#the only one they applied 1:1 is tifa

[getvalentined]

FFVI Crossover 🌟 FINAL FANTASY VII: EVER CRISIS

Life…dreams…hope… Where do they come from?

[ unedited screenshots free for use – no credit required ]

[grimfolks]

i'm sorry to bother you, i just came across your blog and i'm so shocked with how amazing your sims look. i play sims 3 but my sims look pretty average and my screenshots don't look great, can you please if it's possible explain how your sims look so beautiful like this? (specifically this post hiddenspriings/742135415348330496) like, how do your sims look that good? is that a default skin? and how do they have those shadows on their faces etc, is that editing or reshade? can you please explain deeply? i'm sorry i'm asking for many things, i'm just a noob and i really get confused looking at these beautiful posts wondering how to make my sims look cool like that too!!

I don't even know where to start asdfghjkl 😅 developing a sim style is honestly a journey and when I joined simblr my sims looked like potatoes too, it takes time and effort to actively work on that 'skill' if I might call it that. With that often comes the dissatisfaction of your progress and how your sims look, and sometimes you just have to stop yourself and enjoy the ride, without looking around at what others are doing. Anyways, into actual 'tips':

I think you need to figure out where you stand when it comes to cc (it's not really a need but it's gonna help I guess). I like the look of very simple maxis match skins (I have those linked on my resources page) and very often alpha makeup cc layered on top. I personally don't really like how alpha skins look like on my sims (they usually have much more depth to them but since I’m not into that I can’t recommend anything) so everything you see on them - highlights, blushes, shadows etc. is just makeup cc. For those I recommend: blushes 1 2 3 4 shadows & highlights 1(!) 2(!) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 (+ tifa’s stuff here). Add them on top of each other and bam! suddenly your sim isn’t so flat faced anymore (little note here, I often use ‘blushes’ as shadows as well depending on their placement ;)

If you are interested in what I personally use as defaults check my resources page. I also have all the skins and eyes cc I use linked there. My advice would be to also check other simblrs’ resources as well, there are some well hidden gems there that otherwise I wouldn’t be able to find on my own. 

But If you are new to sims 3 you might ask: hey, how do you layer cc if you can only apply one for the category in cas? Well...Get yourself nraas master controller if you haven't already. With that mod you can increase the number of sliders which give you freedom of creating more diverse looking sims and assign multiple makeup per location. I won't explain how to do it here as there are multiple guides online, just google your question :) - I even saw great guides on youtube! It might seem like a lot at first but believe me, nraas along with its many modules will save you a lot of time and hussle. 

Lastly, part of the posting process here on simblr is editing and I cannot lie that my sims don’t benefit on that. I use reshade with mxao which enhance colors and shadows (check my f.a.q page for links) and smooth out pictures further with photoshop tools. 

Now I’m gonna expose myself a little, this is from left to right: the oldest sim in my folder currently (I’d say this is my late 2022 style), my newest sim and my newest sim with reshade on (but no further editing).

It’s a shame I don’t have access to my very first sims in sims 3 to really compare them but I think even here you can see the difference. So do not get discouraged, it will take a time and dedication like any other hobby but you’ll get where you want to be eventually :)

[dutchdread]

what do you think about Cait siths fortune about cloud losing what he cherishes the most

Don't have a strong opinion on it to be honest, because the thing with predictions in stories is that they're never straight forward. They're intentionally made vague to the point that often they can mean whatever you want it to mean. It's an old magicians trick in the real world as well, predict something vaguely meaningful and if a person wants to believe it they'll find a way to apply it to them. Obviously Cait Sith can't actually tell the future, and we know from the OG at least that his predictions are just shit in general. He predicts a bright future between Aerith and Cloud, and well....we know how that turns out. In the past I've conjectured that this particular prediction may have been a hold-out from earlier drafts of the story, that stuff happened all the time back in the day. Game development was a lot less formalized back then. So I was curious whether it would show up in Rebirth, but it did. Could just be because they're being pretty accurate when it comes to trivial things, could be because the predictions actually matter, I couldn't tell you. My gut instinct is that yes, it means something, because developers tend to not put in predictions, even fake ones, without them having SOME meaning. But as for what that meaning is? Your guess is as good as anyone elses. Could be that the predictions are aimed at the player rather than Cloud. Could be that the predictions are intentionally bad, seeing as they also say Clouds lucky color is "black" which with Sephiroth and the Black materia doesn't feel that lucky to me (unless it refers to Tifa or something? Like I said, they can mean anything). I've also heard theories that it refers to Clouds sanity or fake persona, "himself" in short. And I've hear interpretations that it refers to Tifas faith in him, that one seems pretty possible since that's the thing that eventually breaks him, and has been stated by him to be the only thing that matters as well as the reason he started this entire journey. The obvious interpretation Cleriths will want you to take is of course that it is about him losing Aerith, but I'd say that seems unlikely for 2 reasons. 1: The idea of Aerith being what he cherishes most is absurd even IF he did have romantic feelings for her by that time. He's known her for all of a week and has spend most of that time being annoyed with her, in stark contrast to Tifa, meaning this would be the most ill-written teenage rom-com overdramatized ass pull ever. But more importantly 2: That seems exactly like the sort of thing that is so straightforward that it's unlikely to be the "real" explanation. But ultimately there is one thing that supersedes all of this. One thing that makes any specific interpretation of this prediction null and void.

Sephiroth: Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away. Cloud: "I pity you, you just don't get it at all. THERE'S NOTHING I DON'T CHERISH!

~ Cloud in AC. This line feels like it was made on purpose to counter and reject all these attempts at ranking the things that Cloud holds dear. Doing so is literally the path of Sephiroth, and it's something I see Cleriths doing ALL THE TIME. Asking what Cloud cherishes is the wrong question. He cherishes everything. Based on this, the only "most cherished thing" he can lose....is everything.

[ladyirisreviews]

Final Fantasy 7 - Review

This is the game that got me into trying Final Fantasy games in the first place. It is often regarded as one of the best RPGs of all time and deemed so important by Square Enix that they made the remake trilogy.

It is by far the one Final Fantasy game most people know about, and also the most talked about, and as the contrarian I was back when I heard of it, I had to give it a go, but not without having a big bias against it.

This time I came back to it with an open mind, and while it was way better than what I remembered, I still find issue in people calling it one of the best ever, but more on that later.

The plot is what I criticized the most the first time I played the game, but I have to give a brief summary of it first.

You play as Cloud, an ex-soldier acting as a mercenary for a group called Avalance, an eco-terrorist organization trying to sabotage the energy corporation Shinra, who are using the vital energy of the planet as an energy source, slowly killing it in the process, with more threats popping up along his journey.

I really don't want to go past that because 1) spoilers and 2) the main focus changes so much from one moment to the next it's really hard to make a summary without it being a summary of half of the game.

Overall, I like the theme of the game a lot, it being the preservation of nature, it really drives it home in showing the consequences of excessive industrialization and how not only does it affect nature but also the people.

In the past, I thought the plot was confusing and nonsensical in some parts, and even though it can and does get confusing, it's not nearly as bad as I remembered.

Other than that I do feel like the characters could have used some more work and fleshing out, there's a point where some characters just stop getting lines or have close to no development, the way the game handles the events hurts it too in my opinion, with almost always your benched party members not being present for plot events inside dungeons.

I think the only point where I haven't changed my mind that much is with the main villain, I do still feel like Sephiroth is a bit flat when compared to other characters in the series, it does a good job at being intimidating but it doesn't really go past that for me, which could be said about most antagonists in the series, the antagonists are not the strong point of Final Fantasy games.

But in general, I think the plot works, it has some very good moments, and I only wish there was more dialogue and interactions between the characters, something I think almost all of the games in this series need.

The character design is great, this is probably the best designer job Tetsuya Nomura ever did. Tifa and Aerith both look like archetypes of female characters but their characterization subverts that expectation pretty well, Sephiroth's design is also iconic, it's probably the most visually interesting villain for me this far, after Kefka, though Kefka only applies if you look at this concept art or illustrations.

But the meaty part of this game is the gameplay.

You guessed it, ATB comes back, and it works basically the same as in the previous game, your party size is now 3 characters as opposed to the 4 we had in the past 2 games, probably because of the deep character customization the game offers, but I will explain that later.

The unique addition in this iteration of the battle system is the limit break system.

Every character has a gauge that fills by a small amount every time they suffer damage, and once it's filled the attack button changes into a limit button, which allows you to unleash a very powerful attack, or in some instances, a pretty strong buff for your party.

There's 4 levels of limit breaks, with 2 limit breaks per level, mostly. You can only have one limit break active in a battle for any character, and the way to unlock higher level limit breaks is either to defeat a certain number of enemies or use a limit break multiple times, with the final one being locked behind a sidequest most of the time.

The system is fun, if a little broken in most situations, you are able to carry over the progress of the limit break bar to the next fight, which if it is against a boss, you could wait until all of your party members have their bars full, and then avoid using the limit break until you reach the boss, which is doable if you have magic or special skills equipped to avoid using normal attacks for damage, and then blast the boss with limit breaks, chopping down a big portion of its HP in the process, but the downside is that you stop grinding limit break uses for the next unlock.

But I don't think it is necessary to use that exploit, since I feel like this is one of the easiest games in the series, not including the super bosses, I never really felt like I needed to either change up my strategy or grind.

The other core system in the game is very flexible enough, the materia system, this is what makes the gameplay stand out and at the same time what can make it so easy.

So characters in this game don't have unique characteristics between each other, only their limit breaks, stat spread, which isn't that different from character to character, and whether their weapon is ranged or not, all the skills come from items called materia, which you equip on your weapons and armor, each weapon has materia slots, and they vary from weapon to weapon, with some having paired slots, where some materia can react to each other.

What materia does varies from type to type, represented by a color, green materia allows you to use different types magic, blue materia can be paired with other materia for different effects, yellow materia gives you new commands, purple materia gives buffs or stat increases, and red materia is used to call summons forth.

Equipped materia can also level up, each level unlocking a new spell, strengthening the effect or increasing uses of that materia, it depends on the type. Also, when a materia reaches max level, you get a level 1 copy of the same materia, which is the only way to get more than 1 copy of some rare materia.

This is the most flexible customization system in the series so far, every character is able to do anything as long as you have the materia and enough slots in your equipment, but I do feel like it makes the characters feel not very special.

Having their only unique characteristic be their limit breaks and weapon range, makes it so the best characters just boil down to who can deal the most damage with their limit breaks, and even if every character is viable, allowing you to beat the game with any combination, I wish it was a bit more like Final Fantasy 6, with characters having actions unique to them, on top of the materia system.

But overall, this is a very good game, if I were ranking all of the main Final Fantasy games I would place it right above the middle, personally.

While it has one of the most solid plots so far, it feels very incomplete in the character department, with Final Fantasy 6 being able to explore more than double the characters while also providing them with arcs and different interactions.

While it has one of the most flexible systems, the difficulty is way too low to truly take advantage of it, even with sub-optimal combinations every main boss is very easy, to the point I never felt the need to use attack spells, normal attacks are the fastest way to win almost every time, and with the limit breaks and you being encouraged to use them as much as possible, a lot of fights pose no threat.

If I could change something about the limit breaks, it would be the bar not carrying over between each fight, and instead starting from 0 every time, and changing the conditions to unlock higher level limit breaks, a sidequest or normal level progression would be better than grinding in my opinion.

The gameplay in general is pretty good regardless of my issues with it, but the dungeon design is quite lacking, probably the worst in the series so far, to be clear, they all look very good and memorable, but there's nothing besides going from point A to point B in them, barely any side paths or puzzles.

Something the game does have going for it is that it has quite a lot of memorable places, setpieces, and minigames that break the normal flow of the game, from the presentation of some areas to the density of NPCs and things to explore in some towns, I think out of any Final Fantasy game so far, this one has the best towns, it makes the places feel more real and the NPCs help flesh out the world a bit more.

So while this game does a lot of stuff very well, the moniker of the best RPG ever still bothers me, not because it's not good but because it makes a bunch of people settle for this game and not look beyond what less popular RPGs have to offer.

They might not have as much iconic imagery but there are games with better gameplay, better plot, better characters and so much more, maybe not with everything at the same time but with settling for one game you can't really visualize what a much better game it could have been with small improvements, like adding more dialogue, adding interactions, finishing character arcs, or making dungeons more than pretty hallways.

I understand very well why so many people like this game a lot, but all I want to say is that I wish more people gave more games a chance because while, again, this is still a very good game, people are missing out on a lot of different experiences the RPG genre has to offer.

[matt0044]

What can I say? Tangle & Whisper's mini-series had me by the balls. Can't wait to dive into the Metal Virus. In any case, here's a voice cast I've had in mind when reading the comic original characters:

"Christine Marie Cabanos as Tangle The Lemur" - Many fan casters tend to focus on Tangle as a sporty tomboy and think of a raspy voice not unlike Rainbow Dash or Amethyst. This isn't bad but I found myself thinking outside the box when I was revisiting Kill La Kill and its bombass dub at the time. Christine's Mako Makanshoku had just the kind of energy and cocksure that Tangle would have as a rookie to the Resistance.

Mind you, she would even out the pitch to sound closer to a young adult/older teen that the characters tend to (mostly) come across as but no less hyperactive like Mako when the moment calls for it. Additionally, Christine could dip more into her Madoka Kaname performance to capture her more emotional side, particularly when Whisper lets her in on what happened to the Diamond Cutters. It would make for a great range that toes the line just like Tangle has in terms of being somewhat obnoxious but not in a "Scrappy Doo" kind of way.

Bonus - This is a song that I think fits Tangle's character to a T: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVimjyR6vIc

Another that describes her and Whisper because this ship has me by the balls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2rNLdSJjxU

"Erica Mendez as Whisper The Wolf" - Erica would play her not too unlike her soft-spoken Retsuko (barring Heavy Metal scenes played by an actual Heavy Metal singer) but in a consistently hushed tone. However, moments where she's emotionally devastated like fearing losing Tangle or... losing Tangle would be where her performances as Atsuko Kagari from Little Witch Academia and Gon from Hunter X Hunter come in.

Bonus - This song describes what I think is her vibe after Mimic's betrayal and between missions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkifn-zJzx4

This describes her memory of the Shadow Androids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvKBMVKJOz0

"Todd Haberkorn as Dr. Starline The Platypus" - Todd's performance as Death The Kid shows a very balanced performance between his more goofy side and serious, grounded side, one that would apply well to the campy Dr. Starline. It would work well with his raising of Surge and Kit with his callous use of his Hypno Glove.

Bonus: I feel this music works well with his character (starts at the 1:04 minute mark): https://soundcloud.com/user-335233093/goseiger-matrintis-bgms-kotetsu-no-akui-matrintis

"Sarah Anne Williams as Surge The Tenrec" - Anybody who's heard her performance as Nonon Jakuzure and Tifa from FFVII Machinamabridged will know that Sarah can do punk. She just needs to ramp up the gruffness if only to see Surge as a homegrown teenage with major issues.

Bonus - This more rocking variant of Starline's theme would work with how he still haunts her (starts at the 24 second mark): https://soundcloud.com/user-335233093/goseiger-matrintis-bgms-2-kotetsu-no-akui-matrintis

"Johnny Yong Bosch as Kitsunami The Fennec" - Johnny may be known for his Super Saiyans, bounty hunters on the run and Anime pretty boys but his performance as Doraemon's Nobita as well as Yokai Watch's Nate shows that he can do timid young boy. Kit being the Tails to Surge's Sonic makes it a perfect fit.

His theme would be a more subdued version of Surge's (starts at the 2:34 minute mark) https://soundcloud.com/user-335233093/goseiger-danger-bgms-brajira-bgm-1-sakushi-wa-denki-tenshi-no-yume-o-miru-ka

"Cherami Leigh Kuehn as Jewel The Beetle" - A similar beleagured tone of voice to Lucy Heartfilia but with an light English accent, a total contrast to Tangle's character. A way to mask it for future performances given Sonic's big cast.

Agree with me? Disagree with me? Drop a comment for a little convo so long as we can keep it civil and constructive.

[ff7central]

One Step Behind

(15602 words)

by silver_doe287 Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Characters: Kunsel (Compilation of FFVII), Wedge (Compilation of FFVII), Elmyra Gainsborough, Chadley (Compilation of FFVII), Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough, Barret Wallace, Tifa Lockhart, Marlene Wallace Additional Tags: Where the hell was Kunsel during Remake, How Wedge got to the Shinra building, Kunsel is an all-around great guy and we deserve more of him in future parts, I did way too much research for this, also fuck Kunsel's helmet, crisis core compliant, seriously i looked at all of kunsel's emails in those 5 years when zack and cloud were gone, Only rated T for swearing, Kunsel ain't afraid to drop a few f-bombs, Also did i accidentally start a Kunsel/Roche ship?, My husband listened to the end and decided their ship name is Kroche but pronounced like crochet

Summary: SOLDIER Second Class Kunsel was tired of being left in the dark, and he was going to get answers one way or another. The problem was, he had to find and have a needed conversation with Cloud Strife first. Or, the fic that answers a ton of Remake questions.

From the Recommender: Very fun fic about what Kunsel might have been up to during Remake.

[silver-wield]

To be honest, i dont get it why some people always say that Aerith is the one who changes Cloud in the OG or Remake. Maybe OG players can easily take away Cloud & Aerith's interaction as him coming out of his shell specially when comparing it w/ he's interaction w/ Avalanche earlier in the game. He really was a standoffish to Avalanche & Tifa. Also take into consideration that the devs primary goal in the OG is for the player (as Cloud) to really build that connection with Aerith 1st since she died halfway thru the game thus delaying he's character development with the other characters.

In the Remake, some said that only in chapter 8, when Cloud's with Aerith he begins to change (opening his self more, laughing, joking w/ Aerith, doing jobs for fun). In my opinion its not the case at all. Cloud during chapter 8 interacts w/ Aerith the same way he did with the Avalanche in chapter 4.

With Aerith he's awkward, trying his best to act cool, even got angry with her when she assumed she knows him. He didn't open up to her about anything (who he gave the flower to, what group he's w/, etc.). He didn't speak to her 1st or initiate conversation. He didn't respond to her most of the time when she's telling him something about her. He's laugh came out as sarcastic. Aerith was snarky to him & so he's returning the favor. The majority of the side quests in chapter 8 was for the children, Ms. Follia, scared man & an old man ( w/c Cloud managed to pissed off in the end when asked for higher pay) so he's trying he's best to be less rude.

During the language of the flower, in the beginning he's about to walkaway but then came back to apply to Aerith what he learned from Marle in chapter 3 w/c is to learn to listen.

During the price of strength, he had a vision that stirred emotion from him that he didn't fully understand yet. That's not coming out of his shell either.

The high five scene is some sort of a gateway that needed to perform, either way it was still awkward for him.

The playground scene he lowered he's guard a little bit coz Aerith is asking him about another soldier.

The farewell scene its still awkward for him while she's all flirty. & him offering to take her back is all he's soldier mode.

Since i didn't play the OG & I'm basing only on Remake, i think the only time that Cloud expressed his soft side & slightly came out of his shell was during:

1. Chapter 4 when he told Tifa that he will stay in Midgar, he was very relax here & even the tone of his voice when talking to Tifa, there's no one to compare it to.

2. In chapter 14 if you get Tifa'resolution.

3. In the simulator when he saw the clone/Sephiroth stabbed Tifa, that emotion really screamed fear!

Anyways, I'm just saying that its wrong to say that Aerith changed him or taught him to come out of his shell. Not when he's consistently playing soldier with her the whole time & not when Aerith is the one who indulge he's soldier persona the most. She didn't change him, she's encouraged him to be something he's not.

On the contrary Aerith is actually the one who further surpressed Clouds truself.

I'm just saying 😄😅

Nojima literally says that Cloud begins to change around the avalanche derps first. It's honestly just those morons delusions that make them ignore everything before chapter 8 and act like their Dismantled dreams are coming true 🤦‍♀️

Cloud doesn't laugh in the entire game, so anybody who says he does is a liar who didn't play it. He sighs, scoffs, makes derisive snorts. He doesn't laugh. Not even mockingly.

The thing about the cult is none of them have played. They watch isolated clips on YouTube and act like that's as good as actually playing. I don't think any of them even like gaming. At best I saw the dumdum queen talking about harvest moon. I haven't seen any of them talk about any other games. They're just trolls.

[freyayuki]

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia Dare to Defy Nyx I Shinryu Quest

The final Dare to Defy event, Dare to Defy -The Battles’ End-, just started in the Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (DFFOO) mobile game. This is a global original event that features 21 Shinryu (level 300) or higher quests.

Sadly, the reason why this is the final or last Dare to Defy event is because DFFOO just announced that it will discontinue or end its service on February 29, 2024.

The end of service announcement news came as a shock. I talk more about that in another post, but I really wish the news wasn’t true. Wish the game wasn’t ending at all.

Dare to Defy -The Battles’ End- Information

According to the in-game news:

This final challenge features up to 21 quests and contains the bosses featured in Shinryu difficulty (or higher) quests from past story chapters and events as well as new Shinryu bosses, and requires Perfect clears with character restrictions!

Dare to Defy -The Battles’ End- is divided into 3 sets of 7 quests - Dare to Defy Astraeus, Dare to Defy Nyx, and Dare to Defy Eos.

But the character restrictions applies across all the quests. This means that if you use a char on 1 Dare to Defy quest, then you can’t use them anymore on the other fights in this event.

You can’t bring a friend support to these fights. Each quest needs to be Perfected (meaning get the score and all the other mission requirements on the same run) in order to get all the rewards.

All the chars are boosted in this event so each quest starts with the force gauge already charged to 50%.

Dare to Defy Nyx I Shinryu Quest

Cleared the Dare to Defy Nyx I Shinryu quest with Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII (#ad), Bartz Klauser from Final Fantasy V, and Jack Garland from Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin with Bahamut as my summon.

My Calls were Cid Raines's from Final Fantasy XIII, Raijin's from Final Fantasy VIII, and Lunafreya Nox Fleuret's from Final Fantasy XV.

Tifa and Bartz are as fully built and maxed out as they can possibly be. Jack Garland is fully built and maxed out too except he unfortunately doesn’t have access to the Force Board feature. This also means he doesn’t have access to the Force Echoes feature.

Bartz, Tifa, and Jack Garland are currently equipped with Level 5 of 5 Ultima Weapons.

Jack Garland, Tifa, and Bartz have 3 Crystal passives as well as the additional stats from the Yellow Crystal Room (for Tifa and Bartz) and the Blue Crystal Room (for Jack Garland).

Haven't fully completed the Yellow Crystal Room yet though so Tifa and Bartz don't have all the stats and passives from there.

Anyway, when the fight started, just had everyone setup their buffs and such while waiting for my force gauge to be fully charged.

The force gauge of the enemies hit 100% first so they got to go into their force time first.

Once my force gauge was fully charged, activated Jack Garland's FR. This canceled the force time of the enemies.

Then had Tifa and Bartz use their Force Echoes.

Afterwards, went into Tifa's Burst+ mode. By then have 8 turns of force time left, the HP damage bonus was at 587%, and the enemies were down to 82% and 78% HP.

By the time Tifa was about to cast Final Heaven, her finishing Burst+ move, have 2 turns of force time left, the HP damage bonus was at 999%, and the enemies were down to 38% and 44% HP.

Summoned Bahamut soon afterwards. Just had my chars use their skills and refresh their buffs and such while waiting for my force gauge to charge back to 100% again.

Soon, there was only one enemy left and he was down to 4% HP.

One of the enemies managed to deal some HP damage to Bartz and Jack. IIRC, made use of Lunafreya's regular Call to get them both back to full health.

Anyway, by the time my force gauge was finally fully charged again, the last enemy was down to 3% HP. Had Jack Garland activate his FR.

Tifa got the next turn. Had her spam her Battle Cry skill. This has instant turn rate so she kept on moving.

Soon, the last boss was down to 1% HP. It was Tifa who dealt the killing blow, ending the battle on turn 13.

Got the score and all the other mission requirements, which also got me the Perfect.

Conclusion

So, what about you? Which chars did you use to complete this Dare to Defy Shinryu quest? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging or replying to this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia game account

[lewdladylily]

20, 37, 77 Click 6000

20: If you could have sex with anyone right now, who would it be?

To make this interesting, I am going to give top 5 people. I rarely fantasize about celebrities and such, so these are all people I actually know.

The top of the list is obvious, I would love to have a proper in person session with Raven. But that's obvious and isn't a terribly interesting answer. The rest of these are in no particular order.

Next on my list, I mentioned a woman who was the sister of my former best friend, who was at one time a close friend herself. She is really high on the list. (and maybe her brother too but I am pretty sure I would have to pick one, and I'd pick the sister)

Next, I have a friend who used to be a casual friend with benefits, but they moved a few states over so I've not had access to her in a while. She was a sex worker and a professional porn actress for a while, and she is such a sweetheart. One of the few people that makes me feel dominant around them naturally.

A few years ago I knew a drag queen that went by Christine. She is incredibly hot, both presenting as a man and a woman. She's very dominant, I would love for her to have some fun with me.

And finally there is this guy I know who goes by Skip, I have not seen him for a few years but oh my god he's hot (I assume he still is), sucking his cock sounds like a great way to practice deepthroating.

For a bonus, top 5 fictional characters I want to fuck: Tifa, Aerith, Symmetra (dragon especially), Terra (ff6, especially in her esper form), Zelda

Honestly I could give you a massive list of fictional characters like this but those are near the top right now.

37: How much fapping is too much fapping:

I will give you two genuine answers, one answer that applies specifically to me, and one joke answer.

Genuine 1: When it begins to interfere with other aspects of your life. Sex and masturbation is a hobby, but its not exactly creative or fulfilling on it's own. There is no such thing as porn addiction, but the instant gratification can overshadow other more fulfilling pursuits if you let it.

Genuine 2: I would recommend orgasming no more than every two or three days. You can orgasm as much as you would like then, but giving yourself at least a little time to recover will make your pleasure significantly greater.

Personal: Edging myself usually starts being more frustrating than fun around 60-90 minutes in.

And, of course, the truth: You should only be fapping as much as your owner allows :P

77. Which wet dream was your favorite?

Oh, that's interesting. A bit hard to answer though. I always like dreams where I get to have sex with someone I am interested in in real life, like a friend or acquaintance that is very hot features in a dream.

I think my favorites though are dreams that are frightening while being sexy? I rarely remember dreams in detail, but there was a dream I had once where I was being more or less raped, but it included all the build up of being cornered, coerced, etc. Another one was more of a monster scenario with teeth and claws and biting and I was in my bunny persona.

That's on the mild end of the "scary" scale, my dreams can get pretty graphically violent, and that sometimes melds with sex dreams. So like, watch out if graphic violence gets you for the next paragraph.

I had a dream once where I was trying to run from some sort of monster, a demon I think, and it would catch me and then have it's way with me, which might include raping me, dismembering me, things like that. Once the monster abused me enough that I died the scenario would reset and it happened again over and over, with the monster doing different things each time and a heavy emphasis on me needing to escape but being unable to and a focus on the graphic bloody violence of being torn apart, but with only a mild amount of pain from the abuse. That was a fun dream.

Thank you for the ask and trigger!

[dansantcaparet]

50 EPIC REASONS TO SUPPORT CLOUD X AERITH

1. “Cloud was her (Aerith) friend, her *koibito* (lover in Japanese) – a symbol of what was important to her, and someone to be protected.” ~Case of Lifestream: White; Square Enix

2. Nomura of Square Enix doesn’t know the nature of Cloud and Tifa’s relationship *AFTER* the Highwind scene:

“For example, I was frequently asked if there had been romantic relationship between Tifa and Cloud for two years, after Final Fantasy VII ended, but I don’t have any clue.” ~Nomura; Dorimaga interview; published at Flaregamer

3. Cloud and Aerith’s canon date is pictured on Square Enix’s For the One I Love page:

“Through the long journeys, the love of the protagonists develop. Occasionally they become separated, but the two’s value to one another gives them the great strength to overcome whatever crisis may come.” ~Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania; For the One I Love page; Square Enix

Lines to remember:

"…the love of the protagonists develop.”

“…the two’s value to one another…”

Only one date (the pictured & canon Cloud x Aerith date) can be applied to the For the One I Love page.

4. Denzel and Barret are members of the same family, it’s just that Denzel is not *living* with Barret, which is why Barret does not appear in any of the quotes regarding Cloud, Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel *living* together.

Here is the proof:

“After visiting various locations with Tifa and Barret, Tifa opened the “Seventh Heaven” bar. Before setting off on a journey, Barret left Marlene in Cloud and Tifa’s care, and the three of them began living together.” ~Case of Tifa, Square Enix

It says the “three of them (Cloud, Tifa, Marlene)” began living together *AFTER* Barret set off on a journey.

This unequivocally proves that when the words “live”/”living”/”lived” are used to describe Cloud, Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel, it is *ONLY* excluding Barret because he is not *TECHNICALLY* living with them.

We also know Barret returns to living with Marlene in Dirge of Cerberus:

“Currently he is living with Marlene, the orphaned child of his best friend, however…” ~Dirge of Cerberus Official Complete Guide; p.21; Square Enix

Further – Denzel’s presence has no relevance towards Cloud and Tifa’s relationship. Cloud believes Aerith brought Denzel to him, so if anything, Denzel would be considered Cloud and Aerith’s spirit child. Cloud x Tifa supporters make it seem as though Cloud and Tifa adopted Denzel because of their “relationship,” which couldn’t be further from the truth.

Both Marlene (Barret’s daughter) and Denzel (the child Cloud believes Aerith brought him) have no relevance towards the possible romantic nature of Cloud and Tifa’s relationship.

5. We know Cloud and Tifa are going through serious problems that prevented them from being in a relationship. Final Fantasy VII creator Nojima speaks of a premise that things “won’t go well” between Cloud and Tifa:

“First off, there’s the premise that things won’t go well between Tifa and Cloud, and that even without Geostigma or Sephiroth this might be the same…” ~Nojima interview about On the Way to a Smile; Square Enix

Did you catch that last bit? Even without circumstances such as Geostigma and Sephiroth, things still probably wouldn’t have gone well between Cloud and Tifa. Without Sephiroth, Cloud wouldn’t have PTSD. Therefore, this speaks to the inherent issues that have persisted between Cloud and Tifa since childhood.

Nojima also says the children (Barret’s daughter, Marlene, and Cloud and Aerith’s spirit child, Denzel) *MIGHT* be able to help Cloud and Tifa sort through their problems:

“After Advent Children Complete, I guess Denzel and Marlene could help them work it out.” ~Nojima; On the Way to a Smile interview; Square Enix

Even after Cloud’s Geostigma and guilt is removed, and Sephiroth is defeated, Nojima still isn’t sure Cloud and Tifa will work out.

Nojima, the creator of Final Fantasy VII, has said two very important things:

Cloud and Tifa’s problems likely have nothing to do with Geostigma and Sephiroth.

Even when the issues plaguing Cloud are resolved (his guilt, Geostigma, and Sephiroth) Nojima still isn’t sure Cloud and Tifa will work out.

Given both of these things, we know Cloud and Tifa have serious, inherent problems that prevent them from partaking in a healthy, long-lasting relationship.

Unfortunately, nothing between Cloud and Tifa has been shown to be resolved. Barret returns to living with Marlene in Dirge of Cerberus, and Cloud and Tifa’s relationship status is still unknown and in fractured territory.

Of course relationships aren’t always romantic — it’s normal and natural for couples to have problems. But, it is *equally* normal and representative of a real relationship to also have romance and a honeymoon phase. Cloud and Tifa only qualify under the negative aspects of a relationship, whereas Cloud and Aerith qualify under the positive aspects of a relationship.

6. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret create a family together after the Highwind scene in Case of Tifa (seriously, read the novel). Marlene is Barret’s daughter and invites Cloud into their family, a family that already includes herself and Barret. The family formed was not created for romantic reasons or formed from a romantic place like most families are:

Marlene: “I’ll put Cloud in our family too.” Cloud: “I appreciate that.” ~Revised Case of Tifa; Square Enix

The family formed was Barret’s idea (seriously, read the novel) and is a ‘family of friends’. This family has zero romantic connotations. Unfortunately, Cloud x Tifa supports love to exclude Barret from this family to build up the false notion Cloud and Tifa started an exclusive family together out of love, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

Barret returns to living with Marlene in Dirge of Cerberus and Denzel is a child Cloud believes Aerith brought him:

Cloud Strife: “Denzel had collapsed in front of Aerith’s church. That’s why I thought Aerith lead him to me.” ~Case of Tifa; Square Enix

7. The Cloud x Aerith Gold Saucer date is confirmed as canon within the compilation:

“#111: The Planet’s largest amusement park is run by Dio. Cloud and company visit this place many times in their battle. They meet Cait Sith here. A PROMISED date (there is only one promised date in the game) that ends in a magical night. In the city of desire that floats above the sands, the light memory of the two people is asleep even now… Aerith: “I think I must have seen him again, in you… But you’re different. Things are different… No, Cloud… I’m searching for you…” ~Final Fantasy Art Collection; Square Enix

“In Aerith’s case, if you play the game normally, the partner that generally comes will be Aerith.” ~Final Fantasy VII Dismantled; Square Enix

“Oh, Cloud…I enjoyed our date at the Gold Saucer. The view from the gondola that night was really beautiful. I’ll never forget it. I’ll never forget you, Cloud…” ~Aerith; Final Fantasy VII Dismantled; Square Enix

8. Cloud has a separate bed in his private room during Advent Children. Not only do we see pictures of Cloud’s private room with a bed during Advent Children, but Tifa tells Cloud to go drink in his room alone when they are having another one of their numerous fights:

Cloud: “I want to drink alone.” Hearing that, Tifa lost control and said, “Then drink in your room.” ~Case of Tifa; Square Enix

People often say that because there is a lack of other furniture in Cloud’s room (like a dresser), it somehow invalidates the fact Cloud has a bed in his room. But how does a lack of other furniture mean Cloud can’t sleep in that bed? The point is, I find it hard to believe Square Enix would include a random bed in Cloud’s room just for the hell of it. If Cloud doesn’t sleep there, who does? Until we see Cloud and Tifa sleeping together, it only makes sense Cloud sleeps in the bed found in his room. This is further evidence that a romantic relationship did not begin between Cloud and Tifa after the Highwind scene.

Marlene is also stated to ALWAYS sleep with Tifa in Case of Tifa:

“Marlene, who had always slept with Tifa, slept with her foster father Barret the night before he left. Their conversations could be heard late into the night. Early the next morning, Barret set off.”

9. "Each carries their own feelings and love for Aerith. In this story, Cloud also carries his undying feeling for Aerith even to this very day…” ~Nomura; Square Enix

When *undying* is applied to a feeling or emotion that someone has, it is eternal & forever. So although you can make the argument that *undying* when applied to a fictional creature doesn’t mean eternal or forever, when the word "undying” is applied to a human emotion or feeling, it *IS* eternal & forever. Therefore, it does not make sense Nomura would be referring to Cloud’s guilt as *undying* when the entire point of Advent Children is to rid Cloud of his guilt. This undying feeling Cloud has for Aerith is most obviously romantic love. That’s why Tifa stays forever jealous of Cloud’s love for Aerith.

10. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT:

Cloud Strife: “Here I met a flower girl.

She’s a girl with impressive eyes.

She’s around my age, or older by one or two years but the innocent radiance in her eyes simply makes her suddenly look younger. Maybe she’s pleased that the flower was sold, because the worried look on her face had vanished.

If this smile costs only one gil, it is a good purchase.” ~Final Fantasy VII Dismantled; Square Enix

11. “There’s no relationship from Final Fantasy VII to the Kingdom Hearts stories. I consider them separate stories. But if you play Kingdom Hearts, toward the end, some of the questions about the relationship between Cloud and Aeris in Final Fantasy VII might be answered.” ~Nomura; Square Enix

Nomura specifically says that although the two universes of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy VII are separate, the Kingdom Hearts universe might help answer questions about the relationship between Cloud and Aerith as it pertains to Final Fantasy VII’s universe. Cloud and Aerith are seen together at the end of Kingdom Hearts – similar to other romantic couples.

12. Tifa admits to not knowing if Cloud loves her *AFTER* the Highwind scene:

“Do you love me?” Cloud opened his eyes. He looked perplexed. “Hey, Cloud. Do you love Marlene?” “Yeah. But… sometimes I don’t know how to act around her.” ~Case of Tifa; Square Enix

If Tifa doesn’t know if Cloud loves her, Cloud x Tifa supporters shouldn’t pretend they know, either.

13. Aerith Gainsborough: “A girl with the blood of the Ancients flowing through her veins who is engraved in Cloud’s heart for the rest of his life” ~Dirge of Cerberus Japanese game manual; Square Enix

14. Love beyond death is a common theme in Final Fantasy: Tidus x Yuna, Shuyin x Lenne, Laguna x Raine, Ashe x Rasler, etc. Plus, in Final Fantasy VII, you have Vincent’s bond with Lucrecia. Vincent can see her and speak with her in Dirge of Cerberus, similar to the way Cloud can interact with Aerith in Advent Children.

15. Tifa’s jealously over Cloud and Aerith’s relationship:

“The thing which she is unable to hide in her irritation towards Cloud is the fact that he isn’t merely dragging the past around, but because that reason might perhaps be related to Aerith.

Final Fantasy VII: Seeing Cloud and Aerith developing their world together before her eyes, she inadvertently lets slip her peevish feelings.

Advent Children: Upon knowing that Cloud had been residing in Aerith’s church after leaving the place they had been living in together, her expression becomes complex.” ~Tifa’s character profile; 10th Anniversary Ultimania; Square Enix

Aerith, very flirtatiously, says, “I knew that Cloud would come for me.” Cloud responds with, “Hey, I’m your bodyguard, right?”

Cloud references back to the conversation he and Aerith had in her Church, when Aerith promised Cloud a romantic date in return for his protection.

Aerith picks up on this and responds with, “The deal was for one date, right?”

Cloud and Aerith were very obviously flirting back-and-forth. If Tifa hadn’t been in the jail cell with Cloud, the flirtatious banter between Cloud and Aerith would have most certainly continued. However, because Tifa was in the same room as Cloud, she picks up on this flirtation, which is why she says, “…………oh, I get it.”

Through this dialogue, Square Enix was conveying to us that Cloud was holding more favor for Aerith than Tifa. Cloud intentionally directs his conversation with Aerith back to when they made the arrangement that he would be her bodyguard for the price of a romantic date.

We know Tifa viewed this as Cloud and Aerith developing their own world together before her very eyes:

“Seeing Cloud and Aerith developing their world together before her eyes, she inadvertently lets slip her peevish feelings.” ~Final Fantasy 10th Anniversary Ultimania; Square Enix

And although some will say this is only Tifa’s perspective, it is also an accurate perspective. Tifa isn’t being the delusional stereotypical woman many like to paint her out to be. Before this conversation takes place, Cloud tells Marlene (in the canon version of this scene) that he “hopes” Aerith likes him. Marlene responds by saying she won’t tell Tifa. We also know Cloud found Aerith physically attractive in Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Dismantled.

Obviously, Cloud was romantically interested in Aerith based on his physical attraction to her, his conversation with Marlene, and his agreement to protect Aerith in exchange for a romantic date. This mutual romance between Cloud and Aerith played out before Tifa’s eyes in the Shinra jail cell, which is why she let her “peevish feelings” slip.

I honestly don’t think Tifa was being delusional or acting irrational. It’s obvious Cloud and Aerith were developing their own world together in the Shinra jail cell.

Back when I played the game as a kid, I always took this scene to unequivocally prove Cloud and Aerith were meant to be together. Why? Because Cloud shows favor for Aerith in-front of Tifa. This was probably the scene that confirmed Clerith to me the most.

I mean, hell, Cloud and Aerith flirt together right in-front of Tifa’s face. How much more obvious can it be that Cloud prefers Aerith?

And although Aerith didn’t know Tifa was in the room with Cloud, Cloud did. And he still decided to direct his conversation with Aerith back to when a romantic date was promised, by flirtatiously saying, “Hey, I’m your bodyguard, right?”

It doesn’t get much more obvious than that, which is exactly why Tifa let her “peevish feelings” slip when she saw Cloud and Aerith “developing their own world” together.

16. “Looks good. You are perfect for each other!” “Aerith’s star and Cloud’s star! They show a great future!” — “Poor Tifa!” ~Cait Sith; Final Fantasy VII

“After solving the puzzle about Cait Sith’s replaceable body, he tells one last fortune of Cloud and Aerith’s affinity. Cait Sith’s lines, which seem to expect Cloud and Aerith’s wedding, now makes it more painful.” ~Final Fantasy VII Dismantled; Square Enix

The argument about Cait Sith’s prediction should not revolve around how reliable he is. The argument should be about what was SE’s intent for including this wedding prediction in the game. SE could have had Aerith ask Cait Sith about her future and Cait Sith could have said, “You will have a bright future full of many happy times!” – this would have set the player up to get their heart broken when she was killed by Sephiroth. Instead, they specifically decided to include a prediction about Aerith’s romantic future with Cloud. It was a romantic prediction about her future with Cloud, not just a generic prediction about her future. So given the context of the game and how things were progressing between Cloud and Aerith, it is obvious why SE included this wedding prediction – so the gamer would have the idea in their head that Cloud and Aerith had the possibility of sharing a romantic future together, which would then be destroyed by the hands of the evil Sephiroth. A generic prediction about Aerith’s future would not have been nearly as meaningful or impactful to the gamer, which is why they specifically made the prediction about Aerith’s romantic future with Cloud. The romance that was clearly developing between Cloud and Aerith, in addition to a prediction about a their romantic future together, makes her death all the more sad. SE killed off a romantic love interest to Cloud because it would be more impactful to the gamer. If SE had killed Barret, I can guarantee you that it would not have been as memorable or as impactful to the gamer. One of the biggest reasons Aerith’s death is so sad is because she wasn’t just a friend to Cloud. Aerith had a possible romantic future with Cloud, which is exactly what SE wanted us to think, so that when they killed her, it was that much more painful and heartbreaking for those of us playing the game. Luckily, their love transcends traditional barriers and continues in the spiritual world. Furthermore, SE refers to this prediction as a wedding prediction. Why would they refer to it as a wedding prediction if it was not meant to highlight the romantic connection Cloud and Aerith have in the game?

Further – Cait Sith’s wedding prediction is stated to become “more painful” after Aerith’s death. The only way Aerith’s death would make a wedding prediction “more painful” is if Cloud and Aerith had a mutual romance that would have led to a marriage had she not died.

17. After Cloud and Aerith share a spiritual connection, Cloud says in the final moments of Final Fantasy VII:

“An answer from the Planet… the Promised Land… I think I can meet her… there.”

One of the main themes of Final Fantasy VII is that death isn’t the end of ones journey. Death doesn’t stop love from continuing.

Despite Aerith’s eventual death, their love transcends traditional boundaries. Cloud associates his Promised Land (his supreme happiness) with Aerith at the end of Final Fantasy VII, and they will one day reunite in the lifestream.

18. “You should have… An older girlfriend, one that would take care of you. I think that would be the perfect type for you.” ~Mrs. Strife (Cloud’s Mom); Final Fantasy VII

Before this flashback, Cloud thought Aerith’s smile was a “good purchase” and her eyes were “impressive”. He left their initial meeting with a “mysterious feeling”. Shortly after, he agreed to be Aerith’s bodyguard for the price of a romantic date.

Then, while Cloud is being taken care of in Aerith’s house, Square Enix decides to throw in a flashback where Cloud’s Mother talks about having an older girlfriend that will take care of him — two things Aerith qualifies under. Cloud wasn’t interested in this until he met the exact woman described by his Mother: Aerith Gainsborough.

This is not a coincidence on Square Enix’s part.

After this flashback, Cloud shares a “date” with Aerith in the Sector 6 park, he canonly tells Marlene he “hopes” Aerith likes him, he starts developing his “own world” with Aerith in the Shinra jail cell (which leads to Tifa letting her “peevish feelings” slip), he tells Aerith he will always be there for her in Cosmo Canyon — a classic romantic slip, he goes on a canon date with Aerith at Gold Saucer showing the “…love of the protagonists…” and the “…two’s value to one another,” they are given a “wedding” prediction by Cait Sith that becomes “more painful” after Aerith’s death, and Cloud expresses a desire to find Aerith in his supreme place of happiness — the Promised Land.

This flashback was the shift between Cloud Strife’s initial physical attraction to that of long-lasting love for Aerith Gainsborough.

19. “Marlene is a sharp girl - Even though she’s only 4 years old, Marlene is perceptive and well attuned to the woman mind. The scene where she ascertains that Aerith has favor for Cloud and tells him so, then says “I won’t tell Tifa!” demonstrates this grownup behavior.” ~Final Fantasy VII, 25th Anniversary Ultimania, Square Enix

In order for Marlene to say “I won’t tell Tifa,” Cloud is required to say he “hopes” Aerith likes him. Therefore, this is the canon version of this scene:

Marlene: "Guess what? Guess what? Aerith was asking me lots of questions. Like what kind of person Cloud is. I bet she likes you, Cloud!“

Cloud: "Let’s hope so."

Marlene: "I won’t tell Tifa.”

20. “The staff has their own answers to all the scenes in the movie such as the angel statue that makes an appearance many times. But, even if someone who has watched it interprets it differently, then that is just another answer.” ~Nomura; Square Enix

21. “The words “memetic legacy” are used a lot in the film…but in Advent Children, rather than focusing on memories we wanted to show that consciousness is what lives on. We took the ending of the game and expanded on that idea. Even if they’re dead, their consciousness is still with us. As for Cloud…he sees Aerith several times throughout the film. It’s not that he sees her because he feels her presence. He sees her because her consciousness…lives on inside him.” ~Nomura; Distance Interview

22. Cloud and Tifa expressing mutual feelings in a variable scene =/= romantic relationship.

Although this is a reasonable assumption, it is *NOT* always the case that expressing mutual feelings means a romantic relationship begins. Reading Case of Tifa and watching Advent Children makes it clear Cloud and Tifa were never in a romantic relationship. I mean, do people actually call that a relationship? I understand all couples fight, but all couples have at least a few moments of romance, too. Where was their honeymoon phase?

23. “The place where he awakens. That is Cloud’s Promised Land……” ~Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania; Square Enix

Cloud awakes in Aerith’s Church where he shares a spiritual connection with her. The *PLACE* Cloud awakes (Aerith’s Church)  is his Promised Land — his supreme happiness.

According to Aerith, ones Promised Land is a *FEELING* one gets:

“You search and travel, until you feel it. Like you just know, …this is the Promised Land.” ~Aerith; Maiden Who Travels the Planet; Square Enix

When Cloud saw Aerith reaching down to him at the end of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud *FELT* his Promised Land. He says so: “An answer from the Planet… the Promised Land… I think I can meet her… there.”

Then, in Advent Children, Cloud can also find Aerith in her Church. Her Church is another place where Cloud has *FELT* his Promised Land. In other words, Cloud *FELT* his Promised Land in two places — the lifestream and Aerith’s Church. Why? Because he can find Aerith in both places. Aerith brings him his feeling of “supreme happiness” — the feeling required to find one’s Promised Land.

To determine what causes Cloud to *FEEL* his Promised Land, his statement at the end of FFVII and Square Enix’s statement about Cloud’s Promised Land being in Aerith’s Church can’t contradict each other. What is the one similarity between Cloud’s statement at the end of Final Fantasy VII and SE’s statement about Cloud’s Promised Land in Advent Children? Finding Aerith.

Whether it’s Aerith’s Church or the lifestream, it is wherever Cloud can find Aerith that is stated to be Cloud’s Promised Land. Both Cloud and Square Enix say this.

Cloud’s Promised Land obviously can’t be his friends and family because Cloud has already stated he has a Promised Land in the lifestream with Aerith. Once Cloud is done living with his friends and family, and is finally meant to join the lifestream, he will return the Promised Land Aerith speaks of in MoT and Cloud speaks of at the end of Final Fantasy VII. In other words, both times Cloud got the feeling that is required for a Promised Land have been in Aerith’s presence. SHE is the common denominator. SHE is the only way both statements regarding Cloud’s Promised Land don’t contradict each other.

24. ”Both of them share feelings for Cloud. Tifa was close to Aerith, who can also be called a love rival. With that point in mind, they were also good friends. Nevertheless, it is not hard to imagine that she carries complex feelings as a woman toward Aerith, who had built up a special bond with Cloud that was different from Tifa’s. Tifa’s complicated feelings continue even in Advent Children, two years after Aerith had departed the world.“ ~Tifa’s profile; Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania; pg. 42-47; Square Enix

25. “I never blamed you. Not once. You came for me. That’s all that matters.” ~Aerith Gainsborough; Advent Children

26. “A story of a love that could never be…” ~Official Square Enix commercial referring to Cloud x Aerith

27. Aerith loves Cloud more than Zack:

"I, now undoubtedly, love Cloud much more than Zack.” ~Aerith’s monologue in Gongaga; Final Fantasy VII Dismantled; Square Enix

28. 1. Cloud thinks Aerith’s eyes are "impressive" 2. Cloud thinks Aerith’s smile is a "good purchase” 3. Cloud leaves his initial meeting with Aerith with a ”mysterious feeling” 4. Cloud agrees to be Aerith’s bodyguard for the price of one date 5. Cloud has a flashback about romantic relationships in Aerith’s house 6. Cloud and Aerith share an intimate date in the Sector 5 park where Aerith brings up her previous boyfriend, thus bringing romantic relationships to the forefront of the story 7. Cloud tells Marlene he hopes Aerith likes him 8. Barret observes that Aerith is the first person Cloud cares for besides himself 9. Tifa gets jealous when she hears Cloud and Aerith flirting and developing their “own world” and “special bond” in the Shinra jail cell

Given all that occurred prior to Cosmo Canyon, especially Cloud telling Marlene he hopes Aerith likes him, makes it undeniable that Cloud’s slip-up (saying that he will always be there for Aerith), is inherently romantic in nature. Not only is Cloud’s Cosmo Canyon slip-up a common literary device to show one characters attraction to another, but the context is undeniably romantic.

Cloud also says, “I remember Aerith a lot” while visiting Cosmo Canyon during disc 2. This line occurs after Cloud shares a promised date with Aerith in Golden Saucer, a wedding prediction by Cait Sith, and Aerith’s sudden death by the hands of Sephiroth. It’s clear Cloud and Aerith truly did develop a “special bond” in a short amount of time. All of this is exactly why Square Enix says:

“Cloud was her (Aerith) friend, her *koibito* (lover in Japanese) – a symbol of what was important to her, and someone to be protected.” ~Case of Lifestream: White; Square Enix

29. Aerith loves Cloud for who he is, not for who he reminded her of quote #1:

“Although in the beginning Aerith felt close to Cloud is because he behaves like Zack, her interest in Cloud himself grows and she is attracted to him.” ~page 31; Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega; Square Enix

30. Aerith loves Cloud for who he is, not for who he reminded her of quote #2:

“First off, it bothered me how you looked exactly alike. Two completely different people, but look exactly the same. The way you walk, gesture… I think I must have seen him again, in you… But you’re different. Things are different…” ~Aerith; Final Fantasy VII

31. Cloud agrees to be Aerith’s bodyguard for the price of a romantic date.

This is the typical beginning of a love story: love at first sight, and the hero protecting his heroine (for the price of a romantic date, nonetheless!).

32. Cloud visits Aerith’s Church frequently after her death (even before being diagnosed with Geostigma).

When Tifa discovers Cloud continues to long for Aerith she says, "Which is it? A memory or us?”

Remember:

“The thing which she is unable to hide in her irritation towards Cloud is the fact that he isn’t merely dragging the past around, but because that reason might perhaps be related to Aerith.

Advent Children: Upon knowing that Cloud had been residing in Aerith’s church after leaving the place they had been living in together, her expression becomes complex.“

~Tifa’s character profile; 10th Anniversary Ultimania; Square Enix

Tifa’s jealously over Cloud and Aerith’s "special bond” continues in Advent Children.

33. In Advent Children, when Sephiroth asks Cloud what he cherishes the most, the first person that comes to his mind is Aerith.

34. Cloud and Aerith share their first of two dates at Green Park in the Sector 6 Slum:

“Date in the Park: In Scene 04-10, Zack and Aerith have a date in Green Park in the sector 6 slum. An identical situation is seen in “FFVII” as well, which features a scene of Cloud and Aerith on a date in the same park.” ~Crisis Core Ultimania; Square Enix

35. “After the explosion of First Reactor, Cloud met Aerith while running away alone. Cloud left the place, remembering the mysterious feeling he had for Aerith from the small conversation. He then reunited with AVALANCHE safely, and left for their base…” ~Final Fantasy VII Story Playback; Page 111; Square Enix

36. Cloud x Aerith have numerous official pieces of Square Enix artwork together, depicting them similarly to other canon Final Fantasy couples.

37. “It was the sound of Cloud’s heart cracking. It was the cry of his heart that could never be healed of the grief he had towards Aerith’s death, the blame towards himself and the hatred he had for Sephiroth…There was nothing she could do about Cloud’s suffering and the pain ached in her heart.” ~Maiden of the Planet, Square Enix

Cloud’s heart broke when Aerith died.

37. According to Square Enix’s *relationship charts* found in Square Enix’s FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania, Cloud and Tifa are childhood friends *only* in both the Final Fantasy VII relationship chart and the Advent Children relationship chart. In addition, Cloud and Tifa never have mutual favor arrows, either. The FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania provides two relationship charts: One for FFVII and one for AC. By including two charts it is meant to compare and contrast relationships in FFVII to relationships in AC. Essentially, having two charts helps highlight the *changes* the relationships have gone through between FFVII and AC. However, Cloud and Tifa’s relationship does not go through any *changes* because they are referred to as “childhood friends” in both charts. However, that is not the case for Cloud and Aerith. The FFVII chart states Cloud is Aerith’s “bodyguard.” Then, for the AC chart, it states Cloud feels a, “sense of guilt” towards Aerith. That’s because Cloud failed to protect Aerith — meaning he failed as her bodyguard. The difference between Cloud and Aerith’s two charts was the perfect way for SE to show us how their relationship changed between FFVII and AC — Cloud failed as her “bodyguard” in FFVII, so he feels a sense of “guilt” towards her in AC. Why did SE not show any changes between Cloud and Tifa’s relationship? Answer: because Cloud and Tifa’s relationship did not change between FFVII and AC, and are only childhood friends during both time periods.

38. Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: During the ending credits, Cloud is shown riding his motorcycle through numerous flower fields. Although Cloud is a delivery boy, these flower fields he is shown riding through have a much deeper significance:

Nomura said in the Reunion Files that:

“…we filmed the video for the ending credits in Hawaii. There are fields of flowers on both sides of the road, and the colors - yellow and white - are the same as the flowers in Aerith’s church.”

In addition, Nomura states:

“With Aerith, ‘flowers’ have been her image throughout the series.”

39. Final Fantasy Dissidia:

At the end of Dissidia, Cloud is seen entering a flower field. This flower field is eerily similar to the flower fields Aerith has appeared in, and the flower field shown during the ending credits of Advent Children. Cloud is also holding Aerith’s Holy materia. Before this takes place, it is stated by Zidane that each character is, “…returning to where we’re supposed to be.” Cloud is supposed to be with Aerith, which is why he returns to a flower field. Interestingly, Squall of Final Fantasy VIII is seen leaving when a white feather falls from the sky. This feather represents Rinoa. The parallels between Cloud x Aerith and Squall x Rinoa are obvious. During the game Cloud also says, “The one I really want to meet is…” And although he doesn’t finish his sentence, given the ending scene of Dissidia and the ending of Final Fantasy VII, it is clear who Cloud has a desire to meet in the Promised Land – Aerith Gainsborough.

40. Final Fantasy IX:

The Flower Girl calls Knight VII “cute” and Knight VII calls the Flower Girl “beautiful”. Their entire conversation is very flirtatious and romantic.

41. Aerith loves Cloud more than Zack:

“At first when I met Cloud, I believed he was similar to Zack. Little actions, the way he spoke… his kindness. But Cloud is Cloud. I, now undoubtedly, love Cloud much more than Zack.” ~Aerith’s monologue in Gongaga; Final Fantasy VII Dismantled; Square Enix

42: Final Fantasy Tactics:

Cloud meets a Flower Girl in Final Fantasy Tactics. Cloud essentially has the same conversation with this Flower Girl as he did with Aerith during the beginning of Final Fantasy VII.

Please read these similar quotes between FFT and FFVII:

Final Fantasy Tactics: Cloud: “My fingers are tingling… My eyes…they’re burning.” Final Fantasy VII: Cloud: “My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!”

Final Fantasy Tactics: Cloud: “I lost…a very important thing…” Final Fantasy VII: Cloud lost Aerith in Final Fantasy VII.

Final Fantasy Tactics: Cloud: “Ever since, I’ve been lost. Who am I? What should I do? What about this pain…” Final Fantasy VII: Cloud:“What about US… what are WE supposed to do?” Cloud “What about my pain?”

Final Fantasy Tactics: Cloud “Must go…to the Promised Land.” Final Fantasy VII: Cloud: “The Promised Land…I think I can meet her… there.”

43. The hand reach scene between Cloud and Aerith in Advent Children is referred to as a “homage” by Square Enix, which highlights the romantic relationship between Cloud and Aerith that has continued into the spiritual world.

“The ending scene of the battle with Bahamut, the scene where Aerith reaches out her hand, is homage to the last scene from a previous production. It was Tetsuya (Nomura)’s idea….” ~Nojima; Reunion Files; Square Enix

Advent Children took Final Fantasy VII’s hand reach to the next level — Cloud and Aerith were finally able to lock hands, something they were so close to doing in Final Fantasy VII. Despite Tifa’s presence in both scenes, she is not the primary focus. The primary focus has always been about Cloud and Aerith reuniting.

Advent Children’s homage makes it crystal clear: the girl Cloud wished was reaching for him was Aerith, the very girl he was finally able to lock hands with in Advent Children.

44. Cloud and Tifa living together in Advent Children does not mean a romantic relationship exists. Remember Cid and Shera in Final Fantasy VII? Also, remember that Cloud has a separate bed in his private room and that the family formed was formed with Marlene and Barret. This is a “family of friends” and has zero romantic connotations.

45. Cloud Strife broke down when Aerith Gainsborough died, showing he harbors a love for her that is both indescribable and incomprehensible:

Cloud Strife: “The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don’t mean a thing. Aerith is gone. Aerith will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry…… or get angry…… What about us…… what are WE supposed to do? What about my pain?”

46. Highwind Scene Variability Quote #1:

“After stopping Hojo from going amuck, the conversation with Tifa before they rush into the Northern Crater diverges into two conditions, according to Tifa’s affection rating with Cloud. When it gets low, the conversation in the scene that they spend the night will be apathetic and ends short. Next morning in the cockpit, Tifa says “Were you listening?” and stamps on tiptoe. On the other hand, when degree gets higher, the conversation of the scene that they spend the night will have strong emotions. Next morning in the cockpit, Tifa will say “Were you watching?” and feels terribly shy” ~page 198; Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega

47. Highwind Scene Variability Quote #2:

“Deviation – Two versions of the conversation before the final battle. Prior to the final battle, the contents of the conversation between Cloud and Tifa can change depending on the degree of Tifa’s affection. If the degree of affection is high, the contents of the two’s conversation will involve deep subject matter and strong feelings for each other. As well, the sight of the two seen by their companions the next morning will lead to an embarrassing scene for Tifa, and she blushes greatly.” ~page 232; Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania

48. Highwind Scene Variability Quote #3:

“Another event is when the party was dismissed and after everyone left for their own places separately, Cloud and Tifa spent the night together. At that moment, according to Tifa’s affection rating with Cloud, the event of “dialogues exchanged between them from dusk to dawn” and “Tifa’s reaction and lines when she found out that everyone might see (or hear) that circumstance” will be different.” ~Final Fantasy VII Dismantled; page 201

49. “And having two heroines, Aerith and Tifa, and having the hero waver between them, at the time that was something new.” ~Interview with the creators; pg. 8-13; 10th Anniversary Ultimania; Square Enix

50. Square Enix officially named Cloud and Aerith the Emperor and Empress in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade. I guess Cait Sith’s “wedding prediction” came true after-all.

Cloud x Aerith: A Love Story

Dispelling the myth Cloud and Tifa are in a relationship post-FFVII

Common Criticisms of Cloud x Aerith debunked

Aerith Gainsborough: The Ultimate Heroine

Aerith’s Blessing?

[tifaa]

gif tutorial ♡ by @tifaa

Lately I’ve had a few questions about how I make my gifs, so under the cut is a small tutorial about how I make them! If I  forgot something or you have any questions, please just send a message or an ask. It’s also best to view this on desktop because mobile with mess with the quality ; - ; ♡

I’m going to show you the process of how I turned the gif on the left into the one on the right. (Please ignore the middle one for now!)  Basically, turning a gif with absolutely no editing into a coloured, sharpened, and smooth gif! 

1. Downloading Videos  

I use 4k Video Downloader to get videos from YouTube.

☆ The most important thing is to download videos in the highest quality possible (I personally never gif a video that is below 1080p)

2. Preprocessing 

This is optional, but I do see a big difference between gifs that I have preprocessed and ones that I used to make using only photoshop. It doesn’t take that long and you get a really smooth result, so I definitely recommend it!

Vapoursynth download + tutorial (make sure you download the one that’s titled ‘VapourSynth64Portable(200616).zip’). Since it’s quite complicated to download for Mac, I recommend trying Avisynth instead. I may do a seperate turotial on VS, but since the one I linked is in a video format rather than text, I found it really easy to follow compared to other written tutorials I had found!

These are my VS settings:

☆  GIF Size will change depending on how many gifs you want to make per row:

1 gif per row: 540px

2 gifs per row: 268px

3 gifs per row: 177px

You can change the height to whatever size you want, but I wouldn’t recommend going over 540px.

☆  Preprocesser is how many frames per second you want your gif to be. qtgmc 60 slow gets you the smoothest possible gif. As for the second setting, I always use debilinear. You can find more information on these here!

☆  KNLM is a denoising filter that basically smoothens your gif and makes it less grainy! You can also choose to utilize the sharpening setting here, but I prefer to do that in Photoshop!

Once you have chosen your desired settings, you can paste the output script that’s on the right-hand side into the VS Editor resizer.html window. (Please refer to the video tutorial〜)

3. Importing into Photoshop

To open the video in PS, go to file  > import  > video frames to layers (the preprocessed clip will be located in the ‘output’ folder). These are my import settings:

Your workspace will now look something like this: ( I’ve highlighted the frames in pink and the layers in blue, so you can remember!)

Now, delete any excess frames from the timeline if you have any (eg. frames that include a different scene). Then, select all of your remaining frames and click on this little button on the top right-hand side of the timeline:

From this menu, go to > convert to video timeline. Now, look at the layers on the right-hand side of the screen. If you deleted excess frames at the beginning, you should now delete the corresponding layers (that is, all of the layers without the eye symbol next to them).

To be able to colour and sharpen the gif, we have to convert it into a Smart Object. To do this select all of your layers and go to  > filter  > convert for smart filters.

4. Colouring Now, you can colour your gif however you’d like! There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to do this, but some settings I’d recommend trying out to begin with are colour balance, selective colour, levels, hue/saturation. To apply these settings go to  > layer  > new adjustment layer. 

☆ Below is are some examples of this lovely scene of Tifa ♡ The first one is a base gif (no colouring at all), and the second one is what it looks like once I’ve coloured it. We’ll get to the third one soon, don’t worry!

5. Sharpening

Click on your Smart Object in the layers tab and go to  > filter  > smart sharpen. These are my settings:

☆  The next step is optional, but it’s just a preference for how I like my gifs (it just makes them really smooth and removes a lot of the noise)!

Once I have sharpened my gif, I duplicate the sharpened later (right-click on the layer and select ‘duplicate layer’ from the menu). Then I add a gaussian blur filter to the duplicate layer (filter  > blur  > gaussian blur) and set the radius to 1.3.Your layers should now look something like this:

You can see the result is the third gif from the above step. Nice and smooth, right〜? 

 6. Saving your gif

To save our gif, we have to convert it back into a frame animation. 

To do this, select all of your layers and press the little bars icon above the timeline (the one we used to convert our frames into the video timeline from before!), and select convert frames  > flatten frames into clips. Now, select all of the visible layers (the ones with the eye symbol shown), and from the same menu as last time,  convert frames  > make frames from clips. Again, from the same menu, go to convert to frame animation.

To set the speed of your gif, select all of your frames and click on the little number icon below it (it should say something like 0.03), then click ‘other’. Here you can set the speed. I usually put it somewhere between 0.02 - 0.04 depending on the scene, so just try out which speed you prefer. 

Now, we can finally save the gif: file  > export  > save for web (legacy)! These are my output settings. 

☆ To make sure that your gif plays more than once, you must have looping options (near the ‘save’ button’) set to ‘forever’ ! ! !    

Again, this is just the way I make gifs, so there are many other tutorials out there that may be more suited to your preferences! You can find some examples of my gifs here. 

☆ I’ve never made a tutorial before, so I really hope that it helps you even a little bit!  Please please do ask if you have any questions, either by dm or inbox! ♡

[thelegendofstella]

Sephiroth’s true eye color (among other things)

Ever since I got into FF7 stuff I’ve wondered about Sephiroth’s rather inconsistent eye color over the media he’s appeared in (which is a lot), and I think I finally have an answer for it, as well as answers for other slightly unexplained phenomena. Warning you now, this will be fairly long and full of spoilers for multiple games in the series, yet hopefully informative.

Sephiroth is best known for his green, cat-pupiled eyes, among other things, and that’s generally the accepted eye color for him in fan works and such. But his eyes are actually light blue, and not just mainly in spinoffs. There will be a TL;DR in about the middle of the post for one interesting point, and another at the end for the whole post in general.

Disclaimer: This isn't intended to be a "this is the right way to portray Sephiroth's eye color" gatekeeping thing, this is just an analysis of an element of character design that went way too deep and is breaking Tumblr as we speak hfsdgyfudgfsd

Evidence, theories and such under cut-- all 63 images (yes, you heard me, be warned) either come from various wikis as official art/screenshots/etc. or are my own screenshots:

In Final Fantasy 7, where this mess all started, his iconic official art has green eyes:

But in all other art, models, etc. for the game, even the Ultimania scan, his eyes are light blue (or some sort of blue in general):

Of course, you could argue that Sephiroth’s official art also has blue eyes if you stare at it hard enough, but at first glance it’s more green than blue, and with the amount of green-eyed art I’ve seen, I’m sure many people have just accepted that his eyes are green and nothing more.

Several other games in the main series also portray Sephiroth’s eyes as light blue, sometimes borderline colorless depending on the lighting:

I particularly curse Advent Children for it’s washed-out aesthetic because in the darker scenes it completely masks Sephiroth’s real eye color. Thank the gods for HD screenshots.

However, there is a very interesting phenomenon that only seems to happen in Last Order, the 25-minute animated retelling of the Nibelheim Incident and Zack and Cloud’s escape 5 years after. No one seems to have noticed this yet, to my knowledge, so I’ll go through this as clearly as I can.

When Zack confronts Sephiroth in the reactor, the latter’s eyes are light blue:

It isn’t very obvious due to the mako glow tint and his face being in shadow, but I’d think green eyes would look different here, so they are light blue. They stay light blue for a while after this, until Zack begins to fight him and parries him onto the ceiling (anime physics...), resulting in this peculiar scene:

Light blue into green. Literally, you can see it happening in the actual video. This happens a second time when Sephiroth has Cloud skewed on Masamune, just more subtly:

Again, light blue into green(er). Definitely something funky going on here. It goes back to light blue when Cloud tosses him away, though:

And speaking of Cloud... he, too, shows very obvious eye color change directly after this scene, as seen below:

In the video they are visibly, animatedly glowing, it’s not just me discerning between two different flat shades of color. Keep in mind this is before he gets mako poisoned and Jenova-celled and whatnot, so this isn’t due to SOLDIER enhancements. What gives?

Here’s my take: it’s the Lifestream. People are made of Lifestream like everything else in in the FF7 universe, and it’s common knowledge that Lifestream/mako can do some pretty weird shenanigans. SOLDIERs are literally pumped full of the stuff and have seemingly superhuman abilities, and that’s just the lower-ranking ones. But the series has also placed a lot of emphasis on willpower, which Cloud post-experimentation struggles with due to the J-cells and stuff. A lot of people with particularly bright or “glowing” eyes have expressed an incredible amount of willpower, some of which include Cloud, Sephiroth (unsurprising), and Aerith:

Aerith’s eyes have always been incredibly bright in the series, regardless of which game you reference. Remake especially makes this obvious, as it seems like every close-up shot of her makes her eyes the centerpiece regardless of lighting, setting, etc.:

Like, seriously, they almost seem to glow they’re so bright. But here’s the kicker: Aerith is a Cetra, and the Cetra, obviously, communicate with the Planet... or, in other words, have an incredibly strong willpower that influences things. It’s been stated before by various people and media that Sephiroth and Aerith are two sides of the same coin, but not quite like this, I think. Cloud shows a similar phenomenon in his close-up shots as well, though the artificial SOLDIER glow is most likely contributing to most of it:

Compare these to younger Cloud in the Nibelheim flashback, when he was more innocent and had no need for incredible willpower, artificial or not:

Going back to Cloud in Last Order, the point we can make about him in particular is that when he was stabbed, literally at death’s door, he drew on his inner Lifestream for the strength to toss Sephiroth away. People have wondered for years about how this moment was even possible besides Protagonist Syndrome, and this may be the answer.

If this is the case, then this could apply to anyone: Aerith, Sephiroth, Zack, hell even Tifa seems to have slightly glowing eyes in the Remake sometimes-- and sure, it may be just the game engine making sure we can actually see their eyes in key cutscenes... but it ties into canon lore and actually makes sense, so I’m sticking with that. It’s also not a coincidence that Aerith specifically has green eyes, too, since the Lifestream in general is green-colored and whatnot.

Midpoint TL;DR: people with lots of inner willpower can call on their own Lifestream to give them strength, resulting in “glowing” or even color-changing eyes depending on how much Lifestream/mako they have in them. SOLDIERs, for example, would fall in the latter category... the most extreme being Sephiroth.

Now that's we're back at Sephiroth, another interesting point is that his eye color in Remake is consistently light blue, or some blue variation depending on the lighting, with green centers, as seen below:

Cloud obviously shares the same eye color pattern by this point because it's implied that he has the same if not slightly more mako in him than Sephiroth, which very conveniently also equates to him having the same if not slightly more willpower than Sephiroth.

An honorable mention goes to the Remnants, since they, too, follow the light blue with green centers pattern, appearing to fluctuate between the two colors at certain times:

With all of that said and done, I’ll wrap this up by going through Sephiroth’s appearances in side games and other franchises as quickly as I can:

1) The Dissidia series (Dissidia, 012/Duodecim, NT, Opera Omnia) almost always portrays Sephiroth with light blue eyes in art, renders, and models, occasionally with a hint of green in them:

A very interesting exception is NT Sephiroth's Safer Sephiroth costume, which has completely white eyes in all three of its alts. Yes, it's basically just a cosmetic costume, but it's still worthy to note for comprehensive purposes:

2) World of Final Fantasy’s Sephiroth has light blue eyes:

3) Record Keeper Sephiroth’s sprites are very obviously based on the original FF7 official art where he has green eyes (yes, I checked the colors by hand, they're all in the greener sections of the color wheel):

4) The Kingdom Hearts series is particularly unique because it features a blue-eyed Sephiroth but with an explicit reason for it. Kingdom Hearts 1 simply says that Sephiroth is part of Cloud’s past, but Kingdom Hearts 2 literally has Cloud saying “I'll get him. This time we settle it. Me, and the one who embodies all the darkness in me.”, and then explicitly clarifying that it’s Sephiroth he’s talking about. Sephiroth even shares Cloud’s facial shape, which is particularly obvious in KH2 renders:

All other Sephiroth appearances in the KH series also feature him with blue eyes, except for any usage of material from other media.

5) Itadaki Street games feature Sephiroth with green eyes:

6) Puzzles and Dragons features a rare teal-eyed Sephiroth:

And finally 7) All other Sephiroth appearances in spinoffs and other media feature him with light blue, blue, or rare teal eyes, except for sprites, which are (most likely) reused from Record Keeper:

And that’s FINALLY a wrap. All my evidence for Sephiroth’s actual eye color in one place, and even a theory on why it can potentially fluctuate between that and the iconic green.

Actual TL;DR: Sephiroth’s eyes are actually light blue in 90% of his appearances, and the remaining 10% either comes from temporary green-ness or partial green-ness thanks to mako/Lifestream stuff, or spinoffs.

There is one small point I’d like to make at the end of this, and that is the remaining mystery of why Sephiroth’s pupils are even slitted and cat-like in the first place. That... is far more ambiguous in terms of evidence than the eye color. Some series, particularly the Kingdom Hearts series, have them as regular round pupils, while others sometimes if not most of the time give him the cat-like ones. I may make another in-depth analysis post trying to figure it all out, but for now I’ll say that it may just simply be a result of the Jenova cells he has or something along those lines.

If you made it this far down and didn’t just instantly scroll past my massive log of images and sundry, thank you so much for reading all of this! If you did just instantly scroll past, I don't blame you. I guess I'm in proper Sephiroth hell now, lol.

I hope you have a great day and that things turn out well for you fhjksdgfyhughuhyudfs

[dutchdread]

Bruh, we don't want to hear about your negative views about cleriths. Cloud loves Aerith and he always has. He lives in her church because he loves her. He thought of Aerith a lot in OG , On the Way to A Smile, and AC. He went to live in her church. Why tf would he go live in her church if it wasn't for Aerith? There are millions of places he could've gone but he chose the church. You don't have to believe our way of thinking if you don't want to, but don't tag clerith in your posts.

Thanks for your question. I think it's important to have these conversations so we can clear up these misunderstandings. Clouds motivations have been well documented so it's unfortunate that large swaths of the fandom seemingly are still in the dark about something that has been known for quite a long time, and I blame lack of communication. Before I answer your question though I'd like to address the style of it, since I find it amusing that in response to my article concerning productive conversation styles you not only used one of the styles I described, but even the same exact argument. This is a nice confirmation for me that I am right on the money. In my article, I said that the "dishonest inquiry" is the Clerith conversation style of choice. The example I gave was as follows:

The dishonest inquiry: “Why don’t you admit that Clouds actions in AC show that he doesn’t love Tifa?”

You mirrored this approach by saying "Why tf would he go live in her church if it wasn't for Aerith?". The defining characteristic of the dishonest inquiry is that the question isn't asked with the goal of seeking clarification, but as an offensive tactic meant to attack the others position, you're not trying to evaluate your position, you're trying to get others to re-evaluate their position under the guise of a question. If we look at the rest of your post we can see the indicators I described for someone who has reached the last stage of the debate style. "Cloud loves Aerith and he always has. He lives in her church because he loves her". As I noted in my article:

If assertions are backed up, they are backed up with other assertions designed to dissuade rebuttals, rather than investigating veracity.

This "argument" had no actual arguments, it was a meaningless assertion. Stating that you are correct in an attempt to avoid having to actual show that you're correct. "Cloud loves Aerith and he always has. He lives in her church because he loves her": This is what you're trying to prove, you can't state what you're trying to prove as your starting premise.

If you're honestly interested in learning more about FFVII then leave out the baseless assertions, they literally just waste peoples time and makes them less willing to engage with you.

If I had to rephrase your question in a way that's more inviting for a productive discussion it would be something like this:

"Why do you believe Cloud chose Aeriths Church as his hiding place in AC? He thinks about Aerith a lot, what do you think the reason is for that if it's not love?".

The answer to this is pretty simple of course, it's been restated several times, this is not something that is some grand mystery, it's not even an aspect of FFVII that's particularly ambiguous. The reason he stays in Aeriths church is the same reason he's seen lingering at Zacks "grave", it's guilt. As stated in the 10th anniversary ultimania, and several other times:

when Cloud contracts Geostigma he disappears. Behind these actions lies feelings of guilt towards his past failure to protect people who were important to him

While this is an element of the story that has been explicitly confirmed through ultimanias and quotes, this is not an element of the story that was ever in any way unclear, its a direct continuation of Clouds character arc in FFVII. Infact, Clouds mental health issues are the central part of the fake persona storyarc, and is arguably the core of the story. The rough order of events shown in FFVII, on the way to a smile, and Advent children (and also CC) concerning Clouds mental health is as follows. 1: Cloud as a boy want to protect Tifa. 2: Cloud fails to protect Tifa. 3: Cloud and townspeople blame Cloud for Tifas injuries. 4: Cloud internalizes this and beats himself up over his failure to protect Tifa. He develops a fear of failure. 5: Cloud starts acting up, starts wanting to prove himself, and decides to join Soldier to impress Tifa. 6: Cloud fails to get into Soldier, develops an inferiority complex. 7: Cloud is too ashamed of his failure to face Tifa. 8: Cloud fails to save his mother. 9: Cloud fails to save Nibleheim. 10: Cloud fails to save Tifa, again. 11: Cloud fails to save Zack. 12: Cloud develops a soldier alter ego that is everything that he isn't, as a defense mechanism. He hides from his own weakness. 13: Even as a soldier, Cloud fails to save Aerith. 14: Cloud regains his memories in the lifestream, and discovers he did fulfill his promise to come save Tifa. Here we basically end FFVII, and go into on the way to a smile. At this point Cloud has overcome the alien parasite messing with his mind by establishing a stronger sense of who he is. However, now that he's lost his fake soldier defense mechanism he's forced to deal with the past. His past failures haven't been fixed, he doesn't suddenly think he's a great person now, he simply can no longer use his fake persona to hide from his own weakness, and is forced to confront it. 15: Cloud still blames his own weakness for the deaths of Aerith and Zack, he thinks that he needs to atone for his sins, and thinks that the only way to do this is through living* 16: Cloud starts living with Tifa and experiences happiness and peace for the first time in his adult life.** 17: Cloud develops cherophobia and survivors guilt. He feels ashamed for being alive and happy while Aerith and Zack are dead because of him.*** 18: Clouds mental health deteriorates because of these feelings.**** 19: Cloud finds Denzel and sees him as a way to atone, having found a pathway to redemption, Clouds situation improves.***** 20: Cloud is unable to save Denzel from geostigma, and contracts it himself. 21: Clouds mental health worsens again, he failed again, he is unable to save Denzel, he is even unable to save himself, he won't be able to atone for his sins through living. He potentially brought an infectious disease into the house and as a result of his actions Tifa and Marlene will now lose him. 22: Depressed and ashamed, Cloud runs away. He thinks Tifa and Marlene are better off without him, he doesn't want them to see him waste away and die, he feels like he doesn't deserve to be happy and should instead die alone, Etc. Classic depression. (Some quotes concerning the *** are at the bottom of the article)

As for why he thinks about Aerith and Zack a lot, and hangs around the places that are connected with them, what else do you expect? Of course he's thinking about them, they're the people he failed, they're DEAD because of him. Cloud is a caring man, he beats himself up over it, of course he'd be thinking about them. And where else would a man wallowing in guilt and self-pity go than to those places? But the important thing to remember is that none of this is supposed to be seen as romantic. It's supposed to be viewed as sad and negative. Every internal character arc has something to overcome and this is what Cloud has to overcome in Advent children.****** Tifa to Cloud: "have we lost to our memories?" Cloud to Sephiroth: "Stay where you belong, in my memories" A well written story has internal and external obstacles to overcome, and ties the two together. In the case of advent children, the return of Sephiroth is the physical representation of Clouds internal character arc, which is that he should stop living in the past, and should move on. The past here isn't a positive thing he wants to get back to, Clouds past has always been a thing he's ran away from, but then is forced to accept. The past in Clouds case is a bad thing, his failures, and is something he should stop dwelling on. If you've ever seen the lion king, this resembles the scene where Rafiki hits Simba with a stick. "What does it matter, it's in the past", "yeah but it still hurts", "Oh Yes, the past can hurt, but the way I see it you can either run from it, or learn from it".

When Cloud returned to his normal self, he stopped running from the past, but as a result, he started dwelling in it. That's what he's doing in Aeriths church; dwelling in misery.

If we juxtapose Aeriths church with the 7th heaven, we can start to see where peoples misunderstandings are taking place. When some people look at the events of ACC they think that 7th heaven is a place of sadness, which Cloud leaves to be happy at Aeriths church, the place of happiness. The "have we lost to our memories" is then seen as a confirmation of this and that the memory, which they think corresponds to Aerith, is better than life with Tifa. This character arc then concludes with Cloud being happy by finally leaving Tifa behind, and riding off in the sun-set in search of Aerith at the end of the movie. But this interpretation falls apart as soon as you apply context to it, both narratively, and factually, it doesn't fit with with developer quotes, as well as the fundamental story themes of FFVII. 1: If 7th Heaven/Tifa is a place of sadness, then why has Cloud been consistently quoted to experience happiness there? 2: If 7th Heaven/Tifa is a place of sadness, and Cloud leaves at the end of the movie, then why has it been stated to be his promised land, aka, his land of supreme happiness (the reason it's literally called 7th heaven), and why is he stated to return there? ******* 3: If Clouds "memories" are positive, why is the plotarc resolved by Cloud telling the villain to "stay there"? 4: If Cloud is happy at the church, why is he living in self-deprecating squalor? 5: If Cloud loved Aerith and thought Denzel was sent to him by her, why did he abandon him? 6: Do you really think SE would write a story about a "hero" whose main emotional hurdle concerning the past comes down to. "I am sick of the girl I am with, I prefer the one that is dead, so I will get over the past by letting go of the girl I am with, as well as my adoptive children, to go chase the dead girl"? 7: Don't you think this would do Tifas character a tremendous disservice and do you think SE would be that preferential in their treatment? I could go on, but I think the point is clear. While the "Aeriths church is a happy place" interpretation is semi-coherent when looked at in isolation, it becomes exceedingly bizarre as soon as you place it in context. As I am fond of saying, this is not a matter of personal interpretation, it's a matter of lying to yourself vs not lying to yourself. I also suspect that this is the reason why SE changed the ending to advent Children, because people were misinterpreting it in this bizarre way, so they made it more in your face. In context, the following interpretation is much more fitting. Aeriths church is a place of sadness that Cloud runs to because of his guilt and depression. The "memories" line refers to Cloud dwelling on his past mistakes, as evidenced by his constant quotes about needing forgiveness. The character arc of moving on from the past is then resolved when he forgives himself, and as a result, defeats sephiroth, the metaphorical demon of his past. This allows him to return to his place of joy, his promised land, the 7th heaven, with a more positive outlook on the past. Instead of tarnishing Aerith and Zacks memories by wallowing in the past he instead moves on from it, thereby allowing it to become beautiful, which is represented by him planting Aeriths flowers on Zacks grave, and placing Zacks sword in the church. Instead of Zacks grave being the place where Zack died, it is now the place where a hero was born. Cloud has moved on, he has let his mistakes go, and has learned to come to terms with himself. I think it's hard to argue that this version of events is much less shallow, and much more meaningful than the story of a lovesick guy who abandons his partner and adoptive kids to go chase after a dead girl, but that's just me, what's more important is that it's the only version of events that's corroborated by the evidence. Thanks for the question. __________________________________________________

Corroborating quotes (not comprehensive)

* from case of Tifa: "“I’m going to live. I think that’s the only way I can be forgiven. All sorts of things…"

** Nojima in AC prologue: "“Cloud never had a candid personality to begin with, and although he started living with Tifa and even started working, he obtained a peaceful livinghe’s never experienced before, and this conversely made him anxious. And in the midst of this he contracts Geostigma himself, and rather than being able to protect the people dear to him, he instead was forced to face his own death, and so ran away.” (among other quotes)

*** 10th anniversary ultimania: "when Cloud contracts Geostigma he disappears. Behind these actions lies feelings of guilt towards his past failure to protect people who were important to him"

Aeriths 10th anniversary profile : Aerith still lives on in the hearts of her friends who saved the planet. And in particular to Cloud, as a symbol of his failure to having being unable protect those dear to him, she was a major factor in causing him to close himself off. -Aerith’s 10th anniversay profile.

And more, really this is reiterated constantly.

**** From case of Tifa: "During that time, it was Marlene who noticed a change in Cloud. She told Tifa how Cloud would sometimes space out and not listen to her.

Transporting mail around the world meant he was traveling around his past too. She knew that Cloud was in great pain because he couldn’t protect Aerith. Cloud was trying to overcome that and live on. But, going back to the place where he parted from Aerith might mean that his sorrow and regret was going to tear his heart again.

It was night, and they had closed the bar. Cloud was drinking alcohol even though he rarely did. He drained his glass. Tifa thought about it before going over and filling his glass.

***** From case of Tifa: "Tifa wondered if they became a real family after Denzel appeared. Cloud was clearly taking less jobs. At night, he would always make sure he had time to spend with the children. The silly little conversations he had with Tifa were also back."

****** Reunion files, page 58: "As long as Cloud blames himself for Aerith’s death, he won’t be able to move on with his life. One of the first ideas we had for Advent Children was to have Cloud overcome and resolve that immense feeling of guilt. For Cloud, no one other than Aerith can solve that problem for him."

- Takahiro Sakurai pg. 15 reunion files: After Cloud was told, “Which is it? A memory or us?: by Tifa, he tells Sephiroth, “Stay where you belong. In my memories,” just before he defeats him. I think Cloud finally becomes free at this moment. Deep down, Cloud knew that he shouldn’t be so hard on himself, but at the same time he couldn’t let go of those feelings of guilt for what happened to Aerith and Zack, or the thought that he could never forgive himself for it. But then his companions made him feel better by telling him to let go. ******* "The place where he awakens—- That is Cloud’s Promised Land As he sleeps, Cloud hears two voices. The voices of two people very dear to him, who are no longer with him. Playfully and kindly, they give him a message: he doesn’t belong here yet. When he awakes, there was his friends. There were the children, freed from their fatal illness. Tifa and Marlene, and Denzel asking for Cloud to heal his Geostigma— his family were waiting. Engulfed in celebration, he realizes where he is meant to live."

"Aerith lends her power to the people suffering from Geostigma in Edge, and personally provides for Cloud’s recovery. Geostigma is cured. Cloud returns to Tifa and the children."

-  FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Complete Timeline

[flowerslightning]

Have you heard about PFA and MFA?

or the full name is ‘Psychological First Aid’ (PFA) and ‘Mental Health First Aid’ (MFA)

Can we relate it with Cloud Strife? As we all know, Cloud had mental illness and was struggling alone. Let’s take a quick look on this topic then and see if characters in FF7 ever give PFA/MFA to Cloud or to each other. This is going to be a looooong post although I tried to simplified it, so, yeah. Good luck reading this !

Disclaimer : I’m not a psychologist. I’m still a student and psych is not my major field. During my intern, other than we got exposed a lot about psychiatric disorders and ways to deal with them, we also got trained psychological first aid in emergency department. If it wasnt because of this quarantine, i would have finished my training in emergency field. There might be false interpretation here or there, forgive me for that and pls correct any mistake in this post

This will probably trigger LTD. Sorry, but I had to, Pls read this post with open mind. Keep in mind I like both Tifa and Aerith, i have no grudges agaisnt Barret, Vincent, Nanaki or Cid so I am not being bias with any of them. I forgot a lot of stuff in OG (I played it when I was really really small), so I will be using lots FF7R and AC references here (and a bit from OG, depends whatever I remember)

Good to go? Allow me to rant. Read it slowly and if u skip some of it, u’ll probably mislead my actual words, and u’ll be triggered af. Don’t come at me with madness if u dont read the whole post properly

What is PFA and MFA? Generally speaking, if Basic First Aid is about covering the wound to prevent further bleeding, then PFA (Psychological First Aid) and MFA (Mental Health First Aid) is like applying a bandage on ur mental to avoid u continue being distress. 

Usually, PFA is often associated with disaster event or terrorism, where large number of people got affected. Meanwhile, MFA focus in one person who is developing mental health prob or already in mental crisis due to certain traumas, such as vehicle accident, house burned and etc

 Pls note that, certain people NEED MFA while the others may NOT NEED it. It is important to respect their needs/wants. Some victims may refuse verbally but they ACTUALLY NEED it (CLOUD STRIFE) and maybe some victims look like they dont need it, but they want it, and its super fine to give it

PFA/MFA not only done by the professionals and it is not a professional counselling, although necessarily training is needed if u want to approach deeper in this field. PFA/MFA is also not a psychological ‘debriefing’ - in which MFA/PFA doesnt need to involve a detailed discussion of the trauma event with the victim, but instead, it is an alternative way to psychological debriefing that helps for long-term recovery. (unless if ure a pscyhiatrist, then u have to forget about MFA and ask detailed questions regarding the events to help the patient to recover)

MFA and PFA both almost the same, but I will mention more about MFA here.

MFA (Mental Health First Aid) is not just about comforting “Oh, are u alright. I’m sorry for what u’ve been through”, but it is also about assessing their needs and concerns, protecting them from harm, provide practical support and support them feeling able to help themselves and others.

The main key for these two term is RESPECT - respect victim’s dignity, respect both parties safety and respect victim’s rights to make decision. Even without the PFA, we should respect these three in whatever circumstance we are in. 

A lot of us honestly were born with natural skill of MFA bcause of our own empathy, instinct or experiences and some got trained professionally. Some of them already had MFA due to high common senses they have.  

Some of the Do’s and Dont’s when giving MFA include;

Do’s : 1. Be trustworthy | 2. Respect their decision | 3. Be aware of and set aside ur bias | 4. Make it clear to them u are available for help even they push u away | 5. Respect their privacy and personal space | 6. Do remain calm and soft when the person in distress | 7. Listen and don’t interrupt their talking | 8. Help in terms of basic needs | 9. Create connection the person with others | 10. Give hope to them | 11. Provide private place to talk about the event | 12. Respect their strenght | 13. Advice small necessary matters or give simple words of encouragement | 14. Acknowledge positive features of what victims have done

Dont’s : 1. Rush in whatever the thing theyre doing with u | 2. Be dismissive | 3. Make promises u know can’t keep | 3. Ask anything in return for helping them | 4. Exaggerate ur skills | 5. Force help on people, being pushy | 6. Pressure them to tell their story | 7. Judge that person | 8. Put the person in risk of harm as result of ur actions | 8. Force them to accept ur idea/Listening to ur rant | 9. Talk rough | 10. Being bias with the people | 11. Touching that person too much | 12. Talk with the person in negative terms | 13. Abandon the person’s feeling

To simplify, there are 3 ways for MFA to begin, and I will only talk about one of them, the one that is the hardest to do, that is when u notice someone looks distressed and ure concern about them, and leading u to approach them first without them noticing ur concern. [Am I putting the right words here?]

In Cloud’s case, who do u think the first noticed Cloud behaved oddly and went to help him first ? - yeah Tifa. U probably would say “OFC she went to help him, she met him first at the train station. That guy looked sick af, who wouldnt ask if he was alright. If Aerith/Yuffie/Jessie met him first, they would do the same”. Okay guys, that was not my point. 

Let’s focus one by one characters and see what Do’s and Dont’s MFA (Mental Health First Aid) they’ve done to Cloud and other charas. Keep in mind, none of them know what Cloud had gone through, but Cloud had showed some obvious sign he was unwell and only a few of them noticed that and took action for it. 

The symbol [X] means the Dont’s in MFA and ( ✔) means the Do’s in MFA.

Biggs Jessie Wedge -

I know there’s a thing about man helping man’s psychology and Jessie being flirty with a guy.They [X] thought Cloud was like how they saw Cloud. and they considered it as normal. They didnt see Cloud under distress so they dont have the need to concern his mental status. The good thing about them was, the three of them (✔) respect Cloud’s strenght, giving Cloud the confident to be in action. But, Jessie [X] had zero respect on Cloud’s personal space

I wanna highlight about Biggs. Biggs had an attitude of overthinking stuff, but it wasnt so bad that would cause him harm, he just cared too much about his friends. So I believe Biggs was the type that would notice immediately when his friend being strange and would give MFA (Mental Health First Aid) with his own instinct even without the person asking it.

During the Sector 7 Plate attack, where Biggs was severely injured, when Cloud said he was not a fan of kids and Biggs said Cloud had so much in common (in common of what? Cloud with the kids or Cloud with him?), Cloud gave him ‘a sad look’ and Biggs reached out his hand to Cloud’s head. Biggs (✔) remain calm and soft when dealing with Cloud’s feeling (who faced traumatic event but Biggs didnt know about it) on that moment despite his current physical status. And also he (✔) wished goodluck to Cloud, leading to prevention distress on Cloud

Marle -

Marle [X] judged Cloud for someone who had no skills, but she entrusted Cloud to take care of Tifa’s well being. Not knowing who Cloud was, Marle noticed Cloud looked glum, she (✔) offered her ear for Cloud to rant and knew right away he was not having enough sleep, then (✔) advising him to sleep more . Lol, she was [X] biased with Cloud and Tifa. Not her fault, she only knew Tifa’s story, not Cloud’s. After the Sector 7 plate fall, we saw her being the most active member to help with the remaining citizens there. Marle without a doubt had given the citizens there PFA (Psychological First Aid) , by helping them with their (✔) basic needs, (✔) create connections, (✔) put away bias, (✔) remain calm and soft. 

Barret Wallace -

Barret was the same like Biggs Jessie Wedge. I’m sure Barret thought Cloud was just fine. Barret saw Cloud as a mercenary with stinky attitude,[X] judging him like that causing Barret to gave him the same attitude too. But overall, he (✔) respected Cloud’s strength a lot

However, after the Sector 7 plate fall, Tifa and Barret were the one that hurt (mentally) the most, Tifa as usual locking her emotions, there we could see how Barret comforting Tifa by (✔) giving words of encouragement and proceed on (✔) hugging her to show his empathy. Barret also (✔) remain calm and soft spoken when talking to the survival victims of Sector 7 citizens. He also (✔) acknowledged what the citizens had done to survive

Vincent Valentine - 

Don’t be surprise Vincent was listed here. This guy here was like another version of Cloud but more mature. In addiction, they both kinda share the same pain. So, I personally think Vincent understands Cloud pretty well. In AC, where Cloud was mentally ill, Vincent saved Cloud from Kadaj and brothers and (✔) took him to safer place. That was a common thing to do. But let’s go deeper, Cloud never told him about himself, but Vincent already  (✔) aware of Cloud’s trouble with the geostigma stuff and Cloud’s current mental status. Vincent, (✔) calm and soft like always (✔) didnt hesitate to asked if all of these were just about ‘fighting’ and it made Cloud to ‘re-think’ further about his problem. He (✔) didnt pressure Cloud here, instead he was (✔) helping Cloud to understand the condition he was facing, and this lead Cloud to avoid distress.

Aerith Gainsborough -

I know Aerith was special. She was an important character and devs created her to be ‘loved’ by the fans so that her death would be tragic. Aerith did almost all the things that shouldnt be done when giving MFA to mentally ill person. Some of u may say “Duh, Aerith didnt know anything about Cloud thus she had no intentions of giving him MFA”. Yup, ure right. Aerith didnt know about Cloud’s mental status but so as all the other characters in the series. 

Aerith was [X] being pushy with Cloud, in lots of ways, from making him as a bodyguard for free to forcing him to wear a dress. She [X] forced Cloud to accept her idea about meeting Andrea, dance and gown. She also [X] forced Cloud to help picking the flowers. Aerith [X] didn’t let Cloud to have his own decision [X] neither giving him a chance to talk,  and [X] abandon his feelings (cough..uhm, Aerith resolution). She also had [X] no respect on Cloud’s personal space and [X] too much touching and leaning to him. Aerith also [X] put herself in danger and that worried Cloud.  She [X] looked down on Cloud in someways too

However, at the Sector 5 slum, where the hooded man appeared, Aerith noticed Cloud was having trouble with himself, she (✔) encouraged Cloud to keep himself together. Also, throughout the entire game, Aerith always remind the team to (✔) have hope in everything. Her positive vibrant attitude was what (✔) made everyone able to believe in themselves. She also (✔) ensure Marlene’s safety and protected her. She was able to (✔) remain soft and calm when approaching Marlene. Remember Betty? Aerith took her time to helped her out and she even (✔) respected the little girl’s strength, (✔)slow and steady when saving her and (✔)soft spoken

Tifa Lockhart -

Tifa met Cloud at the train station, saw him being ‘not-so-fine’ state despite Cloud claiming he was completely okay. Tifa didn’t know what Cloud had gone through and  she (✔) didn’t pressure him to talk about it. She even helped him to (✔) find a place to sleep even when Cloud never asked for it. Tifa unconsciously was the first person to give Cloud MFA without knowing what Cloud had faced previously. And Cloud, on that moment, he really needed a help. Tifa also (✔) stated that if Cloud need anything, she would help him with it

Tifa (✔) remain calm everytime Cloud had sudden headache, she didn’t leave him alone and (✔) didnt put any pressure on him by asking question. During the (✔) Alone At Last, they had privacy Tifa asked about what happened after he left Nibelheim. She (✔) listened and didnt interrupt him, (✔) neither pushing him to talk more. Moreover, Tifa (✔) put a distance with Cloud, dunno if she was the one who was being uncomfortable or she actually (✔) respect Cloud’s personal space and privacy. Tifa (✔) didn’t force him to stay at Midgar, she asked him and was glad Cloud would stay for a while. Tifa was no doubt (✔) respect all Cloud’s decisions too. Also, don’t forget, Tifa also helped Cloud to help (✔) make ‘close connection’ with the Avalanche members and people in Sector 7 slums. She also (✔) didn’t do much touching with Cloud (Well, I mean, she didnt touch him in clingy way)

In AC, Tifa (✔) encouraged Cloud to have hope for Geostigma and the family

Tifa did [X] put herself in danger by becoming Corneos bride participant and that gave Cloud trouble (but Tifa ensured him she would be fine on her own previously) And btw, in OG, I read about the fans questioning why Tifa [X] didnt tell Cloud the truth. I would like to argue this matter. TIFA IS A CHARACTER WITH REAL HUMAN FLAWS, she too had her own traumatic event and was not really sure of herself on what to do. However, considering what Tifa had done for him, Tifa had helped with Cloud’s psychology the most.

I know Cloud was putting up a font, and that made him to have condescending attitude, and people couldnt see what Cloud was hiding behind the the bravery face. However, all of us as fans acknowledged the pain Cloud was suffering in the entire FF7 story. Some of the characters like Tifa, Marle, Vincent, Biggs noticed it and they took actions for it, while others, I do personally thing, they were hurting the Real Cloud’s mentality more. 

Long story short, Tifa was the one who gave mental health support the most to Cloud, followed by Vincent (AC), Biggs and Marle. Aerith did the worst with Real Cloud's mentality + she then died, mking Cloud be more miserable,

However, Aerith actually had the best way to give MFA/PFA to children, but maybe the worst to Cloud. While Tifa gave the best MFA to Cloud which helped him to get himself together through out the entire time

Alright thats the end of my talk. Thank you for being with meee

[devilhacker]

FFXV Remake Ideas Part 3: Party Members

Note: There are two type party members, Permanent and Guest. 

Permanent party members will follow you throughout the story. You can level up, customize, and control them during battle. However they cannot be control for travel with the exception of Stella who will take the role of Protagonist at some point.

Guest, just like in old FFXV, will act on their own with heir level and equipment is already fixed. They also only available on certain missions. Player however still can make link-strike and use their bar abilities during battle.

PERMANENT PARTY MEMBERS

1) STELLA NOX FLEURET

*Stella’s original appearance

*Stella’s possible image in FFXV.

*Sarah. Main inspiration for Stella’s abilities and personality.

Age: 21, 31 (Post WoD -if alive-), 49 (True Ending Epilogue -if alive-).

Occupation: Princess of Tenebrae, Oracle (later in game).

Class: Combat White Mage

Combat Style: Rapier and White Magic.  Very High MP.

Skill: To be determined

Possible Love Interest: Noctis Lucis Caelum

Available: During Imperial attack on Insomnia

Profile:  Stella had an honest and polite attitude, though a bit naive and clumsy. She was assertive and true to her beliefs due to her upbringing. She was direct and did not shy away from her problems, as opposed to Noctis, who is more reserved. 

Note: She will completely replace Luna as a heroine and hero’s main love interest. Most of her abilites and personality here was inspired from Sarah, guest character from (Terra Worlds). Not gonna lie I love her chemistry with Noctis, which in my opinion is more logical and sensible than Luna. 

Unlike Luna, she only revealed as Oracle later in the game

And depends on Noctis’s interraction and how far she took her role as Oracle, she will either give up her life or fought to change her destiny

2) ARANEA HIGHWIND

Age: 30, 40 (Post WoD), 58 (True Ending Epilogue).

Occupation: Commodore of Nilfheim Empire (later defect)

Class: Dragoon

Combat Style: Spear and Air Combat. Strong physical attack

Skill: Trap Setting. 

Possible Love Interest: Gladiolus Amicitia

Available: After Noctis and co. raid on Imperial fortress. 

Profile: Known as one of the Nilfheim’s fearsome general, Aranea raised in a slum of Gralea by her father, a low-rank officer who perished during the Great War. Her father’s demised motivate her to join the Imperial Army. Initially known for her loyalty,  Aranea starting to doubts about the empire's devotion to its daemonic research.

Note: Beatrix (FF9) and Celes (FF6) was main inspiration for her backstory. Her father is my own idea, and the main reason for her conlfict with Cor later. Biggs and Wedge is still her subordinate. And like in the game, she strongly opposed the daemonic research, the reason why her unit only consist of human. 

Her skill is actually one of the planned skills for FFXV but later removed. It can trap a monster when applied using proper equipment. If successful, it will leave a drop item of that monster. The higher its get, the strongest the monster it can trap.

3) CIDNEY AURUM

Age: 26, 36 (Post WoD), 54 (True Ending Epilogue).

Occupation: Mechanics

Class: Machinist

Combat Style: Stun gun and Drone Combat. Control drone from afar.

Skill: Airship management 

Possible Love Interest: Prompto Argentum

Available: During search for an airship

Profile: Having lost her parents at a young age, Cindy grew up under her grizzled grandfather Cid's tutelage. She inherited his avid love for automobiles and quickly proved herself to be a more-than-capable mechanic. Her stellar reputation draws customers from all across the continent. No matter how terrible their automobile troubles, drivers come in for a tune-up and leave with a smile.

Note: Cidney is just one of the wasted characters from FFXV. If you play attention, she contribute too much in the game but everyone only seen her as an eye-candy. This idea will put more on her character development like how she deal with her parents loss and Prompto’s treachery. Her combat style is quite similar to V (dmc5) in which you control combat drone from afar.

As for her skills, you can customized and upgrade your airship if you talk to her. The more skillful she become, the more better equipment can be applied on your ship

4) IRIS AMICITIA

Age: 15, 25 (Post WoD), 43 (True Ending Epilogue).

Occupation: High-School Students, later Crownsguard

Class: Monk

Combat Style: Martial Arts and certain white magic. High Evasion rate.

Skill: Clothing Design

Possible Love Interest: Noctis Lucis Caelum

Available: After Noctis and co. arrived at Cape Caem

Profile: Daughter of House Amicitia and Gladiolus' younger sister by eight years. Her family's closeness with the crown brought her into contact with Noctis at a young age, and the two became fast friends. She has harbored an innocent crush on Noctis since she was a little girl, but in her heart, Iris knows her fantasy can never become reality, or so she thought....

Note: Her feelings for Noct is similar as Tifa to Cloud. Unlike Cloud however Noct never seen her beyond “little sister” though that feelings may change later after his return from a long slumber. Her combat is similar to Tifa from VII Remake although due to her size, some of her skils required Gladio’s presence to be work perfectly.

She can create costume. The costume she create is only for looks. It didnt have any stats.

5) RAVUS NOX FLEURET

Age: 28, 38 (Post WoD -if alive-), 56 (True Ending Epilogue -if alive-).

Occupation: Prince of Tenebrae,  High Commander of the Imperial Army

Class: Dark Knight

Combat Style: Saber and dark magic. 

Skill: To be determined.

Possible Love Interest: To be determined

Available: After Noctis and co. arrived at Accordo.

Profile: Eldest son of House Fleuret, Blood of the Oracle, and older brother to Lady Lunafreya. His mother was burned alive in the fires that burned Tenebrae twelve years ago. Blaming the "cowardly" King Regis for her death, Ravus capitulated to his new imperial overlords and joined their ranks. His involvement with the Empire is the reason Stella embark a journey in order to free him and their Kingdom.

Note: Yes. There’s a quite upside down here. In FFXV, he joined the empire to save Luna. In here, Stella trying to free him from the Empire. Depending on his interraction with Noctis and Ignis; and Stella’s story, he either live until the end or died sacrificing himself.

(to be continued)

[silver-wield]

I have a theory. What if the song “Hollow” refers to Cloud’s feeling about Tifa. For this theory to be true there are several things that we have to acknowledge first:

The song is written in Cloud’s POV

The song is reflecting what Cloud feels during the FF VII remake part 1

The events that Cloud had undergone were the Nibelheim incident (in which he thought that Tifa was dead along with his mother and his hometown), Mako experimentation and poisoning, and also Zack’s death.

Cloud was still Mako poisoned the first time he arrived at Sector 7 train station and met Tifa.

And even though he was fully awake when he met Tifa, he still had cloudy memories.

So, how does this theory unfold?

I would be lost drifting along

Floating up high time after time

And there you'd be shining brightly

Your smiling face to guide my way

This part refers to Cloud meeting Tifa at sector 7 train station for the first time. He was still Mako poisoned. But upon seeing Tifa, he regained his full consciousness.

Bloody and bruised, brought to my knees

When beaten down: when broken up

You would appear, reach out to me

Heal every wound, and make me whole

Yes, during that time, Cloud was bloody and bruised. It is not shown in the game, but what if the Shinra infantrymen beat him? No doubt, Tifa helped him and tended his wound. And in a sense, Tifa made him whole again. Despite it wasn’t his real self yet. But rather a combination of Soldier Cloud and Real Cloud.

[Bridge]

Was it all a dream? Will I never know?

Foolish and blind to everything

Had I realized: had I thought it through

Would you be here in my embrace?

Cloud’s memory was cloudy. And he admitted it during Sephiroth’s reenactment of the Nibelheim Incident. He told Tifa that, “there’s a lot of things muddled up in my memories”.

So it makes sense that he questioned himself, “Was it all a dream?” And it makes more sense because in Cloud’s memory, he had seen Tifa dying because Sephiroth hurt her so bad. And in the Remake, the only embrace that happened was between Cloud and TIfa.

[Chorus]

Shine bright once more

Guide me to you

Smile bright once more

This time I will never let you go

I think this part really comes to sight when Cloud remembered his promise to Tifa. He remembers now that he has to help her when she is in trouble. And it can also be applied to his feeling that he had lost Tifa before, that’s why this time he will never let her go again. And yes, through time and time, Tifa’s words reassured Cloud that he is the Cloud from Nibelheim, as stated during Nibelheim incident reenactment with Sephiroth.

[Bridge]

With your every smile hiding something more

Dark mysteries lurking beneath

But I was consumed with this emptiness

This selfishness: this void to fill

During the game, Tifa smiled a lot to Cloud. But yeah, Tifa was hiding something from Cloud. During the OG, when Tifa met Cloud at the sector 7 train station, she felt strange because Cloud knew things that he shouldn’t and didn’t know things that he should. So, she hid those facts from Cloud and tried to keep an eye on him. But for Cloud, his childhood memory was mostly empty and right now he was only driven by his anger to Sephiroth (or: driven by Sephiroth through Jenova cells inside him, i.e. the reunion theory, is it this void he tries to fill?)

[Chorus]

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

[Outro]

To never know

Cloud almost always didn’t know what to do when he saw Tifa cried several times during the games. The time he almost did right was when he comforted him during Tifa’s resolution. Sometimes Tifa smiled and the other times she cried. Despite him liking to see Tifa smile, he wants to comfort her when she cries. Cloud wants to know why she cries. And in the Remake, only Tifa that did cry.

But in Cloud’s memory it’s been 5 years and Tifa was long gone. And in the OG we knew that Cloud thought Tifa died. But whether it is for real or it is a dream, Cloud will go on and howling until indefinite time (until he regains all of his memories).

Well, isn’t it an interesting theory? Perhaps someone could make this theory perfect?

Hollow is about Cloud losing his home, mom, Tifa, Zack his dreams and identity. It's a song about his past and current identity crisis. He's the one who's hollow.

The song will probably get a reprisal on the lifestream scene.