I know that guilt is par for the course with an NP, but right now I just can't help it. This is kind of long but please bear with me, I feel so alone in this right now.
My NP isn't my direct parent, but a grandparent. She's always been an awful narcissist to me and my mom growing up. I'm out of the house now luckily, but I still hear about her and occasionally visit (I can't go no contact for reasons I don't really want to talk about, as much as I'd love to do that) and she is, by every definition, getting older.
She has a hard time walking, a hard time getting around, and is often confused and forgetful. But because of how disgustingly she treated her kids and grandkids throughout their lives, no one is extending an arm to help her in any way. Don't get me wrong, all of us have tried, only to be met with worse treatment than we got before. She's also been getting a lot meaner and nastier. She's even started to threaten us physically and shove people. Which is equal parts concerning and morbidly funny with how feeble she's become.
Despite all of this I still feel immense guilt. I honestly think she might be going through the beginning stages of dementia currently, a lot of things are lining up. But the problem is it's so hard to tell because of how she's been her whole life.
Leaving out or mixing up food/other things because she forgot? - getting into people's leftovers, mementos, and toys then ruining them was one of her favorite activities before all this
Asking obvious and repetitive questions out of confusion? - another favorite way she used to irritate everyone as much as possible was by asking annoying questions
Being generally forgetful or not remembering things quite right? - she's always been a pathological liar and starting drama with those lies was a regular occurrence
Being mean? - do I even need to say it?
She used to do all these things and more, then laugh and say "I'm just trying to annoy you!" Constantly when when I was little.
Honestly, I called this shit years ago. I always used to say that she was playing a dangerous game, playing dumb like that was only going to make it hard for her when she got even older and started to actually forget things and mix things up, and I was fucking right. No one is helping her in her old, old age. No one will take her places like doctors appointments because she's never ready in time, is to stubborn to admit she needs assistance getting ready, and usually just lies to the doctors anyway. No one is giving her any patience or benefit of the doubt and snap at her often. It's painful to listen to, it's like my childhood all over again.
I feel awful and guilty. I can't help but think of how scary it must be for her, to go through old age and potentially dementia with no help and to be met with nothing but anger. But on the other hand, she kind of did this to herself. Maybe if she wasn't such an abusive narcissist she'd be getting help and kindness. She's always been seen as the sweet golden grandma by my wider family despite how she treated us all behind closed doors, so maybe this is the universe repaying her for that. I don't know. I thought all this guilt would fade away when I left, but it hasn't, and I feel so much guilt and pain every time I look at her or hear about how everyone is treating her. Has anyone else had a similar experience as their NP got older?

Hey guys, do any of you know some games like BFME with heroes that use powers, something on that line. Ive never found anything like it. I mean, I like kingdom rush, but its a tower defence with great heroes, but its not an RTS. I miss games like BFME, I just think BFME did not age well =(

A follow up to: https://www.reddit.com/starwarsunlimited/comments/1ct5oc1/how_do_you_know_which_card_to_resource/
Many of you answered something along the lines of knowing the matchup, which I totally agree with. Nonetheless, I was wondering how you should go about preparing for a matchup.
I have some general understanding of preparing for a matchup on the macro side (e.g. archetypes like aggro vs. control, reviewing common deck lists to learn the key cards likely to be used by my opponent), but don't know as much on the micro side like which cards are more important for me in a matchup or when to play which cards especially if not on curve.
A couple resources I know of are to watch high quality games like 4Ks on Youtube. Issue with that is they do not cover all matchups and especially not rogue decks (e.g. I can probably find Boba Green vs. Iden Red there, but less likely to find something like Boba Green vs. Chewie Yellow). Another way to learn is to play more against different decks, but that depends somewhat on the caliber of the opposing player and might or might not translate to tournament play. I would also note many of my local players play more offbeat stuff like Chewie Yellow above or Hera.

I generally like to go for thematic army builds, the problem is that I feel I maybe giving myself an artificial harder difficulty doing so. For instance, when playing dwarfs I like to mix long beards with dwarf warriors as in my mind it makes sense to have the long beards inspiring the younger beardlings which would normally make the bulk of any front line army. However, I notice that well my front line sucks!
Do other players play this way? Should I just always upgrade to the next tier of unit to make the game more equalized when going against AI empires that have much better less thematic army compositions?

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

I have a monitor craving and wanted to get some outside opinions.
for reference I play a metric fck ton of valorant, CS and I like pushing scores in kovaaks quite a bit. I currently own a 1440p 170hz Asus VA panel and bought it mostly on a whim while I was at microcenter when I built my PC two/three years ago whenever the 6950xt red devil released (12700k +6950xt). I tend to run this monitor at 165hz as it's native refresh rate is 144hz and it's OC'd to 170hz. this panel is very pretty, I love it for any sort of atmospheric/environmental beauty-type games that I play, however I don't play those incredibly often. I am an addict for competitive games specifically fps, I love fast aim and I feel my monitor is starting to get in the way. I've noticed some ghosting when playing stuff like quake and overwatch, or while doing TAF drills/fast flicks. another thing I have noticed is the size of my monitor compared to the space I have available and my posture while aiming. I like to be close to the monitor for FPS games and have somewhat limited space, where my 28" 1440p monitor seems to be too big, I find myself moving my head or having to shift focus more often than my old 144hz 1080p 24.5".
getting close or on par with the professional standard is generally my goal, 240hz is not off the table, however I feel if I invest in lower resolution, I would prefer a decent jump in smoothness, I feel a faster IPS panel and 360hz would be a significant smoothness upgrade worth the investment. I'm not getting rid of my 1440p 165hz panel but it will definitely be relegated to story/single-playeimmersion focused games and viewing media.
monitors I'm considering currently:
Alienware 1080p 360hz (AW2521H) - this monitor won't break the bank (currently $300) and fits all of my criteria
Zowie BenQ 1080p 24" 360hz (XL2566K) - this monitor will break the bank but is the absolute pinnacle of what I'd like in an ideal situation
Zowie BenQ 1080p 24" 240hz (XL2540K) - this monitor is very similar in price to the Alienware 360hz, so the speed of a TN display would have to overcome that difference in refresh rate, realistically the only zowie panel in budget
ASUS TUF 1080p 24.5 280hz (VG259QM) - this is the middle ground of everything, $50 cheaper than the AW 360hz so price isnt much of a factor between those two.
I would absolutely love other opinions on this but keep in mind that I am indeed very competitively focused and I want all the smooth. I'm currently leaning towards the Alienware 360hz but I am hesitant due to the quality of Alienware pre-builts, those horrors have caused me to steer far clear of anything Alienware until now. 2nd in line would be the ASUS monitor as it's a middle ground and safe zone considering all of my previous monitors were the ASUS TUF series. thanks in advance!

Not me personally, but a friend of mine who wants to join the dota 2 group borderline cannot find a game. When he first wanted to start playing dota (2020) he was able to que with me and my friends (over 5000 hours each 5000+games played peak ancient / divine OCE) no more then 7 min que times. He took two years and a bit break and wanted to start playing dota again but now its impossible to find a game with him in our party and when he solo quing. We have spent multiple que sessions of 99 minutes to be on the end of nothing. We thought of many different things (aka buying an unranked account with i think 1000 games played) with no success. What feel like infinite void of que time has been going on for a couple of months now and we have ran out of ideas to help my friend.
https://preview.redd.it/v8pxlysu5t0d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=23b1f6fcf2affac18a8ff9cdfcf8931c81b5d6a1
The image shows his account (not the one we bought) ques for max timer with no que pop.
His dota buff is linked below https://www.dotabuff.com/players/163183092
Is his account flagged as a smurf or something along those lines because he was quing with higher ranked players? Is dota just impossible for new players cause i woudlnt know because i have been playing since like 2014.
Any advice / tips would be highly appreciate <3 Thanks

I’m currently doing a second platinum trophy run and I’m almost to the end of the Elf area. Which sadly, is when I start to get overwhelmed with how many characters I have.
I also just finished Eiyuden Chronicle HH (a pretty good game if you like Suikoden btw) and if you aren’t familiar, the game has 120 characters you can recruit and eventually you get to build a castle and all the members either hang out or run services (shops, blacksmith, etc).
Even though you can’t/wont use every character (that game has a party size of 7), it’s fun to see them when you visit the castle. You can talk to them, use their services, etc. The whole “station a guard” thing in UO is basically just to give them gifts. That’s fine but being able to have everyone in one location would be so much better. You could see them interact with each other or see who is talking to who, etc.
spoilers for those that haven’t beaten the game yet below
.
.
So, you know how at the end of the game you can walk around and talk to all the characters? What if they just setup a home base and all the characters were there. You could assign/station them for various services but also just chat with them. It doesn’t have to be anything super in-depth or complicated but hearing new lines of dialog as you progress would be great. You could/should also have all the rapport conversations there. I understand the locations of those scenes have importance but I mean they don’t exactly give us anything to look at. If you could have all those conversations at camp, it would be easier and you could show them talking inside Alain’s tent or command room or whatever.
I guess this is all stemming from the fact that in my 2nd run, I’m trying to use characters I didn’t the first time. And it is hurting my soul to now leave Hilda, Melisandre and others on the sidelines. If I could return to my castle and Hilda was selling me weapons and Melisandre was running the tavern, I’d feel a lot better.
Just a bored (high) thought I had when playing this morning.
Let’s hope they make UO2 and that’s one of the features.

Patrick Mahomes is good, obviously.
BUT
Patrick Mahomes is the ONLY and I mean ONLY good QB in the NFL.
The rest of the QBs suck or are pretty good.
I’m going to go over a lot of the QBs here.
Patrick Mahomes: Good
Joe Burrow: Overrated, injury prone, acts cool as ice with no rings, played horrible in his Super Bowl run, and is a SYSTEM QB.
Josh Allen: Overrated and can’t win the big game. Turnover machine. Very wreckless runner. Might not age well.
Lamar Jackson: Throws the ball into TRIPLE COVERAGE and that’s why he had to run the triple option over and over. Injury prone. Carried by his play caller and system for the routes. MVP padder. Only useful in the regular season. Not useful in the playoffs.
Deshaun Watson: Values getting a massage over football. Hasn’t been good in 3 or so years. Injury prone.
CJ Stroud: He’s good and hope it stays this way. No red flags really.
Anthony Richardson: Dollar Tree Cam Newton. Injury prone. Poor accuracy.
Trevor Lawerence: Absolutely horrible leadership skills. Not inspiring to play for at all. Overrated generational prospect.
Aidan O’Connell: Didn’t complete a pass for 3 quarters straight and somehow beat the Chiefs. Very replaceable.
Justin Herbert: Very shy. Hides from cameras. Doesn’t have a desire to be him or that guy. Very smart and plays the position well but not inspirational really so teammates won’t give it their all for him.
Tua Tagovailoa: Injury prone, system QB, can’t play in the cold, and needs to get the 1 seed in order to have a chance at the Super Bowl.
Jacoby Brissett: Journey man.
Aaron Rodgers: Conference game playoff choke artist. Retirement diva. Doesn’t work middle of field particularly well. Not a likable teammate really. Only lasted 3-4 plays with the Jets.
Russell Wilson: Hasn’t been the same ever since he threw the goal line interception in the Super Bowl. Horrible at working the middle of the field. He’s slower now. Very corny, attention seeking, and fake. Teammates don’t like him.
Will Levis: Puts mayonnaise in his coffee.
Kirk Cousins: He’s liked and gets the job because he’s responsible but can’t get his teams over the hump and chokes on prime time games.
Kyler Murray: Midget. 5’8.5 at best but 5’10 if you include his Afro and shoes. Enjoys video games. Diva. Injury prone. Can’t play in cold weather well. Runs exploitable schemes that get worse as the season goes on.
Bruce Young: Somehow smaller with a very thin frame. Very injury prone.
Caleb Williams: Paints his fingernails but might be pretty good.
Dak Prescott: Probably the most overrated QB in the NFL. Plays well in the regular season. Can’t play in the playoffs.
Jared Goff: He’s solid.
Jordan Love: Pretty good but will struggle due to the division getting harder soon possibly.
Matthew Stafford: Good but past prime. No complaining really.
Sam Darnold: Sees ghosts.
Derek Carr: Injury prone and the white Dak Prescott on a worse roster.
Daniel Jones: Running white boy who trips in the open field when gifted an easy touchdown. Injury prone. Provides no energy to team.
Jalen Hurts: System QB on a stacked roster.
Brock Purdy: System QB on a stacked roster.
Geno Smith: System QB. Very good play caller who revived his career and offensive coordinator.
Baker Mayfield: Dramatic but has gotten better over time. Could be the new responsible Kirk Cousins who’s pretty good but not great.
Jayden Daniels: Will get injured on that Washington field. Small so injury prone too.
I realize this might be “negative” BUT the NFL is a “Not For Long” league and they exploit players in their weak spots of their game. Players need to get better.
Any QB can be traded if they aren’t Mahomes.
This says a lot about the other 31 teams that aren’t the Kansas City Chiefs.

Not me personally, but a friend of mine who wants to join the dota 2 group borderline cannot find a game. When he first wanted to start playing dota (2020) he was able to que with me and my friends (over 5000 hours each 5000+games played peak ancient / divine OCE) no more then 7 min que times. He took two years and a bit break and wanted to start playing dota again but now its impossible to find a game with him in our party and when he solo quing. We have spent multiple que sessions of 99 minutes to be on the end of nothing. We thought of many different things (aka buying an unranked account with i think 1000 games played) with no success. What feel like infinite void of que time has been going on for a couple of months now and we have ran out of ideas to help my friend.
https://preview.redd.it/9z165qqb5t0d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=dc05c46e8730cdc64927cb3dbd3d5db668ac43fa
The image shows his account (not the one we bought) ques for max timer with no que pop.
His dota buff is linked below https://www.dotabuff.com/players/163183092
Is his account flagged as a smurf or something along those lines because he was quing with higher ranked players? Is dota just impossible for new players cause i woudlnt know because i have been playing since like 2014.
Any advice / tips would be highly appreciate <3 Thanks

Hello, I volunteered to tend to a ball diamond in my community. We are having some major issues with water where I am and our 3rd base side of the diamond is a mess. The mix of the infield is a hodgepodge of sand, screenings and dirt. We have little to no money so this would be coming out of my pocket. What would be my best option to dry it up quickly? *I plan on dragging it as close to game time as possible and chalking lines. *
Any tips?

3.0/3.5 that mostly plays socially - I have this one regular opponent that is a super nice guy and is a great hitting partner *except* his line calls are very tight. I'm always generous with my line calls - if there's even a chance it hit the outside of the line, it's in. He's the opposite - only plays the balls that are 100% in.
Normally this doesn't bother me because we just play for fun. But last night we were in a close match where these marginal calls swung the match. It was frustrating!
Like I said - these are friendly games and he's a great guy in general, so his line calls aren't out of malice or trying to cheat... he just genuinely believes that balls that aren't clearly in are "out".
What should I do in my next match with him? Tit-for-tat with the tight line calls? Talk to him beforehand about it? Would love some advice!

It just makes sense to plan around this stuff

• LA is building rail infra, ahead of the 2028 Olympics. (Buy in '25, sell in '28?)
  
  • Studying: Learn langs; study remotely albeit hopefully with a nice library.
  • Finances: Investing in the area; speculatively, seems like the move. In general, I haven't been growing my finances enough; the play "yesterday" was indices (you'd think... ah well 😅). The play "today" is calculated aggro risks. (I don't think that using expansion plans to pick where to invest is even aggro? Just seems like a long play lol)
    • More importantly, figure out where I could see myself living for at least 3y. 2y study, 3y proj mgmt cert (If I go for at current job.)
  • Career: Branch out of tech focus; build "the story" and use it to leverage into a job that helps me develop personally and professional-skills-ly. (Data, meh; there's also PM'ing. Do we have a shortage? Is that the case everywhere?)
    • I know I need to do this for myself anyways; might as well get brownie points for doing that work for him.
  • Lifestyle: Should give me a chance to get into a healthy rhythm; I can re-find a gym and social circles there based on common interests.
  • [...]: Lang studies in-person until I'm well enough along to learn online. Keep to the Plan. (Holly's "Spooky imitation of Artemis" quote as thought in interstitial space as one of many examples of that whole 'echoic memory for certain lines' thing. I swear that's prolly a thing in neurosci; resonance and such)
• SEA: Buying ahead of The Big One would suck; and I'm already 50/50 on going back. Maybe buy after; be part of the rebuild.
  
  • Having been back... (I seriously need time away. Lol. Fuck that guy) (Evidence from semi-trusted sources and logical level indicate that I might be making a hasty emotional decision; distance was/is a good idea so secure time off.)
    • play the game; you're already "in" (kinda) or at least in a situation that could be worse. (Decent life philosophy -> remember what you still have. Kenny gets it!) long-term game (out of necessity; might as well be better positioned to make career moves.) I'm at the right level to make moves internally - coach under geoff), but short term, I could definitely use a break.
• JP: '25 Expo could be a nice trip, but at this point I can't do both and pursue DE. Vacay could (and most likely will) be a pivot after we ask [...], probably-get heartbroken (yay!), and can do that to feel better. (...Yay-but-actually! 🤣)
  
  • I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be enough. Vacays take me OUT of a routine. I feel better IN routines.
• NO/DE: (Lol, Node): Pending other developments. Likely NO in either case. Could go FR?
  

SEA was good, but... it's really just surrounding myself with people, activities, opportunities. I can do that most anywhere.
What do you think, Mudkip? :pokes cheek, Zee giggles happily: [...] Dw, I like water too, bud. We can stay close to it for now. ^^

I'm very new and overwhelmed by the many different combo lines and synergies throughout the format. I have watched a bunch of game play videos and dug into some in depth deck primers but I think gold-fishing some of these decks might be a great way to understand how they operate. Are there 3-4 decks that sum up the best combo lines? FYI, I have a Yuriko and proxied Kinnan. Thanks!

So i was born in hungary but we mived a lot, so I started playing games at a young age. So far ive played World of Tanks where i have like half the tank lines maxed and am usually among the top10 European players with some tanks. I currently have premium there as well and like 30m credits. I sometimes buy gold but not very often so i dont really buy permanent camo for my tanks. After this I played some wynncraft and made a mage account but quit midway through. I also met my best friend in these years. I never really liked team sports but i did fencing for some years. Also a bit of running and swimming every once in a while. I also have an EVE account with 200h playtime only, but lets not get side tracked. Also i met a player in sw on the HIVE who claimed to have met a dude whose brother had the hype in skyblock. I also am preparing for exams these days so dont really play at all.
So what do you think? Should i get hype or term first?
btw IGN: sasmester12

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

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

&

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

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

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

[…]

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

[…]

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

[…]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

VII. The Devs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

&

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

&

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

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

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

Codirector Nomura said the following:

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

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

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

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

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

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

So I’m on the quest line out of the blue and Aries is supposed to open a hidden door way and he went to the calendar did his little thing and boom. Door stays shut, I’ve reset my game several times and still it’s a wall, how do I go about fixing this issue