WARNING: This post is long and there is a TLDR at the bottom.
I just read the watched the newest Sailing Development Update, so far I would say it looks great for being so early on in development. I also read some of the comments here on reddit, and I think there is a lot of negativity. Sailing does seem like it will be hard to design and implement correctly, but I don't think it is impossible.
I believe that the skill needs to be integrated very well into the rest of the game for it to feel like it belongs. This post talks about integration of content into the game and how to potentially do it.
One thing that I noticed right away was the training methods and the loot.

Loot:

The loot seemed to just be a bunch of random base materials. Please do not make sailing rewards similar to temperos or wilderness agility course. Both of these activities just give the player a bunch of loot that doesn't really fit the activity (mostly in the form of alchs) so that the GP/H goes up and the activity becomes economically viable in the game.
I think that this trend is okay for some smaller activities (like the ones listed above), but is really just a quick band-aid fix for not having other engaging reward space. I don't think this idea would be enough for an entire skill to ride on.

Integration:

A big reason other skills feel like they fit into the game well is because the rewards you get from performing those activities are applicable (and integrated) throughout the rest of the game.
For example:

• Herblore makes potions that are used to boost your stats, which in turn is used everywhere throughout the game. People use potions in combat, for skilling boosts, and to restore things like run-energy, prayer points, and even curing poison / venom.
• Farming is used to gain herbs (and other produce) which feeds Herblore and subsequently feels like it then gives the player access to the benefits of potions through Herblore.
• Prayer affects the player's combat drastically and is therefore very rewarding to train. Also, it is interwoven tightly with Herblore for Prayer pots and Super Restores, thus giving more value to Herblore. Bones are mainly gained through slayer, etc.
• Mining & Smithing are used to make gear that is then used in combat. The same applies to Woodcutting & Fletching. Crafting also uses a combination of materials from other skills.
• Fishing & Cooking are the main sources of food into the game for combat.

The point is that I believe these skills feel good and feel like they fit within the game because they cross-pollinate into one another. Everything is a big web of activities that feed each other.
To further make this point, I want to talk about a few skills that are normally regarded as lacking.
Firemaking Firemaking as it currently stands is a skill I think most people would agree is not too great. It is not fulfilling to train because it lives in a vacuum. Firemaking was always trained for training's sake. Burning higher tiered logs has no benefit and the skill itself provides nothing to the play experience other than forced requirements.
This skill was so horrifying to train that it required a new mini game (or "boss") to simply allow players to power level through it just to get it over with. Similar to temperos, wintertodt needed to give a bunch of raw materials for other skills to make it worth while.
The point is that this skill feels like a black sheep because it is not integrated into the game like the others are. It doesn't cross pollinate with other skills and does not impact the player's gameplay experience.
Hunter Hunter is also a skill that feels like it doesn't belong. Why? Well because it is not integrated well into the rest of the game. Most of the materials you get from hunter do not have a use case, so training it feels like the player is mostly doing it for the sake of training.
I do want to say though that I acknowledge the recent hunter changes and they were definitely an improvement, but my point still stands. If the furs from hunter were used in crafting, or the bones in fletching, or the salamanders were relevant, etc. The skill would feel more rewarding to train.
Dungeoneering While dungeoneering is not a skill in OSRS, we can learn a lot from it. I always loved dungeoneering, but it seemed to feel more like a good mini-game that had its own skill and experience attached to it.
It was a rewarding skill to train, the skill gameplay itself was fun and engaging, and it did utilize almost every other skill in the dungeon floors, yet it still felt like a mini-game.
I believe this is because the only thing to gain from the skill was combat weapons. Training the skill itself didn't cross pollinate into the others. High dungeoneering didn't unlock anything or contribute to any other parts of the game at all.

Conclusion & Ideas

Please talk about how Sailing will be integrated into the game. I believe that unless it is integrated into the rest of the game like described in this post, it will feel off. The latest dev-blog does show potential, but I received very mini-game esq vibes from it.
I do have a few ideas on things that could be included. These ideas were just shallowly thought of on the spot to make my point and spark discussion. Further refinement would of course need to be made and new ideas are necessary as well.
New Farming Patch: Maybe sailing could introduce a new type of farming patch (or multiple). With this new patch new herb like items could be farmed and then integrated into Herblore with a few new potions. This new patch type might just be found on islands that the player must sail to. The seeds for this new patch could be added to non-sailing monster drops (normal slayer creatures).
New Hunter Animals: There could potentially be new hunter animals added to the game and/or just new spots to do existing hunter.
New PoH Room(s): Maybe there is a new room in the PoH that the player can build to not only effect the sailing skill itself, but provide utility benefit to other activities (like the utility of the portal room). Maybe some of the higher tier furniture needs rare loot that is obtained from Sailing (or a boss that is only accessed through sailing).
Deep Sea Fishing: Sailing seems to naturally fit with fishing thematically. Maybe the player could find fishing spots on some islands that were inaccessible before. This could provide integration with both fishing and cooking.
Item Storage: It seemed to me from the dev-blog video that the player received loot through crates because they wouldn't have enough inventory space to carry rewards throughout a larger voyage. The necessity to bank would heavily impede on the skill and break emersion. The crate like loot system really gave me mini game vibes and honestly came off as a bit lazy (no offense Jagex).
If this is true, I believe it could potentially be solved with storage units in the hull of the ship. Allow players to have a large bank-like storage in the ship's hull that could hold items obtained when out at sea. Then, simply force them to empty the storage when they return to port so that it can't be used as a permanent alternative to bank space. Further design would be necessary for UIM considerations.
Maybe the ships could include multiple different storage options that were upgradable. We could even utilize the current brewing mechanics (from things like making wines) to make certain sea loot spoil over time. For example: if the deep sea fishing idea from above was implemented, some of the fish from that activity could start to spoil over time (one by one) if the the voyage was too long and the food was left in the ship's hull. Upgrades could reduce how often the items spoil.
------------------------
I think you get the point. All of the above ideas might suck in actuality when putting real effort into to them and actually designing real content, but I think they do well communicating what I am trying to say.
Any feedback or comments on this post are welcome and appreciated. I might be wrong, but I want what is best for the game's longevity.
TLDR: Sailing needs to not only utilize other skills, but also contribute things to those skills to feel integrated into the game. Slapping XP on a mini game and giving the player a lot of alchs and raw materials as rewards does not make it feel engaging and like it belongs.

Looking back on 2022 the task given to Albright and Noonan was nothing short of colossal to get this club turned around. They did it faster than I ever expected and 2023 saw us among the leagues elite fighting (and winning) silverware.
Coming into 2024 I honestly expected us to come back down a bit from the high of last year. In MLS the roster rules are there to keep parity and prevent sustained success with churn.
We lost a ton of players, and critical ones as well. So, how has Albright and Noonan done it?
I point to two aspects.

1. "We're not done" mentality. An offseason where you have to replace so many parts had to be hectic enough, but what really pushes us over is managing to get players like Yedlin and Kelsy after the season started. No rest, but a constant pursuit to address needs with every mechanism we can muster. Transfers, draft picks, picking up free agents, using DP and U22 slots, managing all the allocation money mechanisms.
   
2. Back ups and flexibility. Every club has a plan to start the season, and then something goes wrong. Injuries, suspensions, guys just not playing well. To a degree only so much you can do, but how has Albright managed it? By giving Noonan options all around. Defensive depth with Hagglund, Murphy and Keller. Kubo being ultimate utility guy. Having Kann when Celentano was out. With the exception of Acosta this club can at least manage some absences and varying form about as well as anyone.
   

This is all to point to the future and how even though winning all the time in MLS is a tall order I've never been more optimistic in the competence of folks running it that we are not a flash in the pan and will be competing for seasons to come.

I was reminded of this legislation included in this year's NDAA, separate from the UAP Disclosure Act, in a recent article on the Hill by former intel analyst Marik Von Rennenkampff.
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/4646417-top-senators-believe-the-us-secretly-recovered-ufos/
The article itself is fantastic and it details some of the high profile senators who all believe the US has recovered exotic craft of non human origin.
I want to focus on a piece of legislation he mentions because I think this largely flew under the radar in the shadow of the UAP disclosure act or the Schumer amendment.
It is a very short piece of legislation but very powerful. https://www.congress.gov/118/plaws/publ31/PLAW-118publ31.pdf#page=487
SEC. 1687. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN UNREPORTED PROGRAMS
LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be obligated or expended in support of any activities involving unidentified anomalous phenomena protected under any form of special access or restricted access limitations unless the Secretary of Defense has provided the details of the activity to the appropriate congressional committees and congressional leadership, including for any activities described in a report released by the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office in fiscal year 2024.
(b) LIMITATION REGARDING INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT independent research and development funding relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena shall not be allowable as indirect expenses for purposes of contracts covered by such instruction, unless such material and information is made available to the appropriate congressional committees and congressional leadership.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: (1) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means— (A) the congressional defense committees; and (B) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. (2) The term ‘‘congressional leadership’’ means— (A) the majority leader of the Senate; (B) the minority leader of the Senate; (C) the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and (D) the minority leader of the House of Representatives. (3) The term ‘‘unidentified anomalous phenomena’’ has the meaning given such term in section 1683(n)of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373(n)), as amended by section 6802(a) of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263).
So this piece of legislation basically says if you are running any program that has to do with UFOs the secretary of defense must inform the intel committees in both house and Senate and the rest of congressional leadership. The leadership and those committees must be read in on these programs so that we can reestablish proper congressional oversight.
If you don’t read these members of congress well then the funding to your program gets cut. You might be asking how they know what funding goes where. David Grusch handed all of that information over to those committees years ago, they likely know which programs to cut funding to because they’ve been having whistleblowers provide this information over the last several years. The Department of Justice has been investigating not only David Grusch’s claims of these programs, but likely also other whistleblowers' claims as well.
This is huge. Defense contractors aren’t going to be happy when their contracts are revoked because their government handlers didn’t disclose the true nature of the programs they are running. They’re going to get cut off if they don’t comply with this new mandate.
We the public are still in the dark and unaware of the details the investigations going on behind the scenes have revealed thus far. Also, what is the actual enforcement mechanism here? I don’t see a date by which things must be disclosed, have they already begun reading in congressional leadership because this is already in law?
Remember, this is separate from the Schumer legislation which had a date of October 18th by which all UAP realted information must be turned over the national archives so perhaps the gang of 8 has already begun being read into these programs by now and if so that’s monumental.
Yet another huge piece of news not getting picked up by the media.
I discuss this legislation, the UAP investigation efforts in Canada, the downfall of AARO/Kirkpatrick, and Karl Nell at SALT here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB7iMeCrYec
Do you think this law will actually have an impact and is the gang of 8 being read in or do you think somehow the DOD will just ignore the threat of cut funding?

I was reminded of this legislation included in this year's NDAA, separate from the UAP Disclosure Act, in a recent article on the Hill by former intel analyst Marik Von Rennenkampff.
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/4646417-top-senators-believe-the-us-secretly-recovered-ufos/
The article itself is fantastic and it details some of the high profile senators who all believe the US has recovered exotic craft of non human origin.
I want to focus on a piece of legislation he mentions because I think this largely flew under the radar in the shadow of the UAP disclosure act or the Schumer amendment.
It is a very short piece of legislation but very powerful. https://www.congress.gov/118/plaws/publ31/PLAW-118publ31.pdf#page=487
SEC. 1687. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN UNREPORTED PROGRAMS
LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be obligated or expended in support of any activities involving unidentified anomalous phenomena protected under any form of special access or restricted access limitations unless the Secretary of Defense has provided the details of the activity to the appropriate congressional committees and congressional leadership, including for any activities described in a report released by the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office in fiscal year 2024.
(b) LIMITATION REGARDING INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT independent research and development funding relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena shall not be allowable as indirect expenses for purposes of contracts covered by such instruction, unless such material and information is made available to the appropriate congressional committees and congressional leadership.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: (1) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means— (A) the congressional defense committees; and (B) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. (2) The term ‘‘congressional leadership’’ means— (A) the majority leader of the Senate; (B) the minority leader of the Senate; (C) the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and (D) the minority leader of the House of Representatives. (3) The term ‘‘unidentified anomalous phenomena’’ has the meaning given such term in section 1683(n)of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373(n)), as amended by section 6802(a) of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263).
So this piece of legislation basically says if you are running any program that has to do with UFOs the secretary of defense must inform the intel committees in both house and Senate and the rest of congressional leadership. The leadership and those committees must be read in on these programs so that we can reestablish proper congressional oversight.
If you don’t read these members of congress well then the funding to your program gets cut. You might be asking how they know what funding goes where. David Grusch handed all of that information over to those committees years ago, they likely know which programs to cut funding to because they’ve been having whistleblowers provide this information over the last several years. The Department of Justice has been investigating not only David Grusch’s claims of these programs, but likely also other whistleblowers' claims as well.
This is huge. Defense contractors aren’t going to be happy when their contracts are revoked because their government handlers didn’t disclose the true nature of the programs they are running. They’re going to get cut off if they don’t comply with this new mandate.
We the public are still in the dark and unaware of the details the investigations going on behind the scenes have revealed thus far. Also, what is the actual enforcement mechanism here? I don’t see a date by which things must be disclosed, have they already begun reading in congressional leadership because this is already in law?
Remember, this is separate from the Schumer legislation which had a date of October 18th by which all UAP realted information must be turned over the national archives so perhaps the gang of 8 has already begun being read into these programs by now and if so that’s monumental.
Yet another huge piece of news not getting picked up by the media.
I discuss this legislation, the UAP investigation efforts in Canada, the downfall of AARO/Kirkpatrick, and Karl Nell at SALT here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB7iMeCrYec
Do you think this law will actually have an impact and is the gang of 8 being read in or do you think somehow the DOD will just ignore the threat of cut funding?

Hey fellow Redditors,
I hope mods won't kick me out!
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The lens attachment uses two cross-polarized LEDs, which allows the obtained image to be almost identical to the image obtained using liquid immersion. The polarized light eliminates skin glare and illuminates the upper layer of skin to obtain an image of a deeper structure of the neoplasm. It also allows for clearer, more precise, and detailed examination of the colors, shapes, and textures of skin lesions.
It’s worth noting that while the use of this lens is recommended for use with the application, it’s not mandatory. Medical professionals can use the application with other types of dermatoscopes that use either immersion or cross-polarization. Photos for analysis can also be selected from the local gallery of the mobile device.
PLEASE NOTE: the model was trained on photographs taken with immersion, so using photos taken without a dermatoscope may lead to inaccurate results. For optimal accuracy, we recommend using the lens or a dermatoscope with immersion or cross-polarization capabilities.
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Join the Community: We’ve also just created a subreddit, viteye, where you can share your thoughts, ask questions, and stay updated on the latest developments. We’re excited to build a community around Viteye and work together to make a difference in the fight against skin cancer.
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I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on Viteye! Let’s work together to improve melanoma detection and improve patient outcomes.

Kbd is one of our oldest pieces of content in the game, dating back to 2002. In OSRS, kbd has been almost entirely unchanged since then, with the occasional drop table shuffle here or there.There's also a 2-for-1 with what I'm proposing, which should make Barrows armour pricier. I propose a way to "enrage" kbd, and access a new fight, with new mechanics, new drops and a quest to unlock the ability to do this. The quest will focus on the dragonkin rehashing old experiments, finally focusing on grafting the corrupted barrows metal onto kbd's scales, creating the King Barrow Dragon.
Kbd+ should sit at the higher end of mid-tier content, alongside Vorkath, Zulrah and Hydra, and provide comparable gp/h. Kbd fight - 3 phases, one for each head remaining until dead. Kbd will exclusively attack with 2 of the 3 combat styles during the fight, switching combination based on the phase. He will also use coloured firebreath relating to the phase he's in. White, green, blue.
Phase 1 - Ice head. Ranged/magic. Kbd will periodically freeze the player in place, where they will have to spam-click the floor to break out, hespori-esque. Kbd will also breathe into the air and freeze the cavern above him, causing stalactites to form. He then stomps and causes these to fall on random tiles in the boss room. When KBD stomps, if the player is on an adjacent tile to KBD, they will be knocked back and stunned just long enough to not be able to move away from the dropping stalactites. These stalactites will leave puddles of water on the floor. These will not fade away until the end of the fight. Kbd will only perform this mechanic once per fight.
Phase 2 - poison head. Melee/ranged - will constantly move within melee range of the player. Kbd will spit pools of poison on the floor over the course of the fight. Standing on these pools will deal 3-6 tick damage with poison resistance, 5-10 without. These will not fade away until the end of the fight. Kbd will tail swipe the player, with a chat-box notification saying "The King Black Dragon readies its tail"If the player does not move out of melee range of the KBD, the swipe will knock the player back 4 tiles, taking typeless melee damage, between 20-40. If they are knocked into a wall, the player will be stunned for 2 seconds.
Phase 3 - lightning head - Melee/Magic - kbd will remain stationary, only meleeing if the player is in melee range.Kbd will periodically shoot bolts of lightning at the player, dealing magic damage. If the player is stood on or adjacent to one of the pools when this bolt hits, the lightning will jump to the pool and detonate it, dealing typeless damage to the player. Fight will end when this phase is over.
Drops: Kbd should be focused on dropping low to mid level ores and herbs in large quantities, to be attractive to Ironman accounts, as well as dragon armour items, weapons, and runite pieces. The total drops from these should roughly equate to 1.5m/hr in drop value. Uncommonly, KBD should drop a Wightsteel Icon. This is an untradeable item that will attach to barrows armour, making them untradeable but giving them a small stat improvement across the board, as well as a dark-purple trim to the armour. This armour should have worse stats than Torva, but sit firmly above the original barrows pieces. Rarely, KBD should drop a Wightsteel Claw. Also untradeable, this will attach to the barrows weapons, giving them a dark purple glow and darkening the metal components of the weapons. This will also make the weapons untradeable, but they will still degrade. They will only be rechargeable by adding Wightsteel Scrap to the weapon. Whilst providing no stat bonuses, they will provide a boost to the armour's set effect, *only* if the full set of upgraded barrows armour is worn. *Wightsteel Scrap can be created by the player by destroying barrows armour on an anvil with 80 smithing. It should be tradeable. Kbd should also drop this rarely. My hope is that we can use KBD to fill an equipment gap in the game between Bandos (60m) and Torva (700m~), between Ahrim's and Ancients, and Karil's and Masori, focusing on higher defence rather than increasing dps. It also provides an opportunity to add utility to the armour sets, such as a full ahrim's set reducing melee stats with successful magic damage, karil's reducing magic damage dealt and Torag's dealing more damage to targets based on their % defence level reduction, although these are massive changes. The entire suggestion is subject to massive testing, but imo it's a good idea to make both Barrows more profitable and add another high-mid boss for players. (Wightsteel icons could also change the appearance of King Black Prince, since the pet grind is the only content that matters).
I hope you enjoyed reading this idea :)

PC
Reddit Account: FromTheInkpot
Discord Tag: jayonline
Name and House: Tessario of Lys
Age: 28
Cultural Group: Valyrian
Appearance: Taller than the average man, with slender and effeminate features. His skin is pale, his hair consists of curled white locks and his eyes are a vivid lilac. He favours black leathers with silver accents, and often adds coloured silks as sashes, belts, or capes. On the middle finger of his left hand he wears a signet ring of black steel and gold, used to seal letters from the Pearl Bank.
Trait: Marketer
Skill(s): Avaricious (e), Merchantman (e), Broker
Talent(s): Linguistics, Arithmetic, Reading People
Negative Trait(s): Sociopath (non-mechanical)
Starting Title(s): Keyholder of the Pearl Bank, Heir to the blood of Altaerys (secret)
Starting Location: Opening Event
Alternate Characters: N/A
Bio:
Born in the year 4BC, Tessario was the son of a Lyseni courtesan and a nobleman of the Old Blood who had left for the Black Walls of Volantis before he even knew of the child.
Growing up in Lys, Tessario was raised by his mother in a small manse where she would teach him lessons learnt from the courts of the free city.
Since his mother first spoke to him tales of Valyria and dragon riders, Tessario was enthralled.
His bloodline was of the forty families, from one of the few dragonlords on Lys during the 'Night of Tears', when the dragonlords had been poisoned and their dragons slain by their very hosts - the magisters. That the dragon rider had been his ancestor was his family's deepest secret and one that could have seen them killed in generations past.
The knowledge that the dragon riders of old were his very ancestors was almost too much for the young boy to keep secret. Especially now, when dragons had waged conquest on Westeros' shores so recently. But while the Targaryen's were said to wed brother to sister to keep their bond with the dragons strong, his family had not had a dragon rider in five generations. Since then his family's bloodline - the house of Altaerys, thought lost in the Doom of Valyria and the Century of Blood since, had become clouded with the Old Blood of Volantis during their occupation of Lys. And before that, diluted among the courts of Lys the Lovely, where none truly knew or at least none spoke of how much dragon blood they had. It was clear most of Lys had some. The features of silver-blond or white hair and the eyes of pale blue or shades of purple were all too common. The city was truly Valyrian. Who knew how many dragonlords' legacies his blood carried now?
Tessario, with his pure Valyrian blood and features to match, had the fiery will of his ancestors but an uncommonly pragmatic mind. As he grew, so did his keen mind, picking up his numbers and letters faster than other boys his age.
Raised in the turbulence of a city still reeling from the uprising against Volantis, Tessario learnt how violent people could be at a young age. Surrounded by the cruelties of slavery, he grew up numbed to the hardships of others.
By nine name-days he would begin visiting the Temple of Trade where he and other boys would talk with the magisters and tradesmen who congregated there. From among these wealthy and noble men of the city, he and a lucky few others, would gain apprenticeships; a position that was highly coveted in the city of Lys, where trade was considered a profession more honorable than arms.
Tessario shadowed his sponsor for three years, learning the inner workings of trade negotiations, currency exchange, and contract creation. He met several other apprentices who like him hungered for more, as well as making friends among the less prominent families of Lys all too keen to climb the social ladder. So, when his apprenticeship was over they formed a merchantile group of ambitious youths. Tessario and the others began with insurance cons and profitable arbitrage that filled their pockets and funded bigger schemes.
The war in the Stepstones came as a wondrous opportunity for the newly founded group. The members invested heavily, with some overseeing the battles themselves. Luckily the Lysene forces met up with not only those of Tyrosh, but also ships from Dorne and the Stormlands. Tessario wore armour for the first time as he sailed sellswords to the fighting, though did no more than watch in actuality. War made them rich and for the first time in his life Tessario knew what it was to wield true power. The power to make others die for your ends.
The pirate threat crumbled easily, but the true prizes were had after the fighting. Contracts for trade opened up and new ports to invest in saw the merchantile group grow faster than ever before. They hired lingering hedge knights and sellswords to protect their assets and even convinced some of the former pirate vessels to become corsairs under them.
As the Stepstones begin to flourish, the group started to look further afield for other trade routes. In 18AC, just as Dorne began to invest heavily in Sunstone, Tessario sailed to Driftmark as one of three emissaries of their group tasked with finding new avenues for profit. It was while on this mission that Tessario first met Valarr Velaryon, Lord of the Tides. Seeking a base of operations outside of Lys, Tessario negotiated plans for a bank to be built in Spicetown, profiting from the flow of trade.
Tessario broached the concept to the group telling them of the pearls found by fishermen in the pools of the island's coves and a contract for the Pearl Bank was drawn up. Tessario, as one of the two-and-twenty key holders, was now responsible for much.
Construction began in late 19AC with a main building that was reinforced with strong stone and deep vaults. Pearl farms under the control of the bank were also created, with construction of the entire project finishing before the end of 24AC. During this time the bank engaged in numerous amounts of trade, amassing a full vault, as well as funding loans to the many growing businesses of Spicetown, merchants of the free cities, and other Houses of Westeros. This includes House Massey of Stonedance, House Celtigar of Claw Isle, and many other minor houses.
Timeline:

• 4BC - Tessario is born in a Lysene manse.
• 6AC - Begins a trade apprenticeship for three years.
• 9AC - Forms a merchantile group in Lys.
• 12AC - Funds the war in the Stepstones.
• 13AC - War in the Stepstones ends.
• 18AC - Visits Driftmark as an emissary, meeting Valarr Velaryon.
• 19AC - The Pearl Bank begins construction.
• 24AC - Construction is completed.
• 25AC - Current day.

Family tree:
https://familyecho.com/?p=START&c=izpgpsokcmwmhxa6&f=478495015333730745
AC
Name and House: Somovo Saan
Age: 21
Cultural Group: Valyrian
Appearance: Piercing blue eyes shine out from dark features. Somovo has a lean build and freckled face from years of sailing the Narrow and Summer Seas. Her skin is dark and her hair falls in long brown curls down past her shoulders, the occasional braid holding beads of copper. She often wears loose shirts and wide breeches that allow her skin to breathe the salty air of the sea, while sticking to practical leather boots for moving about the deck.
She has a slender black cat named Sȳndor 'shadow' that lives on deck and prowls the bank offices while on shore.
Trait: Reaver
Skill(s): Raider, Fence, Tactician
Talent(s): Winning at Tiles, Tying knots, Swimming
Negative Trait(s): N/A
Starting Title(s): Captain of the Spice Runner
Starting Location: Opening Event
Alternate Characters: N/A
Timeline:

• 4AC - Somovo Saan is born in Lys.
• 9AC - Somovo's father, Sarthos Saan, takes her on her first voyage to Tyrosh.
• 12AC - Her father leaves to fight for the pirates in the Stepstones war.
• 13AC - After the pirates defeat in the Steptones, her father is hired by a group of merchants from Lys. Somovo meets Tessario, one of the groups founders.
• 18AC - Meets the sellsail Captain Laurei of Myr who becomes an inspiration for her to become a Captain of her own ship.
• 19AC - When the Pearl Bank begins construction on Driftmark, Somovo is on deck with her father and they patrol the Narrow Sea together, guarding trading vessels and seeking opportunities for their new employer.
• 21AC - Somovo is given command of her own ship and crew, becoming Captain of The Spice Runner, named after Spicetown.
• 22AC - Her father's ship is lost at sea during a storm near Volantis. The corsairs previously under Sarthos turn to her for leadership by virtue of her blood.
• 24AC - Construction of The Pearl Bank is completed on Driftmark.
• 25AC - Current day.

NPCs
Morio (30) - Cutthroat
Every man of ambition needs a ruthless and silent right hand.
Ser Thomas Storm (27) - Warrior
Knighted by Ser Edwell Celtigar in the Stepstones and knowing he would gain no further gold or glory, he joined the merchantile group from Lys to train their retainers and act as Captain of the Guard to Tessario.
Since then he notably won the joust at the Tourney at Aegon's Rest in 21AC.

My friend got very tilted last night as he was on a loss streak which finally ended once we played together.
Here are my tips:
1# Change Champion
There’s a chance your favourite champ isn’t as viable as they once were.
Other champs have similar playstyles which you could transfer your skills to. Unless you’re going for rank #1 / top 200, this should be the first thing you change.
2# Change Role
If your Mid / Adc / Jungle is so bad, why don’t you put your skills to the test?
Maybe you play too safe as an ADC or too aggressive as a support, there’s nothing wrong with changing roles because to get better at one role you need to know how the others interact with eachother.
3# Review your games
Watch back your replays to see if you can spot mistakes.
Most players will be able to identify mechanical mistakes but macro can be a bit subjective depending on Elo / champion / skill, however, big macro mistakes are usually easy to spot.
4# Are you warding?
well, are you?
*** MY PERSONAL TIPS***
1) Learn to get carried, I see supports splitting to get more gold for themselves, tanks soloing a blue buff and ADCs walking past the halfway point after their turret is down with no wards.
It’s okay to not win games but don’t make yourself lose.
2) the player who knows the matchups best usually wins, even if they are being countered.
Example: just pick rammus vs Yi, well unfortunately if the Yi knows not to attack while your second skill (w) is up, you won’t counter him.
This same idea can be applied to most counter matchups, there’s usually only 1 or 2 situations that the counter hinges on - if you’re clued up you can exploit their lack of knowledge.
3) Flip between hyper safety and extreme aggression.
You need to auto attack your opponent as much as possible, poke whenever you can and dodge. Look up Tethering + league of legends on YouTube to learn more, you’ll become untouchable.
4) You need to know your champions limits on both ends of the spectrum.
Example: Riven lvl 1 beats almost everyone, Riven Lvl 3 (while we all are too) doesn’t beat everyone.
A nasus will always get a sheen on first base so it’s important to note that. Sometimes I “mirror” my opponent’s build to counter them.
5) don’t be afraid, trust your skill.
Flash on their squishies as soon as they are dispositioned late game, their flash is usually worth more than yours.
Use the bushes, enter the flow state and focus. Don’t panic or rush as this disrupts you from getting better; breathe.
1v4? No problem, funnel them into a small area so your team can either follow up, or, drag them away from your team so they can get objectives.
Practice your combos and champions please, I don’t like seeing a “level 6” that doesn’t know which combo does the most damage.
Please guys drop tips below for other ways to end a loss streak / tips in general, I’m open to learn << another top tip.

Hey guys! Long time lurker, first time poster (I think... maybe i posted something some years ago, I don't know).
I've been struggling with some complicated mental health stuff, and I'm wondering if what I'm feeling is "normal" and looking for others with similar experiences.
First, some background info: I (28M) am a gay cis man that has had a lot of his life shaped by heterosexual influences. I haven't formed any profound LGBT friendships throughout most of my life, I also haven't had an actual healthy relationship until last year, and I am very straight-passing (or at least I used to be).
Fast-forward to last year, I met an incredible guy and we've been dating for little over a year now. And let me tell you, this man has done absolute wonders for my mental health, for my self-image and for my general personal growth. But he has a very different life history and background than I do. Since he isn't as straight-passing as I am, he struggled a lot more with homophobia than I did, and he hasn't had a lot of straight friends, instead finding love and acceptance in the LGBT community. So as we get to know each other, he has introduced me to a lot of staples of LGBT life that were so far kinda missing from my experience.
The problem is, the more I delve into it, the more I challenge the cornerstones of my personality and I've been finding more and more that I don't really know who I am anymore.
For example, I had never watched RuPaul's Drag Race, something some would argue is a seminal experience in a gay man's life, until he introduced me to it last year. Since then I have watched 12 seasons (and still going) and am absolutely fascinated with the show and drag in general to an extent I've only ever been fascinated by with gaming and souls-likes, which he claims is a very "straight-people hobby".
And this is where things get messy for me. I see all these fun gay men on TV, and met so many LGBT people through my BF... and I just don't feel like I measure up to them, personality-wise. Meanwhile, when I set at the table with straight people I feel like I can shoot up the ocasional "gurl" and some of them act like I'm the most interesting person they've ever seen. But this also doesn't really feel like me, it feels like I'm imitating these big personalities I've met recently. When I speak it doesn't sound like me, I can almost hear my BF or one of his friends or one of the funnier drag queens I've seen talking through me.
I feel kinda empty. Like I'm not really a person, but a caricature of one I've built to suit whichever social circle I was trying to fit into, and now I don't really know who I am. It doesn't help that I have very isolationist tendencies, and I have made a fantastic job of creating some really high walls and reservations as a defense mechanism, but now I don't really know how to let people in, and I don't even know if there is anything in here.
I just really feel empty and void. I don't have a personality, I don't have anything interesting going on, all my problems feel very small, all my struggles feel invalid, my life feels bland and I have no uniqueness to speak of. I'm a nothing salad, I just learned to add a bit of seasoning when trying to impress someone else.
this kinda turned into a weird rant. I don't really know where i'm going with this anymore...
I think i might be done with everything.

Hey fellow Redditors,
I hope mods won't kick me out!
My name is Yarik Sychov and I’m excited to share with you our innovative approach in the field of healthcare - Viteye, a software solution that’s helping to improve the way we detect and diagnose melanoma.
We are launching our open beta testing and welcoming everyone who is interested to participate! The use of Viteye is completely FREE!
The Problem: Melanoma, a highly aggressive form of skin cancer, is on the rise globally. Early detection is crucial for effective treatment and improved patient outcomes, but current diagnostic methods are limited, leading to high mortality rates.
The Solution: Viteye’s AI-driven software platform uses machine learning technology to accurately diagnose melanoma by analyzing images of suspicious pigmented lesions. This approach surpasses traditional diagnostics, reducing the risk of underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis.
Since users do not generally have easy access to a dermatoscope with immersion, we have developed the lens shown in the photo, which allows Viteye users to install it on their phone and, in tandem with high-quality cameras in modern phones, enables the full potential of the model to be revealed.
The lens attachment uses two cross-polarized LEDs, which allows the obtained image to be almost identical to the image obtained using liquid immersion. The polarized light eliminates skin glare and illuminates the upper layer of skin to obtain an image of a deeper structure of the neoplasm. It also allows for clearer, more precise, and detailed examination of the colors, shapes, and textures of skin lesions.
It’s worth noting that while the use of this lens is recommended for use with the application, it’s not mandatory. Medical professionals can use the application with other types of dermatoscopes that use either immersion or cross-polarization. Photos for analysis can also be selected from the local gallery of the mobile device.
PLEASE NOTE: the model was trained on photographs taken with immersion, so using photos taken without a dermatoscope may lead to inaccurate results. For optimal accuracy, we recommend using the lens or a dermatoscope with immersion or cross-polarization capabilities.
Key Features:

• Multiplatform accessibility (Android, iPhone, laptops, PCs)
• Multilingual interface to serve a diverse user base
• Accurate melanoma detection using a machine learning model trained on thousands of histologically confirmed clinical cases (gold standard dataset).
• Direct consultation within the application for instant expert advice
• Simplified patient database management for healthcare providers
• Auto-translated chat for seamless communication between patients and doctors

Pipeline: We’re currently working on incorporating additional models trained for Kaposi’s sarcoma and basal cell carcinoma, which will be implemented in upcoming updates. This will further expand the capabilities of our platform and improve patient outcomes.
Join the Community: We’ve also just created a subreddit, viteye, where you can share your thoughts, ask questions, and stay updated on the latest developments. We’re excited to build a community around Viteye and work together to make a difference in the fight against skin cancer.
Learn more
Try out the application
I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on Viteye! Let’s work together to improve melanoma detection and improve patient outcomes.

Legacy is generally better for most jobs and allows much more freedom of full-speed movement, however it has some drawbacks that standard does not in its base form. For instance, avoiding gaze mechanics while actively attacking is much easier with standard than it is with legacy, slight adjustments also can be faster with the use of backpedal in my experience and backpedal in controlled situations helps a lot with aiming certain abilities on jobs, especially in PvP. Dragoon is a great example of this, where standard controls can feel much nicer in Dragoon PvP purely because of their leap.
Now, you can partially take some of these standard control advantages and at the cost of some of legacy movement's freedom, turn A and D into strafe instead of turn, giving you the ability to backpedal in some situations where you wish to correct your character, counter gaze mechanics, but still run backwards at full speed with S. But it has some of its own drawbacks.
Were they to add the ability in the settings to toggle on a camera lock when holding right click, so that as long as I am holding right click my character cannot turn separate to my camera within legacy, I believe every advantage of standard as well as legacy would be possible, with little to no drawbacks, especially since holding left click or right click currently do almost the same thing within legacy- right click is pretty much a free slot. Adding that toggle would make me incredibly happy, but I know this sort of thing is kind of niche, but I think it would also bridge any real divide between legacy and standard in a lot of cases.

Relocating with children can be particularly taxing for families. Children often thrive on routine and familiarity, and moving can cause major disruption that results in behavioral changes, anxiety about starting new schools and difficulty making friends.
Here are a few additional tips to help families adjust to a move:
Engaging Children: Give children age-appropriate tasks and allow them to participate in making choices about their new room or neighborhood, which fosters their sense of control while alleviating feelings of helplessness.
Maintain Open Communication: Openly discuss their emotions and fears with them, validating their emotions while assuring them it's okay to feel sad or scared when leaving behind what's familiar.
Focus on the Positive: Play up the exciting aspects of moving, such as discovering a new city and making new memories. Maintain Traditions: To ease transitional periods and provide comfort and stability during this transition period, attempt to maintain some familiar family rituals and traditions as much as possible.
Move and Adjust Culturally:
Relocating to a foreign country adds yet another level of complexity, and can cause culture shock - an uncomfortable state characterized by feelings of disorientation, frustration, difficulty adapting to social norms and customs - as individuals struggle to adjust. Here are some additional strategies to keep in mind during such transitions:
Get to Know the Culture: Before traveling abroad, do research into customs and traditions of your host culture as well as any differences. And embrace those differences: Be open-minded when entering new cultures as this could provide opportunities for personal growth and knowledge acquisition.
Explore Community: Connect with individuals from your native culture or join expat communities in order to form a support system.
Remember, moving is a journey rather than an endpoint. By acknowledging emotional challenges, adopting coping mechanisms, and emphasizing positive aspects of change, individuals and families can emerge stronger from this experience, more adaptable, and ready to seize opportunities offered by a fresh start.

Hey fellow Redditors,
I hope mods won't kick me out!
My name is Yarik Sychov and I’m excited to share with you our innovative approach in the field of healthcare - Viteye, a software solution that’s helping to improve the way we detect and diagnose melanoma.
We are launching our open beta testing and welcoming everyone who is interested to participate! The use of Viteye is completely FREE!
The Problem: Melanoma, a highly aggressive form of skin cancer, is on the rise globally. Early detection is crucial for effective treatment and improved patient outcomes, but current diagnostic methods are limited, leading to high mortality rates.
The Solution: Viteye’s AI-driven software platform uses machine learning technology to accurately diagnose melanoma by analyzing images of suspicious pigmented lesions. This approach surpasses traditional diagnostics, reducing the risk of underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis.
Since users do not generally have easy access to a dermatoscope with immersion, we have developed the lens shown in the photo, which allows Viteye users to install it on their phone and, in tandem with high-quality cameras in modern phones, enables the full potential of the model to be revealed.
The lens attachment uses two cross-polarized LEDs, which allows the obtained image to be almost identical to the image obtained using liquid immersion. The polarized light eliminates skin glare and illuminates the upper layer of skin to obtain an image of a deeper structure of the neoplasm. It also allows for clearer, more precise, and detailed examination of the colors, shapes, and textures of skin lesions.
It’s worth noting that while the use of this lens is recommended for use with the application, it’s not mandatory. Medical professionals can use the application with other types of dermatoscopes that use either immersion or cross-polarization. Photos for analysis can also be selected from the local gallery of the mobile device.
PLEASE NOTE: the model was trained on photographs taken with immersion, so using photos taken without a dermatoscope may lead to inaccurate results. For optimal accuracy, we recommend using the lens or a dermatoscope with immersion or cross-polarization capabilities.
Key Features:

• Multiplatform accessibility (Android, iPhone, laptops, PCs)
  
• Multilingual interface to serve a diverse user base
  
• Accurate melanoma detection using a machine learning model trained on thousands of histologically confirmed clinical cases (gold standard dataset).
  
• Direct consultation within the application for instant expert advice
  
• Simplified patient database management for healthcare providers
  
• Auto-translated chat for seamless communication between patients and doctors
  

Pipeline: We’re currently working on incorporating additional models trained for Kaposi’s sarcoma and basal cell carcinoma, which will be implemented in upcoming updates. This will further expand the capabilities of our platform and improve patient outcomes.
Join the Community: We’ve also just created a subreddit, viteye, where you can share your thoughts, ask questions, and stay updated on the latest developments. We’re excited to build a community around Viteye and work together to make a difference in the fight against skin cancer.
Learn more and try it out
Try out the application
I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on Viteye! Let’s work together to improve melanoma detection and improve patient outcomes.

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

1. Rebuke, Anyma (ofc) – Syren (Amelie Lens Remix – Extended Mix) 03:16 142bpm 5A
2. Neelix, Omiki, TOX1C, No/Me – Queen (Original Mix) 06:18 126bpm 10B
3. Terra, Vini Vici, Sandhog – Gyoza (Extended Mix) 07:03 142bpm 3A
4. Victor Ruiz – The Ritual (Original mix) 07:29 143bpm 2B
5. Indira Paganotto – Vendetta (Extended Mix) 07:45 75bpm 11B
6. Ace Ventura, Zen Mechanics – Come with Us (Asgard remix) 10:25 142bpm 4B
7. Astrix, Ritmo – Ziran (Antinomy Remix) 08:10 141bpm 1A
8. Charlotte de Witte – High Street (Astrix Remix) 08:24 138bpm 2B
9. Liquid Soul, Alchimyst – Tranceform (Original mix) 07:01 138bpm 2B
10. Mekkanikka, Audiosonic – Monkeys Get Drunk (Original Mix) 08:56 145bpm 4B
11. Indira Paganotto – Gipsy Queen (Extended Mix) 05:26 101bpm 11B
12. Formula None – Oracle (Original mix) 07:15 70bpm 1A
13. Champa – Watch You Fly (Original Mix) 07:27 145bpm 9B
14. Outsiders, Animato – Elastic Sunrise (Original Mix) 08:32 142bpm 7B
15. Astrix, Rising Dust – Universo (Original Mix) 10:07 143bpm 1A
16. Ital, Alienatic – Flying Saucers (Original Mix) 08:29 145bpm 12B
17. Liquid Soul, Neodyne – Believe (Phanatic & Static Movement Remix) 07:51 138bpm 12B
18. Modual, Djantrix – Not Even Close (Original Mix) 07:53 146bpm 2B
19. Liquid Soul – Adrenaline (Kalki Remix) 07:53 98bpm 11A
20. Earthspace – Time To Listen (Original Mix) 06:29 145bpm 12B
21. Render, Kabayun, Daksinamurti, Radikal Moodz – Perpetual (Original Mix) 07:34 148bpm 2B
22. Illumination, Endeavour – Nero Pulso (Original Mix) 06:14 147bpm 9B
23. Imaginarium – Wait For The Beep (Original Mix) 07:27 146bpm 9B
24. Nahalun – Collision (Original Mix) 07:11 142bpm 2B
25. Formula None – Tokyo on Acid (Original mix) 06:38 144bpm 11B
26. Tresh (FR) – Something Greater (Original Mix) 07:41 138bpm 6B
27. MoRsei – Brain Signal (Original Mix) 07:30 145bpm 10B
28. Electric Universe, Yasmin Levy, Vini Vici – Liberdade (Original Mix) 08:00 140bpm 9B
29. Space Cat – Acid Gate (Original Mix) 07:19 142bpm 9B
30. Digital Tribe, Soniq Vision – Omniverse (Original Mix) 08:37 143bpm 9A
31. Megalight – Spectrum of Light (Original Mix) 06:38 142bpm 5B
32. Gigi, Render, NoFace – Glory Hope (Original Mix) 06:50 148bpm 11B
33. Render, Nukleall, Stereoxide – Nukleoxidrenderine (Original mix) 07:56 149bpm 4B
34. Stryker, Mad Maxx – Guided Meditation (Original Mix) 09:01 86bpm 9B
35. Interactive Noise, Lil Jorck – The Punisher feat. Lil Jorck (Extended Mix) 05:19 143bpm 4B
36. Deedrah – Reload (Menog Remix) 09:52 148bpm 12B
37. Tristan – Empire Of The Sun (Original Mix) 08:25 146bpm 10B
38. DoubKore, Cosmic Wolf – Divine Entity (Original Mix) 07:17 145bpm 12B
39. Oxiv – Time (Original mix) 09:36 140bpm 5B
40. Lexxus (DE), Inner Lux – Hexagon (Original Mix) 07:40 145bpm 1B
41. Querox, Monod – Enigma (Original Mix) 06:33 138bpm 10B
42. Berg, Siello – We Call This Acid (Original Mix) 04:37 140bpm 1B
43. Zen Mechanics, Divination – Mechanation (Original Mix) 08:20 138bpm 7B
44. Electric Universe – Psychedelic Traveller (Original Mix) 05:56 142bpm 11B
45. GMS, Infected Mushroom – Arabian Knights on Mescaline (Tron Remix) 07:56 145bpm 3B
46. Lunatica – A Trip Called Life (Original Mix) 07:50 82bpm 4B
47. DoubKore – Ionosphere (Original Mix) 06:22 133bpm 4B
48. Porat – Undipresia (Original Mix) 07:17 141bpm 9A
49. m.Mad – Burn (Original Mix) 06:15 89bpm 4A
50. Eddie Bitar – Elements of Life (Original Mix) 06:38 71bpm 2A
51. Sonic Entity – Beyond Life (Original Mix) 06:12 142bpm 2A
52. GMS, Dickster – Euphorica (Original Mix) 07:56 148bpm 7B
53. MoRsei – Sacred Planet (Original Mix) 07:56 145bpm 2B
54. Montez, Illuzio – Lightspeed (Original Mix) 09:06 108bpm 1A
55. Rinkadink, UNI – Ipomoea (DoubKore Remix) 08:08 72bpm 7B
56. DoubKore, Mahaya – Jangala (Original Mix) 07:17 139bpm 4B
57. Vini Vici – The Tribe (Bliss Remix) 07:36 142bpm 9A
58. Konaefiz, Nikin – Waste (Original Mix) 04:14 145bpm 10B
59. Phanatic – Techno Park (Magnifix Remix) 06:56 146bpm 3A
60. Mekkanikka, Stryker – Macho Man (Original Mix) 07:23 145bpm 11B
61. Liquid Soul, Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike, Vini Vici – Untz Untz (Extended Mix) 05:27 138bpm 7B
62. Liquid Soul, Vini Vici – Universe Inside Me (Original Mix) 08:01 138bpm 9B
63. Blau Transition, Altered Forms – Transition (Original Mix) 07:27 148bpm 9A
64. Modual, Djantrix – Release Yourself (Original Mix) 07:27 146bpm 11B
65. DoubKore – Secret Heart (Original Mix) 07:07 110bpm 5B
66. DoubKore, Mahaya – DMT Experience (Original Mix) 08:53 110bpm 2B
67. DoubKore – Eternal Gates (Original Mix) 07:39 83bpm 11B
68. DoubKore – Soy El Shaman (Original Mix) 06:02 149bpm 11B
69. Flow Theory – Sidetrkt & Beyond Senses – The Eagle Has Landed (Flow Theory Remix) 07:21 142bpm 2A
70. Xandar – Whispers from the Void (Original Mix) 08:04 70bpm 3A
71. Shekinah, Render – Playground (Original Mix) 06:58 147bpm 4B
72. Purple Shapes – Vanaheim (Original Mix) 06:13 147bpm 9B
73. Samra – Meruba (Original Mix) 06:45 107bpm 1A
74. EYEawake – Jungle Run (Original Mix) 07:06 167bpm 5B
75. Karmatrix – Spirals (Original Mix) 06:54 140bpm 7B
76. Starlab (IN) – Seekers of the Eternal (Original Mix) 08:18 145bpm 7B
77. Henrique Camacho, Ranty – Rush E (Extended Mix) 04:59 95bpm 8A
78. Armin van Buuren, Hilight Tribe, Vini Vici – Great Spirit (Extended Mix) 07:37 86bpm 12B
79. Astrix – Deep Jungle Walk (Original Mix) 09:15 138bpm 1A
80. Nerd Acid, ZeiTrex – Space Travel (Original Mix) 06:00 136bpm 10B
81. Synthetik Chaos, Dezzert – Geometries Variable (Original mix) 07:09 154bpm 11B
82. Bellatrix – Miracle (Original Mix) 07:26 143bpm 4B
83. Talamasca – A Frenchman In Belgrade (Original Mix) 08:01 118bpm 9B
84. X-NoiZe, AZAX – Eternal (Original Mix) 07:58 145bpm 11B
85. Entima – High Society (Original Mix) 06:27 142bpm 11A
86. Render, Braingineers – Wanna be Famous? (Original Mix) 06:49 151bpm 9B
87. Sentry – Limited Time (Original Mix) 08:41 118bpm 4B
88. IKØN – Data Ocean (Original Mix) 08:52 141bpm 2B
89. Space Cat, NO SPOON – Verify You Are Not a Robot (Original Mix) 07:12 71bpm 11B
90. Henrique Camacho – Sitar (Vegas Remix) 06:07 109bpm 5B
91. Mekkanikka, FNX – Breaking Mad (Original Mix) 06:40 75bpm 9B
92. Relativ – Balkanika (Original Mix) 08:21 73bpm 6B
93. Antinomy, Asgard – Tree of Souls (Original mix) 08:00 143bpm 1B
94. Neelix, Interactive Noise – Next By Me (Original Mix) 04:42 124bpm 11A
95. Anfisa Letyago – Danza (Original Mix) 05:47 145bpm 12B
96. Freedom Fighters, Modus (ISR), Uncharted Territory – Supermassive (Original Mix) 06:40 144bpm 2B
97. Valentinø – Ayacor (Original Mix) 05:34 160bpm 7B
98. Invasion, Dang3r – Maneyma (Original Mix) 04:00 145bpm 9B
99. Xamanist – Voyager (Original Mix) 08:42 144bpm 5B
100. Static Movement – Sun (Original Mix) 07:47 138bpm 8A

Skip the intro if you have read some of my previous posts.
So i decided to make posts that i think might be helpfull for the spiritual development of others, that are on a bit more advanced ap techniques in my opinion, here is technique four
1 is visiting the past(medium)
2 is visiting other worlds/realities(medium)
3 how to explore yourself(easy/hard)
4 visithing the void and seeing creation from the outside (hard)
difficulty levels indicate danger level, easy means easy, no danger, or very small danger, new projector should be fine as long as they dont push the red button with skull on it, metaphorically speaking, medium means chance of spirit destruction, best for people who have grasped astral exploration and navigation and know how to defend themselfs, hard means it doesnt get more dangerous than that, best done by those who have not only grasped exploration but also participated in fights with high level spirits, know how to trust their gut and avoid making risky decitions, althou this is not a video game, simply put easy means a newby, medium normal gamer with a lot of practice time, hard means competitive gamer that knows the mechanics of the game
I will just say this now, i will make every post as stand alone since most people will need only one of them for their growth, and dont need to experience the previous one so they can understand the next one.
Also dont be afaid of spirit destruction, even if your spirit is destroyed as a result it will recover in two weeks at most, you will only feel tired during that process and have difficult times controlling your emotions.
end of intro.
So now this one actually wasnt done by me, it was done by newer occult practitioner by coincidence.
They didnt know what had happened, i actually invited them into this group, but i thought i would make a post about it, since i think it might be helpfull to some, and honestly the view is breath taking.
So here you can visit the void both from your regular dream and even if you are in the astral, to do so you need to use a gait i suggest you dont try to use teleportation in this one, draw the circle in front of you to enter the void you need to think one of the following "i want to go nowhere ", "i want to exit creation", "i want to go where nothing exists" or "i want to go in the emptiness". Refrain from setting intent as "i want to go to the void", the void is mostly abstract consept so it may take you in desolate place in the astral, not outside of it use one of the intents i wrote instead, of course if you have good comprehension of what the void means you can use it as well but i suggest you dont do it and take the easier route.
Now what is the void exactly, its nothing, well it was kinda obvious but its difficult to undestand, when i say nothing i dont mean regular nothing like empty room, there is still air inside, inside the astral there is always "something" even if we are not always aware of it, but the void, or complete emptyness has none of that, its literal nothing, where absolutely no creation exists for that reason it is also known as the cradale of creation, where everything was born and the beggining of existance, but what you do here is exit creation and enter outside of it.
Now usually astral projectors cant go to the void easy, they need to set contradictory intents for that to happen, or want to go nowhere in its purest form otherwise they wont be able to acces it(thats why i wrote hte specific intents needed to acces it), even quite a few advanced astral projectors never acces this part outside existance easily, the reason for that is simple, the void is the opposite of creation, and that means its the opposite of us, humans, and even spirits, when you try to enter it, you will either experience a wave of primal fear, a wave of disgust, a wave of wrongness etc, granted this will be the first and probably second time, and that is normal, put simply if creation/existance is fire, emptiness is like the foundation but also water, its like we are beings made of fire and we enter a lake, its normal to find it digusting from our point of view, now that is not always the case, as humans there are always few exceptions i once saw a post of a person who enjoyed being in there, he found the void of creation in a certain sense comforting, most others however didnt.
Now here is the reason why i called this experience on the "hard" scale, while there is no living beings from our point of view in the void, there is something, and that something is extremely dangerous, if there is something that can actual cause an irreversable physical damage to your body from the sirit it would be those things, i dont call them beings as they are not that, i have never met one but i trust the source of the information, it is also one of the reasons of the primal fear, now the good thing is, those things are stationary, simply put they cant move, they exist in similar state as of that of mountain, unmoving, as long as you dont roam around and move too far from creation you are safe, but there is no way for us to detect them untill its too late, those things are part of nothingness, even the more experienced astral projecter will feel nothing when they encounter them since thats the type they belong to, but once you get close to them, well you are done, most likely in every sense of the word, i myself have seen the void from afar several times but never dared to roam inside for too long, and i suggest you dont too.
now once you exit to enter the void you will almost always end up close to creation, just look around and you will be able to see the beggining of everything, granted it migth not make a lot of sense in the beggining, but if you think about it, it will start to make sense once your lvl of understanding grows.
If you dont see it when you enter the void dont wander the void return to the astral and just create a new portal and swap the intent to "go to nothing at the edge of creation", use this intent instead, if even that doesnt works then forgow the exprience for now and try again in the future when you think you have had personal growth.
also i wont ban people that have seen creation to say how it looks to others but i suggest to not do so and let them see it for themselfs, any comments may confuse them and cause them to even be incapable of approaching it as a result, there is nothing more detrimental to astro projections that wrong/false expectations, no expectations are better.

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

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

&

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

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

“Till the day that we meet again
Where or when?
I wish I could say
But believe, know that you'll find me
[…]
Till the day that we meet again
On our street, I want to believe
[…]
Till the day that we meet again
At our place, just let me believe
In the chance that you'll come
Take my hand and never let me go
Take my hand
And believe
We can be
Together evermore
[…]
Still I hope someday you'll come and find me
Still I know someday you'll come and find me”.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

VII. The Devs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

&

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

&

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

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

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

Codirector Nomura said the following:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sorry for the very long delay. Life has been hectic and I haven't always been in the mood to write and when I do, I want to make sure the analysis is op to snuff. So here's our continuation on card discussions -

Card of the Week: Cyclops

Card stats and text
Name: Cyclops

• Energy: 3
• Power: 4
• No ability

When powered up by High Evolutionary –
Name: (HE) Cyclops

• Energy: 3
• Power: 4
• Passive: Whenever you end a turn with at least 1 unspent Energy, apply -1 Power to a maximum of two of your opponent’s cards in this lane.

Card of the Week has analyzed 3 of the ’97 X-Men up to this point. So following the same trajectory, a long awaited update and analysis this time on the beloved field commander of the team – Cyclops. Cyclops is a bit different than the other cards we’ve previously looked at because he actually has two forms – an abilitless form and a powered up form that he only receives when High Evolutionary is added to your deck. This is a trait he shares with 6 other cards in the game, but Cyke is the first one we are taking a look at. How does Scott fare compare to his other colleagues?

Mechanically speaking, what are the card's distinctive strengths and weaknesses?

It probably isn’t even worth much of a discussion as you would think to talk about basic Cyclops. He’s a vanilla 3-4 and sets the base line of what you’d expect for a 3 cost card to perform. It is worth pointing out that of all the cost to expected power ratios, 3 costs have the worst at just x1.33 times versus every other cost. So on an energy efficiency basis, 3 cost par value cards are pretty terrible to begin with. Nowadays, it’s probably even more underpowered as there is a growing trend of “3-5 is the new 3-4”. There is definitely some element of truth to that given most of the new 3-5s, even if they are specific to one particular archetype (such as Black Swan), often times don’t have an ability that actively hurts you. So base Cyclops still being 3-4 makes him more or less unplayable as there is always a better option. Surprisingly, this wasn’t always the case. I definitely remember roughly a year ago when people were still using basic Cyclops in decks such as Patriot where he represented an ability to go tall. You definitely don’t see that in modern SNAP; partially due to power creep and partially due to new cards introducing new abilities that change the base line.
HE Cyke though is where we can actually have some discussion regarding strengths and weaknesses. Because instead of it being all bad, HE Cyke is actually largely good. In fact, of the 7 HE modified cards, Cyke is probably amongst the strongest, in the running for probably THE best HE card. Some basics first to get out of the way. To use this version of Cyclops, you must dedicate one of your card slots to adding High Evolutionary to your deck. Hence why this version is often denoted with HE in the front. Once you do so, Cyclops will change to this modified version (or “evolved”), where he gains a new, power passive ability.
HE Cyke’s strength is two-fold. The first is his theoretical stat line. Yes, his base is still the crummy 3-4. But assuming you can proc his ability every turn and you play him as soon as possible, HE Cyke is a 3-10. That’s obviously very good. Remember how Bishop last week required a ton of cards to be played AND needing to be played early to get there? Cyke does that relatively effortlessly. You just need to play him, then float at least 1 Energy a turn to benefit. His second strength is how he is able to synergize with a lot of cards that share similar archetypes. There is the HE toxic line of course, where you play a lot of negative debuffs to cheat out a cheap Abomination while nerfing the power of your opponent’s field, but likewise, Scott is excellent with cards that want to float since you can then make 1 point of energy do a ton of work. If you play Sunspot, HE Misty Knight and have HE Hulk, that 1 point of unspent energy adds an additional 4 power on top of Cyclops’ own -2 debuff. So in contrast to his abilitless form, HE Cyke actually feels like a team leader in that he is able to slot into and work with a lot of cards. Due to his continuing threat of slapping -1s once he is played, he’s also ends up working great in lane control decks as he actively discourages your opponent from competing with his theoretical power.
As far as weaknesses go, HE Cyclops has a few. The first being one that he shares with all HE cards, which is the need to slot HE into the deck. HE is what veteran card players refer to as “a garnet”. In simple terms, this means he is a card you include due to a combo or enabling some sort of play but feels terrible when you actually draw him. You never want to draw HE because HE himself is an ability-less 4-4. Yes, he doesn’t even hit par. His “ability” is powering up the other cards, so as such when draw, he does nothing. Losing one of your deck slots to put in a card that does zilch when you pick it up is obviously terrible. To mitigate, you might consider playing multiple HE powered cards so that he feels less egregious. And to his credit as noted, Cyclops works with a good number them, so it doesn’t always feel as oppressive as you’re making HE enhance multiple cards usually alongside Scott himself.
HE Cyke’s second weakness is that he is limited by his window and loses effectiveness if he is the only card that takes advantage of float. If you play Cyke late (like Turn 5), that diminishes the amount damage he is able to do. So in that regard, he wants to come on to the field ASAP. But worse yet, like other cards that operate with float, the later you draw and play him, the worse it feels to actively have float. Imagine a scenario, where the only card that can take advantage of float you end up playing is Scott. In this scenario, Cyke may “feel” like a 3-10. But if you are actively sacrificing 1 energy for him, is he really? It would probably be more accurate to say in this case, he is a 6-10. That doesn’t seem so impressive anymore now, does it? The reason why we usually discount this is because you often have many of the other play makers already on field (or in HE Hulk’s case, in hand). When your 1 point of float is adding to 4-5 different cards, the float doesn’t feel bad. But when your float is only powering up 1 card, then it feels grossly inefficient and Scott is unfortunately a victim of this. In short, Scott’s effectiveness also depends on your other float absorbers. You should not expect him to perform any last minute miracle turnarounds.

Where does the card fit in the metagame (past or present)? What archetypes should it work with?

Cyclops has had a pretty interesting run within the game’s meta. Before HE came around, his ability-less form was still used in certain decks (Patriot / Surfer) as a means to build tall in one lane. He was, at the time, pretty much the only 3 cost that could put out decent power with little set up. Even though there were other options within that field, power creep was lower a year ago so base Cyke still saw some use in selective cases.
HE’s release was great for Scott in general. Sure, it basically killed off his base form, but his evolved form is very strong and possibly the strongest HE card in the game. It turned him from a card that was going to die eventually to power creeping to a very often picked inclusion in certain achetypes – sometimes Best-in-Slot (BiS) for your deck if you’re playing something like She-naut or Toxic HE. You still see him today hanging out with other folks that make up those decks – Sunspot, Magik, HE Hulk – and he’s gained some new friends as he remains a staple on those lists. And while these decks are not currently being on top of the meta-lists, it’s always something to keep in mind as you play.

Which cards have noteworthy interactions with it?

Cyclops has a decent number of cards that he can combo off of, which has helped Scott stay relevant even in today’s landscape:

• High-Evolutionary: He’s useless in game but his inclusion is what gives Scott his evolved form. So if you plan on using that, you literally have no choice but to add him.
• HE Abomination / She-Hulk: Both cards are often cost-discounted with Cyclops. Float reduces She-Hulk’s cost, then Cyke’s -1 Power x 2 helps reduce HE Abom’s Cost by 2 if he hits 2 cards.
• Sunspot / HE Misty Knight: As with above, Cyke synergies with other cards that like float and Sunspot / HE Misty Knight do exactly that. Extra float gets converted straight to power for Sunspot while HE MK provides +1 power to a random card as long as you have float.
• Nebula: Often times when you place HE Cyke down in a lane, opponent’s will focus on the other lanes unless they have a good counter play since Cyke can be a big threat on his own. Adding Nebula to the same lane asks your opponent to pick their poison. Either give Nebula free boosts, or force them into the lane to be blasted.
• Storm: Not only does Storm lock the lane down, meaning any future cards played into her lane become Scott’s targets, but the added urgency she creates means an opponent will feel pressured to put something there or be forced to give up the lane for cheap.
• Jean Grey: Jean is an awkward card, but she combos well with HE Cyke. She holds an opponent’s play into the lane and he shoots them. I like how 2 of Cyke’s better partners are other classic ‘97ers.
• Silver Surfer: The OG but not really relevant anymore. Back then Surfer + Cyke was a way to build a lane tall in Surfer decks. But things have changed quite a bit so this combination has lost a lot of luster. Still if you are early in SNAP, it’s something that you can play around with.

What cards or strategies counter it? Are there other downsides to keep in mind?

Ability-less Cyclops doesn’t need much of a counter because he’s typically out-stated and power crept in today’s landscape. If your opponent plays ability-less Cyclops, you know he/she is probably early in their SNAP career and are probably running some old Patriot or Surfer variant. In which case, counters to those decks typically work.
HE Cyke is another story and the main meat of this section for obvious reasons. Unlike his base version, here, there’s an actual ability with actual threat behind it. So if you don’t check it, it typically means giving up the lane since Scott can just stack a bunch of -1 Power effects onto your board. The key to dealing with HE Cyke if you don’t carry the typical tech cards is to keep in mind his float efficiency. Decks with HE will typically want float and play other float synergistic cards such as Sunspot. If you can eliminate those cards from play or use, then that will weaken HE Cyke as well. Having 1 float power up HE Cyke, HE MK and Sunspot means your opponent gets a lot of mileage by being energy efficient. It is a completely different story if he’s giving up 1 energy just to add 2x -1 Power. For this reason, some more unusual counters include stuff like Elektra and Killmonger who can snipe out HE Cyke’s early supports.
Another tactic you can try is to forcing your opponent into not having any float at all. This is typically harder to do because there aren’t many ways to mess with your opponent’s costs. You might be tempted to play Mobius but most HE Cyclops’ decks won’t run stuff like Sera. And now that Zabu has basically been neutered, there’s even less reason for them to carry cost discounters. Iceman can work but is typically too random and you have no way of knowing what it hit. The Bounce variants that can replay him are going to be best for this since you can then slap a bunch of +1 cost modifiers, forcing the HE Cyke player into position where he is less likely to have float.
You can also choose to avoid playing in HE Cyke’s lane entirely. Indeed, HE Cyke’s ability only works if there are other cards in the lane. Specifically – he only gets full value if you have TWO cards on YOUR side of the lane. If you don’t have other cards there, then he’s fundamentally no different than his vanilla form. For this reason, the Goblins, White Widow and Viper can be good soft counters. Viper especially can be mean since you end up throwing back a debuffed card back to your opponent’s board. This isn’t always an option though due to the location effects but something to keep in mind.
If you do have his checks, then you’re in a good position. HE Cyke gets dumpstered pretty hard by certain tech cards – most notably Luke Cage. Now that Cage is back in his old form (albeit +1 cost, +2 power), he’s the premier choice for countering toxic debuff strategies. HE Cyke is of course no exception to this rule. Simply play him on a late turn and undo a bunch of your opponent’s work. If they are floating on 5 in preparation of playing a big boi like HE Hulk or Infinaut and She-Hulk, slapping Luke down undoes the previous 2 turns of work and puts you into position of nailing their big boi too. Otherwise, both Shadow King and Valkyrie deserve honorable mentions but are not as good as Luke. SK resets all the previous’ turns power debuffs, which can be big but you’ll still be at the mercy of the current round’s effect. Valkyrie is similar except she will set everything to 3 power. If you have a way to break parity with at least +3 power, then you’re in a good position to take the lane.
Being 3 cost means Cyke is also vulnerable to Magneto. But Magneto doesn’t really counter Scott because by the time old Magnetman hits the field, Cyke’s effect would have already proc’d twice. Sure, you can then move him to another location but by then the damage is done. There are times when Magneto can be the game winner (such as an opponent having a weak lane and another lane that has been Flooded and they are using Cyke + Storm to hold it), but like the locations, he’s definitely more situational.

What other cards may serve a similar role, for either replacement or redundancy?

From the HE family, HE Cyke’s closest comparison is his 4 cost companion HE Thing. Both cards slam -1 power effects to different cards in the lane. However, in Ben’s case, he’s an On Reveal and thus only triggers once and doesn’t scale with float. Otherwise, HE Misty Knight is also similar AND synergistic. In this case, you add +1 power for every additional point of float, just like how HE Cyke adds 2x -1 Power debuffs. This +1 is random though so care must be placed into deciding what you’re playing since the more cards there are, the extra float can hit cards you don’t really want.
Apart from the HE family of cards, HE Cyke shares similar abilities as Man-Thing. Both cards represent an establisher that aims to hold the lane by applying debuffs to other cards in the lane. Both cards aim to hit your opponent’s cards with a max of -8 power. The main difference here is that Man-Thing only hits cards that cost 1-3, whereas Scott can hit any card as long as you give him float. Man-Thing is also Ongoing so certain soft counters that work against Scott don’t work on Man-Thing.

Conclusion

Cyclops has come a long way. He went from being an ability-less, identity-less generic 3 cost to now a staple consideration in one of the game’s more competitive archetypes. Not bad for the field commander.
What are your best Cyclops plays?
What has been Cyclops’ best deck?
Did I miss anything in my assessment?
Let's discuss in the comments.

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Hello all! I've been interested in HEMA for a long time but due to no HEMA clubs in my area I never gave a serious attempt to learn it. I know many people have also attempted to self learn it but for some reason I never felt the motivation to take this path. I knew that without an actual guidance from an instructor, I'll probably learn for 2 weeks then give up.
Since the last 2 months I joined a Kyokushin Karate dojo and have learned some basic stuff about combat in general. Things like distance management, body mechanics when kicking, punching etc, proper weight distribution in stances/forms etc. This has also regained my interested in HEMA.
Even though Karate is (mostly) unarmed combat, will it be possible to use the learnings in HEMA? After all things like stance, footwork, distance management will probably not change drastically from sword to hand to hand combat? I mean this is the closest I can get to the 'HEMA' experience.
All in all my goal with HEMA is of course not to be a pro swordsmen. I just want to the get hang of using swords and not swinging them around like a doofus lol.
Also if it is indeed a good idea, would love some tips on a training routine. For example if you're also a self learner, how many days a week do you practice HEMA and for how long? I am a bit bad at creating training routines on my own.

Yes it’s fucking trash, auto bot deletes, moderators deleting stuff, flair traps (having a flair tag that immediately tags it please post in QA etc and then delete)
I’d literally delete my fucking account if it were not for a single health related group.
Want help or just having casual discussions go somewhere else because 80 percent of my stuff gets auto deleted or mod deleted based on bot interpretation I guess with not the slightest effort to read a well formed discussion.
I don’t have the time to be a legal scholar in your dumb ass rules, why can’t you just follow the rule don’t be a dick?
I do not post anything that would spark any real controversy, no anti this or that etc..
Go to hell reddit!

After beating the game and recruiting all characters, I can confidently express say that Eiyuden Chronicle is a commendable successor to Suikoden, capturing its essence beautifully. It’s been a while since I’ve dedicated over 100 hours to a JRPG—the last being Xenoblade. I’d like to offer some detailed feedback on what I found to be the best and worst aspects of this game. I played it on PC xbox game pass:
https://preview.redd.it/kc0uzc4rzyzc1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d659b92afe0eb5b6fea720b0e77cad9699003f6b
Best:

• The character diversity is remarkable, with a plethora of factions, races, and charismatic groups. Despite the challenge of depth with such a large cast, the developers have succeeded. I’ve felt a strong connection with the characters that intrigued me the most. This diversity extends to gameplay, with varied weapons, fighting styles, and roles within the HQ, whether as fighters or support for your team. The convergence of allied and antagonistic factions throughout the story is also a highlight.
• The battle system is exceptional, never dull, with a rich array of skills, magic, and combos. Playing on hard difficulty with restrictions has made magic incredibly useful, and I’ve enjoyed mastering it. The return of runes, particularly the management aspect, equipment, and stat mechanics, is a welcome feature. I’ve engaged in manual combat more than anticipated, but auto-battles have been convenient for simpler encounters.
• The overall difficulty is well-balanced. I’ve played on hard mode with restrictions, leading to several boss defeats after multiple attempts, which was gratifying. Bosses with special mechanics add complexity to battles, and I only wish there were more of them. Additional unlockable end-game content would be appreciated.
• The soundtrack is a pleasant surprise, far from monotonous, and complements the game’s various segments beautifully. The opening title song is especially noteworthy, reminiscent of the iconic Final Fantasy theme and Studio Ghibli’s epic compositions, such as “Flags of Brave.”
• The Spanish localization is impeccable. Despite initial criticism from detractors, the translation holds up well, which don’t detract from the gameplay, at least in the spanish version. Anyway, the behavior of some players and their treatment of developers regarding the localization topic is regrettable.
• The original Japanese voice acting is outstanding, featuring renowned talents known for their roles in anime like Fate Stay Night and Golden Kamuy.

Worst:

• The narrative, while not poor, could benefit from more grandeur and a graver tone. The game’s cheerful disposition, akin to many generic anime, is pleasant but lacks the gravitas that a darker narrative could provide. A less predictable plot with dramatic twists would have been preferable. The story’s simplicity lies in its events and characters, which are enjoyable, though the epic moments are sparse.
• Technical issues, such as bugs in the cooking contest (already fixed) and certain character recruitment, along with a flawed auto-fight strategy system (characters does not follow the individual orders), detract from the experience. The most jarring are the duel scenes plagued by audio desync and freezing, disrupting immersion, specially during the final battle and the excessively bugged credits sequence, where I stayed for more than 30 minutes due to all these problems and I thought I would never be able to finish the game for a "new game+".
• The minigames’ lack of depth is disappointing. Fishing feels tedious, races offer little interaction, and the card game is too simplistic. The cooking game was notably broken before being fixed today. The beigoma game’s mechanics are monotonous, and the necessity to play out the third round regardless of the outcome is frustrating. Stealth mechanics and puzzles are underused but enjoyable, reminiscent of Zelda games, and could have been expanded upon. Still, like I said, I really enjoyed all the minigames, they simply could have been even better.
• The controversy surrounding Kickstarter backer rewards has overshadowed the game’s launch. While I’m not a backer, I’ve observed the situation and understand the frustration. However, the challenges of fulfilling rewards, especially those imported from Japan, are considerable. I commend the developers for their efforts to resolve issues and support their community. It’s a reminder that early access and crowdfunding come with inherent risks.
• I am not very agree to the decision to charge for character DLCs, which could have been included as more in deep secondary stories. The €25 season pass for DLCs seems steep, and I’m undecided on whether to invest further or wait for a potential discount. I would have been more satisfied with a price of €15.

Thank you for reading this extensive post, and I extend my gratitude for the game. I hope your enjoyment matches mine! My rating for the game is a 9-10, not only because the game is so good, but because of everything it entails.