#zack dies earlier

[getvalentined]

I love when folks ask me Fandom Old questions and I get to be like "Yeah, uh, that's from my old online RP group, no it's not canon at all, yes we just made it up, no we did not claim it was canon but the mid to late aughts were a strange time."

It's honestly a shock to realize how often this has happened. I mentioned earlier that Reno's fanon surname came from this same group, but that's not even the half of it. I once made a bunch of screenshot manips based on the most ridiculous ships anyone could think of—someone slapped a random line of text onto one of them and to this day it's used as a "cringe FF7 fandom" meme. I saw it on the twits a bit back and almost fell out of my goddamn chair.

If you've ever heard Scarlet referred to with the surname "West," read about Tseng fighting with metal fans, seen Elena's older sister being called Anna instead of Emma, come across Vincent portrayed as having a PhD in spite of being a Turk, or caught references somewhere to Grimoire experimenting on Vincent as a child, that started with this group. That was us.

One of the funniest examples of this, for me specifically, is that we don't actually know which arm Veld is missing? The fandom generally goes with his left because that's how I drew him in the first picture of the guy ever posted on devart way back in 2005, but it may very well be his right. I've seen people offer "proof" that it's his right based on a scene in the opening cutscene, but you can't tell there either, and with BC's graphics there's literally no way to tell on his sprite.

Hell, this year we found out everyone's assumed timeline of the Kalm fire is wrong, and that's our fault too because we made some assumptions about Felicia's age for an LJ RP that were entirely wrong. She's around Zack's age, not Sephiroth's! She's old enough to run with a terrorist group in BC, but she was a child when Kalm burned, and that happened in 1997—we know this because NPCs in Rebirth literally refer to the fire in Kalm having happened "just ten years ago." Veld has only had his prosthetic for three years when BC starts. (This also implies that, contrary to popular belief, Veld may actually be younger than Vincent. Vincent may have been the senior partner, and that's why he was sent to Nibelheim alone while Veld was left at headquarters.)

We were really wrong on this! But we were working with what we had. There's no canon evidence for the vast majority of these things (the most notable exclusion here is Vincent being educated) but we weren't claiming there was. We were filling gaps, and canon was so sparse that we had a lot of gaps to fill. So if it turns out that Veld lost his right arm, then I'll just have to start drawing him that way—because losing his left was never canon.

Tragically, there's nothing any of us can do to make people stop assuming these things are canon at this point; there aren't a lot of us still in the fandom, and it's not like any of us have those old chatlogs anymore. People from this RP group have DIED since those days. It's been over 20 years since most of us met, and around 15 since most of us were in a public fannish space together.

"Prove it," people say, and I literally can't. Do you know how many computers I've been through since then? 75% of the platforms we used no longer exist. This all started on a BBCode forum! There is no proof!

But...there's no evidence any of these things are canon, either, so maybe think about that? The Kalm fire, Tseng's weapon of choice, Veld's arm, character surnames—none of these are retcons because there was no lore there to retcon. We made it up for our specific purposes, and it escaped containment in an era when there was really no way to do online contact tracing.

It's just one of the weirdest feelings in the world to see younger folk arguing about A or B point in canon, about X or Y retcon—referencing something my friends and I thought up at like 10 o'clock at night on a now-defunct IM client in August of 2005, because we needed something to refer back to for a specific scene in an RP and the source material had nothing to offer.

Absolutely fucking bonkers.

[foreststarflaime]

Ohhh my god okay. This is gonna sound weird at first but hear me out. If Genesis is Achilles then Zack is Odysseus

Obviously not really in the clever way, but in pretty much every other way there is. When the Greeks are going around rounding up all the hero-chieftains who pledged to go after Helen should anyone kidnap her, Odysseus only went very reluctantly, and only because he was in fact sworn to go. Zack gets so jaded about all these missions he’s getting sent on—“are you pushing another mission on me?” etc. He goes on these stupid crusades because it is his job, but he doesn’t go happily.

Odysseus (Zack) was also at one point sent to reason with Achilles (Genesis) when he was off sulking because Agamemnon and the rest of the Greeks (Sephiroth and Shinra) insulted his honor and didn’t value him as highly as he thought he should have been. It did not work.

And then you have the getting home takes wayyy longer than it should have troubles, with escaping from the lab and being on the run for a year. Way longer and way more dangerous, with an extremely powerful entity opposing you at every turn (Shinra/Poseidon). And various shenanigans and a whole rogues gallery of villains at every setback. And for the entire trip, all he wants to do is get back to his loved ones, to Penelope/Aerith.

But unfortunately, Zack does not make it home, because Kunsel got Odysseus’ brain cell and since he was not there he could not clever their way out of that one.

The plot of Crisis Core is kinda just the clashing of these two very different ideas of what it means to be a hero (the Achilles way and the Odysseus way). I saw earlier today someone frame Achilles’ choice between a long life with all its mundanities and a short life full of glory as him choosing his divinity over his humanity—change divinity to monster and oop it’s Genesis! And then you have Zack/Odysseus trying as hard as he can to choose humanity but everything is putting itself in the way of that

But wait there’s more! My brain made it HURT

Searching Odysseus and puppy in my brain gave me Argos. Argos, the dog who waited 20 whole years clinging to life just so he could see his master home safe, and then reassured lay down and die. Argos, who was just a puppy when Odysseus went off to war, now a world-weary old dog, taking pleasure in what little hope he had left.

Zack waited the whole time they were on the run clinging to life and the hope they’d make it back to Midgar to see Aerith. He clung to life just long enough during that final battle on the plains to see Cloud wake from his coma and make sure he was safe. He died within sight of his home, world weary and puppy no longer, loyal to those that truly mattered.

Also I would just like to leave you with the thought that Cloud after that is Telemachus, living in the shadow of the hero he lives forever in the shadow of without truly knowing who that person is because he has no memory of him, only the comparisons of everyone who knew him :)

[rottenpumpkin13]

NOTICE

Dear ShinRa employees,

This is a reminder to follow rule (insert number) regarding Trooper Cloud Strife, and his food.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TAKE FOOD FROM HIM.

Failure to follow this rule will be resulted in not only a trip to medical but a write up and disaplinary action.

Sincerely,

Director of SOLDIER

Lazard

*Zack, Sephiroth and Genesis are reading the notice board*

Sephiroth: This is preposterous. Cloud offered Genesis one of his cookies earlier today.

Zack: That's weird. Are you sure they weren't poisoned or anything?

Sephiroth: Of course not. Genesis is fine. Right, Genesis?

Sephiroth:

*They look over, Genesis has in fact died*

[altocat]

‘Ello!! Hope it’s been a lovely weekend!! 💕

I don’t know if I’ve ever asked you this before but shshhshshshhs Can we get some Zack & Seph bonding over Angeal angst/comfort plz?? :3ccc

Yesssssssss of course !

Sephiroth and Zack don't really talk much after the incident in Modeoheim. There's a lot of bitter feelings there. Zack blames Sephiroth for making him have to deal with that heartache. It should have been Sephiroth, not him. Sephiroth could have stopped it. It's not fair! Angeal would still be alive!

Sephiroth is aware of Zack's ill feelings, mostly mourning quietly alone, his nightmares getting worse than ever, barely eating or sleeping. Most of the time, he's mindlessly performing tasks thanks to the cocktail of drugs Hojo is pumping into him.

Despite this, thanks to the dwindling ranks in SOLDIER, both are assigned a mission together investigating some rogue rebel activity in the mountains. It's cold and rainy and miserable. And Sephiroth and Zack can't even bear to look at each other.

They tail the rebels all the way to the peaks, cornering them on the fragile remains of a bridge, now halfway frozen over from the chill.

Zack moodily thinks that now's the part where Sephiroth coldly murders everyone. That's what soldiers do, right? That's what HE had to do to Angeal. Just mindless killing. Callous slaying of anyone who doesn't fit. Ruining lives. Just like Angeal.

Zack isn't paying attention, too agitated to notice the enemy creeping up from behind. He has mere seconds to react before the gunshot rings out, followed by the frantic rush of air as Sephiroth shoves him out of the way to take the hit.

He watched in horror as Sephiroth falls nearly twenty feet, crashing hard into a jutting snowy cliff side below.

He's an absolute mess when the helicopter comes in to retrieve them, Sephiroth's battered body being taken away to Medical the second they land.

Zack's a shaking, helpless wreck, reliving Angeal's death over and over. Oh gods it's happening again. And it's all his fault. And now he's going to lose someone else too. And he was so cold to Seph beforehand. He blamed him for everything when really it was NO ONE'S fault. And now Sephiroth is going to die and he's going to have to bury another friend and and and...

Days pass. Zack endures sleepless nights letting his inner demons eat at him. He is a trembling mess by the time he's finally able to step out onto the main SOLDIER floor again, freezing at the sight of Sephiroth standing near the doorway, alive and well, his arm carefully wrapped up in a sling.

"You're... you're okay."

"Mm? Oh. Yes. It was a bad fall. But my healing capabilities proved to be amply useful for such an occasion. I received clearance this morning to return to my duties, though I've been instructed not to strain myself."

Zack miserably hangs his head, relief and guilt intermingling in his belly, his face hot, eyes red and watery.

"Listen, Sephiroth? I... about earlier..."

Sephiroth tilts his head, seemingly confused, watching as the young First dithers and balks.

"I...you saved me."

"Think nothing of it. It was instinct. A team leader's responsibility is to protect his men."

"I thought you'd died. I mean...gods, this is such a mess. I was so mad at you. I shouldn't have been. But I was. I blamed you for Angeal when I should've just talked it out. I just let it get to me. And... and... and you still..."

He forces himself not to cry, not even when Sephiroth's free hand gently, if not awkwardly, reaches over to pat his shoulder.

"...I was not keen on losing you as well."

And the tears are coming now, his efforts fruitless. He feels like a child, pawing at his eyes, shaky laugh as he shakes his head. "G-guess we have that feeling in common, huh?" He just wishes he understood it sooner.

He spends the rest of the afternoon at Sephiroth's side, holding his tablet up for him to make it easier for him to write. They don't speak much. But it feels different this time, awkward smiles exchanged, a kind of fragile reluctance when it's finally time to part ways for the evening.

But afterwards, Zack makes it mandatory to keep in contact at all times, sending Sephiroth text reminders so they can meet up to unwind together after a long hard day.

This goes on for a long while, an unspoken trust building, both parties emotionally relying on each other without ever saying a word. A pure bond; burgeoning, unexpected, but genuine. Real.

Until Nibelheim.

[vampdes]

— “HOW IT CAME TO BE.” [winning bets over losing them was surely your soon-to-be career at this point. especially since you didn’t lose the drinking challenge that yui had challenged you to only an hour ago, saying that you wouldn’t win the said challenge. daniel’s the one who had to clean up the ‘mess’, though.]

PAIRINGS. daniel park / m!reader

CW. lowercase implied, implied + mentions of: alcohol consumption [beer + soju], betting money, reader drunkingly ‘flirting’ w. daniel, friends to lovers trope.

NOTES. YAAAAAAAAH, i got this out earlier than intended 😼 im like a beast ong. enjoy!! 🫶🏾

EXTRA. “how it came to be” jay h. edition —› xxx / masterlist.

the soju you had downed only seconds ago burned your throat and made your chest feel warmer than usual. you’d been out with the group consisting of: yui, daniel, jay, eli, and zack for a whole two hours. when it was first mentioned to you, you said that you were going to stay sober the whole time! and it didn’t matter if you drank, you’re a heavyweight anyways!

however, when you got there, yui bet you a pair of concert tickets that you’d be drunk before her. and obviously, you accepted the challenge! you weren’t one to back down from challenges, especially ones you knew you could win.

then the bet started.

bottle after bottle of soju, a can after a can of alcoholic beer was drunk until the last drop. yui wasn’t giving you a run for the said concert tickets anymore, she ran to the restroom to throw up due to the immense intake she downed in the matter of one hour. you, on the other hand, were sharing a strawberry flavored pocky stick with daniel and on the verge of sleeping right there on your feet.

the feel of soju still felt lively on your tongue, you could still feel the taste of it on your taste buds for it mixed in with your salvia a little too well. your head wasn’t spinning nor was your breath ragged as it was only moments ago, you were trying to seem calm, but your heart pounded against your heart so loudly that you could hear the rhythm tap your eardrums repeatedly.

“daniel.” you whispered his name as though it was a prayer, you picked your head off of his shoulder and looked him in his jet black eyes. his lips caught your attention more than his eyes did, though, which caused him to mumble the sentence “my eyes are up here, [name].”.

he said your name with a breathy, desperate tone, making the soju that warmed your heart make it burn as though it was a campfire. “but your lips,” you mumbled, your own lips parting to make way for the words that were stuck in your throat.

“but my.. my lips?”

“they’re kissable.”

the tips of daniel’s pale ears turned a bright shade of red as he let your words process in his head. he wanted to make a quip, a flirty retort to your words to keep the conversation going, but the words died on his tongue when you intertwined his hands with your own and placed your head back on his shoulder. his heart raced at an unnatural speed, he could even feel a thin layer of sweat build up on his now clammy hand that you held.

“daniel?”

he glanced down at you before looking back up at the full moon that showed down on both of you, coating you in the glossy, white light of the universe, “..yeah?”.

“i don’t know,” you laughed, “jus’ wanted to hear your voice.”

he let a warm smile overtake his blushing features, acknowledging the warm feelings you provided him with. he didn’t know why but he felt dizty as though he was the one who drank soju himself. “thank you.” he didn’t know why, but he felt something for you. it was a strange something, a lukewarm, heartfelt something.

the sound of your quiet laugh made his heart become overwhelmed with that ‘something’ feeling once more. “what’s so funny?” he questioned, tilting his head in order to rest his head on top of your own.

“it’s just.. you downplay yourself, you know? you don’t understand how amazing you are. you don’t understand how special you are to me, i do want you to know that i love you with all my heart, i truly do.”

daniel’s eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, once more letting his brain process the words of affection you spoke. his words died on the tip of his tongue. he didn’t realize it until you mentioned it, but he’d been letting tears fall on top of your messy, ruffled hair. the tips of your strands were now wet with his tears, and he immediately regretted it. “i’m sorry, i—”. you laughed off his words, pulling up the brim of your sleeve in order to wipe away the strayed tears that lay on his face.

“don’t be sorry, dan, don’t be. you’re too pretty to apologize for such ridiculous things, you know that, don’t you?”

“you think i’m pretty?” he questioned, letting his teary eyes look down on your silhouette.

you now stood in front of him, your eyes fluttering in an attempt to stay alert on your feet. “i think you’re pretty and smart and kind and most definitely charming. i also think you’re a horrible cook. but i know for a fact,” you paused, looking up at him, meeting his teary eyes. “that i’d never trade you for the world.”

he let out a laugh. not a condescending one, no, never that. it was a laugh of utter and complete disbelief. you’re so,, he doesn’t know how to explain it because he knows that he can’t put what you are into a form of words that would create a sentence. you couldn’t be compelled to just one sentence or just a sentence for that matter, you deserve the whole world, no, you deserve the whole universe and a box of strawberry flavored pocky. he loves you, he realized.

it was as though the moments, the memories of you two together had flashed in the movie theater that sat inside of his brain. each and every second he replayed it back and forth, reminding himself of the simple touches that you granted him with, the sound of your melodic laughter that never left his mind, not even for a second.

daniel park, the leader of the most famous band in korea, had a crush on little ole you. the choreographer that demanded him to be on time, the choreographer that had his entire schedule memorized down to a t just so you knew when he was free in order to hangout, the choreographer that always mention that it was so busy but always seemed to have spare time for him.

he knew from now on, he’d always make sure to be on time just for you.

© CREDITS TO ur1nonlydan. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE, REPOST, OR COPY MY WORKS

[oh-my-may]

I FINISHED CHAPTER 12! (Basically... PS says I have like 7% remaining and that is probably gonna be leaving the Gold Saucer again so... yeah)

I HAVE THOUGHTS BRO.

Zack??? ZACK FAIR??? How dare you be the most beautiful gorgeous cute man ever. His sections always manage to have me tear up. The ending of this game is SO gonna hurt me my god.

My date was with Aerith... which i didn't mind but Cloti for the win you know. Aerith, girl, Zack is somewhere out there!

Didn't bother with any of the new minigames at the Saucer yet, since I wasn't a fan of a lot of them the first time around. Will probably only do it after finishing main story, since some of the exchangeable rewards are very nice.

Loveless was wonderful. Teared up seeing Jessie again. The song was so moving. The party acting as the main cast had me rolling tho. THE WAY YOU COULD CHOOSE BARRET AS YOUR TRUE LOVE? They're so unserious. The little game mechanics were a little confusing tho. I swear I don't have a left-right-weakness but this part had me questioning. Managed to get score A but still... wish there would havd been earlier triggers that told you what button to press... but maybe that's just me.

BUT THE COLOSSEUM HAD ME QUESTIONING EVERYTHING. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BASICALLY 6 ROUNDS OF FIGHTING BACK TO BACK AND THERES ONLY ONE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE YOUR EQUIPMENT. The first two rounds were easy, when they brought put the Tonberry I was having war flashbacks to the boss fight in Corel. Didn't expect a round 4, but Aerirh and Phoenix came through for me <3

THE TURKS AGAIN THO??? Listen, I'm a proclaimed Turks lover okay. I love them. My pookies. BUT YOU'RE GONNA MAKE ME FIGHT THEM A THIRD TIME NOW?? Elena is always easier to handle, Rude kinda annoying still but we got through it. Wanted to take this opportunity to say how much I love Elena being such a hater. And her having the most bone chilling horror movie scream when you land a hit or pressure her. Queen.

BUT THEN RUFUS??? ALONE AS CLOUD??? I was gnawing at the bars of my enclosure bro. I hate blonde men. Had to restart several times to get his patterns down. Was very upset with my inability tp dodge, usually I play my fights pretty head-on offensive... I was shaking crying throwing up until I had Rufus down to like half his health. Kujata on Cloud really helped me idk. Darkstar was annoying, but got him down eventually after using Clouds Limit TWICE. Almost died when Rufus was only like 3% HP remaining. The way I was shaking when it was finally over... damn. Never wanna do that again but I had already heard that the Rufus fight was pretty annoying...

Cait's betrayal was nothing new to me, I did know about it. Still made me sad ofc. THE WAY YOU CAN'T PLAY WITH HIM AFTERWARDS? I'm heartbroken.

Now it's off to the Temple/The Promised Land. Very curious what the last 2 Chapters are gonna bring. Heard 13 was quite long, but I wanna try and play it all now without any more interruptions... gonna play side quests and minigames later. Maybe I'll even be able to finish this weekend, which would be nice. I'm on vacation next week and won't be home...

So that's that. Enjoy some screenshots I took during this chapter!

[pearly-sims]

Pnat theorists I have a question. It was finally confirmed a while ago that the BERG possessing Max is a Sphinx. My question is, when did Max get possessed by it?

(Continuing under the cut because I’m incapable of making a short post)

This shot when he first gets the bat seems likely, considering the white glowing eyes and headache right after he first shows his spectral energy. This implies that both Scrapdragon and BERG were in the same tool.

However, earlier in the chapter, Max bursts into his room to confront the hissing noise he was hearing. When you look closely, there’s the faint start of a spec shot at his fingertip, implying he was already a spectral before finding his tool.

This could be explained if being a spectral is genetic, considering baby Ed had spectral energy and had access to the dream hub to try and see his mom, as well as Isabel is at least a third generation spectral. This wasn’t one of Isaac’s listed reasons from chapter 1, though, and I don’t think it’s been explicitly confirmed.

(Prolonged exposure to the supernatural could be the case for Isabel and Ed, it doesn’t explain Max since his father and Zoe aren’t shown to be spectrals).

And let’s not forget Max’s mom, aka Agent Summers, warned Max about making promises in the chapter 4 flashback. Since the Sphinx possessing Max has something to do with promises/contracts/oaths/etc, it would make sense that she would warn him about it if she knew he was being possessed.

But then that raises the question of how he wasn’t seeing spirits before moving if he’s been possessed for 5+ years? It’s theorized that Agent Summers was a Medium for Forge (her hand has an oddly scaled texture here), but maybe she was possessed or had a tool for the Sphinx first? Then after she died, the spirit hitched a ride in Max to get back to Mayview similarly to Forge and Johnny? If Max doesn’t get possessed until getting the bat then it’s a moot point, but then why does his mom seem to warn him about promises if the Sphinx wasn’t directly relevant?

This section alone could be its own post, but let’s get back to the point.

Moving on, this shot of Davy in what is likely the same supply closet the bat was found in has always been weird. He doesn’t have anything on him later when he confronts Hijack, so we can assume that he was looking for Max’s bat, presumably because there’s a Sphinx in it and not because of a random grudge with magnet powers.

Along with that, we’re soon going to find out what his evil plan for the PTA meeting is, which we can assume is being held at the school (or maybe not, I don’t know anything about actual PTA meetings).

However again, this line from Lucifer has always been a little odd. When Hijack asks about the shadow spirit, Lucy calls it “worthless scrap.” Scrap is obviously associated with Scrapdragon and not much else, which maybe implies that Scrapdragon isn’t just a mindless beast but actually something powerful, or at least it used to be. If so, that could also mean Davy was looking for the bat for Scrapdragon, and the Sphinx was never in it.

(Idk this one is a bit of a stretch, but it’s still weird, and Zack is well known for their small foreshadowing details that lead to huge reveals.)

Anyway that was a lot, but let me know what you guys think or if I missed/misinterpreted anything :D

[avatarvyakara]

Might as well work on this one too…

On Age in Carmen Sandiego (2019)

Or, at the very least, in the timeline of Crimson Shades.

First off, Carmen’s mother, Carlotta Valdez (aka “Vera Cruz”), was supposed to have “died” in 1999. Carmen looked around perhaps a year old at that point in time, giving her a possible birth-date in 1996 to 1997. This in turn suggests that the series takes place some time before the actual date of publication—say, 2017/2018 onwards—to maintain Carmen’s rough age.

Rough age ranges of the characters, taking Carmen’s rough birthdate for estimation:

Team Red

Isabela Valdez/Black Sheep/Carmen Sandiego: 16/17 starting at VILE, 18/19 during the Poitiers Caper, 22/23 by the end.

Fairly self-explanatory.

Pierre Bouchard/Player: 12/13 as a White Hat Hacker, 14/15 during the Poitiers Caper, 18/19 by the end.

Not quite old enough for a learner’s permit (Up Here it’s a G1) during the earlier capers.

Ivy Collins: 19 during the Donuts/Poitiers Capers, 23 by the end.

Zack Collins: 18 during the Donuts/Poitiers Capers, 22 by the end.

Zack is supposed to be around a year younger than Ivy.

Nakamura Suhara/Shadowsan: 23 when sent after Dexter Wolfe, 42 during the Poitiers Caper, 46 by the end.

Young but not too young, as it were.

VILE

Eartha McGlynn/Coach Brunt: 39 upon receiving Black Sheep, 58 during the Poitiers Caper, 61 when arrested, 63 by the end.

Gunnar Stromme/Professor Maelstrom: 37 upon receiving Black Sheep, 56 during the Poitiers Caper, 60 when arrested, 62 by the end.

Oluchi Cleopatra Okorie/Countess Cleo: 26 upon receiving Black Sheep, 45 during the Poitiers Caper, 49 when arrested, 51 by the end.

Saira Dhibar/Doctor Bellum: 33 upon receiving Black Sheep, 54 during the Poitiers Caper, 58 when arrested, 60 by the end.

Sir Nigel Braithwaite/Roundabout: 56 when appointed, 57 when arrested, 59 by the end.

Margherita Picasso/Cookie Booker: 54 when first pelted, 62 when the Hard Drive was stolen, 67 by the end.

Vlad Bobinski: 28 upon receiving Black Sheep, 45 upon letting Black Sheep get away, 50 by the end.

Boris Vladinski: 27 upon receiving Black Sheep, 44 while watching Vlad let Black Sheep get away, 49 by the end.

They may be slightly younger or older, but at least Coach Brunt’s age seems to have been confirmed at 60 by the time of the Fourth Season.

Graham Calloway/Gray/Crackle: 18 starting at VILE, 20 during the Poitiers Caper, 24 by the end.

Jean-Paul Marignan/Le Chèvre: 19 starting at VILE, 21 during the Poitiers Caper, 25 by the end.

Antonio Sánchez/El Topo: 18/19 starting at VILE, 20/21 during the Poitiers Caper, 24/25 by the end.

Sheena Landry/Tigress: 18 starting at VILE, 20 during the Poitiers Caper, 23 when arrested, 24 by the end.

Parker Morris/Mime Bomb: 18 starting at VILE, 20 during the Poitiers Caper, 23 when arrested, 25 by the end.

Sawa Jin/Paper Star: 17 starting at VILE, 18 during the Magna Carta Caper, 22 when arrested at the end.

ACME

Tamara Fraser/Chief: 26 when killing Dexter Wolfe, 45 during the Poitiers Caper, 49 when arresting VILE, 51 by the end.

Inspector/Agent Chase Devineaux: 37 during the Poitiers Caper, 38/39 when arresting VILE, 41 by the end.

Agent Julia Argent: 25 during the Poitiers Caper, 27 when arresting VILE, 29 by the end.

This is going to cause some trouble, I just know it. But the average amount of time it takes to get a university degree in the UK is around three years, and Julia has two of them. She also seems to have jumped right to an associate professorship at Oxford in Season 3, the requirements for which are around 4-6 years of study plus a thesis. Thus Julia would have had to have been in school for at least something like seven to nine years before joining Interpol, with whom she had apparently only been for a fortnight before the Poitiers Caper. The number above assumes that she skipped a year and took a year less to complete her second degree. Or took two years less. Or started two years early. You get my point. Basically, Julia has to be a fair bit older than she looks in order to actually have the qualifications she possesses.

Agent Umaira Zari: 38 during the Poitiers Caper, 40 when arresting VILE, 42 by the end.

Some additional ages:

Nakamura Hideo: 17 when his brother Suhara was born, 36 when his brother disappeared, 63 when his brother returned for good, 65 by the end.

Not an unreasonable age given his looks, I thought.

Carlotta Valdez: 27 when she gave birth to Isabela, 47 when Carmen returned home to her, 49 by the end.

Young but not too long, once again.

Any I missed?

[animusrox]

1 and 22?

Your favorite movie released this year

Currently a tie between Dune Part 2 and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

22. A director you think is overrated

Zack Snyder but I say this as someone who likes his earlier stuff like Dawn of the Dead and Watchmen. To me, he lives and dies by the script and a studio who knows how to wrangle him down. Just going by his Rebel Moon films where he has complete control of the film along with Netflix money to do whatever he wants, it just exposes how weak of a director he really is.

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s1 ep12: Cathexis

Another one I didn't remember at all, this one was quite exciting to watch. Voyager's first 'crew getting possesed by aliens' story, it's another one of those episodes that's pretty much a copy of an earlier Next Generation episode, but it was well done, and very creepy and suspenseful. I like the way they played up the crew's paranoia to add to the tension. And it was the first time we get to see Captain Janeway's Victorian governess holonovel, which is one of my favorite things, and not just because I'm tickled that Captain Janeway shares my taste in literature, but because she looks absolutely gorgeous in period costume. Like, let me fangirl for a moment here, because look at this perfect vision of beauty, oh my god:

I want her whole outfit, it's perfect. Major kudos to the costume designer for giving her an historically accurate dress and hairstyle. As someone who used to do a lot of historical costuming, I'm very nitpicky about those things, but this is a good costume on every level- beautiful design, well fitted to the actress, fits the character's personality, absolutely nothing anachronistic about it anywhere. 10/10, no notes! I need to cosplay this so bad!!

Okay, I'm done being a costume nerd, back to the episode itself: I appeciated that they mentioned the EMH being programmed with knowledge of various cultures traditional healing practices instead of just having him dismiss Chakotay's medicine wheel as superstition. While I have issues with the wheel prop itself not looking very realistic, I do like that they made a point to say that Earth's medical establishment will become more open minded and inclusive in the future. (But the artwork on the wheel looked central or south american, and I'd always thought Chakotay was supposed to be from the north american southwest- it says a lot about how much the writers didn't care about him that after 7 years of episodes, I still have no idea what continent he's even from. sigh.)

Also lol at Tom Paris talking about how when he was a kid he had a doctor that made housecalls- who the heck has that even now, let alone in the 24th century?? I think this was probably where I started to get the headcanon that the Paris family is super rich- like I know that Earth is supposed to be a utopia with no poverty, but I feel like rich people with inherited wealth would keep on living in their fancy houses in their gated communities, and Tom Paris strikes me as being a privileged kid who grew up in a big house with a swimming pool and a tennis court, who spent his youth riding around in his expensive car (or would it be a shuttlecraft?? do rich people have their own shuttles on earth??) and being a slacker/prankster king at his fancy prep school like a 24th century Zack Morris. (I know I read Pathways back when I was a teenager, and it may have mentioned something about his childhood, but I don't remember any of it, and novels aren't technically canon in Star Trek universe, so I'm sticking with my rich kid Tom Paris headcanon.)

More of Neellx being possessive of Kes in this episode, ughhhh.

I didn't remember that they gave background crewmember Lieutenant Durst a pretty prominent supporting role in this episode. Obviously it was meant to make his subsequent death more impactful, but it was anyway, since I still remember him for getting killed off. (I probably don't have to give spoiler warnings for a decades old show, but spoiler: he dies in the very next episode.)

Anyway, tl;dr: a solid alien possession episode.

[finallyfantasy7]

I have a question about new FFVII Rebirth trailer.

If the reason why Zack didn't find Aerith in the church is because she was killed by the mysterious tornado, aren't those events off by several months?

Zack's Final Stand was some 3 months before the beginning of Final Fantasy VII Remake, an his arrival at the church should have been soon after. In the timeline where Zack died, months had to pass after his death until Barret and Tifa are leaving Shinra building with rescued Aerith and Red XIII, and all end up on an expressway together.

And if the explosion that blew him away after the fight with Shinra army came from the same event that killed them, then Zack knows something horrible had happened in Midgar. But in front of the church he doesn't act like someone who even considers the possibility Aerith might be hurt, he's just nervous about meeting her again after 5 years.

And if Zack survived, and Cloud didn't wake up from his catatonic state but Zack is still dragging him arond, then how did Barret, Tifa, Aerith, and Red XIII still end up together on Midgar expressway?

Aerith got dragged into it only because she met Cloud. Cloud saved Tifa from Don Corneo only because Aerith made him. And they only met Red XIII because they went to save Aerith. They were on the expressway together but these events wouldn't have happened without Cloud.

I guess Whispers could have gotten involved to still ensure events proceed as they did before but still... to not only recreate the events without Cloud but do it 3-4 months earlier than in the original timeline? Only to somehow mess up or decide the four of them need to die?

tl;dr I guess what I'm trying to say is that by the time Zack reached the church it was still months away before Aerith, Tifa, Barret, and Red XIII are supposed to end up on that freeway together, if they could do it at all without Cloud affecting some events.

It doesn't add up.

I can't help but feel Square-Enix has purposefully misled us with the trailer.

Either way, I can't wait 2024, Rebirth looks like it's going to be so much fun!

[mylittlesecrethaven]

Did Zack And Rachel Die?

So, at the end of the series, we see Zack come and get Rachel so he can kill her.

But what actually happened?

Cause I've seen three theories so far, as well as someone talking about the creator of the game talking about it.

So, theory 1 is that Zack actually did escape prison and go and kill Rachel, theory 2 is that Zack died in prison and Rachel killed herself while hallucinating Zack, and theory 3 is that Zack died in prison, but came to Rachel as an angel and actually did kill her.

There's a lot of proof for those arguments, but I'm gonna keep my rant on this short.

So, let's do this.

Clues for theory 1:

The windows and glass were broken.

We clearly see Zack.

There's a scream in the background, which could possibly someone seeing Zack.

Clues against theory 1:

Rachel has been known to hallucinate.

Zack has his scythe.

Clues for theory 2:

The investigator said Zack told officials he knew nothing about Rachel, but Zack hates lying, so perhaps he let himself die to clear his conscious.

Rachel was desperate to die and felt grief after hearing Zack die.

The knife Zack gave Rachel was still in the room.

There was blood on this windowsill.

Clues against theory 2:

The broken wood and bars were inside of Rachel's room. (Which, Rachel tearing off the wood would leave it inside her room, but her breaking the glass wouldn't leave the glass inside her room)

The bars were broken above where Rachel would have been able to reach.

Clues for theory 3:

The title is called Angels of Death, and in dying, Zack became Rachel's Angel of Death.

And the only clues against theory 3 are the clues used beforehand.

But yeah.

Now, for what I talked about earlier about the creator.

I found a Quora page that said the creator confirmed Zack and Rachel were alive at the end of the game/series, but I couldn't find any other sources confirming this.

However, because I want to keep my mind happy and not think about this open ending for too long, I'm going to go with theory 1.

Because I like these characters too much to think that they died. (Akame Ga Kill already broke my heart too much, so I need this.)

[wolfontheloose]

|| Maya & Ryden ||

It had been a long, long while since Ryden had pulled out his good old guitar that had been collecting dust for months now, whether to play for his own heart and soul let alone for anyone else. But desperate times called for desperate measures and with the morale low despite best efforts to keep a positivity ongoing in town and among the pack, there was a palpable sort of tension underlying any attempts to laugh, stick to the routine or not worry over things a single person could not change alone. Everyone wished this was not happening, but it did. People have died, uncertainty was up in the air, fear was slowly becoming reality and no one knew how much of this they’d be able to handle.

So the Den, a pillar that held up a shelter to any werewolf who’d ever needed it ever since the founding of the town of Opulence, held its usual karaoke Saturday, albeit much earlier to accommodate the curfew. Daylight still seeped in through the pub’s windows instead of the light of streetlamps, making it feel odd that the bar’s busiest hours were now just after late lunch time. Yet the Den had never been more crowded, pack coming in more often to connect, regroup, offer support and just make sure that their numbers were still accounted for and no one was missing during the headcount. The loss of young Zack Fowler, a fellow werewolf and pack member to the violent beasts on the loose, had left everyone grieving in their own way, now really feeling the low spirits settle. It was unspoken, as no one wanted to upset anyone, but it was nevertheless felt.

And that was alright. Although Ryden did not partake in something as silly as karaoke, he still sang for his pack - even an unapproachable, rugged alpha like him who was more likely to complain and grump about than show anything less than an unshakable resolve felt the need to, at least in some way or form, express that he knew times were tough, he knew things seemed difficult right now. With his own melancholy version of ‘Bang Bang, My Baby Shot Me Down’, he concluded what was so far a very lively performance of some uplifting old-school rock’n’roll, to give everyone a couple of minutes to just breathe and sit in everything that had been troubling them lately with the slow lull of a deep baritone singing to a solitary guitar tune in the background. He then announced that karaoke time may begin and excused himself from the Den’s small, inconspicuous stage, meandering through approving applause and shoulder pats in passing to reach the bar where one of his newest employees held the fort, not on her own but might as well be, since all the other people on shift had their hands and trays full enough.

“Where me cigs at?” He asked when he approached, although she was likely to not have a single clue where Ryden threw his stuff at. Brow heavy and lips reluctant to smile, he took his usual seat right at the corner of the bar near the cash registry, away from other patrons, a little spot of his own he always squeezed his large form in when he wasn’t working on the other side.

@mayarparker​

[rottenpumpkin13]

Responding to the Zack/Seph friendship thing as an ask because I have no idea how shares work and the comment space isn’t long enough :P

But as fun as that idea is- that Sephiroth didn’t do it because Zack reminded him of his dead friends- I honestly think it’s because he just couldn’t relate/was too distressed from everything else happening. I know CC happened within the span of like… five years? Maybe? And I’m not sure how all those events line up in the timeline but regardless, I think it’s mostly because Zack was young, a couple years younger than Sephiroth, and Sephiroth mostly became friends with Angeal and Sephiroth because he felt they could understand him, since they were also part of a similar “project” like he was and- I believe this played a HUGE part- he thought them to be the closest to his strength level. I think him being so far superior to everyone else in every way was what caused him to be separate and that was something he was very aware of, and now there are these two people who are almost as good as he is and so he knows they’ll treat him as an equal rather than as a hero, idol, or something surpassing a human.

While Zack was also undoubtedly strong, I don’t think Sephiroth ever viewed him as a friend, he just viewed him as Angeal’s student and probably didn’t feel like they could ever be equals. Because as much as I don’t think Sephiroth ever wanted to be different, I think he still had a good degree of arrogance nonetheless. Deep down he knew he was better, and he knew what that entailed, including always being set apart from others unless they were in the same league he was. There’s an argument to be made that Zack DID at least reach the same level as Genesis and Angeal did by the end of CC, but Sephiroth probably already had a notion of what Zack was like and his perception of him never changed even as Zack progressed.

Of course the events happening in the game probably didn’t help, so to that agree I do also agree with your assessment of why Seph and Zack never got closer. I mean his best friends basically both died and now he’s left alone again, and prior to that it doesn’t seem like Seph really knew Zack beyond just as Angeal’s student so they never had time to bond when things were alright, and afterwards Sephiroth didn’t have the will to befriend someone else- who he never saw as an equal, who he always thought was weaker- who would also likely die. If these two people who he thought to be on par with himself died, why would this weaker person serve as a decent replacement?

I have my own qualms with Angeal and Genesis- particularly Genesis- and how they treated Sephiroth, but in Sephiroth’s mind it was enough that they were willing to spend time with him and treat him like a human, regardless of the fact that they were closer to each other than they’d ever be to him. Great and now I’m sad about Sephiroth all over again 🥲 the poor guy really had nobody. It’s no wonder he went crazy. Actually it’s a wonder he was a good person for 25 years before he snapped, most people would’ve gone full Homelander a lot earlier.

Sorry for the rant, it seems like the question riled me up a bit 😅

I'm going to put myself in Sephiroth's shoes and say the emotional and mental exhaustion he endured from everything that happened in Crisis Core—from the training room, degradation, desertion, the Genesis War, Angeal's death, and then Nibelheim—would be overwhelming. If it were me I wouldn't have the energy to relate or form friendships with anyone after that and wouldn't want to, and things like that would be the last thing on my mind. That last post was just a depressing thought I had at *checks watch* wow it's late. I think it was the trauma and exhaustion from everything rolled into one blunt that finally got smoked at Nibelheim.

Though I do think Sephiroth cared for Zack in some way, part of that definitely had to do with seeing a bit of Angeal in him since Zack inherited his sword and all. I can't say it better than @altocat did in this post, but the signs were there.

And I'm going to politely disagree with Sephiroth being arrogant. I don't see him as someone who cares about status and being equals with someone or not. He was thrust into a position at a young age and grew up naturally isolated at the metaphorical top, but I don't think that made him arrogant at all, and if anything this isolation fueled the loyalty and devotion he had towards the few friends he did make. I also see Sephiroth as someone who doesn't open up to people easily. We know he knew Angeal for years before Crisis Core when they were young teens—and if you want to add context from Ever Crisis, this would be right after the Rhadore mission where all that happened, so Angeal's (and Genesis's) friendship came at the right time.

I would say Zack's did too, but again, plot context is key, and Sephiroth was already going through so much in CC. Also, kind of like you said, there's the relatability aspect and the age gap, but I personally don't think it was because Sephiroth saw Zack as inferior to him in any way.

[altocat]

Okay. I feel like I have to say this because I saw this argument earlier. Zack and Sephiroth WERE friends. They were friends caught up in a strained, stressful situation beyond their control. With this said, there's some understandable tension between them during the game. But Zack is NOT cruel to Sephiroth during CC, nor is he at any point responsible for Sephiroth's trauma or actions. When Zack gets annoyed at Sephiroth during the story, there are VALID reasons for him feeling this way. And, moreover, Sephiroth is not the ONLY victim of CC compared to the OCEAN OF TRAUMA Zack experiences.

For starters, Sephiroth is technically dumping all his responsibilities onto Zack, causing him to bear the emotional burden. Sephiroth is also aloof and not always communicative. Zack was mad at him in Junon because Sephiroth was not returning his calls. Zack being pissed at Sephiroth because of Nibelheim? He just murdered a ton of civilians there's realistically no way you can be nice and gentle with someone after that. Zack not checking in on Sephiroth? Well he actually MIGHT have been. How else does he know what Sephiroth is doing in there? How does Cloud have memories of Sephiroth telling him to go away? Zack likely DID express concern for Sephiroth's wellbeing and WAS rebuffed. Zack even expresses concern at the Nibelheim reactor by trying to physically comfort Sephiroth, only for SEPHIROTH to push him away. Zack was also the one telling Genesis to shut the hell up because he could see that Sephiroth was getting upset. Zack DOES care and DOES emphasize with Sephiroth. The game just isn't dwelling on it.

Sephiroth is not the only person in pain during CC. I think Zack had to deal with the MOST shit since he's the one who had to kill Angeal. He got to watch Genesis seemingly die in front of him. I think Zack has MORE THAN A FEW valid reasons for being occasionally upset and angry at Sephiroth. But even AFTER what Sephiroth did in Nibelheim, Zack still chooses to honor him at the end. Sephiroth is shown in Zack's memories of people he loves during his last stand. AND Zack stands in Sephiroth's place when he fulfills Genesis' wish to share the apples. In Opera Omnia, Zack is very clearly upset with what happened with Sephiroth, and doesn't seem to be able to truly hate him. And Sephiroth killed innocent people and tried to destroy the world. I think if Zack can still pity Sephiroth afterwards, it wasn't just an unempathetic relationship.

Also, and this is something that the game tries to convey but doesn't do a good enough job, Sephiroth and Zack spend pretty much 2 years in each other's company. The DMW cutscenes explore this idea as it shows them training together. What you are seeing are only a handful of moments in what is otherwise a period of them actually befriending each other and forming enough of a bond for Sephiroth to have grown some level of fondness for him. Nomura himself has said that Sephiroth really trusts Zack, and appreciates that Zack treats him like a human being and not a hero. He LIKES that Zack calls him out, likes that Zack challenges him. He is THANKFUL for that.

Crisis Core is a flawed game. But Sephiroth is not the only victim or the only one suffering throughout. Genesis and Angeal suffered. And god, Zack MORE than suffered. And no one was nice to HIM throughout. No one cares about HIS mental health. No one gives HIM special treatment. He has to kill his friends and deal with it. And then he dies. I love Sephiroth, you all know that. But part of loving the character is accepting the very real truth that he is STILL a villain and that he is NOT the center of suffering. His pain does NOT invalidate the pain of others.

Anyway, Zack and Sephiroth were still friends despite all this. They weren't as close as they could have been, but they were. It was a relationship with occasional bitterness, drama, and heartache, but they were still good enough friends for it to count. But we need to take into account that Zack is NOT to blame for anything related to Sephiroth's pain and actions. If anything, he is completely blameless.

[kimberlyannharts]

misc thoughts on Issue #121 -

= On paper this is a fine character study for Billy but as I've said before it's weakened by how a) literally nothing happens for Billy to think he needs to take such a big drastic step and b) no one stops him to be like "we literally have a plan we're pulling off RIGHT NOW. Slayer's been gone for like....an hour. And we know how to both protect ourselves from infection AND cure people from infection". The event clearly wants it to be like.....after all the loss Billy's dealt with and the pressure on him, he's hit such a low point that he's resorting to crossing a line, but it just doesn't translate well because of how nothing happens in this issue - compared to how last issue Ari gets pushed to the edge by losing half her team, including Remi. To contrast, Billy's team just got FULLY REUNITED now that Rocky and Adam are back (traumatized, but still back) and he has his own little tech support group of Kendall and Phantom Ranger. They seem to want to center a lot of his grief on the loss of Grace, and the Power Eggs being broken, but.......like........idk, man. Grace/Billy really wasn't a positive relationship, not like Grace/M*tt was trying to be before she died. It just doesn't really work for me. And the rules for the Power Eggs and how oh if they break /this/ will happen and oh now the Arch is breaking too just feel all over the place so that's also hard to take seriously as stakes

= It's funny to me how they talk about Adam and Rocky being unable/unwilling to see their families but it's really just Rocky's family because we never had even a hint of Adam's family life

= Repeating my point from earlier notes that everyone who thinks Jason got "put out to pasture" because he's not a Ranger anymore is reading an entirely different event because he has the most screentime in this issue than any of the MMPRs besides Billy. Kim, Zack, and Trini's current whereabouts aren't even referenced

= I think Kiya/Billy is the most interesting thing in this issue, as they're both Blue Rangers with such wildly different personalities and ideals which makes their interactions more interesting than other paired Rangers like Jason/Taylor, but something about Alt-Trini's involvement in here bugs me. I guess it's how she goes along too easily with Billy? Wouldn't she bring up Slayer's plan? I know they try to justify her inclusion by bringing back her old speech about doing what they have to to survive but I'm just not a fan of how going through the motions she is

= Really hate how Kendall comes off pleading and desperate and helpless at the end there. And I mean....she is desperate. But I think it goes back to how she doesn't really feel like Kendall outside of being smart. She should have gotten angry and fought back!!!!!

= Aisha being with M*tt and not ROCKY AND ADAM, HER FRIENDS THAT SHE FREED sucks. And no, I'm not buying the stupid "well, you can only help if you were there" thing because if that was the case, why was she able to help M*tt during his evil-induced panic attacks? Whatever.

= Guess we'll find out tomorrow if we're allowed to be pissed off at Billy for this or if they'll do some nonsense "actually this was the right thing to do" turn. Like he's definitely being framed as irrational and going too far, but are we really going to END THE MAIN SERIES with everyone as angry at him as they should be? Like.....this has to end with everything okay, shouldn't it??

= This doesn't apply to Kendall and Phantom Ranger though they have every right to exit the series pissed off at him, even if there's a happy ending

= The double spread of Drakkon's actions in Shattered Grid is still the best part of the issue. Gorgeous art and reminding everyone that Shattered Grid is still That Girl everyone wants to be, to the point that we're trying to be Shattered Grid....two issues before the end of the entire series