism which grows in the back of our minds. Such system blocks all the wanted and useful messages allowing us to hear and see only what our mind tells us to hear and believe. As this tendency is increased in the youth generation, it is creating gaps between a believer and faith of god.
The question is – How? How can we overcome this problem? Youth have themselves developed a capacity in mind to hear only what pleasures them without taking a decision that whether it is false or truth. My query is – How we can bring these groups of youth closer to god? Unconsciously resulting in unexpected calamities and unknowingly they are unable to repent it wisely. Due to this increasing factor, youth can’t get a grip of effective communication and develop themselves internally. Here the parents then enter the scene to play their role.

The main question lies whether the local churches fulfill and meet to mature disciples in Christian education?

As stated above, ‘youth’ are the most critical of all critics when it comes to religion. In this modern era, youth is distracted to church because they are building castles in air due to the unmaterialistic desire. Youth today have focused their vision to crave success and prosperity for their rising life graph; they exploit their own ones due to greed and selfishness. During the primary phase of struggle and hard work, youth craves to achieve prosperity, at the same time, do thank god and accept his involvement for success, but hand in hand, lack to follow the bibles ethics which says to respect others in and with unity. Due to the competition and growth politically, more often youth seem to push the fellow mates and strive to takeover their place. They themselves are unaware that they give birth to exploitation and inequality. And due to inequality, unity is declined, wherein bible does not specify inequality. In a book source, Pastor – “Rick Warren’ – illustrates in his book – The Purpose-Driven Church -“The issue is church health, not church growth!” declares warren. “if your church is healthy, growth will occur naturally. Healthy consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church.”
In addition to this he also declares that “If u concentrate on building people, God will build the church”.
I agree at a certain point with the above statement. I herewith would want to magnify on “How would one build a healthy youth for a healthy church”? In this sense I believe that both are co-related with each other. Again the issue arises in my mind ‘How will the church be healthy if the youth is unhealthy?’ The issue can’t be only concentrated on church. For a church to survive, the basic foundation is the youth and for the youth to be saved and attracted the church has to be healthy. In my knowledge it is a ‘Vicious Circle’.
Local churches upto some extent do specifically fulfill the discipleship through the practices and play a great emphasis in fulfilling and conveying the message of god to us, but still lack to read the minds and bring the youth closer to her, for which she has to upgrade her atmospheric appearance with new packages to reach the youth in a new taste due to the competitive modernism which is hovering on the youth.
The latter part can play the best part coz when first falls in place, everything else falls in place, from the beginning to the end, from all angles in all walks of life. Towards a healthy faith, healthy church can turn and seed a growth of spirituality through which mankind will grow spiritually from within thereby causing church growth.
Author Perry G. Down states in his book – “Teaching for spiritual growth” that ‘how can we best enable Christians to grow towards maturity?’ For this question he suggests three key concepts- ministry, believer, and purpose. But my understanding says that these concepts are incomplete somewhere to create a bond in reaching the results because today’s youth is attracted towards the unrealistic worldly matters, but has resulted in declination towards the god’s spiritual growth. The major role connecting these three concepts is commitment and effort. As the church ministry is the foundation pillar, the main aim is how much measure of commitment is valued and given to achieve the target successfully. Mankind is able to commit only when he chooses the right direction in fear and is able but this is unfortunate as the alien world tend to let us unidentify the type of strategies of growth for maturity. By identifying the type of strategies of growth, we can understand the level of growth required towards maturity at which we can be spiritual. Another reason for in growth is fear. As the youth fears to face unexpected problems, the efforts are less and require the hierarchy’s support.
Author Gary C. Newton stated in his book – “Going towards spiritual maturity” quotes the principle that “God is ultimately responsible for all spiritual growth”. The question arises at this point that if god is responsible for everything, what will be the purpose and role of human? I comment that while god supplies the resources like bible, church, Holy Spirit, baptism, it is also our responsibility to supply effort and commitment to utilize those resources and give results to god. In bible, Paul highlights this principle of his personal lifestyle and in his teachings comparing with the example of a soldier or athlete to illustrate the amount of sincerity and efforts. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27), Paul states that “In a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize”. I herewith conclude in a Christian race all runners (ministry, believers, purpose) will fail to get a prize if there is no effort that is commitment from everyone.
Along with the concept of ministry, believer, purpose; effort is also the key concept and it has to be achieved from the youth as well. A healthy youth will gain efforts only when the growth will favour them from within, when the forces of the ministry believers and youth will collide with each other to form a healthy growth.
This will create a mutual relationship between god’s provisional resources and our active involvement in process which is more clearly in Philippians 2:12-13: “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is god who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose”. This principle is intricate but the application is clear.
If one is to grow towards maturity in Christ then one must cultivate and demonstrate the efforts with passion, Philippians 2:17-18: ” But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you be glad and rejoice with me”.
Therefore the conclusion lies in the above concept, both; effort of the youth along with the work of ministry, believers proves in the healthiness of the church. In the book “Youth At Risk” by Peter Christian Olsen, 2003, he highlights four basic needs which he has clearly created an awareness of the effects that affects the development of youth:
Acceptance – belonging
New beginnings and second chances – forgiveness
Significance – generosity
Freedom – independence
I agree with his confirmation that he examines in deriving the above developmental needs from the provision of the Almighty’s resources as the absence of these needs do intentionally contribute in how they shape the personality, maturity, responsibility and stability of emotions. He emphasizes Christian community in respond to the needs determining that, the resources will be polishing youth through support during the fear and avoid them from destruction. At times the concepts will be foreign, indigestive for youth because unable to realize its importance. Rather the community need not re-interpret or change the language but simplify their thoughts and improve their visionary and understanding by change in structure through a friendly communication by becoming an effective leader to bridge the gap between the church and the youth. Therefore forces and efforts are needed for decision making which is an effective key in respond to ministry believer and purpose for a possibility of a healthy youth to build a healthy church, which will make the church flourish.

Supporting surveys

According to a survey, some findings proved that church fails to answer every question of the youth.

Q.1 In what way and sense is Christian religion, faith and church viewed by today’s modern youth?

Youth of today’s modern era is firm on the point stating that inspiration is lacked in religion; they feel that the world is divided through religion and is the major factor which is affecting the growth. A 17-year-old Jude from Kent says confidently that “He does not agree with the church who talks on subject morality” and is “Overfilled with traditionality”.
Youth pick their ideas which suit their taste through various religious beliefs. There are few in bunch who strongly believe, there exist only single religion which has controlled the truth. Young generation refer to perform all activities as per their own desire which in return less importance to the religious belief are being given, which gives birth to the side effects of the conduct.

Q.2 Why do young crowd feel that Christianity is not a ‘happening’ cultural activity?

An 18-year-old Marcus said that he left church when he was 15 because the teachings did not amuse him and it did not interest him of anything as a youth.
The major quest, a struggle for a religion is to impose an exertion of force of involvement in terms of attraction. I usually attend church service wherein I find young ones missing the services. I kept questioning myself that, where the young crowd has disappeared? Surprisingly the young ones have taken charge for the attendance of the church. In this consequence the church should give priority to change its curriculum and its way of presenting the services with new attractive packages for enhancement.

Q.3 Are the young preachers practicing different approaches in Christianity declining. What are your suggestions?

As the attendance of the youth in church has declined, but on the other hand people practicing approaches are increasing in numbers. The following is revealed through one of the youths that more the deepening are the studies of the bible, more a person becomes a hypocrite of the Christian leadership and unintentionally accepts and performs the lifestyle of the clergy right or wrong at times unknowingly. In such case, the practices are affected and become different from those which are to be precise. Seen are still some true Christian youngsters who are different in their attitude and conduct, but in spite of such difference, they are not involved into the immorality and violence activities with other youths. They present themselves as they are from a different unknown religion, but practice the religion and it

Ours was a very quick wedding from the time we met to when we got married due to my family's pressure. I had a week till I knew him before our wedding got fixed. Arranged marriages are common in our side. I loved him because up until him, I didn't believe the perfect person would exist and so I was against the whole idea of marriage because finding someone to my understanding was completely impossible.
I had a very sexually active life before my wedding and I've been with a lot of people (I still don't understand why I was this way, and I really regret not making friends out of people). On the other hand, my SO was a virgin. I was open about this when we were talking and we only proceeded with the wedding because he didn't mind all that. But one thing I did was I didn't delve into the details of my past because it was too early and I felt very guilty.
We had a very romantic wedding and be took to the stage to tell me I love you on the stage the moment we got married. I fucked up a lot at this point because I didn't understand how sensitive it would be to invite some of these sex partners to the wedding. He didn't know during the wedding but after is when things started to go wrong and I didn't notice until a few days in. Couple of days into the wedding we moved to a different city and I catch him crying and he tells me that he found my diary and he is very sad and doesn't know how to process this. He discovered all the privates that I hid and he felt very insecure that he lost a lot of firsts because they're no longer firsts to me. It sounded like I shattered his dream. I didn't know how to process this either and I felt extremely guilty.
He then came out to say that he understood the person behind those words and that was still this person I am. And he told me he loved me for that. We burnt everything from my past, swore to forget it. He took me a lot of places to create new memories.
But every now and then I'd accidentally slip up something from my life before and he would get very angry. It could just be a place I been to in a different city (which was his favourite city before and after reading my diary it has become a trauma for him). It happened a couple of times before I stopped myself. Even if it was a really good memory I swallow it up worried that I might provoke him and end up in an argument.
We now moved to our hometown and started a business together. And now being with his parents has been stressing us out to frequent fights and aggressive screaming. He is not the type to lay his hand on me but we both leave some nasty words that hurt each other when we fight. We had to go to the city we lived in and I accidentally talked about somewhere I went with my brother before or wedding and he started saying things like "wow... Now that she's here she'll remember all the things from before and nothing about the places we've been together" despite me telling about the places we visited that we want to visit again.
And he has this habit that whenever I was in the wrong in the fight (which was almost all of the time) I have to say sorry immediately or he would get even madder and wouldn't compromise until I beg him with a lot of sorrys. I was not a person who used to apologise a lot before my marriage but now I have learned to and I do apologise a lot more. But he expects me to apologise as much as he does when he is in the wrong. But when I get defensive it escalates into a bad argument. He tells me that my ego is much bigger than my love for him and that one day I'll lose him because I couldn't say sorry. And some of the time I forget to apologise because I'm mad at myself for doing something, that I'm such a bad person. I have explained him this as well.
I am not sure if this is healthy and this is what a relationship should be like. I look around and everyone says fighting is healthy. But whenever we fight I feel like an outcast and a sinner and I want to walk out on this life. Even when we fight he cries when I say I'll leave. But when we're happy he loves me so much that I don't see nothing else but him. I really don't know how to deal with this relationship. Do I have to crop up and change my ways before it's too late?

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This girl is a coworker for the time being. I've never liked getting into relationships outside of friendships with coworkers because it usually complicates things and I don't want to bring that mess into my professional life. I made an exception for this girl however because she's going to be leaving the job and the city soon and nothing is changing her mind. So I decided I'd give it a shot, but now I'm a bit confused on how she feels in part due to some of her wording.
It started off with me asking her to grab some food and we went out and grabbed some food then went to a jazz bar, then I dropped her off and nothing else happened. Second time I picked her up, we went to grab food, went to a different jazz bar and then spent the night bar hopping and then I dropped her off at her place. Third night I picked her up and we went staw watching in hopes of catching a glimpse of the aurora borealis and then I went back to hers and we worked out for a few hours in her condo gym and then I left, nothing else happened. The night after we talked for a bit on the phone and she had mentioned how she could tell when a guy liked her and how she usually let guys go through the moves just to be nice even if she wasn't interested just to let guys feel a bit better about doing their thing, but also she grew up in the Midwest and had hospitality and bring nice to others ingrained in her so she usually ran with a lot of things until it started to cross to a thing she very much did not like. I didn't know wether that was a jab at me to tell me she knew what I was up to or if it was just conversation from some of the other things that were similar that we had been talking about. I didn't push too much at thd time. I'm kind of slow on picking up social situations so I had to think it over. Last night I went to her place and we drank and played games both on play station and board games and she gave me some stuff since she'd on her way out she wanted to get rid of some things to not have to pack too much. On the way out I asked her honestly how she knew when a guy liked her and she mentioned that a guy starts to pay more attention to her and is more responsive and quick to reply. Makes sense I didn't see how that couldn't be a decently obvious sign. She then went to mention again that she's usually really nice and hospitable and how most guys will take that kindness and think it's an invitation to flirt and whatnot. She also isnt trying to find any anchors to want to stay at the moment because again shes leaving the city and at the moment she doesnt want to be anchored here. I dont blame her, i dont want to emotionally anchor her here and it wasnt my intention. I understand that, basic kindness doesn't equal flirting, but also it's kind of hard to differentiate it when the majority of women who aren't interested in you don't show any interest in you at all even basic kindness. So I understand what she's getting at, but now I'm confused in general as to wether she is just letting me know she's not interested at all or is she's just letting me know she'd be open to something very short term as long as feelings don't get involved since she's leaving. I'm going to shoot my shot regardless tonight to see, but I wanted to get your guys feedback on what all this means. Also, yes even though I'm only looking for something short term I still would like to leave this "relationship" on good terms so whenever she does end up visiting she'll hmu or maybe we stay in contact and maybe we'll see what happens. I'll post an update regardless of what happens tonight.
Tldr; want to hook up with my coworker who's leaving the job and city. She mentions guys mistake her kindness for invitation to flirt and she's not looking for something serious since she's leaving anyways. I'm confused if she's hinting that she's just being nice and nothing more or if the second line might be her hinting she'd be open to hook up and nothing more. Will update.

This just happened last night, my homie and I are in Thailand right now visiting friends and family.
Last week we discovered this small barestaurant and have been there nearly everyday since. Food is great, they got giant margaritas, and we’ve made friends with the awesome staff there.
Yesterday after getting matching “Shrimps is Bugs” tattoos we went to the bar to drink and eat. We’re playing pool, chilling with our waitress, she’s laughing at our stupid tattoos, and then this boomer comes up and asks my friend where he’s from. We start talking to him and he seems pretty cool, he told us he just moved back to Thailand a couple of weeks ago and his friend owns the restaurant we’re at.
He challenges the winner to get their ass kicked at pool, so I beat my bro and told Boomer to get over here as he’s next, and this is where he gets insanely obnoxious. He’s loud af, curses like he’s a kid who just learned bad words, and starts bringing up politics and libs destroying America. My buddy is laughing his ass off because he can tell I’m getting annoyed and after I lose the first game he invites Boomer to join our table to have drinks and to annoy me some more. (Here’s my bro asking him questions and Boomer starts talking nonsense about Trump being God)
Boomer buys a round of tequila shots for us and after we take them this group next to our table goes to play pool and Boomer jumps out of his seat yelling at them saying he’s the winner, its his table, wait their turn, etc. It was crazy rude and Thai people are so polite and non-confrontational they just apologized and sat back down. I went to them and asked if they wanted to play teams and they agreed.
Over the next 30 minutes my friend and I got to know the other group, they’re great people, and had to apologize to all of them over and over again because Boomer is the worst person to play pool with ever. He’s getting more drunk by the minute, talking all this shit, rude, obnoxious, etc. They end up not wanting to play anymore so I challenge him 1 more time to shut him up and this is where it all goes downhill.
He’s pissed off because I called a foul and ball in hand when he hits my stripe ball before he hits his solid. He says I’m just making up rules and its not a foul. Then he does it again when I’m on the 8 ball only, he hits the 8 ball without hitting his balls and I call a foul and pick up the cue ball. Boomer flips shit at this because its basically and instant win for me and he tries snatching the ball out of my hand. I’m just laughing my ass off at this point and tell him to stop crying and take his loss.
What does he do? He throws his pool stick across the table onto the floor, cusses me out, ragequits and walks back to our table. Our waitresses look scared and don’t know what to do so I go to him and the convo goes like this.
Me: Hey dude don’t disrespect this place or the staff here like that, you can’t just throw their things around that’s ridiculous.
Boomer: My friend owns this place I can do whatever the fuck I want to do.
Me: No you can’t, you can’t just come here disrespecting the staff, disrespecting the customers, its a fucking game you need to chill out.
Then he gets closer to my face and starts screaming and cussing at me even louder, telling me I’m a cheater and making up fake rules, he’ll do whatever the fuck he wants, his friend owns the bar, etc. While he’s yelling at me he’s got this entitled smug smile on his face and I just lost control and pushed him back away from me. It wasn’t a forceful push, I wasn’t trying to hurt the dude or anything, but fuck he’s a 60yo drunk boomer and lost his balance and fell onto the table of the people we played pool with and knocked it over.
I was mad embarrassed I didn’t mean for it to happen like that I just wanted him out of my face and to shut up. Our waitress grabbed me and led me outside. I’m apologizing like crazy and she and the other waitress are telling me and bro its okay, that dude is crazy, always causing problems, he’s friends with the boss so they can’t kick him out but they said I gotta leave right now and I can come back any other time after they talk with the boss.
Gonna head there again here in a couple of hours and make sure if I broke anything I’ll pay for it, hopefully everything is still cool between us and that place as we’re only here a few more days and planned on being there everyday.

Hi reddit!
2 months ago I met this girl in Korea and we instantly clicked. She is intelligent and passionate about many things. From the day we met we have pretty much been seeing each other almost every day and now we even stay together. It seems to be moving fast but we get along quite well and its the first time she has ever lived with someone like this.
I started to notice a few red flags that I tried to ignore at first. I noticed she would get several Instagram DM notifications from guys and they all tended to be foreigners like me. When I asked how she knows so many guys, she said they were just friends and that I shouldn't worry. I never want to be a paranoid controlling boyfriend so I just took her word for it and moved on.
Later, she casually mentioned that she cheated several times on her ex. I asked how she could feel okay with that and she said that she feels no guilt because he never found out and therefore never got hurt. She also mentioned how her best friend cheats on all her boyfriends and that she thinks there is nothing wrong with it as long as they never find out. I told her that this means she will probably cheat on me too but she said I was different and that I am the first guy who she feels in love with and wants to settle down with.
This tension came to a head when I noticed she was texting a guy on Instagram and agreeing to meet up with him for a drink. When she exited the message I saw a list of guys in her inbox and in one of them, she called the guy babe. I also saw she was still texting her ex and another guy who she intended to meet when she goes to London in August. I went to our room, packed my bags and was ready to leave right there and then until she noticed what I was doing and begged me to talk to her and tell her what was wrong. I told her everything and she explained that she had no intention of meeting anyone and that she calls everyone babe. She apparently only said those things just to gently decline men's invitations later on when she would just flake on them. She then said that those men had girlfriends so there was no way she could possibly date them and she even offered to show me her messages so that I could trust her. I said no because I didn't want to set a toxic precedent for this relationship.
She said that she's not used to being in a serious committed relationship and assumed we were in a situationship and that's why she still talked to those men. But earlier on in our relationship she said she hoped I wasn't still talking to girls I met online. So there's some hypocrisy at work too.
There was another incident when I wanted to show her my favorite film, A Clockwork Orange, and it did not go well. She said she was disgusted, which is fair because it is a dark film. But then she said that maybe I'm not the guy she thought I was because I like this film. She was upset and went to bed.
The other night we went to a club, which really isn't my thing. We met her friend and I told her to have fun while I go outside and chill. Things were fine until I saw her talking to a bunch of guys and I could see by the body language that she was talking and gazing at this one tall guy with keen interest. I ignored it until I saw them exchange each other's Instagram's. There is nothing wrong with that alone, but I could just feel that deep inside she was attracted to this one tall guy and I could see it in her eyes and posture. So I decided to leave. I was about to leave in my uber until she came running out and told me she can't believe I'm leaving without her. Turns out her friend saw me leaving and told her so she panicked and ran out the club.
I told her that I could just feel that she was liked the male attention and it felt like she was monkey branching. She told me she just wanted connections for when she went to England. Turns out these guys came from the UK. She then begged me to trust her and started posting me on her IG story to let people know she wasn't single.
She tells me how she praises me in front of her friends and family and that I'm the first guy she has ever truly felt something for. She says she is trying her best to make me feel secure by ghosting all her male Instagram buddies and promising that she will never cheat. She smothers me with affection and always tells me how much she adores me. Trust me, I feel like an idiot because these are huge red flags and yet I'm still with her. The only reason I am with her is because I'm just not that much invested into this relationship and I don't feel hurt that deeply by these red flags. I know that I can just find someone else if this relationship doesn't work out so I'm taking this casually.
My question to reddit is not whether I should leave or not (because I think we all know the answer to that), but what do you think will happen if I continue this relationship? I hope you guys can share your experiences so that I am more motivated to rip off the band aid and just end things here and now.
TL;DR: My 2 month girlfriend has a history of cheating and she loves to get male attention and I have seen her texting exes and calling a guy babe on instagram. She promised me that she will never do anything to break my trust again and that she really does see me as a potential husband. What will happen if I continue this relationship? Will things get worse the longer it continues? Thanks everyone.

Translated from https://bincangsyariah.com/kolom/musik-itu-haram-atau-halal-ini-penjelasan-quraish-shihab/
BincangSyariah.Com – Several musicians who decided to emigrate completely sold all their musical instruments at low prices because of concerns that musical instruments were haram. Regarding this matter, Tantri Kotak also expressed similar concerns and asked about his concerns on the Shihab&Shihab Talk Show some time ago.
Meanwhile, according to Najwa Shihab, he once read a hadith narrated by Muslim which said that Allah is beautiful and loves beauty, and isn't art part of beauty itself? At this point, what is the law on music and what is its position in Islam?
According to Prof. Quraish Shihab, before entering into the law of haram-halal music, it would be good to explore the context of asbab nuzul which was the background to the prohibition of music during the time of the Prophet.
In its time, the Koran was the most beautiful work of art, even today. So when the Koran was revealed, Arab and non-Arab people were amazed by the melodious chanting of the Koran, which touched their hearts.
Meanwhile, at that time there were people who were unhappy with Islam and wanted to divert people from listening to the Koran. "So he went to Persia to buy good books which they hoped would divert the Muslim community from the Koran. "There are also those who invite singers," explained the Professor of Tafsir at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University.
So, because this song has the potential to distract people from the Koran, the following verse was revealed:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْتَرِي لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
It means; And among humans (there are) those who use useless words to lead (people) astray from the path of Allah without knowledge and make a mockery of the path of Allah. They will suffer a humiliating punishment (Qs. Luqman; 6)
According to the author of Tafsir al-Misbah, the word lahwun means something that is in vain. So the word lahwun here is understood as something unimportant that people do which results in important things being neglected or in a broader context doing something important results in more important actions being neglected.
“The point is here. If you don't ignore something important, don't neglect remembering Allah, then (music) is fine. "Religion forbids it if it takes up time in such a way that what is important is neglected," said Prof. Quraish.
Moreover, it is human nature to enjoy beauty, but don't let the beauty you hear or express make people deviate from nature. So the red line here is that music is allowed as long as it is within the limits of the corridors permitted by Islam.
"If the content of the song makes someone love their homeland more, or creates close friendships, that's fine as long as it doesn't lead to anything deviant from Islam," said Prof. Quraish again.
For example, the Prophet once had two female singers in his house. When Abu Bakr entered, he rebuked the singers for singing in the Prophet's house. The Prophet said, "Let it be, O Abu Bakr, now that it is Eid, please let people sing," but as soon as there was content in the song that was not correct, the Prophet straightened it out. This hadith is contained in the history of Imam Bukhari.
Meanwhile, regarding the statement saying that musical instruments are haram, this also needs to be straightened out. Because there are no laws for this tool, but when it is used there is a law that is born. The context of the flute being forbidden is because when it is used it makes people who listen careless, but the Prophet David also played the flute but that did not prevent him from remembering Allah.
“It is not the equipment that is prohibited but its use. In the past it was banned because it was used for something bad. "There is no law against tools, in my opinion," concluded Prof. Qurash.

Sorry for the long story.
Alright. So some context. I'm a pretty big fan of Aurora 4x. If you don't know, it's an incredibly complex and in-depth 4x strategy game set in space where you can customize your ships down to each individual component (i.e. you can make your own engines/weapons/etc. to stick on your ships). A creator that I'm a fan of is advertising an role-playing series about this, and I'm like "Yeah, I'm in".
It kind of dies on arrival. But then the chosen DM for this invites me to another game which continues the legacy so to say with nobility and space battles. That one takes a pause (not really important to the story) and I get invited to another game. If you've heard of the game Terra Invicta, it's basically that. Aliens are invading Earth and are influencing various nations and it's up to the players in the United Nations to stop them. This is the game that I wish to share.
Now, this game had numerous problems mechanically. Mainly, the UN is given a ton of resources (trillions of dollars and 'resources' to be precise). But everything costs like... $100, or like 10 resources. And we as players are limited to like 4 infantry brigades between all of us. So we kind of have nothing to spend it on. Bad enough on it's own, but it's not really horror just yet.
We ended up starting in 2024. Modern day. Dropped straight into the Invasion of Ukraine in Mariupol to dislodge the Russians from the city (The Russians are, of course, being influenced by the aliens). We skirmish and kick them out. Cool. I'm made into the de-facto commanding officer of the entire UN military. Which sounds impressive, but remember, we're just infantry. (And also, the DM insists that Jeeps are to be considered armored personnel carriers as they have "armor" and carry dudes. More on this classification stuff later)
In comes the bomb. A literal bomb. Russia nukes Kiev. Now, you might be wondering "Oh man, so like does this end up into some kind of world war? Any larger political impact?" no. Nada. Zilch. The entire world just kind of... ignores the situation. I'm here thinking "Uh, that's weird", but I ignore it since the game starts opening up. At the time I was guessing that the DM just wanted to end the tutorial with a literal bang.
Next session. The literal fallout of the nuke. Kiev is gone, quite literally the entire command and government structure of Ukraine just up and vaporizes. So we're left to pick up the pieces. Unfortunately, Ukraine is in literal pieces. Fractured into several parts. Some support the UN. Some support Russia. Others support the fucking Asimov Battalion (which rebrands to the Asimov Division). For those of you who don't know, the Asimov Battalion are pretty closely linked with nazis.
In comes our moral dilemma. Leader of the Asimov Division comes to our base and starts negotiations. DM starts RPing with the leader saying stuff like "The Nazis are the only good thing to have happened to Ukraine. Where was x y and z when this and that happened! Nowhere! The Nazis gave us..." yada yada. In my mind I was thinking "Holy shit what? I guess he's just roleplaying...". Now I've got two "advisors". The medic of the group in charge of humanitarian efforts says the no-brain "Hey. They're fucking Nazis. We shouldn't be working with them" while my de-facto XO is like "Nah, we should help them". Of course, since the DM is basically ham-fisting me to help the literal Nazis with the threat of having to fight a war on both sides by two numerically superior enemies (again, we only have 4 infantry battalions) I basically have to grin and be like "Ok. We'll help you".
So I'm left thinking that this was as wacky as things were going to get. The next two weeks are "normal". I have to do a lot of set-up since the game is really starting to open up. We get to research things, we get a higher unit count, we get more than just goddamn infantry. So of course: I get us some actual armor and whatnot. In comes Mr. Armor expert who writes up the formation template for an armored brigade. Except he didn't follow the templates we were given so I had to tell him multiple times to edit it and everything, during which he insults me. "Alright, kind of weird you're insulting your commanding officer, but fine" I think.
He calls his formation an armored regiment. I called it an armored brigade. He gets pissed off and insists that it be called a regiment as the two are "very different" according to him. I not only pull rank (At this point I am a 3-star general and he is a goddamn colonel) and tell him that I am literally writing our doctrine from scratch and I can call it whatever the hell I want, but I even link him to the US DoD (he is basing stuff off the US army) where it literally says that armor is only called a regiment for historical reasons and thus armored regiments are literally just armored brigades. His response? "Wow, for someone who thinks they know a lot, you sure know nothing".
I am just baffled at the insubordination and I'm debating whether to court marshal his ass when out of left field all of my other junior officers come out of the woodworks to call me a "crybaby" and a "bitch" and all sorts of shit. I talk about this stuff with my friends and they're equally as confused as I am.
It's then that I bother to read through the world events that are going on (keep in mind, that at this point I've been busy with classes and have had to spend literal hours setting up formations, budgets, officer assignments, research, etc. in my off time) with my friends. And oh my god there is a lot to unpack with this.
Event 1: The Scandinavian countries unite and reform the Kalmar Union and do viking stuff.
Event 2: Portugal invades and annexes Brazil.
Event 3: Aliens just vaporize the entire country of Australia.
Event 4: Greece and Turkey unite to form... the Byzantine Empire. A high schooler could come up with something better. And the DM is a grown ass adult living on their own.
You think that was bad? It gets worse.
Event 5: Ireland invades the UK to reclaim Northern Ireland (There is a dude in game who now that I'm looking back, I'm pretty sure supports the IRA)
Event 6: Mexico joins hands with the aliens and invades the US. President Biden orders the military to stand down. In response, the US military starts a coup against Biden and instates... Donald Trump as the new president.
Yes. You read that right. The US military performs a violent coup to instate a president with no election.
It gets better.
The US counterattacks and defeats Mexico. The result? Mexico becomes the 51st state of America. That's right. All of Mexico becomes state 51. Oh, and for shits and giggles the US also invades Canada and makes that state 52. State constitution? Voting? The idea of a territory? Puerto Rico? Nope.
At this point I've realized just what I've gotten myself into. Everything became so clear all of a sudden, all the little flags and stuff clicked in quite possibly the most horrifying way possible. This isn't an RP game, it's a goddamn fan-fiction for Trump with some edgy alt-history bullshit thrown in. My friends obviously advise me to GTFO, but I can't help but do one last thing.
My character, as the leader of the UN military, came to be known as a hero and the father of the Modern UN. So obviously I had to have this guy go out with a bang. I write a manifesto, where I basically say "I've given my all to defend humanity from this extra-terrestrial threat. But upon looking at the state of the war and the things we've done as a species, I cannot help but wonder if these Aliens are the good guys after all?"
My final words to this group of... interesting individuals were an apology to the secretary who will find my brain matter splattered all over the walls as my character deep throats a bullpup sniper rifle (these people hate bullpup guns) but also definitively states that it is an armored brigade, not an armored regiment.
Of course I blocked every single one of these mfs and immediately left any and all channels shared with them. Like even now, two months later, I cannot believe that I managed to find myself embroiled in a group like this.

My BF (32m) and I (28f) have been together for nearly 5 years now and have lived together for nearly 3 years. Yet my family keeps acting like he doesn't exist.
For some background: my mom and I have a rocky relationship since we started dating because "she felt like I was leaving her behind"(her words). My mom threw me out after an argument, so my bf and his family helped me pack my stuff and we moved in to our appartment together. It took a year for her and I to reconnect but during that time, my mom spread a whole lot of nonsense to anyone who would listen about how my BF was a villain and I was an ungrateful child that got swayed away to God knows where. Due to this there were a lot of family events where I would be invited but he would not even be mentionned even as we had already been living together and dating for over 3 years back then.
Now on to the actual story: My cousin (M29) who I grew up with got married last year to his wife (25f). My BF had already been officially introduced to them as my BF and they had been around eachother and all laughing together at small family gatherings. BUT Both of them knew and had met him long before I ever did. They weren't friends but my cousin met and saw him at several events and his wife actually went on a first date with him years ago through a dating app. They never saw eachother again after the one date due to personal preferences and because she was much younger than he thought she was.
They didn't invite him to their wedding claiming they didn't know him but there were people there that they didn't even know personally. No one said anything or asked why he wasn't invited. Don't get me wrong, I fully believe that you can and should invite only those you want on your big day, but them pretending they didn't know him did something to me.
Then a couple months after their wedding they had a baby. Despite sending messages I only met my nephew on new-years eve, nearly a year later after everyone else had met him. And then I heard stories about how they told other people that I never showed any interest in their baby. Now a month ago they sent me an invite for his 1st birthday, they did not include my BF and asked me if I knew if my family (mom and brothers) would be there. I had to remind them that I don't know since I haven't lived with my mom and brothers for over 2 years. My nephew got sick so the party got canceled. Now that baby is better and my cousin's bday is coming up they made a whatsapp group inviting their side of the family, my mom, brothers and me but again, no mention of my BF. My BF hasn't shown in anyway that he cares but I'm starting to be worried that there really is something wrong.
I don't know if maybe I should talk to my cousin and ask if something is going on or if I'm just missenterpreting things.
So, AITH?
Ps. Please be kind in the comments, I'm not trying to start an all out war.

LESSON 137. When I am healed I am not healed alone.
Today’s idea remains the central thought on which salvation rests. For healing is the opposite of all the world’s ideas which dwell on sickness and on separate states. Sickness is a retreat from others, and a shutting off of joining. It becomes a door that closes on a separate self, and keeps it isolated and alone.
Sickness is isolation. For it seems to keep one self apart from all the rest, to suffer what the others do not feel. It gives the body final power to make the separation real, and keep the mind in solitary prison, split apart and held in pieces by a solid wall of sickened flesh, which it can not surmount.
The world obeys the laws that sickness serves, but healing operates apart from them. It is impossible that anyone be healed alone. In sickness must he be apart and separate. But healing is his own decision to be one again, and to accept his Self with all Its parts intact and unassailed. In sickness does his Self appear to be dismembered, and without the unity that gives It life. But healing is accomplished as he sees the body has no power to attack the universal Oneness of God’s Son.
Sickness would prove that lies must be the truth. But healing demonstrates that truth is true. The separation sickness would impose has never really happened. To be healed is merely to accept what always was the simple truth, and always will remain exactly as it has forever been. Yet eyes accustomed to illusions must be shown that what they look upon is false. So healing, never needed by the truth, must demonstrate that sickness is not real.
Healing might thus be called a counter-dream, which cancels out the dream of sickness in the name of truth, but not in truth itself. Just as forgiveness overlooks all sins that never were accomplished, healing but removes illusions that have not occurred. Just as the real world will arise to take the place of what has never been at all, healing but offers restitution for imagined states and false ideas which dreams embroider into pictures of the truth.
Yet think not healing is unworthy of your function here. For anti-Christ becomes more powerful than Christ to those who dream the world is real. The body seems to be more solid and more stable than the mind. And love becomes a dream, while fear remains the one reality that can be seen and justified and fully understood.
Just as forgiveness shines away all sin and the real world will occupy the place of what you made, so healing must replace the fantasies of sickness which you hold before the simple truth. When sickness has been seen to disappear in spite of all the laws that hold it cannot but be real, then questions have been answered. And the laws can be no longer cherished nor obeyed.
Healing is freedom. For it demonstrates that dreams will not prevail against the truth. Healing is shared. And by this attribute it proves that laws unlike the ones which hold that sickness is inevitable are more potent than their sickly opposites. Healing is strength. For by its gentle hand is weakness overcome, and minds that were walled off within a body free to join with other minds, to be forever strong.
Healing, forgiveness, and the glad exchange of all the world of sorrow for a world where sadness cannot enter, are the means by which the Holy Spirit urges you to follow Him. His gentle lessons teach how easily salvation can be yours; how little practice you need undertake to let His laws replace the ones you made to hold yourself a prisoner to death. His life becomes your own, as you extend the little help He asks in freeing you from everything that ever caused you pain.
And as you let yourself be healed, you see all those around you, or who cross your mind, or whom you touch or those who seem to have no contact with you, healed along with you. Perhaps you will not recognize them all, nor realize how great your offering to all the world, when you let healing come to you. But you are never healed alone. And legions upon legions will receive the gift that you receive when you are healed.
Those who are healed become the instruments of healing. Nor does time elapse between the instant they are healed, and all the grace of healing it is given them to give. What is opposed to God does not exist, and who accepts it not within his mind becomes a haven where the weary can remain to rest. For here is truth bestowed, and here are all illusions brought to truth.
Would you not offer shelter to God’s Will? You but invite your Self to be at home. And can this invitation be refused? Ask the inevitable to occur, and you will never fail. The other choice is but to ask what cannot be to be, and this can not succeed. Today we ask that only truth will occupy our minds; that thoughts of healing will this day go forth from what is healed to what must yet be healed, aware that they will both occur as one.
We will remember, as the hour strikes, our function is to let our minds be healed, that we may carry healing to the world, exchanging curse for blessing, pain for joy, and separation for the peace of God. Is not a minute of the hour worth the giving to receive a gift like this? Is not a little time a small expense to offer for the gift of everything?
Yet must we be prepared for such a gift. And so we will begin the day with this, and give ten minutes to these thoughts with which we will conclude today at night as well:
When I am healed I am not healed alone. And I would share my healing with the world, that sickness may be banished from the mind of God’s one Son, Who is my only Self.
Let healing be through you this very day. And as you rest in quiet, be prepared to give as you receive, to hold but what you give, and to receive the Word of God to take the place of all the foolish thoughts that ever were imagined. Now we come together to make well all that was sick, and offer blessing where there was attack. Nor will we let this function be forgot as every hour of the day slips by, remembering our purpose with this thought:
When I am healed I am not healed alone. And I would bless my brothers, for I would be healed with them, as they are healed with me.

(Just think of this as a vent post, I know this will get buried anyways.)
It’s just as the title says, I (18m) just feel like there’s nothing I can do to make myself in the right track again. To make it short, I’m pretty much worthless, I’m failing school (still in grade 10), barely have any friends, no talents or practical skills to speak of, and have zero experience in the ‘real world’ as I’ve never had a job nor do I really think I’m mentally capable of one, i know I’m weak, you don’t have to tell me. I’m a burden both mentally and financially to my mother with my horrible attendance to school and my addiction to vaping, which I’m obviously not proud of.
I’ve had multiple attempts of suicide, all failed as you can tell, it makes me feel pathetic to wake up back in my bed either in immense pain or just plain ol’ high. Despite my history, nobody asks if I’m okay or even tries to, and on the inside I feel as if nobody cares either. I would say I’m depressed but I’ve never been officially diagnosed as I’ve never been to a doctors appointment in years, I’ve tried therapy that my school set up but I seem to automatically lie about how I feel, I want help but I also push it away at the same time, I’m just a living contradiction, I say I want to die but at the same time I’m so afraid of it as well. My mind flip flops around so much in one day, one hour, I could be optimistic and hopeful for myself, thinking that I could turn this horrible situation around and become ‘normal’ again, then the next hour I’m at rock bottom yet again, hoping for nothing more than to be dead, it’s an exhausting cycle of this every. single. day.
I know that I’m young(ish) and that there’s still so much time to get things together, but it feels impossible with the state I’m in now, which is lying in bed all day with no physical and mental energy, avoiding any texts or game invites from my friends and family, and wanting to change without putting any effort in doing so, it’s just an endless cycle. And yes, I know my situation is barely a pebble on the road compared to what many others have been through, but I just needed to let this out and be relieved of these thoughts that threaten to consume me.
Excuse the horrible writing of this, I pretty much word vomited everything that’s been building up for however long it’s been since I’ve told anyone how I’ve felt. Have a lovely day/night.

John 17: 20-24
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
²¹ that they may all be one,
just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you,
that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one,
so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am,
to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. "
I know how tempting it is for me to hang onto what differentiates me from you, but I hope the Lord grants me the humility to celebrate each brother and sister, to learn from you, and to listen patiently enough to understand your point of view.
"Lord, as I look around at all the different faith traditions that confess your name, help me to appreciate the many different people you're drawing together. Male and female, young and old, singles and families both large and small, all join in unison, praying and worshipping you. May our unity be so striking that it would testify to your amazing love and become an invitation for the whole world to believe in you!" Amen

Spoilers ahead…
Dear Karthik Subbaraj,
Congratulations on yet another interesting movie, and for resisting the impulse to name this one, too, after a food item. Iraivi is an unusual feminist film, in the sense that it’s seen entirely through the prism of sympathetic male characters. Your men aren’t monsters who drink or cheat on their wives or subject them to torture. They do these things, yes, but… differently. Arul (SJ Surya) drinks, but only to drown out his sense of failure – he’s a director and his film is in the cans, being held hostage by a sadistic producer. Michael (Vijay Sethupathi) has sex with Malarvizhi (Pooja Devariya), and he continues to lust after her after his marriage to Ponni (Anjali) – I love that all your women have names that suggest classical heroines, including Arul’s wife Yazhini (Kamalini Mukherjee) – but it’s a marriage he committed to in a hurry and he still hasn’t reconciled himself to it. He’s being a bastard, certainly, but he’s not a one-note villain. And the torture they inflict isn’t the stubbing-a-cigarette-into-the-wife’s-bare-arm variety. It’s more mental than physical.
So we get women who are collateral damage – and I include Arul’s comatose mother (Vadivukkarasi), and the nurse who’s not allowed to do her duty – of men being men. They’re being babies, really. Yazhini tells Arul that he should get on with his life, write another story, make another movie. He says it’s like her trying to have another child while still pregnant with their daughter. (Yes, all these men end up with girl children.) He’s a wallower – but maybe all artists are. You like to do that, don’t you Karthik? Even in a film like this, you deliver a commentary about filmmaking and the artist. Why, even Arul’s father is a sculptor, and though we never see him ill-treating his wife (thank you for sparing us the clichés of raised hands and raised voices), we’re informed that he’s responsible for her state. His son’s following the father’s footsteps. Maybe you’re trying to say that the wives of obsessed artists are doomed to become collateral damage. Your films make us think, Karthik, so thank you for that.
All your stories have at their centre a filmmaker, or at least (in the case of your first film, Pizza) a storyteller. And through them, we seem to hear your voice. “Works of art should not be in places where they are not respected.” “Namma padam pesanum, naama pesa koodadhu.” You compare masala movies to a massage with a happy ending. (I laughed, but please don’t judge me when I say I rather like massages with happy endings – I refer to masala movies, of course.) We even get a line of dialogue about Dolby Atmos. (What will the B/C-centre audience make of this, Karthik? But then you don’t really give a shit, do you? More power to you.) And you like your insider jokes. That crass, egoistic producer who does not care about art – he reminded me of the crass producer from your earlier film, Jigarthanda. You like Rajinikanth too. You referenced Thillu Mullu in Pizza, Thalapathi in Jigarthanda, and now you have Arul singing Malayala karayoram, Michael singing Oorai therinjikitten.
Or is that more of an Ilayaraja homage? You like to keep the audience guessing, right? When the Bobby Simha character in Jigarthanda said he was a Shankar-Ganesh fan, it appeared that you were mocking the endless Ilayaraja nods in Tamil cinema, but here you are, doffing your hat to the maestro. “Raja Raja dhaan.” Arul says this… twice. (By the way, which is that nightclub which plays Maanguyile poonguyile? Do let us know.) And the reuse of Unnai thaane – first in a scene between Michael and Malarvizhi; later in a scene between Michael and Ponni – is the kind of Easter egg we come to your films for. Let me list some others, though I’ll probably need to watch the film a second (or third) time to get them all. The name of the bachelors’ quarters is Ambal Mansion – it goes with your theme and title. I didn’t get the bit about the windmills (something connected to the gust of wind that makes the row of cycles fall over in the first scene?), or why you showcased the book of Shanta Shishunala Sharif’s poems. (I confess. I Googled up that name. I can’t remember the last time a Tamil film made me Google something up. Madras, maybe.) And despite your note at the beginning that Iraivi is inspired by the works of K Balachander (he made female-centric films, but I don’t know if I’d call them feminist films), this is really more of an ode to Mani Ratnam, isn’t it? Specifically, Aayidha Ezhuthu. The three men, one of them – the impulsive one – named Michael. The film starting out as Arul’s story, then becoming Michael’s story, and finally Jagan’s (Bobby Simha) story. The finale with the woman on the train. Plus, the arc of the Madhavan-Meera Jasmine plot was essentially about being easily misled (in the case of the man) and becoming collateral damage (in the case of the woman.) And yes, the rain. All that rain. As though the skies were weeping for these women.
Am I digressing, Karthik? If I am, I’m just following your style, which is the opposite of simple and linear. As a result, I find your films longer than they need to be. (You may feel the same about my reviews.) For instance, I did not care for the scene in the nightclub where a director is felicitated. I realise it was there as a last straw for Yazhini, but it felt redundant. But I suppose they couldn’t be any other way, because you like these shaggy-dog stories that you then embellish with novelistic detail. I love the way you introduce your characters, the time you take with them. Our films lay out characters and their relationship to each other the minute we set eyes on them, but you make us wait to know how Arul is related to Jagan and where Michael fits in and so on. And when it appeared that a semblance of a plot was kicking in (something about Arul needing money to buy back his film), I dug out my phone and checked: it was a whole hour into the movie. Borrowing an image from Malarvizhi’s profession (oh wait, she’s an artist too; she’s literally an artist), it’s like daubs of paint slowly forming a bigger picture.
And you really like an expansive canvas. Not only does the crass producer have a brother, you also bring in his wife later on, to conclude a deal he began making. These segments practically form a mini-movie, with another woman left reeling by the actions of her man. Your films have this… density. They’re packed – with characters, with complications, with information doled out in bits and pieces. (A character says, “Un kitta onnu sollanum.” And instead of hearing what he has to say, we cut to someone else.) Take the scene where Michael asks Arul for money he is owed. You just need to get Michael to Arul’s antiques shop, so the next part of the plot can be staged. Arul could have told Michael to collect the money at the shop. Instead, this is what we get. Arul tells Michael to wait for a week, when he can get the 50 lakhs he is owed. Michael says he wants only 10 lakhs. Arul says he has only 8 lakhs, he’ll give the remainder later. Michael goes to Arul’s father, in the hospital. He has only 5 lakhs. And he directs Michael to the shop, to get the remaining 3 lakhs. Your signature intercutting adds to this texture, Karthik. Shots of Michael and Arul’s father in the hospital are intercut with shots of Arul hunting for booze. Shots of Michael and Jagan outside a courtroom are intercut with shots of Arul being consoled by his father. Happenings are stretched and meshed the way they would be in real life, and not compacted according to the page-per-minute requirement of screenplay-writing textbooks.
I could never predict where the film was going (win!), what these people were going to do (again, win!) –though I must admit I found this to be the weakest of your “twists.” The subplot about stealing sculptures, too, I found rather conceit-y, something half-heartedly cooked up to fit with the title and the theme, rather than something plausible, something these people would do. When Michael, here, commits murder, with a hammer, I went, “This mild-mannered chap? Really?” But then, even in Jigarthanda, I wasn’t quite convinced that the characters would do the things they did. They seemed to be puppets of a screenplay rather than credible human beings, whose actions evolve organically from who they are (or at least, who they seem to be).
But even if I am not convinced by the overall trajectory of your characters, I love how fleshed-out they are on a moment-to-moment basis. I loved the scene where Arul barges into Yazhini’s house, after their separation, on the day of her engagement to someone else. In a lesser film, she would have asked him to get out, and he’d have dug his heels in, and she’d have cooled down and… But here, she rushes straight into his arms. And you make us see why. She was frustrated, fed up with him. But she’s also confused. Was she hasty in abandoning this man? Should she move on with another man? Does she even need a man? With just this one scene, you’ve compensated for the underwritten heroine of Jigarthanda. The story arc may be Arul’s, but Yazhini registers as a fully formed character. Similarly, Michael’s arc allows for the delineation of Ponni and Malarvizhi, and through Jagan, we get glimpses of his mother, and possibly of all womanhood as viewed by a compassionate man. And then you say that women don’t need even this compassionate man (poor chap!), that they have to emancipate themselves instead of looking for a penis-wielding emancipator. What delicious irony, given that you begin the film with women talking about marriage, tying themselves to a man!
Or not, in the case of Malarvizhi, who is easily the film’s most interesting character. Her husband is dead, and she doesn’t want love anymore – only sex. When Michael buys her a diamond necklace, she gives it back to him – she can buy her own trinkets, thank you very much. But the character feels shoe-horned into the film, Karthik. I felt betrayed – and I bet she did too – that after a point, she was used simply as a plot device to get Michael and Ponni together, and also to illustrate Michael’s (who is now standing in for all of mankind) hypocrisy. I felt she deserved more. And yet, I appreciated your generosity in fleshing her out like all the others, without judging her. She gets to be the rare woman in Tamil cinema who dumps the man, and the way she lets go of Michael is echoed in the way Arul lets go of Yazhini, with a heavy heart and some playacting. A side effect of the Malarvizhi subplot is the reassurance that Vijay Sethupathi is still interested in making cinema, rather than just massy entertainers targeted at the box office.
Ponni gets a better deal (and Anjali is terrific, raw and expressive in a way she has never been). In a great scene – rather, a set of book-ending scenes – Michael tells Ponni that he was forced to marry her, and she’s going to have to “adjust” to this if she wants to be with him. Much later, she throws the “adjust” word back on his bearded face when he asks her if she slept with someone else. In a different kind of movie, we’d be invited to see this symmetry, stand up and applaud. But you’re too subtle for that, Karthik. Iraivi is your subtlest film. Which is why I winced at the melodramatic lines about men and women, most of which came towards the end. Aan, using the long-sounding vowel, versus penn, with the shorter one – for such a visual filmmaker (this is another outstandingly shot film, less showy than Jigarthanda and probably richer for that), do you really need the crutch of linguistic special effects from another era of filmmaking? Also, when the rest of your film is so allusive, isn’t there another way you can explain the twist without having a character resort to such an inelegant information dump?
And why is it that your films come together more in the head than in the heart? Why are they easier to admire than love wholeheartedly? I used to think it was because your characters are essentially deceitful, self-serving and unsympathetic, so though we were invested in what they did, we didn’t really warm up to them. But here, you have Ponni and Yazhini and Malarvizhi – and they’re still remote. But perhaps this is bound to happen when there are so many people, so many strands, when we don’t follow one person’s simplistic “you go, girl” journey like we do in, say, 36 Vayadhinile? But when the parts are so well-crafted, we don’t complain as much about their sum not adding up to a satisfying whole. I am sure that you will, one day, make that wholly satisfying film, but for now, thank you for these parts. Thank you for the ambition. I felt there were too many songs (some good work by Santhosh Narayanan), but thank you for ensuring that they don’t break character, the way songs usually do when a character speaking in his or her voice suddenly segues into the playback singer’s voice. Thank you for giving us SJ Surya, the actor – I never dreamed he had such a capacity to hold a scene, to hold the screen. Thank you for continuing not to sell out. Thank you for trying to do so much, even if not all of it needed to have been tried. And thank you for making me fight with myself, for not making it easy to decide if you’ve made a “good” film or a merely “okay” film. For now, Iraivi is a fascinating film, and that’s enough.
Sincerely, etc.

TLDR: I kissed my ex-girlfriend and don't know how to move forward in our relationship.
Hello, I do not want to give too much information but the gist is this. Me and my ex-girlfriend have dated two times in the past. The first time at 18 and the second time at 20. (we were both the same age.) We split due to many reasons such as huge differences in religious belief. (I am atheist she is a strong Christian.) We both appreciated one another but our beliefs kept making us feel like we had to change one another, and create a void between us. We are morally similar, however it is impossible for us to have a conversation about religion without one of us getting extremely frustrated.
After our breakup she has gotten far more religious, both as a way to cope with the relationship and to improve herself. (her words not mine.) However recently we have started talking a lot more. She invited me to hang out, and I came over. The situation was strange. We got food, argued about religion, and then for some reason as we were bickering her mood immediately changed. One thing led to another and we were kissing one another. We talked briefly about the idea of dating once again, then awkwardly went on our way.
As much as I cherish and care about this person, our views on religion completely divide us. I am almost certain a successful healthy relationship between us is impossible. However I find her to be extremely alluring. Our opinions differ on far more than religion, however again, morally we are on the same page. Both of us are also politically aligned, but our ideal careers, dreams, etc do not.
Please forgive me for issues with communication as I am not the best at either relationships or forum usage.
I really care about this person and do not want to cause them any harm. However I don't feel like any form of intimacy will be beneficial. I also despite disagreeing with her on religion, do not want to force her to break her own beliefs in any way even if I disagree with them.
Do you believe it is possible for us to be mature enough to maintain a platonic friendship? Despite finding one another almost irresistible. Or should I cease contact going forward and try to forget she exists entirely?
I am new to both this subreddit and this kind of post, so I hope I have provided sufficient information. I would really appreciate serious replies only.

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(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).

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"’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).

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“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).

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

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

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?

Any and all perspectives help more than you know. I don’t have anybody to really talk about this with so any guidance is appreciated. It’s a lot to read, I might yap but with reason
I’m 19 years old and have just finished my spring semester of college. I went to a big college out of town, my main financial aid fucked me over so I had to switch at semester to my home state’s university. Anyway, this year was kinda tough for me lost a couple family members & my boyfriend had it rough, lost his best friend and dad within a few months of each other. Then we find out I’m pregnant. I wasn’t sure what I really wanted but didn’t get to make a choice, I miscarried sometime later. It was hard so I went back to hometown & finished semester online while staying with boyfriend until I needed to move my stuff out of dorm.
My boyfriend is 19 and we’ve been together a year & a half, but known each other since middle school. We dated in 8 grade until he had to move out of state, he moved back & we started hanging out again. My circle is small & I don’t really make/have any friends but he’s my best friend. Even if we wouldn’t have chose to date after he came back to town, ik we would’ve been good friends. My family liked him or seemed to at least, especially my mom.
It’s well known in my family that my mom and I just don’t get along. She kept me quite literally locked away as the Cinderella child until I left. I could only do things if she wasn’t in a bad mood/something didn’t need cleaned/ a child didn’t need to be picked up/dropped off. My friends in high school never invited me ANYWHERE lmao but after a while I figured out it’s easier to just deal w it rather than push back harder. I didn’t know how to use a crosswalk until I was 14 lmao I was so sheltered sorry ANYWAYS, I turned 18 and it was like I had a brand new mother until her fear of me leaving wore off.
Long story short, the summer before I left for college (last summer) my mom & I got into a fight, I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I moved in with boyfriend. My mom did the absolute most, almost got me fired from my job & ambulance ended up being called from how much of a tantrum she threw. It was so ridiculous that she refused to tell anybody what happened when people asked because she said it’s too embarrassing for her.
Just like that, she flipped. My boyfriend had a rough upbringing which she knows some stuff about. She took that and twisted the narrative to make him seem like some sort of charity case that took advantage of her generous & good graces. She calls him the hungry kid who hangs out w her daughter behind my back. He’s no longer allowed at her house lmao just out of spite. He never said a word to her or about her when she had the worst to say about him, he never was disrespectful or showed up to the house either so idrk why she said that. Even when I moved out & she drained my entire savings I had worked for since I was 15, he never said anything bad about her just that i was going to be okay & he’s gonna help me figure it out. Not only that but she shunned me for a long time, refused to talk & look at me after I moved out. My little brother was 5 and didn’t really understand but my mom didn’t try to explain or kid proof it, just let him scream, cry, & claw at my legs whenever I’d leave the house to go home. I felt incredibly guilty & like I had to compensate so I’d stress out & make sure to see her and my siblings every single day till I left for college.
If you’re still reading thank you sm.
Fast forward to today, I went to college finished my semester and am back in my hometown. Over breaks in college I’ve stayed at my moms cause she expected me to and her & I’s relationship has gotten so much better with distance. Between her and boyfriend, they were my biggest support especially with the miscarriage. But the only conversation they’ve had is when him and I went to talk to my mom in person when I found out I was pregnant. Not sure where she stands with him idrc but I’m sure she probably hates him more since we did technically make her worst fear as a mother come true.
Im living with her now mainly cause I don’t want to be isolated again & i physically cant deal with the debilitating anxiety and guilt every day, I wanted to try to focus on healing & resting before I start classes in the fall. Boyfriend’s family situation is getting v challenging for him, hes gonna get a place regardless. I really just want a space where I’m not feeling constantly overstimulated & I miss living with him a lot honestly. We make the best team & it’s so easy with him. I catch myself getting so excited looking at furniture even from the thrift or think ab cooking meals w him or decorating. I miss him making breakfast for me before I wake up and folding laundry together and grocery shopping. He’s paying 6 months rent in advance so that I won’t have to worry about getting enough hours & can enjoy summer and actually rest. Both of us independently have a pretty thick cushion to fall back on too just in case. So finances aren’t a problem I think?
My mom isn’t too keen on the idea. I think she doesn’t want me to make the same mistakes she made, which I understand because I was also there when she was left with half of every pair of shoes she owned, I mean he took literally half of everything. Even in the case that we do break up and then I’m stuck with an apartment with my ex and have completely fucked myself over, at least I was able to make my own mistake for the first time and learn from it? Idk what to tell my mom or how the conversation should go. I don’t wanna be shunned again but then again I’ve never once been able to just do something and justify it with “it’s my life”. Idk, advice/thoughts/bullshit/opinions please please help. Have a blessed day, thank you. I appreciate your time & input more than you know, I don’t have anybody to bounce ideas around with.

Are you in search of a personal virtual assistant possessing exceptional verbal, organizational, and time management abilities? Or perhaps you're seeking someone to tackle a specific, one-time task?
Allow me to introduce myself: I'm G, a 21-year-old undergraduate student. Over the past years, I've ventured into the world of freelancing and primarily collaborated with clients based in the United States.
I offer my services at a rate of $5 per hour, and I'm comfortable with receiving payments through BTC or PayPal.
I'm here to offer a diverse range of services designed to make your life easier. Let me handle tasks such as:

• Basic Administrative Skills
• Efficient Email Management
• Precise Data Entry (Spreadsheets/Google Sheets)
• Ghost Writing, whether through AI Assistant or Manual Writing
• Prompt Chat Support
• In-depth Research
• Skillful Digital Marketing
• Proficiency in Word Processing, Desktop Publishing Tools, Presentation Tools, and Communication Tools
• Accurate Recording of meeting minutes, thoughtfully compiled in a Microsoft Word-based file
• Effective Social Media Management across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more!
• Eye-catching Graphic Design using Canva
• Project Management
• Shopify Product Editing, Designing, and Uploading
• Seamless Content Calendar Management
• Creative Video Editing for Reels, Shorts, and more
• Assistance with Apartment and Job Searches
• Partnership Proposals/Invitations
• Crafting Digital Downloads, Thank You Card templates, and Mockups that leave an impact

With my skills and dedication, I'm here to transform your workload into a breeze. Let's bring your ideas to life! Please do not hesitate to reach out to me through Reddit Chat and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible.
I look forward to working fruitfully with you!

Any and all perspectives help more than you know. I don’t have anybody to really talk about this with so any guidance is appreciated. It’s a lot to read, I might yap but with reason
I’m 19 years old and have just finished my spring semester of college. I went to a big college out of town, my main financial aid fucked me over so I had to switch at semester to my home state’s university. Anyway, this year was kinda tough for me lost a couple family members & my boyfriend had it rough, lost his best friend and dad within a few months of each other. Then in March, we find out I’m pregnant. I wasn’t sure what I wanted but didn’t really get to make a choice, soon after I miscarried. It was difficult so I went back to hometown & finished semester online while staying with boyfriend until I needed to move my stuff out of dorm.
My boyfriend is 19 and we’ve been together a year & a half, but known each other since middle school. We dated in 8 grade until he had to move out of state, he moved back & we started hanging out again. My circle is small & I don’t really make/have any friends but he’s my best friend. Even if we wouldn’t have chose to date after he came back to town, ik we would’ve been good friends. My family liked him or seemed to at least, especially my mom.
It’s well known in my family that my mom and I just don’t get along. She kept me quite literally locked away as the Cinderella child until I left. I could only do stuff if she wasn’t in a bad mood/something didn’t need cleaned/ a child didn’t need to be picked up/dropped off. After a while I figured out life is better if i deal w it instead of push back harder. My friends in high school never invited me ANYWHERE, I didn’t know how to use a crosswalk until I was 14 lmao I was so sheltered sorry ANYWAYS, I turned 18 and it was like I had a brand new mother until her fear of me leaving wore off.
Long story short, the summer before I left for college (last summer) my mom & I got into a fight, I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I moved in with boyfriend. My mom did the absolute most, wouldnt let me get any of my stuff or car for a few weeks (I had purchased almost EVERYTHING for myself since I was 15, including my car that she told me since I bought it as a minor I couldn’t have it under my name :/ ), almost got me fired from my job & ambulance ended up being called from how much of a tantrum she threw. It was so ridiculous that she refused to tell anybody what happened when people asked because she said it’s too embarrassing for her.
Just like that, she flipped. My boyfriend had a rough upbringing which she knows some stuff about. She took that and twisted the narrative to make him seem like some sort of charity case that took advantage of her generous & good graces. She calls him the hungry kid who hangs out w her daughter. He’s no longer allowed at her house lmao just out of spite. He never said a word to her or about her even when she had the worst to say about him, he never was disrespectful or showed up to the house either so idrk why she said that. Even when I moved out & she drained my entire savings I had worked for since I was 15, he never said anything bad about her just that i was going to be okay & he’s gonna help me figure it out.
Not only that but she shunned me for a long time, refused to talk & look at me after I moved out. My little brother was 5 and didn’t really understand & my mom didn’t bother to explain or kid proof it, just let him scream, cry, & claw at my legs whenever I’d leave the house to go home. I felt so guilty & like I had to compensate so I’d stress out & make sure to see my siblings every single day till I left for college.
If you’re still reading thank you sm.
Fast forward to today, left for college & it didn’t work out, finished semester online, and am back in my hometown. Over breaks in college I’ve stayed at my moms cause she expected me to and her & I’s relationship has gotten so much better with distance. Between her and boyfriend, they were my biggest & only support especially with the miscarriage. But the only conversation they’ve had is when him and I went to talk to my mom in person when I found out I was pregnant. Not sure where she stands with him idrc but I’m sure she probably hates him more since we did technically make her worst fear as a mother come true.
Im living with her now, mainly cause I don’t want to be isolated again & i physically cant deal with the debilitating anxiety and guilt every day, I wanted to try to focus on healing & resting before I start classes in the fall. Boyfriend’s family situation is getting v challenging for him, hes gonna get a place regardless. I really just want a space where I’m not feeling constantly overstimulated & I miss living with him a lot honestly. We make the best team & it’s so easy with him. I catch myself getting so excited looking at furniture even from the thrift or think ab cooking w him. I miss him making breakfast for me before I wake up and folding laundry together and grocery shopping. He’s paying 6 months rent in advance so that I won’t have to worry about getting enough hours & can enjoy summer and actually rest. Both of us independently have a pretty thick cushion to fall back on too just in case. So finances aren’t a problem I think?
My mom isn’t too keen on the idea. I think she doesn’t want me to make the same mistakes she made, which I understand because I was also there when she was left with half of every pair of shoes she owned, I mean he took literally half of everything. Even in the case that we do break up and then I’m stuck with an apartment with my ex and have completely fucked myself over, at least I made my first mistake & learned from it? Idk what to tell my mom or how the conversation should go. I don’t wanna be shunned again but then again I’ve never once been able to just do something and justify it with “it’s my life”. Advice/thoughts/bullshit/opinions? Have a blessed day, I appreciate your time & input more than you know.

Are you in search of a personal virtual assistant possessing exceptional verbal, organizational, and time management abilities? Or perhaps you're seeking someone to tackle a specific, one-time task?
Allow me to introduce myself: I'm G, a 21-year-old undergraduate student. Over the past years, I've ventured into the world of freelancing and primarily collaborated with clients based in the United States.
I offer my services at a rate of $5 per hour, and I'm comfortable with receiving payments through BTC or PayPal.
I'm here to offer a diverse range of services designed to make your life easier. Let me handle tasks such as:

• Basic Administrative Skills
• Efficient Email Management
• Precise Data Entry (Spreadsheets/Google Sheets)
• Ghost Writing, whether through AI Assistant or Manual Writing
• Prompt Chat Support
• In-depth Research
• Skillful Digital Marketing
• Proficiency in Word Processing, Desktop Publishing Tools, Presentation Tools, and Communication Tools
• Accurate Recording of meeting minutes, thoughtfully compiled in a Microsoft Word-based file
• Effective Social Media Management across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more!
• Eye-catching Graphic Design using Canva
• Project Management
• Shopify Product Editing, Designing, and Uploading
• Seamless Content Calendar Management
• Creative Video Editing for Reels, Shorts, and more
• Assistance with Apartment and Job Searches
• Partnership Proposals/Invitations
• Crafting Digital Downloads, Thank You Card templates, and Mockups that leave an impact

With my skills and dedication, I'm here to transform your workload into a breeze. Let's bring your ideas to life! Please do not hesitate to reach out to me through Reddit Chat and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible.
I look forward to working fruitfully with you!

Are you in search of a personal virtual assistant possessing exceptional verbal, organizational, and time management abilities? Or perhaps you're seeking someone to tackle a specific, one-time task?
Allow me to introduce myself: I'm G, a 21-year-old undergraduate student. Over the past years, I've ventured into the world of freelancing and primarily collaborated with clients based in the United States.
I offer my services at a rate of $5 per hour, and I'm comfortable with receiving payments through BTC or PayPal.
I'm here to offer a diverse range of services designed to make your life easier. Let me handle tasks such as:

• Basic Administrative Skills
• Efficient Email Management
• Precise Data Entry (Spreadsheets/Google Sheets)
• Ghost Writing, whether through AI Assistant or Manual Writing
• Prompt Chat Support
• In-depth Research
• Skillful Digital Marketing
• Proficiency in Word Processing, Desktop Publishing Tools, Presentation Tools, and Communication Tools
• Accurate Recording of meeting minutes, thoughtfully compiled in a Microsoft Word-based file
• Effective Social Media Management across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more!
• Eye-catching Graphic Design using Canva
• Project Management
• Shopify Product Editing, Designing, and Uploading
• Seamless Content Calendar Management
• Creative Video Editing for Reels, Shorts, and more
• Assistance with Apartment and Job Searches
• Partnership Proposals/Invitations
• Crafting Digital Downloads, Thank You Card templates, and Mockups that leave an impact

With my skills and dedication, I'm here to transform your workload into a breeze. Let's bring your ideas to life! Please do not hesitate to reach out to me through Reddit Chat and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible.
I look forward to working fruitfully with you!