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Here is the full translation of Nomura, Kitase, and Toriyama, and Hamaguchi’s interview from the FF7R Famitsu feature! Nomura talks about Jessie's popularity, the decision to include the Masssage Parlour scene, comments about the next installment's release, and more! Kitase discusses how it’s like working with a new generation of game developers, explains a bit more about the scene with Sephiroth and Cloud at the Edge of Creation, and refers to the Remake as the “New FFVII Story.” Toriyama mentions that the staff who worked on the original game wanted to create a completely new game while younger staff wanted to stay true to the original. Hamaguchi explains more about the development process as well as how they came up with the battle system, what type of system they have planned for Part 2, and more!

DIRECTOR TETSUYA NOMURA INTERVIEW —Now that the game has been released, how are you feeling?

Nomura: Well first off, I feel very relieved. Although there’s still a long way to go on the road to completing the entire story, we are now able to see exactly which direction we will be heading.

—From the game’s battle system to its story to the elaborate details of Midgar’s various environments, including songs that sometimes only play in one scene, the game is full of a richness that has been carefully crafted, which shows that a lot of time and effort was spent creating this game. The staff must have been very enthusiastic, right?

Nomura: I think it’s due to the staff’s love for FFVII. The enthusiasm from the fans also helped propel us forward.

—Are there any elements from either the Original game or part of the compilation that you wanted to make a reality or something that you wanted to have in the past game that then added into this game?

Nomura: Definitely the world itself as well as how richly the people are portrayed. With all the different compilations gathered, it was rather easy to create the world. I think we were able to convey the importance of the areas seamlessly.

—FF7R really digs deep into the Original Game’s story, but there is a surprising development towards the end of the game. With Remakes, there’s always a faction of people who don’t want anything changed, but there are also those who actually want things to be changed. Were there discussions among the creators on whether or not you should change things?

Nomura: Since the concept of FF7R was already decided from the beginning, there wasn’t that much discussion. However, since each individual had different ways of perceiving things, we did discuss exactly how far we will change the story. I believe that I was the one who actually put a stop on several ideas towards the latter half of development (laughs).

—The Remake contains the “Whispers of Fate” that are not present in the original story, but what was the intent of having this presence? In English, they’re called the Whispers, but in Japanese they’re called the “Feelers.” Is there a specific reason for this difference, for example if the word “Feeler” was the origin of the name?

Nomura: Nojima-san actually requested us to give the Whispers an eerie aura. Initially, the Whispers were designed to be made out of small particles of sand that crumbled while still maintaining its shape, but also unclear in form. We then created an image of them wearing a robe, but more so than that, when we had to make a lot of them appear together, that’s when their form took a clear shape. The word “feeler” means to sense and to touch, but at the moment I cannot say anymore than that.

—Those who come into contact with Aerith can see the Whispers, right? Also, was Aerith able to see them from the beginning?

Nomura: People can see the Whispers when they come into contact with Aerith. However, at the moment I am unable to tell you when Aerith started seeing them.

—Instead of always being on edge, Cloud seems to behave more cooly but instead comes off as uncool to those around him. Aerith also seems a bit more mature than the original’s portrayal of her, and Barret seems a more unhinged and tense. The characters all seem to have a new side of them now. What kind of concepts did you use to add to the characters in this game?

Nomura: I personally think that the characters still have the same image as they did before, but with much more expressions now, and adding voices also created a large impact. This was my interpretation of the characters at the start, but since the original game required the player to imagine the type of reactions the characters would have, I think that this caused there to be different images of the characters. As time passed, I’m sure that those images of the characters had changed as well. I think that the errors in each individual player’s interpretation is in itself an interesting part of the game.

—Jessie has a lot of scenes in the Remake and has become quite a popular character. Were her scenes planned from the beginning, or were they something that was added midway through development?

Nomura: It was planned from the beginning. However, I did not expect her to be this popular though!

—The three new characters in Wall Market, Andrea Rhodea, Madam M, and Chocobo Sam, left quite an impression. What was created first, the characters’ personalities or their designs? Also, how did the concept of the Massage Parlour come about?

Nomura: At first, the characters’ personalities weren’t that detailed. We didn’t plan for their designs to be that rich either. However, I think that the voices and acting played a great role for them. In regards to the hand massage, in a city like that, well, the maturity rating would probably go up, so we couldn’t go further with what we had.

—Characters such as Leslie and Kyrie appeared in the light novels, but what was the background on bringing them into the Remake? For example, was it for fan service or something else?

Nomura: Since the stories are part of the Compilation, Nojima-san and myself had plans for them to be included from the beginning. We thought that it would be natural for them to appear in that time and place within the story, so we decided to leave them there. In regards to what happens to them after the events in the Remake, I recommend that players read the light novel “Final Fantasy 7 TURKS: The Kids Are All Right.”

—In regards to the battle system, it contains a fusion of both command and action elements, and each character has a different fighting style. By choosing different character moves, players are able to form various effective strategies, making for a very refreshing experience. Also, the acting and conversations that the characters have during battle also gives a fresh spin on each battle. I’m sure that this was made possible by trial and error, but what was the most difficult part in doing all of this?

Nomura: A real time action battle requires a sense of nervousness and realism, but we couldn’t discard the form and battle of the original game’s command RPG style. As a result, we went through a lot of trial and error to find a perfect harmony for the two. We decided early on to allow for a slow motion sequence to take place to allow players the advantage of being able to select their actions, but there was a long period of time that we couldn’t do it properly. It was largely thanks to the staff for tying in the ATB system to perfect this as well.

—Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to the readers?

Nomura: We know that everyone wants the next installment to be released quickly. We would also like to deliver it as soon as possible. Since we were able to see the line of quality from the first installment, we hope to make the next installment even better in quality that will make for an even greater experience. We hope to release it as soon as possible, so please wait a bit more. I think we can clearly convey the direction when we officially announce the next installment, so we hope you can look forward to it!

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PRODUCER YOSHINORI KITASE INTERVIEW

—From the time that the game was announced at E3 during 2015, the world focused their attention on the game, and after releasing footage of the game’s progress through a promotional video at E3 during 2019, the expectations from the fans has only increased. I’m sure you felt quite a lot of pressure at that time, but now that the game is finally released, how do you feel?

Kitase: I feel relieved that we were able to successfully approach both veteran fans who have been there since the beginning as well as new fans. I feel like right now, the expectations are even higher than before the game was released, and that gives us a lot of motivation to develop the next installment.

—Before the game was released, you mentioned that the hurdle that you needed to overcome was that of the player’s imagination that they have constructed in their minds for the Remake. After seeing the reception from the players post-release, do you feel that you have overcome that hurdle?

Kitase: Well, not just for me, but the power of the entire development staff combined was great. Most of them were fans from the beginning who also played the original game when it first came out. Thanks to that, they knew what kind of image fans probably had for the Remake, and I think we were able to overcome the hurdles that way.

—The game was released worldwide during a time when COVID-19 was affecting the entire world, but did that have any impacts on the game’s development? Also, before the game was released, promotional events were cancelled and the distribution of the game was also shipped ahead of schedule. There seemed to have been a lot of hard decisions to make depending on the situation…

Kitase: In terms of development, we only had the debugging phase left, which meant that the game was pretty much already complete, so there was not much impact from the virus. However, it was a pity that many promotional events were cancelled, and people were not able to really celebrate the release of the game. Luckily, through the means of the downloadable version, we were able to deliver some fun during a very stressful time where it was hard for people to even leave their homes. I hope that we were able to give them at least a moment of reprieve through the game.

—In regards to the FFVII Remake production, was there anything you were particular about?

Kitase: In the latter half of the story, there’s a scene where Cloud and Sephiroth have a confrontation. I wanted the scenery of that segment to show a starry sky that represents the overall themes of FFVII, and the art design team was able to bring that image to life.

Kitase: That’s all thanks to the careful attention that the Co-Directors Hamaguchi and Toriyama as well as the development staff put in making this game. I started game development ever since the Super Famicom console, so I’m used to the type of “cut” and “reuse” way of production. However, the new generation of games require a sense of reality, so that former way of developing games has become obsolete. The current generation of game development staff have that new type of conscience when creating games, so it’s thanks to their enthusiasm that we were able to make this possible.

—I’m sure that there are several younger development staff who never played the original FFVII, so were there any instances where there was a bit of a generation gap?

Kitase: Not really. But I guess when we wanted to give an example from a movie or something, we wouldn’t bring up a reference from an old movie that they probably wouldn’t know (laughs).

—Are there any elements from either the Original game or part of the Compilation that you wanted to make a reality or something that you wanted to have in the past game that was then added into this game?

Kitase: I suppose that would be making everything in 3D with a 360 degree scope of the world. Especially when you’re looking up into the sky of Midgar or looking down towards the slums, I’m really glad that we were able to give the city a sense of realism.

—As a gamer, was there anything in particular from FF7R that surprised or impressed you?

Kitase: This is connected with my answer to the previous question, but yes, being able to look above towards the sky from the slums, thinking “wow, you can see the sky after all!” For 23 years, I imagined the slums to be under a lot of pressure and cloaked in darkness. In the Remake, you can see a different side of the city during the day that you could not see in the original game, and I thought that was really fun.

—You were involved with the initial level design of the Sector 5 Mako Reactor from when the characters infiltrate the reactor to their escape, but were there any other parts that you also were involved in?

Kitase: I was also in charge of the initial stage level design for the scene at the top of the Shinra Building. The scene where Cloud is about to fall off the rooftop but is saved by Tifa is a callback and answer to the Sector 5 Mako Reactor scene where Tifa couldn’t save Cloud from falling.

Kitase: Director Nomura as well as Co-Director Hamaguchi and Toriyama hoped to be able to keep all the parts of the original that fans have come to love. However, we also wanted to add several surprises that would balance out the story too. I’m sure there are people who wish to experience the exact same story and relive memories. However, if we were to do that, then all we would be doing is just adding to the original experience, which would cause the Remake to lose its significance. I think that we were able to successfully revive the story by adding new elements for the new generation of a “New FFVII.”

—Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to the readers?

Kitase: The new FFVII’s story has only just begun. Please look forward to the story from here on out! --------- CO-DIRECTOR TORIYAMA MOTOMU INTERVIEW

—Now that the game has been released, how are you feeling?

Toriyama: I’m really glad that despite the abrupt change in lifestyle [due to COVID-19], this game is able to deliver entertainment to people around the world in the comfort of their own homes. There was some skeptism from fans when we announced before the release of the game that the FF7 Remake will only take place in Midgar, but because the game dug so deeply into the world of FF7, I was relieved to hear that a lot of people were extremely satisfied with the game.

Toriyama: We thought about how we can revive the entity of FFVII using the latest technology as well as capturing the richness of the original. The time it took to oversee one scene or area was great, and in order to do so, we needed much more staff than what we had back in the day. Each and every staff had their own things they were particular about, and we were able to find a balance and successfully craft this game.

—Since you were involved with the development of the game, was there anything you were concerned about?

Toriyama: Since we had to replace many things with a new portrayal, I was quite particular that the essence of FFVII still remained true throughout. I think that if you had played the original game too, you would know which parts were changed and which parts were left in. However, I wanted to make sure that the events of the Remake flowed in a natural way with both new and familiar elements that you can enjoy. I’m happy to know that the Remake is able to add an even more vivid experience to go along with your memories of FFVII.

—I’m sure that there are several younger development staff who never played the original FFVII, so were there any instances where there was a bit of a generation gap?

Toriyama: There are actually a lot of staff who have played the original FFVII and got the opportunity to work in this industry. There are also staff who are more versed in the original game than even the members of staff who worked on the original game, and many of those staff wanted to make an adaptation that kept faithful to the original. In terms of keeping things as traditional as possible, the staff who worked on the original game, myself included, had the notion of “making a new game that no one has ever seen before.” With that conscience in mind, we were able to decide the type of direction we wanted to go in the Remake.

Toriyama: In terms of music, FFVII is a rather cinematic series, but in the original game due to disc space and time restraints, we weren’t able to include a movie-worthy soundtrack. However, we were able to challenge ourselves with the Remake. We wanted to have specific songs that played throughout the entire game that would also go along with the scenes, so the Remake gave us a chance to be able to try this out. With this type of composing, we didn’t really have a specific detailed list, so we didn’t count exactly how many songs we created until we realized that the soundtrack itself would span to seven discs, making it a huge volume of songs (laughs).

—As a gamer, was there anything in particular from FF7R that surprised or impressed you?

Toriyama: After the game was released, I saw a gaming review website capture all the little details of various landscapes in the game, from the posters and billboards to the train time schedules, close inspections of the buildings, pretty much everything that showed the lifestyles of people living in Midgar. Although I’m glad that people were able to deeply observe the details we put in, I can’t help but see some flaws, so it kind of gives me pressure to make sure that the next installment will have even more perfected details (laughs).

—Compared to 23 years ago, from the addition of voices in conversations to a change of design, trends have changed. Was it difficult to achieve a balance of retaining the essence of the original game but still representing it for a new generation?

Toriyama: We wanted to have the game be fully voiced including the NPC within the city, so we were careful when putting in dialogue that would sound natural. We left in some funny lines spoken from the original game’s NPC too, but since there were way more NPCs in the Remake compared to the original, we made sure to find a good balance where those lines wouldn’t be buried among the other spoken dialogue.

Toriyama: For the Remake, the voice acting was added after we had finished creating the cutscenes, and I think that the character’s performance really shined through from the work that the actors and actresses have done that brought out each character’s charm. During recording, Barret had an unexpected continuity that we pushed further, and the results really brought out his character very well.

—In regards to seeing a brand new side of Cloud, the peak of it would probably be the dance sequence at the Honey Bee Inn. Was this scene planned from the beginning?

Toriyama: We strongly did not want to leave out Cloud’s crossdressing scene but instead wanted to create a concept that would make it stand out even more in the Remake. We decided to make Wall Market a huge entertainment district, and we were very enthusiastic in making the Honey Bee Inn even more of an entertainment hotspot in the Remake. I actually helped create the Honey Bee Inn for the original game, so it was easy for me to reimagine the place for the Remake. While still retaining some elements from the original, we were able to give it a huge makeover.

—The Shinra Mascot dog “Stamp” appears in various locations, even on a snack package blowing in the wind in towards the ending with Zack. Was the character of Stamp originally created in the beginning stages of development?

Toriyama: The dog Stamp is a very important symbol that was planned since the beginning. Stamp’s use was determined along with the game design. AVALANCHE also uses him as their symbol, so there is a good meaning to him that we included to have him stand out. However, the Stamp that appears in the scene with Zack is a different breed, so please pay attention to that.

—I was quite surprised that Chadley turned out to be what he was in the story, but who’s idea was it to create this character?

Toriyama: Chadley is a new character that was not in the original game, so it was the scenario team who decided on creating this character. There are a lot of contents regarding the game’s difficulty levels and clearing the battle reports, so we decided to have Cloud be able to encounter Chadley throughout the entire game. I haven’t finished clearing the HARD mode yet, but I hope that those who haven’t cleared everything yet can challenge themselves with this!

—The new character Roche left quite an impact, but he’s an eccentric one that only appears in Chapter 4 and nowhere else. What was the purpose of his character, and will he appear in the next installment?

Toriyama: We had initially drawn up a concept of having Roche appear at the last battle on the Midgar Highway, but we thought that he might ruin the serious mood of the ending sequence, so we scrapped that idea. We also thought to put him in as a boss battle in the Chapter 14 slums, but since you can’t really race around on a motorbike in the slums, we unfortunately could not make it work. Roche’s spontaneity is one of his character traits that stands out though, so there’s a high chance that he’ll appear in the next installment (laughs).

—In the Remake, the characters have a lot of banter when they’re walking around or fighting battles, and the dialogue is not always the same either. Did you oversee the types of conversations that were put in?

Toriyama: All scenarios were checked and supervised by me and Nojima-san. We actually had a lot more lines prepared in the script for dialogue spoken by characters in boss battles, but somewhere around the middle of production, we eventually cut out the frequency of giving out hints and instead left it to the players to think about what to do. This in turn caused us to cut a lot of dialogue out.

—Are there any specific episodes, scenes, or dialogue that you were interested in or wanted to include?

Toriyama: The AVALANCHE base at the bottom of Seventh Heaven in the original game was an interesting area that left an impression on me, but since Cloud is not very close with AVALANCHE in the Remake, we wanted to show that distance between them, which made us leave out that scene. Although I really wanted to have Barret punching that sandbag in the Remake, I had to restrain myself (laughs).

—Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to the readers?

Toriyama: Even though the first installment of the “FFVII Remake” has ended, the story has only just begun. While listening to the voices of the fans, we also hope to make the next installments something that would exceed your expectations. I personally also played the original game again after finishing the Remake. While waiting for the next installment, I hope you can enjoy the differences in the Remake’s portrayal of Midgar and also have fun imagining what kinds of things lie ahead in the next game too!

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CO-DIRECTOR HAMAGUCHI NAOKI INTERVIEW

—Now that the game has been released, how are you feeling?

Hamaguchi: I felt very relieved after seeing the user feedback after the game was released. I fully joined the development team for FF7R in 2017 when the fans had been waiting for this game for quite some time already. So I made it my mission to ensure that fans do not wait longer than 3 years for the completion of the game. FF7 is a game that many people have come to love, so there was a real sense of responsibility to carry, but even so, the development team staff is composed of people who are extremely passionate about FF7, so we were able to enjoy making this game while progressing on its development.

—Since you were involved with the development of the game, was there anything you were concerned about?

Hamaguchi: What was constantly said to the team was that we must “respect the original game.” We were not creating a new game that is only inspired by the characters and world of FFVII, but we strove to create a game where the elements of the original are remade using the latest game design and graphics, making it feel “nostalgic yet new.” If we were to stray far away from the source material, then people might think “this is not the FFVII that I know,” so we tried to follow the original story but added details that we could not add 20 years ago using the latest technology. With that, we were able to focus on enriching the story to create an experience that is still “the FFVII that l know, but with a lot more new things waiting to be discovered.”

Hamaguchi: The Remake was made possible by the enthusiasm from the entire staff. During the production of this game, the task division between the development staff was even more than another Final Fantasy numbered game. For example, a person in charge of location would usually be a level designer that would spend 2-3 years on a single location’s design, execution, and then implementation, and we had specific staff designated to work on all the locations as well. For battle parts, we had a single person in charge of 2-3 bosses at a time, and a level designers also oversaw everything from design to implementation. With this scheme, we were able to have each game designer focus on only the parts that they are designated with, which allowed them to be enthusiastic and particular with the production of their areas. However, because of this, each game designer felt very strongly of their work that they poured their all into, so in order to not lose satisfaction, wemade it a priority to view the contents as a whole within the team. By doing this, we were able to combine everyone’s vision into the end product.

—Without having the battle system be solely either a Command RPG or Action style, it must have been challenging to fuse the two together. During development, there must have been some trial and error to get it right, but was there any part that was specifically concerning or challenging?

Hamaguchi: One of the most particular parts was how we were going to incorporate the ATB Battle System. We didn’t want to incorporate a completely new battle style that was different than the original, so we were inspired by the original FF7’s ATB battle system to create a new and improved one that also works in real time. Of course, I’m sure that the action elements we added gives off a very fresh impression, but the root of the system is from the ATB battle system, allowing us to incorporate a sense of nostalgia to the battle system. The part we worked extremely hard on was how to fuse together action and command style elements. Many of the development team staff including myself have a long history working with command RPGs, so we are very confident with that type of battle style in that field. However, when we tried adding action elements in, there was a sense of discord within the battle system we had.

The part we were stuck on was that implementing a command system will cause the the user to have too much information in regards to fighting strategy, and that would only cause issues if we were also going to add real time action options too. When we were doing trial and error to figure out how to draw the line between how many action and command elements we could add, Battle Director Endou Teruki was able to join our team. He is extremely versed with action battle systems and how to develop them, so as soon as he saw what we had created, he immediately pointed out that we were lacking features in regards to the action elements of the battle system. Since we were having trouble figuring out a balance between the action and command elements, we couldn’t really answer what we were lacking since we just simply added in action elements, so we were not able to create a very refreshing experience. Luckily, Endou was able to concentrate on the action parts and balanced out the battle system with fast paced command RPG strategy as well as action elements, which is what you see in the finished product.

—In terms of creating an action battle system, I’m sure there were concerns about the increasing difficulty of that fighting style. For those who are not fond of action battle systems, there’s also the option of “CLASSIC Mode,” but was there anything else you were particularly conscious about?

Hamaguchi: For those who only wanted to enjoy the game’s story, we implemented EASY Mode, for those who wanted to enjoy the command RPG style of fighting, we also created the CLASSIC mode, so there are different play styles you can choose from. Since the “CLASSIC mode” was something we tried for the first time, we were excited to hear the reactions of the players, and I think the reviews have been favorable. We heard comments from users who enjoyed the Normal mode’s difficulty level but in the CLASSIC mode style, so we will refer to their feedback in the future as well.

—Since the game’s release, I’m sure that most people have viewed the battle system in a very favorable light. What do you think about the reactions that you have seen thus far?

Hamaguchi: We feel that we have delivered the exact type of battle experience that users can accept. I think this is thanks to the way we were able to create a system that not only reimagines the ATB battle system in real time form, but we also pays homage to the Command RPG style, which leaves a sense of nostalgia while giving a fresh new experience to the battle style. I’m sure there are a lot of people who are interested in what kind of battle system we have in store for the next installment too. We would like the battle system to be even more customizable with more action and command strategies that users can curate into their own playing style, giving an even newer experience, so please look forward to that!

—It seems that the level cap at 50 has some limitations in regards to your status attributes and range, and since various weapons have their own strengths, it seems like you put thought into balancing out battles. In regular RPGs, characters grow and their weapons become stronger, but it feels like this was done in moderation. Was this balance something that the development team had planned from the beginning?

Hamaguchi: When we were stuck on how to create the battle system, we made changes to optimize the balance of the battle system. We wanted a balance that also incorporated the original FF7’s customizable options with materia, and Battle Director Endou also had the same thoughts. However, if we allowed players to get as many materia as they would like, then they could technically give the same set of materia to each character, which would defeat the purpose of giving each character their own unique abilities. Thus, we decided to put limits on the amount of attributes you can have. Moreso than putting a moderation on gaining strength, we wanted players to have fun with the strategies that they could incorporate by using different materia or weapons. If you were to redo a battle, you could try other ways of setting up your weapons and materia to create a stress free battle, and I thought that was an important function to have.

—Boss battles within the game have different stages where the attacks or field changes, such as the Sword Dance battle that splits between two parties during the fight. Was this concept of having battles be set up in different stages as the fight progressed something that was decided during the beginning of production?

Hamaguchi: That’s right. I told the team during the beginning that boss battles would be executed out in phases. Many of the bosses within each chapter contain some of the most exciting reveals, so we wanted players to be able to feel immersed within the story even through the boss battles. In order to do that, we constructed each boss battle to have several different phases where the battle strategy changes and also focuses on the story at the same time. We also paid attention to the party structure. In particular, we spent a lot of time and effort to solidify the party structure during the battle with Sephiroth. The battle with the Whisper Harbinger that leads to the climax fight with Sephiroth is one that changes automatically as does the structure of the party you are fighting with, so the protagonists need to work together in order to challenge their own fate.

However, we felt that if we were to do the same type of structure during Sephiroth’s battle, then it might become tedious to the player. For example, if we were to take away one of the protagonists out of the four, then the fans of that protagonist might feel let down. Because of that, we decided that the characters who join you during the Sephiroth battle will depend on how you fought during the Whisper Harbinger battle. However, in order to do this, we would have to create a ton of cutscenes depending on the order that the characters appear in, and even now I remember the look on the cutscene team member’s faces when I proposed the idea and the blank stares that I received (laughs). Because the Final Fantasy Series is one that is known for having a large amount of cutscenes, I am really grateful for the cutscene team member’s assistance in not just the Sephiroth battle scene, but for working so hard on all cutscenes within the series too.

—There are weapons, accessories, materia, and items that were added into the Remake that were not present in the original game, but was there any particular reason for doing this?

Hamaguchi: Right before the game went gold, I actually made an absurd request to the team to add the “Pedometer” materia. You get this materia at the start of Chapter 14, and since you’re there to help people out with odds and ends within the Sector 5 and Sector 6 slums, you would need to walk around the areas a lot. Since you had visited these areas within Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 already, there wouldn’t be many changes, so I thought to give players a reason for walking around these places again by adding in this materia. I actually originally called the materia the “Step” materia, but I noticed that Toriyama changed the name to the “Pedometer” materia instead (laughs). I was reminded of it again when I saw the strategy book refer to that name.

—Is there any specific monster enemy or battle (whether it be within the Colosseum or Battle Simulator) that piqued your interest?

Hamaguchi: The “Level 7 Top Secret Battle” has quite a shock factor. The person in charge of battle planning asked me, “Does it make sense for Bahamut to summon Ifrit?” Since they are fighting in a virtual reality, it wouldn’t be a problem, so I answered “Yeah, go for it!” without thinking too much about it. However, when I was doing a play check for the difficulty level of the battle, I remember being shocked (laughs). When that happens, you’d probably panic and think that you should defeat Ifrit first, but it’s actually more advantageous to focus on attacking Bahamut instead. This battle was the most difficult one for me and left quite an impression.

—I’m sure that there are several younger development staff who never played the original FFVII, so were there any instances where there was a bit of a generation gap?

Hamaguchi: Since the original game was so widely loved by fans everywhere, there were a lot of younger staff members who were scared of making changes. On the other hand, Producer Kitase wanted big changes (laughs). Nomura and I saw the Remake as an homage to the original game, so if we were to change anything, we made sure that it would be something planned with a specific reason that fans could accept.

—Did you have any ideas or wishes that you were entertaining by yourself that was then made a reality in this game?

Hamaguchi: It’s not something I was entertaining for a while, but having an automatic weapon growth system was something that I focused on before working on FF7R since I was on the development team for the “Mobius Final Fantasy” game, which left a strong impression on me. Since a smartphone game operates in a way that you return to it on a daily basis, lots of things are automated as much as possible to create a smooth experience. There’s also a card synthesis system within the game that allows for an automated way to synthesize your cards, so that was a point that I thought would be nice to have in FF7R where weapons could automatically level up as well. I’m always thinking about the consumer side when developing games, and being able to see customer reactions in real time, such as when I was developing smartphone games, gave me an environment to try out a lot of ideas I had. I think that was a great experience for me.

—As a gamer, was there anything in particular from FF7R that surprised or impressed you?

Hamaguchi: Although I myself was involved too, I’m still very impressed that we were able to successfully create a game from start to finish without making compromises to any of the large amount of data we had. This is all thanks to not only Nomura, Toriyama, and other directors such as me, but also to the game designers, graphics team, sound team, system staff, and more. All of us had various responsibilities as creators, and it’s because of the best efforts of everyone that we were able to make this game possible. I’m personally very excited to make the next game with the same team members again!

—FFVII Remake is highly praised as a game with amazing quality with the latest technology, but was there anything that was challenging or something that you did not personally oversee but was still impressed with the outcome?

Hamaguchi: Seeing the world of FFVII open up through its story is one of the highlights that makes the game so enjoyable, but the user experience and story immersion could be greatly impacted with too many loading screens and wait times. We therefore kept a technical eye on the loading system since the beginning. In order to do this, we aligned the data with each situation so that it could simultaneously load, which allowed us to not have the loading screen appear during the middle of the chapter. During the last cutscene of each chapter, the next chapter’s data would already be loading in the background, which allowed for the load screen between chapters to also be as short as possible. We also added tips to read on the load screen, but because the loading times are so short, it’s also difficult to read all of them. It made me cry out with joy!

—Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to the readers?

Hamaguchi: The first installment of the “FFVII Remake Project” was centered around Midgar, and we strived to recreate a Midgar that you could not experience in the original story, showcasing the hustle and bustle of the lives of the people there as well as the environment. The next installment will then shift to the other parts of the world since the characters have escaped from Midgar in the story. We hope to create a game that allows you to experience the charm and allure of the world of FFVII from the various lives of the people as well as the environments that will be present. Production for the next installment is already under way, and our team is putting their all into the advancement of the game. Although there is still a wait, we hope that you can look forward to what we have in store!

#final fantasy 7 #ff7r #final fantasy 7 remake #ff7 #final fantasy vii remake #ffvii #final fantasy #cloud #aerith #tifa #barret #red xiii #reno #rude #tseng #rufus #my translations

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outbythehighwind · 4 years ago

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Tifa’s Fighting Style

One of the things that impressed me most about FF7R is Tifa Lockhart’s combat. Her mechanics were dazzling. Her combos left me awed. Her style was so realistic, but... what was it? Naturally, I did some digging, and happened to stumble across a blog where most of the work had already been done. So this post is courtesy of Flowerslightning, with thoughts and elaboration on my part. THANKS AND CREDIT TO THIS WONDERFULLY INSIGHTFUL BLOGGER (do check out her tumblr for more fantastic content).

First, let’s note that Tifa’s combat design is very much in the field of fighting games. To some degree at least, developers take inspiration from real-life arts. The style of Tekken’s Lei Wulong, for instance, is based on the Drunken First. Street Fighter’s Chun Li uses the model of Chinese Kenpo.

The FFVII devs - to my knowledge - have revealed nothing on Tifa’s inspired martial arts background. She adopted the monk style (the fisticuffs of FF-verse) from a traveler named Zangan. That’s all we know. She trained (obviously very hard) as his pupil for the 2 years between Cloud leaving Nibelheim and Sephiroth burning the town. Zangan then brought her to Midgar and continued his travels. The only path for discerning real-arts inspiration is through observing Tifa’s fights - though even such attempt is limited. Her style is not as straightforward as Lei’s or Chun Li’s. She seems to employ a mix of martial arts, specializing in the offense and using speed and dexterity to her advantage.

Here are the main styles that Flowerslightning deduced, supported by some of Tifa’s abilities.

1. Muay Thai [demonstrated by Somersault].

This is the known as the “Art of Eight Limbs” and is commonly referred to as “Thai boxing”. It differs from traditional kickboxing (which has its roots in Japan) most notably in being an 8-point instead of 4-point striking system. In other words, Muay Thai employs elbow and shin strikes in addition to kicks and punches. Tifa’s kicks, I would say, are actually more akin to kickboxing, for Muay Thai places emphasis on heavy kicks involving the shin bone. Yet her acrobatic style is very akin to the latter.

In addition to the key boxing techniques of both the Thai and Japanese art, Tifa’s elbow maneuvers provide further evidence for the former. This is most evident during her fight with Loz, where she uses her elbows for offense and defense. One could say she expanded her Thai-based skills during in the 2 years that followed saving the world.

Running a new bar and raising two under-10-year-olds would have left at least a... smidgen of free time, right?

2. Muay Thai [demonstrated by Refocus].

Some may suggest this move of Tifa’s is a Taekwondo technique (we’ll get to that lovable sport soon, don’t you worry), but I agree with Flowerslightning in that her jumping style is more Muay Thai. Almost all Muay Thai techniques use movement of the entire body, rotating the hip with each kick, punch, elbow and block. This to me is the obvious discerning factor. Tifa exquisitely throws her whole body into the majority of her combos and limit breaks, ground and aerial alike. Specifically through that neat hip rotation. Refocus is but one example of many.

PS. Don’t you just love her boots? The gloves are really something but, those red boots... Just look at them.

3. Taekwondo [shown in Overpower].

Literally the “Way of the Hand and Foot”, this is a Korean martial art set apart by its emphasis on kicks. Head-height kicks, jump spin kicks, swift kicks, the list goes on. (But of course, there’s plenty of hand blocking and take-downs too.) Did you know that Taekwondo is part of South Korea’s military training program as well as their national sport? Its skillset is heavy in self-defense.

Tifa is mostly an offensive attacker (and wow, do her strikes deal devastating damage). Yet her aerial maneuvers and acrobatic footwork certainly have elements of Taekwondo. What makes the Taekwondo kick-style unique is its elaborate, advanced forms. Xtreme 720s, for instance, are underpinned by precise technical soundness and accuracy.

Yes, these are literal 720° mid-air turns with a SERIES of kicks timed in utmost precision. They require extraordinary strength. Something Tifa deceptively pulls off with ease, no?

4. Hēi-Hǔ-Quán [displayed in Starshower].

Flowerslightning deduces this ATB ability to be a Boxing combo. Though to me it looks more like Hēi-Hǔ-Quán (lit. ‘Black Tiger Fist’, a Shaolin striking art from China). Watch her hands closely: the thumbs are curled like the fingers rather than wrapped around them to form a fist. Tifa’s wide stances and acrostic kicks are a little less tiger-esque than Hēi-Hǔ-Quán, but there is definitely resemblance of the style there too.

All in all, she seems to employ a mixture of Shaolin arts and Boxing. Her finger-positions for fast jabs (as in Starshower and the Loz fight) are predominantly of the Tiger Fist. Her more powerful strikes, meanwhile, include Boxing crosses, hooks and uppercuts. The sewer cutscene demonstrates this clearly, when Tifa & Cloud encounter the Sahagin.

And damn, do we love the back-to-back Cloti in that scene. Surely I’m not just speaking for myself here.

5. Boxing [displayed in Unbridled Strength].

Tifa’s aforementioned fist moves and powerful finishing punches are no doubt reminiscent of boxing. Also, she always enters a fight with her fists closed in a boxing stance (whether she will employ Shaolin or other hand techniques is irrelevant). Take her cutscene against the Whispers where she, Cloud and Aerith arrive at Sector 7. She begins with a cross and follows with a rotated hook - one of the most basic boxing combos.

BONUS FACT: Rather than orthodox, Tifa always employs a southpaw stance (right hand and right foot forward). This is the preferred stance of a left-hand fighter. Is Tifa left-handed? Considering her fighting alone, yes is the plausible assumption. Here are a few examples:

- Unbridled Strength has her delivering a finishing blow with her left hand. We would expect such a move to be done with the power hand.

- Her single strike that hurls Loz across the church is also with the left hand. This punch is not part of a combo; she could have used either hand.

- In guard position, her left is the rear hand, to both attack and protect herself.

- And of course, in southpaw stance, she always begins with a left-hand strike.

However, all of Tifa’s general actions (to my observance) - like bartending, catching Aerith in the sewer, carrying the Buster Sword into Corneo’s quarters, etc. - suggest that she is right-handed. So why use the left, the weaker, as her dominant hand in fighting? Could she actually be ambidextrous? That is a possibility. But weighing up the evidence in addition to Tifa's ingenuity, this could well be out of fighting strategy.

Southpaw can give Tifa a strategic advantage, you see, because of the tactical and cognitive difficulties her enemies would have of coping with a fighter who moves in a mirror-reverse of the norm. In other words, she takes advantage of the fact that most fighters lack experience against lefties. Doing this:

- opens up chance for a variety of surprise combos;

- puts her human enemies in danger of KOs by what would otherwise be ordinary strikes; and

- enables her to trick her opponents should she unexpectedly convert to orthodox during fights.

Pretty damn awesome, huh?

6. Gymnastics [dodging maneuvers].

Gymnastics, like fighting arts, enhances balance, strength, flexibility and agility - the four areas Tifa excels at. Now, we’ve talked a lot about her strong points. But what of her weaknesses? Players will have noticed immediately that Tifa has a major setback. She can accurately be described as a glass cannon, due to her low HP and defenses that counter-balance her speed and dexterity. That is precisely what makes playing as her so compelling; you get that sense of life or death intensity. The fight feels REAL. She is the least OP character in the party, in addition to by far being the most difficult to master. Utilized properly, she can be the strongest of them all. And wow, is that rewarding or what?

Because of her weak defenses, Tifa must constantly remain on the move, and gymnastics is the quintessential means in doing so. Hand springs, aerial cartwheels - you name it, she’s got it. As if those kicks and uppercuts don’t scream epic enough already. Doesn’t it just make her even MORE amazing?

So I’ve added Hēi-Hǔ-Quán to Flowerslightning’s conclusion: that Tifa’s combat is Mixed Martial Arts, with her dominant skills as Kickboxing, Taekwondo and Muay Thai. And of course, the interweaving of Gymnastics, which adds an elegance to her epic kickassery.

Tifa lost her teacher after just two years, and spent the last five managing & running a bar, serving as AVALANCHE’s funder & treasurer, and effectively solo-raising Barret’s little daughter. Add two more years, and we have a completely absent Barret, a very sick child in addition to the one she is (now permanently) raising, and a depressed, distant Cloud who has left her to struggle as a solo barkeep, full-time nurse and single mother. How on earth did she find the time and will to master her fighting techniques?

Yes, we are talking about fiction, but this woman is nothing short of incredible. Not simply as a fighter - that isn’t even the start of it. Tifa is, to me, the character who has had it the hardest. Yet she perseveres. And not only that, but she gives. She gives and gives, and doesn’t give up, even when everyone else around her has. In addition, she is the only ‘ordinary’ member of the party: Cloud, on top of military training, had his senses enhanced with Mako & Jenova cells; Barret literally has a gun for an arm; and Aerith as the last Cetra possesses exceedingly strong magic. Tifa, like with everything she does, worked hard to hone her skills. And that, to me, is incontestably admirable.

As Flowerslightning put it, she was “ready to go through hell and yet still remain soft”. And those virtues she held to, where most people would have quit. Compassion and perseverance to the end, the two traits that uphold her - to me - as the most inspiring hero of fiction.

#my analyses #tifa lockhart #combat #ff7 remake #ff7 advent children

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omegaandchaos · 4 years ago

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Been watching cutscenes of Before Crisis because I wanted to know more on The Turks backstory and how Rufus fits into it as what I’ve read about it is quite vague in parts. Here’s some things that I’ve picked up and some of it is just how I’ve interpreted it or speculation. I haven’t really mentioned much about Veld (Verdot) story line involving his daughter Elfe cause it’s really long.

The Turks technically don’t kidnap Rufus, Rufus is in Turks HQ because the president ordered Tseng to keep him there. But when the president orders Tseng to find and kill Veld, Tseng and the Turks disobey the order and instead help Veld. Scarlet finds out and tells the President to get rid of the Turks for their betrayal and the President agrees but then remembers that they have Rufus so decided to be cautious in case the Turks use Rufus against him. The President and The Turks are the only people who know that Rufus is being held in Turks HQ everyone else is told he is on an extended business trip elsewhere. This ends up protecting the Turks for a while because the President doesn’t want any of the other executives to know the truth about Rufus’ whereabouts. So The Turks didn’t use Rufus on purpose he just happened to be stuck with them whilst all this was going on meanwhile, informing Tseng that they were idiots and were going to get themselves killed. The President does eventually decide to order Scarlet to capture Veld so he can trade Veld to the Turks for Rufus but with every intention of killing both Veld and the Turks. The funny thing is that all of this is seemingly going on in the same building which shows how much power The Turks have and that the President is hesitant to do anything because he doesn’t want people to know what he did to Rufus. Rufus meanwhile is trying to help The Turks , I believe because he likes them by this point but also because it’s another chance to get back at his father. It’s ironic because the President put Rufus in that position and now Rufus has managed to use it to his own advantage.

Rufus funds Avalanche and gives them information in the beginning, he uses them to ruin his fathers plans often to make him look stupid but also he plans for Avalanche to kill the President. Rufus even meets with Avalanche members in person. Rufus is aware that Veld suspects him and admits it was difficult for him to get away though I get the impression he was never all that bothered about being found out. When Avalanche eventually turn on him in Corel and tell him they don’t need his money any more, Rufus has no choice but to go back with the Turks and accept his arrest. The Turks, despite Rufus trying to kill them, are still prepared to protect Rufus and save his life at all costs as the building is about to blow up.

When Reeve comes to Turks HQ to help the Turks with Veld and gives them Cait Sith. Rufus listens in on their conversations whilst staying hidden so that Reeve doesn’t know he is there. When he leaves Tseng and Rufus both discuss and agree that Reeve can be useful. So Rufus is aware that Reeve has also betrayed The President and also about Cait Sith which impresses Rufus.

Before Rufus is captured by the Turks and returned to Midgar, he pretty much orders Avalanche to kill the Turks when they discover that it was Rufus helping them all along. Then after spending years in house arrest with the them, when the Turks betray the Presidents orders, Rufus realised that it is going to get them killed so steps in, covers for them and spares them from being killed.

Before his lockdown, Rufus constantly tries to undermine his father in board meetings, pointing out his failures and often argues against all his decisions particularly with the Space programme that does become a big failure though Rufus did sabotage it using Avalanche. This does however gain some respect from Reeve and from Heidegger who both consider that Rufus is ready to take over and will be a great leader.

I got the impression Rufus quite likes/respects Cid even though he doesn’t believe in Cid’s dreams of going to Space, Rufus does try to stop the rocket launch because he knows it will kill Cid.

When Tseng is in HQ after Rufus has been put on house arrest there, Rufus often watches Tseng, listening into his phone conversations with the other Turks and constantly gives Tseng his opinion on what’s going on and pretty much insults them often ‘sounds like that Turk is running wild again’. It’s interesting that the President put Rufus there as Rufus is able to use this to his advantage to keep track of everything going in Shinra and sometimes might even influence Tseng’s decisions. Rufus is also allowed full access to the Shinra network, supposedly The President gave permission for this, Rufus finds it amusing that his Father has allowed him this and it means Rufus can still keeps tabs and even carry on communicating with Avalanche which Rufus uses to help The Turks of his own free will. Rufus even gives intel to Tseng to save The Turks from Scarlet and tries to help him anyway he can.

This one is more of a headcanon than an observation but I can understand now why Tseng became loyal to Rufus after years of having the VP question his every move and give his opinion on everything I can see Tseng start to realise that Rufus is extremely smart and tactical and they form a bond. Rufus starts agreeing with Tseng more and more over time and they realise that they work well together. Also I always thought the idea of The Turks babysitting Rufus was a bit of a joke but actually it was clear that only the Turks were allowed to know that Rufus was being held there but were also told to keep him comfortable so they pretty much were his babysitters and probably had to do ridiculous errands for him.

Tseng was told to keep Rufus in HQ and Tseng either lets Rufus have free reign of the area or more likely Rufus just does as he pleases, as Tseng doesn’t seem to be bothered that Rufus is just listening in to everything and just letting himself into Tseng’s office. It does make me wonder what would happen if Rufus decided to just leave HQ, there must have to be a Turk watching him at all times. Tseng’s only orders are to keep Rufus in HQ so what happens inside HQ stays in HQ. However I also noticed that when Tseng and the other agent are talking to Rufus about Avalanche, Rufus is locked up again and the other agent seems to assume that Rufus never leaves his confined area so it would seem Tseng purposefully lets Rufus out when it’s just the two of them. As Chief, Tseng seems to stay at HQ the most keeping tabs on the other agents missions and giving orders so it really is mostly just him and Rufus alone most of the time. Tseng only really gets involved with missions if there’s a fuck up or an agent is in trouble.

I also imagine Rufus must have his own private gym and kitchen in his confined area, you don’t see much of it but it looks like it’s big and Tseng makes it clear that the layout is as per the Presidents instructions.

You never see SOLDIER females but there is mention of a SOLDIER female candidate. I think they mostly recruit males as when the Turks look and literally kidnap candidates against their free will they seems to just pick strong looking men/thugs. Most cadidates don’t make the cut and I reckon most probably don’t survive the mako bath that they are forced into and I reckon men probably react better to the mako baths than women. But that is my pure speculation I haven’t read anything else about it and let’s face it a lot of the women in FF7 are strong and can kick the guys asses.

When Veld is being held prisoner by the President, The Turks get their network access revoked, Rufus manages to hack into their system using his access to help them find Veld, at first the Turks don’t know who is accessing their computers but Tseng strongly suspects that it is Rufus and so isn’t surprised when he finds out that it was. So Rufus has very good computer skills but he also has a high security level of access which he uses to help The Turks but not for free. Rufus asks Reno and Rude to leave as he wants to speak to Tseng alone and says that he will tell him where Veld is being held but he wants something in return. You don’t really find out what Rufus asks for but I assume it was probably something along the lines of Tseng’s loyalty (or undying love) as Tseng even now is still unsure whether he can trust Rufus. Turns out Rufus’ intel was correct.

When the Turks have finally all left HQ to go find Veld, the President used this opportunity release Rufus from confinement, he then takes him back to the executive floor and comments that ‘it’s been a while’ and that Rufus now looks stronger. Despite Rufus being held in the same building, The President never visited his son as he didn’t want anyone to know he was there. I guess Rufus probably spent a lot of time working out also.

There’s a back story about Tseng’s feelings towards his duty being a Turk. Tseng often struggles with putting his personal feelings before a mission this happens a few times throughout Before Crisis, particularly involving Zack and Veld. I would also say this applies to Aerith as well as he seems to avoid capturing her a lot. This kind of makes me confused with his reaction to the Sector 7 plate fall but my head canon is that Tseng knew that he would be putting his personal feelings with Rufus before his duty to the President so he decided to play along so that the Turks would not be suspected of Treason. Once on a mission he was sent to rescue a Shinra guard that had been kidnapped and tortured, however when he found the guard the guard told him that the ship contained Shinra weapons that were being stolen. Tseng had to choose between the life of the guard and the weapons. He decided to choose the guard because that was his original mission and he would feel guilty if he died. However Tseng was told he chose wrongly as now the weapons were in enemy hands and Tseng’s duty should always be to serve Shinras best interests instead of his own feelings and guilt. Veld covers for Tseng but tells him he needs to take responsibility for his actions, he also tells Tseng to always put the mission first, this is the way of the Turks, and not to try and save him. Tseng really respects Veld and comments that he wants to be just like him. Veld then gets badly injured and Tseng blames himself and vows always do whatever he can for the sake of the Turks (changing loyalty to Rufus also gives the Turks a future). Of course when Veld later gets captured he chooses Velds life over his duty to Shinra until he finds a way to save the Turks by pretending to kill Veld. He also tries to intervene with Zacks re-capture and doesn’t want to help Hojo in Nibelhiem despite his orders.

When Heidegger is briefly put in charge of The Turks, all of the Turks show their disdain towards him and whenever asked what his strategy is Heidegger will often just hang up the phone.

Elena says she hates the Turks and doesn’t want to join them though this has more to do with her resentment towards her sister for choosing the Turks over their family.

This picture is from the Turks HQ (in the basement) and basically Rufus was being held in a room on the same level as here for four years (no daylight how cruel) although it’s possible Turks HQ was moved since they lost a lot of their comrades and lost favour with The President. Only The Turks and The President have access to the area though maybe Heidegger would but he seemingly never went there. Rufus is released from confinement around the time that Zack and Cloud are on the run from Nibelheim. He is only released because The President fears The Turks will use Rufus against him. Rufus tells his father that he did resent him at first but says he is now grateful because he sees things in a new light. Secretly he just means that he is now more prepared to take over Shinra because he has Tseng and the Turks loyalty. When Tseng thanks Rufus for stopping The President from terminating them, Rufus tells Tseng that he didn’t do it for them and that if they want to show their gratitude they could show it through their work. Tseng then acknowledges that The Turks are facing a new era and will continue to carry out their duty with pride. The game ends as Avalanche are breaking into Reactor 1.

#Final Fantasy Before Crisis #Tseng #The Turks #Rufus Shinra #Reno #Rude #FF7 #Headcanons #Observations #Some canon #This was looong #Rufus says hmph a lot!#i might add more theres so much stuff #also i doubt most of this is even considered canon any more like some of it dorsnt make much sense and remake probs changed the story now

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theoreticalconstruct · 4 years ago

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Fic: Helping Out (FFVII, Cloud/Tifa/Aerith, SFW)

Title: Helping Out Fandom: Final Fantasy VII Characters: Cloud/Tifa/Aerith Prompt: Shop AU

Written for Multiamory March at @polyamships (here)

Coffee shop AU. I think.

Cloud and Aerith can both tell that Tifa's tired and frustrated when she gets home. Running a coffee shop wasn't easy, but it had always been Tifa's dream, and they knew she could handle the work. But she was always withdrawn when she first arrived; it would take her an hour or more of watching TV together or playing one of her favorite board games before she would relax.

They didn't really understand why, until Cloud happened to pass by on his way to Aerith's greenhouse, and see one of the patrons hitting on her. And Tifa, to her credit, was doing her best - he could read lips well enough to tell that she was pushing him away as politely as possible. But she had to be courteous, and apparently he was using that to its full advantage. Cloud and Aerith had talked about that for a while, as Cloud had relaxed between jobs in her greenhouse, watching as she tended to some of the more exotic plants there. It hadn't taken them long to come up with a plan.

It was easy enough for them to get some time off; Aerith could let some of her employees do the work for a few days, and Cloud mostly worked on his own schedule. So it was easy for them to sit in the coffee shop for a while, sipping drinks - Cloud favored green tea, Aerith loved her hot chocolates - and watch for anyone who was getting too close to Tifa. She might not be able to tell them to screw off, as Aerith put it. But there was absolutely nothing wrong with a girl's friends - or partners, if the bozos who had been hitting on her were smart enough to figure it out - telling said bozos to go away and leave her alone.

#Final Fantasy VII #Multiamory March #Multiamory March 2021 #Fanfiction #clerifa #Cloud Strife #Tifa Lockhart #Aerith Gainsborough #Cloud x Tifa x Aerith

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subdee · 4 years ago

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AU-gust Day 13: Rock Band AU

That Aerith post reminded me... this is just a headcanon for yesterday’s prompt, so I can stick to the schedule. I like this one though, I think it’d be fun to write XD.

POP IDOL AU - backstory:

*Aerith is under the control her exploitative management company, Shinra Ent (think SM entertainment, the Kpop music label/talent agency/lifestyle brand)

*the Turks are long-suffering managers who make sure the idols get to gigs on time and don't get photographed doing anything that would tarnish their image

*Aerith is a former child star with a pure, good image and she's REALLY tired of it

*Ilfana may have also been a famous pop idol, and that’s why Shinra pays so much attention to Aerith and why she’s been in the business since she was young - she never really had a choice

*Aerith sleeps with Zack (also a pop idol) as a form of rebellion but the record company hushes it up.

*Or maybe they don’t hush it up, and his fans protect him / vilify Aerith because of Sexist Double Standards... maybe she loses a bunch of fans too. So now she’s even more controlled than before by her record label

**For purposes of this story, Tifa and Barret are old enough to legally smoke and drink in Japan (age 20). Aerith might or might not be.

*Tifa is the smoking, drinking rocker but the twist is she's actually pretty tame underneath the image... while Aerith is the actual hard partier

POP IDOL AU - plot:

*Aerith is being escorted from point A to point B by reno and rude. her record label has learned that she needs two minders at all times or she'll escape

*While reno is buying cigarettes at a convenience store, aerith takes advantage of rude's crush on her to convince him to go inside to buy pads for her.

*he takes the car keys in with him - he’s not an idiot - but she calls a taxi/uber and escapes

*she ends up in a punk bar because she just wants to party somewhere grimey

*and also because it’s an all-ages show and she doesn’t have ID on her since her managers hold those “for her” so she can’t go anywhere

*no one recognizes her at the punk bar because the punks don't listen to pop music

*tifa's band is on stage...here’s the lineup: Barret’s on the mic and writes lyrics and promotes the band, Tifa plays keys or maybe keytar, Yuffie is on drums, Cloud is rhythm/lead guitar (sometimes Tifa has the lead part sometimes he does), and Reeve is usually a trumpet player/saxophonist but he’s on bass in this band because they needed a bass player.

*But Barret is trying to learn some basic bass with a prosthetic hand.

*Cloud wears wigs, dresses and skirts onstage because it’s a punk band and f you he’ll dress how he wants

*Barret used to play classical/jazz piano, but after he lost an arm he’s on the mic only. He was in a punk group with Jessie, Biggs and Wedge (bass, guitar and drums) but they split amicably because he wanted to get more serious with the music and they just wanted to continue to have fun playing basic punk songs

*Aerith loves the music, obviously!

*afterwards they hit it off at the bar. tifa still doesn't know who aerith is. aerith has a really good time, and in the end gives tifa her phone number, at which point maybe tifa recognizes her? maybe not.

*at her next show aerith does the side-shave, gets a tattoo (real? fake? maybe it was always real but she never showed it before) and dresses like tifa and does a cover of a punk song that she bribed the engineers into adding on the setlist

*shinra management are furious but the song is well-received, they pivot, now this is part of your image, capitalism engulfs the protests against itself. no protests are possible within the system

*is aerith brave enough to rebel for real or will she settle for a symbolic rebellion?

POP IDOL AU - resolution

*can aerith join the band? Reeve has a full time corporate job, so they're kinda looking for a new bassist so they can accept more gigs and travel. Aerith already knows how to play acoustic guitar because she is actually musical, even though only her fans really give her credit for her talent. she might be able to learn bass too.

*maybe the old management, under pres shinra, was really stuck on the old idol image for aerith - pure maiden, wearing white, being nice to old men, having no input on the songwriting, etc.

*but the new management, under rufus, is willing to be more experimental and they work out a deal where aerith can fill in bass for tifa's band on a trial schedule. perhaps reeve works for shinra ent in marketing or something and he arranges it

*It’s basically a compromise so she won't quit... and a way to kind of transition her image into a more 'artist' kind of image so she can stay relevant after aging out of being a pop idol

*But barret is against this because of all the corporate BS that will come along with the label attention. so now he has to decide whether to compromise his vision for the band, including his lyrics that are anti-corporate, or accept a deal with the devil to get more fans and popularity

*HOW WILL THE STORY END???? I honestly have no idea and I’m gonna leave it that way, because if I write it all out then I will have absolutely no motivation to ever write the story, XD

#ffvii #ff7 #fic ideas #my fic

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thememcry · 4 years ago

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@controlthroughfear, continued from here.

there was a certain darkness in those green eyes of hers, the way they traced the shape of him while he pulled his pants on and made to divide more space between them than perhaps was necessary. their arrangement was a simple one, as it ever had been from the moment she sought his company in the shinra building so many moons ago. she had no complaints about it, didn’t want anything more from him (didn’t think either of them were capable of it, either), but something had pulled the utterance from her in the midst of their passion ---if that word could be used to aptly describe what they did. perhaps in the loosest of terms, perhaps in the hungry way they peeled and pulled at one another, but nothing more. and certainly not in this moment.

she didn’t bother to cover herself, what bare flesh was revealed to him and their shared space, only rose her index finger to gesture between the two of them. the worst he’d do was assume she meant more than she did. clarification found the fullness of her lips in a short explanation, “ it’s dangerous. maybe not for you. ” aerith was but a passing dalliance. it didn’t stop her from taking full advantage of the position she held for however long she’d hold it. she tipped her head slightly, amusement dancing in her gaze, toying at the edges of her tiers. “ just a passing curiosity. i’m a very curious creature, you know. ”

perhaps he’d become sour for the interruption, insist she put her clothes on and discard her for the evening. tongue loosed from her maw, wet her lips, and aerith merely shifted to cross her legs, to brush back strands of loose hair. that impish intonation never left her, it sat on her shoulders like a little devil, insisting some kind of lightness despite the mood he’d taken with the press of it. “ don’t think into it more than you need to. don’t stay too far too long, please. ”

#❀ ﹙ interactions ﹚ « i have twenty three tiny wishes »#❀ ﹙ verse ﹚ « are you reaching out? »#controlthroughfear #is it bad to say i missed this fucked up dynamic?#i missed this fucked up dynamic

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ofargentum · 5 years ago

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MUSE SURVEY: BATTLE EDITION

repost, do not reblog!

bold what consistently applies.

italicize situational, not always.

DOES YOUR MUSE, WHILE FIGHTING …

fight honorably / fight dirty / prefer close-quarters / prefer range / chat during / go silent / low pain tolerance / high pain tolerance / attack in bursts / attack steadily / go for the kill / aim to disarm / fight defensively / strike first / provoke easily / provoke their opponent / tease / get visibly frustrated / shout while attacking / use strategy / focus on their battle / experience conflicting thoughts during battle / rush in recklessly / try to read their opponent before fighting / fight wildly / fight calmly and/or apathetically / fight with anger / fight with excitement / fight because they have to / fight because they want to / fight without regard to wounds / run away when wounded / hide wounds / take a blow to protect another / prefer a blade / prefer a gun / prefer a bow / prefer a shield / prefer a polearm / prefer a personalized weapon / prefer magic or spells / prefer brawling / their greatest weakness is physical / their greatest weakness is mental / their greatest weakness is emotional / transform for battle / fight as they appear / rely on strength / rely on speed / use everything they have / hide their full potential / exhaust quickly / high stamina / doubt their strength / proceed with caution / behave arrogantly / brag after landing a hit / belittle their abilities / use psychological tactics / use brute strength / avoid civilians / strike down civilians / damage surroundings / avoid damaging surroundings / signature fighting style / making it up as they go / mastered skillset / learning their skillset / fancy footwork / sloppy footwork / messy fighter / elegant fighter / accept defeat / refuse defeat / beg for mercy / compliment their opponent / insult their opponent / use unnecessary movements / move efficiently / barely move / prefer to dodge / prefer to block / defend their blindside / has no blindside / use all available advantages ( ex; use a gun but also throw punches, kick out while blades clash, etc. ) / strictly use one main method / play around / hold back / fight ruthlessly / show mercy / wait for opponent to be ready / strike when opponent isn’t ready / fear death / fear pain / fear killing / has PTSD / avoids fighting / has lost a fight / has won a fight / has killed / refuses to kill / want to die standing / would succumb slowly.

tagged by : @ofscientia tagging : @twistedwit, @traumaturgic, @onlyliberty, @culthcnt, @inmydrcams (for aerith and evie!), @fighterhcrt + you !!

#He would sail to Troy and I would follow even into death // (headcanon)

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silver-wield · 2 years ago

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Finishing CCR made me realize again how deeply delusional Cloud actually is at the beginning of Remake. Like, you tend to forget that this isn’t actually the real Cloud you’re playing as but just his wishful illusion of himself. And he’s not even aware he’s doing that! That’s what makes it so sad, he has no idea that he witnessed his best friend getting killed just a few days prior and that he’s, in a twisted way of fate, reliving important moments of Zack’s with Aerith. He really isn’t himself and honestly, Aerith is unknowingly taking advantage of that while Tifa notices something is wrong.

I honestly think that scene in the Rebirth trailer of him arriving at the wall with Zack is full on delusion and the truth is it's just Cloud on his own dragging the buster sword and imagining Zack saved him because he couldn't cope with the thought Zack just died in front of him.

Cloud is so mentally fucked up, but what gets me is idiots still try and blame Tifa for not correcting him like she knows everything when the truth is she suffered from trauma related memory loss and also believes she just thinks she saw and heard Cloud in the reactor at the Nibelheim incident because she was dying and she wished to see him one last time more than anything.

The story is actually so complex and engaging but people ruin it by hating on the wrong things.

#final fantasy 7 remake #ff7r #ffviir #cloud strife #final fantasy 7r #final fantasy viir #cloti #tifa lockhart

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teamcalamity · 6 years ago

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Opus Explorations - FF8 In depth

FF8 is my favourite of the Final Fantasy's and the release of a new Squall sees the perfect excuse to try and get an 8 themed deck into play (I would have tried anyway). You should by now already be well aware of the issues facing FF8 in FFTCG, Edea is the nuts but is limited to mono lightning, the next 3 best cards are all called Rinoa and the EX searcher can't search the main protagonists' Legend card. If this is going to do well (or at least vaguely OK) then we will have to show some restraint and not go all in on the FF8 characters, bulking out the deck with some strong supporting plays. I felt the best balance for this was in mono ice, as we can employ some key characters (Squall, Rinoa, Laguna, Ultimecia), take advantage of powerful cards available to the element (Genesis etc) yet still maintain some kind of tangent theme.......Time Compression (aka dull/freeze). This deck is full of dull/freeze mechanics, I personally find full on discard a bit grubby. We want to be on the front foot so ideally we want to get 2 backups down early and then starting putting pressure on the opponent with our forwards. We should be able to control their response by locking it down or removing it. I'll start with the FF8 crew..... Squall x2 - Of all the main protagonists, Squall has probably had the roughest deal in terms of the cards he's been given and for some reason he's usually focused on discard. I'm going for the new one here but you can pick whichever you want (5 drop hero might be a good shout). This new one is at least on curve at 8k. His first ability should be fairly easy to get off and is a nice bonus but we will focus more on the second ability with our dull/freeze theme and try and work some ways to make this worthwhile without messing up our own gameplan. Laguna x2 - Weird art but searches Squall so gives us a bit of tempo and might even sneak a point of damage early on. Also means we can keep Squall at 2 copies and make space for some better ice cards ;) I'd love to see a Laguna backup. Rinoa x3 - I've gone for Opus 2 Rinoa mainly because of her synergy with other VIII forwards. We should be able to get her some boosts (I want to say pump her) so she might be quite formidable even though that does slightly go against her break effect. It's still relevant though and awkward for your opponent to play around (fingers crossed full art Yuna is just used for peoples collections). Ultimecia x2 - Probably a 1 of but with our theme it sucks to see it early and have to ditch it so will go for 2. Still a relatively new card and has 2 nice effects. I don't see the 6 damage situation being a strategy we want to pursue as with ice we want to be on the front foot, instead this will help reinforce the advantage. Don't be afraid to play just to get one effect off, we don't mind paying 6 as this might enable Squalls ability as well. Yes I know, Orphan is a better 6cp ice forward but this is an 8 deck (feel free to swap with Orphan haha) Cid Kramer x0 - He doesn't exist. Why not! In chapters he searched Squall or Seifer and gave them haste. Can we get that now please. OK our fan service is over, let's look at the rest of the forwards.... Lasswell x2 - 2cp on entry removal option, should be able to attain the 7k, awesome card. Palom x2 - A bit of Opus 8 flavour. Rich hates this card so I'm desperate to fuck him over with it. He thinks dulling all the backups is irrelevant...until we follow up with Ultimecia mwah haha! The effects are all actually decent for a 2cp forward. The freeze will probably be most useful. Garland x2 - Marmite card from spoiler season, I think it's gonna be good so let's give it a spin. More dull freeze options but with a dull bonus of not choosing. Opponent is most likely going to dull their lava spider every turn though. Time Mage x2 - More Opus 8 flavours that fit in with the dull freeze theme. I originally had White Tiger L'Cie as the idea of making opponent pay an extra 3 for a Diabolos is quite appealing. I've gone for this to give it a try but I'm not sure we need it. Most likely this will go for Bablizz. Genesis x3 - Don't think this needs explanation. #bangenesis used to be a thing. Kuja x1 - Perfect turn 1 play to generate 2 cp. We want him in the break zone as he's there for the backup recycling ability. EX burst is a juicy bonus if it comes up. Kurasame x2 - We are running all 3 of the Type-0 package so will get the search (EX too) and boosts the other forwards. If we can get him down for 4cp with Enima we're in Value Town! Next up I'll go through the backups, there are 8 different ones which all have a purpose but only 5 spaces available, hence the Kuja incase we need to get something else in mid/late game. Legend Aerith ruins the fun slightly so fingers crossed everyone goes for the new forward. As I said, try and get two cheap backups down early and start playing out forwards to apply pressure. Continue building up the backline as we go. Jihl Nabaat x2 - The Calamity meta makes this quite essential, protects from Fusoya, Alhanalem etc. I want to play x3 EX Jihl and x3 Cocytus. Maybe I'll stop being a pussy and go for it. Emina x1 - Playing this turn 1 will feel sweet. Makes Kurasame and Kazusa 4cp and can be searched. Once that's done Kuja it away. Cocytus x 2 - Playing this turn 1 will feel shit. Sexy Jihl's lazy eye'd cousin. EX conditions shouldn't be too much of a problem to achieve and if played to field at the right time it's really good. The Emperor x3 - Have you tried this yet? I reckon probably not. It's actually bonkers. Once you are ahead in board state this just hammers home the advantage every turn. On 5 backups we can happily empty our hand and discard 2 for the effect to break a forward and then follow up with Squall's ability. Duke Larg x 2 - Ice booster, pretty standard and +1k is always nice to have out, particularly with ice's undercurve power. Terra x2 - Dulls a forward when you cast a summon. Haven't seen this used very much, I think it's underrated. Once it gets going it's so cool. When I go through the summons I'm going to remind you of this each time, kind of want this at 3. Snow x3 - 3 might be too much but at 2 when you don't see it you wish you had 3. Some people say this is shit, but the reality is if your opponent can't deal with it it's gg. At 4cp make sure you play it on a turn you will get value out of it with some attacks. Heca and Alexander are about so this probably won't survive many games. I'm tempted to run Doctor Cid as a deterrent. Kazusa x2 - We shouldn't have much issue with dulling forwards so let's smash one with 10k. He breaks himself to dull 2 as well. A bit telegraphed once they see Emina and Kurasame are out or you search him but we have dulls for days so not much they can do about it. I think most people forget he exists anyway. OK, finally the summons, they are all dull focused and mostly called Shiva. Remember every time you cast one, Terra can dull something as well. Shiva x3 - An ice staple, can be used on defence or attack. Dulls 2, oh wait with Terra it dulls 3. Shiva x3 - EX burst and damages a dull forward. Will be loads of Shiva in the break zone so you should be able to pop whoever you want. Oh yeah you get an extra dull on top with Terra. Shiva x1 - The EX burst is nice but as a stock cast, 2 freeze is pretty good.....if 1 of the targets is active, Terra dulls it as well. Shiva x2 - The new Shiva! Choose 3 forwards or monsters, dull them and freeze them. Brutal. Only in your turn though...booooo. Imagine being able to dull 4, if only there was a way. Zalera x1 - It's not called Shiva! 4 is the key number at the moment so I've only gone as 1 of. Doesn't suffer from choosing though. A nice follow up to a dead Rinoa or a Time Mage. Terra stacks as well to add someone else to the resolution pot if needed. Did I mention I like Terra? Hopefully you get some joy out of this or worst case it inspires some new ideas for your own deck. Maybe one day we'll see a FF8 starter deck.

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creamypudding · 6 years ago

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Preview Chapter

‘Sup guys! I wrote a Clack thing for a challenge over on the Clack dicord channel. This story was supposed to be a oneshot and much much longer than what’s below. But, I was struggling with writing this and finishing it, so I’m gonna break this into chapters. Below is chapter one for an unnamed fic. I don’t know how many chapters this thing will have or if I will ever finish it. I hope I will. Please enjoy :)

Chapter 01/?

Title: ? Fandom: FFVII - Modern AU Pairing: Cloud/Zack Chapter Rating: Teen Word Count: 6310

Summary: Cloud gets roped into having a day off. he’s sure he will hate it but is pleasantly surprised. he still hates it... but it’s not quite so bad when a certain dark-haired stranger takes his hand.

It was a quiet and calm Thursday evening. A storm had blown through the city of Charlton five hours earlier, leaving the world crisp and clean. Cloud’s window was open to take full advantage of the cold change the storm had left in its wake. He could feel the heat leaching out and turning his sweatbox apartment into a respectable dwelling after six days and nights of hellfire. It was delightful. Cloud felt energized and motivated to get through his paperwork.

He sat at his desk, the occasional almost-freezing wind tousled his hair and some of the paperwork on his otherwise-neat-and-tidy desk. The sound of cars driving through the wet drifted in from his second-story window, but it was peaceful ambience.

A sound suddenly erupted, starling Cloud so much so that the paper he was studying went flying up into the air.

Hand clutched at his chest. He took two calming breaths and then located his phone.

“Good evening, Strife here.”

“Hello, Cloud!”

He was instantly suspicious of the sweetness in her voice. “Hello,” he said carefully.

“How are you?” “Fine. What do you need?”

An audible gasp sounded through the line. “Why are you being so cold?”

“You don’t call me unless you want something.” He made to look for the paper he had been holding, scanning his desk and floor. “Cloud! I see you on an almost daily basis!”

“Yes, but you never call me unless you know the answer to your demand would probably be no. I’ve known you long enough, Tif.” For some reason, he had trouble saying no to things over the phone. Maybe because he couldn’t see her face to judge if she was actually upset with him or not. Or maybe it was his difficulty in hanging up the phone. Walking away was far easier for him.

“I am deeply hurt.” She certainly sounded it, and Cloud hated that.

“What can I do for you?” he sighed, bracing for the request.

“I don’t know if you remember, but I’ve wanted to find a hobby for myself to compliment my martial arts training for a while now.” “Rings a vague bell.” Cloud located the paper and placed it back on his desk. “Oh good! Well, I have found something.”

“Congratulations! Can I get off the phone now?”

She laughed. “I haven’t gotten to the reason why I’m calling you yet.”

Cloud’s heart sunk. “Get to the chase then.”

“I’ve signed up for dance lessons. It’s ballroom and latin dance.” “Congratulations,” he said once more, not understanding why she was calling him about it.

“It’s on this Saturday. Starts at eleven, sharp, down by the Five Docks studios.” Cloud hummed, not paying attention to her, instead focusing on the invoices that needed to be filled out.

“Are you listening?”

Cloud hummed again. “Well anyway, I’ll text you the details.”

He hummed again but then the words cut through. He sat up a little straighter. “Wait, what? Why?”

“You’re coming with me.”

And there it was; the sinking feeling and dread. “I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m not,” he said forcefully. “I don’t dance. I’m busy.”

“I don’t dance either, that’s why we are going to the classes. I’ve already signed us up.” “Find someone else.” “There is no one else I’d rather go with.” The automatic response of denials died on his lips as her words struck his heart. He grumbled. “You know I’m busy.”

“You work too hard.”

“I have to. It’s my livelihood. Do you want me derelict and living under a bridge with Toothless-Hank and Scabies-Sharon?”

“Other than those adjectives, they sound nice. Maybe they’ll let you share their cardboard box if you showed them how to dance.” “Bridge trolls don’t dance.” “You’re not a bridge troll just yet, so come dance with me. Let Denzel and Marlene look after the shop. You’ve been overseeing them for two years now. You must have some faith in them or you would have fired them by now.”

Tifa had a point, but Cloud did not want to go. “Denzel can go. He doesn't work Saturday’s.” “No. Make Denzel work Saturday’s for the next ten weeks. C’mon Cloud. You work there seven days a week. You never call it quits. Take a break. Take a break with me! Do something fun! Please,” she whined. “Please, please, pleeeeeease!”

It made Cloud uncomfortable. He wanted to walk away, lock her out. He couldn't hang up. “Fine,” he said gruffly.

A high pitched squeak came through the line. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Ten weeks you said?” “Yes.” “You owe me, big time.”

Cloud hated this. He was standing out the front of some abandoned looking red-brick murder shack in a desolate part of town, dressed in clothes that clung to his body way too much for comfort. His skin liked to breathe, but right now it was getting claustrophobically intimate with dark slacks and an old pale-blue short-sleeved t-shirt he had discarded in the back of his wardrobe because it has always been too tight.

It was nearly eleven and Tifa was nowhere to be seen. He checked his phone. He hung to the side of the building, avoiding all the couples that had been steadily streaming in and out of the complex. Finally, his phone rang. “Where are you?” he snapped. “I’m sorry, I can’t make it today.” “You what? Since when? Why didn’t you tell me this before now?”

“Sorry, Cloud. Something’s just come up. I didn’t want to tell you before I knew you would be there. Please just go in and enjoy yourself. I’ll be there next week. I promise.”

Hands gripped his phone tight, turning knuckles white. “I can’t do this without you.”

“You can. You’ll be fine. I already called the instructor to let her know. She sounds super nice. She said you can dance with her. And then you can show me all you learned.”

Cloud stewed silently for a moment. “Why are we friends again?”

“Because I kicked your bullies ass when we were ten, and your mom makes the best apple pies. Plus you just can’t get rid of me.”

“Ah. That’s right.” The smile tugged at corners of mouth.

Tifa apologized again, promised to make it up to Cloud and then hung up, leaving Cloud to trudge up the many flights of stairs to the dance studio named in the text message Tifa had sent him two days ago.

Cloud’s insides clenched and his heart began working overtime. Tifa was supposed to have been his security blanket. He didn’t do stuff like this — embarrassing things like dancing. Not in private and certainly never in public. He knew he couldn't dance. He knew he would fall flat on his face and everyone would laugh at him. Not to his face, because that would be rude, but after, when they went home to their private dwellings, they would have parties and tell stories of Cloud’s ineptitude to the sound of raucous laughter.

He had just decided that he would turn around and leave but had sadly just reached the top and been spotted by one very enthusiastic lady with brunette hair and a jubilant smile.

“Ah! You must be Cloud?” She walked towards him, arms outstretched.

Cloud looked behind himself and all around, hoping she was addressing someone else. The sudden thought leaped at him that he should have tried to find someone else to pretend to be himself and cursed in his head for having thought of that too late. He was here now, identified by this woman, and no way out. He gave the smallest nod.

“Everyone else is here already. Tifa said you would be joining us solo today. I’m Aerith, your instructor.” She was like a summer breeze. Warm, soft and persistent. Cloud was swept up with her and lead to the other side of the room by the elbow.

Cloud absorbed as much as he could as he was being led. The dance studio at the top of the stairs was all timbered floors. Floor-to-ceiling windows were situated on one wall, and floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the wall running parallel to it. Flowers hung from the ceiling and stood in pots at the far end of the room… where a small crowd of maybe twelve people stood, all looking at him.

It was mortifying. Cloud swallowed the massive lump in his throat. Eyes only ventured to take the most cautious of glances at the people before himself. He mostly focused on feet but could make out that they all seemed to be paired off.

Aerith swung Cloud around, depositing him into the group and then took her place before them all.

“Thank you for joining me here today. I'm your dance instructor, Aerith Gainsborough. I have been doing Ballroom and Latin dancing since I was a little girl. I've danced in various competitions but have found that teaching is my real passion — well, that and flowers as you can see,” she giggled and swept her hand in front of herself to draw attention to the various plants that seemed to be everywhere. “They bring brightness and an energy to the room. But I digress.” She patted down her fluttery skirt that she wore over tights and clasped hands before herself.

Cloud took a small peek around himself at the people on either side of himself. He took heart in seeing that he wasn't the only guy dressed in ridiculous clothes.

“As your instructor, I'm here to create a relaxing, non-judgemental environment for you to learn and flourish in. If you have any questions at any time please ask me. If you need me to slow down at any time, let me know. I will be coming around after the initial demonstration to see how each of you are going, but do speak up if you don't understand what I'm doing as I’m demonstrating it. As we are a large group it will take me some time to make my way through all of you, and I don’t want any of you to feel like you're doing it right or missing out on practicing the dance moves. We only have an hour so time is precious.”

She smiled and looked at everyone in turn before continuing, “I will not force anything on any of you, but I do encourage you to keep an open mind, give this your best go, and enjoy. You are all beginners so no need to be self-conscious. I have structured the course so that each week we will be trying a different dance. We will be progressing from the simple dances, like the waltz today, up to more technically challenging dances as the weeks progress. So I hope, as you grow more confident in your abilities, you will be able to get the hang of all the dances and enjoy yourselves.”

People nodded and hummed in understanding.

“So, let’s not waste any more time. As I have mentioned, first up we have the waltz. A simple three-step dance. We are missing two dancers today so Cloud, if I could get you to pair up with Zack for today’s lesson that would be fantastic.” Aerith waved her hand about.

Zack? He would have to dance with a man? Cloud looked around, feeling even more nervous than before as he was trying to find his dance partner in the crowd. It wasn’t too hard though — a tall, muscular, dark-haired, blue-eyed man — wearing a big smile — approached him with gusto.

Cloud gulped. He would have to dance with an attractive man? He could feel warmth spreading up his neck and onto his cheeks.

“Hi, I'm Zack.” Hand was extended and smile somehow grew bigger.

Cloud took the offered hand and was the recipient of a handshake as firm as that body looked under that snug fitting dark-grey tank top, and slim-fit tracksuit pants, and it certainly was as warm as the smile.

“Cloud.” He gave a nod, hand was released and they stood side by side, looking back towards Aerith. Cloud was painfully aware of his height next to Zack. His head only reached the other man's shoulders. Zack's arms were like twice the size of Cloud's, and damn if those abs couldn't cut through the fabric they were encased in. Cloud folded arms across his body and curled in on himself a little bit.

Aerith talked a bit more about basic dance terms, moves, and then began instructing, getting everyone to follow along as she demonstrated the basic waltz box step.

Cloud was struggling with his left and right foot and bumped into Zack a couple of times as they practiced side by side. There were, however, a lot of 'sorrys’ and 'excuse mes’ flying around all over the room, so Cloud felt a little bit better.

Once they had done the steps a few times Aerith asked Zack to be her partner to demonstrate the lead and follow dance positions. Cloud concentrated very hard o follow along. He didn't want to get this wrong.

Zack returned to Cloud's side after a few minutes and Aerith clapped her hands together once and gave a cheery, “Now to you!”

This was the moment Cloud had dreaded. He dreaded it even more, now that his dance partner had been replaced with a hunk of meat.

Cloud and Zack looked at each other. Arms went out. “Shall we?” Zack asked, head cocking slightly, inviting Cloud to take his hand.

It was beyond embarrassing. It was mortifying to the highest degree. Cloud took the strangers hand, and their other arms and hands got tangled up together as each tried to wind around the others back. They both ended up with hands on each other's shoulders.

This didn’t seem right. Cloud’s concern must have shown, though it was completely misunderstood, “Don’t look so scared. I’m sure we can figure this out.” Zack flashed an enthusiastic grin.

Aerith’s voice drifted through the air, “One, two, three. One, two, three. One two, three.”

They both moved and instantly clashed. Toes were stepped on, torsos bumped into, and Cloud’s nose got very intimate with Zack’s collarbone. Sorry’s were muttered, positions resumed, and repeated attempts were made, all resulting in the same uncoordinated effect.

“Why’s this not working?” Cloud wondered aloud as they moved and collided once again.

“Beats me. She made it look so easy.”

Both of them looked towards Aerith. She was currently half the halls distance from them, looking at, and critiquing a couple who seemed to be having a way easier time than Cloud and Zack. In fact, the more Cloud looked the more everyone else seemed in sync.

“I’m not cut out for dancing, I told Tifa as much,” he grumbled and frowned at the floor, wanting to ignore the way he was being held by a completely lovely stranger.

“C’mon, Cloud. Everyone else is doing it. We’ll figure it out too,” Zack enthused with a thin smile. Something about Zack’s energy was infecting Cloud — or perhaps he was too embarrassed to give up and walk away.

They attempted again, moving, bumping, and stepping on each other. Zack’s smile vanished, brow scrunched up, and bottom lip was worried at. The man seemed to be really concentrating hard.

“Forward, side, close — Back, side, close — Forward, side, close — Back, side, close.” Aerith’s voice was getting louder but it wasn’t helping the complete disaster of a situation the two men found themselves in.

Their waltz was less a graceful fluid motion than a stop-and-go traffic congestion. Thankfully, the struggle finally ended when Aerith came up to them.

They pulled apart and Zack huffed out, bending slightly at the waist. “Dancing is tough work.”

Cloud nodded rapidly, hoping to garner some sympathy from their instructor and maybe even be let off the hook and be allowed to go home for the rest of the session.

No such luck was had. Aerith gave them a gentle smile and calmly said, “It is when you’re in a wrestling match with your partner.”

“Oh, we’re not wrestling, are we?” Zack looked bewildered. Wide blue eyes set on Cloud for clarity.

Cloud looked at Zack. “Sure felt like it.”

“It definitely wasn't dancing. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.” Aerith started clapping to help everyone else keep their rhythm while she continued talking to them, “I’m sorry, I should have come to you two first. Sometimes when I do have two men dancing together this can happen — each wanting to take the lead. I always tell men that there is nothing wrong with following and taking the more traditional feminine role in dancing. The steps are all the same but in a slightly different order. Some of the most amazing dances I have seen have been by same-sex dance partners. There is something so beautiful about the ability to be both strong and feminine. To watch the flow and grace suddenly shift in energy as the follower becomes the leader in a choreographed instance. It is some of the most dynamic and exciting dancing to witness. So I just want you both to know that both of you can lead, but both of you need to also learn to follow, and it’s a wonderful experience to share with someone. It makes the dancing partnership truly equal, and ballroom dancing, and dancing in general is nothing if not the unity of movement between two bodies. So talk it through, take turns, and enjoy.”

Aerith stepped back, still clapping her hands.

Was that what had happened?

“Woah, okay, that makes total sense now. We were both trying to do the same thing.” Zack laughed with clear relief. “Boy, I’m glad to hear that.” “Why?” Cloud frowned in wonder at Zack.

Sunny smile was thrown his way again. Zack said, “It means there’s hope for us!” He gently bumped his fist against Cloud’s shoulder.

Cloud huff out in slight laughter.

“Hey! That’s more like it. Good to hear you laugh!” Eyes almost sparkled as they looked at Cloud. Zack’s only grew larger, which made Cloud self-conscious.

He focused them back on the task at hand, “So, who will lead first?”

“Do you want to?”

Cloud shrugged.

“I’ll take the lead then.”

Suddenly Cloud wished he had spoken up.

Hand was held out once more. Cloud looked at it for a moment. It was less foreign now. Maybe even slightly welcoming. Cloud took it. Zack’s other arm wound around and hand landed on Cloud’s upper back. It was weird for Cloud to have another person, let alone a man touch him like that. He wasn’t used to physical contact at the best of times so felt a bit nervous. At least he could just rest his left hand on Zack’s right shoulder. That was probably the best thing about being in the follow position.

Zack’s eyebrows raised, encouraging smile was given and a quiet, “Here we go,” shared between the both of them as Zack took the lead, sweeping them off — to nowhere in particular. Cloud struggled. Zack struggled. But at least they moved in a somewhat unified direction, even if there was nothing graceful about them. Cloud counted in his head and heard Zack just above a whisper do the same. Heads were bowed, feet looked at, to make sure minimal stepping on toes occurred.

One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.

It went a bit better, feet continued to be carefully watched, and stumbled over. Chests bumped together, apologies uttered. They just seemed to get the hang of things when Aerith announced that they would all be swapping partners in a fun round robin. It didn't sound fun to Cloud. He was just getting used to — and maybe a little attached to his partner-in-graceless crime. Aerith, however being able to read the general mood of the room, assured everyone that they would be able to learn lots from different dance partners, as well as the added bonus of getting to meet people.

That notion seemed more like an added layer of torture to the searing hellscape inferno of embarrassment and discomfort Cloud found himself in. It was made even worse somehow when Aerith asked Cloud if he wouldn't mind taking the follow position on the inside of the circle everyone was forming. It was mortifying for him but what could he do?

He gave Zack an almost forlorn look as he stepped away to his purgatory in the inside circle with all the women. Instant regret and sadness welled up inside. He didn't want the awkwardness of having to dance with anyone else. Cloud felt like they had just come to an understanding and mutual respect which he was surely not going to be afforded by any other man he would have to dance with.

He tried to escape into his head — find a niche of peace and safety somewhere in his anxiety-riddled, anti-social webbing of synapses and neurons. He willed himself to be teleported back to his beloved grocery store. Dealing with Toothless-Trudy and her inane requests for sparkling butter, and lemon flavored breakfast cereal would have been preferable over this. Having to shake every man, woman, and child’s hand and give a cheerful smile to them as they entered his store would have been better than this… but only just.

He wasn’t spared his pain though. Positions were taken, the music flowed, and the dancing started, forcing Cloud to stay focused if he didn’t want to have a complete trainwreck of an experience like he had suffered through with Zack. But at least he had felt like he had suffered that with Zack, instead of inflicting it on others, like he was sure he was doing right now.

It wasn’t as uncoordinated as his first attempt with Zack… in fact Cloud managed to move quite smoothly really. But Cloud still didn’t like it. He listened to Aerith as she clapped, and after about five complete waltz steps, announced that it was time for the outside circle to move to the left and change partners.

Cloud felt awkward every time he had a new partner. Some men were tense, and Cloud wasn’t sure if it was because they had to be dancing, or if it was because they had to dance with Cloud. He couldn’t bring himself to do much else besides say his name and nod in acknowledgment of the other men’s existence when they intruded into his personal-space bubble. He felt uncomfortable every time awkward hands found perch on his waist and in his hand. But he grit through it.

This was definitely a new kind of hell that had been devised just to illicit suffering in Cloud. Tifa owed him — what was bigger than ‘big time’? Ginormous time!

Cloud caught sight of Zack and watched him when he could. And when he couldn’t see Zack’s bumbling form he definitely could hear the calls of ‘excuse me’, ‘so sorry about that’, ‘woops’, as the outside circle moved around the room. It gave Cloud a small sense of still being connected to someone and didn’t make him quite so stranded.

The dancing and endless partner-swaps continued until Zack was next to him, and would be his partner again after this particular round was completed. The small wink Cloud caught Zack give him made Cloud stumble and apologize to his dance partner. He recuperated well enough, keeping his mind focused on getting his feet in order.

But when the swap occurred Cloud nearly leaped at Zack in desperation for familiarity. Hands sought each other out, filling Cloud with a sense of homecoming. Smiles were exchanged — and came far too effortlessly out of Cloud — and little chuckles sounded as they talked while they danced.

“Hey.” “Hey.”

“Learn anything useful?” Cloud asked.

“About ten different ways to step on women’s feet. You?”

“How to be even more awkward in an already awkward situation.”

“You’re so not awkward.” “Maybe not with you,” Cloud muttered.

Zack just smiled brightly and led Cloud around their little spot far more gracefully than ever before — which was to say it was about as graceful as a pair of hippos doing Swan Lake in leotards. But it was still better than before. Maybe there had been a method behind Aerith’s madness. Just maybe.

They danced on a bit more. A few more swaps occurred before some relief finally came and a quick five-minute break was afforded to everyone.

There was far more chatter now. The dancing had clearly been the icebreaker a lot of people had needed. But not Cloud. He’d need a Titanic-sized ice-breaker to get him chatting and laughing to these people.

And then Zack approached, red-faced and happy looking.

“How did you go?” Cloud asked, trying his hand at a friendly quirk of lips.

Zack rubbed at the back of his head and laughed nervously. “I thought I’d be a lot better at this than I actually am. It's really embarrassing. Everyone else is getting the hang of this way easier than me.”

“You're not alone. I nearly stepped on half the guys I danced with and I swear I gave someone a bruise with how tight I was holding on.”

Zack shook with a chesty huff of laughter. “At least you didn't have to worry over knocking over ladies. I feel like I’ve got two left feet.”

They both looked down at Zack’s feet, encased in sneakers.

“Must make buying shoes hard,” Cloud remarked.

Eyes raised and looked at one another. Zack burst out laughing. “It does,” he got out after a moment.

“Well, I feel like I’ve got two right feet. So maybe we can swap out our shoes.”

“Oh yeah, totally,” Zack nodded eagerly. “Such a good thing that we got paired up then, huh?” Zack nudged Cloud with his shoulder and gave a cheeky wink.

Cloud huffed with laughter.

Zack’s smile did not abate. “But really, I swear dancing with you’s way easier, and I'm not so scared of breaking you. You're pretty sturdy,” Zack grinned.

Cloud didn't do compliments that well but he mumbled out a, “Thanks.”

“Wanna go get a drink?” Zack nodded to the table near the stairs with some refreshments on it.

Cloud nodded and they headed over.

“So, what brings you to dance lessons? Got a wedding to go to?” Zack asked.

“No, nothing like that. A friend asked me because she really wanted to go dancing. Her sensei suggested it for her footwork, and I got stuck being the designated partner because she thinks I work too hard and could use a hobby.”

“Oh, wow! I have so many questions — well maybe just two.” Cloud chuckled. Zack was rather bizarre. “What are they?” “Well, one — what do you do?”

They reached the table and grabbed a glass each, filling them with water.

“I own and run my own grocery store,” Cloud said and drank his drink.

“Cool. Where at?”

Cloud felt uncomfortable by the line of questioning, preferring to keep to himself as much as possible. “Um, near Central district.” That was surely vague enough.

Zack nodded, sighed in satisfaction after downing his glass and said, “Must get busy.”

“It does. I like being busy though.”

“Ah, yeah, same here. If I hafta stand still for more than five minutes I start talking up a storm and then I say all kindsa dumb stuff,” Zack laughed.

Cloud refrained from saying, ‘like right now’, but only just.

“Oh, hey, the second question was what kind of martial arts does your friend do?”

“Zangan-Ryu or something like that?”

“Do you know who her sensei is?”

Cloud shook his head.

“Damn. Me and my sister practice and run our own Kendo dojo. I signed us up for dance lessons for the same reason as your friend.”

“Oh, to improve your fighting?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” That was definitely interesting to Cloud. He half suspected Tifa had made that stuff up to rope Cloud into this. Maybe there was hope yet that she wasn’t just having a big laugh at his expense.

Aerith clapped her hands, getting everyone’s attention. “All right, back to your partners everyone. Let me show you another step to add to your basic box step which will really get us moving and spinning. Cloud, could I have you partner for me, please?”

That request startled him. He glanced at Zack for reassurance and maybe to see if the man would possibly step in and save him. Zack only did the former by giving Cloud a confident smile and a slight push as he said, “You got this.”

Cloud walked over to Aerith, feeling thousands of eyes boring into him. Never mind that there weren’t that many people here. He just tried to focus on Aerith, who stood before him exuding confidence and warmth. She instructed him, and the rest of the class, clearly, and maneuvered Cloud where he needed to go. Together they demonstrated the basic waltz and the steps after to get more flow through the dance. She then instructed everyone to give it a go and followed Cloud over as he rejoined Zack.

“Okay, you two. I thought now would be a good time for you to swap over leads. Cloud knows what to do, so just follow him as best as you can, Zack.”

“Awright,” Zack enthused with a lot of energy. “Show me how this goes.” Zack held out his hands and Cloud took the leading position with him, hand sliding around broad back with elbows out and proud. Zack's hand was on Cloud's waist but Cloud maneuvered it up to the top of his shoulder.

“Woops.” Zack gave a sheepish grin. “Glad I got you here to set me straight,” he chuckled.

Cloud huffed with laughter but pushed the smile down and put on his serious face.

Hands were clasped and they began.

Cloud concentrated, keeping them moving to the music and guiding Zack when he got his feet all mixed up. It was clunky at first — Cloud had to keep correcting Zack, but after the fourth time around their little space, Zack was following along.

Cloud kept counting under his breath and looked at their feet. A warm squeeze on his shoulder made him raise his head and eyes to meet soft features completely trained and focused on himself.

“You’re doing great,” Zack almost whispered with seemingly misplaced affectionate warmth.

Cloud’s steps faltered, Zack collided with Cloud, headbutting him with the top of his chin. Cloud winced and grunted.

“Shit! You okay?” Zack asked, slipping out of Cloud’s hold, stepping back a little, and running concerned fingers over Cloud’s forehead and into his hair, rubbing at where they had bumped into each other.

Cloud’s heart raced with panic. “Yeah, yeah. Here, let’s keep going before Aerith notices.” He composed himself, head only smarting a little bit. He grabbed hands and began their dance again. “One, two, three. One two, three,” he counted, to stop himself from acknowledging how handsome his dancing partner was. Zack’s smile had been too big, and his voice too soft, and kind.

They got back on track. The music continued, and Cloud and Zack were beginning to glide.

“Looking really good, guys. Eyes up, Cloud,” Aerith chirped as she breezed past.

Cloud raised his head and gave the most cautious of glances up at Zack, not wanting to be completely disarmed like before. Zack still smiled but it wasn’t completely unexpected this time, so Cloud relaxed a little.

“All right everyone. You’re looking graceful and confident. Time to open the floor right up. Leaders, go wherever you want. Just be sure not to bump into anyone. You’re doing a wonderful job reining Zack in, Cloud,” she said with such light and cheer in her voice.

“Hey!” Zack protested with ease and jest, as chuckles and titters went up all around. “Not you too!” Zack directed at Cloud, in response to his small laugh.

Cloud did a poor job of holding in his smile. “Here, let’s show them what we can do,” he said quietly. The excitement on Zack's face and the eager nod grew Cloud’s confidence. He took a deep breath and began moving them hither and thither. They voided all kinds of human obstacles and began building up speed as they went around and around. Cloud tried to focus on their surroundings, which wasn’t too hard because the way that Zack’s face was lit up was a little too frightening to look at without a distraction to temper his nerves.

But Zack still got under Cloud’s skin. It was the way Zack hummed along to the music — it was the way Cloud could feel lean, powerful muscles react and twitch under his palm as he guided them across the room — it was the warmth of Zack’s handhold, and soft breath occasionally caressing Cloud’s cheek — but most of all it was that smile of pure bliss. Cloud wondered how dancing could make someone so happy… and how it was managing to make Cloud feel happy too.

They swayed, danced, and stepped to and fro. Worry, anxiety, stress, and agitation slipped off Cloud’s shoulders and a timid smile grew. This wasn’t so bad. Maybe it was even a little fun. Cloud thought he liked dictating where they went. He liked sweeping them past the windows, the mirrors, the dozens of plants. He liked how Zack followed, eager and willing to do Cloud’s bidding. It was a nice change from the beginning of the session.

Before he knew it the music came to an end. It took a few moments for it to register and then Cloud brought them to a stop. Zack and Cloud looked towards where Aerith stood, by the black speakers on a table by the windows.

“That was wonderful, everyone. Congratulations! You’ve just completed your first dance lesson.” Everyone clapped and cheered. Cloud had a big grin on his face and looked up at his dance partner, who also wore a massive smile.

“You did really well,” Cloud said, huffing a little with the exertion of their previous movements.

“We both did. We were dancing and spinning and not hitting anything — not even each other,” Zack tittered and then turned serious, though he was still smiling, though very gently. “You’re, like, the best dancer.”

Cloud’s eyes dropped, but his smile didn’t. He shook his head. “No.”

“Yeah. Trust me. I danced with a lot of people here today.” There was a soft chuckle that accompanied that remark, which made Cloud laugh a little as well.

He raised his eyes again and felt really warm all over.

“You two did so well together,” Aerith said, voice growing closer.

Cloud became exceptionally self-conscious over the fact that he and Zack were still in the dancing position while everyone else was moving off, gathering their things. Cloud made to slip his hand out of Zack’s, but not before he felt a small squeeze be given to him. Hands dropped away and Cloud withdrew from holding Zack, and looked at Aerith. “Thanks,” he murmured.

“Cloud here is really amazing. He knows where he’s going. Makes it real easy to follow along. I don’t know what it was before but I was struggling,” Zack enthused.

If Cloud wasn’t blushing before he definitely could feel his neck and cheeks heating up now.

“Sometimes all it takes is the right partner. But I’ll be seeing both you back here next week with your actual dancing partners, right?”

“You betcha. Yuffie should be all better by then.”

Cloud nodded. He would kick — verbally kick — Tifa’s butt if she bailed on him again.

“Fantastic. Again, wonderful work you two. Zack, you really did do a lot better.” Hands went to hips, chest puffed a little. “Thanks. I had an awesome partner.”

Aerith smiled at both of them, seemed to catch sight of something behind them and excused herself, going over to talk to another couple. “Is she okay?” Cloud asked.

“Huh? Who?”

“Your sister.”

“Oh! Yeah, she’s just got a cold. She could have come out today, to be honest with you. But I didn’t want to get her snot all over me.” Zack chuckled and the smile mellowed but wasn’t any less present. “I’m really glad I had you as my partner today.”

It became hard to swallow for a moment. Cloud felt very uncomfortable. “I’ll see you next week.” “Sure. Don’t work too hard.”

They waved at each other. Cloud briefly watched Zack turn to the back of the hall before he headed towards the stairs. He could still feel warm, calloused hand on his own, and a soft pressure on his shoulder, if he really thought about it. Making short work of crossing the studio floor and reaching the top of the stairs, Cloud cast another glance back to Zack, who was pulling on a dark jacket and laughing about something with Aerith. The sight of the other man-made Cloud smile and something bubbled out, making him chuckle quietly.

Suddenly eyes were on him from across the room. Zack’s big, toothy smile spread, mouth opened up and voice boomed, “Have a great weekend, Cloud! See you next week! Hope your head’s okay!” Zack waved wildly.

Cloud waved back and descended the stairs. His smile came back out with a little more force once he was out amongst the summer air. He looked around the empty road before himself and gave his hand a little squeeze. Maybe having some time off wasn’t such a terrible thing after all. And maybe… just maybe, Tifa had done him a favor by getting him to come out to do this dancing thing. But he would never tell her.

#clack #ffvii #challenge #cloud strife #zack fair #dancing #ballroom dancing #waltz #preview

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