leathenorthernlight

[leathenorthernlight]

Just celebrating them <3

[leathenorthernlight]

The duo in their full color glory 😭✨

[leathenorthernlight]

"Play something for me"

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Liszt it is then." Sometimes when no one looked they could have their sweet moments like this. He would only learn how to play some of the Liszt's compositions for her but every time someone asked why Roderich would just pretend that it was just for himself when in truth it was so she could feel closer to home. --- Look! my parents

[leathenorthernlight]

Awww, voy a extrañar este lado de Barret en las próximas partes del Remake

¡Es tan lindo en su papel de padre con Marlene! 😭

[leathenorthernlight]

Sephiroth is left handed??? No way! Really? 😲😲 I never noticed!!!

...

Okay, I guess I can start truly loving him for something 😆

[leathenorthernlight]

Well, well, said. This is perfection! Thank you. I needed this.

Happy 13th Anniversary to CC and why CC is not a lazy copy to OG

Let me tell you why CC is not a lazy copy to OG like how a certain fandom been trying to push to all FF7 fandom.

1. OG is copying even before CC existed.

It had always been the intention of the devs to make Aerith initially only attracted to Cloud because he reminds her to her ex. It doesn’t matter who her ex is, Cloud is just like her ex. Later on they created Zack to solve Cloud’s mystery AND be Aerith’s ex. Whether she grows to be genuinely attracted to Cloud later on is up to the players so I don’t really care about that. If you wanna ship them together, be my guest. I love Cloud and Aerith so it’s really fine. But their first meeting? The buster sword? The first date payment? Since years and years ago, it had already been decided that OG is the one ‘stealing’ from CC even before CC existed. Stealing is their word, not mine.

2. OG is Aerith trying to re-enact CC.

Zack is NOT Aerith’s ex. She didn’t have closure. She loved Zack for 2 years, waited for him for 5 years, she loved him in total of 7 years before she felt she should move on, look forward not backward. And even when she finally decided to move forward, what did she do? She’s hurt too much she tried to recreate what she had with Zack. Oh look, a SOLDIER with buster sword just fell down the sky like Zack. Let’s see if he’d agree to a one-date payment like Zack before. Aerith tried SO hard just to get herself a Zack. She’s hurt, and it’s clear she’s still deeply in love and harbouring hope for Zack so I can understand why she did that. She wants Zack, she’ll take whatever she can get. It’s actually a bad move, don’t do this, guys.

3. The interaction after they meet is different.

You know, I played OG before CC. And it had always bothered me how desperate Aerith was trying to get Cloud to like her. Like girl, have some respect for yourself. You don’t let a guy say cold things to you and treat you like you’re a bother and still want to date him. But when Cloud gets himself back, I just—I understand. I understand Aerith’s pain for wanting Zack no matter how she can get. Aerith is a lonely character. She grew up not only alone, but experimented. Then she meets a boy who, not only didn’t care that she’s a Cetra, but also brightens her day, make her happy and all mushy inside, make her fall in love and treats her like a princess literally would do anything for her—and then she lost him brutally, not knowing how or why or maybe when. This is something OG doesn’t have. You know, anyone can meet people the same way. And you know what’s the difference? Their interactions after they meet. Cloud was repulsive, Zack was interested. Zack gave her everything. Cloud was just wanting to show her he’s cool. Literally any girl would do it doesn’t even matter if it’s not Aerith, Aerith just happens to be there, as his tool to show his cool SOLDIER side, like “see, I’m a cool SOLDIER”. Zack doesn’t care if he’s not a SOLDIER in Aerith’s eyes. Aerith hated SOLDIER when they met. But Aerith didn’t care, because she loved him. And I’m like, okay Aerith, you’ll meet him now, don’t be sad anymore. He’s there.

4. CC is so much more than falling down the roof.

If CC is just a lazy copy, there wouldn’t be all the sweet stuff that follows. What’s sweet in CC is not that Zack met Aerith the same way Cloud did. What’s sweet is that Zack called her an angel when he fell down. Zack willingly asked her for a date, and she willingly suggested to go to the park. They’re mutual. What’s sweet is that Zack bought her a pink ribbon, and asked her to wear pink and she did. What’s sweet is that Zack, with no external factor at all, complimented her flowers, suggested her to sell them and even helped her to sell them once. Zack built her a wagon and literally would do it all over again until she’s satisfied. What’s sweet is that Aerith keeps calling Zack in the middle of his mission, and he keeps answering her calls even when he’s busy. He gave her his time and attention. And what’s even sweeter is that, despite denying it, Aerith waited for him for 5 years, written to him 89 letters coz he’s not answering her calls anymore. None of these are in OG. The only copied ones are the falling from roof and the one-date payment, which is only there coz Aerith wanted to have what she had with Zack again. But it didn’t work, because Cloud is not Zack and it’s okay. Aerith needs to know she’s not getting Zack again and that’s what she needs to learn from this hard loss.

5. The final result is still OG copying CC.

Now here’s the thing. FF7 is fictional. It’s not real. All the stories about what they initially planned—Aerith is supposed to look like Tifa, Sephiroth is supposed to be Aerith’s ex, Aerith and Sephiroth supposed to be siblings, Zack is the last instalment of the series, etc. Those are just interesting stories about how their journey is before coming up with the final result, the entire FF7 Compilation. But none of those planning matters in canon, because at the end of the day, the story is just like that. Cloud met Aerith the way that reminded Aerith to Zack. That’s it. Simple. No copying whatsoever. I’m a writer myself—fiction and academic writer. I also have stories about how things are supposed to be planned differently before I came up with the final result. But those are just interesting stories about how I come out with that final idea. At the end of the day, the most important thing is the final result telling us that way. And get this, when writing OG, the devs were thinking about what can link Cloud and Aerith together so that they can connect at first meeting. And guess what’s their original idea? It’s that; Cloud reminds Aerith of her ex. Who’s this ex is not even decided yet. But the fact that they needed to create an ex to link them together already shows how weak their romantic connection is. If you found a potential suitor, you don’t blab about your ex. You talk about yourself and about your suitor. You get to know each other, create chemistry between you, but no. Aerith keeps on talking about Zack. She literally slaps an ex on the very beginning of a potential suitor, and that’s literally their connection—even before CC.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you shouldn’t slap this OG copying CC insult to CC/Zerith fans. Because you know what, we care about the real characters. We care about Cloud, so we don’t want him to get uncomfortable getting pushed and forced into a date. We care about Aerith so we don’t want her to be treated coldly in a date or relationship coz she deserves to have someone like Zack. And all of it evidenced since before CC, and literally none of the retcon part of CC ever alter that. Yes, you can gradually make Aerith move on, but Zerith is canon since before CC.

CC is a great game. You already know the ending, and you should have been ready for the ending. But you’re not. You knew but you fell in love with this guy destined to die. The mechanic is different than how abrupt Aerith died in OG. Aerith’s death was unexpected. Zack’s was expected but you just can’t. And that’s why it gave a whole new meaning to OG. None of it is copied, in fact, it only gives a new insight to what we already know.

So Happy 13th Anniversary to one of the FF7 Compilation instalment: Crisis Core. The game that made us love OG even more. The game that gave us more reasons to understand Cloud, to understand Aerith, and even to understand Sephiroth. Thumbs up to the devs, despite all the shortcomings of game control and what not in CC. 13 years and still going strong, still making people cry.

Mic drop. 🎤

[leathenorthernlight]

Cloud Strife and I

I was going to start this series with Tifa because she is my love and my light, lol. Yeah, she is my favorite, but since we are talking about characters, I think it’s better to start off with the main one. So today I will talk about my experience with Cloud Strife.

My feelings for Cloud are… conflicting, a real strife as his last name well indicates. They’re a roller coaster with ups and downs. It’s kinda ironic actually.

I didn’t like him in the OG, honestly. I found him to be rather… impersonal? At least that was my personal feeling, and his famous catchphrase “Not interested” never helped me to make me a better idea of him. As far as I was concerned, he was supposed to be cool and cocky, but at the same time distant and harsh with others.

At the end of the day, I think the OG never gave me a concrete picture of him, and that had to do a lot with the optional dialogue and how players answered them. Sometimes he was decent and sometimes he was a total jerk, so it gave me the impression that his personality was all over the place.

Of course, objectively speaking, this is a great achievement since it is an important theme in FF7, specially for Cloud. It’s literally his arc, his story as a character. I mean, he doesn’t have idea who he really is for the most part of the game, so how are we going to know any better?

When the scene in the Lifestream came around and the real Cloud appears for the first time, I was not impressed. I got it and I understood it, but I couldn’t really see it. I had implanted so deep into my memory the idea of a Cloud with a scattered personality, that his return to his real self didn’t do much to me. The fact that real Cloud didn’t have as much screen time as his fake persona didn’t help. I would have loved to see him for a longer time and not only at the end.

The next Cloud’s version I knew was Crisis Core version.

And oh the irony: I loved him so so much. He was adorable, and a dork, and weird and so socially awkward that it was charming. He is so precious there. It was then when I understood that this Cloud was the real one, this was the Cloud that I should’ve had remembered at the end of OG. This is Cloud. It was then when I also understood that he wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Of course, I never believed he was a bad character. On the contrary, Cloud is one of the most complex MC I’ve seen. I love the way he became a casual hero. He didn’t want to be one, but because of the circumstances and life experiences, he became one. He didn’t asked for any of the tragedies he went through, and even so, he went forward and triumphed. That’s pretty amazing. Cloud is pretty complete.

It doesn’t mean he is my favorite, but CC helped me to see him on a new light and to grow fond of him. I also got a better understanding of his overall arc and the game’s lore.

But then I watched another version of him: Advent Children and ah… he fell from my grace again.

Now, I always try to be objective and empathize, so after I analyzed the movie together with some fragments of the novels, I got the whole picture and understood why he acted the way he did. His depression was understandable. His self esteem issues that led him think he didn’t deserve happiness; his huge guilty over the deaths of two important people to him, his feeling of inadequacy for not being able to help Denzel, to finally get Geostigma, condemning him to die, which would force him to let his family behind.

Yeah, of course he had reasons to get depressed and see everything through tunnel vision. Actually, I’m surprised that he still had enough strength to walk or fight with monsters. However… I was so frustrated with him in AC, ugh. I honestly couldn’t handle him.

I’ll be fair though. At that time I was going through a complicated and very emotionally-charged situation at home and I didn’t need more depression in my life, frankly. Maybe that’s why I crashed so much with Cloud, because meditating about everything that was going on, I found that I would have acted just like him or worse, something that it wasn’t easy to recognize, that ended up souring me more and made me disliking him more. I know, I’m petty, but those were my feelings.

After I finished the movie, I knew Cloud got better and now would be happy at last, but I had a similar experience with the one I had with the OG. Having little screen time with the determined and uplifting Cloud didn’t help me to erase his earlier depressed mood, so it was easy for me to remember him for his somber attitude.

It had to pass years after for me to have a new perspective on him thanks to the Remake. And I’m not gonna lie, I’m liking Cloud Remake quite a bit.

He’s made me laugh so much because I can clearly see how hard he tries to be the cool and tough guy he believes he is, but sometimes things just don’t work for him. He has had at least one moment like this with every character, when he thinks he is saying something great and the others’ reaction tells you that this guy is so lost and hopeless. It hilarious, tbh.

Maybe I shouldn’t find it so amusing. After all, the poor guy got a severe case of PTSD, he hallucinates, got amnesia, his mind is a mixture of memories and stories. It’s not something to be laughing at… but I can’t help it. Remake Cloud is so different from everything I thought he was, and that’s awesome.

Well, that’s pretty much my experience with our protagonist. In reality, Cloud is the character that has made me feel so many and different emotions throughout FF7 and I’m grateful for that. When a character does that you know it’s well done. Now, I’m really excited to know what else will he make me feel on the next parts.

[leathenorthernlight]

Cloud Strife y yo

Iba a empezar esta serie con Tifa porque es mi favorita, pero como estamos hablando de personajes, considero que comenzar por el principal tiene sentido. Así que hoy hablaré de mi experiencia con Cloud Strife.

Mis sentimientos por Cloud son... conflictivos, como bien lo indica su apellido. Una verdadera montaña rusa con altos y bajos, la que a veces siento que tiene más bajos que nada. Es bastante irónico.

En el juego original nunca me gustó, la verdad. Me parecía tan… ¿impersonal? O al menos así lo sentía yo. Su frase célebre de “No me interesa” no ayudó mucho a hacerme una buena imagen de él. Según entendía, en principio Cloud debía ser alguien genial, guay y algo chulo, pero también distante y áspero con otros.

Al final del día, creo que en el original nunca terminé por tener una idea concreta de él. Mucho tuvo que ver el cómo los jugadores le daban a responder a los diversos diálogos opcionales. Con unos era alguien decente, con otros se pasaba de patán, así que siempre creí que tenía la personalidad dispersa. Cosa que, hablando de manera objetiva, está bien lograda porque es un tema importante de FF7 y de Cloud en general; de eso trata su arco, es su historia. Digo, ni él mismo tiene idea de quién es realmente durante gran parte del juego, ¿cómo vamos a saberlo nosotros?

Entonces viene la escena de la Corriente Vital donde el Cloud verdadero hace aparición después de mucho tiempo y aunque ahora soy consciente de ello, en su momento no lo vi. Creo que tenía tan implantada en la mente la idea de un Cloud sin personalidad fija, que vi el retorno de su yo real como otro de sus rasgos errantes. El hecho de que el Cloud real no estuviera mucho tiempo en pantalla como su falsa persona no ayudó. Me habría gustado experimentarlo una mayor parte del juego y no sólo en la parte final. Me habría encariñado más.

La siguiente versión de Cloud que conocí fue la de Crisis Core.

La ironía del asunto es que allí lo amé. Me pareció adorable, patoso, raro y tan socialmente inepto que era precioso y encantador a su modo. Me dio mucha ternurita, en serio. Y fue cuando entendí que este era el Cloud real, esta debió ser la imagen de Cloud con la que debí quedarme al final del original. Comprendí que este es Cloud y pensé que entonces no era tan malo como pensé que era.

Obviamente nunca lo creí un mal personaje. Por el contrario, Cloud es uno de los protagonistas más complejos, interesantes y con mejor historia que he visto. El hecho de que se hubiese convertido en un héroe casual, más por las circunstancias que atravesó que por el deseo de serlo, me parece asombroso. Él no pidió pasar toda la desgracia que vivió; no pensó en involucrarse tanto con Sephiroth, pero le tocó a él y tuvo que arreglárselas para seguir adelante y triunfar, algo que es fantástico. Cloud está muy completo como individuo.

Eso no quiere decir que sea mi favorito, pero CC me ayudó mucho a encariñarme con él y a comprender mejor el lore del juego con respecto a su arco y a ver que este Cloud, el real, era el que se nos mostró al final del original.

Pero luego vino otra versión de él: Advent Children Complete y ah... se me volvió a caer.

Ahora, siempre procuro ser objetiva y analizando bien la película junto a los fragmentos que leí de las novelas, tengo el cuadro completo de por qué Cloud actuó como lo hizo en ACC. Su depresión era comprensible. Su sentir de no merecer ser feliz a causa de sus problemas de autoestima, su tremenda culpabilidad por dejar morir a dos seres queridos, su sentir de ineptitud por no poder ayudar a Denzel y contraer Geostigma como tiro de gracia, sentenciándolo a una muerte que lo obligaría a dejar atrás a su familia.

Sí, claro que tenía razones para deprimirse, que se le cerrara el mundo y viera todo a través de anteojeras. De hecho, me sorprende que tuviera las fuerzas para caminar, seguir atendiendo pedidos y pelear. Pero, pero… me desesperó en gran medida en esta película, ugh. En serio que no podía con él.

Pero seré justa con él. En esa época yo estaba atravesando por una situación complicada en sentido emocional y no necesitaba depresión en mi vida, en serio que no. Por eso también me chocó tanto la actitud de Cloud, porque meditando bien el asunto, supe que estando en su lugar yo habría actuado igual o peor que él, cosa que no fue fácil de reconocer, que terminó por amargarme más y mirarlo con mayor recelo.

Lo sé, soy mezquina, pero así son las cosas conmigo. Cuando un personaje da de lleno en una manía mía o en un rasgo negativo de mi personalidad, tiendo a resentirme con dicho personaje porque no me gusta identificarme por mis malas características y a Cloud le tocó que se pareció a mí en ese aspecto.

Al final terminé la película sabiendo que Cloud había mejorado y que ahora podría ser feliz, pero me pasó lo mismo que en el juego original. Tener poco tiempo de pantalla con un Cloud más determinado e inspirador no ayudó a que su actitud de depresivo se borrara de mi mente y es sencillo recordarlo por su actitud sombría en lugar de pensarlo como alguien recuperado.

Y fue ya después de muchos años de tener esa imagen lúgubre de él en mi mente que llega el Remake y vuelve a darme otra perspectiva de este sujeto.

A lo bien que Cloud del Remake me está gustando bastante, no voy a mentir. Me hace reír muchísimo, porque veo con claridad lo mucho que se esfuerza por ser ese tipo guay y distante que cree ser, pero a veces el acto le sale fatal y el tiro termina saliéndole por la culata. Y con todos los personajes tiene un momento así de que cree estar diciendo o haciendo lo correcto y la reacción del otro te dice que este tipo es un caso perdido, jaja. Es hilarante, de veras.

Creo que estoy siendo muy mala con él por burlarme tanto de ver su actuación irse pro la borda; al fin y al cabo, el pobre sufre de TEPT grave, tiene alucinaciones, tiene amnesia, su mente es un completo licuado de recuerdos y cuentos. No es como para que me esté burlando de él… pero no puedo evitarlo. Remake Cloud es diferente de todo lo que creía que era y eso es genial.

Y bueno, esa es básicamente mi experiencia con nuestro protagonista. La verdad es que Cloud es el personaje que más me ha hecho experimentar sentimientos tan opuestos a lo largo de la recopilación de FF7 y le agradezco por eso. Que un personaje te cause tantas emociones contradictorias a lo largo de su vida muestra que está muy bien logrado. Espero con ansias conocer qué más me hará sentir en las próximas partes.

[leathenorthernlight]

Vaya, vaya. En el Remake sabemos que Cloud tiene una manía por seguir a Tifa con la mirada. Pues parece que en el juego original tenía la misma costumbre. Cloud, cariño, eres demaisado evidente.

----------------------------------------------

So, we know in Remake Cloud has this tendency to stare at Tifa and follow her with his eyes. Well, it seems like OG Cloud had the same tendency. He is so obvious.

[leathenorthernlight]

Giving so much needed love to this papa bear.

✧･ﾟ: *✧ Barret appreciation post for the @barretmonth ✧*:･ﾟ✧

[leathenorthernlight]

My experience with FFVII

My experience with FFVII is funny.

As I’ve stated before, 7 wasn’t the first FF I knew. 6 was the first one, it was the one I grew up with, the only one I’ve ever played, and I love it, I love it a lot. It’s my favorite FF for a lot of reasons. But, as I’ve said before as well, 7 is the one I’ve dedicated more time.

It might be because it has had a lot of content since the OG came out, so I’ve been more invested on the 7 world a lot more. Or maybe it’s because it’s the most popular one out there and I always end up finding something more about it. Or perhaps it’s because I really enjoy and like the themes and concepts that 7 handles. In any case, the fact is that FF7 is the one I’m more immersed in.

The first playthrough I ever watched was around six or seven years ago. I liked the story a lot. I had troubles loving the characters, but that’s normal since I was not the one playing them, but it’s also true that I just wanted to know the story rather than being attached to the characters. And man, the story did not disappointed.

I already knew that Aerith would die, and the gamer said so a few times over the playthrough, so when the moment came, it didn’t leave the impression that it should have. Even so, I still thought it was a very important and shocking scene. I think that whole scene is pretty well done. It didn’t matter that I knew what was coming, it still was powerful. And the fight with Jenova with Aerith’s theme on the background was a punch right to the feelings. A very well done scene.

However, what ended up exploding my mind was everything after that. Everything that happen in the North Crater was something I did not expect. It’s true that we had clues about something being wrong with Cloud, but that was too much. It was as if everything I knew up until now wasn’t real. Which is awesome because that’s 7 main theme: reality vs. illusion.

Cloud’s breakdown, how he literally became a traitor giving the Black Materia to Sephiroth, Weapon awaking. Ugh, everything was amazing. One of my favorites parts in the whole game, no doubts.

Then, the revelation that Meteor has been invoked. At that moment, despair hit you with all its might.

Then, the scene in the Lifestream came and it was beautiful and we finally got to know the real Cloud, with his memories fixed. What is more, learning about the real role he played in the Nibelheim event was amazing. It never cross my mind that he was actually just a grunt and not a SOLDIER. One of the biggest reveals, I think.

Then, the rest of the game kept me at the edge of my seat. I wanted to know how everything would end. I wanted to know if the team would defeat Sephiroth, if Holy would stop Meteor, if there would be a happy ending after so much hopelessness. And I really think that ending with the Lifestream helping Holy and that little glimpse of Aerith at the end was perfect.

I really liked OG, which led me to search more about it. Actually, that first playthrough I watched was pretty complete, so I watched the secret scene with Zack after Cloud gets his memories back and you go to Shinra mansion. The gamer said that everyone who had played Crisis Core would know exactly who Zack was, so I went and looked for CC playthroughs, and I liked it a lot. Never mind Genesis who is the worst character ever created, but in general, I loved this prequel.

Thanks to CC I loved Zack like a maniac, I liked Aerith more, I warmed up to Cloud, I understood a bit more about Sephiroth and overall, it helped me to get a better picture of the world and lore of FF7. I really enjoyed the new perspective we had as Shinra workers. I might write about my experience with this in another time. Point is I liked it.

Then, searching FF7 related stuff on Internet, I found out there was a movie, so I watched it. I watched both versions: Advent Children, and AC Complete. I liked the Complete version more, but I enjoyed them both. They helped me to see how our characters were doing after the end of game and how the ghosts of their past weren’t as buried as they thought.

I also watched The Last Order OVA and I know it’s not canon, but I liked it anyway because I love Zack and I wanted more content with him. I haven’t had the chance to read the canon novels aside from some fragments here and there, as well as the Ultimanias. I haven’t watch any gameplays of Before Crisis nor Dirge of Cerberus, but I plan to do it, eventually.

I’ll admit that the Remake is what made me remember how much I love this game. I’ve also liked what they did with it, for the most part. I have some doubts, worries and disagreements about what the devs have done or plan to do, which I might talk about another time, but I’ve loved it overall.

I’m excited to see the next part. I just hope they don’t drag this out. They cannot do more than five parts or it would be a pain having to wait one part every two or three years… Although, if I’m honest, I’ll probably forget my passion about the game and will move to another thing until the second part is here. That’s me, alright.

Well, that was my experience with FFVII. I’m planing on writing a series where I’ll talk about the characters, my opinion and experience with them, as well as my feelings about Zerith and Cloti.

[leathenorthernlight]

Mi experiencia con FFVII

Mi experiencia con FFVII es curiosa.

Como dije antes, el 7 no fue el primer FF que conocí. El 6 fue el primero que conocí, con el que crecí, el único que he podido jugar y lo amo, lo amo mucho. Es mi FF favorito por varias razones. Pero, como también dije, el 7 es al que más tiempo le he dedicado.

Quizás tenga que ver con el hecho de que hay mucho material que ha salido desde que el juego original salió y por lo mismo me he visto inmersa más en el mundo del 7. O quizás sea porque en términos generales, me gusta mucho todo el tema y concepto que maneja el 7. Sea como sea, el caso es que es el FF al que más le he invertido.

El primer gameplay de FFVII que vi sería alrededor de siete años atrás o por allí. La historia me gustó bastante. Inicialmente tuve un poco de problemas para encariñarme con los personajes, lo que es natural cuando no era yo quien jugaba, pero también es cierto que lo que más quería en el momento era saber la historia y no me decepcionó.

Como es de esperarse y gracias al Internet, yo sabía que Aeris iba a morir y el jugador que veía lo dejó claro varias veces durante el transcurso del gameplay, así que ese momento no me dejó el gran impacto que me hubiese gustado tener. Siguió siendo impresionante porque Aeris era un personaje principal en el equipo y su muerte, más que triste, fue repentina y seguro que en su momento fue sorpresiva y hasta casi irreal.

Lo que sí puedo decir es que la escena está muy bien lograda, pues aunque sabía lo que venía, sí me quedó claro que era un punto clave para la historia. Y luego de eso, tener que pelear con Jenova con el tema de Aeris como fondo, uff, un puñetazo directo al corazón. O sea, la escena de verdad está muy bien hecha.

Sin embargo, lo que terminó por explotar mi mente fue lo que pasó después de eso. Lo que pasa en el Cráter definitivamente no me lo esperaba. Cierto que a lo largo del juego ya se habían visto indicios de que algo malo pasaba con Cloud, pero eso de allí fue demasiado. Fue como si todo lo que creía que era verdad no lo fuera. Lo que es asombroso porque ese es el tema que trata el 7 sobre la realidad versus la ilusión.

El colapso mental de Cloud, el que literalmente se trasformara en un traidor y le entregara la Materia Negra a Sefirot, el despertar de Arma. Todo eso fue simplemente asombroso. Sin duda es de mis partes favoritas del juego.

Y luego la revelación de que Meteorito ha sido invocado. Uy no, en esos momentos la desesperanza se hace más presente que nunca.

La escena en la Corriente vital también me dejó muy marcada porque es hermosa y porque Cloud por fin recupera su identidad perdida. Lo que es más, saber cuál fue el verdadero papel de Cloud en el evento de Nibelheim fue grandioso. Jamás me hubiera imaginado que hubiese sido un soldado de infantería cualquiera y no un SOLDADO. Es que esa es otra de las grandes revelaciones creo yo.

El resto del juego te mantiene muy deseosa de querer saber cómo acaba. Saber si el grupo podrá derrotar a Sefirot, si Sagrado conseguirá detener a Meteorito, si habrá un final feliz en medio de tanta tragedia. Y creo que el final fue perfecto con ese pequeño vistazo a Aeris después de que ayuda a nuestros héroes con la Corriente vital.

El juego original en verdad me gustó mucho, lo que me orilló a buscar un poco más. El gameplay que vi era bastante completo y tenía la escena secreta con Zack cuando se va a la mansión Shinra después de restaurar la memoria de Cloud. El que jugaba el juego comentó que quien había jugado Crisis Core sabría bien quién era Zack, así que fui en busca de CC después de terminar con el original y la verdad es que me encantó. Mucho tiene que ver que era en más calidad, con actores de voces y todo, pero en general me gustó bastante… dejando de lado a Génesis que es lo peor que tiene el juego y con diferencia.

Gracias a CC amé a Zack como una loca, me encariñé mucho más con Aeris, me gustó el Cloud de allí, entendí un poco mejor a Sefirot y en general me ayudó a tener un cuadro más amplio del mundo de FF7. Especialmente porque estamos viendo una perspectiva completamente diferente como interinos trabajadores de Shinra. Quizás abunde un poco más con este tema en un futuro.

Luego, vagando por Internet me enteré de que había una película y obviamente tenía que verla. Me vi las dos versiones, Advent Children y luego AC Complete y también me ayudaron a tener un punto de vista más amplio del mundo y los personajes ya después de la línea principal del juego. También me vi la OVA de The Last Order y aunque sé que no es canon, me gustó porque amo a Zack y quería más contenido con él.

No he tenido la oportunidad de leer las novelas oficiales, sólo algunos fragmentos, así como fragmentos de algunas Ultimania, y tampoco he visto gamplays de Before Crisis ni Dirge of Cerberus, pero planeo hacerlo porque quiero consumir todo el contenido oficial del 7, porque como dije, amo el concepto, el mundo y lo personajes.

Pero admito que fue gracias al Remake que recordé otra vez el amor que tengo por este juego y la verdad es que el Remake me ha gustado bastante. Tengo una que otra duda, preocupación y desacuerdo en cuanto a lo que han hecho o piensan hacer los desarrolladores y quizás también hable de hecho en su momento. Pero en general, me ha encantado el resultado final del Remake.

Espero ansiosa la próxima parte. Solo espero que no lo hagan eterno y que no sean más de cinco partes las que piensen hacer porque sería demasiado agotador tener que esperar… Aunque probablemente en un par de meses se me pase la pasión por el juego y lo deje en el olvido por años hasta que aparezca la segunda parte y me vuelvan las ganas. Así soy yo.

Y nada, esta es mi experiencia con FFVII. Pienso escribir ahora una serie en la que hablaré de los personajes del juego, mi opinión y experiencia con ellos, así como mi sentir sobre Zerith y Cloti.

[leathenorthernlight]

Aerith did put effort into her relationship with Zack

Alright. I’ve read more than once that some people question the efforts Aerith made into her relationship with Zack, and how it was one sided on his part. And since Zerith was my original OTP in this fandom, I cannot not try to defend it, so here we go.

So, as many bloggers have said, Crisis Core is about Zack, the game is played from his point of view; we saw things from his eyes, so we cannot know with certainty about Aerith’s feelings or actions when she is away form Zack. But I think the game gives us enough clues to prove her interest in him.

First of all, she confessed wanting to spend more time with him and accepted to go out with him. Whether is because Zack is attractive or because he is strong or because he is unbelievable charming, it doesn’t matter. The fact is that she was interested in him to the point of accepting his date offer. That’s how relationships begin. So much so, that she told the salesman that even though he wasn’t her boyfriend, there was something there, which is mutual attraction.

Then, she calls him, constantly. Actually, she is the one who takes the initiative by calling him. First when he is going to fight Bahamut, then when she calls him to make the flower wagon, and then when he goes to Nibelhem. Something interesting about this last call is that she tried it multiple times. That “I finally got through” says so. Maybe the reception over there wasn’t the best, but she tried and tried until she got it. And that’s Aerith, y'all. She is not quitter. She tries and tries until she does it. It’s one of her good traits.

It’s true they have few calls throughout the game, but it’s clear there were many more off screen, and I’m a firm believer that she started most of them. Zack’s work was going to see her every time he could. And, that aspect of their relationship reminds me a lot to my parents, tbh. My dad worked out of the country for more than twenty years, and he only went to visit us once a year. But mom always called him on weekends. And what do you think? They’ve been married for more than thirty years.

Actually, that’s another matter that shows how Aertih was being serious: it was a kinda long-distance relationship since he traveled a lot, and she still decided to go for it. The amount of work a long-distance relationship requiers is not easy. It doesn’t matter if we are no even talking about romance, even friendship requiers a lot of work. Long-distance relationships are difficult by default. Even so, Zack and Aerith kept in touch for almost two years. If she wouldn’t have put effort from her part, they wouldn’t last that long.

One more thing: Zack was a SOLDIER. Zack worked for Shinra and Aerith knew it. Shinra, the company that held her and her mother captives. The company that had the Turks watching her constantly. The company that could take away her freedom again. Can you imagine? If I were Aerith, I wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with this SOLDIER boy, who may have been accomplice of the evil ways of the big corporation. I wouldn’t have wanted to risk myself. But Aerith did risk herself. Why? Because she was interested and put effort into that new relationship.

Something else that Remake has shown us is that Elmyra knew about Zack. The fact that she, as a mom -a very strong a strict mom at that-, allowed her daughter to continue seeing this guy involved with Shinra, says a lot about what Aerith felt for him and how serious she was. The fact that Aerith told Elmyra about Zack says a lot too. It’s not worth it to be scolded or have a discussion with your loving mom for a fleeting relationship. But Zack and Aerith’s relationship was not fleeting nor superficial.

What is more, her feelings were so deep, that Elmyra noticed how bad she took the disappearance of Zack, which is why she tells Cloud to get away from her, because she doesn’t want her daughter to go through that pain again, because she knows what it feels like to lose someone enlisted in the military. And if it hurts that bad, is because it’s deep and serious.

As a bonus, here are the obvious moments that show how Aerith did put on her part.

When she offers emotional support to Zack.

The fact she wrote him 89 letters in four years even though she did not know anything about him.

And the way she kept their shared promise of wearing pink for when they would see each other, in silent and longing hope of seeing him again.

So yeah. Aerith did put effort on her relationship with Zack.

[leathenorthernlight]

Aeris puso de su parte en su relación con Zack

Okey, he visto por allí ya más de una vez que alguna gente se cuestiona o pone en duda que Aeris hubiese sido seria en su relación con Zack, o que no hubiese puesto mucho de su parte. Y dado que Zerith fue mi OTP original en este fandom, no puedo no intentar defenderla, así que allí vamos.

Para empezar y como lo han dicho otros bloggers, Crisis Core es un videojuego sobre Zack, está contado desde su punto de vista, vemos las cosas a través de sus ojos, así que no podemos saber con certeza de los sentimientos y acciones de Aeris cuando él no está presente. Pero creo que el juego nos da varios indicios de que Aeris está interesada y se lo toma en serio.

Para empezar, confesó querer pasar tiempo con él y aceptó salir con él. Ya sea porque Zack es bien parecido o porque parece alguien fuerte o porque es súper encantador, da igual, el caso es que se interesó en él a tal grado de aceptar su oferta de tener una cita. Por algo se empiezan las relaciones, ¿no? Es tanto así, que hasta le dijo al vendedor de los lazos que aunque no es su novio, algo hay allí. Al menos y de principio, hay atracción mutua.

Luego, ella lo llama, seguido. De hecho, ella es la que toma la iniciativa en llamarlo. Primero cuando Zack va a luchar contra Bahamut, luego cuando lo llama para hacer el carrito de flores y luego cuando Zack está en Nibelheim. Algo interesante de notar en esta última, es que ella lo intentó varias veces. Ese “Al fin” así lo indica. Quizás la recepción no era muy buena allí y no conseguía que entrara la llamada, pero lo intentó y lo intentó hasta que lo consiguió. Y así es Aeris. Ella no es derrotista. Ella intenta e intenta hasta que lo consigue. Es una de las buenas cosas que tiene.

Son pocas las llamadas entre ellos que se ven a lo largo del videojuego, pero es claro que hubo muchas de esas en el transcurso de su relación y soy firme creyente de que ella las iniciaba. El trabajo de Zack era ir a verla cuando podía. La verdad, en ese aspecto me recuerda mucho a mis padres. Él trabajó por más de veinte años en el extranjero y nos venía a ver una vez al año, pero mi mamá siempre procuraba llamarlo todos los fines de semana. ¿Y qué creen? Llevan más de treinta años juntos.

De hecho, ese es otro asunto que indica que Aeris era seria con él. Que era una relación a distancia, por decirlo así, y de todos modos aceptó tenerla. ¿Saben la cantidad de trabajo que requiere una relación a distancia? Y no importa si se habla de sólo amistad, las relaciones a distancia, todas, son difíciles. Si uno de los implicados no pone de su parte, se acaba, así de fácil y de sencillo. Pero Zack y Aeris mantuvieron siempre el contacto por cerca de dos años. Si ella no hubiese puesto de su parte, no hubiese durado tanto.

Otra cosa: Zack era un SOLDADO. Zack trabajaba para Shinra y Aeris lo sabía. Shinra, la compañía que tuvo cautiva a Aerith y su madre durante años. La compañía que tenía a los Turks vigilándola constantemente. La compañía que podía volver a quitarle su libertad en algún momento. ¿Se imaginan? Si yo hubiese sido Aeris, yo no hubiese querido absolutamente nada con este SOLDADO, probable cómplice de las maldades de la corporación. Yo no querría ponerme en riesgo innecesario, pero ella decidió seguir tratándolo, decidió tener una relación con él sin importarle ese hecho. Si no estuviera interesada en seguir con él, seguir viéndolo, seguir hablándole, ¿por qué iba a arriesgarse tanto?

Algo más que el Remake nos ha mostrado: Elmyra sabía de Zack. El hecho de que ella como madre, y una madre muy fuerte y estricta, aceptara que su hija viera a alguien involucrado con Shinra, dice mucho de lo que Aeris pudo sentir por él y de lo seria que era. El hecho de que Aeris le contara de él también dice mucho. No vale la pena ser regañada ni discutir con tu madre por una relación fugaz, pero lo de Zack y Aeris no era superficial ni fugaz.

Es más, tan serio era, que Elmyra notó lo mal que Aeris lo pasó con la desaparición de Zack en su última misión y por eso le dice que Cloud que no se acerque más a ella. Porque no quiere arriesgar que su hija vuelva a atravesar por un dolor tan grande como es el perder a alguien que trabaja en la milicia y porque ella también sabe por experiencia lo doloroso que es. Y si duele es porque es profundo y formal.

Y como bonus, he aquí los momentos obvios que indican que Aeris ponía de su parte en la relación:

Cuando le ofrece su apoyo emocional a Zack.

El hecho de que le escribió 89 cartas en un periodo de cuatro años en el que no supo absolutamente nada de él.

Y que cumpliera la promesa que hicieron de vestir de rosa para cuando volvieran a encontrarse, en silenciosa y anhelante esperanza de que un día lo vería de nuevo.

Así que sí. Aeris sí puso de su parte en su relación con Zack.

[leathenorthernlight]

No me lo creo/I can’t believe it.

Ah, no me lo creo que me hice un tumblr nada más para poder expresar mi amor por el Remake de FFVII. Es que no me lo creo.

La verdad es que nunca estuve muy al pendiente de cuándo saldría. Vi el anuncio original hace... ¿qué? ¿Cinco años? Pero jamás estuve al pendiente de su salida. Así que cuando me enteré hará un par de meses atrás que salió. Oh, Dios, el hype fue increíble. Me gustan mucho los videojuegos, aunque no soy una gamer en práctica. Lo soy en teoría y por eso me dedico más a ver gameplays, pero igual, a mí me gusta la historia, sobre todo de los FF. Y aunque FFVII tampoco es mi FF favorito, es al que más le he invertido tiempo, por extraño que parezca.

El caso es que el Remake me hizo redescubrir el amor que le tenía al juego... a toda la compilación, de hecho... aunque todavía necesito conocer más a fondo Before Crisis y Dirge of Cerberus.

Estoy emocionada por dejar mis experiencias sobre FFVII y del mundo de FF en general, pero mientras tanto, disfrutaré de Cloti y Zerith que son mis ships y me dan vida.

---------------------------------------------

I can’t believe I got into tumblr just to express my love for FFVII Remake. I just can’t believe it.

I never kept an eye for the Remake, honestly. I watched the first time they announced it will come out like... five years ago? But I was never on the watch. So, when I finally got the news a couple of months ago, I was exited. The hype was real. I’ve not played it, not gonna lie. I’m not a gamer and for now I have not the means, but I love videogames, I really do, specially those with good story like a lot of FF games. And even though FFVII is not my favorite either, it’s the one I’ve invested more time into.

Remake made me rediscover the love I have for the game... for all the compilation actually... tough I still have to learn a lot more about Before Crisis and Dirge of Cerberus.

I’m looking forward to share with you my experience about FFVII and the FF world in general. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to enjoy Cloti and Zerith, which are my ships and give me life.