#FF7Rebirth spoilers

[toopolar]

"Do you think we're less destructive in the other universe?"

The other universe:

[novevous]

Sephiroth + Cloud 🤝 boygenius

[silver-wield]

Not Cloud giving Tifa a sneaky feel up 🤣

[loregoddess]

the Queen's Blood sub-story veering off into cosmic horror is so funny to me bc while all the other players are reacting to the cosmic horror bits as you would expect characters in a cosmic horror story to react, Cloud's just sitting there looking unfazed but slightly concerned for the other players, bc he deals with bizarre visions and headaches on the regular, and so the Secret Forbidden Knowledge Horror of Queen's Blood isn't actually out of the norm for him, and obviously still less of a threat than Sephiroth

[rainbowcarousels]

Do people around Shinra just see teenage Sephiroth and go 'oh, Hojo's at it again?' and assume he's a cyborg? Like is he this well known for it that a random SOLDIER P0 knows what one of his cyborgs look like or did Hojo start making the cyborg's in Sephiroth's image as he aged?

[toopolar]

Not my analysis but someone on Twitter pointed out (ff7 rebirth spoilers) that at a moment where cloud is blacking out he is reaching out to sephiroth. This can be interpreted in like 50 different angles but is kinda related

on Sephiroth's manipulation of Cloud (an analysis)

— Rebirth + OG FF7 spoilers

how Rebirth tackled puppet Cloud is so unique and so so good, and I just needed to talk about it. first things first, let’s talk about what Sephiroth means by ‘puppet.’

throughout the OG FF7 and Rebirth, Sephiroth refers to Cloud as a ‘puppet.’ it may seem strange at first glance, because it seems to imply that Sephiroth is manually taking control of Cloud, puppeteering him or that Cloud is inherently empty.

it also doesn’t fit with his encouragement of Cloud’s rage. if Cloud is a puppet, why doesn’t Sephiroth just give him rage?

because that’s not what he means. when Sephiroth calls Cloud a puppet, he means that Cloud’s mind can easily be shaped, similar to how a puppet’s identity is dependent on its master.

because that’s not what he means. when Sephiroth calls Cloud a puppet, he means that Cloud’s mind can easily be shaped, similar to how a puppet’s identity is dependent on its master. he says that what Cloud feels is fake because Cloud’s mind is a collage of identities, his own and Zack’s, all with Jenova’s and Sephiroth’s influence. Cloud’s feelings are just his master’s feelings.

Cloud’s mind is malleable. he is his own person, the real Cloud Strife is there, but due to the self-esteem issues he’s harbored since childhood and the trauma he’s endured for the past five years, the presenting Cloud Strife can greatly differ. Sephiroth is intensely aware of this, and takes advantage of it.

the persona we see of Cloud is his SOLDIER persona, the tough badass he always wanted to be, a mixture of his interpretation of Zack and his interpretation of being a hero. but the facade cracks quickly and frequently, in either direction. mostly, it cracks to let us see the real Cloud. there’s no one single moment where he shines through: Cloud taking on odd jobs with no real gain other than him helping someone, Cloud doing something stupid and silly, Cloud getting flustered. all the moments of him being kind and dorky is the real Cloud shining through. it’s impossible for Cloud to bury all of himself beneath his persona, so these cracks are only natural. however, the other cracks in his persona are due to Sephiroth’s manipulation.

in Rebirth, Cloud kills multiple people on multiple occasions—one can argue because they were Shinra, they deserved it, but that doesn’t change the fact that Cloud isn’t a killer. even his SOLDIER persona accommodates his desire to help people; so how does he kill people so easily? if you answered Sephiroth, you get a prize!

Sephiroth manipulates his SOLDIER persona in two ways: feeding into ideals and planting ideas. for the first, he (off-screen) encourages violent and/or anti-social behavior in Cloud. while we, the player, and everyone around him views this as strange, in Cloud’s mind, it all fits into what he’s supposed to be. he’s supposed to be a badass, and badasses kill people and dismiss their friends’ feelings, right?

when Cloud is in this mental state, it’s very hard to reason with him. in Chapter 13 (one of the greatest pieces of puppet Cloud literature), Cloud’s entire goal is to reach the center of the Temple in order to acquire the Black Materia. he doesn’t listen to any warnings that the Cetra give or his teammates, becoming wholly focused on retrieving it. but even then, even if Cloud’s behavior doesn’t seem strange to him, why does he want the Black Materia?

that’s due to Sephiroth’s other form of manipulation: planting ideas. it’s easy to force Cloud to become violent because it fits the narrative of badass SOLDIER, but lots of other ideas need time to nourish. case-in-point: Tifa isn’t the real one.

we are introduced to this idea at the very beginning of the game, Cloud walking through the inn at Kalm when he sees Sephiroth who tells him that this Tifa isn’t the real one. the conflict seems to become resolved when Cloud repeats the idea to Tifa who completely dismisses it, but they’re nowhere out of the woods.

next, Sephiroth in Chapter 5 instills the idea that Jenova is capable of impersonation. this doesn’t seem to go anywhere until Chapter 9.

first, Cloud enters that intensified SOLDIER state-of-mind, killing all the Shinra troopers around him. with his mind already fragile, Sephiroth repeating the idea to him now becomes fact: Tifa isn’t real. she is an imposter from Jenova. both the ideas Cloud’s been fed are twisted and he pushes Tifa off the edge.

Cloud snaps out of this state of mind right after, but it doesn’t change the fact that it happened. as long as Sephiroth plays his cards right, he can manipulate Cloud into doing nearly everything for him. hence, the ‘puppet’ label.

(that’s also why Cloud wants the Black Materia. Sephiroth tells Cloud to bring him the Black Materia—and even if Cloud doesn’t want to, the thought is engraved in his head that he should retrieve it for Sephiroth.)

but here’s what’s really special. as we’ve noted, the intensified SOLDIER persona is violent, anti-social, just an all around dick. he doesn’t care about his friends, doesn’t care about anything except getting what he wants (see: what Sephiroth wants.)

but we see something very different at the end of Chapter 13. Cloud isn’t rude and dismissive. he pushes Tifa, but he doesn't do it with the same malice as in Chapter 9. he does it in an attempt just to get her away, just to chase after the Black Materia.

in his pursuit of Aerith, the things he says are the farthest thing from rude. he’s not threatening or demanding her to stop. he’s asking her to talk, appealing to her desire to trust him and save the planet, even starts calling her name in a teasing way like he’s playing a game.

Aerith! Let's talk. I need it... Aerith... Give it to me. Please? You can trust me. Let's save the planet together. (playfully) Aerith.

when Aerith finally gives him the Black Materia, what does Cloud do? he could just walk away. he could just run straight to Sephiroth. but, no—he makes sure to say “thank you” first.

it’s pathetic (I type this in the most endearing way) the way Cloud acts. why is that? what is the difference between these types of manipulation? the answer is who Sephiroth manipulates. for the most part, Sephiroth manipulates SOLDIER Cloud. but here, Sephiroth breaks through Cloud’s SOLDIER persona to manipulate the real Cloud.

we know when we see the real Cloud: if you need a refresher, anytime Cloud is kind or acts like a dork is usually a tell-tale sign. here, Cloud is kind, saying please and thank you. and it’s almost cute, the way he playfully calls out to Aerith. this is the real Cloud, buried under piles of piles of trauma, self-hatred, and alternative personas.

and what is the real Cloud’s utmost desire? to love and be loved. he wants to be a hero, to be worthy of the ones he holds dear; no, to be worthy of anyone. this is a big factor into Cloud’s construction of his SOLDIER persona, he creates himself that hero mask that he thinks will lead to the love he craves.

Sephiroth knows this, and twists his desire to be a hero to a desire to please Sephiroth at all costs. Cloud is still himself, but he wants to make Sephiroth happy no matter what. Sephiroth wants the Black Materia? then Sephiroth will get the Black Materia.

that’s what’s so heartbreaking (and deliciously good) about Rebirth’s depiction of puppet Cloud. he’s not hollow and empty. he’s desperate. this is the most of the real Cloud we get to see. we see fragments of him, but here is the longest consecutive period. this is the realest he acts in the game, kind and silly and so fucking desperate for love, for Sephiroth’s approval.

in short, Sephiroth knows exactly how and when to break Cloud. he knows how and when to manipulate SOLDIER Cloud and he knows how and when to manipulate the real Cloud. this is why Sephiroth calls him a puppet: as long as he plays to Cloud’s desire for approval and love, he can puppeteer him in every direction.

thank you for reading! I hope you learned something new or just understand Cloud better. Cloud is such a fascinating character and Sephiroth really brings out the most pathetic parts of him ❤️ here's to hoping Cloud gets all the love he wants

[genderfluidloki]

Im so fucking upset for Tifa, man. Cloud has been acting so fucked up. Like after basically killing her he seemed normal-ish (for cloud) again for a while until the temple where he's just an absolute fucking asshole and she doesn't realize it's because sephiroth is possessing him

And then her best friend fucking dies and cloud doesn't seem to care.

And God I'm frustrated at her for not TALKING to him about his memories more and hiding things from him but also I understand. And now she's lost the only person she could talk to about this stuff and she's feeling more alone than ever before and uggffh I'm so upset

And before all of this I had fucked up her date so she had this romantic evening with Cloud and then right when she thought he was going to kiss her he fucking hugged her instead

[tscng]

  ↳ for @rcdfcxr (Rufus)

"I see. Don't lose sight of them."

The device emits a distinct 'beep' as Tseng lowers it from his ear, signaling the call's end. His gaze was drawn over his shoulder to the man at the head of the room. "It appears the ancient has been located in Costa Del Sol. The system indicates that they are travelling and are approaching the Golden Saucer. What are your orders, sir?"

[aeirithgainsborough]

Cloud Strife & Aerith Gainsborough FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE (2020) ➙ FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH (2024) dev. Square Enix

[bread--hood]

"Tell me though ... was it worth it?"

[thissisatitle]

It was so unnecessary but i'm glad he did this

[silver-wield]

When Britt said Tifa and Cloud had a lot of intimate scenes together, she wasn't kidding 🤭❤️

And this conversation is canon. Tifa appears to talk to you no matter what. It's just the part with the option that's player choice. Everything else is part of the plot ❤️

[loregoddess]

FF7 is canon in KH, but KH is also canon in FF7

this is because getting warped into the Toy Box location of Toy Story is possible in both universes. Apparently.

[crimsonxe]

After a tiring few days back on FF7Rebirth, spoilers below:

Seriously these two are the real couple in this version of the story, like c'mon.

WTAF Moonwalking Red XIII...I fucking can't man xD Rebirth is such a trip:

[eucalyptusace]

First impressions after finishing rebirth

I honestly loved it. I loved the character interactions, the banter and chemistry of the main cast was off the charts good. I feel like the devs really do love the cast as much as I do. Not a single person fell flat, and the stand outs to me were yuffie, barret, and CLOUD especially. My God the way they wrote Cloud made me so happy. It was perfect. This extends to the VAs who seemed to have broken the SE curse of stilted dialogue and anime grunting. However something about Tifa and Aeriths voices seemed weaker in this game compared to Remake.

Red XIII to nanaki voice change was weird as hell and didn’t seem well-justified in the story or his character. It just kind of happens and is really jarring.

I have accepted chadley. He’s essentially a computer so it’s not like he’s really in your way.

Even though the graphics have been complained about ever since the first demo, I haven’t seen many people mention how much more expression has gone into the character models, especially their faces. I went back to watch some cutscenes from the first game and was shocked by how static the faces are. The way scenes are scripted includes so much expressive body language, it really helps to nail the emotion 100%.

Why was everyone passing around the black materia and the clear materia and holy, like sephiroth already HAD it and then gave it to Cloud who gave it back? I don’t really care…. Kind of a weak story beat. But loved watching Cloud lose his shit in the endgame.

I braced myself for a bad ending. I was fully prepared to not take the last chapter seriously. So that’s what I will do. I’m not sure how I feel about the death. My favorite theory is from discord: Cloud killed Aerith and blanked it out. Maybe a long shot but would make for a really satisfying third act reveal. I mean, nobody else saw her die.

I didn’t HATE the zack stuff…. But it definitely killed the pacing for what was basically no story. Like…. I don’t remember anything really happening in those scenes? It was just weird fanfic interludes. Kind of cute though.

It’s kind of funny how 90% of these games are a loyal-but-expanded version of the OG, yet there is that weird little 10% that feels like a tacked on side story involving zack and other timelines that just sort of…. Exists.

I loved the dream date at the end between Cloud and aerith. You’re not sure at first if they’re AU until you realize that was them at their happiest selves. The camera poses. It was kind of beautiful and actually made me really emotional. Honestly their dynamic at the end was crazy, the chasing scene was peak. Plus the way everyone is just ignoring Cloud being psycho and dangerous? Like get him tf out the party bro! He feels so much scarier in this version compared to his little block model.

[lemonsourcrisis]