#i know absolutely nothign about flowers

[flowercrown-bard]

A little gift for the lovely @thingr2  <3 I hope you have a most wonderful day, friend

word count: about 2.5k

ship: Geraskier

summary: Geralt receives flowers from a secret admirer. What a stupid gift to give him. (modern au/ flowershop au)

Roses and Cornflowers

Geralt’s face is a stone mask as he stares at his doorstep, only cracking the tiniest bit when he bent down to pick up the bouquet, just as he had done almost every day since he had moved to this town to open his new shop almost two months ago.

“A gift from a secret admirer,” Lambert had called it with a shit-eating grin when Geralt had been stupid and drunk enough to tell his brothers about the flowers he kept finding on the doorsteps of his shop.

Eskel had rolled his eyes at Lambert but then he had shrugged and said that that wasn’t the worst start to living in a new place.

No, Geralt supposed for most people -unlike him - receiving flowers would be a nice thing. But then again, most people - unlike him - didn’t own flowershops.

Why would anyone give flowers to a florist? What had started out as something Geralt might even be looking forward to, if he were completely honest with himself, had started to become an annoyance. At this point, it must clearly be some kind of stupid joke.

With a scoff he went inside, almost tempted to just throw the bouquet into the bin, but putting them away in a vase at the last moment against his better judgement, before setting up the shop for the day. Though his movements came with practiced precision, his eyes and mind wandered back to the bouquet again.

Maybe it wasn’t a joke after all. Though it was mainly made up of buttercups, cornflowers and other complimentary flowers – or weeds rather - bouquets were far too expensive to buy one every day for such a long time just to make fun of someone. Maybe the ‘admirer’ just thought that as a florist Geralt would appreciate flowers all the more?

And perhaps he would – he certainly knew how to appreciate good work – if it didn’t mean that whoever got him the flowers must be buying them at the only other flower shop in town that oh so conveniently had his shop just across the street from him. As far as romantic gestures went, supporting his rival was about the worst thing an admirer could do.

It wasn’t as if the other shop wasn’t already thriving and luring in all the customers Geralt might have gotten if the other shop wasn’t there.

If you wanted to call it a flower shop, that is.

Wish upon a Dandelion was not what Geralt would call professional. Though he had to begrudgingly admit that there was a certain craft to the way the flowers were arranges and the florist undeniably had an eye for colours, his choice of flowers was atrocious.

No respectable florist would even think about selling wildflowers and weeds and as if that wasn’t already enough, Geralt’s rival put them on the same shelf as roses and other normal flowers.

Then again, Jaskier didn’t seem like the kind of person who put much value into being respectable. Too openly was he toeing the line of what was an acceptable amount of friendliness between him and his customers, as far as Geralt could see through the window.

Not that Geralt knew much about how to treat customers correctly. Maybe he would, if Jaskier didn’t prevent them all from coming into his shop.

It didn’t matter how much care Geralt put into arranging the flowers in the display window and how hard he worked to keep his flowers in perfect shape, barely anyone even grazed his shop with so much as a glance.

And why would they? He too would rather go to the man with the bright smile and warm blue eyes that crinkled beautifully when he talked about his flowers. Anyone who met Jaskier even once would want to see him again.

Geralt should know. Ever since Jaskier had strolled into his shop on the day he had first opened, welcoming him into the street and asking about Geralt, he had found himself wishing he would come in here again, despite his ridiculous choice in flowers.

But Geralt wasn’t stupid enough to think he would ever see more of Jaskier again than the glimpses he caught through the window. He had made sure of that when he had done nothing but grunt and stare at Jaskier in the way that Lambert always said intimidated people. Sure enough, Jaskier’s face had fallen and left the shop, never to return again. And apart from the times he waved over at Geralt when they closed shops at the same time, he didn’t show any sign of wanting to speak with Geralt again.

Geralt pretended that he wasn’t disappointed.

Just like he pretended that he didn’t feel a strange pang in his chest whenever he saw how other people earned Jaskier’s easy smiles and charming words that Geralt so stupidly had rejected.

Hell, even his ‘secret admirer’ probably got to feel those brilliant smiles on him.

The thought made Geralt pause.

No one, absolutely no one would admire Geralt if they also knew Jaskier.

He didn’t know why he felt so disappointed at the realisation. He had never wanted an admirer. Not some stranger at least. He shouldn’t care if the person who got him the flowers was doing so as a backwards way of saying that everyone preferred Jaskier’s shop and that Geralt wasn’t wanted here. But whatever reason the gifter had to mock Geralt, it hurt that they were doing so by using Jaskier’s flowers.

He knew the sudden anger that boiled up inside him was irrational, but that didn’t stop him from abandoning his tasks.

He acted without thinking, grabbing peonies, roses and lilies – flowers that actually belonged in flower shops – in a bouquet. Before he could think this through, he was storming out of his shop and across the street.

The bells above the door chimed as Geralt marched into the Wish upon a Dandelion and Jaskier’s eyes snapped up at him, making Geralt’s breath hitch. For the briefest moment, the typical smile on Jaskier’s face froze when his eyes fell on Geralt, before they darted down to the flowers in his hand and the smile inexplicably brightened.

“Geralt,” he said and somehow managed to sound excited, “what are you doing here?”

Without ceremony, Geralt slammed the bouquet on the counter, inwardly flinching at his own harsh movement. “Teaching you how bouquets work.”

Jaskier let out a startled laugh. “What?”

“I don’t know what game is being played here, but you don’t put weeds in a bouquet for someone you want to talk to.” He pointed at the bouquet he had brought. “This is what you give someone if you have romantic intentions.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, if I had known you didn’t like those kinds of flowers I wouldn’t have put them in there,” Jaskier said softly, fingers twitching.

“It’s something all florists should know. If you’re going to ruin my business and my day, at least do it with flowers that belong in a bouquet. And tell whoever if getting those flowers for me that I don’t want them.”

“Oh.” Jaskier’s voice was painfully small and his eyes were everywhere but on Geralt. “You really dislike them that much?”

The quiet question was like a punch in the gut. As if a tight had snapped, all tension left Geralt in an instant.

He rubbed a hand down his face and groaned.

“No, they…I don’t dislike them. They are fine.” He sighed and looked away. “I just don’t like getting them. You…the colours are nice.”

Even out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the way Jaskier’s face morphed from crestfallen to an expression that could rival the sun.

“Thank you! I had hoped you’d like the colours. The buttercups do look a bit like your eyes, don’t they? Though of course not quite as pretty. It’s really hard to find the perfect flower to match the colour. It’s a shame there are no golden flowers.”

Geralt huffed, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Well, it’s easy for you. Your eyes really look exactly like cornflowers.”

Even as he said those words, his mind came to a screeching halt. No. It couldn’t be. His brows drew together as he searched Jaskier’s face for something, any sign that he hadn’t gotten this all wrong. “Jaskier? Did you -?”

“I’m sorry,” the words rushed out of Jaskier’s mouth and Geralt’s stomach twisted as a panicked look replaced Jaskier’s smile.

“Why?” It was too much. It couldn’t possibly be Jaskier. Because if it was, then that would mean that Geralt wouldn’t have to hope for a chance to meet those blue eyes through a window or that he wouldn’t be gifted with Jaskier’s breathtaking smile again.

“I swear I didn’t know you don’t like getting the bouquets. If I had known I would have stopped – I will stop -”

Geralt’s blood ran cold at the words, but his mouth couldn’t form any words, didn’t even know what he wanted to say, except that this was all wrong, that he didn’t mind getting the bouquets from Jaskier, that he was the only one he would want to get them from.

“I just… you always seemed kind of alone,” Jaskier said, wincing at his own words, “and you are new here and I know how hard it can be to make friends, so I thought that maybe… but I will stop.”

Before Geralt could even open his mouth to protest, to explain, to say something, the bells chimed again and the palpable relief on Jaskier’s face as he turned away from Geralt and towards the customer made Geralt’s heart clench.

It was more than obvious that Jaskier didn’t want to be alone with him right now and Geralt could more than understand it. Without saying another word, Geralt turned back and left, going back to his own shop where the last bouquet he would get from Jaskier stood lonely on the counter.

--

Jaskier heaved a heavy sigh as he walked down the street to open the shop for the day, already dreading the day to come.

Yesterday, he had done his best to keep smiling and making his customers welcome, but it was damn near impossible after his talk with Geralt – and the unmistakable rejection. He had done his best to keep himself busy, but he had found his mind drifting time and time again to what kind of bouquet to make Geralt next, before reality mercilessly came crashing down on him again.

Rejection was nothing new to him, of course. It was kind of a given when you fell in love fast and hard, any yet Jaskier had been foolish enough to hope that maybe if he sent Geralt enough flowers, they could at the very least become amicable shop neighbours. When he had seen through the window how Geralt put each of his bouquets into a vase, he had thought that maybe they could even be friends. Any yesterday, for a beautiful moment as he had seen Geralt come in, a bouquet of the most beautiful roses in hand, he had hoped that –

He should have known better.

The only consolation Jaskier had was that Geralt had forgotten to take his bouquet back with him as he had practically stormed out of his shop. At least, Jaskier had something to take home with him. At least the flowers had allowed him to pretend even if just for a little bit that Geralt’s hadn’t rejected him as harshly as he had.

But, well, the fact that Jaskier wasn’t at his typical early hour at the shop already, preparing the newest arrangement to put on Geralt’s doorstep before he arrived was all the reminder that his little fantasy of charming Geralt was over.

He dragged his fingers through his hair in frustration, just as he reached his shop.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

It couldn’t be. Geralt wouldn’t –

Every so slowly, as if it might still turn out to be a dream, Jaskier crouched down to pick up the flowers laying on his doorstep, caressing them carefully, not daring to even breath.

The sound of a door falling shut behind him, made Jaskier turn.

And there he was. Standing in front of his flower shop stood Geralt, looking somewhat insecure and uncomfortable as he caught Jaskier’s eye.

Jaskier froze, not knowing what to do, but as he lingered at the door shifting his weight from one foot to the other and clutching the flowers tightly, Geralt started to move.

Jaskier’s eyes widened and his heart was hammering in his chest, as Geralt walked up to him, slowly as if he wanted to give Jaskier the chance to unlock his door and flee into the Dandelion if he wanted.

He didn’t.

For some inexplicable reason, Geralt must not have excepted him to stay, for when he reached Jaskier he didn’t open his mouth, just looking at Jaskier with a look in his eyes that made it hard to breath.

He swallowed thickly.

“You know,” Jaskier said, cracking a hesitant smile, “this isn’t a good bouquet to give someone you don’t want to talk to.”

Red heat crept up Geralt’s cheeks and his eyes darted to the side before landing back on Jaskier.

“And what about giving them to say that I am sorry and that I would very much like to talk with this someone again?”

Jaskier’s heart skipped a beat and his mouth went dry. “Yeah, that…that would be a good bouquet.”

He bit his lip, knowing he was pushing his luck, but the words slipped out before he could stop them. “But I would also say that the roses, peonies and lilies might be sending a bit of a wrong message still. I’ve been told they would be used for something a bit more romantic.”

For an agonizingly long moment, Geralt said nothing. When he finally opened his mouth again, a tentative but hopeful smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

“If…if that were the message I wanted to send, would you accept the flowers?”

The smile that spread over Jaskier’s face was so wide that threatened to hurt his cheeks. “I would, if I were allowed to give you flowers in return.”

Something like astonishment shone in Geralt’s eyes.

“I missed your bouquet today,” he admitted sheepishly.

“Don’t worry,” Jaskier said, pleasant warmth spreading through his chest. “My bouquets might not be quite as romantic, but I will make you as many as you like. Who knows, maybe I’ll even learn how to make proper bouquets with the right help,” he added with a wink.

The shy smile on Geralt’s face turned into something radiant. “Your arrangements are already perfect.” He hesitated, before adding, “But cornflowers are my favourite.”

[moodysnowflake]

First of all, gigantic

SPOILER ALERT

'Cause everybody shoud say it before starting.

Sure, it's not really a spoiler by definition, 'cause it's been 23 years, but still.

It's almost like with Harry Potter. Who read the books knows, and if you just started, it would be a really mean and dickish move to say anything.

Just because you've played FFVII, it doesn't give you the permission to rob the experience from new players, if they try not to get spoiled. Even if the game has been out there for two decades.

It would be like if, knowing the actual plot by Nomura-san himself, I will leak it you, old player.

You wouldn't like that very much now, would you?

Also, please let's keep it human and reasonable, this is just a stream of consciousness and my personal thoughts, I'm not going to insult anyone, nor players, nor Square Enix, so I would appreciate the same respect. Thank you.

I've already written stuff so far in order not to reveal, and if you, knew player, are insisting on continuing...well, what can I say? You've got a big storm coming; you just decided you didin't care, I'm not going to be responsible for ruining your experience. I warned you, you've spoiled yourself, and I'm sorry for that.

That being said.

This is exactly what it looks like, a huge steam blow, to get all my convoluted trains of thoughts out of my head, and see if someone else is perceiving the same things as me or, if not, is able to discuss it in a civil and constructive manner.

What I think about FFVII:R story and ending.

To start, I will be referring to the gameplay's events as timeline 2, and the original as timeline 1. You'll get why.

I think that, despite the dubious ending, we've all been already played, and what we think being the first destiny's divergence, a.k.a. Zack's survival, is actually a flashback of timeline 2. So yes, something that already happened in the actual game and influenced the story so far.

Why is that?

Let's start from the beginning. Or the end, depends on how you look at it.

Aerith.

'Not Sephiroth?' you might ask.

Nope. Not Sephiroth. Aerith indeed.

In timeline 1, she died, and become one with the Life Stream. We know it. That's okay, I'm not trying to argue with that.

I'm considering it for its very meaning. Aerith became one with the planet, so one with destiny itself.

Let's try to look at this perspective: if you were given the power to change destiny, anywhere you want, for everyone you know...Would you really not give it a try? If you were ever given the chance to save the person you love, and everybody who died because of your fuck ups, would you not even consider to change things? Not even once?

Aerith has always been energetic, sometimes naive, so full of life and hope, especially HOPE, despite everything, even being afraid of freedom and the unknown, but giving it a go anyway. So why couldn't she have tried? I can see that happening.

It wasn't Sephiroth who destroyed the Whispers of Midgar in that shiny, golden, big-ass explosiong which knowcked Zack off of his feet. It was her.

Zack was not supposed to reach Midgar, and Aerith interfered, saving him...for what time we're allowed to see until the end of the game.

Being the Whispers a sort of "defence line", I don't think that she got rid of them for good, because they're part of the very backup system of Gaia, so I'm more inclined to think that she just managed to temporarly shut them down.

Hoping to give Zack more time...but, in my opinion, not that much.

Let's be real; Zack's death has been one of the most tragic and emotional ones of the compilation, because Zack Fair is as near as you can go to the definition of Best Boy and everybody should love him. Yes, he was not immune to the SOLDIER's madness, because he was obsessed to become a hero, to be able to save someone.

But we have to thank him if Aerith decided to sell the flowers; if it wasn't for him, Aerith and Cloud would never have met (in every timeline).

He was the reason of the Seventh Heaven's name. He's the reason of that goddamned squatting minigame (yeah...you didn't think about that, did you?).

And naturally, he's the reason why our adorkable Cloud Strife not only is still alive, but also the source of his combat abilities.

Sure, Spike was trained and filled up to the brim with mako, but where do you think he was pulling all of his batshit crazy stunts from, if not Zack's memories?

e.g.: the very first landing in Crisis Core is e x a c t l y the same movement, the only difference being Zack touching the ground putting the weight on his right side while Cloud did it on his left. The only reason I can think about is because Zack wasn't holding the Buster, and that is how you would handle your balance if you were rigth-handed.

First digression done...it's gonna be painful...

Nobody is forcing you: don't like, don't read.

Feel free to stop whenever you like, I'm not gonna get offended.

So, Aerith tried, because she is the ultimate cinnamol roll and she wants to believe. She's fantastic and hopeful, and she firmly believe in trying to change destiny, saving as many people as she can. Why wouldn't she?

So she tried (why not from his mother's death? She could have tried, but Ifalna migth have said she didn't want to be saved. Who knows. I definitely don’t.), but it simply didn't work, because Zack had to die anyway, the Whispers de-bugged themselves and everything spectacularly backfired.

The question is how he's gonna die. If Crisic Core’s death was the worst, how could it go more bananas? I have some alternatives:

- Cloud (by Sephiroth intervention) killing Zack with his own hands without realizing it until the very end, Zack accepting it and trying to comfort him while drifting away [the less likely one for me];

- Zack dies again (maybe in the sewers?) because of Cloud's fault, either giving him the Buster to defend himself (remaining disarmed) or because he physically shields Cloud from a bullet shower or an explosion (something has to get rid of Shinra's troops to let Spike escape);

All of these theories imply that Zack still dies like a hero and knowing it.

- Let's go Cruelty: Full Cowling. Let's shatter even that one joy, the most important thing Zack managed to accomplish in his mad chase, reaching for his dream: die a hero. He could have managed to hide Cloud, giving him the Buster, running in the opposite direction and getting captured instead of insta-killed. Returning in Hojo's nightmare, this time dying a slow, agonizing, dark death. What if the bastard, in Zack’s very lasts moments, will deceive him, telling him they found Cloud, even if they haven't, just to mess up with him? That would be devastating: Zack would die feeling completely useless, absolutely worthless, even if he's not. He's still a hero, but he will never know.

This is where Sephiroth might come along.

Specifically, Advent Children's Sephiroth.

Who, at some point, gave/activated/infused/whateverisgonnabe timeline 1 Cloud's memories into him. Because Cloud has friggin’ Jenova's cells within him, so Sephiroth can do what the heck he wants and toy with the guy as long as he sees fit. As he has done throughout the game.

When could we see it?

- "I've killed you with my own [hands]...": Sephiroth is doing a vibe-check, to see how much Cloud remembers, and simply goes masterfully along with it, starting to fuck with him right then; he needs for Cloud to be as mentally unstable as possible, because of Black Materia reasons. He is one of the best manipulators in the game, after all. If not the best one.

- "But that is then, and this is now." Criptic af, could be interpreted as both Cloud canonically remembering in a modified timeline 1, or timeline 2 innest. Being Sephiroth, the jackass could be referring to both of them, just becasue he can.

- "Promise you'll come and save me" scene. Timeline 1 Cloud shouldn't remember it at that point in the game. Also, this wouldn't lead to the heart to hearth with Tifa right after. If it's not a modified timeline 1, to show that spiky boi is not a total socially awkward blond artichoke.

- Aerith's death and Holy's flashes. What could possibly confuse you more than that, together with a blasting migraine? I think this is Sephiroth not-verbal way to say "You're not gonna be able to save her. Ever. You didn't succeded then, you're not gonna make it now, not even if she knows it. It's gonna happend anyway."

- At the Edge of Creation, when he asks for Cloud's help, Cloud has a blink-moment in which his right hand seems to move towards him, an uncoordinated gesture, but still there (memory of timeline 1...when he sort of did it)

*What about Zack's name being said in Emerald Park and nothign really happening to Cloud? Well, if you have been innested another timeline's memories, things would be pretty screwed up in your head, wouldn't they? That could be why Cloud had just a crippling aneurisma hearing it: his brain was probably trying not to melt in a puddle. Also, Aerith could have been interfering with it (but I'm explaining that later), blocking his possible messed up recollection, because that would have been quite the situatuion both for Spike's sanity and the players'.

Advent Childrend's (AC) Sephiroth? Why not another one? Come on, we've got plenty of evidence of it during the gameplay (I'll be referring to both English and Japanese [coming from the Italian adaptation, which is the closest one {yep, I’m Italian, but I think the English adaptation is still the best in terms of localization and conversations’ management}]):

- The very first thing he says to Cloud, when he blabbers "You're not real...You're...dead.", is the trolling (and perfect) "I am?"...I mean...has he ever really been? Cloud's words implies (because this is Japanese) that you might also read it as "This is just my PTSD fucking with me, you're a memory".

- Aaaand which line hits you like a truck? "I will never be...a memory." (last line of Sephiroth in AC before smiling and disappearing)

- Last Sephiroth's line of the cutscene, which in English is a very uncospicuous (but very menacing, almost Itachi-like) "Hold on to that hatred.", in Japanese is "Never forget me." That's pretty different.

- Aaaand which line hits you like a wrecking ball again? Never forget me..."I will never be...a memory."

- While you, old player, are still wondering what the fuck just happened, 'The Promised Land' (AC soundtrack) starts playing...

If all of this wasn't enough to let your plot bunny run like it was on a carrot high, let's talk about the scene in Hojo lab's corridor, when Cloud, seeing Sephiroth materializing, yells in pain and grips fiercely at his left arm. Which happens to be the very same arm that is gonna get Geostigma (Sephiroth's lovely life-threatening plague-ish gift to humanity in AC). 

And the three glowy whispers in chapter 18? Have you noticed that they move like Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo, and have the same weapons (one-handed sword, a gauntlet and two guns, respectively)? With a lot less whining, fortunately. Colors' scheme seems to make sense as well: Kadaj should be Sephiroth's hatred and rage (red), Loz his strenght and speed (yellow) and Yazoo the coldness and detachment (blue/green).

I’m leaving the last variable at the end, ‘cause this way I don’t seem a complete paranoid, even if it has been there all the way: the black feathers. The flippin’ black feathers. Which Sephiroth has ONLY at the end of FFVII: Advent Children. Then, and just then. Not everywhere else. Nowhere. 

 They’re there from chapter 1, joyfully swaying in the wind, Cloud sees one and it doesn’t seems to have that much of a significance, like for new players (meanwhile old players are screaming for their life, looking for cover), and they keep coming up, up, up, up, all over the place. And at the very end, the player sees that gorgeous black wing and they think “Oh! Holy crap, he has been there the whole time.”...and the old players yells “Fuck! He’s AC Sephiroth? We’re screwed. We’re done. This was his plan from the very beginning. Crap, crap, crap.”

This is the game tellying us “Shall I give you dispair?”

All the other interactions could easly come from timeline 1 events, up to the end of the game, and that's okay, because they make you realise that Sephiroth knows shit he's not supposed to have knowledge of at this point. He’s in total control, he has been through the entirety of the game, the sexy bastard.

So yeah, after making his last elegant and terrifying threat to AC's Cloud, our favourite one-winged angel decide to go back to the first checkpoint and retry in Critical Mode.

Fancy meeting timeline 1 Aerith there, in timeline 2, already fucking shit up in his stead. I can see him in my mind's eye, witnessing her intervention and thinking "This is actually really nice!". Since destiny has to be restored, he would have destiny itself playing by his side; he seriously couldn't ask for more.

Do I think part of Aerith is coming back from future too? Yes, she behaves like she knows too much stuff:

- "It's good for nothing at all" when you met her after projectile-crashing from the upper plate; if Zack dies like I hypothsized, this line would get all the more meaning, having her failed to save him;

- When Cloud is on his merry way of vivisecting Reno precisely in half, in English she yells "Stop!", but in Japanese she actually says "No, it's wrong!". How could she possibly know that Cloud shouldn't kill the Turk?;

[short digression over Cloud murderous behaviour towards people (a.k.a. Johnny and Reno) compared to the original game: why not, since he’s been bombarded by splitting headaches, seeing the man (who was his hero and destroyed his life) he killed with his hands very much real (to him but not to anybody else) and messying around, driving him cracker day by day. Anyone will lose their cookies.]

- On the highway, she and Sephiroth have an educated banter, in which she clearly knows something's up with the Sephiroth who's standing in front of them. He's the wrong one. But, at the same time, he's the true one too; He's not a projection channeled by Cloud Jenova's cells, nor using a copy to be seen by the others. So he's not using someone else from timeline 2,  he's not part of timeline 2, that's why he's wrong. Not just because he wants to, you know, eradicate life from the planet. Despite him being his true self, the last one existing, he's from timeline 1, so he doesn’t really belong in timeline 2. That's the biggest hint we have about Aerith coming from whatever happens after, together with the next point;

- When asked how the heck she knows about destiny’s crossroads, she answer with a nice "I'm not really sure.". She's not really sure...anymore, due to the Whispers trying to reset her consciousness and memories back to square timeline 1. She says she loses something everytime they touch her.

I imagine the scene of Aerith feeling Zack's death, again, while she's at home, at night, among the flowers, feeling useless, realizing she couldn't do anything in the end: that is gonna be nerve-wracking.

Sephiroth would appear, maybe using Marco's body (or maybe even his own body), emerging from the darkness of the alley. They would look at each other while he slowly walks down the wood stairs and glides over the surface of the pond, speaking while never breaking eye contact, both knowing where and when they really are from. He would probably say, in his soft velvet voice, something along the line of "I told you it was not meant to work. You're playing with powers you're not able to control, and you're destined to fail. I'm going to ruin him (Cloud) and everything else you cherish. You will experience what true despair means (because why not, let's throw another AC reference, shall we?)." A very Sephiroth way to say "You did such a good job. Here, let me help you screw this up more, Aerith."

He would lift from the pond, silent and tall and silver and monstrous, smiling with his jade eyes pinning hers down, stretching his black wing out, towering over her, before folding it around himself and disappear (like in AC), leaving only Marco behind to collapse over the bed of flowers.

That would be a heck of a war declaration.

Last, and least, the final confrontation at the Edge of Creation, a.k.a. Sephiroth ultimately fucking with our sanity.

Paraphrasing his first senteces, ”I’m not gonna die and I won’t let you die as well”, should be the very final hint which shows he’s AC Sephiroth, as he used Cloud’s memories of him to create a core indipendent from the Life Stream (this is how he managed to bounce back); he needs Cloud to remain alive in order to exist himself. That’s why he feels (to the very confused new players, and the grumpy old ones who think Remake Sephiroth is not coming from the future) so obsessed with Cloud now; he wasn’t in timeline 1 until the last part. This would make sense for now to be timeline 2, because he understood how important it is to keep Spike alive and as insane as possible.

Cloud tries to open Sephiroth up like a can using Omnislash, the original killing blow, and Sephiroth parry and deflects it. Smirking, probably thinking “Nope, I’ve already seen this happening before, not gonna fool me twice.”

The bloody "7 seconds till the end. Time enough for you...perhaps. But what will you do with it? Let's see"

Which in Japanese is - 7 seconds remaining until the end. But you're still in time. The future is in your hands...Cloud -

The flippin’ end. Which one, Aerith or Meteor? I personally think it’s Meteor.

The future is in his hands because he was the one shutting down the Whispers with the final blow? Are they really gone this time? I don't think so. The future might be in Cloud's hands, but Sephiroth is gonna make sure to have his strings tightly wrapped around them.

The fact that he appears way more in the remake makes sense because of what he’s doing (at least what I and other people think he’s doing), and it doesn’t make him less dreadful. Not one bit. Cloud’s reaction seeing him for the first time should set the mood for the new players (I don’t know who this big-ass silver tree is, his voice is so soft it’s disturbing, his eyes are making me really uncomfortable and apparently he should be dead, but still scare the main badass character shitless, so I should watch out for him as well) as much as the old ones (Holy fuck, what the heck are you doing here, Seph?! How? It’s impossible [you do realize you and Cloud had the same emotional response, yes?{Chadley pun perfectly intended}]).

Anxiety is not resolving during the game; he’s still intimidating and scary as fuck whenever he comes out of fricking nowhere, creeping all over you.

I think the only one who knows what's up is him, and he's not gonna give anything away anytime soon. He's just gonna smile, drop an emotional bomb whenever he can and flutter away, leaving behind utter confusion and sheer panic.

Is Aerith gonna die? I really hope so. Don't get me wrong: I love her to the very bottom of my heart, but FFVII is not only a story about love, courage and fight against destiny, it's also about loss, suffering and death. As much as I would really like for her to survive, she shouldn't.

Like Sephiroth, she's a singuarity too, and at some point, she will have to met her fate, regardless of what’s happening.

Did they really have to show Zack? Everybody was secretly hoping to see him, nobody could make me think otherwise. And again, this is another surprise effect, recreating that same impact that old players got: “who’s this guy that looks like Cloud and has his sword (and he’s probably the guy Aerith is talking about)?”, while we are freaking out looking at him dragging spiky boi, limping towards Midgar, criminally handsome and very much alive.

New players don’t really need to know more, because that’s exactly what we knew back then.

As for Sephiroth’s presence in the game. In the original, he appears way later. Here, it’s conceptually the same; he’s there because of Cloud (mind, body/cells, memories) and the copies. He’s the real, complete one only at the very end, that’s why One Winged Angel is playing only then, and it’s just a faint presence here and there, merged in previous tracks (interestingly, it’s also the very first musical phrase we hear in the gameplay, and I think that’s because Aerith sensed him coming from somewhere. It wasn’t because of the whispers, I think it was because of him).

Same for Sephiroth’s backstory, which is none existent, for new players: that’s okay. you see him, you get that he’s unhinged and awfully strong. He’s a cold, collected bitch and he’s clearly plotting something.

That’s okay, it’s enough for now, they’re gonna get the rest in the next rounds. And boy, do I dread that day, ‘cause that’s gonna hurt.

Am I forgetting about Stamp? Of course I am. Not.

Barret stated in chapter 5 that Shinra changed the breed for the military propaganda, and that’s okay. We saw his graffiti, and he’s a beagle. In Zack’s scene, an empty chips bags flies around, clearly showcasing a different Stamp, a terrier of some sort. With a big-ass “Original“ claim in the top left corner. This might mislead you to believe that you’re looking at a different timeline. 

Well...too bad the very same bag is laying on the table of Jessie’s parents...

The hint has always been there: Original. Barret said they changed the breed form the original one...so, yeah, this might prove Zack’s scene is a flashback.

Is Wedge alive? Probably yes.

Is Jessie alive? Probably yes.

Why Bigg's still alive? I don't know.

But I know that you don't build characters up that way to let them live a long life and die peacefully. Someone in this story is really good at giving hopes and then crushing them in the blink of an eye...

The Remake, as it has been said, is incorporating The Compilation, and it’s evident througout the gameplay, from Before Crisis all the way to Dirge of Cerberus and the novels (Leslie and Kyrie come from those. Still waiting on Evan).

I don’t think it has been made to rewrite nor modify FFVII, but to create a definitive end which organically weaves within it.

The story is still alive, kicking, and is the very foundation of the remake. You still have to play the compilation to have the ultimate understanding, because that is the destiny trying to be defied by Aerith and Sephiroth.  

 You can’t try to change fate, if you don’t have one to mess up with in the first place.

Lastly, if Zack will ever be playable at some point, I hope with all of my heart and soul to find myself beating the ever loving crap out of someone with a white and blue parasol.

*End Of Rant*

I'm forgetting something for sure, but well, this is the majority of the stuff that I needed to get out of my system.

If you managed to reach this point, thank you for dealing with me and my madness.

If you want to share your thougths you're very welcome to do so, as long as you can articulate your opinions in a civil discussion.

Have a good day/night.

Finger crossed for 2023.