Don't hold your breath
Everyone keeps expecting me to do something by holding thier breaths, but I mainly stay strong and keep to my own values, needs and wants. I want to live my life the way I want to live it and not be controlled by others. Sometimes others expectations of me are just damn right impossible and that's the thing with expectations, they are the catalysts for disappointments. My friend expected me to one day turn into a bird and he held his breath up until I turn into an actual bird. I told him not to hold his breath but he did. He eventually collapsed to the ground but was still holding onto his breath and eventually died.
Then I had my parents expecting me to rule another planet in the universe, and I told them how stupidly impossible that was. They wanted me to one day rule a planet all to myself with statues made of me. They then held thier own breaths and will only let go until I managed to rule a planet all to myself. I begged them to stop but they kept on holding thier breaths, even to the point they had both turned to a different colour. They died and I tried to make them breath but they just wouldn't do it.
Then I had two police officers expecting me to one day murder someone that simply doesn't exist and I explained to them how that would be impossible. How can you murder someone that doesn't exist, and the two police officers held their breaths and this time I simply didn't care. If they wanted to hold their breaths for something impossible then it was on them and when the two police officers died while holding thier breaths, an idea came to me. Everyone has potential to create babies and by killing someone you also kill thier potential children that don't exist yet.
So I had started watching a man who had tried to commit suicide but failing multiple times, and then the fifth time he handcuffed himself to a tree and threw away the key. Then he started to regret his decision again and was screaming for help and when he saw, he begged me to help him let him go. I didn't help him and watched him die. Then the two rotting decaying police officers came back to life as I had completed their expectation.

Don't hold your breath
Everyone keeps expecting me to do something by holding thier breaths, but I mainly stay strong and keep to my own values, needs and wants. I want to live my life the way I want to live it and not be controlled by others. Sometimes others expectations of me are just damn right impossible and that's the thing with expectations, they are the catalysts for disappointments. My friend expected me to one day turn into a bird and he held his breath up until I turn into an actual bird. I told him not to hold his breath but he did. He eventually collapsed to the ground but was still holding onto his breath and eventually died.
Then I had my parents expecting me to rule another planet in the universe, and I told them how stupidly impossible that was. They wanted me to one day rule a planet all to myself with statues made of me. They then held thier own breaths and will only let go until I managed to rule a planet all to myself. I begged them to stop but they kept on holding thier breaths, even to the point they had both turned to a different colour. They died and I tried to make them breath but they just wouldn't do it.
Then I had two police officers expecting me to one day murder someone that simply doesn't exist and I explained to them how that would be impossible. How can you murder someone that doesn't exist, and the two police officers held their breaths and this time I simply didn't care. If they wanted to hold their breaths for something impossible then it was on them and when the two police officers died while holding thier breaths, an idea came to me. Everyone has potential to create babies and by killing someone you also kill thier potential children that don't exist yet.
So I had started watching a man who had tried to commit suicide but failing multiple times, and then the fifth time he handcuffed himself to a tree and threw away the key. Then he started to regret his decision again and was screaming for help and when he saw, he begged me to help him let him go. I didn't help him and watched him die. Then the two rotting decaying police officers came back to life as I had completed their expectation.

Wonder Women

Issue Fifty
Written by u/VoidKiller826
Edited by u/Predaplant
Arc: Revelations
*************************************************************
Greetings, people of Gateway City. This is your new peacekeeper speaking. You might know me as the White Magician, a rather crude name, but I will accept it considering Man’s World's lack of creativity. However, you may also call me Circe, and I am here with an important message that your news station will deliver for all to hear.
SCYTHE is no more: their HQ is under my and the Red Centipedes’ command. The Commander and his soldiers are dead and buried, as you all wished to happen. I was more than happy to oblige you if it meant depriving your stupid President of her next chance for reelection. Any survivors of the prison break are being hunted down by the people they locked in cages, who are more than happy to round them up as they once had been themselves.
But none of that’s important, for this recording is only to be heard by one person: Olympos, Wonder Girl, or whatever the fuck new title name you want to be called. This message is for you: You are to surrender yourself to me here in SCYTHE HQ in the next five hours, and in turn, I will not destroy this piss-end of a city. If you fail, I promise you, I will make Coast City look like a picnic by the time I finish with Gateway.
That cow you call Wonder Woman is dead, and I will make sure everyone else will follow her if you don’t comply with my request.
Your mentor learned a valuable lesson when she tested my patience.
*************************************************************
Spears Apartment - Gateway City:
[...President Cale has announced the complete closure of all access to Gateway City following the prison break that occurred in SCYTHE’s holding facility hours ago,] said Cassandra Arnold from GateNews, the city’s main news station. [We still have an unconfirmed number of escapees following the message sent by the White Magician, but the President has assured GateNews a solution will be found.]
Vanessa Kapatelis watched the TV in dismay. Pacing back and forth in the Spears duplex apartment, she had the TV on to pass the time while Ares worked on helping Helena and Cassandra upstairs.
“Here,” Vanessa turned away from the TV to see Tanya Spears handing her a bottle of water. “Something for you to drink.”
“Thank you,” Vanessa accepted the bottle. “I would prefer a beer, but this will make do.”
“My mom has her wine collection in a locked cabinet,” Tanya noted, pointing at the kitchen. “She doesn’t know that I know that, but I can get you a bottle?”
Vanessa chuckled. “Thanks, but I don’t want a girl your age to be walking around with alcohol or to get you in trouble with your mom.” She twisted the bottle cap and slowly drank. “I needed that… it feels like I’ve been dry for months.”
“It’s actually been 3 hours,” Tanya said, sitting on the sofa and opening her tablet to look over the internet. “I hope what she said wasn’t true… about Wonder Woman not being around…”
Taking a seat by her side, Vanessa saw that Tanya was reading through the report on what happened to SCYTHE. The escaped convicts had taken control of the SCYTHE headquarters and equipment after killing many of the agents that had stood in their way.
Seeing the photo of SCYTHE HQ burning angered her. That place should represent the absolute shield of Gateway. Now, it had come under the control of the convicts that they were supposed to stop because of Aeeta Branwen. A name that had made her happy now belonged to a stranger who had lied to her all this time.
Memories of their most intimate moments came flooding back: their first conversation, their first date, their kiss, and the morning after their date in her apartment. It was a moment when she thought she could finally stop grieving and move on from what happened to Coast City. And now, that had been disintegrated into oblivion.
In anger, she crushed the bottle with her hand, spraying water all over the table and the floor.
“Shit!” Vanessa stood up, finally realizing her mistake. “I am sorry!”
“Oh, it's fine!” Tanya ran to the kitchen to grab some paper towels. “It’s just water.”
“I know it’s just…” Taking the paper towel, the two began wiping the floor and the table. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“I’ll bet with everything that happened,” said Tanya, giving Vanessa a supportive smile. “Your friends are getting hurt, and you can’t do anything but watch. It would piss anyone off. I know it did with me when the RedCent guys invaded EE Tower.”
“Yeah…” Vanessa sat back on the sofa. “But this… I not only possibly lost many friends, but I was betrayed by someone I loved, someone who I thought was the one for me…” she said, distraught, as tears ran down her face.
Tanya, without saying anything more, hugged Vanessa closely. Despite them knowing each other for only a few hours, Tanya knew that Vanessa was in pain. Watching her loved ones being hurt by someone that she trusted must have been a hard truth to accept.
The doors upstairs opening and closing caught the two’s attention. Looking up, they saw Somya Spears descending, looking exhausted, like she had gone ten rounds in the ring. As she reached the ground floor, Tanya ran up to her mother, hugged her close, and guided her to the nearest chair to rest.
“Is everything alright, mom?” Tanya asked, worried.
“Yeah… just felt that I might take that long overdue vacation…” Somya answered, leaning against the soft chair with a tired sigh. “Maybe we’ll go to Paris like you wanted, Tanya…”
More steps followed, and Ares, or Mars as he insisted to be called, followed Somya, pulling his folded-up sleeves back. Unlike Somya, he didn’t seem any different from when he went upstairs to help the Sandsmarks, but the few strands of hair on his face told a different story.
“How are they?” Vanessa asked, walking up to the former God of War. “Are they ok?”
Ares turned to Vanessa. “The girl has a lot of heart, far too stubborn to let a beating keep her down.” He said with praise, impressed with the former Wonder Girl’s willpower. “Her Sumerian blood will help her heal in only a few days, but it won’t help her mental wounds after I told her the news about her mother.”
Vanessa had a lot of questions about what he had said, especially the word Sumerian; perhaps Cassie was not simply half-Olympian. However, she focused on the most important detail in his explanation. “What happened with Helena?” She asked in a worried tone. “Is she-”
“She is alive,” Ares said, but his expression shifted, frowning, making her nervous. “Physically, she will recover, she has only a few cuts and bruises. Even a human like her can heal those.”
“But?”
“But it's the spell Circe struck her with. It is unlike anything I’ve seen because it is of her creation,” Ares explained, and Vanessa ground her teeth together when she heard the name belonging to the stranger who hurt her and her loved ones. “Whatever she used, it is affecting her very soul, slowly killing her.”
“Like a virus?” Vanessa asked, and Ares nodded. “Magic can do that?”
“It does,” Ares answered. “Magic can create a nuclear bomb if the user has the patience for it. And Circe is a master at it, one of the very best and most gifted witches on the planet, so making something like this would be as easy as making a cake for her.”
Magic had never been SCYTHE’s priority, but the Commander still made them study anything related to the subject in case they had to face it. Vanessa had never expected to see it at this scale.
“Can you break it?” Vanessa asked. “Find a way to break the curse from Helena’s soul?”
Ares took a deep breath, pocketing his hands. “It’s too complex to break. I will admit Magic is not my strongest suit, but even if you bring in someone knowledgeable, it would be a while for them to break her creation,” he explained. “You need someone at her level of knowledge when it comes to magic, and I am not the best person to face her in that department.”
“Then we call for a specialist, anyone, really,” Vanessa said in desperation. “If this is like a virus, a curse, then we bring a surgeon to cut it out! Maybe Cassie can use her Justice Legion connection, or maybe you can call someone for a favor.”
Vanessa's desperation was clear. She was willing to call for the Justice Legion, the very people she swore to go against for their vigilantism, if it meant saving Helena Sandsmark, her promise be damned.
“The spell is growing far too rapidly. By the time you find someone, it will be far too late,” Ares said solemnly. “The only person in the world who can break the spell without any problem or fear of failsafe is Hecate, the Goddess of Magic. She was Circe’s mentor, and she taught her everything she could about magic. No matter how complex it is, Hecate would understand it.”
“She can help us?”
Ares shook his head. “No, she has no interest in helping the world unless it is connected to her directly, and even then, dealing with her is the worst-case scenario because there is a chance she’ll side with Circe before she even thinks of helping us.”
“So what now?” Vanessa asked, sounding defeated. “Just let Helena die? Let Cassie suffer? Let Circe win?!” she shouted angrily, finally addressing Circe by name. All of this explanation from Ares told her one thing: that the Witch had them beat, and they couldn’t do anything about it.
Ares didn’t react to her outburst, while the Spears looked worried. Tanya, for her part, tried to walk up to calm Vanessa, but the War God raised his hand to stop her, shaking his head and giving her the silent sign to let Vanessa be.
“There is one way: it will be quicker if we act fast enough, but it would take everything from all of us for it to happen,” Ares said, beginning his explanation. “There is a chain link connecting the spell, from the spell caster to Circe. This means it can be broken if we force Circe to release the chain connecting her to Helena…” he explained, letting his words be understood by the occupants in the room before finishing with one last note. “Killing Circe would also break the binding if she didn’t leave any contingencies.”
Vanessa gritted her teeth. “So we have to make her break the spell, and hopefully she doesn’t screw us over… or we kill her, and hopefully she still doesn’t screw us over even in death?” she asked, and Ares nodded. “What kind of person is willing to put in all that work? Just for revenge? On Diana, who is long gone?”
Ares shrugged and turned to the Spears, his gaze focused on Tanya, his daughter. Someone whom he never thought he would meet again was facing him, without knowledge of their blood relations.
“Possibly,” Ares answered, taking a step back. “But if there is one thing I know for sure, Circe does not put these kinds of bindings without any reason. Whatever that reason is involves Cassandra Sandsmark and whether she will choose to make Circe break the spell or kill her, tainting her forever.”
Silence came to the room, letting Ares’s words sink in for all occupants, which might have been the same words he said to the Sandsmarks.
*************************************************************
The room of Somya Spears was quiet, with the only sound being the breathing of Helena Sandsmark lying on the bed sleeping. The room was spacious, with an expensive queen-sized bed as expected from an interim CEO of one the largest companies in the world.
Seated a few feet away on a chair was Cassandra Sandsmark, dressed in fresh clothes given to her by Somya after throwing off the bloody tattered ones she had arrived in. Watching her mother closely, Cassandra’s mind was racing, especially after what Ares told her about the curse Circe placed on her mother, slowly destroying her soul bit by bit until she was nothing but a husk.
“Dammit!” In anger at their situation, she crushed the armchair, tearing its arm off like it was made of paper. If she was stronger, faster, and had the heart for it, she would have stopped the Witch, stopped her from hurting her city, the people of SCYTHE, and those caught in the crossfire, stopped her from hurting her mother…
She buried her face into her hands, tears running down her eyes as she despaired. Everything she worked on after Coast City evaporated was ground up under a very powerful enemy out for revenge.
Considering Circe’s ultimatum, her city could well be gone by the time this was over.
“Artemis… please be safe…” she whispered. She had nearly had a panic attack when she heard the news of the Amazon heading to SCYTHE HQ to stop the prison break, and then… nothing. No matter how many times she dialed her phone, there was no one answering, and she feared for the worst.
She heard her mother coughing, and Cassandra was quickly by her side. “Mom!” she called for her, holding her hand.
“Cassandra?...” Her mother said her name weakly. Her skin was becoming paler, a clear sign that the curse spell was working. “Are you… ok?”
“I’m fine, Mom,” Cassandra answered, covering the bandages hidden inside her clothes. “We’re safe. You’re safe.” she said, tightening both her hands around her mothers.
“Did you… break something?” She asked, looking at the chair behind her. “You shouldn’t be… doing that… we are guests…”
Cassandra laughed, her tears falling away. “Sorry… it’s just… it’s been a hell of a week…”
Helena touched her daughter’s cheek, noticing the bandage on it. “You’re… hurt…”
“It’s alright, Mom. Just a few bruises,” Cassandra assured. “You shouldn’t worry, you know I can take it…”
“I am your… mother, Cassandra,” Helena said, facing her daughter. “Demi-God or not… I will always be worried… scared for my little girl.”
Cassandra’s tears came back. Seeing her mother remain strong despite everything made her happy, and she was terrified of losing her.
“So… my soul is cursed?” Helena asked.
“You heard all that?”
“Can’t not… with all the swearing…” Helena noted, giving her daughter a small smile. “You shouldn’t swear at people, Cassandra, especially those who are trying to help.”
“I know, I know,” Cassandra said. She had gone off on Ares after he explained what happened to her mother, and she might have overreacted when she put all her anger on the former War God. “It’s just… I don’t want to lose you… not while we can fix this.”
Helena sat up on her bed, fully facing her daughter. “Which is why… I don’t want you to make the wrong choice.”
“I won’t,” Cassandra said with a low tone. “I will make Circe free you from this curse-”
“No, Cassandra,” Helena grabbed both of Cassandra’s hands with hers. “That is not what I meant…”
Cassandra raised her brows, confused. “Mom?”
“I heard everything… from Circe’s spell… how it works… and how it can be broken…” Helena said, shocking Cassandra. “I know you already decided what you feel you have to do.”
Cassandra didn’t answer, avoiding her mother’s disapproving gaze accusing her. Ares said the quickest way to break the binding and the spell was either by forcing Circe to break it herself or by killing her, severing the connection.
But if what Circe said was true, that Diana decided to kill her instead of making her surrender like everyone else who faced her, that means there was no chance the Witch would submit willingly. She would rather die than give the satisfaction of admitting defeat.
Which left only one solution where she could save her mother.
Helena sighed, knowing what decision her daughter might have made. She held her hand tightly and changed the subject. “I have to tell you something…”
“No, mom. You’re not giving me the ‘Dying Speech’, not while there is a chance we can save you-”
“It’s about your father,” Helena cut her off, shutting Cassandra up. “Your real father…”
Cassandra remembered Circe calling her Daughter of Enlil, not Zeus. Ares said he was a friend of her father, which confused her because Ares hated Zeus, so it wouldn’t make sense that he would help out even if they were his siblings.
“Enlil…” Cassandra said the name aloud, and Helena’s eyes widened, her breath hitching when she heard the name. “Circe… she called me Daughter of Enlil… Child of the Sky...”
Helena took a deep breath, bringing her daughter closer. “Yes… that is true…” she began. “You are not Zeus’s daughter, Cassandra, nor you are an Olympian in any way… but you are in fact… Sumerian… Mesopotamian,” The elder Sandsmark brought her youngest closer and spoke carefully, as if worried that someone might hear them. “Your father is Enlil, the Sumerian God of Wind… and he was the kindest man I have ever known…”
From then on, Helena explained Cassandra’s origins as carefully as possible, pushing on even while the spell affected her. She explained how she met Enlil, a man with golden hair similar to Cassandra’s, who introduced himself as an expert in Mesopotamian history during an expedition in Iraq. They had become rivals at first due to their clashing personalities, but how that developed into respect, to eventually falling in love after a very lengthy adventure that sounded like the plot of The Mummy.
And that love resulted in Cassandra’s birth. He helped raise her with Helena for the first year and a half before he disappeared because he had Olympian enemies and had to leave them to keep them safe.
While she explained all this, Cassandra’s mind went to another piece of critical information. Her father’s true identity had never been the most important thing for her. But what made it important was what Circe told her about Diana’s true reason for coming to Gateway City. It wasn’t just settling in a ‘piss-end of a city’ the more she taught about it, the more she realized the terrifying truth behind her mentor’s reasoning for coming to the city.
Diana was sent to find Cassandra, a Sumerian Demi-God, the Olympians greatest enemy since the Titans, and eliminate her. The prophecy of the Godkiller that they had feared might have come from Cassandra, but all it did was start a long, personal, and bloody war between two women because of the gods' demands for blood.
And now, she, Artemis, and Gateway City suffered the consequences. Even after Diana’s death, Circe would not let her hatred for what had happened to her go, and if it meant destroying her mentor’s legacy, she would do it.
‘Diana…’ Cassandra thought in sadness.
*************************************************************
SCYTHE Sub Base - Industrial District:
“I am not sure how you were able to do it, but you somehow found an ever more depressing place than that HQ of yours. It makes the cell you put us in look like a five-star hotel room,” said one Pamela Isley, formerly Poison Ivy, seated in the middle of a large room behind a large table. Around her were what was left of the SCYTHE agents they had saved during the escape, all working to get the makeshift base they had hidden up and running.
Alexei Abramovici, the Bloodcrow of SCYTHE, glared at the former supervillain, not happy with her comment. He turned to one of his men and began barking orders, “You! Get the goddamn Black Room working! We are running blind here!”
‘Worker drones even without their Commander.’ Pamela looked on unimpressed at the agents. She had never been that sympathetic to the plight of cops getting killed, especially militarized ones. The once mighty and feared peacekeepers of Gateway, who went to war against all the crime syndicates and the Red Centipedes, were now a mere little squad that won’t be able to protect a mini-mart, let alone every escaped convict under the command of the White Magician.
“Man… the signal here sucks!” complained Miguel Barragan by her side, raising his phone and trying to catch any kind of signal. “Could barely talk to my boyfriend when I called him, and can’t connect to the internet,” he complained. He tried once again to call but he couldn’t find a signal. “Useless brick…”
“We are underground in a bunker previously owned by Neo-Nazis, Barragan,” Pamela noted. From what she had heard, this used to be an old RedCent hideout that SCYTHE took over after the war, using it as a smaller base in case of emergency. “Not receiving any signal is part of the appeal of the place.”
“Bunker, huh…” Miguel chuckled. The name Bunker reminded him of the super name that he picked out; the more time passed, the more convinced he was that it was the right one.
Pamela gave a confused look at his expression and shrugged it off. Turning to her right, she saw the silent Emily Sung staring off into the distance. Unlike Barragan, Emily had other matters on her mind. Whatever she sensed or saw back at SCYTHE HQ freaked her out, like seeing something she shouldn’t.
Just as Pamela was about to ask her how she was feeling, a knock on the large blast doors echoed around the base, loud enough for all to hear. Quickly, everyone felt tense, and the SCYTHE agents covered the door as Alexei signaled them to aim their weapons. After the news of the escaped convicts taking control of SCYTHE HQ and their equipment and weaponry, the agents knew that they were being haunted now by the convicts looking for revenge, so they were not taking any chances.
“Would you mind opening the door!” A familiar voice said behind the door, a voice Pamela recognized right away. “I have a bloody Amazon here, and I would like her off my fur!”
“Barbara?” Pamela realized.
“Minerva? As in the Cheetah?” Alexei asked, eyes narrowed with suspicion. “She could be working with them, with the White Magician.”
“She isn’t,” Pamela answered, glaring at the SCYTHE soldier for the accusation. “She would never ally with the psychos you had under lock and key.”
Alexei scoffed. “That woman got a cemetery filled with people who say otherwise, and she hurt the mother of someone I know.”
Before the two could argue, Miguel stood up and decided to take action. He extended his hand, forming a large arm construct from it, and grabbed the handle of the blast door. With one pull, he opened it wide. Barbara entered. Her feline form made some of the SCYTHE agents tense, and weapons were still trained on her.
“Quite the welcoming committee…” she noted in sarcasm. “Now, would you be dears and get this woman some help?” She adjusted the unconscious and bloody Artemis on her back. Her blood covered Barbara’s fur.
“Medic!” Alexei called for an agent nearby before turning to Miguel. “And you, don’t use your freaky powers until I order you to do so.”
“Sorry tin man, I don’t speak fascist,” Miguel responded with a smirk, and Alexei glared at him.
The medic quickly came to Barbara and guided her to a nearby makeshift hospital room, which had a bed and various equipment to help the SCYTHE wounded. Barbara went in haste, and gently, with the help of the medic, they placed the injured Amazon on the bed, her blood soaking the white sheets red.
“How the hell did you even find us?” Alexei asked as he and the others entered. “I made sure I covered all our steps.”
“You did,” Barbara noted, stepping back to let the medic check on Artemis. She turned to Alexei and pointed at her nose. “But one of you has a very special pheromone that I can smell for miles,” she said with a smile as she turned her gaze to Pamela. “Still with those rose scents around you.”
The redhead smiled. “Maybe it’s that mark you left on me.”
“More than you think, Pammy.”
“Christ…” the medic gasped, catching everyone’s attention. “How is she still alive? And how long has she been like this?” He asked, examining the injured Amazon.
Her armor was wholly wrecked, beyond repair. Her headpiece was half broken, and the gauntlets and braces on her arms and legs were dented and unusable. Her injuries were severe: open wounds, slash marks, and burn marks were all over her body, and judging from blows on her armor, she might have had a few broken bones as well.
“Didn’t bother to look at the time with some of the grunts that were sent after us,” Barbara answered, leaning on a nearby chair as fatigue finally set in for her. “But these Amazons are too stubborn to die, and I know that from experience…”
The number of times Barbara thought she had beaten Diana only for the Amazon to get back up and beat her back was many, and it frustrated the woman to no end, but now she couldn’t help but be in awe at the resilience of these warriors.
“Her Amazon gifts will heal her,” Barbara noted. “But I am not sure how long it will take…”
“I doubt it will take more than a few days at least…” the medic noted, bringing out some bandages and wrapping them around her arms. “She will need a miracle to even walk out of here on her own two feet.”
“Uhmm…” Everyone in the room turned to Emily Sung, who stood by the doorway. “I… I think I can help her heal faster.”
Barbara and the medic gave her an odd look. To better explain it, Emily brought her hands together, and a small flame began to form from her palm. However, they weren’t bright orange flames; they were blue flames, and they didn’t feel any heat from them.
“I developed this technique while training,” said Emily. “It's a fire spell that doesn’t burn, but it heals people. I first used it on Miguel when he hurt his hands, and it was instantaneous,” she explained, and Miguel showed his fully healed hand as if he was demonstrating it. “But this will be the first time I will heal someone with this severe of injuries…”
Pamela and Barbara looked at the blue flames with wide eyes. In Pamela’s case, she was told that Emily had powers, and from Miguel’s description, she had the power of all the elements. However, seeing it firsthand and feeling it from just that tiny flame made her sense there was power behind it, warmth, like the sun.
“Do it,” Barbara said, taking a step back. “At this point, if we need magic to get her back into the fight, we better get to it before we lose her for real.” She turned to the shocked medic. This was the first time he would ever see magic in play. “And you, guide her in whatever wounds need to be healed.”
The medic nodded. It was better than nothing. With his guidance and Miguel’s support by her side, Emily went to work to heal Wonder Woman, who was in a state of life and death if they didn’t work fast enough, all while Circe and her crew were out there terrorizing the city.
“What’s the news out there?” Alexei asked after the three left the infirmary room. “We are in the dark here, and I couldn’t radio in anyone with the pieces of junk we got. Not even my brother, who was trying to get as many agents as possible.”
“Brother?” Barbara asked before she realized who his brother was. Her expression became solemn. She remembered the Warhammer who stayed behind to slow Circe and her crew, giving Barbara a chance to escape with Artemis on her back. “The guy with the Hammer…”
Alexei furrowed his brows, noticing the change in her expression. “What happened to my brother?”
Barbara took a deep breath and began explaining everything that had happened: the White Magician’s true identity, her taking over SCYTHE HQ, her ultimatum to Wonder Girl, and finally, Anatoly Abromivici’s sacrifice to save them.
*************************************************************
Somewhere in Gateway…
With the loss of SCYTHE and their headquarters, the surviving agents didn’t have the necessary support from the intel agents in the Black Room to fight off against the newly revived Red Centipedes, now grown more powerful with the help of the escaped convicts, more than happy to exact revenge.
With the bridges closed off, SCYTHE’s weakened state, and Wonder Woman being presumed dead, the city had been thrown into chaos. Streets filled with criminals and looters taking full advantage of what had happened, stealing anything from everyone across the island.
Red Centipedes roamed the streets with military trucks, taken from SCYTHE after their HQ had fallen to the White Magician’s control, making full use of their hardware to hunt down any surviving agent, delivering the message that they were the new peacekeepers of Gateway.
“Let me go!”
A woman, a worker from Taco Whiz, was being dragged from the streets by a group of RedCent grunts. Taken into a nearby corner, the RedCent dropped the worker on the dirty ground. Their eyes had terrible intentions behind them.
“Come on, man,” one RedCent grunt said from behind to his buddy. “We are supposed to find those SCYTHE fuckers, not mess around.”
“You’re serious?” The buddy looked at his friend like he was crazy. “We’ve been locked for months in SCYTHE’s cells; we can have a few minutes of fun.”
“Please! Don’t do this!” The woman screamed, tears falling from her eyes, afraid of what they would do to her. She tried to stand up and run away but was quickly pushed back down on the pavement.
The RedCent approached the woman, who crawled away from them in fear. “Come on, girl, I just need to release all this stress after being locked up for so long!” He proclaimed, giving the woman a leery look before turning to his buddy. “Hey man, I can share! Maybe we can get someone else from the street-”
The RedCent stopped speaking, catching his breath for a moment after he saw his buddy lying on the ground face first, knocked out cold. Looking up, his eyes widened in shock when he saw the person standing before him. “You’re… you were supposed to be dead?!”
Covered in heavy bandages and wrecked NIGHT armor, and carrying a mace in his hand and a pissed-off look on his face, Commander Hector Hall stood before the RedCent grunt like a dark spectre coming back to life. Kicking the knocked-out buddy aside, the Commander looked between the grunt and the terrified woman before he hardened his glare at the RedCent.
“Stay back!” The RedCent grunt aimed his weapon, hands shaking in fear. “I said stay the fuck back-”
In a moment, Hall moved at such a speed he looked like a blur, cutting the distance between the two. With one swing of his mace, he smacked him squarely on the head, sending him to the ground.
Hall turned to the woman he saved, who looked at him in horror. “Go… get to safety…”
Without another word, the woman ran toward the exit and into the streets, away from the alley. Now alone with the two RedCents, Hall grabbed the knocked-out buddy and woke him up, making the man see the bandaged-up Hall looking down at him with hateful eyes.
“You… I want you to send your boss a message…” Hall began, making him face the Commander. “Tell the White Magician, Circe, that I am declaring war on her and on anyone who stands by her side.” He turned and walked up to the other grunt, who was crawling away from the Commander in fear, grabbing his bleeding head. He begged for his life, but Hall ignored his pleas. “And this, this is for my men that you Centipedes have killed…”
He lifted his bloody mace and brought it down like a hammer on the begging Red Centipede as his buddy looked on in horror. He lifted it up once more to reveal the man’s head was crushed like a watermelon.
Commander Hector Hall was still alive, and as long as he was still breathing, SCYTHE would remain standing to fight against all threats against Gateway City.
*************************************************************

Wonder Women Vol 3.

Previous Issue <> Next Issue

Sunday's goal is to erase all conflict in the universe. His dream is to have everyone share a paradise. His method to doing so is forcing everyone into a sweet dream.
Throughout his backstory, Sunday insisted that it would've been better for birds (and people) to be locked up and cared for in a cage rather than have them endangered by the outside world. It's referenced continuously when mentioning his grief when the bird died after being released and how it parallels with Robin getting shot during her tour.
He kept insisting that people's "dream" is what harming them. To him, the weak can never be successful so they needed to be controlled by a benevolent strong. To him, it's better for everyone locked up in a fake gilded cage rather than working towards their goal. The "sweet dream" he gives to people is just a method to keep them passive under his control/Order as represented by SATISFIED Clockie controlled by puppet strings.
There are people who said it would've been better if he allowed people to leave, but that would go against his goal. Allowing people to leave would mean they are going to take part in conflicts outside of his reach. If he wanted to go for it then he would've made Penacony's hotel system free-of-charge while using the Emanator power to maintain the infrastructure. The point is that he needed absolute control to maintain his peace/Order.
Even Sunday didn't believe in his method completely. He originally allowed us a fair chance to present our case and fight him for it. In our real fight, he told us to defeat him if our "paradise" can save more people than his. And on his defeat, Sunday admitted that his paradise is just his dream which he wished could've been longer.
Outside of all of that, had Sunday actually succeeded, worlds govern by Order always have a disastrous downfall. If Sunday as the lone star slips up and loses to dangerous forces like the Lord Ravangers or IX, everyone in Penacony would be incapable of fighting back and die with him.
All in all, Sunday is a follower of Order, not Harmony. His philosophy is the strong (himself) to control the weak as opposed to Robin and the Harmony's the strong help the weak. His "sweet dream" is just a means to an end of erasing conflict throughout subjugation.

i have 2 outdoor cats that spend most of the day outside but come inside the house VERY FREQUENTLY throughout the day for food, snuggles, naps, etc. 4 days ago i let my cats out around 6am and one of them has not returned since. he did not come home at all on the day he went missing, which is again very unusual because he stops by very often. i have knocked on 20+ neighbors doors and have put posters up on all the neighbouring streets. i have made several posts on missing cat fb groups and websites and checking lost and found websites hourly. i have also been checking the local animal shelter lost and found site hourly and its so heartbreaking seeing so many found cats that look like mine.
he is very very friendly and walks up to anyone that approaches him. he is also a very handsome bengal mix, and these 2 things pose the possibility of some asshole taking him. (other cats have gone missing in my area , in the last 3 weeks) so i would not be surprised if someone snatched him up. its also getting very very hot outside, which makes finding water even more difficult
he also does not fear anything. he has chased dogs, foxes, other cats, and brings me at least one dead bird a week (i am working on that issue) one time i had to put myself between him and a fox because he was trying to attack and i didn’t want him to become injured. so i am so scared he got into an altercation with another animal and is now somewhere alone and injured.
please what do i do. i am so hopeless he is gone forever or dead. he always comes home to greet me when i come back from school and he did not that day. im so worried something has happened and i do not know where he is, or what happened. can someone please give me some advice to help me cope with this. or a service i can pay for that will help me find my cat. i dont know how i am supposed to live without this cat

https://i.imgur.com/k2kdr3V.png
There are two birds on the lower left of the concept art released for the Crossrow, one of the libraries of the Watchman's Tree, and the big one with a white head is a laughingthrush. From what we know, the Crossrow is in New Orleans, and there aren't any laughingthrushes in North America...
Except, perhaps, for one
I also think the other brown bird on the lower left is worth mentioning too, but I have no idea what species it's supposed to be. It does look like a kiwi, but none of the Aviform hours are connected to them (and its beak is too short). That said, if any hour was, I would expect it to be the Velvet, and that's only partly because kiwis look like moles: they're small, scurrying, ground hugging birds that live in lush, sodden forests. And, they're nocturnal, so they only scamper around in the dark. I can easily imagine the Velvet sneaking beneath the meetings of the Roost and listening in... so maybe there really is a connection here.
But it could also just be a beige dove. If it is a Kiwi, I have no idea how it got in that tree. It's certainly not a crow or a kite.
Finally, the other set of birds in the image on the roof look... dove-like... but it's hard to make out. Since they're bright white, I think there's a connection there too to another one of the hours of the roost, but I admit it could just have been an aesthetic choice to match the building.

Note: This is just my opinion so please don’t take my reasons as facts I’ll admit I have never been a fan of musicals in general, even as a kid. However Rio manages to be a notable exception for me for these very reasons I shall list below. (Also if you are also a non-musical fan who enjoys the movie Rio, please let me know in the comments section)
* The songs don’t feel like they come out of nowhere: One of the main issues I have with most musicals is that a lot of the songs just happen with characters singing at the drop of a hat with no warning whatsoever such as in the movie Frozen. It’s kinda of hard to say why I have that issue though exactly, though I can say I often find it very irritating. In Rio however, none of the songs feel like they come out of nowhere, with all of the songs having some sort of natural build up to them such as how for example, due to the song, “Hot Wings (I Wanna Party)“ (one of my two favorite songs in the movie with the other being “Real In Rio”) taking place in the Samba Club, it actually has a natural build up to it in part because well it is a Samba Club and it sounds like a song that wasn’t made up on the spot in-universe (Even the song “Pretty Bird“ which comes the closest to feeling like a song that comes out of nowhere manages to avoid this since there is a implied build up to it in a way that’s hard to put into words though it is at least in part because Nigel was a former movie star)
* The songs are actually good and memorable: In many musicals, I feel often many of the songs just aren’t that good or are mediocre at best. For me I think that might be because I feel the lyrics of the songs sound forced or just don’t flow naturally at all, often because of how out of place they can feel, since it seems like they are just having a musical number for the sake of it, rather then building the scene around the musical number. Additionally due to those aforementioned reasons, it often means these songs are not memorable. With Rio however, they actually spent a lot of time in making the songs good and memorable and made the lyrics of the songs sound natural and flow naturally in a way that is admittedly hard to explain (Even the aforementioned “Pretty Bird“ which is arguably the weakest song still does in a way that isn’t even cringeworthy as after all, the way it sounds is pretty much one of the whole points of the song, since it is sung by the main villain Nigel who is a washed up former movie star)
* There are not too many songs which allows plenty of time for the non-musical moments to really stand out: Often in a lot of musicals in general, there is not enough moments where the characters are simply just talking to each other normally and in at least a few musicals there is almost none at all such as most notably the 2012 adaption of Les Misérables (Which funnily enough for those that don’t know, also just happens to have Anne Hathaway, the voice of Jewel) where 99% of the script is sung. For me I just find that extremely jarring and it comes across as just too weird and unrealistic even by movie and musical standards. In the movie Rio however, due to not having too many songs, it allows the non musical moments involving it’s surprisingly emotional story to really hold a lot of weight, such as the scene where Blu and Jewel get into an argument and the scene that is my favorite scene in the whole movie where Blufinally flies for the first time in his life. (Which is also the scene that helped solidify the film as one of my two favorite movies ever with the other one being The Super Mario Bros Movie) That however doesn’t mean there aren’t any musical moments that are emotional (ex.Blu flying with everybody else in the reprise of Real In Rio) it just means that unlike with some musicals I have seen, there are a lot more emotional moments in the non musical moments rather then in the musical moments overall. (What also helps in a way that I can’t entirely explain is that only the animal characters sing, rather then the main human characters, possibly in part because something about it just doesn’t feel weird to me)
So there you have it, these are the main reasons why I as someone who otherwise dislikes musicals enjoys the movie so much despite it being a musical. Let me know what you think and please let me know if I should make any improvements to the list if necessary
P.S. Please let’s not make any comparisons to the second movie as that was not the whole point of this post and regardless of my feelings on Rio 2, I feel it is simply not necessary due to there being so many posts about Rio 2 already, especially since there are often new posts about it everyday.

This is my first time posting so I’m sorry if it doesn’t make much sense or I’m trauma dumping a lot also a couple trigger warnings, I’m not sure where to start off with. Me and my mom used to be pretty close I’d say up until I started high school. Middle of eighth grade I moved to a new city so I was back to trying to find some friends. I’ve been moving around since I could remember, I used to live in Germany where I moved twice, then moved to the US around the Silicon Valley, moved again, and again and again now we’re here. I wouldn’t be explaining this part of my life if I felt like it didn’t have any weight in this situation. Middle school I found a friend, me and her got pretty close, stuck through Covid together. My mom hated her and not even two years into our friendship my mom started accusing her of stealing from us, being a bad influence and overall just being trashy. Her parents were in the middle of getting a divorce and she had a lot of things going on in her life. I dyed my hair red during this time too while being friends with her, she probably was a huge influence on me but that’s also because it was covid and I was bored and who doesn’t start irrationally bleaching and coloring their hair at 14. I think my mom thought she was a bad influence on that part too because she's the one that first started off coloring her hair like purple and pink etc. My mom never of course said anything to my friend but she made sure I would hear of her disapproval concerning her bad influence in my life. I stopped being friends with her freshman year since my parents banned me from having her over or going to her house, I couldn’t drive neither could she and hanging out at each other's houses was pretty much what we did 80% of the time. I was so frustrated and felt trapped because the only friend I really cared about was someone I wasn’t allowed to associate with anymore. I told her I was done being friends with her over text and blamed it on me just being in a dark place and breaking it off. She was confused and called me a week later about something personal but I just dismissed it. Granted there were other things going on in our friendship but I felt terrible about it especially since her parents were going through that divorce and I just left during such a sensitive time. I hate to admit it but I felt so much better since I started making new friends quickly and started sitting with a new group the next day. Mostly guys and other two girls, it worked out fine for the next year. Junior year my grades started dropping so my parents got stricter, started taking my phone, looking through it, screen time etc. I felt like it was a huge invasion of privacy since my mom would look through my texts. Me and my mom also started arguing weekly about whatever it was but when I mean arguing I mean like full on yelling for two hours down in the living room with no stopping. I can’t do anything about it because whenever I say something remotely disproving her so called “facts'' since she always speaks with so much authority on subjects she wouldn’t even know about I’m the one that has to quiet down from my fathers perspective, and I know this will be mostly about my mom but me and my dad have always been close even when we’re fighting within a week we at least make it up. We play the same sports, have the same humor etc. I understand this might look like us disregarding my mom and I know she cares and loves me yet in certain circumstances she doesn’t show it so of course there’s going to be reasons as to why I’m closer with my dad than her. For example I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 4th grade and of course I wouldn’t expect anyone to know that when you're low you need carbs or when your blood sugar is high you need insulin but my mom to this day still does not understand it. I wouldn’t care even if it’s my friend but as my mom you take so much authority over my life and who I can’t or can hangout with but you don’t know the basics of how I have to manage my life behind closed doors in the house that you and I live in every day. That might sound overdramatic but it’s just something I think about. Also growing up, I’m an only child by the way, I would always play by myself whenever we went on vacation for example to the beach etc. it was always my dad that came and played with me in the sand while at sharing his time with me and my mom so my mom wouldn’t gets upset over him leaving her to go play with me. Even now I notice how my mom would always make snarky comments regarding how my dad always treats me like a princess and cares too much over me. Anywho, since I know this is getting pretty long I’ll try to sum it up a bit more. I started liking one of the guys from that group, I would text him on a daily basis just about whatever. We were pretty awkward in person since I’ve never really talked to that many guys and I don’t think he really had much experience either so we stuck it to mostly phones, everyone else in the group also didn’t know. Once my mom went through my phone on one occasion that night, because she would collect it on some nights and read through my messages in bed she saw one message from that guy calling my mom bipolar and me responding with something like it’s fine like I still love her she freaked out. She told me to never talk to him again and that I’m a brat for talking about my family issues outside of the family etc. I honestly had nobody to talk to. The other two girls in the group didn’t really talk to me at this time, I later became really close with one of them though more on that later and I had no other friends in that town so it was really only him. He had a plethora of family issues that I couldn’t even imagine so I felt like he understood where I was coming from at times better than other kids with American parents. Not sure I mentioned but my parents were both born in Eastern Europe and grew up during heavy communism so that definitely affected them and their parenting style. Anywho, my mom sent me a paragraph to show to him, basically telling him to never talk to me again and that he has to apologize to her etc. After a couple months I think he took me out on a date. I'm not sure what to make of it since it was pretty casual. We just got ice cream. I told my parents that he was only picking me up so we could meet with the rest of the group when of course we’re not. The rest of the guys saw us downtown and found out about it. That kinda really sucked since I’m pretty sure one of them liked me so he got really mad and it kind of ruined the group dynamic. The guy I liked stopped talking to me a couple months in since I couldn’t really do much or go anywhere and dating as a result would be hard so he stopped really talking to me it was pretty off and on since I would get mad stop texting him and then he would try to get back texting at me and once I showed him I cared he’d stop. I was so mad at him and the situation that I refrained myself from talking to him, two weeks later he killed himself. I found out because one of the guys from the group faced me and told me. I went downstairs and started crying and formed the sentences explaining it the best I could, pushing a couple words out at a time. In that very moment I felt so hurt and vulnerable by what just happened my mom responded by just looking at me and saying that he had it coming for him since he probably vaped and drank. My dad ran downstairs since he probably heard me crying and the first thing he did without asking me any questions was hug me. For the first time ever he told my mom to shut up since her trying to ask me questions about how he died just made me sob harder. Over the next week my mom was pretty lenient about letting me go out. The next week she started asking what happened to him. Me and my mom were not close at all anymore at this time. You see mothers and daughters talking about guys or what dress they’re gonna wear to the prom etc in the movies. Me and my mom are not like that. On top of that I was overwhelmed with what happened and as someone does overthinking how things could have played out differently. Anyway I refused to tell her anything saying I was too uncomfortable and over the course of the next couple months of senior year she would get progressively mad and irritated at me to the point of arguing and yelling at me for not trusting her and telling her how he killed himself. I to this day told her nothing but she stopped asking. I don’t know how my dad feeds into this since he’s always so Switzerland about everything when I know I’m right in an argument between me and my mom, however when my mom has leverage he takes her side. Anyway, the beginning of senior year was rough. I hated being in that house and really started seriously considering the only options I felt like I had at the time. I started becoming closer to that one girl from the group earlier, spoiler alert my mom strongly dislikes her now too since she’s a liar and since she’s close with her mom but not her dad that means her parents are having marital issues and therefore her mom is a cheater etc. I don’t understand how she goes from one topic to another and sorts these things into her head. She’s my only friend that I’m really close with and I have been for the past these almost two so hearing this is very disheartening since I’m sending off senior year and I can’t do this again being so close to the end of the year. I forgot to mention but during homecoming I drank for the first time and I had one of my guy friends with his girlfriend and that friend that I’m not friends with drop me off. When he dropped me off he didn’t wave to my mom so she now thinks he’s a bastard in her words and disgusting and she deserves and apology for all the times he’s been over to my house etc. which I honestly think is insane because how do you always have so many issues over my friends and why are you so obsessed with 16 year olds, like you really have beef with high school kids as a 50 year old. Anyway the reason I bring that up is because I invited him over a couple weeks ago for some drills to help one of my other friends with mma since me and him used to wrestle and my mom got mad despite him not being there for me but for my other friends benefit. I’m not sure if this makes any sense. I'm trying to explain the issue best I can without saying too much. Anyway my friend, the one that I’m friends with now, the girl and that guy from the group that didn’t wave at my mom are both Latin so my mom started calling them cheaters and dirty etc when they had nothing to do with anything. This argument spiraled over me asking my mom if I can have a sleepover with those friends since we want to bring a new series on Netflix. Also during prom I asked my parents for 10 dollars since I already had twenty in my account and I wanted to buy hair stuff for prom. They gave me the 10 and I said how I was going to catch a ride with friend A so that when friend A picked me up but friend B that I did not mention in the plan picked me up my parents started calling and texting me. To give some background friend B has been close with me since freshman year, probably the only friend my mom has liked and also the only white friend I have not sure if that has anything do with it but there’s that. She’s really sweet and has been invited over multiple times to my house by my parents, they do really like her. Anywho yet since I didn’t mention that friend B was driving the car since my parents didn’t recognize the new car and knew it wasn’t friend A driving yet assumed it was indeed friend B but since I didn’t mention that they took all the money I had in my account which was only 30 dollars but it was what I needed to get my nails and hair gloss and hair spray for prom, I just started breaking down in the middle of target. I was so excited to get my stick on nails etc since I couldn’t afford to get the acrylics since I was paying for all my prom stuff for the most part. By the way I know that the 10 dollars was initially there so I understand taking away that but the other 20 I made selling my clothes on mercari and I had nothing else like no other cash nothing that was the money I worked on to get my prom stuff. It was mostly my dad actually that got mad at this point taking my money etc and than following a got a text from my mom saying I got what I was coming for by acting the way I have been. There were 3 others with me while I was at target so having three of my friends see me breakdown from me only having 14 cents left in my account was so humiliating. I ended up looking great at prom neither less so don’t even worry about that, my hair looked great and I found some old stick-ons in my laundry room and painted them white lol a couple of them popped off during prom but whatever. This has been really long and thanks to whoever spent their time reading through all of this I’m sorry if the read is a bit of a struggle but I just don’t know what to think or do of this situation. Keep in mind I’m 18 now, never have had a boyfriend, never have do anything, kissed, even held hands romantically etc. it’s one thing you know to not care about any of that but the thing is I do and I want to experience being a teenager and going out and going on dates and not worry about my mom flipping out on one of my friends. While we were in Italy one of the tour guys told her to move on the bus to make more room for others and she started cussing him out telling him to f himself etc for telling her a paying customer where to sit. Everyone started staring at us. I did not want to be there. I just kept my head down the entire time and didn’t really talk to my mom out of embarrassment for the next two days. Also after that prom incident I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere after as a result of go to friend B's birthday bash the next day so my mom texted her without my knowledge and told her not to tell me about how I’ve been acting up and one day I’ll learn when I’m her age but it will be too late and that I don’t know what I’m doing and finishing off my apologizing on my part for my behavior and I’m the reason why I can’t go to her party. Which I find so infuriating because one of the main reasons why I don’t tell my mom anything about my personal life is because I simply don’t want her to have that control of knowing what my life is like, I probably tell the teacher I TA for more than my own biological mother. The fact that she preached family issues in the family so heavily and that you should never talk about issues to others yet goes behind my back and tells my friend that my indecent behavior is the reason why I can’t go is so beyond me because where did your ideals go that you preached so heavily about. Every time I’m around my mom especially when she has her flares of anger I just start shaking like you know when you drink something with a lot of caffeine in the morning and you don’t eat anything so mid way through the day you just start getting jittery and anxious, kind of like that. Ok I think I’m done anyway thank you for tuning in cause I really have to start studying for human geo, thanks for reading up until here 🙂.

Hello! I’m looking to adopt a pigeon from Great Lakes Pigeon rescue and it will be my first time owning a pigeon (I’ve had other birds in the past tho) and I’m having trouble choosing a pigeon.
Im not trying to get attached to any particular pigeon right now in case something happens lol so I’m currently just browsing. I’ve narrowed it down to 3/4 pigeons. They’re all males and almost all adults but I can’t decide one a particular pigeon , I’m quite fond of all of them.
One of the pigeons is disabled so since I’m a first time pigeon owner I probably won’t be adopting him even tho he’s super adorable
The other one I’m reluctant to adopt is a young pigeon. The site doesn’t give a specific age just Young , Adult, & Senior so I’m assuming he’s pretty young. I’m a little hesitant cause I’ve heard how younger male pigeons can be aggressive during puberty and you have to train them more. Since it’s my first pigeon I don’t want to risk adopting a pigeon that I’m not experienced enough to handle & I don’t want to accidentally stress them out. So I’m wondering if I should avoid a younger pigeon or if it’s okay to adopt one.
The other 2 I’m considering I don’t really have concerns about . They’re both adult males and seem really sweet and cute (based on descriptions provided)
I don’t have a cage set up yet but I will be making one very soon (I already have a XL dog crate I just need to clean and get more supplies) and I’m only getting one pigeon but I’m homeschooled, I’m at home all day every day so I can spend a lot of time with him and he will be able to spend a lot of time outside his cage.
Also if anyone has any advice or tips for first time pigeon owners I’d greatly appreciate it! :)

I'm seriously considering making a video due to the amount of "tips" that are completely wrong or just lead to poor gameplay.
I'll start with 1 tip relating to feathers that seems to be holding back a few people.
Buying feathers, killing chickens or killing birds is not the only way to get feathers and is definitely not the best way. I need to test more to determine the exact factors, but the Hunters Camp is the best way to obtain feathers.
Just for reference... the first guy you recruit (Lubomir) has a camp on top of a cliff with a path that runs by him. If you follow that path south, it will run into a road and create a T intersection with a stone wall on the south side of the road. I created a Hunters camp directly south of the stone wall due to there being deer, boars, wolves, and birds all in the same area.
I set rabbits, wolves, boar, and deer to 0 and set Crows to top priority. Had an archer with 4 hunting and 4 archery assigned (need to test how stats impact).
After 3 hours of real time, I had 200 feathers. Problem solved.

(continuation of part 1)

III. Searching for Aerith Beyond FFVII

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

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

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

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

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

“I must go… must go to that place…”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

&

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cosmos hears him and responds immediately:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was a nice sunny summer day and I was bored as my fiancé was at work. He would be home in a few hours so I decided to visit a busy local park and walk the trails and I often did to pass the time. At the time I was around 18 or 19. In retrospect, I should have never been walking at the park alone but I had done it so many times and nothing bad had ever happened before. I know right? So naive, or maybe just plain stupid. Anyway, I arrived at the park and I started my walk along the trail. I was walking for a few minutes and was about to enter an area of the trail that went through a bit of woods. As I approached the trees, I heard some leaves rustling and saw some small birds pecking at the ground. I kept walking for a few minutes, getting deeper into the wooded area and heard the leaves rustling again. I look over into the trees, expecting to see another bird or maybe a squirrel. When I looked over, I didn’t see a squirrel or a bird or anything of the sort. What I saw, I could not comprehend. I saw a shadow, not see through like a ghost and not laid out on the ground like an actual shadow. This shadow figure was pitch black and stood upright. It had the shape of a taller man but no face. No eyes, no mouth, no nose, no ears, nothing. Just a shadow of the outline of a mans body. It was like my brain couldn’t process what it was seeing. I grabbed my pepper spray hoping this was just a human and my mind was only playing tricks on me and I could possibly defend myself from whoever this creep was. However, I quickly realized the sun shining right through the trees. I surely would’ve been able to see some features, clothes, eyes, hair, something. Nope, nothing. I was frozen looking at this thing, realizing that it could definitely not be human. I started slowly walking forward and as soon as I picked my leg up, its as if I was looking in a mirror only it wasn’t my reflection. It moved with me at the same exact moment. I thought I was going crazy and turned slowly to walk the other way, curious, keeping my eyes locked on it. It did the same, without any hesitation. Halfway pooping my pants, halfway still curious, I turned around again and started walking the other way, faster this time. Sure enough, it did the same. I turned to face it, it did the same. I stopped, frozen in fear just staring at it. It stopped as well, staring right back. There we were. My shadow person and I, just staring at each other for what felt like an hour. In reality it was just a few seconds. What happened next made me feel like I was in a freaking horror movie. It lifted its hand and very slowly waved at me. I felt the biggest wave of fear rush over me. Curiosity wasn’t gonna kill this cat. I booked it back in the direction I came from. I felt like I was running a million miles a minute. My heart was in my toes and I kept looking back as I was running to make sure it wasn’t following me. I just kept going until I reached the busy basketball courts. I sat there for a while until I calmed down enough to drive home. I got home safely and have never seen that thing again. It was the only thing I could think about for months after. I tried to research what it could’ve been but to no avail. The closest thing I could find was Hatman and that wasn’t it. Only after, did I think about the fact that the park I was at is a memorial park of a Blue Angels captain who had passed away in an aviation accident nearby. It makes me wonder if maybe that was him, waving at me from beyond this realm. After all, the captain was a tall man with the same kind of build as that shadow. But the question is why?! I don’t know and I don’t believe I ever will know but I am okay with that. But what I do know is that I will never go walking trails alone again, no matter how busy or “safe” the area may be.

We often sacrifice much for those we cherish showing them how much we care but sometimes they disappoint Us by exploiting our kindness for their own gain. They might seem friendly when they need something but once they've gotten what they wanted they vanish like a bird in flight so how can we regain control of such situations.
Today we delve into nine crucial aspects of interaction between men and women drawing inspiration from the stoic philosophy that has withstood the test of time. By avoiding these nine actions we can swiftly notice positive changes in our relationships empowering ourselves in the process so if you are experiencing difficulties in your relationship take a seat open your minds and let's embark on this enlightening journey together.

Number 1 - Don't reshape your life to fit others

Imagine trying to build a puzzle with pieces that just don't fit together causing frustration and confusion at every turn that's what it feels like when you try to conform to others expectations, it's like Seneca said everywhere means nowhere, trying to do too much at once leaves you feeling lost and unsure of where you're headed instead of trying to blend in like a chameleon, it's time to stand out like a shining star in the night sky. Be proud of who you are and the things that make you different, don't let others dictate how you should live your life it's time to take control and walk your own path.
Remember your life is your own story to write not someone else's so let your true colors shine and paint the world with your authenticity and purpose.

Number 2 - Don't ruin your life by being too obsessed with someone

Don't let your life revolve solely around others like a satellite stuck in orbit. When you focus too much on someone else it's easy to lose sight of your own dream and what makes you special instead of nurturing your own goals and aspirations you find yourself constantly catering to their needs and desires neglecting your own thirst for fulfilment as the wise Marcus Aelius once said, nowhere can a man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.
When you become too entangled in someone else's world it disrupts your balance casting you into the shadows and stripping away your sense of worth. Break free from their hold and stop being a mere satellite to their planet, your life isn't a supporting act in someone else's story.
You're the lead role the star of your own Journey, always remember that and never let anyone dim your brilliance.

Number 3 - Don't let anything harm your mental health or happiness

Prioritizing someone else's happiness over your own mental well-being is like giving away your flashlight in the dark leaving yourself stumbling and lost. When you neglect your own health to cater to someone else's needs you're essentially surrendering control of your own happiness instead of finding fulfilment, you end up in a cycle of trying to please them while your own spirit's plummet.
It's crucial to take a step back and reclaim ownership of your life. Your mental health and happiness are invaluable assets that shouldn't be compromised or traded away rather than playing a supporting role in someone else's narrative seize the spotlight and become the protagonist of your own story. Protect your inner peace and joy with unwavering determination strengthen your resilience and refuse to let anyone steal your happiness, your mind belongs to you alone and you have the power to shape your own destiny.

Number 4 - Don't push friends or family away for someone else

Don't keep your distance from your friends and family just because you're really into someone else, it's kind of like cutting off branches from the tree that's holding you up each friend and family member is like a branch that's always been there to help you, if you start pushing them away it's not just about losing friends, you're also weakening the support system that's been there for you.
Plato once said people are like dirt, they can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.
When you isolate yourself from your loved ones just to seek approval from someone else you're picking a tough road, take the initiative to rekindle those significant relationships, nurture your support system your friends and family form an Irreplaceable Network serving as your bedrock and source of strength. Embrace the steadfast companions who have stood by you through thick and thin.

Number 5 - Don't invest too much time in them

Don't pour all your precious time into someone else's bottomless well of need, it's like tossing your most valuable asset into into a dark abyss. Each moment you devoted excessively to them is a moment of your life slipping away forever.
Time is your greatest treasure not a bargaining chip in someone else's endless demands as Seneca wisely observed it is not that we have a short time to live but that we waste a lot of it by surrendering all your time to someone else you're forfeiting the most vibrant moments of your existence.
Reclaim your time it belongs to you alone not to anyone else. Don't allow them to overshadow your entire life, seek equilibrium invest your time thoughtfully cherish it and allocated to endeavors that ignite your passion foster growth and bring you fulfilment, remember you wield authority over your own time don't fritter it away on someone who may not value its significance.

Number 6 - Don't reveal everything about your past especially the tough times

Revealing your entire past to someone is like unfolding every hidden aspect and challenge you've encountered. Your past especially the difficult aspects is deeply personal.
It's the narrative of your own Journey that helped you navigate through tough times, it's not something to divulge for others to take pleasure in or pass judgment on. Discussing all your past Secrets means you're revisiting old challenges. Now You're vulnerable to potential harm or exploitation, keep your secrets securely held within yourself not everyone deserves access to them. Only disclose what is necessary while safeguarding the core elements of your narrative.
This is what fortifies you and ensures your protection, don't relinquish your defenses to someone else, exercise caution in choosing whom to confide in. Your life story belongs exclusively to you, it's not for others to casually revel in.

We often sacrifice much for those we cherish showing them how much we care but sometimes they disappoint Us by exploiting our kindness for their own gain. They might seem friendly when they need something but once they've gotten what they wanted they vanish like a bird in flight so how can we regain control of such situations.
Today we delve into nine crucial aspects of interaction between men and women drawing inspiration from the stoic philosophy that has withstood the test of time. By avoiding these nine actions we can swiftly notice positive changes in our relationships empowering ourselves in the process so if you are experiencing difficulties in your relationship take a seat open your minds and let's embark on this enlightening journey together.

Number 1 - Don't reshape your life to fit others

Imagine trying to build a puzzle with pieces that just don't fit together causing frustration and confusion at every turn that's what it feels like when you try to conform to others expectations, it's like Seneca said everywhere means nowhere, trying to do too much at once leaves you feeling lost and unsure of where you're headed instead of trying to blend in like a chameleon, it's time to stand out like a shining star in the night sky. Be proud of who you are and the things that make you different, don't let others dictate how you should live your life it's time to take control and walk your own path.
Remember your life is your own story to write not someone else's so let your true colors shine and paint the world with your authenticity and purpose.

Number 2 - Don't ruin your life by being too obsessed with someone

Don't let your life revolve solely around others like a satellite stuck in orbit. When you focus too much on someone else it's easy to lose sight of your own dream and what makes you special instead of nurturing your own goals and aspirations you find yourself constantly catering to their needs and desires neglecting your own thirst for fulfilment as the wise Marcus Aelius once said, nowhere can a man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.
When you become too entangled in someone else's world it disrupts your balance casting you into the shadows and stripping away your sense of worth. Break free from their hold and stop being a mere satellite to their planet, your life isn't a supporting act in someone else's story.
You're the lead role the star of your own Journey, always remember that and never let anyone dim your brilliance.

Number 3 - Don't let anything harm your mental health or happiness

Prioritizing someone else's happiness over your own mental well-being is like giving away your flashlight in the dark leaving yourself stumbling and lost. When you neglect your own health to cater to someone else's needs you're essentially surrendering control of your own happiness instead of finding fulfilment, you end up in a cycle of trying to please them while your own spirit's plummet.
It's crucial to take a step back and reclaim ownership of your life. Your mental health and happiness are invaluable assets that shouldn't be compromised or traded away rather than playing a supporting role in someone else's narrative seize the spotlight and become the protagonist of your own story. Protect your inner peace and joy with unwavering determination strengthen your resilience and refuse to let anyone steal your happiness, your mind belongs to you alone and you have the power to shape your own destiny.

Number 4 - Don't push friends or family away for someone else

Don't keep your distance from your friends and family just because you're really into someone else, it's kind of like cutting off branches from the tree that's holding you up each friend and family member is like a branch that's always been there to help you, if you start pushing them away it's not just about losing friends, you're also weakening the support system that's been there for you.
Plato once said people are like dirt, they can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.
When you isolate yourself from your loved ones just to seek approval from someone else you're picking a tough road, take the initiative to rekindle those significant relationships, nurture your support system your friends and family form an Irreplaceable Network serving as your bedrock and source of strength. Embrace the steadfast companions who have stood by you through thick and thin.

Number 5 - Don't invest too much time in them

Don't pour all your precious time into someone else's bottomless well of need, it's like tossing your most valuable asset into into a dark abyss. Each moment you devoted excessively to them is a moment of your life slipping away forever.
Time is your greatest treasure not a bargaining chip in someone else's endless demands as Seneca wisely observed it is not that we have a short time to live but that we waste a lot of it by surrendering all your time to someone else you're forfeiting the most vibrant moments of your existence.
Reclaim your time it belongs to you alone not to anyone else. Don't allow them to overshadow your entire life, seek equilibrium invest your time thoughtfully cherish it and allocated to endeavors that ignite your passion foster growth and bring you fulfilment, remember you wield authority over your own time don't fritter it away on someone who may not value its significance.

Number 6 - Don't reveal everything about your past especially the tough times

Revealing your entire past to someone is like unfolding every hidden aspect and challenge you've encountered. Your past especially the difficult aspects is deeply personal.
It's the narrative of your own Journey that helped you navigate through tough times, it's not something to divulge for others to take pleasure in or pass judgment on. Discussing all your past Secrets means you're revisiting old challenges. Now You're vulnerable to potential harm or exploitation, keep your secrets securely held within yourself not everyone deserves access to them. Only disclose what is necessary while safeguarding the core elements of your narrative.
This is what fortifies you and ensures your protection, don't relinquish your defenses to someone else, exercise caution in choosing whom to confide in. Your life story belongs exclusively to you, it's not for others to casually revel in.

We often sacrifice much for those we cherish showing them how much we care but sometimes they disappoint Us by exploiting our kindness for their own gain. They might seem friendly when they need something but once they've gotten what they wanted they vanish like a bird in flight so how can we regain control of such situations.
Today we delve into nine crucial aspects of interaction between men and women drawing inspiration from the stoic philosophy that has withstood the test of time. By avoiding these nine actions we can swiftly notice positive changes in our relationships empowering ourselves in the process so if you are experiencing difficulties in your relationship take a seat open your minds and let's embark on this enlightening journey together.

Number 1 - Don't reshape your life to fit others

Imagine trying to build a puzzle with pieces that just don't fit together causing frustration and confusion at every turn that's what it feels like when you try to conform to others expectations, it's like Seneca said everywhere means nowhere, trying to do too much at once leaves you feeling lost and unsure of where you're headed instead of trying to blend in like a chameleon, it's time to stand out like a shining star in the night sky. Be proud of who you are and the things that make you different, don't let others dictate how you should live your life it's time to take control and walk your own path.
Remember your life is your own story to write not someone else's so let your true colors shine and paint the world with your authenticity and purpose.

Number 2 - Don't ruin your life by being too obsessed with someone

Don't let your life revolve solely around others like a satellite stuck in orbit. When you focus too much on someone else it's easy to lose sight of your own dream and what makes you special instead of nurturing your own goals and aspirations you find yourself constantly catering to their needs and desires neglecting your own thirst for fulfilment as the wise Marcus Aelius once said, nowhere can a man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.
When you become too entangled in someone else's world it disrupts your balance casting you into the shadows and stripping away your sense of worth. Break free from their hold and stop being a mere satellite to their planet, your life isn't a supporting act in someone else's story.
You're the lead role the star of your own Journey, always remember that and never let anyone dim your brilliance.

Number 3 - Don't let anything harm your mental health or happiness

Prioritizing someone else's happiness over your own mental well-being is like giving away your flashlight in the dark leaving yourself stumbling and lost. When you neglect your own health to cater to someone else's needs you're essentially surrendering control of your own happiness instead of finding fulfilment, you end up in a cycle of trying to please them while your own spirit's plummet.
It's crucial to take a step back and reclaim ownership of your life. Your mental health and happiness are invaluable assets that shouldn't be compromised or traded away rather than playing a supporting role in someone else's narrative seize the spotlight and become the protagonist of your own story. Protect your inner peace and joy with unwavering determination strengthen your resilience and refuse to let anyone steal your happiness, your mind belongs to you alone and you have the power to shape your own destiny.

Number 4 - Don't push friends or family away for someone else

Don't keep your distance from your friends and family just because you're really into someone else, it's kind of like cutting off branches from the tree that's holding you up each friend and family member is like a branch that's always been there to help you, if you start pushing them away it's not just about losing friends, you're also weakening the support system that's been there for you.
Plato once said people are like dirt, they can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.
When you isolate yourself from your loved ones just to seek approval from someone else you're picking a tough road, take the initiative to rekindle those significant relationships, nurture your support system your friends and family form an Irreplaceable Network serving as your bedrock and source of strength. Embrace the steadfast companions who have stood by you through thick and thin.

Number 5 - Don't invest too much time in them

Don't pour all your precious time into someone else's bottomless well of need, it's like tossing your most valuable asset into into a dark abyss. Each moment you devoted excessively to them is a moment of your life slipping away forever.
Time is your greatest treasure not a bargaining chip in someone else's endless demands as Seneca wisely observed it is not that we have a short time to live but that we waste a lot of it by surrendering all your time to someone else you're forfeiting the most vibrant moments of your existence.
Reclaim your time it belongs to you alone not to anyone else. Don't allow them to overshadow your entire life, seek equilibrium invest your time thoughtfully cherish it and allocated to endeavors that ignite your passion foster growth and bring you fulfilment, remember you wield authority over your own time don't fritter it away on someone who may not value its significance.

Number 6 - Don't reveal everything about your past especially the tough times

Revealing your entire past to someone is like unfolding every hidden aspect and challenge you've encountered. Your past especially the difficult aspects is deeply personal.
It's the narrative of your own Journey that helped you navigate through tough times, it's not something to divulge for others to take pleasure in or pass judgment on. Discussing all your past Secrets means you're revisiting old challenges. Now You're vulnerable to potential harm or exploitation, keep your secrets securely held within yourself not everyone deserves access to them. Only disclose what is necessary while safeguarding the core elements of your narrative.
This is what fortifies you and ensures your protection, don't relinquish your defenses to someone else, exercise caution in choosing whom to confide in. Your life story belongs exclusively to you, it's not for others to casually revel in.

-- I just kinda wrote down how i'm feeling at the moment. I made it in the style of a story. But it's the best way i can get it out. Sorry it is long. Just read it. That's all I ask. --
I don’t know what I’m doing. For the better part of 10 years, my entire adult life, I’ve never known what it is that I’m trying to accomplish. Am I doing the right thing by dedicating all my time to my work? What do I consider my work? Is it my actual job that pays me biweekly? Or is it my job as a father... or maybe it’s my major at university? Whatever it is, it’s never enough. Life is supposed to be fulfilling and right now, I can’t tell the difference between fulfilling and life-sucking. Distractions scratch an itch but have never satisfied my hunger.
Enough complaining, let me tell you what I do on a daily basis. My day starts at 6 AM. Why? Because I’m a slave to the corporate machine. But that’s a story for another day. Work ends around 4 PM if things go the way they should, and often they don’t. My commute home usually takes 30 to 45 minutes due to the ignorant shipyard traffic that consumes every road, freeway, and dirt road. Hundreds of moron drivers that create a ghost of a traffic jam. It’s now 5 PM. I’m free. Respite from retail hell. From the public. I’m alone. At least for now. What’s next? Dinner, dishes, workout, or relax? God knows relaxing isn’t a real option. Working out? No thanks, I’ve been on my feet for 10 hours. Dinner will get me yelled at by my family if I pick the wrong thing to eat, we’ll get to that later, so dishes it is! 6:30 PM. They arrive. My wife, my son, and the attitude that comes along with it. What did I do this time? Why is everyone raising their voice at me? Why do I get attitude, huffing and puffing, and whining when I ask for any kind of help? Oh, you worked for 3 hours today and your back hurts. I’m sorry. The kid has been a pain since you got home? I’m sorry. You don’t feel good? I’m sorry. Have you noticed my problem yet? Obviously, I haven’t made dinner yet. Good job thinking about other’s feelings. Worked out great.
Back in 2019, I was let go from my job. COVID was great, right? Unemployment was paying more than I made working my full-time job. I’m not going to pretend to be a good little boy and not abuse it. I did. I milked the fuck out of it. I took a leap and applied for college. My dream has always been to make video games. My life has revolved around them since I was in diapers. I signed up for a 4-year degree in game programming. Little did I know that this was just a misguided investment in my own validation.
It is now 9:00 PM, and aside from the wife and the kid asking me to come to the room every 15 minutes, I have time. Not much, but I have some. Enough. I hope… What is left that I need to do? I need to do homework. Yay. The time is now 2:00 AM. I should probably go to bed… but I’ve had absolutely zero me time. A couple YouTube videos wouldn’t hurt right? What’s the difference between 4 hours of sleep and 3 hours of sleep? Not much honestly. Some time between 2 AM and 4 AM I go to bed. Every night is different, don’t judge me.
The cycle continues. 2-4 hours of sleep, work, cleaning, yelled at, dinner, homework, repeat. For the record, that is not all I do. There are some smaller amounts of time where I spend time with my son, or I have a few minutes free to play games, or spend time with my wife. Even when I’m being judged or yelled at, I’m expected to stay calm and levelheaded. It’s my job. I’m a man, welcome. I’ve also searched for more fulfilling hobbies and that’s what comes next.
From 2015 to 2017 I was streaming on twitch. I loved every minute of it. I was growing and making real money. Then THE big event happened. My wife, my girlfriend at the time with our newborn child, and I were supposed to be moving out that weekend. I took off early from work that day to get started. I walk in the apartment. Empty. Aside from a bed in the corner of the room, a dresser, my computer, and my poor dog Bella inside a cage. I let the dog out, walked around to see what else I needed to move. I called my girlfriend, excited that she had gotten a head start on our move. If you’ve figured it out already, yes, she did. If you haven’t, she was leaving me and taking our child. This was the start of my downfall.
A lot happened between then and now. But it worked out. We got married. Almost divorced. A lot of toxicity between us. But I loved her. And I loved my son. They were, and still are, my everything. So, I stuck it out.
Enough babbling. I’m currently learning two languages to further my own personal education. Spanish and Japanese. Spanish because it’s difficult to get by in life without it, and Japanese because I am obsessed with Japan and Japanese culture, and I hope to travel to Japan someday. So, on top of everything, I’m also doing that. It takes a lot out of me.
Is that it, OP? You’re overfilling your plate… You’re going too fast, doing too much, and not living a healthy lifestyle. No. It’s not it. Here comes YouTube. No, not the videos I watch. I also make videos. The 30ish minutes I have available to play games? Yeah, I multitask and use my game time to record a video. Shameless mid story plug? You be the judge.
Some nights are spent mashing watching videos, doing homework, or relaxing with editing the videos. No one wants just a recording of some idiot playing video games. It needs quality, it needs cuts, it needs love, it needs hours…
Is it alot to some people? Yeah, and some others might say that it’s light work. It’s not good to have such little sleep. On top of the sleep apnea I already have, which makes my 2-4 hours of sleep the equivalent of 1-2 hours of sleep.
I’ve realized that I’m stuck. I’ve done way too much to give up, and I’ve done way too much to keep going. I’m financially ruined, physically destroyed, and metaphorically molested. All because I wanted something. Validation.
Take it from me. It’s not worth it. Live your life. Know your limits. Don’t seek validation.

This is really hard to write out but I’m throwing this into the void to see if anyone has made it out of this. I need some hope right now. TW for discussion of relationship trauma.
I am in my mid twenties. I have had anxious tendencies since I was a child, but had a very good childhood despite some pretty intense “eldest daughter syndrome.” I take 25 mg of hydroxyzine as needed but i feel like it doesn’t do anything anymore— something I will need to discuss with my provider.
For four years, I lived with a boyfriend who was made very uncomfortable by expressions of emotion. When I felt anxious or cried, he would insist I needed to be fixed by more therapy, wait for me to cry it out alone in a room, or simply sit there and not say anything. As time passed, my emotions would grow bigger and bigger. Every emotion I had I would begin to doubt which led to a spiral as I sat there wondering what was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I be normal? He didn’t want me to come to family or friend gatherings anymore but wouldn’t tell me until the last minute because he knew I would have a big reaction— and I did because very suddenly I would be told he didn’t want me around and that I would be left behind in an empty apartment with no car and at the time no friends in my area. I would begin to have panic attacks as I scrambled to apologize for how I am and for being disappointed and for the fact that I was showing emotion in front of him. He would leave me on the floor and describe this to me and others in overly simple terms. Things like “she gets upset when I go out,” neglecting the complexity of why I was reacting how I was.
In those four years I was treated like a feral animal that had somehow escaped its cage and I started to believe it.
That relationship ended some time ago. I want to come back to the real world so bad but it feels like a minefield and I feel like a ghost of fear that wears my skin. I still feel like that feral animal. I show traits of separation anxiety because that fear of being left behind was so solidified in me it drives a lot of the choices I make. I’m not a bad person. I’m not upset that people in my life go on trips and have fun with others, but I feel like that’s how I come off. When I feel myself unable to contain my emotions, I feel so much shame I spiral out almost immediately. I want to bite and bark at anyone who comes close to remove the possibility that they could leave me alone again.
Do you think there’s a way out of this? It’s so heavy to carry and I’m so tired. I know deep down that I’m worthy of love but I’m so scared to believe anyone who offers it to me.

Please see previous post for further news: https://www.reddit.com/arknights/comments/1ct4sva/concept_pv4_puzzle_reveals_a_huge_news/
Original source: https://nga.178.com/read.php?tid=40185395, all translated by GPT4.
Recording 1: The custodians, 9th of March, 200 91 629
我还记得，最后一次和你辩论的时候，你说自己绝对不会再和蠢人共事，就算这个蠢人，是宇宙里最后一个还在尝试挽救文明的人。呵，现在看来，我也是一个蠢人。但我绝对不是最后一个试图再做点什么的人。想必这个时候，你一定已经和家人做了告别。但他们一定不会知道，你不会进入石棺，我们都清楚。保存者计划没有得到很多支持，原因不是这项计划没法拯救所有人，而是必须有人为此付出残忍的牺牲。你会独自度过漫长的时光。而我会等待阳光，从轨道反射镜都散去。熄灭我面前的这盏灯。弗里斯顿，泰拉上的最后一个蠢人，向你告别。
I still remember the last time we debated, you said you would absolutely never again work with fools, even if that fool was the last person in the universe trying to save civilization. Ah, it seems I am also a fool now. But I am definitely not the last one trying to do something more. By now, you must have already said goodbye to your family. But they definitely won't know that you won't enter the sarcophagus, we both know that. The Preservation Project didn't get much support, not because it couldn't save everyone, but because it required someone to make a cruel sacrifice. You will spend a long time alone. And I will wait for the sunlight, after it scatters from the orbital mirrors. To extinguish the lamp before me. Friston, the last fool on Terra, bids you farewell.
Recording 2: The forsterer(sound, not know what word yet), 23rd of December, 200 28 216
洛，很抱歉没能继续回复你，但这是一个迟到的好消息。你在深蓝之树的那几位几公里长的大朋友，他们活体组织样本的环境适应性分析已经全部完成。从分析结果来看，他们能从毁灭中幸存下来。但他们也需要很多时间，才能成为播撒新希望的航船。洛，请不要认为你的成功对我们来说为时已晚，让他们活下去吧。这些美丽的海洋生灵没有必要加入我们的毁灭，未来也许他们会带上我们留下的一点点尘埃，向冰冷的虚空迈出一步。
Luo, I'm sorry for not being able to continue responding, but here is some belated good news. The environmental adaptability analysis of the living tissue samples from those several-kilometer-long big friends at the Deep Blue Tree has been completed. According to the results, they can survive the destruction. However, they will need a lot of time before they can become vessels that sow new hope. Luo, please do not think that your success comes too late for us; let them live on. These beautiful marine creatures need not join in our destruction, and perhaps in the future, they might carry a bit of the dust we leave behind and take a step into the cold void.
Recording 3: The security, 16th of January, 200 29 956
爱德，这是我最后一次向你说明我的看法。很快，所有的人造天体都会成为轨道上的墓碑，再也没人可以对他们发号施令，你也一样。我还记得你的小副业，那家开在拖船里的老餐馆，没有合成设备，只有围裙和烤炉，而你是最后一个知道怎么宰杀动物、怎么把他们加工成食物的人。你总是反对我们遗忘，所以爱德，我希望你能够理解，我们需要的不是胜利，是存续。天堂支点的确是一件强大的武器，但我们的敌人无法被武器打倒，设置(……杂音)没有意义。
Ed, this is the last time I will explain my viewpoint to you. Soon, all artificial celestial bodies will become tombs in orbit, with no one to command them, and you will be no exception. I still remember your little side business, that old restaurant in a tugboat, with no synthetic equipment, just aprons and ovens, and you were the last person who knew how to slaughter animals and turn them into food. You always opposed our forgetting, so Ed, I hope you can understand that what we need is not victory, but survival. The Pivot of Heaven is indeed a powerful weapon, but our enemy cannot be defeated by weapons, making the setting (…static) meaningless.
Recording 4: The Lumberer (no dates)
请想象一片不完美的树林，昆虫与飞鸟并不常见，也没有狩猎的野兽在其中漫步。有时，两颗原本相差无几的树苗，一颗夭折于幼年，另一颗却长出了繁盛的树冠；有时某些树木会投下恶意的影子，让他们的邻居在阴影中枯萎。这些都算不上多么可怕的事，毕竟他们只是树木而已。但是在这片树林里住着一位伐木工，伐木工勤劳地挥动着斧子，树木在他面前一一倒下，无论他们的枝杈是否蓬勃、果实是否甜美、叶片在阳光下是什么颜色。没有哪棵树了解这位伐木工的来历，那些古老的树木早已沉寂，也没有哪棵树能阻止伐木工挥动斧子，再盘根错节的枝干也会被劈开。你相信吗？竟然有这样一片树林，这样一位伐木工。好，我们继续。这一天，伐木工照常举起了斧子，又一棵树在他面前倒下，可伐木工转身离去后，树桩里溢出了树脂，把断裂的枝干粘合在一起。伐木工清理出的空地再一次长满了树木，而且还不止于此，透明的树脂吞没了这片只存在于故事里的树林，你眼前很快就只剩下一枚漂亮的琥珀，没有随风而动的树木和伐木工的斧子，也没有分型、函数、与哲学的纤维在湿润的土壤中生长。现在，我需要你记住这枚琥珀的样子，它真的很美。
Imagine an imperfect forest, where insects and flying birds are uncommon, and there are no hunting beasts wandering through it. Sometimes, two seedlings, hardly different from each other, end up with different fates: one dies young while the other grows a lush canopy; sometimes some trees cast malicious shadows that cause their neighbors to wither in the shade. These are not terrible things, after all, they are just trees. But in this forest lives a lumberjack, who diligently swings his axe, felling trees regardless of whether their branches are thriving, their fruit is sweet, or what color their leaves are in the sunlight. No tree knows the origin of this lumberjack, the ancient trees have long been silent, and no tree can stop the lumberjack from swinging his axe, even the most intricately entwined branches are split apart.
Do you believe it? There really is such a forest, such a lumberjack. Good, let’s continue. One day, as usual, the lumberjack raised his axe, and another tree fell before him. But after the lumberjack turned and left, resin flowed out from the stump, binding the broken branches together. The clearing made by the lumberjack once again grew full of trees, and more than that, the clear resin engulfed this forest, which exists only in stories, and soon all you see before you is a beautiful piece of amber. There are no trees swaying with the wind, no axe of the lumberjack, nor any fibers of division, function, or philosophy growing in the moist soil. Now, I need you to remember what this amber looks like, it is truly beautiful.

I had a pretty intense session with my new therapist recently. We talked about my childhood and how growing up in a wealthy family wasn’t the blessing it might seem like from the outside.
From the outside, my life looked ideal. My father was a successful stockbroker, and the two of us lived in this big house on a secluded piece of land. I always dressed well (one standard outfit, but very clean and formal), went to a good school, and we never worried about money. But behind closed doors, it was a nightmare.
My father was an abusive tyrant. He used his wealth and influence to control every aspect of my childhood. Whenever I didn't meet his expectations, the punishments were severe. We had a private doctor, so no one ever saw the bruises and other injuries. And because we lived so far from neighbors, no one ever heard or saw anything that happened at home.
The wealth created this impenetrable facade. Teachers, friends, and even the community saw us as the perfect family. My father's massive donations to the local church only reinforced his image as a pillar of the community. No one could have guessed how violent and at home.
Despite the wealth, I didn't benefit much from it. I didn’t have any toys growing up or children’s books to read. My father would often withhold food as a form of punishment. The material comforts that people probably assumed came with his financial status were often denied to me.
This discrepancy between the public image and the private reality made it almost impossible for me to seek help. I felt trapped, like no one would believe me because of the privilege that surrounded me. Even now, as an adult, I struggle with the cognitive dissonance of those years.
When I turned 18, I finally escaped. But my father didn't help pay for anything in my adulthood—he didn't put in a single dollar towards my college loans. The wealth that surrounded my childhood was never for me; it was another way for my father to control and manipulate.
In today's session, my therapist helped me see that the wealth not only masked the abuse but also intensified it. My father used it as a weapon, a means of control. I couldn't leave, I couldn't speak out, and I couldn't fight back. The money was a gilded cage.
I'm not sure why I’m sharing this, maybe just to get it off my chest. Wealth doesn’t protect us from abuse; it can make it harder to escape. If you’re in a situation where your abuser uses money as a means of control, I guess I just want you to know you’re not imagining things.