#* XIII ⫶ life is short. the art long ⊹ ( out of character. )

[orphilos]

I won't be online much here this month. read tag for more info.

[experthiese]

PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE INFORMATION.

Feel free to refer to this when deciding how much your character should know about Lupin, especially if they're from outside his canon and have no pre-established basis on if/how well they know of each other.

PUBLIC. Accessible to everyone.

He is the grandson of Arsène Lupin, notorious French gentleman thief, and the third generation to continue in this line of work. No treasure is said to be outside of his reach once he's set his sights on it, and as a result he's been granted the title of the world's most wanted thief.

He's a master of disguise, and (much like his predecessors) is able to perfectly mimic another's appearance, voice and mannerisms with minimal observation needed beforehand. Only tiny details, such as his mask not showing sweat where real skin would, are able to give him away.

He is affiliated with Daisuke Jigen, Ishikawa Goemon XIII, Fujiko Mine, Laetitia Bresson, and more (verse/relationship dependent).

His 'eternal rival' is Zenigata Koichi of Interpol, the only man able to consistently capture Lupin, even if it's only for short bursts of time.

Zenigata has arrested and successfully imprisoned him on multiple occasions. However, Lupin has managed to find a way to escape from every single prison he's been put in, often relying on the assistance of his gang.

He's said to be in love with every woman in the world, though his prized paramour is Fujiko. He will never stop trying to win her affections, no matter how often he's betrayed or rejected.

His preferred weapon is a Walther P38 and it's kept on his person at all times.

A calling card is always sent to his chosen target pre-heist, detailing the item to be stolen, and the time/date of his appearance. It's signed with his name and peanut caricature.

He was once married to Rebecca Rossellini, well-known heiress and secret thrill-seeker. When he left Italy to continues his crimes travels, she didn't follow him.

SEMI-PUBLIC. Still accessible, but lesser known.

He's bisexual. His attraction to men is just greatly overshadowed by his womanising.

He's a mostly self-taught polyglot and remains at least conversational no matter where in the world he travels. He's also fluent in some dead and computer languages.

The details sent on his calling card are specific, and he sticks to them rigidly. Lupin will leave the premises once the window has passed, regardless of if he managed to snatch the treasure or not.

He's an art connoisseur and can tell a real piece from a forgery with a single glance.

All car maintenance is done by him. He's very proud of all three of his vehicles, and does his best to keep them in top condition for as long as possible. A lot of his wealth gets re-invested into fixing them up after a heist.

Lupin doesn't kill. That's one of the rules of his game, and it's one that he's unlikely to try and bend. He has people to kill for him, if necessary, but he himself refuses to take a life until it's the only option left.

This no-killing rule is one of the biggest copycat downfalls, and often the thing that gets them discovered. Thief he may be, but Lupin has a strict code of ethics he's set for himself.

He's intelligent. Many underestimate him because of the silly, childish persona he performs, failing to realise that this is not only a deliberate part of his plan, but necessary for his success. Any foe becomes easier to beat when they forget just who they're going up against.

He's a capable scientist, and uses this knowledge for his heists. All of his gadgets, smoke bombs, and knock-out gases are handmade and often re-evaluated to ensure they have maximum efficiency.

He can work any vehicle, be it designed for the land, skies, or water. He's an especially good stunt driver, so naturally prefers to use motorcycles or cars whenever possible.

PRIVATE. Available only to Lupin's closest.

Lupin doesn't dream, nor does he get nightmares. His REM sleep, or if he's even capable of achieving it, remains a mystery to everyone.

He is the legal wife of Onabes, an art collector. Despite his best efforts, the divorce papers were never completed, and thus their marriage remains binding.

The addresses of all his safehouses. In order to remain untraceable, Lupin's constantly selling off property and purchasing new ones, and rarely bothers to inform anyone about these developments unless necessary. His chosen locations range from penthouse city apartments, to countryside mansions the size of a small village, to cozy coastal bungalows. He has hideouts in every conceivable corner of the earth.

He's afraid of octopi, squid, and similar cephalopods. They freak him out big time.

Lupin will, on occasion, allow Zenigata's men to "recover" the occasional stolen artefact. Usually these are ones of historical/cultural significance or gems that he just can't sell for a good price. He has no interest in keeping these items; they've already served their purpose and gone to show that he can take them.

He sneaks into Interpol a lot. He's always disguised as different people of varying levels of importance, and loves to catch up on the latest water cooler gossip (and start some of his own). As a result, he's gotten a pretty good understanding of a lot of Interpol officers and knows more than they'd probably want him to.

All of Lupin's heists and their accompanying details (such as maps, blueprints, security routes, required technology and disguises) are all written down on paper and kept on Lupin's person. He's done far too much hacking to trust any sort of digital security system.

[mmikmmik2]

If you were to sort the Infinity Train cast(s) into the Major Arcana a la the Persona games, which Arcana would you give everyone?

anon I had SOOOOO much fun thinking about this, thank you so much for sending me this. I sorted all the major characters, plus a few other entries, based on a mix of Arcana symbolism, Persona series character archetypes, and general vibes. I came up with answers I feel pretty good about for all but four of the Arcana. (Was really tempted to say Strength is every human character who doesn't board the train because they can handle their problems on their own lol.) This is going to be a long-winded post, so I thought I’d post just the list as an image (which hopefully won’t be too blurry!) rather than wrestle with Tumblr formatting trying to make a short list, and put a big text wall under the readmore talking more about my picks.

If this list does end up illegible, the same info is under the readmore as text! Plus some characters for Magician, Strength, Justice, and Death that I didn’t want to add to the “official” list because they’re more based on headcanon. (Although my reasoning for some of the “official” picks is pretty weak lol.)

One-One as 0. The Fool

Oh my gosh, what am I?

IT is great at fleshing out character backstories and families, so One-One at the beginning of S1 is one of the few characters who really feels like a blank slate. He's got a lot of his baggage back by the end of the season, and I think One and One-One are more similar than they seem at first glance, but S1 does seem to have been very formative for One-One and how he thinks about what he's supposed to be doing and how he relates to other people. So it does kind of feel like his fool's journey.

Alrick Timmens as I. The Magician

The magician begins the journey... by beefing it on a dirt bike, dying, and sending his wife flying off the deep end. Rip.

Alrick was an engineer like Amelia, so I could see him suiting some of the themes of the Magician, like conscious thought and manifesting ideas. His apparent playfulness and insecurity are similar to the Magician characters in Persona.

Kez as II. The High Priestess

“We can’t make this decision for you, Kez.” “You know what to do.”

I thought really hard about making Kez the Magician because just like every Magician since Persona 3, she's dumb, horny, and insecure dlkjasfdkl

(and also her showing up at the start of the story arc and being helpful but also super needy is very Magician)

But the idea of "intuition" really does suit Kez. Sometimes her intuition is as bad as her conscious reasoning, but I think that's a lot because she's so confused about what happened with Jeremy, and Morgan making Kez feel like she did a bad thing by helping him.

Tuba as III. The Empress

She made me feel like I was warm all the time.

Tuba's a mom. Sorry, this one's not that deep, haha.

Simon Laurent as IV. The Emperor

Highest number! I'm the leader now.

Simon has a lot of issues, but the one that felt the most prominent to me was his unhealthy relationship with power, authority, dominance, and rules. Another quote I considered using here was what he said in Grace's memory of meeting Amelia: "I never thought I'd get to see the Conductor with my own eyes. He's perfect! Everything finally makes sense again." In his emotional crisis, he thought everything could be fixed just by the existence of a huge, scary, powerful, male authority figure, even if they weren't doing anything helpful or informative.

Atticus as V. The Hierophant

I like to think that our stones are sturdy and handsome, like the Corgis that crafted them.

Atticus is a figure of traditional authority who deeply loves the history, society, and culture of his people. He often provides spiritual wisdom and encourages Tulip to get out of her own head and engage with the world around her. Also in Persona, Hiero is the Dad Arcana so it's very funny to me (a) to make the little dog be Hiero and (b) that the little dog really does have the strongest Wholesome Dad Energy of the whole cast.

Jesse Cosay as VI. The Lovers

Don't tell me what to do. I'm not going to be a part of anything like this, on or off the train.

This was my first and easiest pick lol, Jesse is sooooo Lovers. Like, the focus on choice and personal values and relationships? Yep, that's Jesse. It works on an "actual meaning of the Arcana" level and a "vibes with the Persona characters" level lol... popular, upbeat, and having such an identity crisis.

Lake as VII. The Chariot

I'm my own person, who is getting off this train!

I don't know if Chariot captures all the ways Lake grew over the course of S2, but I feel like they had the most externally focused conflict of all the IT characters, which suits Chariot. They've been fighting to stake out their personhood from start to finish, and they took action and used their willpower to achieve that goal. Also they have at least a little jock energy which is a prereq for Chariot tbh.

Frank as VIII. Strength

I dunno, I kinda imagine him as a simple man and easily underestimated, but with a lot of heart. The Cat may say they're keeping things casual but I don't think she'd take him with her on her private vacation unless he had some kind of inner toughness that would let him stand toe-to-toe with her.

Morgan as IX. The Hermit

I need to be alone right now. Kez... maybe... we can talk later.

I like that Morgan embodies toxic self-isolation and stonewalling and rejection, but that she seems to be moving towards the positive aspects of Hermit and taking some time to calm down and process and think. I like it when characters can embody the best and worst of their Arcana.

Tulip Olsen as X. The Wheel of Fortune

We have to adapt to the changes in our lives. It's the only way things can get better.

Tulip has a lot of themes and conflicts, but this one is a clear standout as the most important. I also like it for Tulip because, while she has to handle a lot of difficult and even traumatic situations, some of the change that challenges her isn't as unambiguously bad as e.g. the death of a loved one. It really is just change itself she's struggling with, and that's Fortune babey. Also, from the perspective of the train itself and lots of other characters, by reversing Amelia and One-One's positions again and changing how One-One administrates the train, Tulip is the one giving the wheel a spin. That's fun.

Lucy as XI. Justice

One of my friends once described the Justice characters in Persona as "the ones the player character is ultimately accountable towards", and I like to think of Lucy as kind of being that for Grace (...since Hazel has excused herself). Lucy is the Apex kid we see Grace interact with the most, the first Apex kid Grace admitted to herself that she had harmed (see Grace very briefly showing distress and then regret when Jesse points the harpoons at his face and she stops him), and the first person to confront Grace when she came home in The New Apex.

Min-Gi Park as XII. The Hanged Man

I don't know if we'll sell a single album, but we'll figure that out as we go.

Min-Gi sacrifices his "realistic", "sensible" goals for a more personally (spiritually, even?) enriching life that's beyond his control and outside of the expected norm. Like the Hanged Man, who dangles foolishly upside-down, but as a deliberate choice and in a state of serenity and enlightenment. I also think this arcana suits a reading of Min-Gi's character development as starting off going slower as a way to stall and live in denial, but then going slower with deliberation. Compare his arrogant insistence on refusing to act in The Astro Queue Car to his patience and care in The Castle Car and The Train to Nowhere.

Jeremy as XIII. Death

This isn't about the death of his family - I'm thinking of his reluctance to admit his number was going down. He cared about Morgan and Kez, and it's possible both that he may have really wanted to stay with them despite his exit and that that might even have been a healthy choice - they're real ass people with feelings and everything, not holodeck characters. But I also think Jeremy was using his life with them to avoid moving on out of that fog (because it was hard and it hurt and he didn't want to think about what that would mean for him and Morgan) and Morgan was enabling him.

Ryan Akagi as XIV. Temperance

Maybe the experience is the point. I wasn't just rushing you. I was rushing myself.

I think this one speaks for itself. Also, the other quote I considered putting here, from The Art Gallery Car: "You told me I can't appreciate the song without taking in the rest of the album. I need the whole package."

The Cat as XV. The Devil

I always do the right thing.

Honestly, this is one I really wasn't sure about. The Cat isn't a great pick for a lot of the meanings of Devil. She is definitely consumed by material comforts, and the short-term rewards of ignoring her issues at a long-term cost, though. This is more of a "vibes with Persona characters with this arcana" pick... Devil characters tend to start off being somewhat exploitative or even antagonistic towards the player character, and gradually showing a more conflicted and genuine side.

Amelia Hughes as XVI. The Tower

There's a hole in the universe where Alrick used to be.

Amelia's life is defined by catastrophe and upheaval - both those she's suffered and those she's inflicted on others.

Hazel as XVII. The Star

I'm going to keep loving you like you're still here.

When I think of "The Star" as a small but inextinguishable light in the darkness, Hazel seems like the obvious choice. Although we left her deeply wounded, I think she still has a flicker of her hope, faith, and purpose.

Grace Monroe as XVIII. The Moon

But it's unfair for me to tell you how to understand yourself. I mean, I don't even fully understand me.

Grace is probably the most complex and dynamic character on the show and hence one of the most difficult to place. I considered Empress, Strength, Devil, and Judgement for her... I think ultimately, lies and illusions are the most unifying theme of her character arc. Also, from a Persona angle, her pursuit of status out of a lack of true self-worth reminds me of Ai and Mishima.

Alan Dracula as XIX. The Sun

Brought together by the majesty of a superpowered deer!

I'm sorry dkjasfklads this is largely because I thought it was funny to have this completely inexpressive dead-eyed deer as Sun akfk but also... like... it kind of works okay!!! Think about the genuine joy and comfort and positivity he brings to Lake and Jesse (and me)!

The New Apex as XX. Judgement

"Then what are we gonna be?" "Guess we'll have to figure it out?"

This is kind of a Persona mythology gag again because of Judgement being a group social link near the end of the narratives of P3 and P4, when the protagonists have pierced through the lies and actually figured out who the villain of their game is and are ready to really start making progress.

0 as XI. The World

Ah, train does it again!

It's an ending and the completion of a journey, but also the beginning of a new one. And the world is literally what the passengers receive at the end of their train journey. Welcome home.

[lynny246]

That moment when your discord art group challenges everyone to resurrect your  dead OCs. Born from the ashes and rising like a phoenix is the first OC I ever drew, Reany for Kingdom Hearts! Long story short; I was so in love with Kingdom Hearts 2 that I made a terrible OC that I refurbished when DDD came out. I completely reworked her when KH3 came out. I figured she deserved a better design to boot, I am now a proud OC parent :3

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Name: Reany (Ree-Knee)

Age: 15 (KH2) around 16 (KH3)

Gender: Female

Nickname(s): Rea (Ree-ya)

Alias(es): Guardian of the Moon (self-proclaimed)

Birth Date: July 20th

Occupation: Fighter/Guardian

Affiliation(s): Guardians of Light

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About the Character

Personality:

Outwardly, Reany can be seen as your typical tomboy. She is a very energetic, athletic, focused, controlled, loyal, and affectionate. However, this is more of an image and serves as a mask to gain more relationships. Reany's truest self still consists of some of the aforementioned traits (i.e. loyal, energetic) but is more defined by her being reserved, awkward, abrasive, ambitious, and pessimistic.

Fear(s): Rejection and loneliness. She fears people forgetting her and never forming any meaningful bonds.

Likes: card games, fighting, painting, eating, teasing, corny jokes, the Heartless, and stargazing

Dislikes: scorpions, isolation, secrets, losing

Habit(s): Chewing her hair. It’s simply an anxious tic when she has difficulty using her more confident persona.

Flaw(s): Very apathetic, she finds it hard to be emotionally invested in certain situations, fearing her attachment can lead to negativity if that attachment is ever discontinued by her or others. A slight inferiority complex, she feels that her presence as a whole isn't important in anyone's life. Socially awkward, while she can appear warm and welcoming, her natural inability to communicate in a normal fashion can cause embarrassment and general awkwardness. Clingy, since she does not initially have any meaningful friendships, she tends to attach herself to anyone who gives her a shred of attention or affection.

Talent(s): War Hammer Proficiency, after proclaiming herself to be the Guardian of the Moon, she began training with a war hammer and has found herself to be a competent fighter. Painting, while incapable of drawing anything concrete, she enjoys making abstract paintings. Topography, Reany has exceptional photographic memory, as such, she can construct detailed maps of any location she has spent minimal time in. 

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The Character’s Relationship With Others

Reputation (Quick Character Bio):

A Twilight Town resident with a warm disposition and energetic personality. She has been helping Sora and the others travel an altered Twilight Town and discover hidden locations. It seems that she is not well received by everyone in the town as some of her hometown's inhabitants see her as a mysterious girl of questionable origin and motives...

Love Interest(s):

Riku. Reany has always been attached to Riku as he has always made an effort to keep her involved in the group (initially, just to keep her around for her navigation skills). As they spend more time together during the journey, Reany is becoming more infatuated with him and tries (in her own gawky way) to appeal to him. Riku has picked up on her interest in him, but has yet to decipher whether he feels the same way. 

Friend(s):

Sora

Riku

Selphie (has not met her, but Reany considers her a friend based on all the stories Sora has told Reany)

Seifer (Not mutual, Seifer considers her a sparing partner at best)

Fuu (Not mutual, Reany looks up to her and admires her)

Freun (A rogue heartless she adopted [captured] during the events of KHII)

Enemy(ies):

Kairi (Not mutual, Kairi considers her a friend while Reany views her as a rival)

Arxyne

Organization XIII

Relationship(s):

Sora: They meet when Mickey recommends the gang go check out Twilight Town, which has had an abnormal amount of heartless and, for some reason, experienced alterations to its’ layout. Reany agrees to guide and house him and his friends. Initially, Sora befriends her due to pity after hearing some citizens of Twilight Town gossiping about her being the cause of the strange circumstances. After going through so much, they form a genuine bond and become good friends. Reany treats Sora like her little brother, despite being the same age.

Riku: The two meet the same way she meets Sora. During the adventure, Riku does his best to keep Reany in a good mood so that she can be a good navigator and Reany becomes fascinated with Riku's experience with darkness and his adventures. After the events of Twilight Town, Riku is the first to help her process what has occurred and offers her the opportunity to travel with him, Sora, and Kairi while they prepare for the Mark of Mastery. It is after all this that Reany develops romantic feelings for Riku, it is unknown how Riku feels.

Selphie: During their exploration of Twilight Town, Sora tells Reany about his home, Destiny Island, and describes some of his friends there. One such friend is Selphie who Reany believes is the ideal female friend to contrast perfectly with her personality. She considers Selphie a friend and believes the two have a girly-girl and tomboy dynamic. Reany is so invested in this dynamic that she envisions several shenanigans (most that are common in real world sitcoms) they could get involved in that would make them better friends. These fantasies seem strange to Sora and Riku.

Kairi: Sees Kairi as her complete opposite, a confident and beautiful girl who doesn't even have to try to get friends. Reany chooses to define their dynamic as typical rivals who will "battle eternally to better themselves." (Could you tell that Reany is incredibly eccentric?) From that moment on, Reany expresses a childlike dislike of Kairi, mostly pranking her, mocking her lack of physical prowess, and quoting fictional lines to assert their rivalry. Kairi does not appear to reciprocate the feelings of rivalry, viewing her as a childish little sister. Kairi responds to most of Reany's actions with kindness and general ambivalence, which confuses Reany and has her deem Kairi as "too bright"(referencing her purity).

Arxyne:  (NOTE: this plot is obviously fan-made and happens between KH2 and DDD, it has no true tie-in with the story) Arxyne is a nobody's shadow, a malformed and incomplete nobody born from someone who has not lost their heart physically, but metaphorically. Born from Reany's intense feelings of self-pity and loneliness, Arxyne is ultimately the reason behind Twilight Town receiving a high amount of heartless and changes to it's terrain. Reany's hatred is obvious, opposed to the idea of Arxyne’s existence being her fault. However after everything has reached it's cessation, Reany admits to pitying Arxyne for only being able to feel Reany's negativity and blames herself for Arxyne's suffering.

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The Character’s Abilities

Weapon(s): Mondbrecher, a hammer enchanted with ether. The hammer boosts the physical capabilities of the user and imbues users with "Clarity", a state of supreme focus which improves proficiency and precision. Reany has the weapon from the start of the story and uses it haphazardly, once using it to hammer a nail in her house. Reany notes that the hammer gives her confidence, which is attributed to the "Clarity" state. This confidence allows her to use her confident persona without risk, meaning she is able to keep up appearances better and not break character, but doesn't make up for much of her social inadequacy or disguise her real personality. Once Arxyne is defeated, the hammer is at full power, giving Reany the ability to modify it with temporary magic arts items.

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Stats:

Agility: 9/10

Weapon Handling: 8/10

Hand-to-Hand Combat: 9/10

Elemental Control: 6/10

Defense: 4/10

Offense: 8/10

People Skills: 2/10

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The Character’s Familial/Biographical Information

Birthplace: Twilight Town

Family: Freun (Pet)

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Story (Rather a synopsis of how she gets involved in the main KH protagonists)

Reany is an average inhabitant of Twilight Town, appearing randomly during the beginning of KH2. Despite living there for quite a while, no inhabitant seems to remember her causing her to reintroduces herself multiple times. Strangely, it is when Twilight Town begins changing that people seem to remember her. She meets Sora and the gang after they are sent to investigate the strange changes going on in the world.

She agrees to help them find out information and instantly attaches herself to the group. As the team investigates, they find a strange portal, hidden within the clock tower. It leads to a strange labyrinth, crawling with heartless, that has no exit. The labyrinth has 6 puzzles to be solved in order to open a silver gate. Each puzzle offers an upgrade to the team's weapons which can open the gate.  Once a puzzle is solved, a guardian appears to battle. Each guardian being a member of Organization XIII, however, something is amiss. The roster is missing Roxas and Axel, the members lack knowledge of prior encounters, and each member's personality is severely exaggerated (i.e. Demyx is incredibly dimwitted, Larxene is militant).

As they defeat each member, the group takes note of these strange differences and finds evidence that they are not battling resurrected members of Organization XIII, rather they are fighting puppets. Donald identifies the dark magic leaving their bodies, theorizing this is what gives them sentience, and Riku discovers they are being controlled physically by hairlike strings. They finally reach the top of the labyrinth where the truth is revealed. Arxyne, Reany's nobody who was created from Reany's negative emotions about her loneliness, awoke in the clock tower and found herself unable to leave the tower as she lacked physical strength and the knowledge of how to unlock the gate.

Born with the ability of omnipercipience, Arxyne was able to observe many worlds without leaving the tower, most interested in the heartless and different nobodies. Noticing the stray heartless who found hearts evolve to nobodies, Arxyne believed that she was unable to leave the tower because she was incomplete and created a plan to find her somebody. If successful, she believed she could be complete and finally leave the tower. Arxyne attempts to persuade Reany to reunite with her and allow her to leave by appealing to their mutual feelings of loneliness and abnormality. Reany, worried that the others would realize the girl they had known as of now was a fake persona, refuses and makes an attempt to destroy Arxyne. Arxyne becomes enraged and disarms Reany. Arxyne, detecting the power and potential of Mondbrecher, proclaims that she was wrong to need someone as pathetic as Reany and believes Mondbrecher is all she needs. She uses Mondbrecher to give her the physical capabilities to fight. The battles ensue and the team comes out victorious. Reany takes back Mondbrecher, which absorbs Arxyne's spirit making Reany complete again.

After this, the group returns to Twilight Town, finding it has returned to it's normal state and the clock tower disappears. Reany makes a big speech, showing her real personality and thank them for not only their help with this mission, but for befriending her. She apologizes for deceiving them and offers to distance herself if they don't like the real her. Kairi assures Reany that nobody will give up on their friendship with her and they are glad they met her. The group concludes the day with a quick casual exploration of Twilight Town before Donald decides it's time to report back to Mickey with Riku agreeing that they need to prepare for the Mark of Mastery. Reany bids them farewell, clearly somber about losing new friends again. Sora asks if she was willing to join them and Reany questions whether she would be a bother. Riku quickly states that she couldn't participate in the test but could travel to Destiny Island with them as they need to return there first. Reany accepts and monologues about this being her chance to be the Guardian of the Moon, a warrior she read about in a book who protects worlds that have fallen into the darkness from being consumed again. The group chooses to ignore this and welcomes her, she has been tagging along ever since.

That’s All Folks~ (probably update this as mor KH content comes outs)

[lany-d-flow]

Whisper Talk: Going Against Alternate Timeline Theories with a Theory, and Answering Questions Saying Otherwise.

Those who look with clouded eyes see nothing but shadows. -Sephiroth, Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

SPOILER WARNING

Pressing “Keep Reading” will bring you into spoiler territory for, well... Final Fantasy 7 Compilation and Remake, so this is your warning, all right buddy?

Also, this is one person’s interpretation of another work. What I predict may very well turn out to be untrue, and if you disagree with my prediction then that’s totally fine! (If you’d like, we could chat about it).

But honestly, I have spent the last few months thinking about this game in an unhealthy manner. I think having all of these whispers inside of my head with my frustration getting bigger is not going to move anything forward. So it’s time to wake up, get up, get out there and write thoughts about what is actually going on with Final Fantasy 7 Remake, while trying to clear up misconceptions that may be leading people astray. Perhaps the latter is the intention of the developers. If it is? Well, let’s move past the clouds and find the sunlight. 

All right, let’s mosey into this nonsense.

It’s been months since the release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. After a long five-year wait for many fans, we got a piece of the story on the Playstation 4 in March and April 2020. It was exciting to see the capital of Final Fantasy 7, Midgar, be brought to life with state-of-the-art graphics. Treading through mako reactors, Sector 7 and Sector 5, the nasty Wall Market, Shinra HQ, hearing conversations of lively NPCs, exploring the subtle easter eggs and symbolism through visual storytelling... Goodness, so much of what this game had to offer was a delight! The developers put their heart and soul into fleshing out a section of Final Fantasy 7 that was, at most, 6 hours long. This level of detail cannot go unnoticed, and I’m sure it’s made everyone excited to see the reimagining of Gaia when we receive future installments!!!!

Oh, but wait... the developers introduced a new monster called Whispers, otherwise known as Arbiters of Fate, and... What purpose do they serve?! Why are these things in Final Fantasy 7 when they never had a role in the original game? Based on everything we saw in the story, they seem to be making sure the story of Final Fantasy 7 runs exactly as it’s supposed to. Without these ghosts, the story will not be 1:1. To make things worse, we have Sephiroth who’s from the future?! No wonder these Whispers are here, Sephiroth’s trying to rewrite history because everything he has tried before failed him!

So based on what we saw in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the developers decided to create a metaphor for the fanbase, and since we defeated ‘destiny,’ we’ve defeated the fanbase’s say in where the story goes, thereby giving the developers permission to change the story the way they want it. Wow, this is pathetic on Square Enix’s part. Final Fantasy 7 is an amazing story with layers and layers of complex themes, why would they try to form it into something else? Now we’re going to have time travel and alternate timelines in the plot and Sephiroth seems unstoppable now. Heck, the developers are probably going to make sure impactful moments in Final Fantasy 7 do not happen, so Zack and Aerith are probably going to survive. And they’re also ditching the Compilation? Can these people be trusted? 

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is ruined!!!

Still with me? Well, this is just some of the talk that I’ve heard based on the execution of Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s plot. I won’t try to list every possible thing people are talking about, but I think we get the idea of the impression that our game’s ending put on a lot of players. So I wanted to give my input on what I believe is actually going on with the story, as well as answer many questions popping up about the circumstances of our game’s characters.

So, do I think the developers are changing the story?

Short Answer: No, at least not in the way that many people think. They’re “changing” the story by putting in new elements, moments that tie with the rest of the Compilation, but the main plot points (Overarching plot, the main crisis, the internal plot, the emotional climax, etc.) still need to happen. This series is more than 2 decades old, and with time it has received: a movie, 2 books, a sequel, 2 prequels, and now a remake with existing materials to tie into the game. 

Long Answer: All right, if you’re still with me, thank you. I will do my best to explain all of what’s going on. I’ll give my input via understanding how the FF7 Universe works; in other words, what the Whispers are, how the Whispers work, how they’ve actually always been apart of FF7 and are now receiving an expanded role, and how Sephiroth and Aerith showing meta behavior makes sense due to the power that the Planet has given to the Arbiters of Fate (exposure = visions out of context). I will also be answering questions that one may bring up as proof of an alternate timeline/story change and argue what their purpose may actually be.

So, let's Talk about A Whisper

Wait a minute...

So, let's talk about the Whispers.

Let’s start by explaining what the Whispers are, what function they serve to the Planet, and how the Planet creates them in the first place:

Whispers are souls that act as arbiters of fate and have been a part of the Planet for as long as the Planet has existed. They know the fate of the Planet from beginning to end, and their function is to make sure that a specific destiny runs its course. They all unite under the will of the Planet, just like the Sephiroth Clones all act under the will of Sephiroth, which is probably the reason why they were given a cloaky look: the Whispers' function parallels the Sephiroth Clones' function and both act under the authority of something else. They cannot be seen by everyone, and to actually see their physical manifestation, you need to either be 1) deeply connected with the Planet, or 2) receive some form of physical contact from someone who has a strong connection to the Planet. This is established early in Chapter 2 of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Cloud meets Aerith for the first time, and at first glance she seems to be blown away by the wind. After Cloud and Aerith have an exchange and Aerith gives Cloud a flower, immediately after this we are greeted with an illusion of Sephiroth tormenting Cloud and more importantly, Aerith touching Cloud, allowing him to see the Whispers floating around the street. This follows the logic of my two points, as Aerith is a half-Cetra who’s been receiving visions of the past and future for years (her mural of symbolism in her Shinra HQ room was drawn when she received a vision as a child, though she does not understand the full context of what it means), and of course she ended up giving permission for Cloud to see the Planet’s protectors in action.

So how do the Whispers make sure destiny happens as intended?

Well, they do so by constantly observing the actions of the Planet’s people, sometimes in sight, sometimes not. If something happened that is off course, the Whispers immediately act to correct the course of said issue. We see this multiple times in the story. Some examples include: Aerith trying to leave the street where she meets Cloud, then proceeding to leave the street after meeting Cloud, following the Whispers’ intentions; Jessie getting injured in Sector 7 because destiny needs to make sure Cloud goes on the next AVALANCHE mission. If this didn’t happen, then Aerith and Cloud probably wouldn’t have met again; Surrounding the debris on top of Jessie to ensure her death takes place on top of the Sector 7 Tower (I’ll cover the speculation on her “survival” later); stopping Cloud from remembering everything about the Shinra Research Lab; stopping Hojo from revealing the truth of Cloud’s past (no way in Hell are they going to let the internal conflict unfold this early); reviving Barret from the stab wound that the Sephiroth remnant gave him; lastly, pushing Wedge down the Shinra HQ tower to ensure his death happens. Destined events either eventually happened, or they got delayed. This implies that the Whispers are nigh-omnipresent beings, especially given how many they are and how they were able to surround Midgar entirely, and their part of correcting destiny follows the flow of a river. As Red XIII puts it, “The flow of the great river that is the Planet, from inception to oblivion… For it is the will of the Planet itself”.

Cool. So how are the Whispers born? Where do they come from?

It’s actually a pretty straightforward explanation, and Aerith tells us in Chapter 18: Destiny’s Crossroads. Before the Whispers became Whispers, they were “Those born into this world. Who lived and who died. Who returned. They’re howling in pain.” This adds on to what Sephiroth said a moment ago: “All born are bound to her.” All Whispers were once living people, animals, etc. And all that are given life on the Planet are bound by something like a contract: You get made into an image and are given a physical life. In exchange, once that time’s up, you must return to the Lifestream and become a part of the Planet, being one of many who follow her will. You’re born, you live, you die, and you serve another purpose in a collective of spirits who are now tasked with making sure the flow of destiny is as it should be. By following all of this, we can conclude that 1) Everyone who lives on Gaia could eventually become a Whisper, and 2) since Whispers are a part of the Planet, they are formed from the Lifestream, the Planet’s lifeblood. This leads us into the next question...

How do the Whispers know the course of Destiny from start to finish?

Great question! The logical explanation to how they know is quite simple: the properties of the Lifestream. The Whispers are made out of Lifestream, and that gives them knowledge of the Planet’s destiny. I argue it is not farfetched to make this claim, as the Lifestream has shown time and again what it is capable of. Infact, let’s make an analogy of Lifestream manifestations via state of matter.

Lifestream: Its Three States of Matter and their Benefits and Side Effects

Mako is the liquid form of the Lifestream, Materia is a solid form of the Lifestream, while the regular Lifestream itself can be most equivalent to something of a gas/plasma, at least one that can be seen. Throughout Final Fantasy 7 we’ve seen what all of these forms can do. Mako is an extremely powerful energy source that powers all of Midgar through reactors, and is also what SOLDIERs are bathed in to possibly receive superhuman strength; Materia are jewels capable of all kinds of powerful magic; summoning fire, lightning, ice, creating shields, copying abilities of other living beings, healing, elevating other materia abilities, and most notably summon manifestations of powerful beings (Bahamut, Shiva, Ifrit, Odin, Knights of the Round). While the Lifestream itself? That’s all the souls of the planet with a consciousness that follows the Planet’s will. Some can appear as a physical manifestation, but they’re not quite solid, which is how Cloud’s buster sword moves through the Whispers as if he didn’t cut through anything. Use of the Lifestream can also create projections (think Aerith’s Chapter 14 resolution), allow access into someone’s subconscious under certain circumstances, and of course, give people visions of the past and future without any context as to how those events happen(ed).

All three forms of the Lifestream have side effects, too.

Materia can degrade the vitality and strength of the user. Think of it as a trade-off for borrowing the Planet’s lifeblood in the form of a jewel.

Mako can cause extremely intense mental breakdowns and break the psyche of those without strong mental resilience, which is why Cloud was unable to make it into SOLDIER. But he eventually received Mako exposure anyway. What happened? Oh yeah, he went into a comatose state not once, not twice, but THREE times. First during experimentation, second when he arrived at Midgar before Tifa bumped into him, and when he fell into a pool of Mako and washed up on the shore of Mideel.

Meanwhile, Lifestream side effects are non-contextual visions, loss of sanity similar to Mako (think Tifa before she entered Cloud’s subconscious), and if the Lifestream has something in it, infection! That’s how Geostigma came to be: Jenova cells from Sephiroth, Jenova, and the remnants were floating in the Lifestream, and when the latter destroyed Meteor, it also exposed humans to Jenova cells, turning into a severe disease that is deadliest toward hosts with emotional fragility. This is why Cloud has a “Geostigma episode” in Advent Children when he runs into an injured Tifa.

Even with all these side effects, the benefits are far too great to ignore. All this power from the Lifestream is why Sephiroth and Jenova wanted to siphon it for themselves in the first place. By siphoning the Lifestream resisting side effects, one can receive unparalleled powers. Sephiroth himself said it in the original game: 

“By merging with all the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence. Melding with the Planet… I will cease to exist as I am now. Only to be reborn as a god to rule over every soul.”

Notice how the last quote aligns with what Sephiroth said in the Edge of Creation about the Nebula? 

“Our world will become a part of it… one day.” 

We’ll come back to that statement, I promise. But for now, based on everything I’ve told you, here’s what I think is going on in Final Fantasy 7 Remake:

Sephiroth is not from the future. His exposure to the Lifestream for the last 5 years gave him the side effect of non-contextual visions. Among these visions, he probably saw his master plan fail. Eventually he realizes that the reason he has these visions is because of the Whispers and more specifically, the Planet’s Weapon Arbiter. The Whispers are fighting against Sephiroth as he’s gained both a rough understanding of the future and the Lifestream’s powers by siphoning it up. So, his new master plan? Defeat the Arbiters of Fate and THEN continue with his original plan. Sephiroth being omnipresent makes sense given his control over Jenova and her shapeshifting, S cells that allow him to puppetize clones and Cloud, and being in the Lifestream basically giving him more power with one form of that being omnipresence. What’s going to lead to his downfall is ultimately his arrogance: he probably thinks that just stopping the Whispers is enough for him to win. So while the physical manifestation of fate is gone, Sephiroth still needs to meet the same criteria to win: get the Black Materia to summon Meteor, his ticket to siphon up all the Planet’s Lifestream, which means he also needs Cloud to give him the Black Materia, which then means that eventually Aerith will have to summon Holy and eventually become one with the Lifestream to beat Meteor.

See how all of this comes together without time travel theories that go off on insane tangents? It’s established that the Whispers know the course of destiny from past, present and future. But WHERE did it say that they can travel through time? WHERE did it say that Sephiroth can travel through time with the Lifestream? That kind of power would be an enormous retcon to the story and the functions of Gaia, and it would also lead to a really convoluted plot that can deviate from the main themes of the story (trust me, some theories out there are wild). We do know that Whispers are in a singularity and it moves like a river, which as @silver-wield cleverly put in a post about the story of FF7R, translates to:

The arbiters of fate issued a correction to Wedge and made him fall out of the window in the Shinra building. Which means fate cannot be altered, merely delayed, which then leads to a more painful end for not accepting that fate.

...Or perhaps shuffled up with ultimately the same necessary outcome, because the river of destiny was put on a different course but is still heading to the same destination. There are multiple works in the compilation that the writers and developers would like to tie together to the main story. What’s a way for them to execute this? By making a metaphor for the OG storyline and by beating it giving them permission to add new things? From a certain point of view, sure, but the developers never needed permission to do this in the first place. But the side effect of beating the physical manifestation of destiny was likely shuffling parts of the story of Final Fantasy 7, prequels all the way to the chronological sequels. One can make a case for this based on the explosion felt at Midgar when the Arbiter and Sephiroth were defeated in the Singularity. The glitters of light could also reflect this change. From all this I argue freedom came to be, and characters from the Compilation might make an appearance during the main story such as Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. However, no matter what changes are present, the outcome will be the same. Cloud is not properly himself yet; he still thinks he made it into SOLDIER, he gets slight interferences from Jenova throughout the story (example: Cloud’s hand twitching when against Sephiroth at the Edge of Creation), he has the Buster Sword but still doesn’t remember who its original owner was, so his unreliable narration, downfall and emotional climax still need to happen. Aerith is the only character who can summon Holy and the only character who can call forth the Lifestream, and the only way she can call forth the Lifestream is by becoming one with it. How can she do this? There’s only one way: Death. Sorry guys, but if both Sephiroth and Aerith have prophetic visions of the future, there’s a chance that both know what must be done for themselves to get the upper hand. Sephiroth still wants to siphon up the Lifestream and become an omnipotent God, and the best way for him to do this? Summon Meteor. What does he need for this? The Black Materia. Who does he manipulate into giving him the Black Materia at the Northern Crater? Cloud.

My point from all this is that there are specific beats that need to happen to move the plot forward, no matter what new things they add from the Compilation. Using a different crisis for the overarching plot that isn’t Meteor is a retcon to the story, and why advertise Meteor and have it as the centerpiece of artworks and the title screen if you’re not going to use it in the first place? That’s just… really strange. We can add things in the middle of the plot to flesh out the main themes of a story while staying faithful to the outcomes. Adding something entirely different as a crisis like time travel in a game that has never been about time travel is out of place, unnecessary, and people are placing way too much faith in this being true while not looking at the bigger picture and function of Final Fantasy 7’s power tools. I believe the developers want you to think that the story is changing, that a happier outcome is in store for everyone. This all works with what Final Fantasy 7 did for many players in the first place: subvert expectations by placing us in an illusion with an unreliable narrative. We assumed Cloud made it into SOLDIER until we found out he never made it into SOLDIER and created a facade to conceal the truth that he was afraid to face. We thought Aerith was the love interest when the game kept making us appreciate her perky attitude until she ended up dying and then we discover in the Lifestream Sequence that Cloud’s romantic feelings, his whole reason for fighting, was for Tifa. We thought Shinra was the main antagonist of the game until shortly after going through Midgar, the main antagonist is Sephiroth. We thought we were fighting Sephiroth throughout the game until we find out that the real Sephiroth was encased in a crystal sucking up the Lifestream. We don’t actually fight him until the very end when he merges with Jenova and the Lifestream into Bizarro Sephiroth and Safer Sephiroth.

See where I’m going with all of this? The developers want to continue using red herrings and playing the theme of illusion by using different methods. The old methods will not work anymore, so they have to find a new way to subvert expectations in a way that gets us confused, excited, and uncertain what will happen until we actually play through the next installments. When that time comes, be prepared to get your heartstrings pulled, because reality hits our characters hard, just like it hits us hard. Think Biggs, Zack, Aerith are going to survive, and that Sephiroth is travelling through time to accomplish his devious tasks? Well, think again.

Now that we’ve gotten this far into this Whisper Talk, there are a load of questions I will need to address. So without further ado, Let’s mosey!!!

How is Sephiroth not from the future? His one-winged form from Advent Children Complete was shown in the final boss fight, the boss map looks eerily similar to Edge, and we saw multiple Sephiroths throughout the story. The game is heavily implying that Sephiroth is from the future and he wants to try to achieve victory a second time.

Well, for starters, First Class SOLDIERs having wings has been a thing for a while. Sephiroth was not the only SOLDIER to have a wing. As Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core showed us, Sephiroth’s comrades, Angeal and Genesis, were able to grow wings at will. They had different cells (G cells) which gave them a different ability, make copies of themselves, rather than control others who share their cells, sure, but that is NOT stopping any of them from growing wings at will. It’s something used across the board for all three of these really powerful SOLDIERs and it’s no surprise that this time around, they want to show Sephiroth using more of his abilities throughout the game.

Also, Sephiroth having one wing is nothing new. It’s part of his Safer form and is named on his track, One-Winged Angel. So, as an homage, they wanted the villain of the game to use a wing during his fight in Advent Children.

There’s also another way we can explain this. Sephiroth formed a body of his image in Advent Children thanks to Kadaj. And what purpose does Kadaj serve? He’s a strengthened remnant embodying Sephiroth’s cruelty. In other words, he’s another puppet Sephiroth can manipulate. And he uses Kadaj’s body + Jenova’s head to form his image. A clone and Jenova cells, or just straight up Jenova, allow him to shapeshift as that’s one of Jenova’s trademark abilities. So using this as an implication of time travel doesn’t add up.

When it comes to Sephiroth’s 70 alternative accounts, each of them have a straightforward explanation, including the one that confuses most people. Here we go, according to the FF7R Ultimania:

An illusion only Cloud can see:

Cloud has S cells injected into him. The same S cells are also Jenova cells. Jenova cells allow hosts to read the memories of those nearby, inherit the memories of other hosts, and give Sephiroth shapeshifting and puppeting abilities on those who have S cells. This is how Cloud created his SOLDIER facade thanks to Zack’s injection, similar memories and instinct to hide from the truth. What’s likely going on here is Sephiroth is able to make Cloud hallucinate thanks to said S cells, hence why it’s an illusion ONLY Cloud can see. We saw this during the Nibelheim flashback, meeting Aerith for the first time, after the Sector 7 Plate collapse when he was behind Tifa. This is another way of showing Sephiroth’s omnipresent power.

Also, if we're going to get really specific about the properties of Jenova cells, we can look at a source like FF7 Ultimania Omega:

Jenova's mimic ability Jenova has a mimic ability which allows it to read the memories and feelings of others, then adjust its appearance, speech and behaviour accordingly to imitate what it has seen. Jenova once used this ability to get close to the Ancients and infect them with its virus, which killed many of them.

This ability is not limited solely to Jenova itself, for those who have its cells within them passes it as well, though in an incomplete form. Immediately prior to the start of the game, when Cloud's mind was shattered, he ran into Tifa and seemed to immediately return to "normal"; this was because of the mimic abilities of the Jenova cells inside Cloud read her mind, seeing her memories of him, which were then combined with his own ideal vision of himself, fashioning a new personality for himself.

And there you go. Jenova's signature abilities are shapeshifting and illusion. It's mentioned in her backstory, It's shown in her boss battles, it's shown in Jenova-infected hosts, and it's even shown in her OST! The illusion aspect being something only Cloud can see makes sense, thanks to his Jenova S cells, so the developers are expanding this ability.

Black Robed Man:

Simple. These are Sephiroth Clones, also known as Remnants. Each of these puppets have S Jenova cells injected into them, which is what allows Sephiroth to create illusionary projections of himself via their bodies. They can also create an illusion of Jenova’s Lovecraftian forms. If predictions are correct, there’s a chance that a couple of them could end up becoming the Advent Children (more on that later).

Flashback:

Also simple. This connects to what was mentioned in Cloud’s illusion. Cloud knows events he should not thanks to his Jenova S cells, and flashbacks like, “Within my veins flows the blood of Ancients. This Planet is my birthright!” are events that will be featured later in the game in moments like the Kalm flashback. Moving on!

Unknown:

This is where people get confused. But believe me, the answer is MUCH simpler than most people realize. The Unknown Sephiroth is the last form of Sephiroth that we fought in Final Fantasy 7. Yes, the shirtless one. From here forward I'll call him SOLDIER Sephiroth. For reasons I do not know, they decided not to make him shirtless this time around (too sexy by far?) but believe me when I say that that Sephiroth is the same one we saw at the Edge of Creation. How am I so sure of this? Look back at how Cloud met that Sephiroth in Remake and compare it to what happened in the Crater. They have the same tunnel of light and Cloud’s visiting a persona of Sephiroth that exists in a dimension unaffected by time and space. The Lifestream gives Sephiroth the opportunity to pull Cloud's conscious mind into this dimension. Cloud being in the Singularity during the final battle of FF7R Part 1, and the Singularity containing Lifestream = ability to take Cloud to meet SOLDIER Sephiroth in a pocket dimension, the Edge of Creation. In OG, being exposed/near the Lifestream in the Crater allowed Cloud to visit Shirtless SOLDIER Sephiroth in another dimension and finish him off, with Aerith helping Cloud return his consciousness to the real world.

See?! It actually makes a lot of sense, only this time Sephiroth hasn’t been stripped of his God powers and is currently siphoning the Lifestream. So this time around, Cloud couldn’t beat down Sephiroth. The reason the FF7 Remake Ultimania labels this Sephiroth as unknown is because it’s following a narrative where it assumes you do not know everything yet. Final Fantasy 7 Remake has only covered Midgar, and there’s still many places and moments we have yet to explore. But the Ultimania is not going to cover them until they are published in the next installments, and why would it tell us unrevealed "secrets" of the story? So for now, it has to act as if this is a mystery. This is the same case with Zack being labeled as “Missing in Action” rather than dead in the Ultimania, because we have not reached that moment in the plot yet. But I’ll cover that a bit more on one of the next questions.

As for Sephiroth being prophetic in the Edge of Creation, it’s simply foreshadowing what we’ll eventually have to face. “That which lies ahead… does not yet exist” is telling us that the final battle still has years before it’s ready to be unleashed. As for the Nebula, “Our world will become a part of it… one day,” this is a more vague statement of what I quoted earlier:

“By merging with all the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence. Melding with the Planet… I will cease to exist as I am now. Only to be reborn as a god to rule over every soul.” The Nebula that Sephiroth is staring at is stated in the FF7R Ultimania to represent Sephiroth’s wing(s). This same Nebula also has a similar shape to the original sketch of Safer Sephiroth. So, based on what SOLDIER Sephiroth told Cloud, we can conclude that Safer Sephiroth will one day be born and be the last fight for our team, maybe even taking place in the Edge of Creation. BUT it’s not quite time for that to happen yet, as Safer Sephiroth's physical body is still resting in a crystal at the Northern Crater. So there you have it!

Lastly, conceding the battlefield against Sephiroth, it is an homage to Advent Children and Edge, yes. That does not automatically mean that Sephiroth is from the future. We just fought arbiters of destiny who turned themselves into depictions of the three Advent Children. This is ultimately the developers' way of ending the game with an exciting boss battle and a somewhat familiar scene. It's just a manifestation of one of Gaia's locations while in the Singularity. Also, this whole boss battle was ultimately a fanservice-esque decision by the developers, particularly Co-Director Naoki Yamaguchi. They originally did not plan to have this boss battle in the first place, but they wanted to end this game on some kind of high note with the main antagonist. They could've ended the game with the Arbiter boss battle, and I think doing so would have confused less people, but the reason behind the Sephiroth boss battle has been spoken. We can conclude this: it was a Jenova/Remnant copy of Sephiroth using expanded abilities like his wing and absorbed some of the Whispers' power before this Sephiroth was defeated by the team and the Whispers were released from his grasp. There is no need to overthink this decision (but yes, I don't think it was entirely necessary).

But what about the Arbiters manifesting into images of Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo? Whisper Rubrum, Viridi, Croceo, and Bahamut SHIN are all representations of Advent Children’s antagonists and their bio says they are from a “future timeline.” Isn’t this proof that there’s time travel and alternate timelines going on?

Well, you are right about the enemy intel bio in Final Fantasy 7 Remake stating that these guys are manifestations of figures from a future timeline. BUT that does not imply that multiple timelines are forming. Technically speaking, we all live in one timeline that follows through a singularity. This is the same case for Final Fantasy 7, and the very place we are fighting these Whispers is called the Singularity. The reason the Whispers are forming into these creatures is because of their future knowledge. This is their way of shapeshifting into powerful foes that can defend themselves against the team. They are turning into foes that destiny will one day birth, but in the form of something akin to a Weapon just like the main Arbiter itself, and this is also the developers way of adding a homage and possibly a hint of the foes that will appear in the future. They are NOT the Advent Children themselves, otherwise there would probably show more personality, and they would also… look more like them. So what happened with “time” after defeating these Advent Whispers and the Arbiter Weapon? Well, it sharpened the curves of the river and put destiny on a new course, but to the same destination, hence the “set beginning and end” that the developers mentioned before. In the river’s new course, we’ll get new events that while still having original events that will all be more fleshed out. In part of this new course of destiny maybe there’s a chance that we will see the Advent Children themselves. How can I be sure of this? After speaking to a friend about it, the remnants we encountered give us a hint. Marco, #49, resides in Sector 7. Who was a teenager that resided in Sector 7 before becoming a remnant and then Advent Child? Kadaj, also known as the manifestation of Sephiroth's cruelty. Meanwhile, we have #2 in Sector 5, who shows strong features fitting for someone in SOLDIER. Who fits this category? Loz, also known as the manifestation of Sephiroth's strength. People have theorized that #2 is Zack, but I do not agree and will address that later. The only remnant candidate we have left is Yazoo, the manifestation of Sephiroth's allure. This makes sense as he’s the most silent of the trio, so the developers will keep his remnant in mystery for now. But there you have it. By Nomura stating, "Come back to me a few years later and ask me what remake means," what I believe he means by "remake" is write the original story of Final Fantasy 7 with characters in other parts of the compilation included. Hence, a shuffled story with the same necessary outcomes.

Okay, but didn’t the developers say that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is not canon to the Compilation, thereby making it a different story from the Compilation and proving the developers are ditching the original story in the process?

Let me tell you right now: if those lines were what they actually said in full context, then they were lying. How am I sure? Because throughout FF7R, parts of what happened in the Compilation are included in the story. Zack’s Last Stand was featured in a flashback; Hollow’s lyrics greatly parallel the lyrical version of Price of Freedom; one of Cloud’s old Shinra Military comrades was featured and mentioned Kunsel, from Crisis Core; and of course the big Arbiters being manifestations of the Advent Children.

For saying the Compilation is being ditched and is the bad ending, why include characters and homages specifically from the Compilation? If they really were, they wouldn’t put pieces of it into the story like this. All that was stated by Director Tetsuya Nomura was that FF7 Remake is not canon to the Compilation YET. Keyword YET. The story is incomplete and the developers need to see Remake through from start to finish before they can say it’s truly canon to the Compilation. And what have Scenario Writer Kazushige Nojima and Producer Yoshinori Kitase said about the story?

Does this sound like they’re ditching the Compilation to you? I think this should sum up how they are tying the series of Final Fantasy 7 into one big package, but there are some people saying that the team seeing Advent Children and the Planet 500 years later, followed by Red XIII saying it’s “a glimpse of tomorrow if we fail here today” as proof that what happens in the future is a bad ending. This is not entirely true. It makes sense for humanity to be gone 500 years later with the Planet living on because that was the life that the team was trying to save in the first place. What Red XIII told us was simple: that if Destiny wins, then the river of Destiny will run the same course, and that includes the events of On The Way To a Smile, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, and of course humanity being gone 500 years later. This is another case of the team receiving future visions without context, as I addressed before. They saw an event where they maybe saw people they knew, but do they know what leads to it? No. So what they assume about the outcome of the future and what’s good and bad may not necessarily be correct. They will find that out as the next parts of Final Fantasy 7 Remake are released.

Okay, but aren’t the characters free to do whatever they want now that they have beaten Destiny? As Aerith said, they have boundless, terrifying freedom.

They have freedom from the Whispers, and like Zack once said, “The price of freedom is steep.” They can begin their journey without the worry of the Whispers acting up if they do something that strays far away from what’s necessary. That doesn’t mean that they are not going to head to all the destinations we needed to reach in the original game. We will still probably have the flashback at Kalm since it’s the nearest town away from Midgar. We still need to pass through the Mythril Mines to get to other destinations. We still need to pass through Corel, Barret’s hometown, to get to the Gold Saucer where we will meet Cait Sith and reach Barret’s character climax. We still need to reach Gongaga and this will likely be a required place to visit because of how much more importance Zack is given in Remake. There’s also no working reactor in Gongaga so there’s a chance that yellow reunion flowers will grow as foliage. We still need to head to Cosmo Canyon, where Bugenhagen will teach us more about the Lifestream and where Red XIII will learn the truth about what happened to his father Seto. We still need to head to Nibelheim where a lot of confusion is going to rise within our team--specifically Cloud and Tifa--and also where we need to release Vincent from the Shinra Mansion. We still need to cross Mt. Nibel (we might get a flashback from Cloud) and head to Rocket Town to meet Cid and drink some goddamn tea. We still need to head to the Temple of the Ancients for the team to find out what needs to be done to save the Planet, and also the place where Sephiroth will manipulate Cloud and the team into giving him the Black Materia. We still need Aerith to head to the Forgotten City as it’s the only place she can use her prayer to activate the White Materia and summon Holy. We still need to head to the Northern Crater as that’s where Cloud will likely have his downfall and submit to Sephiroth….

We could keep going on with this, but I’m sure you see my point. New things will happen but there are important locations that the team needs to reach in order to come closer to their goal of stopping Sephiroth. The simple thing is that, from here on out, the Whispers will not intervene, giving us the illusion that things will change, but we most likely will learn the hard way that the necessary outcomes will still happen. So once again, the river is on a new course to the same destination.

Okay. You’ve talked about Sephiroth not being from the future, but what about Aerith? Her prayer stance in the opening cinematic looks eerily similar to her stance in the ending of Final Fantasy 7. Based on this, is she from the future/did she see the outcome of the Meteor-Lifestream-Holy Conflict?

No. What probably happened was the developers paid homage to that ending screen. What follows immediately after that is Aerith picking up a crushed reunion flower, symbolizing the non-reunion that Aerith and Zack could not receive in life, but eventually receive in the Lifestream. And once again: Aerith has received visions of the future, but without context as to why and how they happened. In a novella it’s mentioned that Aerith received a vision as a child and drew her mural of symbolism in her room as a result. We know she’s been receiving non-contextual visions for awhile, but being forced into a big responsibility by the Planet is something she needs to learn to accept, and that’s part of her character arc we will receive in the next parts of FInal Fantasy 7 Remake. There is no evidence she can time travel, and she doesn’t always know the Whispers’ intentions. When the team asked her what they were doing while surrounding the Shinra HQ Tower, she simply replied, “Who knows?”. She’s not omniscient. She has some meta knowledge and a big responsibility, but does not know how to handle this role yet. And that's where character development comes in for our Maiden of the Planet.

Cool, but why are people like Rufus and Hojo able to see the Whispers in the first place? And maybe Zack, too?

Actually, there’s a pretty straightforward explanation for this. As we know, to be able to see the Whispers, once again you have to either be heavily connected to the Planet or touched by a special person. Aerith spent a portion of her childhood in the Shinra HQ Tower. Who else was there with her? Her biological mother Ifalna. These two are both Cetra, one half and one full-blooded. Hojo likely spent hours upon hours with both of them, especially Ifalna, so receiving contact from them is not farfetched. Also, that gross f***** of a scientist does unfortunately play an important role in the plot and keeping the flow of destiny on course. As for Rufus? This man was a teenager when Aerith and Ifalna were living in Shinra HQ. It’s very possible that he ran into one of the two cetra and maybe received contact from them. If he didn’t? Don’t forget, this man is the president of Shinra throughout almost all of FF7. Even if the team opposes him, they still need him. He is very necessary to destroy the barrier that blocks the team from getting into the Northern Crater. Without his actions, the team cannot make it to Sephiroth. It’s that simple. And even though he can see the Whispers, how much does it matter? It’s only going to matter if the Whispers make a resurgence sometime in the plot. There you have it.

Okay, but why is Zack alive after his Last Stand? And why were the Whispers present during this? Also, what about the Stamp bag? Isn’t this proof of time travel and alternate timelines?

And here’s where the red herring comes in! He did beat the Shinra Army. And yes, the Whispers were present. BUT why were they present? Remember what was mentioned earlier? The Whispers are dead souls returning to the Planet, and if that’s the case they have been part of the Planet for a LONG time. This means that they were ALWAYS present through the course of events in the Planet. The reason we see them during Zack’s Last Stand is likely to throw one off at first, until they connect the dots with how old the Whispers actually are. And they are showing themselves in the Last Stand because this is an extremely important event that has to happen for Cloud’s next journey to begin. We didn’t quite get to see how the Whispers changed up the event, but they likely did form it in a way where the developers wanted to trick us. It's also left ambiguous if he can see the Whispers or not, although they do not seem to alarm him IF he can see them.

Now, about the Last Stand, If you compare Remake’s Last Stand to Crisis Core and Final Fantasy 7 OG, you’ll notice that Remake’s moment has similarities to the OG scene.

Zack walks, drops Cloud in a safe place, and defends himself against the soldiers in all three. So here's where the cutscenes get different:

FF7 OG: Zack fights against Shinra infantrymen. We don't see the troops, but Zack thinks he defeated them. Afterwards he heads to Cloud but immediately gets shot by a group of Shinra troops, and I mean shot. Afterwards, there is no dialogue between Zack and Cloud, Cloud grabs the Buster Sword and starts breaking down in the rain. Thus, his journey--nearly--begins.

FF7 Crisis Core: Zack confronts the Shinra army. He begins his monologue:

Boy oh boy... The price of freedom is steep. Embrace your dreams, and whatever happens... Protect your honor, as a SOLDIER!

We then proceed to battle the Shinra army. Eventually, the screen fades to black and we see Zack mortally wounded. The same group of Shinra troops from OG come over and bullet Zack to death. Eventually, Cloud wakes up in shock, and Zack parts Cloud his sword and last words:

For the both of us... You're gonna... Live. You'll be... My living legacy. My honor, my dreams... They're yours now.

Cloud then proceeds with a breakdown, and afterwards begins his journey, where he'll bump into a certain someone while in Mako comatose. Sheesh I hate watching that scene due to its deadly side effect.

Where does Remake stop?

Right in the area where Zack’s grave is, a cliff with a steep descent to flat land. It’s the same spot where Zack got shot by a Shinra infantryman who pursued Zack throughout his running away from Shinra Mansion; it's the same spot where Cloud placed the Buster Sword to honor his close friend’s wish; and the same spot where Zack declared, “For the both of us… you’re going to live. You’ll be… my living legacy.” The developers intentionally stopped us from seeing the outcome of that moment because it’ll either be the same place where Zack will die, or we’ll see his fate get delayed and placed somewhere else. 

I have also seen people argue that #2 is Zack, or if not Zack, then Zack’s corpse.

This is false.

Remember why Zack was placed in a cryosleep tube in the first place? Because, like Cloud, he was considered a failed experiment by Hojo because the S cells could not turn him into a Sephiroth clone. Zack becoming a Sephiroth clone would be a major retcon to the story and how he was able to escape with Cloud in the first place. Zack becoming a clone would mean that he was never a failed experiment. And what would happen if he wasn’t a failed experiment? Cloud wouldn’t be able to escape and FF7 wouldn’t have happened. Could Hojo have picked up Zack’s dead body after his death? Maybe, but is there evidence that his corpse would still become a clone? That’s extremely unlikely in my personal opinion. We would have to assume that Hojo did another clone experiment this time around and the Shinra troops decided to take his body with them when they had no good motive or order to do so anyway. Their orders were likely  “shoot to kill” and that’s it. We don’t need Zack’s corpse to be remade into a clone, and we certainly don’t need him to be a clone if Sephiroth wants to do something like create an illusionary projection of Zack. Remember what happened in the Northern Crater? Sephiroth used Jenova to create an illusion of Tifa in order to trick the Black Materia holder into “helping” the team.

Lastly, that bag of Stamp's Champs, Original Flavor.

It’s interesting, isn't it? And Nomura told us to pay close attention to both stamps. This is probably the biggest case of an alternate timeline being real, but after thinking about it for a while, I argue that it's not proving an alternate timeline exists, but rather it's being shown to give focus to two different heroes. And how does this work in the FF7 world? Well, Shinra probably has simple rebranding of Stamp on a Shinra product. It’s not uncommon for corporations to rebrand their products into a different name (just look up Lay’s Potato Chips and you’ll come across Walkers, as shown in my poorly collaged photo). BUT there's another example to talk about, as a friend mentioned. Stamp's Champs are the "original" flavor. This original flavor and Terrier is being used to represent Zack in FF7, as he was once called a "puppy" by his mentors in FF7 Crisis Core. Now, that bag is calling to the original hero, who was Zack (could also be an homage to how Zack's design was originally assigned a "different" role in FF7 OG) up until he passed his dreams on to Cloud. So what this means is both Stamps are used for wither a different flavor or got rebranded after a certain amount of time passed, or the Stamp brand has the same flavor is different depending on the location in Gaia. Now for the second functionality for Stamp: It's being used as a red herring to mislead the players deeper in to the mouse trap. Remember Stamp’s original function in the context of Shinra? It served as a propaganda device for Shinral to promote its use of warfare for wealth to mislead the public into thinking Shinra’s deeds were for progress and beneficial for the Planet. It’s very possible that the developers are using Terrier Stamp as a propaganda device to trick the face-value players into thinking everything’s going to be different for the story until we're shown otherwise. And if it actually is an alternate timeline? It will not affect our team. As established previously, there is no time travel that our team is capable of, and the Whispers act on a fixed flow under the Will of the Planet and are almost omnipresent, so they must correct the course of destiny in the present and as quickly as possible. That alternate timeline would probably just be used to show us that no matter what we do, what’s set in stone needs to be kept in stone. So, don’t get your hopes up that Zack is going to survive, especially since he already passed on the Buster Sword to Cloud in the present "timeline" that we're playing.

But why is there a different Seventh Heaven sign shown during the ending sequence? Isn’t this proof of an alternate timeline?

Careful now. There’s a big possibility that what was shown during that shuffled sequence of events was the original Seventh Heaven bar. That’s right, there was a Seventh Heaven before Tifa’s in Sector 7. How do I know this? It’s a sidequest in Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core. Zack met an unnamed carpenter in the Sector 7 slums and helped name the bar. The canon answer in the narrative is to choose the name Seventh Heaven. So what’s likely happening here is 1) we saw a past event of the first Seventh Heaven bar being worked on, as the folks of the slums are building their homes together; 2) we are seeing the folks rebuild the Sector 7 slums, and perhaps to honor what was once there, the folks are building another bar and making sure to keep the original name Seventh Heaven, or 3) pretty much what I said before and it’s happening in an alternate timeline. Regardless, there’s a good chance that Crisis Core is being referenced here. And if it isn’t and it’s different events happening in an alternate timeline? Once again, our friends can’t go to that alternate timeline because time travel is not a power they have. So, it doesn’t really affect the main beats of our journey. What may happen, though, is our team will visit the Sector 7 slums later down the line, and they’ll have a reunion with a rebuilt home before settling the score with Shinra and Sephiroth. Until we see it, though, that’s just headcanon.

But why is Biggs alive? Aren’t Wedge and Jessie alive, too?

Biggs is shown to be alive, yes, but at what point of time and for how long? Also, even though he is shown to be alive, how is that going to drastically alter the story for our friends? He may stick around and have a minor role later, but he could very well die again depending on where the Destiny River is heading, and there’s likely very little he can do to somehow drastically change the story. Is he going to suddenly appear and sacrifice himself to make sure Aerith survives? Highly doubt it. See what I mean? Even if someone like him is left alive, he’ll either receive the same fate in a different way or just get a role that won’t change much of the main story. So, are Wedge and Jessie alive? Wedge, absolutely not. He was pushed down Shinra HQ Tower and there is no way he was able to survive a fall that high. There is no evidence that he “survived” after that fall as well. As for Jessie, we saw her gloves and headband on a dresser next to Biggs, but that’s it. Why would they place those next to him and not next to Jessie if she’s still alive and being taken care of? She was high atop the Sector 7 tower and it’s very unlikely anyone besides our team was able to run up and grab her on time. She was also in a worse state than Biggs and probably got crushed by the tower collapsing. In other words, she got crushed twice. Once when she set off her bomb and Cloud and Tifa bump into her; the second, when the plate dropped. What the glove and headband are, are likely nothing more than the remains of a friend who couldn’t make it. There may have been time for someone to pick up Biggs and that’s how he ended up in a bed, covered in bandages. As for more proof he’s the only one who survived? Wedge had 3 cats he held. Out of the three, only one named Biggums survived. The other 2 missing, I believe, are symbolism for the fate of the AVALANCHE trio. There you have it, three charming but minor characters who had written character arcs that got fleshed out in Remake, but don’t serve an extremely important purpose to the main plot points of the game (no offense to the trio, I do like Mr. Not-Charlie-Sheen and I wonder what they will do when the inevitable happens).

This is cool and all, but what about Sephiroth's line? "Seven Seconds till the end. Time enough for you, perhaps. But what will you do with it? Let's see." Also, this Sephiroth used more informal phrasing in the Japanese acript, such as "ore." He seems to be aware of what the future holds, too. So what do you make of this?

Ah yes, this moment, also one of the first pieces of script the writers thought of:

Well friend, I actually covered this topic before:

Seven Seconds Before the End: Theory vs. Context

While that post was made to debunk a theory, I believe what I wrote in it can easily be taken into the context of this post. That's one thing people constantly overlook about this line: it already has a given context. What do I mean by that? Check out the story log here:

In the world beyond, Sephiroth shows Cloud a vision of the planet seven seconds before its demise. Having strayed from the course destiny set for them, they strike out on a path toward an unknown future.

This is what Sephiroth was referring to: the end of the Planet. Unfortunately people are taking this line WAY out of context and using it to write theories that stray far away from the line's meaning in the first place. It's part of what Sephiroth is after, and it's part of what Cloud is fighting against. The team fought against the Arbiters of Fate because they believe what they saw was the end of everything for them without seeing the long-term outcome, while Sephiroth lured the team to fight against the Arbiters of Fate because he may have seen his failure, and believes that with the physical manifestation of the Whispers gone, he can continue his plan without any chance of failure. A part of the future, no matter what seems to happen, will involve making a decision seven seconds before the Planet's demise. What will cause the Planet's demise? Meteor. That is the main calamity we are trying to stop after defeating Sephiroth, and we need to defeat Safer Sephiroth and SOLDIER Sephiroth to make sure his will cannot block Holy from being summoned, as well as prevent Aerith from calling forth the Lifestream. So once again, this is from Sephiroth's rough understanding of the future, and it's a meta message for the players of what the ending of Remake might entail. It is NOT Sephiroth from the future suddenly sending his body/consciousness into the past in a really odd moment to give Cloud a warning.

Even with all this, the ending of Final Fantasy 7 Remake stated, "The Unknown Journey will continue." What do you have to say about this?

Yes, there is an unknown journey. This is a journey with new content to tie the rest of the Compilation together, like a possible story shuffle mentioned earlier. There's bound to be new and revised scenes in between the set beginning and end, hence "the unknown journey." I talked about this before, but for the developers to put something like "The same journeys from 2 decades ago will continue" is counter-intuitive to what they just showed us in the ending and would mess with all the anticipation for what's to come next. We have to think about this in a different perspective, and not the perspective of "oh, nothing is going to change." The developers need to keep people excited, and part of keeping that excitement is marketing a tease. It's pretty much how marketing works, too. A marketing scheme that only tells the literal facts without trying to juggle the consumer's emotions isn't going to interest the consumer that much compared to the marketing scheme that teases at the possibilities. As for the reason Yoshinori Kitase will then say that the team is continuing FF7R as FF7 has? He's in a different mindset during interviews like that. The game Final Fantasy 7 Remake is telling us things like a book, ending the events with a To Be Continued cliffhanger. Meanwhile, Kitase can state that FF7R will continue as FF7 because that's technically a vague statement. We know we'll get key locations and scenes, but we don't know how they'll get fleshed out. And we sure as heck don't know about any new scenes and how those are going to be executed in the next installments. In other words, think of a classic sandwich with a hipster rendition. The set beginning and end are the top and bottom buns, the protein is almost the same, maybe a couple spices added in there; and the unknown is all the new toppings added in your hipster-style classic sandwich. I know this is a strange analogy, but hopefully it gets the point across. So don't worry too much; Nojima, Nomura, and Kitase haven't shown us the new condiments yet!

Conclusion

If you're still here after reading through my wall of jargon, thank you! After all that I've written, I hope I was able to accomplish my goal: to ease your worries about the developers' plans with the story. And I hoped to do this by giving an in-universe explanation as to why certain things are happening. There is context to the Whispers' powers, and with the Whisper following a continuous flow of destiny, pieces of the future and past are scattered in that river. Sephiroth's been basking in this river for years now, so he got similar exposure as Aerith did and now has rough knowledge of what's to come. I think people who are clinging to time travel theories are taking the Whispers' powers out of context. We saw vague bits of the future; Aerith did, Sephiroth did, we did, and do you know who else? Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Red XIII. Heavy exposure to the Whispers gives visions as a side effect. They're not travelling through time from the future to fix things when they've always existed as dead souls who returned to the Planet; they're continuously moving around Gaia and watching folks--especially key players in saving the Planet. The flow of a river doesn't stop, it keeps moving through its closed course. Maybe it can change its course in a slightly different direction, or get shafted into sharper curves to delay the flow, but it will still head to its final destination no matter what. While we are in the current of this new course, we'll stumble upon some untouched terrain before we get to the set ending.

However, even if we know about the inevitable, that isn't going to stop us from feeling intense pain for our heroes.

Thus the journey continues.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go sit my ass down and drink some god-damn tea.

Special Thanks

@otp-oasis-heavenxearth (Also known as @magicalchemist)

For taking the time to read my rough draft and pointing out the goofs, bringing in your theory ideas, as well as helping me solidify my confidence in Final Fantasy 7 Remake's future. Seriously, if you haven't, check out her blog. She's incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to FF7 and looks through every different perspective while sticking to the facts. In other words, straight up awesome!

@silver-wield

For allowing me to cite your post, as well as being the first person that made me faithful the developers are staying true to their word with their direction of FF7R. Seriously, thanks! If you haven't, check out her blog. Her attention to detail is incredible!

[historic-old-guard-lover]

The emperor has to be god-king Andy. Also like since nicky and Joe obv have to have the lovers why not have andy and quyhn kissing as the empress.

Another related ask (potentially by the same person):

Also since the fool is a journey's beginning I'd almost want to pick Nile for it. As well there are four characters who commonly have swords (or an axe but close enough) and cards have four corners. So one sword each corner, nicky, joe, andy, and quyhn.

So. Someone has good ideas. Here’s the post that prompted these asks. This made me pull out my tarot deck and go through the cards. Below the cut is a break down of the entire tarot deck. There will be an explanation of the (standard) interpretation of the cards, good then less good, and then my associated headcannon (or more than one if I couldn’t decide). The source is my experience with tarot. I’m trying to minimize repeats, but historic and modern Old Guard members are counted separately. Enjoy.

The Major Arcana (aka the cards most people have heard about)

0. The Fool - the seeker. Naivety. Courage. Living in the moment. Journey’s beginning. All paths available. Folly. Apathy.

Nile. Anon convinced me. Though Booker has got the folly, apathy, and madness down, Nile is ultimately the beginning. She’s naïve but headstrong, and quite frankly a perfect match.

I. The Magician - the trickster. Power, skill, talent. Mastery, self-control, willpower. Subtlety. Divine connection and inspiration. Self-reliant.

Modern Nicky. Definitely Nicky. Just. He’s a formerly very religious man who just says these things. Also sniper.

II. The High Priestess - the moon goddess. Intuition, wisdom, foresight, divination, prophecy. Enlightenment, understanding, intelligence, education. Pride, emotional instability, unforgiving.

Historic Quynh. Her name means “night-blooming flower”, which is very moon goddess vibes to me. Also, I’d say over 500 years in a box turns understanding and enlightenment into emotional instability and unforgiveness.

III. The Empress - the queen. Feminine power, matriarch, mother. Fertility, pleasure, beauty. Success, evolution, movement. Marriage, wealth. Overattachment, domestic upheaval, delay.

Quynh. The counterpart to Andy’s emperor card.

Nile. Let’s be honest, she’s going to take over from Andy some day.

IV. The Emperor - the king. Masculine power, patriarch, father. Authority, leadership, proficiency. Wealth, stability, effectiveness. Perseverance, logic, endurance, experience. Lack of ability, weak character, immature, rebellious.

Modern Andy. She is the leader who’s short-comings effect her entire team. And who doesn’t love a little gender bending? (and her film look is already soft butch)

V. The Hierophant - the religious leader. Tradition, convention, ritual symbolism. Ceremony, religion, morality, philosophy. Mercy, goodness, forgiveness, humility, vulnerability, Impotence, Religious tyranny.

Historic Nicky. I mean, former priest (enough said).

Historic Andy. “I was once worshipped as a god” (enough said).

VI. The Lovers - the lovers. Love, attraction. Compatibility, harmony, choice.  Triumph over trials, vacillation. Entanglement, enmeshment. Infidelity, moral lapse, vice, separation, quarrels, inadequacy, failing tests.

Andromaquynh. *peeks out from behind barricade* I know that most people would just put Kaysanova as this card, but look at all the negatives it is associated with. Sounds a lot more like our immortal wives can really cover the gamut. They have the range....I am a sucker for Kaysanova, though. Even though the beginning of their relationship is rocky, I’d like to think it’s been fairly constant over the years. But let’s reverse the uhaul lesbians and fickle gay men tropes! Sorry, Book of Nile fans. That ship just isn’t established enough for this, I’d say. Maybe one day?

VII. The Chariot - the journey. Ordeal, obstacles, competition. High stakes, ambition, discipline. Conquest, victory, greatness. Right action prevails, overwhelming odds, sudden defeat.

Merrick and/or Dr. Kozak. I mean, this is literally their characters in a nutshell. Merrick is the journey/ordeal for the old guard. He is driven by his ambition, thinks he’s won over impossible odds, and then has a sudden defeat.

VIII. Justice - the balance. Equilibrium, equality, symmetry, harmony. Integrity, honor, fairness, neutrality, moderation. Vindication, self-righteousness, bigotry, prejudice, favoritism.

Nile. This is the woman with a sword card. She brings a balance to the team, she clearly moderates conflict, and I’d love to see BLM art of her in this style. Just sayin.

IX. The Hermit - the seeker-sage. Wisdom, inspiration, contemplation, discretion, understanding. Safety, protection, spiritual quest. Seeking truth and justice. Self-denial, timidity, fear.

Historic Joe. The idealized warrior poet? Definitely just a form of the hermit. Helps explain why a Magrebhi trader/artist fought at the Siege of Jerusalem: spiritual quest. I also like the idea of Joe having a secret reserved side.

X. The Wheel of Fortune - cycles of life. Destiney, evolution and progress, advancement. Manifestation, unexpected events. Success, sudden luck. Ups and downs.

Modern Quynh. There is nothing that better encapsulates her storyline than the wheel of fortune. One day you’re roaming the world with your immortal wife. The next, you’re drowning for over 500 years. The next you’re in Booker’s shitty Paris apartment.

XI. Strength - fortitude. Resilience, courage, resolve, confidence. Integrity, moral victory, endurance. Energy, action, vitality. Power, force, violence. Abuse of power, disgrace, impotence.

Lykon. Do I love this character beyong measure and reason? Maybe so. We have so little to go on about him, however, that the only things we do know bely his strengths. Also, he becomes ultimately the weakest when he dies and encapsulates both “extremes” of the card.

XII. The Hanged Man - the tested. Delay, sacrifice, abandonment, rejection. Betrayal. Reversals, restrained or bound, limbo, trials. Falseness.

Booker. If the fact that his first death was by hanging didn’t convince you? Read that description again. His character arc is literally working through being the hanged man.

XIII. Death - the loss or parting. Alteration, transformation, transition. Boredom, depression, stagnation, failure or disaster. Bereavement, recovery, immobility.

Lykon. He literally represents the fear of death to the remaining immortals. It is HE that they invoke when they discuss it. Also, I’m still mourning my favorite underdeveloped character.

XIV. Temperance - the moderation. Self-control, economy, patience, coordination. Consolidation, harmony, friendship, recuperation. Unfulfilled desires, discord, stubbornness, hostility, clashing of interests. Time, seasons, and climate.

A Safehouse. I don’t think any of the people really capture the tempered essence of this card, the constancy throughout all seasons of life. An actual physical building that rises and falls with (regular) humanity, though, seems to do the trick.

XV. The Devil - the arcane. Magic, strange occurrences, prophecy, fate. Catastrophe, downfall, negative attitude, Temptations, sins, obsessions. Enslavement, bondage, misplaced loyalty, violence, fatality.

Honestly? I’m so torn. I feel like a major commentary of the movie is that our demons are the way people react more so than the people themselves. Maybe the armored van?

XVI. The Tower - the House of God. Disruption, expulsion from an earthly paradise, divine wrath. Punishment (of pride), loss, destructive rivalry, plans ruined. Need to start again, bankruptcy.

The Iron Coffin. While this doesn’t capture the religious undertones quite right, the coffin is the Tower for Andromaquynh, It is (divine? or very human?) wrath brought on by pride since the two probably thought that they would be fine. It is loss and painful new beginnings.

XVII. The Star - the bright promise. Hope, faith, light of the spirit. Recovery, symbols of immortality. Gifts, good prospects, new dawn, frustrated expectations.

Nile. The new immortal, enough said.

Historic Andy/Lykon. In a way, the first immortal would also be a great choice of representation.

XVIII, The Moon - the hidden forces. Twilight, illusion, deception, trickery. Dishonesty, danger, uncertainty, terror. Developments, particularly somewhat concealed. Errors, powerful feelings.

Copley. I know, I know. “He’s the moon when I’m lost in darkness” and all that jazz. But look at this card’s interpretation and notice it’s pretty negative. Copley’s entire role is to pull the strings behind the scenes. He makes headway on problems in secrets, he lies and deceives everyone in the film at some point.

XIX. The Sun - the work’s rewards. Daylight, co-creation, union “of male and female”. Peace, joy, pleasure, love, contentment. Accomplishment, achievement, success. 

Joe. Not only is he the sun, he also fits this card perfectly. He is creation and happiness. Enough said.

XX Judgement - the rebirth. Judgement, sentence. Rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection, call to the new from the old, rehabilitation. Creation, promotion.

Historic Booker. I feel like his backstory with his family helped highlight the theme of rebirth for the Old Guard. They must be willing to give up what they have left behind to move forward. Also, there’s the more literal play as well since Booker was a conscripted criminal.

XXI The World - the long journey. Perfection, completion, conclusion. Power through intelligence and wisdom. The universe and the material world.

A group photo, of course! Beyond that? Who knows.

Historic Andy? She’s seen so much of it. Like just her eyes portray the history of the world.

The Minor Arcana (aka the rest of the cards)

Since most people are only familiar with the major arcana,  I’ll just briefly explain it. The minor arcana are actually the majority of a tarot deck. There are four suits associated with the four elements. Each suit has ten number cards and four court/face cards (traditionally modelled either based on one person or different interpretations of similar costuming). Each number or face has its own meaning, each suit has its own meaning, and their combination mostly explains what the card should be interpreted as. Quite frankly, the minor arcana are vastly underrated in popular understandings of tarot.

Suit of Wands - fire. Spontaneity, action, passion, adrenaline, life force, stroke of genius.

Guns? It’d be a bit of a niche take, but I associate guns with fires.

Staffs? More traditional in shape.

Suit of Coins - earth. Solid growth, material interests, possessions, profit, business, labor, slow and considerate.

Historic currency. Enough said.

Suit of Cups - water. Heartfelt involvements, imagination, spirituality, love, friendship, family.

Fountains around the world. Enough said.

Suit of Swords - air. Worry, trouble, boundaries, objectivity, the power of truth.

Obviously, their weapons of choice. I would go into more detail about who best represents each number, but I don’t want to bore you.

Court of Kings - mature men. Leaders, authority, status-quo, taking responsibility.

Again, most tarot is very gendered. But members in tuxes?

Court of Queens - mature women. Reflective and active, concerned with security/foundations, supportive, focused.

Members in dresses/gowns/anything that glitters?

Court of Knights/Cavaliers - young men. Dynamic, adventurous, intensive, revolutionary.

Tactical gear. Or historical armor. But it’s easier to do tactical gear right than accidentally draw a 15th century helmet on a 14th century suit of armor.

Court of Knaves/Pages - younger women, teenagers, and children. Students, apprentices, trainees, messengers, new opportunities.

Casual clothes.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

My contribution for RokuNami Week.

Sadly, I don’t have time to do more--unless I get around to doing another chapter of “Night Light”--so one entry it is.

After Sora’s returned to the Destiny Islands from his death--and everything is fine again--Roxas and Naminé just want to find a play to star in on their Island. This is that story.

Cuteness. Fluff. Very simple story.

Slight SoKai in the background. Final Fantasy references, as well as one for Tales of Vesperia.

A Day in the Life

Naminé was wearing a very light green dress, that reminded her a lot of Tinker Bell from Sora's memories… and Kairi somehow, since weren't redheads supposed to wear green? ...Her dressing like this had been Roxas' idea, as he'd calmly suggested that she get over her fear of color like he had. And also because he'd just played a game, where some character named "Rita Mordio" got a pretty green dress—as the "princess"--when  he and her friends put on a play. And since Roxas wanted them to put on a play themselves, apparently Rox thought the gods would bless them with one falling into their laps if she dressed like Rita. After this development, Naminé had wanted to ask Roxas if he'd likewise dress up like a prince for her... But Naminé had stopped herself, when remembering how hard of a prince and princess story that Sora and Kairi had had thus far. "I just-" Naminé started now, making certain to pull her hair out from behind her ears so that she looked less like Tinker Bell. "I feel like I look like a leaf in this ensemble, is all." "But that's even more perfect, Naminé! Maybe you'll look like Ophelia—because, err, surely there were underwater leaves during her big scene."

Naminé was actually pretty sure there weren't, since there were no traditional leaves underwater unless someone dropped them into the ocean, but she didn't want to rain on his parade. "Okay, Roxas. We can start looking soon-ish… but I'm feeling a bit peckish. Can we get some lunch and then attempt to find a play that will cast us?" Roxas didn't need to be told twice. He always made sure to see to Naminé’s needs, after he'd learned how she'd been abused by Organization XIII. So that's how they found themselves at the food court in the Islands’ main mall. Naminé was wolfing down spicy fries as Roxas just took sip after sip of Coke, when the witch finally found the confidence to ask Roxas what she'd been wanting to for a while now: "Roxas, why are you so big on plays now?" Roxas blinked a few times at this, clearly not knowing how to answer the question. But after he stared at his hands for a moment, he seemed to figure it out. "…I guess because most of them happy endings that we didn't for a long time, so they're comforting... And maybe this is my passion? We didn't have time to look into hobbies before, but now we do. Right?"

At this, Naminé couldn't help but smile and reach across the table and hold Roxas' hands. "Then I'll help you out as much as I can. It's the least I can do, since you've always aided me with my art. Let's go find a play to be in!" So with that, hand-in-hand, Naminé and Roxas left the building. And what would they run into right outside, but a play going on? At first, Naminé thought about trying to join this one with Roxas but when whoever was supposed to be the "princess" punched the "hero". Roxas laughed at it… and Naminé also thought it was somewhat funny, but more than anything she thought they should get out of there. After that, the couple looked around the city for a while, but couldn't find another one. It was then that Naminé decided to call Kairi. Knowing what a drama queen her sister could be, Naminé thought that Kairi might know of some people looking for actors. Kairi picked up her phone on the third ring—laughing when she did so, and Naminé could only imagine that Sora was failing to make baked good at Kairi’s house again. She wondered if he'd used the blender with the lid off this time…

"Hey, Nami. What's up?" Kairi asked with a strange quality to her voice, that made Nami think she’d licked the top of a lid of icing when she spoke. "You know how Roxas has been wanting to act lately? ...Well, have you heard of anything he could audition for?" Naminé questioned, praying that Kairi had something. At this point, she was even considering seeing of Roxas would be okay of working backstage on one… but she kind of doubted that he would. In the background, Naminé heard Sora shouting: "Oooh! Tell them to audition for the one that we just got here, that my friend Dagger was in!” Naminé had heard about that one from Sora before... Apparently a Zidane had surprised this 'Dagger', by secretly being the character Marcus in the play. And when Dagger had realized just who was playing Zidane, Dagger had run down to where he was at and lip-locked with Zidane. Naminé didn't think she was quite ready for that with Roxas yet, she thought with a blush... And apparently it wasn't meant to be, anyway. "Actually, Sor,” Naminé heard Kairi saying over the line. “They've already cast everyone for it. I know Selphie and her new boyfriend, Irvine, got the main roles. And that's all that I know of. I'm really sorry, Naminé." And Kairi sounded sorry, like she was ready to tear through the whole world to look for a play for them herself. Disappointed by this, but having expected it, Naminé was quick to take Kairi’s guilt away. "Don't worry about it, Kairi. It was a longshot, anyway. But thanks for trying!" Sora was saying something about how he knew friends who could write something for them, but Naminé told him not to worry about it since it would take too long.

Once Naminé hung up with Kairi, Roxas came back to Naminé's side. He had found a stray skateboard, and his days from Twilight Town had seemed to take him over while Naminé chatted away. "Dead end?" Naminé’s orange-haired boy asked. At this, Naminé simply nodded. And in response, Roxas kicked some dust out of his way in a lethargic manner. "It's no big deal, Nami. I can always try for something later, when it's time for winter musicals or whatever." But thinking about the vision Roxas had seemed to have for his own version of Hamlet earlier, Naminé got hit with an idea. "Roxas, let's go back to our backyard! You still have the video camera and tripod Pence leant you. Right?" "I guess... But why?" "Roxas, I… I sort of pooh-poohed you and Xion's dreams of existing a year ago… and I’m still sorry for that. So now it's my time to make up for it! Come on!" Grinning widely as she grabbed Roxas' hand once more, the blonde began leading Roxas back to their home: fortunately, it was only a short distance away since they had sort of come full-circle in looking for an acting gig. Roxas, as they ran, began to argue that Naminé shouldn’t put blame on herself for what DiZ made her do, which was sweet to Naminé—and she told him as much—but when he seemed to note how happy she was, and that she didn't mean what she’d said too seriously, he let it go. Once they were back home, Naminé told Roxas of her plan to film his version of Hamlet with just them in it… her even in this outfit, to represent an Ophelia who was closer to the surface of the water when she fell. They filmed it as best they could—finding things around their house to use for sets, sound and other costumes—and this would serve as an audition tape for Roxas... and Naminé. And then exhausted, they fell back onto Naminé's bed while holding hands, and Nami saw Roxas promptly fall asleep beside her… the girl he trusted with his life.

[stephicness]

What do you think of the way some of the xv fans handled the verum rex thing? I saw that one blog had kind of called them out and I'm glad about that

Well, as a FFXV fan myself – and one who went through not only KH’s long wait, but also FFXV’s massive wait too – I actually found it rather fun that Nomura was able to slip in something as majestic as the Verum Rex trailer into the game. At first, I was absent-mindedly waiting for the boring intro dialogue to appear in the game to introduce Toy Box, but then I suddenly look up and goes ‘What the fuck? Visual Works?!’ I dropped my phone and burst out laughing because that commercial was so try-hard compared to the rest of the game.

But funnily enough, it didn’t dawn on me the FF Versus XIII comparisons until I came onto Tumblr. Silly to think about, considering that I was there from the very first E3 reveal when Versus XIII was a concept along side Final Fantasy XIII. I ended up looking again and then I began to see the influences of what Versus XIII was in what Verum Rex showcased in that commercial.

Supposedly, it was Nomura’s ‘screw you’ to Square Enix for leaving Versus in developmental hell, and I honestly don’t blame him for that. Nomura’s already been pretty open about how disgruntled he was having to leave the project, but it was for the better, I feel…

I have a more detail explanation below the KEEP READING, since I love rambling more than a monologue Xemnas and Xigbar combined. So kick back with a cold one, and get ready for me rambling. c:

Though a starting statement/summary before you go into this: I like Verum Rex. I like FFXV. I like Kingdom Hearts. I don’t like the ridicule and blame game being put on everyone and anyone.

For me, I don’t feel this is necessarily Nomura lashing out for the sake of lashing out/spite. So FFXV fans being grumpy over the Verum Rex trailers – despite their bitterness over Versus XIII being lost in developmental hell – is kind of not justified, kinda is? Despite it not being an official game, Versus XIII/Verum Rex is technically still Nomura’s ideas and concepts. And I dunno about you, but modifying an old idea and shaping it into a new idea truly isn’t anything unheard of. I know I like to do it myself with OCs, re-purposing them into new stories/concepts if they didn’t have much use before and all. Nomura, I feel, had the right to do so, considering that he was pretty much one of the main honchos to write, design, create Versus XIII before Square executives took the project from him.

Perhaps a rather unpopular opinion overall, but I actually think that it was good that Nomura was taken off the project. And no, I’m not saying Square violating Nomura’s right to his characters and creative ideas was right. What I mean mostly is that with Nomura being taken from Versus XIII/XV to focus on Kingdom Hearts was a good idea. The sheer scale and promise for both games from two of Square’s most massive franchises is overwhelming in general for one person to manage and oversee completely. And despite me respecting Nomura and his ungodly skill at game design and art, it’s alot of pressure over all. Heck, I can barely handle designing the one game I’ve been trying to get together. But he was given two major titles to try creating? That’s alot of pressure overall.

And that’s why the two games took so long to begin with, I feel. Versus/XV and KH3 were both in developmental hell, and – from the gossip I recall – Square Enix didn’t even want to keep pushing on with Final Fantasy Versus/XV. Nomura, as much as he wanted to keep it alive, couldn’t be the one to do it when Kingdom Hearts was a bigger priority to Square.

So that’s where I think Tabata came in. Not to steal Nomura’s thunder or characters or concept, but he stepped in to make sure that the Final Fantasy title people have been waiting for would finally be released. Kingdom Hearts 3 for sure was going to be released, but FFXV could have died six years ago were it not for the hard decision to keep FFXV alive – at the expense of the four years of prior concepts being scrapped.

It sucks when your idea is ultimately discarded for a reason beyond your control – or outside meddling too – so I don’t blame Nomura and his spite. But at the same time, instead of viewing it as nothing more than a revenge trailer/easter egg to get back at Square, I like to imagine it more as Nomura re-channeling ‘old OCs’ and plot points to fit it into something that, you know, actually works for everyone – especially him and the ideas he wanted to bring to life before Square Enix made him focus on one project.

If anything, I feel like Tabata was given the short end of the stick in all of this too. And before you guys get on me for being a Final Fantasy XV apologist or… Whatever the term is… I’m not, by any means, saying that FFXV is a superior game over KH3. I know XV has its flaws and strengths, just as KH3 has flaws and strengths too. But I feel like people don’t give Tabata enough credit for, you know, trying to make what he was given work, so both games wouldn’t have to suffer such insane developmental periods and hells. He was basically thrown into a dying project and was expected to revitalize it with characters that weren’t his, a plot that he didn’t establish entirely himself, and a world that he couldn’t really modify after Square’s notorious habit of releasing trailers way too early for their own good.

If Tabata was allowed to start from scratch with his own timeframe and plot, and give everything that Nomura worked on back to him, you probably would have gotten an amazing game then too – and one that would have annihilated your feels, because Tabata (still not over Type-0 and it’s damn opening…!).

But I feel like regardless of my defense of FFXV, it doesn’t matter. Because regardless of the comparisons between what Versus XIII and FFXV has and what Verum Rex became, it’s not either of them. Verum Rex is Nomura’s idea, just re-purposed because of how passionate the man is for his game. People should be pleased with the fact that instead of one game or the other dying to developmental hell, we were able to get both. And getting Verum Rex – whether as a bonus in Kingdom Hearts or as its own concept in the future – should be a bonus too!

I think the only thing to blame for the conflict overall is Square’s terrible way of over-hyping things to the point of disappointment, and the people that Square, unfortunately, made bitter and saddened with their actions…

[oraculideluna]

Munday Meme

Name: Liz

Pronouns: She/Her

Selectivity: For my sanity, I’m fairly selective, though I do try to be open about RPing with new people who aren’t mutuals.

Favorite animal: Sharks, cats

Favorite muse you’ve had so far ever: Luna. I’ve invested so much time and love into her, and she’s really come so far from when I first started RPing her, so she’s easily my favorite muse. However, my Assassin’s Creed muse is also very dear to me. God, I love him so much. Out of all the muses I’ve had in the past, he’s one I regularly want to go back to.

Muse you kinda wanna pick up: Mm. Don’t judge me, but I enjoyed Charlie from the FNaF novels quite a bit, though I’d probably also lean heavily into the game lore, since we now know her role in those, too. But I haven’t had a lot of inspiration for new muses so much as I constantly think about old ones lol

Most identifiable fictional character: I can’t think of many off the top of my head, but I tend to feel like a mix of Rapunzel from Tangled, and Megara from Hercules.

What color your aura is/think it is: I think...maybe a bright blue? With a constant tinge of anxious red that fluctuates.

Personality stuff you agree with (astrology, mbti, Hogwarts house, etc be as specific as you want!): This one is tough because some of it is self-identifying, which is very subjective, while others are observational, and some are incomplete. I enjoy all of these as character building tools and such, and I know my general personality test results, but I don’t particularly live my life by these kinds of things. (But the zodiac is a favorite, I love it. Luna and my AC muses are both Libras, but while Luna regularly fits as a Libra on the cusp of Virgo, Cal is the most un-libra-like Libra I have ever seen. He’d work far better as an Aries tbh, but check his October 21st, Libra-Cusp-Scorpio birthday and laugh with me that he fits neither.)

Do you think you’re a good driver: Yeah. I mean, I used to be a bit less cautious, but I was in a car accident with a street light in December 2016 because of all the ice, I broke my hand and ended up having surgery (to remove a tumor that started growing because of the break), and I’ve become a bit more careful. Still, I don’t put my car in a full stop to make a turn. 

Favorite minor discourse (pinapple on pizza, what color is the dress, etc): I don’t know if it was more than just a small thing on twitter, but I saw several tweets about gummy candy, and my answer is sour gummy worms.

Favorite vine and/or meme: idk about vine, but I love the Star Wars ‘high ground’ meme. Also, all the EA memes.

Why did you choose this muse: Sort of an aligning of the stars or whatever. I had just left a fandom rpc for being incredibly toxic (which sucks because I’d been wanting to RP that character for years) and was in-between muses, looking for someone new, and then E3 footage of XV aired and it really caught my attention. I resisted for a couple of weeks since the game hadn’t come out yet, but July 1st 2016, I gave in. I researched everything I could about the game (since previously I had known mostly the Versus XIII version of the game and hadn’t looked too deeply into XV), theorized heavily on what I thought would happen, and then dove in.

Favorite rp memory: Hmmm. Well, there was an intermission I had between group / fandom RPs, during which I had just a personal thing going with one friend. It was Marvel with heavy leanings into mythology (since it was Sif, Thor, Loki, Sigyn, and several others), and we had just...these epic plots and plans, and at one point, we took such a turn with the plotting, killed one of our characters after a year of buildup, and sure we brought her back eventually, but man it was devastating to write her dying. Still sticks with me to this day. My heart doesn’t regularly shatter while RPing, but that one did it. (Jay recently did this to me, too; broke my heart to pieces and it was so good. I’m still not recovered.)

Favorite thing you’ve written, in rp or not: Most of my ‘favorite things’ I’ve written are either super short oneshots, or like...a line, or a scene or a paragraph in an RP. Sometimes, I surprise even myself when a combination of words comes out that’s particularly good. By way of plots, I’ve got some really well fleshed out ones with Jay that I’m absolutely in love with, and I enjoy writing pretty much everything we do there. Also, on my AC muse, I have a lot of stuff I’ve really enjoyed. That fandom was so down for flexibility of plots and exploring all sides of characters. I had AUs on AUs and it was glorious.

A line/lyrics/quote/etc you like or that means a lot to you: “If brokenness is a work of art, surely this must be my masterpiece.”

Give a shout-out to someone: Since I’ve called out Jay twice here already, I’m gonna shout out my bro @ravusnightblossom <3 What an amazing and rad mun with such a well thought out muse, and mmm I am so happy to have this Ravus in my life. I just absolutely love them both so so much, please know that I love them and am glad they enjoy me spamming their inbox :] *hugs*

Also, @dromii has been with me and Luna for a really long time and has been such a positive influence on us both. I love them and their Cloud (and all their muses) so so much. So much thought and care gets put into all of their AUs and plots and muses, and it really shines through in their writing. (Also, they hit me with so many feels and I live for it ;_; <3)

Tagged by: I blatantly stole this from @totustuumegosum

Tagging: Anyone who wants to do it

[ibilbideak-blog]

The balkanization of the novel

French author Mathias Énard

Through the fractured mind of a narrator in crisis, a new novel traces 2,000 tangled years of Mediterranean history and politics.

First, let us dispense with formal concerns. Zone is a 517-page novel that, with one notable exception, is written as one mammoth run-on sentence. It encompasses three continents, scores of wars, entire historical epochs, kings, fascists, freedom fighters, Guantanamo torturers and a number of literary greats. Representing the absorbing and frequently unhinged consciousness of one Francis Servain Mirkovic, it soon reveals that our narrator is on an overnight train from Florence to deliver a briefcase full of dirty secrets to the Vatican.

In the opening chapter Francis declares that he is headed “to the end of the world”. This seems an appropriately apocalyptic start for a book that seeks to sum up thousands of years of conflict across cultural, national, and religious lines. For the past decade Francis has worked as a spy for the French government, murdering, bribing, digging up evidence on some and destroying others throughout the Mediterranean basin – the titular Zone. But now he has decided to escape from this life that is slowly but surely driving him to the brink. In order to do this, he plans to end his life as Francis and assume the legal identity of a man locked away for the rest of his days in a mental ward – a former colleague and a casualty of the very work Francis now fears will lead him to his own ruin. This is an apt choice. Francis’s dark work for the Zone’s elites has pushed him to the edge of insanity, but he thinks he can buy his freedom with the Church’s “thirty pieces of silver” – the money he expects in exchange for his briefcase full of secrets. Already Francis is debating his future, be it a quick suicide with a gun, a slow one with alcohol, or a torpid counting of days in some unobtrusive corner of the world. All are equally likely.

Mathias Énard’s attempt to tell Francis’s life story in this particular way is certainly noteworthy, but Zone is not a groundbreaking book. One-sentence novels are not nearly so rare as they might seem: the Congolese writer Alain Mabanckou’s mediocre Broken Glass, published in English by Soft Skull, pulls the same trick. So do the Czech author Bohumil Hrabal’s Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age and dozens of others.

Moreover, Zone‘s language is far from experimental. Whereas, in Eden Eden Eden, the French novelist Pierre Guyotat used the one-sentence format to shape words in a manner that Michel Foucault claimed “no one has ever spoken [before],” Énard’s vocabulary tends toward the quotidian. Clean and clear, his thousands of narrative shards are easily consumed, marshalled by a phalanx of commas. Once a reader becomes accustomed to the flow of Francis’s thoughts, Énard’s prose becomes sharp and smooth as a knife’s edge. This headlong stream-of-consciousness style quickly picks up steam, obscuring the fact that Francis makes for rather an anaemic protagonist and making the extreme fragmentation of the story easier to bear.

Although Énard’s petit modernism should not be taken for experimentalism, Zone is nonetheless impressive. Its great success is in the author’s ability to use the novel’s structure to portray Francis’s scattered mind and to map out an extraordinarily broad historical terrain. He has taken Francis’s entire adult life, plus the 2,000-year history of the Mediterranean Zone and pulverised it into linguistic smithereens. These have then been painstakingly arranged it into something resembling Francis’s frenetic mind. Shot through with vivid characters, taut stories, bizarre flights of free association, and pages of historical erudition, Francis’s journey becomes a looping, digressive, spasmodic text – one that lashes together geographies and epochs.

This history of the Mediterranean à la Francis assaults contemporary visions of Europe as a community of fixed nation-states, turning the countries of the Mediterranean basin into plots of land that have for centuries been criss-crossed by various ethnicities, religions, cultures, languages, and political systems. The familiar demarcations of the world as told by western scholars give way to a new entity – the Zone as seen through Francis’s shadow-history. Zone’s lack of periods becomes a true asset. Confronted with a bewildering new geography, the reader is all but forced to crash along with Francis through the boundaries of character, time, geography, logic, and culture, just as Francis’s thoughts crash through syntactical barriers that would typically be forced by hard punctuation. One does not so much read this book as become absorbed in it. The cacophony of images is vast and and chaotic, yet this is a kind of bewilderment that engages, instilling a desire for repeat readings in order to gain a clearer view.

Zone’s expansive sweep makes it a tour de force of historical information, girded by the seduction of fascism (echoes of which seem to crop up like a plague wherever Francis travels), the long Mediterranean history of tension between the East and West, and fascination with the Other. Énard’s knowledge ranges from the major to the minute, the latter including the slipper collection of King Alfonso XIII of Spain (the last monarch before Franco), the Nazi Rudolf Hess, who absconded to Britain under mysterious circumstances just before Hitler opened the Eastern Front, and a young Cervantes who is conscripted onto a warship and almost dies before he writes Don Quixote. Reflecting Francis’s literary pretentions, the book is studded with writers who have passed through the Zone. William Burroughs, Malcolm Lowry, and Ezra Pound all steal scenes. There are also cameos by Jean Genet, Curzio Malaparte, Apollinaire, Maurice Bardéche (the infamous French collaborationist), Céline, Robert Walser, and Ibn Khafaja (the 11th-century Arabic poet who lived under Moorish rule in what would become Andalusia), to name a few.

But Zone is not all dislocation and discord. There are some fantastic stretches that, taken out of context, would make impressive short stories. Early on Énard spins us a tale from Francis’s time as a Balkan soldier in the 1990s, where he is initiated in the ways of war. It is a wonderful five-page anecdote of a foray into no man’s land made by Francis and his comrade Andrija as they hunt a pig that refuses to die:

“He went over to the animal took out his bayonet the sow tried to bite him and began squealing when the knife slashed her fat, I was seized with mad laughter too, despite the bombardment, despite the Chetniks who must have been thinking about preparing an attack I had in front of me a soldier black with wet mud dagger in hand in the process of running after a crazy animal in the roar of explosions, a machine gun began firing on the Serbian side, Andrija took advantage of it to shoot a bullet from his Kalashinikov into the animal 7.62 too small caliber to drop the pig he’d have to hit it in the head it went on squealing even louder as it limped…

The incident of the squealing sow comes through with palpable realness. The chaos that Francis finds in the Balkans is beautifully evoked by the image of two trained killing machines making a hash of slaughtering a pig, risking their lives for a pitiable meal.

As here, Énard continually shows his skill at efficiently building up palpable moments and memorable characters, but there is at least one notable misstep: the novella Francis reads on the train, which marks this book’s one break from one-sentence rule. It tells the story of a group of Palestinian soldiers resisting Israeli forces during 1982’s Siege of Beirut and functions as Énard’s attempt to let the East speak amid the clamour of Francis’s thoughts. This story about a rebel’s attempt to claim the body of her dead lover from Beirut’s war-torn streets is not bad, but Francis’s more authentic, more original thoughts so far outshine it that the East feels pale and diminished – an outcome that is clearly contrary to Énard’s intentions.

Zone’s formal conceit will undoubtedly scare some readers off. It shouldn’t, though. This book is far more immersive than intimidating. Moreover, its meaty historical trajectory means that its appeal reaches far beyond the strictly literary, encompassing both history and politics. Charlotte Mandell’s translation from the original French nimbly traces Francis’s shifts in register as he moves through guilt, pride, resignation, rage, and hope, while still maintaining his personal quirks and cadences. At length, Zone comes to feel like a book that has contained multitudes, one that can support a hundred theories and spark a hundred arguments. It is not quite the work of high art that some have claimed it to be, but it is a startling, stimulating read, a document that should stand out as a memorable part of the long history of its setting.

Scott Esposito

[dreamiggy]

Happy birthday Final Fantasy XV! This game and community came to mean so much more to me than I ever expected. I wanted to write down a short story of how I came to know it so if you’re interested it’ll be under the cut not to clutter anyone’s dash with a wall of words. The story is both sad and happy and still ongoing.

As a lot of you probably I first heard of the game in 2006 when it was still called Versus XIII and the whole visual world of it gripped me. I was only starting to discover different ways of creative expression at the time and those few minutes of the trailer and the music had a huge impact on me. Following the material that was released about this mysterious game I built a world in my head, an original story, with a character that was a lot like Stella (meaning sword wielding and badass…hey I was 14 at the time and that was about the coolest thing ever). Strangely enough now looking back that story (that I never really wrote down) had a lot of common themes with the original Versus XIII story that I had no way of knowing.

So in the next few years sometimes (even when I no longer cared about that original story) I came back to that first trailer and watched it for inspiration. FF VII: Crisis Core came out and completely got me immersed in its world and I felt like this next huge game, this Versus XIII that must be about to be released (hehh) is going to be just as engaging and emotionally devastating. Well on that account I wasn’t wrong, it is a lot like Crisis Core in causing your heart to break.

So around this time (16ish) I started taking drawing seriously. I got a sketchbook for my birthday and I started to fill it up. I thought I was going to be an illustrator or a concept artist at that point and that I will work on movies or computer games. I still had Stella standing in front of the moon as my background on my laptop to remind me what kind of things I’d love to work on. To remember what I’m working towards.

A couple of months later I got sick. Seriously sick. My hands and legs got paralyzed and I didn’t know if it was ever going to get better. At this point drawing and playing the guitar was my life and suddenly I was unable to do both. I got strong medicines that helped temporarily but I was better for a week and worse for three. Still I drew until I couldn’t hold a pencil any longer. My last drawings in the sketchbook at that time were a mess because I saw the pencil in my hand but I couldn’t feel it.

This went on for two years most of which I spent in hospital. Around the time when I turned 18 I started to get better. I was able to move and live as a healthy person again with only minor symptoms left behind. Fortunately it’s still like that to this day.

On the other hand I’m sure it’s not a surprise that I got depressed during this illness. I thought I had a plan that for my future and it all just went up in smoke. So even after I got better I couldn’t find the strength to continue what I did before. I stopped making music and I stopped drawing altogether for years. For some reason I just wanted to distance myself from what I did before.

Years passed and I never picked up a pencil again. I was afraid that maybe the paralysis will come back and I’ll have to stop again. So I became an English Major and studied video games from a scientific point of view. Then I got a job in the video game industry and slowly but surely let go of my fear of not being able to do creative work.

Then when Final Fantasy XV came out I got it as a Christmas present but I didn’t dare to start it. Some part of me was still trying to distance itself from my past dreams and I knew that this is going to bring back a lot of memories. So the game sat on my PS4 for months without me touching it. And then in the beginning of summer I decided not to wait any longer.

I started the game for the first time and when I heard the familiar notes of Somnus and saw the dark sky and the moon in the menu I cried. I cried and I cried without even touching the game. It expected emotions and memories to come back but not like this. I turned the game off without starting it and left it like that for weeks.

Still I felt like a door was open now that’s been closed for a long time. I started to play the game and found the fandom with all of you wonderful people in it. I saw people creating amazing art and writing beautiful stories and when I introduced myself here and all of you welcomed me right away. It meant and still means so much.

I decided to find that old sketchbook where the last pieces were so shaky and start to practice again. (When I upload a sketch those are still from there.) I might not be dreaming about becoming an illustrator now but I feel like I got back a long lost piece of me.

So this is my long story about how this game affected me and became something that accompanied me through some of the hardest years of my life. I keep saying how much this game and the community means to me but I hope this little story explains just how much. And all of you who took the time to read it: Thank you!

[orphilos]

hmmm....

[daleisgreat]

Slacker

Several movies in my backlog box belong to the ‘Criterion Edition’ line. For those unfamiliar it is a company that re-releases critically acclaimed films, mostly of the prestige and arthouse variety from all eras of film around the world. They get the creator’s and/or studio’s blessing and faithfully restore their video and audio as close as possible to modern standards and pack it with extras and have new case artwork in addition to bundling it with a art/production essay booklet. The only downside is these premium releases are almost double then regular physical media releases, but twice a year Criterion runs a 50% off their entire catalog sale which results in their inventory reaching tolerable pricing and why I have several Criterions in my backlog. I only covered one before with 12 Angry Men, and today I am knocking out another one with director Richard Linklater’s first major release in 1991’s Slacker (trailer). I think the best singular word to begin to break down Slacker is ‘experimental.’ There was nothing else like it before where the movie focuses on a single character for a small part of their day for usually a handful of minutes until they interact with another person and shortly thereafter the film transitions to that next character for the next few minutes as they go about their day with as minimal camera and scene cuts as possible. There are some sporadically inserted, but for the most part Linklater thrived to make this come off as one nonstop continuous cut almost similar to Birdman a few years ago.

Sometimes Slacker catches these characters in a major part of their day such as witnessing a hit-and-run or coming home in the midst of a robbery, to truly bizarre moments like encountering the strangest coffee house ever or sometimes as inconsequential as discussing recommendations at the bookstore. I love how it captures these brief ‘snapshots’ of people going about their day, especially now with a 2019 eye on a 1989/1990 setting before the Internet officially debuted and cell phone use was a blip to where it is today. I was among the last gen to come of age with remembering phone numbers, going over to a friend’s unannounced to see what was up, fanny packs, payphones and how the newspaper and local news were a major part of your day and seeing those elements in play in a handful of interactions in Slacker was eye-opening to a way of life I long forgot, for better or worse. Slacker was made on a $23,000 budget and one of the concessions with that budget and having an ensemble cast is that this cast consists largely of people who have had little to no acting experience. Watching some of the behind-the-scenes interviews on how Linklater accomplished wrangling in this large cast was by having his people in charge of casting go out in restaurants, bars and other establishments and observe individuals and ask the personalities that caught their eye if they would be interested in being in a movie. I can only imagine how bold of a risk this was because there are easily several characters throughout the film that leave a lot to be desired out of their performances, but in a way that is part of the gritty DIY charm of Slacker.

Speaking of extras, with this being a Criterion Edition it is jam-packed with them. There are three commentary tracks with Linklater doing one solo, a second one with several crew members and a third one consisting of interviews pasted together from a fair amount of the cast members to their appropriate scenes. I bounced between all three on my re-watch of the film and found Linklater’s to be naturally more insightful with a lot of production facts and a lot of personal tales on how he was going for broke on this project. The other two are interesting too, but the crew’s track has a fair amount of lulls between their crazy behind-the-scenes tales and some of the cast has entertaining bits, but with so many clips pasted together it naturally goes all over the place. There are an hour and a half of behind-the-scenes interviews and other extra features and if you found yourself wrapped up as much as I did in the nature of Slacker then nearly all of them are must-see! The following are the top highlights if you only have time for a few. The cast auditions popped me to how close they reflected their on-screen characters, there is nearly a half-hour of extended and deleted scenes worth diving into and about 20 minutes of clips and interviews from a 10th anniversary reception and panel worth checking out to see what this film has done for Linklater and his cast of mostly unknowns. There are two essays included, one is an on-disc feature where Linklater dissects ‘Slacker-culture’ and the aforementioned physical booklet is 32-pages of concept art and a couple of essays elaborating on its shoestring budget and how it took years of hustling to get noticed in the festival circuit before its success and cult hit status.

Finally there are two other completely unique Linklater projects included as extras. One is a seven minute docu-short on Linklater’s experience at a spinoff Woodstock festival called Woodshock that is a very nice homage to Heavy Metal Parking Lot. The other bonus is Linklater’s first feature film in 1988’s It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books. Linklater self-funded this film for $3000 and shot it entirely in Super 8 with solely himself doing the bulk of the acting as he travels across the country and the film taking in Linklater’s character doing a lot of mundane, everyday tasks. Another interesting experimental piece, but lacks the intrigue and spontaneity that Slacker brings to the table. This one also has a Linklater commentary track that I watched it with and I highly recommend you do so to help with the many non-dialogue scenes in Plow. Linklater is one of my favorite directors, and I say that with only seeing about half of his films. I have a few other Criterion Editions of his other films that I have not seen yet and hope to get to them sooner than later. If you are familiar with some of his other movies like Boyhood then you should know his films go against the grain of what usually hits theaters and not to go into his films with the standard three act expectation. I highly recommend Slacker with the asterisk that it is the ideal movie to sit down with the getting ready to relax with it on in the background before you gradually get reeled in to see which way this unpredictable ball of string unravels next.

Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hercules: Reborn Hitman Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[pandabearlikes]

Story Archive Master Post

Chapter Stories

The Lucky One (completed)

Characters: You x Sehun  Genre: Romance, Angst, Drama, Family  Number of Chapters: 15 

Ten years of unrequited love.  One night that changed your life forever.   

Table of Contents:

I. One Night II. Shame III. Reunion IV. His Gift V. Pandora’s Box VI. Her Deal VII. Stuck in a Bubble VIII. Like an Hallucination IX. Warning X. “Yes” XI. Calm Before the Storm XII. Oh Youngwoo XIII. Omma XIV. One Night (Reprise) XV. Epilogue  

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Cat and Mouse (completed)

Characters: Luhan x You x Chanyeol   Genre: Romance, Action, Drama, Angst   Number of Chapters: 7

You are a trained assassin.  He is a top ranking police officer.  

Table of Contents:

Forwards I. Heartbeat II. So Close III. Forgotten Souls IV. Replacement V. Decoy VI. Park Chanyeol VII. Epilogue

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Temporary Affairs (completed)

Characters: You x Kai Genre: Romance, Light-Hearted Comedy, Fluff Number of Chapters: 17

In which Kim Jongin is your tall, dark, handsome, and sexy husband to be…of course…due to an arranged marriage…  

Table of Contents:

I. Mismatch II. Lee Sohee III. Puppet IV. Your Offer V. Lovesick VI. Lovesick II VII. Lovesick III VIII. Breathless IX. Chicken Feet X. The Ex XI. Sweet Potato Pie XII. Head Over Heels   XIII. Resolution XIV. For Better or For Worse XV. First Night XVI. The Fight XVII. It’s Okay, That’s Love 

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Temporary Affairs II (completed)

Characters: You x Kai Genre: Romance, Angst, Fluff, Family Number of Chapters: 13

In which you married the man of your dreams, got pregnant with his child, yet still don’t really know if he loves you…  

Table of Contents:

I. Unasked Questions II. Lucky Charm III. Perfect Imperfection IV. The Fated and The Unexpected V. The Caretaker VI. Self-ie-conscious VII. Kim Yoona VIII. Those Three Words IX. His True Love X. Friends Not Foes XI. Little Miracle XII. The Proposal   XIII. Happiness

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still trying to figure out why these don’t work :( please bear with me.

Beautiful Distraction (completed)

Characters: You x Tao Genre: Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Addiction Number of Chapters: 8

Disclaimer: This story may contain themes that may cause discomfort in younger readers (for example, sex and addiction).  

When reality is just too much and parts of you begin to slip away…

Table of Contents:

I. Distraction II. Illusion III. The Role IV. Addiction V. Consequences VI. You VII. Separate Universes VIII. Epilogue

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The Lucky One II (completed)

Characters: You x Sehun Genre: Romance, Angst, Slice of Life, Fluff, Family Number of Chapters: 22

One night that granted you a lifetime of blessings, happiness, sorrow, and heartbreaks with the love of your life.  

“I love you,” he spoke and you melted into his arms, believing every word, every syllable that slipped out of those soft lips.  

Table of Contents:

I. Oh Baby, Baby II. Our Little Adventure III. Birthday Surprise IV. Innocent Love V. Hidden VI. Abandoned Hearts VII. Surprise Present VIII. The Protector IX. Blood and Water X. Wake Up Call XI. The Half Truth XII. Maternal Instincts   XIII. Young Love XIV. Young Love II XV. Omma’s Martial Artist XVI. Sweetpea XVII. Formal Closure XVIII. It Was Perfect XIX. True Love XX. Pieces to a Whole XXI. Mending the Wounds XXII. Epilogue

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Skinny Love (completed)

Characters: Yoona (You) x Youngwoo (a.k.a. Kai’s daughter x Sehun’s son) Genre: Romance, Angst, Slice of Life, Fluff, Family, High School Drama Number of Chapters: 20

“When you’re around someone so much, for so long, they become a part of you and when they go away, you don’t know who you are without them”.

Table of Contents:

I. The Chase II. The Protector III. The Confession IV. Oh Youngji V. Realization VI. Maybe VII. First Love VIII. The Resolve IX. I Love You, Kim Yoona X. Painful Decision XI. The Break XII. Losing Him   XIII. Whenever It Rains XIV. When Love Falls XV. If We Are Together XVI. Separation XVII. To Have and To Hold XVIII. Telepathy XIX. Forever Yours XX. Art of Seduction

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One Thousand Years (completed)

Characters: You x Chanyeol Genre: Romance, Angst, Fantasy, Friendship Number of Chapters: 15

A thousand years of rain that span three lifetimes…When predestined enemies fall in love…invisible barriers are pushed aside.  A relationship doomed from the very beginning.  

Table of Contents:

I. The Bunny and The Wolf II. Predator Instincts III. Love IV. Love II V. Separation VI. Forbidden Love VII. Vows VIII. Inevitable Fate IX. One Thousand Years X. Melodies of Love XI. Jade Bunny XII. Home XIII. Forbidden Love (Reprise) XIV. Happy Ending XV. Epilogue

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Glass Flower (completed)

Characters: You x Suho Genre: Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family Number of Chapters: 7

Disclaimer: This story may contain themes that may cause discomfort in younger readers (for example, abuse).  

You were his flower and he was your water.

Table of Contents:

I. Invisibility II. Water and Flower III. Seed IV. Seed II V. Rebirth VI. Second Chance VII. Epilogue

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STORY MASTER ARCHIVE PART 2

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If some links don’t work on tumblr mobile app, please visit my Stories Back Up Tumblr I will try to organize it soon.

[divine-identite]

RULES. repost, don’t reblog. tag ten. TAGGED. @thegreatunxter  thank you Lari :) TAGGING. anyone else who wants to do this.

BASICS.

FULL  NAME.   Paddra-Ballad Caius, Caius Ballad NICKNAME.   none AGE.   2,000+ BIRTHDAY.   December 27th  ♑  Capricorn ♑ (Capricorn Sun / Scorpio moon) ETHNIC GROUP.   Indigenous/Aborginals/Paddran NATIONALITY.   Pulsian LANGUAGE / S. canon: Pulsian  ;New World: French, Italian, Russian God of Death: Nigh-omniscience  SEXUAL ORIENTATION.   Heterosexual  ROMANTIC ORIENTATION.   Demiromantic RELATIONSHIP STATUS. Single (canon) / in a relationship (AU) CLASS.  N/A HOME TOWN / AREA.   Paddra CURRENT HOME.   The New Unseen Realm PROFESSION.   Seeress’s Guardian, God of Death

PHYSICAL.

HAIR.  Long purple hair, goes down to her mid-back. Smooth with light purple tufts of hair. EYES.  a vivid purple, almond-shaped. His eyes are normally sharp, stern, and intense usually some moments, which may intimidate some people who see them NOSE.  Wide bridge but slender nostrils it's also tall and straight  FACE. His face is kinda of square, prominent, strong jaw, open forehead, and subtle high cheekbones. LIPS. Full lips, the bottom is a bit more full COMPLEXION.  tanned - earth tones mostly, smooth, and soft with some weathering. BLEMISHES. He has freckles when looked upon closely have lightened up over the years but are distinguishable under a keen eye SCARS.  A few but they have faded possible or just non-existent due to the nature of the heart of chaos. TATTOOS. N/A HEIGHT.   6′4″ WEIGHT. 197 lbs BUILD.   Athletic, slender FEATURES. My seem imposing, vivid purple hair  ALLERGIES. N/A USUAL HAIR STYLE. Usually let down, held in place by his headband a large sweeping bang from the left. USUAL FACE LOOK.   Stern, unmoved and confident, even seen smirking arrogantly. While it’s not rare nor is it a common occurence, her features tends to soften up when he’s around people such as Yeul USUAL CLOTHING.  Armour made by Etro reverence of Bahamut

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S.  Failure, in the past many perhaps not being personal worth. ASPIRATION / S.  To end his and her suffering and free themselves from this accursed torment given by the Goddess Etro POSITIVE TRAITS.  Determined, Persistent, Dutiful, Practical, Wise,  NEGATIVE TRAITS.  Apathetic/Callous, Dogged, Blunt, Manipulative, Merciless, Cruel, Nonsense, Dogged MBTI.   LOGISTICIAN (ISTJ-A) ZODIAC.   Capricorn TEMPEREMENT.   Phlegmatic/ Choleric SOUL TYPE / S.  Hunter/ Caregiver ANIMALS.   Sable VICE HABIT / S.  N/A FAITH.  Agnostic GHOSTS? Yes AFTERLIFE? Yes REINCARNATION? He has none ALIENS? No. POLITICAL ALIGNMENT.  N/A  ECONOMIC PREFERENCE. N/A SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION. EDUCATION LEVEL.  Home-schooled 

FAMILY.

FATHER.  N/A MOTHER. N/A SIBLINGS.  N/A EXTENDED  FAMILY.  N/A NAME MEANING / S.   Caius is classical and serious but also has a simple, joyful quality. There was a third century pope named Caius, as well as an early Christian writer, several Shakespearean characters, and a Twilight vampire. We would pronounce the name to rhyme with eye-us though at Cambridge University in England, where it's the name of a college, it's pronounced keys. Caius is currently Number 164 on Nameberry. 

HISTORICAL CONNECTION ?  N/A

FAVOURITES.

BOOK. N/A MOVIE. N/A 5 SONGS.  “ Heavy” - Florence + The Machine, “Caius Theme” - Final Fantasy XIII-2  “Oblivion“ - Bastille Sun and Steel” - Audiomachine “ Dawn ” - Skyrim DEITY.  N/A HOLIDAY.  N/A MONTH.  November, December SEASON.  Fall, Winter PLACE.  Paddra WEATHER. Fair temperatures, little  humidity, weather with slight forecast SOUND. Rainfall, night-time cricket ambience, the night, THE QUIET SCENT / S. like night, like fresh after a rain storm night. Coupled with a bit of sea water, jasmine, metal and earthy tones.  TASTE / S. Salt, Honey FEEL / S.  Leather, animal hide, scales ANIMAL / S.  Bahamut NUMBER.  N/A COLOUR. Green

EXTRA.

TALENTS.  Piano, creating metal sculpture art BAD  AT.  Critical, Self-Expressing, Fastidious, Judgemental, Conservative, Apathetic TURN  ONS.  An interesting personality, a good rival, determination, passion, being vigilant and perhaps just someone battling the odds.  TURN  OFFS.  Ignorance, constant nonsense, terrible personality, invading personal space, Weakness HOBBIES. Reading, taking long walks, training, stargazing TROPES. Papa Wolf: Seriously, do not mess with Yeul when he's around. That includes you, universe and you too, Etro. AESTHETIC  TAGS.   Moon, rain, mountains, forests, charcoal, feathers, leather, time, Fog GPOY  QUOTES.  “ Forever isn’t bright; it isn’t like that. Forever is cold and hard and final. .” - Deathless, Catherynne M. Valente

FC INFO.

MAIN  FC / S. N/A ALT  FC / S.  N/A OLDER  FC / S.  N/A YOUNGER  FC / S. N/A VOICE  CLAIM / S. Liam’ O Bren

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1.   if you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about?  A1.  Walk to Oblvion - that explores the boundaries of morality between what is typically good and evil, and understand what is truly human in character in our core. I think perhaps a western movie or a high fantasy movie which Caius cause’s destruction for a greater purpose.

Q2.   what would their soundtrack / score sound like? A2.   Oh, boy I say Dawn - Jeremy Soule, Skyrim. 

Q3.   why did you start writing this character? A3.    From long story to short, it started when I was in yoga class when Book 4 was still airing. My muse for her came out of nowhere and I told myself the feeling is going to go away, but that night…I ended up making a blog for her. And here I am now.

Q4.   what first attracted you to this character? A4. Oh boy, this is a long explanation you’re demanding from me lol but I’ll bite. Well to star,t I picked up Caius out of curiosity and perhaps chance, I originally wanted to do Noctis - but Tumblr was so oversaturated with Noctis that I didn't want to be a clone. So, I had to go through the “fishing for a muse” phase.  I roleplayed a bit as Riku from KH , Kefka from FF6 and thus Caius. Now I chose Caius because from what I was told usually people pick him up and drop him like a dime - it sounded like a role I could take to see how it went since he was my first villain (at that point was a bit insecure at the time  ) At first, I was unsure if I would be good with him when I went on a massive study on him, he was this compelling villain and seem always to have a recognisable appearance which i was worried I would not master or convey into my other rps. Later,  I learned he was the most human of all final fantasy characters out there; with him wanting to destroy time for just one person, which other final fantasy 13 character such as Lightning, Fang wanted cocoon destroyed just to save those they loved and that kind of drew in more the more I realised it; the whole grey spectrum and his personality I could just connect with it off the bat ( I don’t know something about stoic attitude that always kinda makes me want to roleplay them so well and it always works for me, funny as it was since I used to RP Cloud Strife back on myspace). Though I think me and Caius have many differences we do have many similarities which made me fancy the character and got me to portray him to this level where. It’s perhaps easy to know  So, I guess you can say I roleplayed him as a mistake?

Q5.   describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5.  Being cryptic and generally just being callous so many things that some people would be, pretty much an asshole to people and his unfiltered honesty. Not being expressive

Q6.   what do you have in common with your muse? A6.   quite blunt lol and down to earth actually, i guess being practical at least.

Q7.   how does your muse feel about you? A7.  cool dood just needs to lighten the fuck up sometimes and be less blunt and callous, he would make a lot of friends if he did that.

Q8.   what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with? A8.   Kuvira (Avatar. Legend of Korra), Alex Benedetto (Gangsta), i think mostly Moana (Disney’s Moana), Fang ( Final Fantasy XIII trilogy), Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)

Q9.   what gives you the inspiration to write your muse? A9.  SE not fleshing out Caius, a lot of gothic horror pieces of literature, Lovecraft and Poe to flesh out his emotional states in some of my rps and what not. To expound upon such an amazing character is an honour and give my perspective on certain events, ones even sensitive, that have shaped his bleak future which he woefully remembers most of his life.

Q10. how long did this take you to complete?

Like a week lol because I was so on and off and doing multiple things

[3m-portfolio]

Did Dadaism ever die?

Did Dadaism ever die? How London and Paris still maintain the natural character of Dada.

From London to Paris, both cities manifested traits of the absurd, the provocative and the subversive[i]: these textures map out the Dadaist history. It was a chaotic, collective effort that provoked thoughts in order to encourage everyone following to dismiss the wrongs happening around them[ii]. However, Dadaism was evidenced 100 years ago during World War One. Yet from exhibitions in London’s Whitechapel[iii] to Paris’s Pompidou[iv], I was given the opportunity to understand why the shock factor and the artistic uprising was so fundamental to their existence at the time, and equally, ours now.

Despite it being 100 years later, the absurd remains to be significant when making social and political comments. In a series of unapologetically honest and emotional installations, William Kentridge puts himself – and his country South Africa – into a grandiose history of life, the universe and everything[v], reinventing the shattered perspectives of early 20th-century modernism in a tragicomic pattern. The link was not only aesthetically similar to the Dadaist productions, but mentally it was captured by Kentridge. In the modern world we have similar frustrations dating from 100 years ago, he claimed ‘I understood the Dadaists’, ‘I had to be dragged kicking and screaming into understanding the world I was in’[vi].

The performance of ‘Right into Her Arms’ includes a projection of a sexually charged dance which was displayed on two mechanically moving screens. On the one hand, the production was noted as ‘someway between Dada and a cabaret performance’[vii]. The similarities in aesthetic content dated back to June 1916, Zurich, where Hugo Ball preformed poetry readings of unidentifiable sound-words[viii]. However, Kentridge’s panels clash through the forced mechanical reactions which describe his underlying artistic and political preoccupations. In this case, the screens are sometimes recipients of projections but as the piece develops they also become protagonists. He explains ‘it’s about the oddness of desire’[ix]. As a result, the trembling panels radiate human behaviour as they shift and hesitate through the performance. The overlap between mechanics and human emotion is effectively discussing the contemporary idea of if mechanical objects can be human. This dates back to Leon Trotsky’s thoughts that we are all ‘semi-manufactured products’ and how there’s a sense of trying to find a human being in the machine[x].

Furthermore, the Pompidou Centre held the pioneer of Dada[xi]: Marcel Duchamp. Dadaism was also a movement that questioned long-held assumptions about what art should be. His Readymades collection was simply the act of choosing an object, elevating and isolating it. Heim Steinbach was an artist exhibiting in the same gallery, with similar values. Along the vast white walls, stood 2 ‘CAUTION – Wet Floor’ signs. The pieces, named ‘Caution’, played on the symbolic and formal properties of mass produced objects. Not only was it a comment on conceptual ready-mades, but it was a comment on social and technological changes[xii]. The shock factor introduced by Duchamp, and the dismissal of retinal ideas[xiii], has allowed artists to make contemporary comments about our society with no boundaries.

Besides demonstrating a platform for the absurd and the honesty within the art world, Dadaism also gave a sense of anarchism to the socially trained beliefs. The exhibition ‘Uprisings’ at the Jeu de Paume[xiv], displayed walls with printed messages like ‘Rising up is a gesture’ and ‘Mouths for exclaiming’. This exhibition engaged with Dadaist history, as it held masses of artistic aggression and empowerment. Dadaist Tristan Tzara[xv] revealed the anguish of his soul, caught between revolt and wonderment at the daily tragedy of the human condition. His poems were random formations of words and sentences. Not only did the poetry mark the current social decline, but they marked the illogical nature of the environment for World War 1. The use of sound without words is still used in our contemporary art world. The ‘Uprisings’ exhibition included Maria Kourkouta’s video installation[xvi] of 12 mouths humming. This 2016 produced film was 18 minutes long, and captured the breath of the viewers straight away. In the monochromatic display, viewers were forced to watch the mouths hum at different times but then come together in unison. All humans make the same noise, we’re different but we all make the same noise. Given the context of this individual series, being based on migrants, it seems that the reasoning behind the humming by different races was intentionally equal. Therefore, I believe that the parallels by using sound as a relationship between viewer and viewed is followed through the years, and is still as effective as 100 years ago – even in different context.

To conclude, we live in an uncertain and changing world, in which old beliefs are constantly being challenged and changed. We may not be experiencing the kind of cataclysmic change that the original Dadaists experienced, but there is no doubt that for all of us, life over the next decade and beyond is likely to be challenging, economically and therefore, socially. Dada and its related movements demonstrate human beings’ capacity to find a way through even the darkest seeming tunnels. Additionally, they do not do it by conforming to the same conventions and norms that caused the problem in the first instance, but by ridiculing them, and creating something that is both nihilistic and positive[xvii], something absurd. I believe that in both London exhibitions and Paris, I found some hope of the dada traits that live long in our modern society.

 [i] Coutts-smith, K. (1984) Dada. Gaglione. In-text citations: (Coutts-smith, 1984)

[ii]WideWalls (2017) 100 Years of Dadaism - Influence and Genius of the First Avant-Garde Art Movement. Available at: http://www.widewalls.ch/100-years-dadaism-dada-art-movement/

[iii] The Whitechapel, London. (2017) Available at: 77-82 Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX

[iv] The Pompidou Centre (2017) Available at: Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris, France

[v] Jones, J. (2016) William Kentridge review – love and propaganda on a trip through the stars. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/ sep/21/william-kentridge-review-whitechapel-gallery-london.

[vi] Wroe, N. (2016) Out of South Africa: How politics animated the art of William Kentridge. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/10/out-of-south-africa-how-politics-animated-the-art-of-william-kentridge.

[vii] Cotter, H. (2013) William Kentridge: ‘The refusal of time’. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/29/arts/design/william-kentridge-the-refusal-of-time.html.

[viii] Widewalls (2017) Stumbling across DADA poetry. Available at: http://www.widewalls.ch/dada-poetry/.

[ix] Whitechapel Gallery (2016) William Kentridge on ‘thick time’ at the Whitechapel gallery. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pc2Yi3SU7k.

[x] Canvas (2016) WILLIAM KENTRIDGE’S THICK TIME | CANVAS EXPLORES. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsMsnb452BU.

[xi] Marcel Duchamp and the Readymade  Available at: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/dada/marcel-duchamp-and-the-readymade.

[xii] Haim Steinbach. Available at: http://www.jca-online.com/steinbach.html.

[xiii] Cabanne, P., Padgett, R., Duchamp, M. and Motherwell, R. (1987) Dialogues with Marcel Duchamp. New York, NY: Da Capo Press.

[xiv] Jeu de Paume Available at: 1 Place de la Concorde, 75008 Paris, France

[xv] Short, R.L. (1985) Dada & surrealism. United States: Chartwell Books Inc.,U.S.

[xvi] Films – Maria Kourkouta (2016) Available at: https://mariakourkouta.net/films/

[xvii] Da·Da·Dance project. (2012) Available at: http://www.dadadanceproject.org/?p=2066.