PC
Reddit Account: FromTheInkpot Discord Tag: jayonline Name and House: Tessario of Lys Age: 28 Cultural Group: Valyrian Appearance: Taller than the average man, with slender and effeminate features. His skin is pale, his hair consists of curled white locks and his eyes are a vivid lilac. He favours black leathers with silver accents, and often adds coloured silks as sashes, belts, or capes. On the middle finger of his left hand he wears a signet ring of black steel and gold, used to seal letters from the Pearl Bank. Trait: Marketer Skill(s): Avaricious (e), Merchantman (e), Broker Talent(s): Linguistics, Arithmetic, Reading People Negative Trait(s): Sociopath (non-mechanical) Starting Title(s): Keyholder of the Pearl Bank, Heir to the blood of Altaerys (secret) Starting Location: Opening Event Alternate Characters: N/A
Bio: Born in the year 4BC, Tessario was the son of a Lyseni courtesan and a nobleman of the Old Blood who had left for the Black Walls of Volantis before he even knew of the child. Growing up in Lys, Tessario was raised by his mother in a small manse where she would teach him lessons learnt from the courts of the free city. Since his mother first spoke to him tales of Valyria and dragon riders, Tessario was enthralled. His bloodline was of the forty families, from one of the few dragonlords on Lys during the 'Night of Tears', when the dragonlords had been poisoned and their dragons slain by their very hosts - the magisters. That the dragon rider had been his ancestor was his family's deepest secret and one that could have seen them killed in generations past. The knowledge that the dragon riders of old were his very ancestors was almost too much for the young boy to keep secret. Especially now, when dragons had waged conquest on Westeros' shores so recently. But while the Targaryen's were said to wed brother to sister to keep their bond with the dragons strong, his family had not had a dragon rider in five generations. Since then his family's bloodline - the house of Altaerys, thought lost in the Doom of Valyria and the Century of Blood since, had become clouded with the Old Blood of Volantis during their occupation of Lys. And before that, diluted among the courts of Lys the Lovely, where none truly knew or at least none spoke of how much dragon blood they had. It was clear most of Lys had some. The features of silver-blond or white hair and the eyes of pale blue or shades of purple were all too common. The city was truly Valyrian. Who knew how many dragonlords' legacies his blood carried now? Tessario, with his pure Valyrian blood and features to match, had the fiery will of his ancestors but an uncommonly pragmatic mind. As he grew, so did his keen mind, picking up his numbers and letters faster than other boys his age. Raised in the turbulence of a city still reeling from the uprising against Volantis, Tessario learnt how violent people could be at a young age. Surrounded by the cruelties of slavery, he grew up numbed to the hardships of others. By nine name-days he would begin visiting the Temple of Trade where he and other boys would talk with the magisters and tradesmen who congregated there. From among these wealthy and noble men of the city, he and a lucky few others, would gain apprenticeships; a position that was highly coveted in the city of Lys, where trade was considered a profession more honorable than arms. Tessario shadowed his sponsor for three years, learning the inner workings of trade negotiations, currency exchange, and contract creation. He met several other apprentices who like him hungered for more, as well as making friends among the less prominent families of Lys all too keen to climb the social ladder. So, when his apprenticeship was over they formed a merchantile group of ambitious youths. Tessario and the others began with insurance cons and profitable arbitrage that filled their pockets and funded bigger schemes. The war in the Stepstones came as a wondrous opportunity for the newly founded group. The members invested heavily, with some overseeing the battles themselves. Luckily the Lysene forces met up with not only those of Tyrosh, but also ships from Dorne and the Stormlands. Tessario wore armour for the first time as he sailed sellswords to the fighting, though did no more than watch in actuality. War made them rich and for the first time in his life Tessario knew what it was to wield true power. The power to make others die for your ends. The pirate threat crumbled easily, but the true prizes were had after the fighting. Contracts for trade opened up and new ports to invest in saw the merchantile group grow faster than ever before. They hired lingering hedge knights and sellswords to protect their assets and even convinced some of the former pirate vessels to become corsairs under them. As the Stepstones begin to flourish, the group started to look further afield for other trade routes. In 18AC, just as Dorne began to invest heavily in Sunstone, Tessario sailed to Driftmark as one of three emissaries of their group tasked with finding new avenues for profit. It was while on this mission that Tessario first met Valarr Velaryon, Lord of the Tides. Seeking a base of operations outside of Lys, Tessario negotiated plans for a bank to be built in Spicetown, profiting from the flow of trade. Tessario broached the concept to the group telling them of the pearls found by fishermen in the pools of the island's coves and a contract for the Pearl Bank was drawn up. Tessario, as one of the two-and-twenty key holders, was now responsible for much. Construction began in late 19AC with a main building that was reinforced with strong stone and deep vaults. Pearl farms under the control of the bank were also created, with construction of the entire project finishing before the end of 24AC. During this time the bank engaged in numerous amounts of trade, amassing a full vault, as well as funding loans to the many growing businesses of Spicetown, merchants of the free cities, and other Houses of Westeros. This includes House Massey of Stonedance, House Celtigar of Claw Isle, and many other minor houses.
Timeline: - 4BC - Tessario is born in a Lysene manse. - 6AC - Begins a trade apprenticeship for three years. - 9AC - Forms a merchantile group in Lys. - 12AC - Funds the war in the Stepstones. - 13AC - War in the Stepstones ends. - 18AC - Visits Driftmark as an emissary, meeting Valarr Velaryon. - 19AC - The Pearl Bank begins construction. - 24AC - Construction is completed. - 25AC - Current day.
Family tree: https://familyecho.com/?p=START&c=izpgpsokcmwmhxa6&f=478495015333730745
AC
Name and House: Somovo Saan Age: 21 Cultural Group: Valyrian Appearance: Piercing blue eyes shine out from dark features. Somovo has a lean build and freckled face from years of sailing the Narrow and Summer Seas. Her skin is dark and her hair falls in long brown curls down past her shoulders, the occasional braid holding beads of copper. She often wears loose shirts and wide breeches that allow her skin to breathe the salty air of the sea, while sticking to practical leather boots for moving about the deck. She has a slender black cat named Sȳndor 'shadow' that lives on deck and prowls the bank offices while on shore. Trait: Reaver Skill(s): Raider, Fence, Tactician Talent(s): Winning at Tiles, Tying knots, Swimming Negative Trait(s): N/A Starting Title(s): Captain of the Spice Runner Starting Location: Opening Event Alternate Characters: N/A
Timeline: - 4AC - Somovo Saan is born in Lys. - 9AC - Somovo's father, Sarthos Saan, takes her on her first voyage to Tyrosh. - 12AC - Her father leaves to fight for the pirates in the Stepstones war. - 13AC - After the pirates defeat in the Steptones, her father is hired by a group of merchants from Lys. Somovo meets Tessario, one of the groups founders. - 18AC - Meets the sellsail Captain Laurei of Myr who becomes an inspiration for her to become a Captain of her own ship. - 19AC - When the Pearl Bank begins construction on Driftmark, Somovo is on deck with her father and they patrol the Narrow Sea together, guarding trading vessels and seeking opportunities for their new employer. - 21AC - Somovo is given command of her own ship and crew, becoming Captain of The Spice Runner, named after Spicetown. - 22AC - Her father's ship is lost at sea during a storm near Volantis. The corsairs previously under Sarthos turn to her for leadership by virtue of her blood. - 24AC - Construction of The Pearl Bank is completed on Driftmark. - 25AC - Current day.
NPCs Morio (30) - Cutthroat Every man of ambition needs a ruthless and silent right hand. Ser Thomas Storm (27) - Warrior Knighted by Ser Edwell Celtigar in the Stepstones and knowing he would gain no further gold or glory, he joined the merchantile group from Lys to train their retainers and act as Captain of the Guard to Tessario. Since then he notably won the joust at the Tourney at Aegon's Rest in 21AC.

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Craftopia Early Access	ELiTE		-
STAR WARS Battlefront 2015 Ultimate Edition	ElAmigos		-
Kingdom of Fallen The Last Stand	FLT	Steam	18.18% (2)
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Hexguardian.Update.v1.07-TENOKE	TENOKE	Steam	84.21% (256)
Great.Houses.of.Calderia.Update.v1.0.0.1298-TENOKE	TENOKE	Steam	71.16% (190)
Braid.Anniversary.Edition.Update.v20240514-TENOKE	TENOKE	Steam	95.59% (195)
SeaOrama.World.of.Shipping.Update.v2.0-TENOKE	TENOKE	GOG, Epic	-
Sons.Of.The.Forest.Update.8.MULTi16-x.X.RIDDICK.X.x	x.X.RIDDICK.X.x	Steam	86.13% (192.6k)

 
Q&A
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A: Yes. CS.RIN.RU is your friend.

I'm 21 and my bf is middle aged, he stays home all day. This isn't the part you judge lol.
I recently got a dog and wanted to have a camera so I could talk to him and make sure he's okay when we leave. I got the camera and set it up while my bf was in bed. I planned to scare the crap out of him by talking through it randomly during the day, and that's how he would find out I got the camera. What I didn't expect was to be able to see his phone from the camera... and hear it.
He started watching porn. Which isn't that big of a deal for me. It was a little bit of everything, started with interracial sex, then orgies. He then started masturbating. Again, I don't care about that part. He then switched tabs and went to a site that he already had an account set up for and began swiping through pictures of nude people in our area. It was a map, and you could click on people and see their profile of naked pics. This is when I realized he was messaging these people. He was commenting and sliding up to message people. Then I noticed... they were men. It was all guys and he was specifically looking for dick while he switched back and forth between gay porn and this site of men. He was watching videos of guys having sex, and then going to this site to message more guys about sex. He was still masturbating and was about to finish when a guy asked for pics. So he stopped, went to the bathroom (out of view) and took videos and pictures. He finished there because I heard it. He came out of the bathroom and watched the videos of himself and then sent them to multiple guys. He then texted me and asked if I was going anywhere after work. This makes me think he wanted one to come over, but I said I was coming straight home. He continued to sext these guys right until the moment I walked into my house.
I know that I shouldn't have set up the camera, and I know I should've told him. I definitely should not have watched what was obviously a very intimate moment for him, but he's also cheating on me, and I wouldn't have found out without this. I haven't told him yet and I'm debating if I should... what do I do, and am

Introduction

The main purpose of this guide will be to help unlock the golden dice for those of you who feel less confident about tackling honour mode. This is designed to be a path of least resistance, so we won’t be experiencing everything this game has to offer. It’s also worth noting that instead of focusing on min-maxing for damage; we prioritise safe & consistent damage. We don’t need to be respeccing characters often, if at all, and we won’t be relying on strength elixirs. My girlfriend (u/-babyjanehudson) and I put this together as we’ve beaten honour mode a 5 times now without any failed attempts, we were even in the first 800 people to beat it which is kinda cool! Here’s how we did it. First starting with our builds, then a little general advice and finally just a list of some general Do’s & Don’ts. Apologies for the wall of text.
​

Builds:

Bardlock (party face) - Great old one Warlock 2, college of lore bard 10 - Cha16>Dex16>Con14>Wis12

• Key items are the spell sparkler until Markoheshkir, potent robe, quickspell gloves, necklace of elemental augmentation & the warped headband of intellect (great for general party face checks in acts 1+2) at least until you get the birthright at sorcerers sundries in act 3. Once I reach act 3 and have persuaded half of the shadow cursed lands into dying, I personally choose to respec into Sorlock: 2 goolock, 2 fighter, 8 draconic sorcerer. It’s not necessary but I find it gives the edge in combat while in act 3, as there are less dialogue checks available that bard can abuse. Being a sorlock means every morning in camp I can convert ALL level 1+2 spell slots into extra sorcery slots meaning my bonus action is now always being used for eldritch blast thanks to quickened spell meta magic plus we have action surge :) Skill priority for this character is Persuasuion > Intimidation > Deception > Performance > Perception > Investigation. Credit to u/kethrynweryn for this build, it’s easily my fav in the game.

​
Life cleric 12 - Wis16>Con16>Dex14>Str
(light cleric does more damage so is technically better for experienced players but a life cleric is there to save your run in case of an emergency, something pretty invaluable to beginners in HM as we can’t assume we are winning every fight in the first 2 turns like we ideally aim to)

• key items are reapers embrace, sentinel shield, hell riders pride, the whispering promise & blood of lathander. Other items of note would be luminous armor & the radiant/illumation rings. Most fights will simply involve casting spirit guardians at its highest level and running through crowds of enemies like you’re mowing a lawn, picking up the war caster feat is brilliant for helping you keep concentration when taking attacks of opportunity but i know as a feat it’s a little divisive, just my personal preference. This setup trivialises all combat encounters in act 2. Just remember to check enemies for radiant retort, they’re few and far between but can fuck things up if you forget.

​
Swords Bard Archer (Lockpicker) - 6 Swords Bard, 4 Rogue Thief, 2 Fighter - Dex17>Cha14>Con14>Wis12>Str

• Key items are hag hair (+1dex), titan string, risky ring, hill giant club, helm of arcane acuity & band of the mystic scoundrel. With this setup every time you attack, you can hold person, fear, vicious mockery or invisibility as a bonus action :) Just make sure to use your slashing flourish as much as possible to maximise damage. Don’t forget to get to the high ground whenever possible to increase your damage.

Skill priority for this character is Sleight of hand > Stealth > Perception > Persuasion > Intimidation > Deception > Acrobatics
​
Barbarian - Wild heart Bear Barb 8, Battle Master Fighter 4 - Str16>Con16>Dex14>Wis12

• Key items are more flexible here as this build is less dependant on gear. I recommend grabbing the Everburn blade if you can, it really helps during the slog of act 1 (to get it easily, when you first find Shadowheart on the nautiloid immediately swap any one of the spells in her book for Command, then use command drop on Zhalk and steal his sword. I do not recommend trying to fight him for it). Most the time you’ll just wear the usual barb stuff, bracers of defence & a 2H weapon of your choice. If you’re willing to brave Raphael & Ansur this build becomes a powerhouse with the gauntlets of hill giant strength, amulet of health & Baldurans giantslayer. These items are incredible but are also locked behind fights which pose the highest risk to your run, prepare carefully and if you don't feel confident enough then don’t be ashamed to just skip them. Anyway we take wild heart bear because being resistant to everything but psychic damage is really underrated. You can use this character to abuse the poor souls that your swords bard has been using hold person on for easy crits. Make sure to always use reckless attack. Initially it sounds bizarre but stick with me, you want enemies to have advantage against your barb. Attacking recklessly while keeping your AC capped around 17~19 means the computer always prioritises attacking your barb’ over the rest of your party. This is great as we will be taking half damage from every source other than psychic. Not to mention if you’re always using reckless attack, the feat Great Weapon Master no longer has a downside, so it becomes a reliable +10 to damage.

​
Final note for builds:
As you’ve probably noticed, yes almost everybody in the party takes a dip in fighter for access to action surge & shield proficiency. I learned this habit from Colby like everything else I know. He’s the Bob Ross of DnD builds and well worth your time.
​

General Advice

The most important factor in honour mode is “meta knowledge”, This means things like: knowing how to enter each combat effectively, making sure everyone is in a good position before starting, knowing exactly which enemies/spells you’ll face during that fight and ensuring you always take the enemy by surprise to gain a free turn. Being properly prepared is better than any build. As for difficulty, Act 1 is always going to be your biggest challenge so use plenty of rests and pick your fights carefully. For this guide I also recommend using your bard to persuade the act 2 bosses into committing suicide.

Do’s:

• Always have a these spells prepared: longstrider, aid, enhance ability, bless, misty step, heroes feast, counterspell, shield & guidance.
  
• Buy the ring of bless from Volo the moment you meet him at the grove.
  
• Steal Laezel’s armor at the start if you’re not using her, it’s great medium armor in the first few hours.
  
• Let Volo take your eye for a permanent see invisibility buff.
  
• Barbarian should always use reckless attack
  
• Buy & craft every potion of speed you can get your grubby mitts on. With the slight nerfs to Haste in HM potions of speed are a safer alternative.
  
• Take the Hag hair +1dex for swords bard and most the time just let Ethel have Mayrina, its fiddly to control who Ethel will offer the deal to so just go in being prepared to sacrifice Mayrina.
  
• Talk to crusher outside the goblin camp and persuade him to kiss your feet. He'll run off embaressed, follow him to the bridge away from all the other goblins. Now you can safely and easily kill him to loot his ring which increases movement speed.
  
• Use your party face to poison the goblin camp in act 1, killing over half of them outside before even entering combat and then the party face can simply deny everything.
  
• Look up the wiki page for every boss and check their legendary resistances/actions BEFORE starting the encounter. Ethel, inquisitor w’wargaz, cazador, steel watch titan & Nether brain specifically can do some seriously nasty stuff that’s exclusive to HM & can easily catch you off guard.
  
• Kill Balthazar in his room/lab where you first meet him. To make the fight even easier you can take flesh into the self same trial using the bell so you don’t have to fight him alongside Balthazar. Either way it’s a much easier than the fighting in the shadowfell.
  
• Take alert if someone has a spare feat available, otherwise increasing your main ability score is usually the best bet.
  
• Cast sanctuary on Isobel during the raid on the last light in, a lot easier than chasing after her trying to heal & blade ward her. Alternatively ignore her altogether, go straight to ambush against the drider, grab the lantern and release dolly dolly dolly, allowing you to skip the Isobel & Marcus’s fight altogether.
  
• Keep characters ability scores in even values when possible, odd values do not change anything (with a slight exception to constitution as odd values still give a little extra hp).
  
• Try to keep all characters at 12 Wis or higher to avoid being feared, charmed or hold person’d.
  
• Cast darkness over Halsins portal to prevent enemies attacking it.
  
• Take Gortash's deal to skip his fight & the steel foundry.
  
• Use minor illusion to group enemies together & pull them out of position before initiating combat. You can also use this method to fix broken NPC’s when they’re not standing where they’re meant to. Looking at you Alfira & Lakrissa.
  
• If you’re open to a little cheesing you can leave some ranged/throwing party members on the steps before the Grym boss fight. Now just rain hell down on the boss from safety.
  
• Globe of invulnerability is exactly as broken as it sounds. These scrolls restock daily at sorcerers sundries & trivialise every boss encounter in act 3. Ansur specifically has no way of countering this.
  
• Illithid powers. These wriggly little cuties are some of the strongest buffs/abilities available. I recommend having every possible party member take atleast: favourable beginnings, luck of the far realms, ability drain & cull the weak. If you opt to go half illithid then you get access to some outrageous kit such as: fly, psionic dominance, illithid expertise & blackhole.
  
• Summon any minions before casting Aid, Heroes feast, Longstrider & other morning buffs.
  
• Use your potions, elixirs & scrolls as much as possible. They’re literally everywhere & with good reason. A well timed potion of invisibility or scroll of misty step can save a run.
  
• Most people know this already but don’t forget you can throw healing potions at allies in a pinch.
  
• Before descending the stairs to Cazador’s fight have a party member go invisible. They can run over and free Astarion before rolling initiative. This method can also be used to free Volo, Mayrina, Aylin or set up smokepowder barrels for a one turn kill.
  
• Use darkness to cover any pickpocketing and then flee the area before the NPC notices they've been got.
  
• Only trade with vendors using your highest persuasion character.
  
• Give your frequently visited vendors a few hundred gold to max out their attitude. this way you have the best prices for both buying and selling.
  
• Remember you can skip the final fight altogether using the dialogue option (important distinction) to blow Gale up at the brain stem in act 3.
  

Don’ts:

• Don’t awaken at the Zaithisk unless you’re certain you can make the checks, there is a great guide on respeccing for this exact moment credit to u/kodiak3393.
  
• Don't use friends, guidance or any other spell when bargaining with Ethel for Mayrina & the hag hair. It will trigger Ethel's legendary action and prevent you from getting the hag hair.
  
• Don’t free Orpheus unless you're prepared to also fight the Emperor in the final fight.
  
• Don’t play as durge for the first time. Worth noting the cloak exclusive to durge is easily the best in the game but being durge throws the player some unexpected curveballs that can end a run if you're not prepared.
  
• Don’t keep sharpshooter toggled on permanenlty unless you’ve got risky ring or oil of accuracy.
  
• Don’t try & save the gondians, don’t go to the iron throne, do not pass go, do not collect £200
  
• Don’t underestimate Flind the and other Gnolls who are attacking Rugan in act 1, you ideally want to be level 4 before this fight. Ensure to start the encounter from insidde the cave where Rugan is trapped, it can be accessed from the area near the fake paladins of tyr & Karlach.
  
• Don’t use the cantrip Friends unless you plan on immediately leaving the area or killing the target.
  
• Don’t convince Ketheric to commit suicide at the mindlfayer colony. Instead use the first phase of the fight to get into position & takeout the Mindflayer asasp then get to work on the apostles. Makes phase 2 infinitely easier.
  
• Don’t talk to Wulbren or the Tieflings in the Moonrise prison until you’ve killed the warden and all the guards . These guards are utterly brain dead and somehow will never inform anyone upstairs of your massacre, regardless of how stealthily or raucously you tackle them. So just go hog wild. This’ll secure your potent robe with ease.
  

​
[Updated & reformatted version of the guide I wrote and posted a few months ago on bg3builds with my old account u/JoseMongo]

I'm 21 and my bf is middle aged, he stays home all day. This isn't the part you judge lol.
I recently got a dog and wanted to have a camera so I could talk to him and make sure he's okay when we leave. I got the camera and set it up while my bf was in bed. I planned to scare the crap out of him by talking through it randomly during the day, and that's how he would find out I got the camera. What I didn't expect was to be able to see his phone from the camera... and hear it.
He started watching porn. Which isn't that big of a deal for me. It was a little bit of everything, started with interracial sex, then orgies. He then started masturbating. Again, I don't care about that part. He then switched tabs and went to a site that he already had an account set up for and began swiping through pictures of nude people in our area. It was a map, and you could click on people and see their profile of naked pics. This is when I realized he was messaging these people. He was commenting and sliding up to message people. Then I noticed... they were men. It was all guys and he was specifically looking for dick while he switched back and forth between gay porn and this site of men. He was watching videos of guys having sex, and then going to this site to message more guys about sex. He was still masturbating and was about to finish when a guy asked for pics. So he stopped, went to the bathroom (out of view) and took videos and pictures. He finished there because I heard it. He came out of the bathroom and watched the videos of himself and then sent them to multiple guys. He then texted me and asked if I was going anywhere after work. This makes me think he wanted one to come over, but I said I was coming straight home. He continued to sext these guys right until the moment I walked into my house.
I know that I shouldn't have set up the camera, and I know I should've told him. I definitely should not have watched what was obviously a very intimate moment for him, but he's also cheating on me, and I wouldn't have found out without this. I haven't told him yet and I'm debating if I should... what do I do, and am I in the wrong here?

I'm 21 and always wanted to get into programming and dabbled in it at home, but until now i haven't had the opportunity to go to college. I'm going for CS, but I've yet to chose my electives. I'd like to supplement my Associate's CS degree with the best college electives that prepare me for a job in ML/AI, but more importantly being useful in the workforce. I've heard these recommendations: Statistics, Minor in EE (Signals and Systems/Electrical Networks), Technical Communications, and also that Psych and Philosophy can be somewhat useful. Any more recommendations or criticism would be much appreciated. Edit: I do plan on going for my bachelors, even if I get a job in the industry before I finish college. Opportunistically they would pay to finish my bachelors.

So I’ll just say it, I’m not someone certain we’re mooning, or someone who can just meme away their financial losses. I’ll also say I was stupid and definitely shouldn’t be here. I misjudged my risk appetite and now I’m pretty bummed out.
I get everyone wants to make money on this, obviously, but I’m in no way a diamond handed dude who can hold this till 0. I’m a paper handed bitch and I’m probably not the only one, so before I ditch, before all the paper handed people ditch, what are your rational points for staying? Nobody seems to have made sense of RKs plan yet. We’re all just trusting that he’s got a decent plan that we can all benefit from, one good enough to temporarily beat hedges. Don’t get me wrong, from his “happy cat day” posts on that account this has clearly been in the pipeline for a while and he’s a smart dude. But his tweets aren’t influencing price anymore.
People don’t have the money they had in 21 from stimulus cheques. Large players in the game are aware of social media attacks now, this isn’t the first big one. It’s safe to assume they’ve studied what happened and have an idea how to prevent it happening again. I’m no clued up investor but I just don’t see the game plan here.
So yeah, any actual points about why this is worth holding. We’re dangerously close to my stop loss now and crashing towards it daily. What’s the silver lining of this cloud?
TLDR: Paper handed bitch who FOMOd and can’t hack it. Any rational point in staying?

I'm a bibliophile by nature and I've collected so many books over the years. Not that I've read them all, but I plan to. I stopped reading fiction a long time ago, and now it's mostly religious, metaphysical or esoterica that I look for. Reference books are my favorite, though. There's nothing like a reference book that provides questions and answers you never even considered before. Those are gold.
I have so many I cherish, but my absolute favorite is A Dictionary of Angels (including fallen angels) by Davidson. I love to just, almost comically, but sometimes ominously, let my mind go and play when reading it. Pondering the all of the possibilities people have believed throughout history.
Any favorites or must haves?

I have 43,373 MQMs to roll over. I am a Platinum for 2024 and I'm just about to hit Gold for 2025. I'll be at $10,164 MQDs on Monday and I have no plans to fly Delta the remainder of the year or ever (AA pilot). I only have 35,040 miles currently. My 2 options are $4,373 MQDs or about 21,000 miles. Which would be the best choice?

https://minimalfreaks.co/2024/05/mainstage-top-100-may-2024/

1. Sharam – PATT (Party All The Time) (Adam Beyer, Layton Giordani & Green Velvet Remix) 05:47 133bpm 3B
2. David Guetta, Hypaton – Feeling Good (Extended) 05:08 126bpm 5B
3. Tiesto, Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike, W&W, Dido, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike – Thank You (Not So Bad) (Extended) 04:51 150bpm 1A
4. Layton Giordani – Paranoid (Extended Mix) 05:07 132bpm 1B
5. Dom Dolla – Saving Up (Odd Mob Extended Remix) 04:35 134bpm 1B
6. BENNETT (DE) – Vois sur ton chemin (Extended Techno Mix) 03:55 138bpm 7A
7. HI-LO, Danny Avila (ES) – PARADISE (Extended Mix) 05:22 133bpm 3A
8. MOGUAI, Tiesto – Explode (Extended Mix) 04:16 128bpm 2A
9. KREAM – So Hï (Extended Mix) 04:59 130bpm 12A
10. Leila K, Maddix – Open Sesame (Abracadabra) [feat. Leila K] feat. Leila K (Extended Mix) 05:45 155bpm 2B
11. Ceres, Maddix – Adrenalina (Minha Gasolina) (Extended Mix) 05:22 142bpm 1B
12. Eli Brown, Lilly Palmer – Gasoline (Original Mix) 06:08 137bpm 6A
13. Hardwell, Blasterjaxx, Maddix – 16 (Extended Mix) 05:10 145bpm 6B
14. Fafaq, Neitan, DJ Kuba – Calabria (Extended Mix) 04:06 125bpm 5B
15. Will Sparks – Light (Extended Mix) 05:12 132bpm 10B
16. Neitan, DJ Kuba, Bounce Inc. – Blade (Extended Mix) 05:00 136bpm 4B
17. Lilly Palmer – Hare Ram (Extended Mix) 05:52 137bpm 11B
18. John W, Allison Nunes – Satisfaction (Extended Mix) 04:12 130bpm 6B
19. Eli Brown – Be The One (Extended Mix) 05:19 136bpm 6B
20. Luciana, Hardwell, Maddix – ACID feat. Luciana (Extended Mix) 04:26 135bpm 7A
21. EKE, Nifra – Pull Me In (Extended Mix) 04:13 138bpm 3A
22. Mason, Princess Superstar – Perfect (Exceeder) (Oliver Heldens Extended Remix) 05:11 136bpm 3B
23. Danny Avila (ES) – Chase The Sun (Extended VIP) 06:00 132bpm 11B
24. Push, Reinier Zonneveld, Hannah Laing – Bouncing Ball (Original Mix) 05:36 74bpm 11A
25. Benny Benassi, David Guetta – Satisfaction (Extended Mix) 04:53 126bpm 6B
26. Eli Brown – Diamonds On My Mind (Extended Mix) 05:20 136bpm 3A
27. Giuseppe Ottaviani, Gabry Ponte, Malou – In My Mind feat. Malou (Extended Mix) 04:25 132bpm 4A
28. Green Velvet, Dajae, HI-LO – LIFT ME UP (Extended Mix) 05:56 134bpm 2B
29. Alan Fitzpatrick, Joyhauser – Craving (Original Mix) 06:20 138bpm 9B
30. Retrovision – Shake It (Extended Mix) 03:38 130bpm 6A
31. BENNETT (DE) – Lullaby (Extended) 03:57 142bpm 3A
32. Blasterjaxx – JUMP AND RAVE (Extended Mix) 03:25 140bpm 12B
33. Manu Chao, Francis Mercier – Bongo Bong – Je ne t’aime plus (Francis Mercier Remix) (Extended) 05:19 128bpm 8A
34. Benny Benassi, David Guetta – Satisfaction (Hardwell & Maddix Extended Remix) (Original Mix) 05:33 135bpm 3A
35. D-Devils, Reinier Zonneveld – Judgement Day (Original Mix) 04:46 160bpm 6A
36. Mau P – Your Mind Is Dirty (Extended Mix) 05:17 128bpm 4B
37. Uberjak’d, David Rust, Ella Young – Go Insane (feat. Ella Young) (Extended Mix) 04:24 150bpm 3A
38. David Guetta, MORTEN – The Future Is Now (Extended Mix) 04:40 125bpm 9B
39. The YellowHeads, HLGRMS – Sandstorm (2024 Extended Mix) 06:40 136bpm 9A
40. Mariana BO, T78 – Voices (Extended Mix) 04:03 145bpm 3B
41. David Guetta, Kim Petras – When We Were Young (The Logical Song) (Seth Hills Remix Extended) 04:00 130bpm 7B
42. Avao – BANG (Extended Mix) 05:22 134bpm 3A
43. KSHMR, 22Bullets – Devotion (Extended Mix) 04:22 136bpm 2B
44. Orjan Nilsen – Toxic 4 Me (Extended Mix) 05:43 127bpm 6A
45. KAAZE – The Way (Extended Mix) 03:35 135bpm 4B
46. Belocca – Rudeboy Ramping (Original Mix) 05:42 132bpm 12B
47. Wade – Let’s Get Jack (Extended Mix) 05:08 126bpm 4A
48. Eric Prydz – Call on Me (Original Mix) 07:34 126bpm 6B
49. Armin van Buuren, Trevor Guthrie – This Is What It Feels Like feat. Trevor Guthrie (Armin van Buuren 2023 Extended Remix) 05:39 130bpm 4A
50. Nicolas Julian – Bad Girls (Extended Mix) 04:12 154bpm 2B
51. Eric Prydz, Floyd – Proper Education (Club Mix) 06:09 125bpm 7A
52. BIXXB – on_my_head (Original Mix) 02:57 130bpm 2A
53. Nifra, Frank Spector – Comme Un Reve (Original Mix) 04:35 136bpm 12B
54. Scrufizzer, Aazar, SQWAD – Mad Move (Extended Mix) 04:44 130bpm 11A
55. David Guetta, Sia – Titanium (feat. Sia) (David Guetta & MORTEN Future Rave Extended Mix) 05:45 126bpm 8B
56. Shouse – Love Tonight (David Guetta Extended Remix) 04:15 126bpm 5A
57. Steve Dekay, Revealed Recordings – Dark System (Extended Mix) 04:39 140bpm 2B
58. Plastik Funk, Bellini, Rave Republic – Samba De Janeiro (Extended Mix) 03:21 130bpm 11B
59. Eli Brown – Believe (Reinier Zonneveld & Zeltak 2024 Remix) 04:48 150bpm 6B
60. Mike Williams – The Alarm (Extended Mix) 03:50 139bpm 4B
61. Enveak – Drop It (Extended Mix) 04:41 140bpm 4A
62. Firebeatz – Out Of Control (Extended Mix) 03:58 130bpm 8B
63. Le Pedre – Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) [VINNE Remix] (Extended Mix) 03:15 140bpm 7A
64. MEIRLIN – Spaceflight 2099 (Extended Mix) 03:52 135bpm 2B
65. Tiesto – Lethal Industry (Maddix Extended Remix) 04:32 135bpm 9B
66. Mr. Belt & Wezol – Homeless (Extended Mix) 04:39 121bpm 8A
67. Isek – In Your Head (Extended Mix) 03:49 140bpm 6A
68. Arkins, Koriz, H93 – Photon (Extended Mix) 03:17 140bpm 10B
69. Bassjackers – All Around The World (La La La La La) (Extended Mix) 03:12 140bpm 8A
70. Bassjackers, Hardwell – Energy (Extended Mix) 03:33 136bpm 6A
71. Will Sparks, Gigi Russ – Round Round (Extended Mix) 04:36 131bpm 4B
72. Ben Kim – Somebody To Love (DANNY AVILA Extended Remix) 05:42 134bpm 2B
73. Melvin Warning, Artento Divini, Divini & Warning – Bring That Beat Back (Extended Mix) 04:44 136bpm 12B
74. Matt Bukovski – This Energy (Extended Mix) 03:54 134bpm 4A
75. Adaptiv – Louder (Extended Mix) 03:34 132bpm 10B
76. Gabry Ponte – Crusade (Club Extended Mix) 03:56 150bpm 2A
77. Armin van Buuren, Goodboys – Forever (Stay Like This) (Extended Club Mix) 04:19 128bpm 7A
78. W&W, AXMO – Heaven Is A Place On Earth (Extended Mix) 03:52 128bpm 12B
79. Mesto, Martin Garrix, Wilhelm – Breakaway (Extended Mix) 03:58 128bpm 6B
80. Armin van Buuren, Anne Gudrun – Love Is A Drug feat. Anne Gudrun (Extended Mix) 05:22 128bpm 11A
81. Andre VII, I Hate Models, El Columpio Asesino – Toro (I Hate Models Speed Up Revival Edit of Andre VII RMX) 06:11 150bpm 4B
82. W&W, Italobrothers, Captain Curtis – Jump Jump Jump (Extended Mix) 03:46 152bpm 8A
83. David Guetta, MORTEN – The Truth (Extended Mix) 03:56 128bpm 4B
84. DubVision, Martin Garrix, JAiMES – Empty (Extended Mix) 04:20 127bpm 3B
85. MORTEN – Can You Feel It (Extended Mix) 03:39 126bpm 12B
86. Tiesto – Traffic (Maddix Extended Remix) 04:03 136bpm 1A
87. HI-LO, Space 92 – Arpeggio (Extended Mix) 05:43 130bpm 6A
88. NWYR – Fight Club (Extended Mix) 04:34 138bpm 3A
89. T78, Westend, Noizu, No/Me – Push To Start feat. No/Me (T78 Remix) 06:11 135bpm 7B
90. Chris Lake, Alexis Roberts – Turn off the Lights (feat. Alexis Roberts) (Extended Version) 04:52 125bpm 9A
91. Sunny Lax – Prison Of The Mind (Extended Mix) 06:22 128bpm 9B
92. Messy, Yamas, KXXMA – Break The Rules (Extended Mix) 03:40 145bpm 5A
93. Skytech – Push It To The Limit (Extended Mix) 05:12 135bpm 10B
94. Benny Benassi, The Biz – Satisfaction (Just_us Extended Remix) 03:58 126bpm 6B
95. 4 Strings, Hardwell, Maddix – Take Me Away Again (Extended Mix) 04:55 138bpm 2A
96. Taylr Renee, Stadiumx – Howl At The Moon (Extended Stadiumx Rework) 06:06 126bpm 6B
97. Steve Angello, Corey James – Rave ‘N’ Roll (Corey James Extended Remix) 05:35 127bpm 9A
98. Gigi D’Agostino – Bla Bla Bla (Original Mix) 04:16 133bpm 2A
99. Frankyeffe, BELLADONNA+ – Feed Me (Extended Mix) 05:43 140bpm 11B
100. shotgunwedding – Intervention (Original Mix) 05:10 126bpm 9B

https://minimalfreaks.co/2024/05/uk-garage-bassline-top-100-may-2024/

1. Sammy Virji – If U Need It (Extended Mix) 03:57 132bpm 3A
2. Hamdi – Counting (Sammy Virji Remix) 03:34 134bpm 9A
3. MPH – One Sixty (Original Mix) 03:49 135bpm 1B
4. Cutty Ranks, Oppidan – Armed & Dangerous (Original Mix) 03:54 133bpm 2B
5. Oppidan – Mr. Sandman (Original Mix) 02:25 132bpm 10A
6. Champion, Killa P, Bushbaby – We Multiply (Original Mix) 03:49 135bpm 8A
7. MPH – Run It (Original Mix) 03:31 140bpm 1B
8. Audiojack – Somebody (Original Mix) 05:48 131bpm 12A
9. MPH – The Streets (Original Mix) 04:25 132bpm 10A
10. Sammy Virji – Moonlight (Original Mix) 05:46 135bpm 2B
11. Riordan – Needle On The Record (4am Extended Mix) 04:07 67bpm 12A
12. Future, Swedish House Mafia, Fred again.. – Turn On The Lights again.. (feat. Future) (Original Mix) 04:28 132bpm 11A
13. Bushbaby – DESIRE96 (Original Mix) 04:13 138bpm 4B
14. Eats Everything, Lily McKenzie, Chris Lorenzo – Ghosts (Extended) 05:32 135bpm 6A
15. Jhelisa – Friendly Pressure (Into The Sunshine Edit) 03:49 127bpm 6B
16. Jack Walker (UK) – Dub Control (Original Mix) 05:47 134bpm 9A
17. skantia – 2Drill (Kippo & Scruz Remix) 03:18 93bpm 6B
18. Champion, Sammy Virji – Hot In Here (Original Mix) 03:11 132bpm 12B
19. MPH – Stop Dawdling (Original Mix) 04:00 128bpm 2A
20. salute, Sammy Virji – Peach (Original Mix) 05:45 135bpm 5A
21. Riko Dan, Rudimental, Skepsis, Charlotte Plank – Green & Gold (Champion Remix) 03:07 136bpm 9A
22. Bushbaby – Ghettoblaster (Extended Mix) 05:04 140bpm 4A
23. Veritas (UK) – Higher Energy (Original Mix) 05:15 131bpm 6A
24. Jack Walker (UK) – Underground Bump (Original Mix) 06:44 135bpm 4A
25. Flowdan, Sammy Virji – Shella Verse (Original Mix) 02:43 134bpm 9B
26. Odd Mob – LEFT TO RIGHT (33 Below Remix) 03:38 136bpm 9A
27. Sammy Virji, piri & tommy – on & on (Sammy Virji Remix) 02:12 128bpm 10A
28. Sammy Virji – Daga Da (Original Mix) 03:48 132bpm 3A
29. Gesture – YM HO (Guau Remix) 04:01 135bpm 8A
30. Smokey Bubblin’ B – Poison (Original Mix) 04:36 127bpm 10A
31. Skeptic, Sophia Violet – Want Me (Extended Mix) 05:45 137bpm 7A
32. Flowdan, Sammy Virji – Shella Verse (Extended Mix) 03:27 134bpm 9B
33. Oppidan – Follow Me (Original Mix) 04:21 132bpm 9A
34. Cotto, jyc. – M1 Massive (Original Mix) 05:42 136bpm 1B
35. Hudson Mohawke, Tayla Parx, Nikki Nair – Set The Roof feat. Tayla Parx (Original Mix) 04:28 134bpm 5A
36. Sammy Virji, Oppidan – Foundation (Original Mix) 03:56 135bpm 9A
37. Oppidan – You & I (Original Mix) 03:33 135bpm 5A
38. Sammy Virji – Sinking Sailor (Original Mix) 04:03 130bpm 8A
39. 1TK, Operator P – 1 Putt Shooter (Original Mix) 04:52 135bpm 8A
40. JACKARD – Down N Out’ (PARKER. Remix) 06:40 132bpm 5A
41. ODF – Riddim & Flow (Original Mix) 05:22 137bpm 4A
42. Bushbaby – Rock Upon The Mic (Original Mix) 05:25 140bpm 5A
43. Sosa UK – Your Love (Extended) 05:28 132bpm 5A
44. Bullet Tooth – YOUR LOVE (Original Mix) 03:14 140bpm 7B
45. Duskus – Cut (Original Mix) 01:58 68bpm 1B
46. Tomy – Coco (Original Mix) 03:36 135bpm 7B
47. Bushbaby – Locked On (Original Mix) 04:17 136bpm 3A
48. MPH – Show Me (Original Mix) 03:28 68bpm 3A
49. Shima, Oppidan, camoufly – See Me feat. SHIMA (Original Mix) 03:04 130bpm 12A
50. MJ Cole, Eliza Rose – Business As Usual (night shift mix) (Original Mix) 04:14 133bpm 4A
51. Seb Zito – Take It Easy (Extended Mix) 05:12 129bpm 1A
52. Milion – Back In The Spot (Original Mix) 06:29 129bpm 1A
53. DJ Jackum – Noise Inside (Original Mix) 04:07 132bpm 4A
54. Sammy Virji – Find My Way Home (Original Mix) 04:18 136bpm 2B
55. Higgo, mustbejohn – Pretty Little Raver (Extended Mix) 04:00 138bpm 4A
56. Pavane – Venom (Original Mix) 03:47 135bpm 8A
57. BVNQUET – Murder On The Dancefloor (UKG Extended Edit) 03:32 138bpm 12A
58. LWRNCE & CONNMAC – Another Way (Original Mix) 06:45 133bpm 5A
59. MSFT – dontwaiT (Original Mix) 03:24 85bpm 1A
60. Ozzie Guven – Badderz (Original Mix) 05:45 134bpm 11A
61. Eloq – Alarmed (Extended Mix) 05:12 135bpm 1A
62. MPH, Royal-T – Compass (Original Mix) 03:49 67bpm 6A
63. ODF – Know Dis (Original Mix) 05:17 136bpm 4A
64. Zero, Flava D – On My Line (Original Mix) 03:22 134bpm 3A
65. MPH, Royal-T – Flatline (Original Mix) 03:49 137bpm 4A
66. ATW, Interplanetary Criminal, Main Phase – 100%% (Original Mix) 06:03 140bpm 10B
67. Lemtom – Wanna See U (Original Mix) 05:22 129bpm 6A
68. Guau, Jormek – Everything (Original Mix) 04:12 66bpm 4A
69. Skyhigh – Blind (Original Mix) 04:00 135bpm 9A
70. Club Angel – Informer (Original Mix) 04:07 140bpm 3A
71. Bullet Tooth – IMMACULATE SKANK (Original Mix) 03:42 140bpm 8A
72. Ross from Friends – The One (Original Mix) 05:01 131bpm 7A
73. Bakey – Limit (Original Mix) 04:54 83bpm 4B
74. Silva Bumpa – Passion (Original Mix) 04:40 135bpm 4A
75. H4RDY, DJ co.kr – LIFE IS HECTIC (Original Mix) 02:45 135bpm 1A
76. Efan – Let The Rhythm (Original Mix) 03:54 140bpm 8A
77. salute, Sammy Virji – Peach VIP (Original Mix) 05:45 135bpm 4A
78. salute – Wait For It (Original Mix) 03:59 133bpm 3A
79. Raye, Disclosure – Waterfall (Club Edit) 03:52 128bpm 10A
80. Silva Bumpa – What About The DJ? (Original Mix) 04:16 138bpm 7A
81. Kneptunes – PULL UP (Original Mix) 03:40 132bpm 11A
82. Seb Zito – Back Again (Extended Mix) 05:53 131bpm 8A
83. Nickolai – Show Me (Original Mix) 04:22 132bpm 12A
84. Gandalf – One Plus One (Original Mix) 03:47 135bpm 2A
85. Efan, Banditt – No Contest (Original Mix) 03:13 140bpm 5A
86. ZeroFG – Godzilla Dub (Original Mix) 04:21 134bpm 4A
87. The Trip (UK) – Big Buzz (Original Mix) 05:45 130bpm 9A
88. Bakey, Capo Lee – AM TO PM (Original Mix) 04:13 132bpm 4A
89. Soul Mass Transit System – Listen (Original Mix) 05:34 137bpm 10A
90. DJ Zinc, MPH – Follow Me (MPH Remix) 03:57 132bpm 11A
91. Skepta, Headie One – Back to Basics (Floating Points Remix) 03:49 139bpm 1A
92. ODF – Want Love (Original Mix) 05:17 140bpm 6B
93. K-Lone, Wilfy D – On The Down Low (Original Mix) 04:25 132bpm 10A
94. Animate – Pull Up (Original Mix) 03:56 134bpm 1A
95. Club Angel – Stylin’ (Original Mix) 03:44 140bpm 11A
96. PVC, SHOSH, ance. – Trouble (Original Mix) 02:54 135bpm 1A
97. Cotto – Chopped Up Charlie (Original Mix) 04:54 140bpm 7A
98. p-rallel – It’s a Lundun Thing (Original Mix) 04:11 140bpm 10A
99. Interplanetary Criminal – Supreme Level (Original Mix) 05:05 130bpm 8A
100. Sweet Female Attitude – Flowers (Sunship Edit) (Original Mix) 03:49 132bpm 5B

https://minimalfreaks.co/2024/05/trance-raw-deep-hypnotic-top-100-may-2024/

1. Luke Alessi, Chloé Caillet – 12 Inch Acid (Original Mix) 06:34 132bpm 10B
2. Demi Riquísimo – Windows 95 Anthem (Chloé Caillet Remix) 06:54 135bpm 3B
3. Protoculture – States Of Flux (Extended Mix) 07:38 126bpm 8A
4. Sasha – Fleuron Drift (Theo Kottis Remix) 06:49 130bpm 7B
5. Estiva – Via Infinita (Marsh Extended Remix) 06:34 128bpm 11A
6. Pico Boulevard – Oblivion (Enlusion Remix) 10:18 128bpm 4A
7. Duderstadt – Muhanjala (Dylhen Extended Remix) 07:00 124bpm 5A
8. Ruben Karapetyan – Meteorite (Jerome Isma-Ae Remix) 06:29 124bpm 10B
9. Dj Rafis – X Ponential Life (Original Mix) 08:12 132bpm 11A
10. Nomas, Deestopia – Avantgarde (Extended Mix) 07:03 127bpm 8A
11. Breeder – Tyrantanic (Freedo Mosho & Maze 28 Remix) 07:50 122bpm 8B
12. Airwave – Alexanderplatz (Extended Mix) 07:57 132bpm 8B
13. Airod – Meet Me In The Club (Original Mix) 05:27 145bpm 6A
14. X-Coast – Marathon Man (Extended) 04:42 138bpm 9B
15. Airwave – The Principles of Forgiveness (Extended Mix) 07:36 128bpm 12A
16. Fuenka – Foundation (Basil O’Glue & Nomas Extended Remix) 07:58 126bpm 6A
17. Protoculture – Starfield (Extended Mix) 06:50 126bpm 9B
18. Solee – On the Other Side (Original Mix) 06:43 124bpm 4A
19. Aldonna – The Empress’ Acid Line (Alex Kassian Remix) 07:58 133bpm 5B
20. Der Dritte Raum – Trommelmaschine (2024 Remastered Version) 06:40 135bpm 10B
21. Spray (IE) – Ceathair (Original) 05:29 135bpm 1B
22. Airwave – Asteroids (Extended Mix) 06:31 128bpm 9B
23. Stu McNally – Innerversions (Extended Mix) 08:09 124bpm 5A
24. Pico Boulevard – Oblivion (Original Mix) 12:27 127bpm 7B
25. Maruwa – Need It (Original Mix) 05:02 135bpm 7B
26. Airwave – I’m Not Rank 1 (Extended Mix) 07:37 128bpm 2A
27. Baldo, Third Son – This Is Your Brain on Music (Original Mix) 05:06 132bpm 12B
28. Catz ‘n Dogz – Rave History (Maruwa Remix) 06:34 137bpm 6B
29. Clint – Exosphere (Dance Mix) 07:32 132bpm 6B
30. Clint – Exosphere (Main Mix) 09:05 135bpm 6A
31. Ormus – Nahual (Extended Mix) 07:13 125bpm 6B
32. Elfenberg – Cosmic Debris (Original Mix) 08:00 114bpm 11B
33. Airwave – The World vs Spotify (Extended Mix) 05:26 132bpm 9A
34. Regent – Aphid Riot (Original Mix) 05:50 144bpm 7A
35. Vladimir Dubyshkin – glucose guardian (Original Mix) 05:10 140bpm 7A
36. Indira Paganotto – Requiem (Extended Mix) 06:10 145bpm 6B
37. Spray (IE) – Ratenplan (Original Mix) 06:10 136bpm 7A
38. Alpha Tracks, KI/KI – To Nights (KI/KI Remix) 06:03 148bpm 7A
39. Suki, Sniper1 – Purple Haze (Original Mix) 07:17 136bpm 5B
40. Blanca Ross – Interfered AI (Original Mix) 06:13 135bpm 11B
41. Lena Storm – Affection (Original Mix) 06:55 128bpm 1B
42. Fuenka – Sirius (Anunnakis Extended Remix) 07:02 125bpm 9A
43. YU-1 – Black Sky (Extended Mix) 06:44 124bpm 2B
44. IZRAELL – Tornado of Soul (Fher Vizzuett Remix) 06:44 124bpm 12B
45. Elfenberg – Horses for Courses (Original Mix) 05:36 132bpm 7B
46. Spray (IE) – OT Rails (Original) 06:15 134bpm 3A
47. Sekta – Sequence Start (Extended Mix) 04:37 145bpm 9A
48. Abdul Raeva – Navigator 3000 (Original Mix) 06:48 130bpm 11B
49. Cosmic Gate – Mirador (Extended Mix) 07:24 126bpm 5A
50. Wilt, Jeff The Fool – Jericho (Original Mix) 04:45 133bpm 5B
51. Clint – Alpine Breaks (Alex Kassian Remix) 07:49 131bpm 2B
52. Viper (Trance) – Simulation (Original Mix) 06:30 70bpm 11B
53. Elfenberg – Without Further A Dude (Original Mix) 06:04 136bpm 10A
54. Wolk – Strong Enough (Extended Mix) 07:22 150bpm 6A
55. F-Act, Allan McLoud – Another Day (Original Mix) 06:51 127bpm 11A
56. Macker – Arrakis (Original Mix) 09:06 130bpm 5A
57. Baldo – Ride the Night (Alex Neri Remix) 06:43 130bpm 9B
58. Pico Boulevard – The Moon and Back (Extended Mix) 07:50 128bpm 4A
59. Pablo Gargano – The Breeze (Original Mix) 06:52 124bpm 8A
60. Christian Nielsen – Let Me Go (Luke Alessi Remix) 06:17 130bpm 7B
61. Neither Nor – Immaterial (Original Mix) 04:43 152bpm 7A
62. Sashtek – Hidden Pyramids (Extended Mix) 05:22 134bpm 7B
63. Santiago Luna – Combustion (Extended Mix) 05:20 128bpm 11B
64. Demi Riquísimo – The Force (Original Mix) 04:36 130bpm 5A
65. TODDZ – Move Your Body (Original Mix) 05:43 130bpm 8A
66. Introspecto – Fragments (Original Mix) 07:39 128bpm 5B
67. Anetha – Terraphoria (Original Mix) 05:35 147bpm 10A
68. Joel Bird – Existentialism (Extended Mix) 08:55 149bpm 4A
69. Peppe Amore – Cassa Dritta (Original Mix) 05:47 150bpm 5B
70. Alex Neri, Mennie – Rockets (Original Mix) 05:58 128bpm 8A
71. Basil O’Glue, Nomas, Calantha – Edgerunners (Extended Mix) 06:20 128bpm 4A
72. Daniel Lesden, Enlusion – Dark Entity (Hypnotic Mix) 07:57 130bpm 12A
73. Partiboi69 – Playin’ (Original Mix) 05:24 134bpm 6A
74. B FROM E – Amnesia (Original Mix) 06:15 132bpm 1B
75. Ovnimoon – Feel on Me (Original Mix) 10:33 133bpm 5B
76. Fuenka – Synnax (Extended Mix) 06:58 125bpm 8B
77. Pig&Dan – Fusion (Original Mix) 07:29 133bpm 6A
78. Bliss Inc – Higher, Vision (Original Mix) 07:30 67bpm 4B
79. KI/KI – To the vibe (rework) (Original Mix) 07:36 148bpm 3B
80. KI/KI – Leave it to the vibe (Original Mix) 06:58 145bpm 3B
81. Mac Declos – Trust Your Eyes (Original Mix) 05:34 152bpm 8B
82. Nordic Echoes – Ice Giant (Original Mix) 07:13 142bpm 7B
83. Intuition – Arcana 17 (Original Mix) 06:04 150bpm 5A
84. Ormus – Ometeotl (Original Mix) 07:00 125bpm 11B
85. Obie Fernandez, KNBI – Concentration (Extended Mix) 06:56 125bpm 6B
86. Demi Riquísimo – The Force (Spray Remix) 05:25 138bpm 12A
87. YU-1 – Transformer (Extended Mix) 07:17 124bpm 3A
88. Ayu, Alfred Czital – Body High (Original) 05:48 140bpm 8B
89. Olsvangèr – Bubble Toy (Original Mix) 06:30 136bpm 6A
90. Olsvangèr – Grand Slammin’ (Original Mix) 07:38 87bpm 7B
91. NairLess – Dazzling Fantasy (Jex Opolis Remix) (Jex Opolis Remix) 06:11 67bpm 12B
92. Freedom Fighters, Modus (ISR), Uncharted Territory – Odyssey (Original Mix) 05:01 140bpm 12B
93. Rosa Red – Rhapsody (Known Artist Remix) 05:11 132bpm 8B
94. Ben Prophet – Siberia (Extended Mix) 04:52 145bpm 12A
95. Basil O’Glue – Affinity Space (Original Mix) 06:25 126bpm 5B
96. UCast, Kamelon, CLAVIR – Escape (Extended Mix) 07:12 124bpm 8A
97. Baraka, Spray (IE) – Think of Me (Original) 06:28 140bpm 8B
98. Cosmic Gate – am2pm (Anunnakis Extended Remix) 06:19 124bpm 4B
99. Match Box – Midnight (Bliss Inc. Remix) 07:00 138bpm 11B
100. Chris Flannigan – First To Say Goodbye (Original Mix) 04:24 145bpm 12A

Curious if more seasoned flyers have any strategies or suggestions for this. I hit gold this year for the first time and have a ton of miles sitting around and a good deal of domestic and international travel planned for the rest of the year. Side-stepping the discussion of whether it's worth 25k miles to be EP for a day, does anyone have any suggestions for how to best utilize it?
My current thought is to use it for an international flight day (europe to US) which has the fewest number of people on it. The aim is to maximize the chance of a business class upgrade.

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(continuation of part 5)
Post-OG Cloud ruminates on what he could have done to save Aerith. Had he not been so lost in his own mind —distracted by Sephiroth and Jenova, consumed by his need to fulfill the emptiness at the core of his identity—, would he have paid more attention to Aerith’s sadness and anticipated her plan to go to the Forgotten Capital alone? Could she have survived if not for his obsession with what tormented him at the time? Could he have figured it out and kept her by his side? He’s angry with himself in retrospect, drowning in guilt, just like in Advent Children.
Here are the choruses, which usually contain the thesis main message of a song:

“Shine bright once more
Guide me to you
Smile bright once more
This time I will never let you go”

&

“Hear me once more
Show me your smile
This time for sure
I'll see the truth hidden inside your tears
But I, I know
That you're long gone
But I, I will
Go on, howling and hollow”

In these choruses, Cloud asserts that he will get it right this time (“this time” referring to the second chance that is the Remake trilogy). He will make sure he saves Aerith and never lets her go. He knows she’s gone, but he will fight against time to get her back. He longs for her smile and her light again, and he cannot bear the guilt: so he doesn’t. Post-OG Cloud embarks on a new adventure: ”I want to go to a place where everything is new,” said Cloud to Wol and Echo in Eclipse Contact before facing his past and being launched into Remake. “Hollow” makes far more sense now, doesn’t it? It’s a song not only about Cloud’s loss, but also about his determination to save Aerith this time. Given that it’s the theme song of Remake, the fact that “Hollow” fits with our theory perfectly is a very good sign: a theme song is meant to reflect the main plot of a story, indicating as our theory states that Remake is principally, albeit secretly, about Cloud saving Aerith. Because of this hope being set up, I’m confident that they will be together in the end, reunited for good. My dear Clerith friends, this is the hidden purpose of the Remake trilogy. Cloud and Aerith will be reunited.
VI. e) ii. “No Promises to Keep” Lyrics
This is quite obvious. Aerith is resigned to her fate, but still harbors hope that she will meet Cloud again in a permanent reunion:

“Till the day that we meet again
Where or when?
I wish I could say
But believe, know that you'll find me

[…]

Till the day that we meet again
On our street, I want to believe

[…]

Till the day that we meet again
At our place, just let me believe
In the chance that you'll come
Take my hand and never let me go
Take my hand
And believe
We can be
Together evermore

[…]

Still I hope someday you'll come and find me
Still I know someday you'll come and find me”.

VI. f) The Theme of Reunion Explained?
The last point I want to hit on is the concept of reunion. In OG, this theme was pretty much dominated by the Jenova Reunion. To an OG fan back in 1997, “reunion” meant “Sephiroth and Jenova’s evil plan”. However, in the Remake trilogy, the theme is expanded into something more. The first time Cloud meets Aerith in Remake, she gives him a flower and tells him something she didn’t in OG:

“Lovers used to give these when they were reunited...”

In addition, we’ve already talked about how part 5 of “Aerith’s Theme - The Cetra” from the Remake OST tells the story of Cloud and Aerith’s reunion (see section “V. b) ii. 2)”).
Many moments exclusive to the Remake trilogy serve the same purpose: linking the theme of reunion to Aerith. This expansion of the theme is highly significant. Our theory is that the Remake trilogy exists to reunite Cloud and Aerith, so the fact that the trilogy would implement so many Clerith-centric references to reunion is great support for our theory.
VI. g) i. The Leslie-Cloud Parallel
Let’s consider another instance involving the reunion flower in Remake, more precisely, the chapter 14 subplot surrounding Leslie’s lost lover. In case you need a refresher, Leslie is one of Corneo’s lackeys, although he secretly plans to betray him. He once had a fiancée and things were looking up until she was selected as one of Corneo’s brides. The day before she disappeared (presumably taken by Corneo), his fiancée broke up with him with no explanation. It was confusing and left Leslie perplex. As she broke up with him, she returned a necklace to him, one with a flower pendant. Of course, that flower is the very same reunion flower Aerith gives Cloud in chapter 2.
Evidently, Leslie and Cloud are going through parallel situations. At this point in time, Aerith was just kidnapped by Shinra, and Cloud is on his way to get her back. Both their loved ones have been taken by tyrant rulers, one being slumlord Corneo and the other being the Shinra government. In fact, even Leslie and Cloud’s attitudes share similar disillusioned, cold and stoic qualities. Leslie’s fiancée would evidently be paralleled by Aerith.
The most obvious proof of the Leslie-Cloud parallel is written plainly on the list of Remake’s chapter 14 main scenario objectives. Objective 7, called “For the Reunion”, consists of receiving the grappling guns needed to reach topside and save Aerith. The description of the objective reads as follows:

“Leslie gives them grappling guns, and they wish each other luck in reuniting with their respective loved ones. Leslie walks off, and the three prepare to climb the wall.”

The grappling guns are “For the Reunion”, because evidently, the loved one Cloud wants to reunite with is Aerith.
All this is simple and apparent enough. Just the fact that the theme of reunion is linked to Clerith in this way is proof enough, but there’s another layer to the Leslie-Cloud parallel. Not only does Leslie’s situation reinforce the concept of a Clerith reunion, it also mirrors the specifics of our theory: namely that Cloud will save Aerith from specifically Sephiroth (represented in Leslie’s scenario by Corneo) and that Cloud will take the initiative to accomplish this reunion. These two specific aspects of our theory are reflected by Leslie’s circumstances, meaning the Leslie-Cloud parallel not only pushes the theme of reunion, but also supports our specific theory.
VI. g) i. 1) The Separators: Corneo and Sephiroth
I’ll first prove that Leslie’s scenario is not meant to echo Cloud’s separation from Aerith at the hands of Shinra —or at least not exclusively—, but rather Cloud’s separation from Aerith at the hands of Sephiroth. Corneo would therefore be paralleled by Sephiroth rather than the tyrannical Shinra government.
The first piece of proof for the Corneo-Seohiroth parallel lies within the way in which Leslie’s fiancée broke things off: by lying. Aerith also lies to Cloud to create distance between them, but not pertaining to her kidnapping— rather, pertaining to her fated death. Since Sephiroth is Aerith’s killer and not Shinra, Corneo’s role in the Leslie-Cloud parallel is analogous to Sephiroth’s rather than Shinra’s.
There are two pieces of evidence that the Corneo-Sephiroth comparison makes more sense than the Corneo-Shinra one. The first lies in the fact that Leslie’s breakup resembles Cloud’s resolution scene: the topic of Cloud’s resolution scene is Aerith’s fate at the hands of Sephiroth rather than her kidnapping by Shinra, meaning Corneo and Sephiroth are the antagonists of both heartbreaks.
Let’s examine Leslie’s breakup. Here is how his fiancée broke things off, taken from the English script of Remake’s chapter 14, with tone indicators added by me in bold:

“Fiancée: It was all just a dream, wasn't it[?]
Fiancée: (Hopefully) But one day…
(She trails off, then shakes her head and stops herself.)
Fiancée: (Sadly, hopelessly) — no. Time to wake up. And forget.
(She walks away.)”

Now, here is a more literal translation of this quote from the original Japanese (verified by me via DeepL), with tone indicators added by me in bold:

“Fiancée: It was only just a dream we had / We were only dreaming...
Fiancée: (Hopefully, as though as a hail Mary) In the language of the flowers...
(She trails off, then shakes her head and stops herself.)
Fiancée: (Sadly, hopelessly) — no. You should forget about me.
(She walks away.)”

Leslie’s fiancée is clearly breaking up with him to spare him the pain of blaming himself for not being able to protect her from Corneo, as she knows it’s too late for her to escape from the slumlord’s clutches. We know this because we understand that the pendant she gave back to him symbolizes a reunion (especially between lovers, as Aerith told Cloud in chapter 2). In fact, the Japanese version of the script reveals that the fiancée was about to reveal the meaning of the flower, perhaps in the hopes that they would find each other once more, but she lost her nerve at the last second. Notice that she tells Leslie two specific things. One: their love or their future together was only a dream, meaning that it wasn’t real. Two: he should forget about her, because the dream is over now and it’s time to wake up from it.
If you’re finding this familiar, then you might be ahead of me. Let’s take a look at what Aerith says to Cloud in his resolution scene, also in the English script of Remake’s chapter 14, with tone indicators added by me in bold:

“Aerith: […] you can’t fall in love with me. [It]’s not real […]. (With a sigh, as though from sadness or difficulty, but resolutely) It’s almost morning. Time to go.”

Now, here is a more literal translation of this quote from the original Japanese (verified by me via DeepL), with tone indicators added by me in bold:

“Aerith: You can’t let yourself fall in love with me. [It]’s only your imagination […]. (With a sigh, as though from sadness or difficulty, but resolutely) Looks like it’s already morning. Time for me to go.”

Just like Leslie’s fiancée, Aerith is rejecting or denying Cloud’s love for her in order to spare him from the pain of not having been able to be with her before her death, as she believes it is inevitable. Just like the fiancée, Aerith also tells Cloud two things. One: their love is imaginary or isn’t real. Two: it’s morning, and she has to go (she says this right before Cloud wakes from the pseudo-dream).
In both cases, the women know something about their fate that the men don’t and are hiding this impending tragedy from them. Just like Leslie’s fiancée, Aerith uses well-intentioned deception to protect her loved one from the pain that will come from her fate— the lie, of course, is that their love isn’t real. Both women are hopeless, and both men are initially clueless. Aerith’s resolution can’t be about her kidnapping, because Aerith thinks her rescue is anything but hopeless— she’s sure Cloud will come save her from Shinra. She says so herself in OG’s disk 1, chapter 8:

“Cloud: Aeris!? You safe?
Aeris: Yeah, I'm all right. I knew that [you] would come for me.”

What Aerith is so resigned about in Cloud’s resolution scene isn’t her kidnapping, but instead her fated death at the hands of Sephiroth. Nojima hints at this in FFVII Remake Ultimania:

“If you know Aerith’s fate, then this line would really pull at your heart strings […]” (section 08 “Secrets”, “Development Staff Interviews, Part 2: Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase, Yoshinori Kitase, Kazushige Nojima”, page 744).

Here is what codirector Toriyama had to say on Aerith’s words:

“[While] these words are intended for Cloud, I think Aerith is partly speaking them to herself. The contents of her request may be at odds with how she truly feels inside” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA Script Notes, “A Dream Shown by Aerith”, “Scenario Staff Q&A - Answered by Motomu Toriyama”).

These two quotes by the devs show that Aerith is trying to protect Cloud from her death. Therefore, the Corneo-Sephiroth parallel is far more apt than the Corneo-Shinra parallel.
The second piece of evidence supporting my belief that Corneo mirrors Sephiroth and not Shinra in the Leslie-Cloud parallel is the inclusion of the theme of revenge that crops up in the following piece of dialogue:

“Tifa: Why did you wanna come down here?
Leslie: Revenge. I know I need to let go, but I can't. I need closure, 'cause without it... I'll never be able to move on” (Remake, chapter 14).

Leslie’s sentiment toward Corneo resembles Cloud’s feelings toward Sephiroth after Aerith’s death. Revenge links Cloud to Sephiroth, not to Shinra. Corneo and Sephiroth reflect each other in that, as a consequence of their actions toward a woman, the man who loves her desires revenge.
Additionally, it looks like Leslie’s obsession with revenge as a means to closure is the reason he didn’t bother trying to understand the message his fiancée left him with: he’s focused on his hate rather than his love, and it’s hindering him. He doesn’t succeed in killing Corneo either: his focus and energy are misplaced. Cloud’s desire for vengeance against Sephiroth is also depicted as an obstacle to accomplishing his goals (see how in section “III. c)” of my previous literary analysis). Once more, the Corneo-Sephiroth parallel fits far better than a Corneo-Shinra perspective.
VI. g) i. 2) The Reunion Seekers: Leslie and Cloud
The other aspect of the Leslie-Cloud parallel that supports our theory is that in both scenarios, they both take charge of the situation and decide to actively seek reunion with their respective lovers. The following dialogue excerpt, supplemented by the VA script notes, shows Leslie’s initiative:

“Tifa: [Your fiancée] could still be out there.
Barret: Can never be sure how much someone means to ya till they're gone. Don't give up on her yet.
Leslie: (Looks at the flower pendant, [recalling his lover’s words) A message in the language of flowers… I wonder what she meant by it.
[…]
Tifa: Reunion.
Leslie: Huh?
Tifa: In the language of flowers, it means ‘reunion.’
(Leslie shifts his gaze from Tifa to the pendant and stares at it for some time. At last he understands the words his lover left him. With that, as if his mind has been made up, he clutches the pendant and hangs it around his neck.)
Leslie: Then I guess I’ll just have to find her first” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA Script Notes, “Other Notable Stage Directions - Chapters 14-16”).

Take note of Leslie’s final response and the determination with which he speaks: “Then I guess I’ll just have to find her first”. Remember that we’re searching for evidence that Cloud is going to be the one reaching out to Aerith in the Remake trilogy, and that it’s his turn to take his future into his hands. He must be more attentive, more active this time. And Leslie’s words of determination reflect this perfectly. Leslie must find his fiancée first, just like Cloud has to be the one to offer his hand to Aerith in the Remake trilogy and fight for her. This is exactly what our theory is all about.
VI. g) i. 3) Delayed Realizations
Interestingly, not only does Leslie’s determination mirror Cloud’s, but both men are depicted as realizing the truth too late. Just like Leslie only began searching for his fiancée six months after her disappearance, Cloud only realizes he loves Aerith in OG once she’s died. It took him this long to actually get somewhere in his mission to reunite with her— “somewhere” being the Remake trilogy.
Even Barret’s words highlight the lovers’ delay: “Can never be sure how much someone means to ya till they're gone”. Barret would know: he lost his wife Myrna, whom he loved dearly. The devs have Barret comment on the situation as a man whose lover died, mirroring Cloud’s situation in OG. Just as Barret says, Cloud only truly realized the strength of how he felt for Aerith in OG once she was gone. The gunman’s words apply to both Leslie and Cloud’s tardy initiatives. Regardless of this delay, both men are now determined to see their respective reunions through.
The degree to which the Leslie-Cloud parallel fits our theory is a great sign of its validity: even the details are lining up!
VI. g) ii. Reunion in the Theme Songs
Too easy: in our analysis of the lyrics of the theme songs, we covered how both texts include the theme of reunion. “No Promises to Keep” is especially relevant (see section “VI. e) ii.”), as the entire song is Aerith hoping against fate for a reunion with Cloud (even if you believe the song is about all her companions, that still includes Cloud).
On top of these reunion-themed lyrics, during Aerith’s in-game performance of “No Promises to Keep” at the Gold Saucer production of Loveless, her yellow blossoms signifying reunion bloom all around her as Cloud watches her, captivated.
Another great sign for our theory: the highly significant theme songs are on our side!
VI. g) iii. Waking Up Reunited
The thing I want to juxtapose to our theory is a small yet special moment in chapter 2 of Rebirth that stuck out to me like a sore thumb and got me really excited about sharing it with you. This moment occurs after the battle against the Midgardsormr. We’ll be comparing it to two other clips, describing all three in chronological order, and making deductions based on their similarities.
The first clip I want to address occurs in chapter 8 of Remake (1:32-2:12). There are a couple of things I want to point out in this scene. First, Aerith wakes Cloud from unconsciousness with a cute call of “Hello~?”. Second, despite pretending that he doesn’t, he immediately recognizes her. The VA script notes prove it:

“Aerith: Nice to meet you again.
Cloud actually remembers Aerith, but he pretends not to, perhaps wishing to make himself look cool.
Cloud: Again, huh?
Aerith: What? You don’t remember? How about…the flowers?
Cloud looks at the flowers at his feet and pretends as if he’s only just remembered.
Cloud: Oh, the flower seller” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA script notes, “Reuniting with Aerith”).

So: she wakes him with a cute call, and he recognizes her. Also note that these two elements also apply to the OG church reunion scene.
Now onto the Rebirth chapter 2 scene that stuck out to me. After Cloud is saved from the Midgardsormr by Sephiroth, Cloud wakes from an unconsciousness spell with Aerith calling for him (7:20-7:34).
Once more, Aerith wakes him with a cute call (this time, it’s “Wakey, wakey!”), and Cloud recognizes her. In this Midgardsormr clip, unlike their reunion in the church, Cloud verbalizes that he remembers her. This time, there’s more: next, Aerith tells Cloud “おかえり, クラウド”, or “okaeri, Cloud”, which translates to “welcome back, Cloud”. “Okaeri” is what you say in Japanese when someone has returned home. In the third clip we will analyze, Aerith says “okaeri” to Cloud once more. But first, let’s break down this second clip.
I don’t know about you, but this cutscene felt extremely weird to me when I first encountered it. That is, it would have been, if not for the theory I’d begun formulating at that time.
You see, the devs could have chosen for Aerith to ask Cloud if he remembers his own name or where they are, if he’s okay, or check if he responds to his own name. In fact, asking someone who’s been hit on the head to say their own name is a much more common reaction to them finally waking up than asking them if they remember you. Even stranger is Cloud’s reaction: he could have answered “Yeah, you’re Aerith,” or “I remember everything, I’m fine”. Instead, he says her name with this airy and wonderstruck tone. He sounds like he’s opening his eyes to something mystic rather than his comrade leaning over him, like he’s seeing someone unexpectedly for the first time in a while… or rather like he’s waking from a trance of some kind— a trance in which he did not remember Aerith, and now he does. You may see where I’m going with this.
Let’s examine the third clip, wherein Aerith tells Cloud “okaeri” again. More specifically, in chapter 14, Aerith welcomes Cloud back when he snaps out of his zombified, Sephiroth-controlled state and runs toward her. Of course, it’s the sight of her and his memories of meeting her in chapter 2 of Remake that shake him awake (2:17:43-2:18:02).
For a third time, Aerith wakes Cloud. This time, she’s pulling him out of a trance and back to himself. And for a third time, Cloud remembers her. In fact, it’s remembering her that wakes him up. Cloud calls her name and Aerith says “okaeri” in both the post-Midgardsormr cutscene and this third clip. And in both scenes, not only does Cloud return to himself the way someone returns home (recall that “okaeri” is used to welcome someone back home), but he’s also returning to her, recognizing her as his home.
Now we’ve got three scenes lined up: the church reunion scene (both in OG and Remake), the Midgardsormr scene and the hand-reach scene. All three of these recognition scenes feature Cloud being woken up by Aerith and remembering who she is. The main difference is that, in the scenes among these three that are exclusive to Rebirth, Cloud’s return to Aerith is far more meaningful, as he already knows her name, and knows more about who she is to him. Evidently, in the OG church reunion scene, Cloud only remembers being sold a flower by this girl. In the Remake version, he remembers the same thing, plus the attack of the whispers. So there’s something much more weighty about the Rebirth recognition scenes: he remembers more, and he remembers deeper. These aren’t just recognition scenes, they’re also mini-reunions. Of course, as we’ve already analyzed pertaining to the hand-reaching scene, Cloud remembering Aerith is followed by him being the one to take action and run toward her, eager to save her, because she means the world to him. When you place the Midgardsormr scene between the church reunion scene and the hand-reach scene, an evolution of Cloud waking up and remembering Aerith is formed. Each mini-reunion scene adds a piece to the story: the church scene informs us that Cloud and Aerith are meeting again, the Midgardsormr scene tips us off that something mystic is going on from Cloud’s tone when he says Aerith’s name, and the hand reach scene tells us that as a consequence of remembering who Aerith is, Cloud saves her from falling to her death and saving her. “Meeting again”, “mystic”, and “saving Aerith”: these are the keywords of the mini-reunion scenes. They are also the keywords of our theory on Cloud’s mission to save Aerith. This time around Cloud knows more and is more conscious about how he feels for Aerith, just like he feels more when in the hand-reach scene in Rebirth compared to the church reunion scene in Remake. From the latter scene to the former, Cloud gradually wakes up and remembers his love for and loss of Aerith in the OG more and more. Each mini-reunion brings him closer to saving her when he blocks the masamune. This is why I am certain that in part 3, whether Cloud comes to his full senses or not, whether he remembers the events of OG or not, he will save Aerith this time. The Remake trilogy is centered around Aerith, after all. In fact, don’t take it from me, take it from Nojima:

“Aerith's the most important character in the remake so we paid special attention to her lines” (FFVII Remake Ultimania, section 08 “Secrets”, “Development Staff Interviews, Part 2: Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase, Kazushige Nojima”, page 744).

I have full confidence in this fact: one way or another, these two will have a happy ending. This is Cloud’s second chance, and as he swore in “Hollow”, he is not losing her again. That is why I don’t think you should fret, and that our Clerith hearts will be very happy to see these two together again for good in part 3.
VI. h) Zooming In
In fact, this zooming-in method of directing players’ attention to important narrative beats is far from new.
VI. h) i. Changing Fate
Let’s divert our attention to Nanaki’s Skywheel date (2:28-3:30). The dialogue goes like this: Nanaki brings us the Whispers and suggests the party might eventually forget about their existence, and Cloud says that frankly, if it’s impossible for them to change fate either way, then it would be better for them to forget to Whispers altogether.
This is a very clear message from the devs: “There would be no point in including the Whispers in the Remaketrilogy if we did not make use of their defeat”. They’re telling us through Cloud’s dialogue that they know it would be foul play and bad writing to introduce the theme of defying fate if it didn’t eventually pay off.
As if it weren’t clear enough what the devs are referring to, Nanaki brings up Aerith’s death directly after Cloud delivers the devs’ message to us. He actually makes Cloud promise to save her. This is pretty on the nose. By promising Nanaki he will protect Aerith, the devs are promising us the same. I’m certain that part 3 will deliver on this promise.
If you still aren’t sold, I’d like to direct your attention to the framing of the shot where Cloud says “If we can’t change [fate]” (2:49-2:51). There’s a zoom-in on his mouth, which is a visual cue that translates to “what this character is saying right now is important to the plot”. It’s very indiscreet in theory: the camera literally hones in on the invisible words as though the script has them highlighted, italicized triple-underlined and in bold.
VI. h) ii. Aerith’s Knowledge
We’ve seen the Remake trilogy use this camera framing at least twice so far. The first time occurs in Remake’s chapter 8, before it becomes clear that Aerith knows things from the OG game that she wouldn’t normally know if this were just a remastered version of the same 1997 plot. I’ll let Remake Ultimania‘s description of this moment speak for itself:

“When Cloud and Aerith return the rescued children to Oates, the man in the tattered black cloak shows up again at the hideout. The moment the man grasps Cloud’s arm, he’s overcome by another violent headache and sees a vision of Sephiroth. Cloud wonders if this man who supposedly died five years ago could possibly still be alive. When he says as much to Aerith, she gives him a vague reply” (FFVII Remake Ultimania, section 04: “Scenario”, “Chapter 8 Main Story Digest”, page 256).

Aerith’s “vague reply” is accentuated by a very deliberate zoom-in on her mouth (1:18:05-1:18:09), and therefore her words.
The framing of this shot indicates to us that what Aerith says provides an important hint as to the plot’s direction. Sure enough, with hindsight, it’s easy to see that’s true.
VI. h) iii. Tifa’s Question
Another time this framing is used is in chapter 1 of Rebirth, after Cloud recounts the Nibelheim incident. Tifa asks the group why Sephiroth is choosing to come back now, after five years (37:55-37:58).
Once more, we are being signaled that the reason Sephiroth chose to return at the moment he did is significant to the plot, but cannot be revealed explicitly yet. The reason why Sephiroth took five years to return is because that’s how long it took for Cloud to get back on his feet after the Nibelheim incident: Sephiroth wants and/or needs to manipulate Cloud in particular rather than all the other people with Jenova cells in them. It took five years for Cloud to not only go through Hojo’s experiments but also escape Shinra and make his way to Seventh Heaven, where Tifa nursed him back to health— therefore, it took five years until Sephiroth’s favorite pawn was available to be used. There are a few reasons why Cloud is the one Sephiroth wants to use, and all of them would be spoilers at this point in Rebirth to players who don’t know the OG plot. The devs can’t reveal any of them yet, but they do indicate via a close-up shot of Tifa’s mouth that her question is important.
VI. h) iv. The Takeaway
As you can see, this framing of characters’ mouths when they speak signals a plot-significant piece of dialogue. This means Cloud’s words on his gondola date with Nanaki can’t be brushed off as a red herring or an unimportant or throwaway line: it has narrative weight.

VII. The Devs

I think it’s important to remember the devs and their commitment to the world of FFVII. They know best for this story, and they’ve proven it to be true many times over. There are many things about the devs’ intentions that the fandom don’t seem to know that I think would give you confidence to find out.
VII. a) Shifting Themes
Good storytellers don’t introduce themes as a way to pull the rug from under audiences’ feet by later rendering them completely irrelevant to the plot.
In other words, the devs would not have introduced the notion of fate as an antagonistic force in Remake, nor allowed the players to defeat it in chapter 18, had they planned for these themes not to pay off at all. Think of how good FFVII OG and FF stories in general are, how strong the writing is from a narrative point of view. Nothing is included for no reason or for a cheap reaction— especially not a central theme of a story. Fate and defeating it is a huge point of Remake, and not for no reason.
I mean, think about a storyline all about defying fate ending with a shrug and a “Oh well, we tried.” It would be ridiculous! The devs are better than that.
VII. b) What the Devs Want
The devs are well aware that fans of FFVII have been begging for Aerith’s resurrection since 1997. All those petitions, all those myths of a revival hack… SE knows about them all too well. They were even referenced by FF’s 30th anniversary expo, which partly promoted Remake:

“No one expected [Aerith’s death] in the middle of the story. Rumors of a secret way to revive Aerith spread, and it was clear players were having a hard time saying goodbye to her too. Even now, twenty years later, it still feels like a shocking turn of events” (Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Exposition Pamphlet, page 36).

Hamaguchi, codirector of the Remake project, commented on these rumors:

“Interviewer: Do you have a favorite fake rumor about the original FFVII?

Hamaguchi: I hear a lot about Aerith coming back to life and that's something that's very interesting to hear” (Hamaguchi interview: “129 Rapid-Fire Questions Answered About Final Fantasy VII Rebirth”, by Game Informer).

The devs are also aware of how beloved Clerith is to the FFVII fandom, especially in Japan— in fact, the only FFVII ship name that is an official iOS search term on the Japanese Apple Store is Clerith’s (“クラエア” or “kuraea” in Japanese). Aerith herself is a widely beloved character, particularly, once more, in Japan. For instance, Famitsu and NHK’s recent polls on the best FF heroine and on the best FF character in general both resulted in Aerith ranking number 3, beaten only in the latter poll by Cloud at number 1 and FFX’s Yuna at number 2.
The devs know how well-loved both Clerith and Aerith are. And in fact, they love Aerith at least as much as we do:

“Cloud's feelings [of guilt] cannot be resolved by anyone other than Aerith. I tried to convey [that Aerith is saying to Cloud] ‘I'm still here for you’” (FFVII Reunion Files, Nojima’s note on Aerith’s character file, page 58).

&

“When I saw the finished product of [Aerith’s face in] CG, I thought, "Oh, isn’t she so cute?” (FFVII Reunion Files, Nomura’s note on Aerith’s character file, page 58).

&

"The idea of having Aeris die during the story had a great impact on all the dev staff," Toriyama explained, "and personally I decided to dedicate my efforts to depicting Aeris in as appealing a way as possible, so that she would become an irreplaceable character to the player in preparation for that moment" (Toriyama interview “Final Fantasy anniversary interview: Toriyama speaks” by VG247).

The devs care about Aerith, and they’re fully aware we do too.
I think a lot of people have it in their heads that the devs don’t want anything to change from the OG story, but there’s a lot of evidence that says otherwise. Codirector Toriyama spoke on this, stating the following about the production process of Remake:

“[…] there were times the original version became a hindrance. Specifically, staff members with a strong attachment to Final Fantasy VII would often hold themselves back for fear of deviating too much from the original. When we created the original game, we obviously didn’t feel bound in that way. We were passionate about creating a brand new Final Fantasy title, and so we dove in and embraced whatever seemed most interesting to us. We wanted to take that approach this time as well, so we made a special effort to liberate ourselves whenever we held back, remembering that it was okay to do the things we wanted to do” (FFVII Remake Ultimania, section 08 “Secrets”, “Development Staff Interviews, Part 1: Motomu Toriyama, Naoki Hamaguchi, Teruki Endo”, page 737).

Codirector Nomura said the following:

“When I asked Nojima if he’d write the scenario, I was clear about my demands up front. I said, ‘If we're going to remake Final Fantasy VII, I want it to be done like this.’ At that point, I was intent on making something more than just a remake. [Similarly to how] the battle system this time incorporates elements of the original game’s ATB mechanics [while] also been reborn using a real-time approach […], I wanted to make a story that players would feel is fundamentally Final Fantasy VII but also something new” (FFVII Remake Ultimania, section 08 “Secrets”, “Development Staff Interviews, Part 2: Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase, Kazushige Nojima”, page 745).

Clearly, the devs don’t want to be bogged down by the OG, and are making efforts to do things the way they want to rather than the way they were previously done. The newer generation of developers such as codirector Hamaguchi is also involved in these story changes:

“Interviewer: There are also drastically more scenes with Sephiroth than there were in the original game.
Nojima: We weren't planning on having him appear so much at first— the idea was only to hint at his presence. But we changed our approach partway through and became more proactive with having him appear, after which the number of scenes he features in rapidly increased.
Nomura: Hamaguchi [codirector Naoki Hamaguchi] came up to me one day and said in a mysterious tone, ‘I'd like to talk to you about something.’ He asked me about having there be a battle with Sephiroth in Midgar. In the original game, Sephiroth’s true body is located elsewhere, so he didn’t think I'd give in to the idea so easily. I think he even prepared materials to persuade me. But in the end I agreed readily [laughs]” (FFVII Remake Ultimania, section 08 “Secrets”, “Development Staff Interviews, Part 2: Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase, Kazushige Nojima”, page 746).

Kitase, the producer of the Remake trilogy, even says that after working on this project for so long, and after spending almost 30 years on the FFVII project and getting to know the characters, he has realized that:

“The more [he works] on it, the more [he wants] to make all these characters happy. [He wants] to give them a happy ending. The rest of the team’s opinions [obviously] also have to be taken into consideration, so it won't be all happiness and rainbows. But [he] just [wants] to make [the characters of FFVII] happy” (Kitase and Hamaguchi’s interview “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Producer Just Wants 'the Characters to End Up Happy'”, by Vandal, translated by me).

Kitase is indeed only one developer, but he’s the producer of this project: that’s the very top position. He oversees everything and nothing goes without his approval. That counts for something. Of course, Kitase is fair and values the input of all the devs, so of course it won’t be “all happiness and rainbows”— but I sincerely believe there’s a big chance that Cloud and Aerith are heading toward their happy ending. Even if this theory is completely bogus, I want to have faith that the devs would not sacrifice good storytelling for nostalgia and a conservative attitude toward preserving the OG story, as that would be cheap of them, and we have not known them to be cheap. This game truly matters to them, so I think they deserve our faith.
(conclusion in

So I've been looking to buy my own first car. I have been driving a family car for years but it will soon be out of commission and I have been researching cars online.
I drive a lot and I really like driving. I've been interested in getting a sporty-feeling car that is still practical for daily commuting and the ILX has really gotten my attention. I'm aware that many people complain about the "outdated" interior but that is not an issue for me as I like the interior.
I'm looking for cars in the compact sedan category, so I'm not interested in a TLX. I am stuck between getting a 2019-2022 ILX or a 10th gen Civic hatchback.
I still live with family so I don't have any rent, but I do plan on moving out in the next year or two. I make $64,000 a year and my only monthly bill for now is a $150 student loan payment.
I've been looking at some 2019-2022 ILX's that are around $21,000. I really want to get one but I'm wondering if it is not a financially wise decision. My concerns include the cost of premium gas and I've heard that maintenance for Acuras can be pricey especially compared to something like a Civic.
Does anyone have any info that could help me with this decision?
Edit: I also wonder if I should just look at older sedans and not spend as much money

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Background:
I've been on UC for a while now (Since 2018-2020) and I had an accident at the gym which caused me to have sciatica. The pain was so severe and intolerable that I was unable to physically stand up for more than 5 seconds, let alone walk. I was unable to cook, get out of bed or do anything else a normal person would. It's also the reason why I never applied for PIP at the time or decided to get a doctors note as the pain was simply too unbearable to even manage to get out of bed most days.
Knowing this, the first work coach I had was very understanding for me, the second work coach was not so understanding but eventually did realise what the problem was, the third work coach would force me to come into the office and I would have to physically say I was unable to attend each week (because I was still physically or mentally not getting better). Now the last work coach I had, she immediately forced me to come into the office on a bunch of occasions, this is when my mental state still was not the best but I was physically starting to see some improvements, and when we first spoke via the journal she argued with me about why I could not attend despite explaining it multiple times (I could stand up longer than a few minutes but still could not walk properly yet) before this work coach changed she scolded me hard in the last call telling me how I had not worked for years (obviously I know this from physically going from a healthy human to a cripple), of course trying my hardest, I did manage to make it into the office all of the times listed, however it required I needed extra time to prepare in the morning (very sore muscles etc), at this stage I did manage to finally attend the hospital and managed to see a Chiropractor, after multiple meetings I was able to now start getting better. I was starting to love living again, loving life, being able to walk, physically able to hang out with friends (of course I did still have really bad weeks still which still made it hard for me to leave the house, I still heavily relied on my family during this time).
Then my work coach changed again, this time she understood my situation, I explained I was a lot better, had a better mindset, she allowed me to find a boot camp course to study (the previous one (the one that scolded me) told me that I could do the same boot camp course except she didn't tell me it was government funded and that I would be eligible). I was EXCITED for the first time in years about moving back to my profession, as I was studying software engineering in university but had to drop out due to multiple issues and complications at the time, family related. Now I've completed my courses and I'm currently awaiting 2 more 12 week boot camp courses that will allow me to continue back in my chosen career that I studied during university, (because I want a devops/devsec job and that requires a lot of experience and a lot of time studying which I hope to do while working).
Here's where the issues start to arise. This same work coach who asked me to come into the office had asked if I had been comfortable with video calls, to which I said yes. And then the first video call came on the last day of my boot camp course, to which I missed because no call came (I told my boot camp course that I had been expecting it too), then my appointment was rescheduled for another 2 weeks. I had also missed that appointment too, same issue, I had expected a video call but none came, so I decided to check the To-do tasks section, there was a link at the top for the appointment that I had to click. I explained in the journal that I now understand I had to click a link (this was never specifically told to me), so I attended the next meeting as normal, then I had missed the one after that. Why? I'll explain:
During my second boot camp course I had been physically hacked, (That's all I wish to mention of it), and one of the factors of missing that appointment was due to not receiving a text, as my phone was also faulty and the network I was on was also having issues during the the days surrounding the meeting.
A week later I get a sanction, I had replied to that sanction within an hour. I had 0 response from UC for 21 days, Then I find out that the sanction date is from the first date (where my work coach had told me if I was comfortable with video calls but did not specifically explain that I had to click the link in the to-do list, so it was her fault). So now I currently have a 21 day sanction and they have added 7 days (because that's the max sanction time for UC for a 3 year span), on top of that, my work coach has changed again and I have had a meeting with him today, he did not tell me he was my new work coach initially until I asked, he was rude, forcefully changed my work plan requirements without even discussing the points with me when I told him the requirements are still the same and I did not wish to take any requirements off, so he added more while being muted on his side. I had explained my situation (of course he did not care), he then said he would set up another meeting in two weeks to discuss where we're at. I said I'm alright with that. Then what did he do? Not even 1h later he sets up a meeting TOMORROW to discuss my work search when he can see there was no work search because I had been awaiting my next course (my previous work coach was more than okay with this). He also scolded me about not being in work for a while at the start of the call. He asked the same question 3 times and I also gave the same reply during this call because that was the answer he needed.
So tomorrow I am expecting some sort of sanction during the phone call because he doesn't like me, clearly. I already have no cash coming in this month due to the sanction that wasn't my fault, or the hack. I've appealed the sanction, tomorrow I'm willing to bet he will sanction me because there hasn't been work search for the past 3 months (as I've been waiting for the course that should've started last 2 weeks ago but they are still awaiting funding, and they can't give me a specific date until they know more. I'm assuming it's this month or next month and they usually email me 7 days prior to the start date).
I do wish to complain about this work coach and change him for another who actually has my interests at heart (which is looking for a job but not scolding me and harassing me not even 1h after talking to him as it's already affected my mental health negatively and I was actually happy today for the first time in a while, I have other issues but would rather not speak upon them).
Also during the last meeting I attended in person, the woman told me I should apply for a hardship payment and I would not need to pay it back, but then during reading the second sanction letter (after she updated the system and it said "your sanction claim has changed", it did indeed say I had to pay it back, so I have once again been misinformed. I would honestly rather starve for a month than be affected by a loan as I have enough stress as it is.

So I've been looking to buy my own first car. I have been driving a family car for years but it will soon be out of commission and I have been researching cars online.
I drive a lot and I really like driving. I've been interested in getting a sporty-feeling car that is still practical for daily commuting and the ILX has really gotten my attention.
I'm looking for cars in the compact sedan category, so I'm not interested in a TLX. I am stuck between getting a 2019-2022 ILX or a 10th gen Civic hatchback.
I still live with family so I don't have any rent, but I do plan on moving out in the next year or two. I make $64,000 a year and my only monthly bill for now is a $150 student loan payment.
I've been looking at some 2019-2022 ILX's that are around $21,000. I really want to get one but I'm wondering if it is not a financially wise decision. My concerns include the cost of premium gas and I've heard that maintenance for Acuras can be pricey especially compared to something like a Civic.
Does anyone have any info that could help me with this decision?
Edit: I also wonder if I should just look at older sedans and not spend as much money

*Chat Preferred. Only accepting trades for items under “COLLECTABLES”. Items are verified using SIGMA Investor (thru and gravity), Pocket Pinger, Weight, and magnet.
PROOF
GOLD
1/10 Philharmonic 1998- $255
ROUNDS AND COINS:
20x 1 oz Buffalos- $600
4x Casino Tokens- $88 For All
5 oz Sealed Bar- $152
Cale Yarborough 1 oz Round- $45
1978 Cien Pesos- $19 (Melt)
4 Standing Liberty Quartahhhs- $25
1974 1 oz Liberty Medallion- $35
20x 1 oz Tokelau 2024 Proof Mustang- $35 EA or all for $33 EA
$6.25 Face 90% Lot (Mix of JFK, Wash, Rosevelt’s all with dates and some are higher grades) And Most Are Kennedys- $131
5x 1962 Proof Sets (Some missing random pieces like cardboard or paper)- $26 EA
Blue Ike (1x 1971, 2x 1972, 3x 1974)- $12 Ea
10 oz Bar- $305
1/2 oz Round- $15
1 oz Peace Dollar Round- $40
2x 2021 African Wildlife Elephant 1 oz- $36 EA
5x 2023 Kookaburra (W/Capsule)- $35 EA
5x 2024 Kookaburra (W/Capsule)- $35 EA
1 oz Germania Mint Allegories (W/COA)- $45
1 oz 2024 BU T2 ASE- $35
1 oz 2015 Reverse Proof E=MC Privy Maple- $40
500 Gram The Holy Mint Bar- $520
10oz Engelhard Bar- $320
6x Vintage Bars (Engelhard, JM, and Silver Towne) Lot- $210
1964 Accented Hair Proof Set (Complete)- $70
24x 2024 1/10 Silver Brittanias- $10 EA or all for $9 EA
1x 1 oz Geiger In Assay (Toned)- $40 EA
2001 S Proof JFK Half- $12
Foreign lot In Flips (31 Coins)- $25
Foreign lot Loose (21 Coins and most are Canadian)- $15
1 New Penny (26 coins dates all in the 1970s), 1/2 New Penny (16 coins dates all in the 1970s), and 2 New Pence Lot (26 coins dates all in the 1970s)- $40
1970 1 Piso Pope Paul VI (Non PM)- $5
1966 Jamaican Commonwealth Games Coin- $4
1983 Netherland Coin Set (Cracked Open Case)- $7
RANDOMS:
25 2023 New Hampshire Goldback- $110 (Best Price on find bullion is $114.40)
Silver 1975 Philippines Proof Set (complete)- $90
10 Oz “The Wedge” DHF Silver Bar- $360
SLABS:
SLABS: (Whale deal is buy all slabs get the 1900 Morgan for $60)
2022 1oz Serbia Nikola Tesla Natural Healing NGC MS70- $115
1950 S Booker T Washington PCGS MS65- $65
1944 Winged Liberty Dime PCGS MS66- $40
1964 Washington Quarter NGC PF67 (Crack on slab)- $15
1946 Walking Liberty Half PCI MS65- $95
2017 S ASE NGC PF70 Ultra Cameo San Fransico Slab- $120
1922 D Peace NGC MS63- $85
1923 Peace PCGS MS64- $70
1900 Morgan PCGS MS63 (Toned)- $115
1889 Morgan NGC MS63- $70
1883 Morgan NGC “Fattie” MS64 (Toned)- $125
2023 Morgan CAC First Delivery MS69 Slab- $100
2016 ASE ANACS MS70- $45
Bradford Exchange 2023 T2 BU ASE- $40
1855 Germany 1 S Hamburg MS63 NGC (Toner)- $80 L8)
2007-S PCGS PR70DCAM John Adams- $11
COLLECTABLES: Will trade for low premium Silver and Gold. [WTT] [WTS]
1x 2021 Mongolian HedgeHog Coins- $110 EA
2x 2021 Cameroon Crucifix Coin- $120 EA
6x Fiji 2022 Snowflake Coin W/Crystals (Sealed)- $85 EA
3x Fiji 2023 Wonders Of Nature Great Barrier Reef Coin- $145 EA
2021 Star Wars IG-11 NIUE Coin- $105
2021 Samoa Splash Of Colour (Color 🇺🇸) New York City Coin- $175
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shipping/payment:
🚛*Shipping- is $5 for 1-8 oz (Ground Advantage), $6 for 9-12 oz (Ground Advantage) and $10 for over 12 oz (Priority Mail) both with tracking numbers. American shipping only 🇺🇸 (prices are for lower 48). I am shipping out of Oklahoma, if you are close I may be able to ship cheaper ground than priority on higher weights. Be sure to inquire if you expect that to be the case.
🧾*Payment- I accept Zelle (preferred), Venmo, cash app, and PayPal FF (least preferred and not available for low flair users). Please no notes/comments or I will refund (if you are forced to use one add an emoji or . ) Thanks!
💂 *Security- I will not give my password to anyone for any reason. I have enabled two factor authentication and have other steps to help protect myself and the buyers. I also use the same setup to take proof photos, so any deviation in that is a red flag 🚩.