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protemporescitor · 9 months ago

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"But she ded tho" (a.k.a. the dumbest argument against Clerith) - A rant

To expand on my previous post, in which I posited the crazy, far-fetched theory that in a fantasy setting mayhap death is not the relationship brick wall that it would be in a more grounded, realistic one*, I just want to bring up a few points to further buttress this off-the-wall notion.

"Cloud can't be with Aerith. She's dead!"

We've all heard it a thousand times. It is the argument most commonly levelled against Clerith. It is also the worst (and laziest) one.

It's often delivered in a declamatory and glib fashion, as though it were some sort of obvious conversation ender. Q.E.D. End of debate. The ultimate gotcha. "Checkmate, Clerith fans!" the haters think to themselves, chortling and patting themselves on their backs for this profound insight. (Insert tasteless and juvenile comments about Aerith being "shish kebab-ed" by Sephiroth as desired.)

And all I can think is "That's it? That's your best argument? That's some weak tea, man."

Despite its myriad flaws, this idea continues to radiate throughout the fandom a good quarter century after the original title's release, as though it had never once been challenged. It is a feeble and untenable position, a house built on sand, and one that deserves to be thoroughly demolished. With Rebirth on the horizon, and all the shipping wars nonsense rising from the grave once more as a result, it is high time, if you'll forgive the expression, that we laid this cliché to rest once and for all.

(*Note: Even in a more "realistic" setting lacking any kind of fictional afterlife, this would still be a gross oversimplification of the story's themes of loss, regret, and yearning, as well as entirely ignoring the idea of love transcending death, but we'll set those concerns aside for the time being.)

Lastly, before we begin: This is not an anti-Zerith / CloTi screed. Those pairings both have an undeniable canonical basis. My aim here is simply to demonstrate that the notion that Cloud and Aerith are forever separated by death is rendered invalid by virtue of the type of setting that their story takes place in. (Something that, frankly, one would reasonably assume to be perfectly obvious. Alas, such is not the case. And so I find myself yet again pointing out the glaringly obvious.)

Now, without further ado, let's begin:

Part 1. Before (the Compilation) Crisis

In the beginning, there was the year 1997, and Squaresoft had just released their latest title. And lo, it was good. We spent days and weeks following our favorite polygon people around their embattled little globe. We fought, laughed, cried, and struggled up until the Meteor Crisis reached its crescendo, and the credits rolled. Gosh, what an ending! But what did it all mean? How did things REALLY turn out? Did we get a happy ending at all?

According to some, Cloud lived happily ever after with his childhood sweetheart, Tifa. According to others, he continued to roam the earth in search of his Promised Land to be reunited with his tragic lost love, Aerith. Yuffie swiped everyone's materia (again). Cid finally went to the moon. Red XIII opened a haberdashery in Costa del Sol, or something. No-one really knows for sure.

And so, the fandom began to spread to every corner of the internet in search of answers. Thus began the age of dissension. Opinions clashed across fanzines, blogs, and fanfic country alike. Wild fan theories abounded pertaining to special codes, methods, and blood rituals capable of bringing back our erstwhile flower girl. The fan-made media bubble surrounding the game turned into a lawless land of misinformation and vicious disagreement. None were spared.

A brief digression on why said rumours persisted for as long as they did (CAUTION: Massive spoilers for Chrono Trigger).

One side proposed a simple solution. A way to cut the proverbial Gordian Knot of our fandom. It was quite obvious, really. Just staring everyone in the face. The flower girl was dead, and that was that. Thus, there was only one possible conclusion to our narrative. Cloud's feelings on the matter were, of course, irrelevant. With Aerith out of the picture, the only logical choice left to him was to settle down with Tifa, and that was that. Never mind the themes of doomed, tragic love and the possibility, strongly hinted at throughout the game and outright confirmed during its ending, of existence after death.

Overall, direct evidence for said afterlife was scant, but not entirely absent from the story. As an example, at one point during her childhood, Aerith speaks to Elmyra, trying to comfort her, saying that the spirit of her husband wanted to come visit her, confirming that an afterlife presence did indeed exist. But for some, this simply wasn't evidence enough. And so the war raged on. Which brings us to…

Part 2. Advent Children: The smoking gun

Remember back when a certain portion of the fan base insisted that Gaia erased all the humans at the end of the story, on the flimsy basis that we don't see any during the game's brief post-credit scene? Well, that little theory was neatly undone by subsequent releases in the Compilation, showing regular ol' humans still roaming around Gaia in all their everyday human-ness. Hence, it is rarely brought up these days. Would that the pernicious notion of "but she ded tho" could follow in its footsteps, given that the same film roundly contradicts it in every way possible.

For starters, the film inexplicably bring two characters, Rufus and Tseng, hitherto assumed to be dead, back to life, probably in an effort by Square to shoehorn as many recognizable members of the cast into their animated feature as they could. But that's not all. Next we have three characters that everyone agreed were deader than doornails ALSO making appearances, first in flashbacks, and then directly influencing the world of the living. Zack speaks to and encourages Cloud during his struggle. Aerith reaches out to him (quite literally) from beyond the grave and assists him in defeating Bahamut. And of course Sephiroth pops back into existence just in time for his contractually-obligated boss fight near the end of the film. All three demonstrate quite clearly and definitively that death is not the impenetrable barrier to continuing interactions between the living and the dead in the world of Final Fantasy VII, as a certain segment of the fan base would have everyone believe it is.

To be blunt, I don't know what level of dense you'd have to be to keep up this so-called "argument" in light of this information. Advent Children reiterates what most of us already knew, that our story takes place in a fantasy setting* with a confirmed afterlife existence.

(*You'd think that the name of the series would clue people in.)

The notion that death represents, within the context of said setting, the ultimate end was already softly contradicted by the original game's narrative, and then (because that was apparently too subtle for some people) flat-out annihilated by the existence and events of Advent Children. It should have long since ended this nonsense. But somehow, it didn't. These revelations, obvious though they are, remain ignored for some reason. And so, the cycle of willful ignorance continues.

But we're not done yet. We now move on to more tangential, but still relevant arguments against this line of "reasoning".

Part 3. Stop Hitting Yourself: Why "but she ded tho" is insulting to everyone

And I do mean everyone. Let's examine this, shall we?

It's insulting to Cloud.

To suggest that he loses interest in Aerith the moment she sinks beneath the waters, or that he is obligated to move on simply because she is no longer among the living, with no mourning period, no time to work through his guilt and grief, is to portray him as shallow and uncaring, something that goes against virtually all the characterization that he's been given throughout the story. The line of thinking apparently goes "Well, she's gone. That sucks. She was cute, too. Better move on to the next available piece of meat."

Sounds pretty gross when you write the quiet part out loud, doesn't it?

It's insulting to Aerith.

"Didn't even toss the b@#h a Phoenix Down, just dumped'er in the water LAWL"

I'm sure you've all come across comments like that at some point, usually originating from some errant redditor or blogger. Thinking themselves fine fellows and enlightened, above-it-all gadflies, they provide us at length with this and other prime specimens of 14 year-old internet edgelord "humour" that carries about as much edge as a perfect sphere. Remarks like these serve little purpose beyond confirming my suspicion that our fandom is indeed plagued with illiterates who can't tell the difference between the terms "revive" and "resurrect", and insist on conflating game mechanics with storytelling. And you wonder why some people are confounded by words like "flammable" and "inflammable".

(All right, I'll put the salt down. For now.)

"The party's designated white mage dies, oh no, that's so sad, boo-hoo, life goes on," I hear you say.

But boiling Aerith's role down to one of merely that of a temporary party member who kicks the bucket halfway through the story, never to be heard from again, both cheapens her purpose within the larger narrative and denies the clear effect that she continues to exert, directly and indirectly, on it and the other characters after her passing.

Though Aerith may have departed the world of the living, the story makes it abundantly clear that her influence on it has not ended. There are hints here and there that she still tries to assist her friends from the afterlife. As an example, when the party rediscovers Cloud in Mideel after assuming that he might be lost for good, a villager sums it up best with the following remark: "That boy must have one hell of a guardian angel."

It's only mentioned as a vague hint in the original story, but it is clear that some beneficent force is acting on Cloud and Tifa's behalf, aiding them in their survival and uniting them in the Lifestream in order to help Cloud recover his memories. Later supplemental material confirms that to have been Aerith's doing. If that's not enough to convince you, though, the original game's ending leaves little room for ambiguity as to Aerith's continuing influence. When Holy sputters and fails, she coaxes the Lifestream itself to intervene, burning away the calamitous meteorite, helping her friends put an end to the planetary crisis long after her own demise. I suppose the lesson here for silver-haired godhead wannabe villains is this: Strike her down, and she shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

So the idea that Aerith's participation in the story immediately comes grinding to a halt upon her death is both puerile and easily demonstrated to be false. But even if that were the case, downplaying her lingering influence on Cloud and the other characters in this manner would still be ignoring the creators' intent. Whether one interprets Cloud and Aerith's relationship as romantic or merely platonic, it is clear that her death, the loss of one of his closest allies, is something that wounds him deeply, and scars him forever. Two years on, he still pines for her company and desires her forgiveness for his perceived failures. She clearly occupies a special place in his heart, and her memory and legacy live on within him, spurring him on as he wanders the planet, searching for some way to meet her again, defying the impossible. (Which, as we all know, isn't going to happen. This is, after all, Final Gritty Reality we're talking about here.)

Ah, but all of this is a moot point, you say? Even if he did wish to be with her, preferring the company of the last Cetra over that of his childhood friend… well, too bad. That's no longer an option. We can spout all of this verbiage about "soul pain" this and "star-crossed lovers" that, but at the end of the day, Aerith is still dead, and that's that. At least, that's what ardent CloTi fans will insist, no matter what. So, what is Tifa to Cloud, then, by their own logic?

Which brings us to perhaps our most salient, and most overlooked point, at least as far as CloTi shippers are concerned. If all that wasn't enough for you, you may want to consider that it's deeply insulting to Tifa, as well. Grievously so, in fact. Quite possibly more so than any other character in this whole equation. And the reason why should be plain as day if you stop to think about it for a fraction of a second.

Here's the thing… if you can't articulate why you think Cloud would prefer to be with Tifa in spite of Aerith being alive, then you are essentially declaring her the "winner" by default on no other merits than the fact that she's still sucking down air. Stating "but she ded bro" means relegating Tifa to the role of a consolation prize. I don't think I could ever hurl such a staggering insult towards her as her biggest fans keep doing, without even realizing they're doing it.

Ask yourselves, is that really what you want for your supposed favourite character? To frame her as being doomed to eternally play second fiddle to her fallen friend? Cloud's "plan B"? The "side piece"? Someone who only stands a chance if her rival in love is literally six feet under? I'm sure she'd be thrilled by the high regard in which her own fans seem to hold her. (Hey, you said it, not me. It's not my fault if you don't take the time to actually consider the ramifications of what rolls off your keyboard. But by all means, keep insulting your own favorite character just to put down a ship you don't like.)

In closing, if we unearth the subtext and reframe it to highlight what people are, in essence, saying, it's this: "It's a good thing that she-who-shall-not-be-named bit the dust, because otherwise our beloved Best Girl Tifa (tm) wouldn't stand a chance."

It's a simple enough question: Why do you think that Cloud and Tifa belong together? What, in your mind, makes them a good fit for each other?

"Well, the competish is dead." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Not exactly a ringing endorsement for your best girl, now is it?

Part 4. "Heads, I Win. Tails, You Lose": A brief word on hypocrisy

In fandom, it's often the loudest and most obnoxious voices who tend to drown out the more reasonable ones, those of fans who are just minding their own business and grooving on the thing that they like. Which, unfortunately, renders this next part a necessary component of the greater argument that I'm trying to make. Multishippers and sane, reasonable CloTi and Zerith fans may consider themselves exempted from the following harangue.

The rest of y'all, buckle up.

The too-oft repeated refrain of "but she ded tho" entails a twofold hypocrisy. The first part is:

Case of Tifa: Fan hypocrisy regarding death.

Strident anti-Clerith fans, with their usual level of maturity, will often bring up Aerith's demise in a gleeful, mocking tone that can best be summed up as "ding dong, the witch is dead!" And if the shoe were on the other foot? If their Best Girl Tifa (tm) were the one pushing up daisies instead of Miz Gainsborough? Would they be quite so cavalier in their attitudes?

Who wants to bet that these fans wouldn't be making this "argument" so loudly if it was their ship that was in question? Consider this scenario: Suppose that the remake trilogy does the unthinkable and has Tifa die in Aerith's place. What then? Would they accept that "but she ded tho" is, at best, a double-edged sword, one that applies equally to their own favourite ship were their fortunes to be reversed?

Something tells me that's not the case.

But if you think that's hypocritical, you ain't seen nothing yet. This first point pales in comparison to…

The Zerith Exemption: Fan hypocrisy regarding the afterlife.

You know what my favourite thing about this whole debacle is? When people inform me that because they are separated by death, Cloud and Aerith have no hope of ever being together again. They will then unironically pivot to shipping Zack and Aerith, two characters who are together in the MOTHERFUCKING AFTERLIFE.

It's wild. How do you even compress that much cognitive dissonance into one skull? We're talking about mind-melting, Olympic medal-worthy levels of mental gymnastics here.

Now, before someone accuses me of being morose, I'm not suggesting that Cloud hop off the nearest cliff just to be with his beloved (Aerith would not approve of him throwing his life away, for one), just that when he reaches the end of his natural life (which may not be too long, given the cells eating away at his body), he can finally be reunited with her in the afterlife.

Many ardent CloTi shippers see themselves as bound by law to uphold Zerith as a shield against the dreaded Clerith plague. But to proclaim, implicitly or explicitly, that the afterlife encompasses one but not the other is not an idea that can be taken seriously. It remains an utterly bizarre blind spot, one that beggars belief.

On a related note, there is the infamous misconception that is…

Part 5. The ZaCloud Fallacy

While this is not directly related to my main point, I nonetheless find myself compelled to address this issue. There is a long-standing confusion that bedevils our fandom, one that has its roots in the Shipping Wars (tm). I am, of course, referring to the ZaCloud Fallacy.

We owe this particular misapprehension to Crisis Core, a prequel/gaiden game that was released ten years after the original FFVII. Already, its existence can mess up the timeline, so to speak, as, strangely, people tend to treat it as a sequel rather than a prequel, and as though it were adding new and vital building blocks to the world of FFVII instead of merely distorting the original story while retreading it with a far less interesting cast of characters. It also retcons major elements of the original story that it shouldn't have (such as the events taking place in Nibelheim five years prior to the main narrative), lazily steals Clerith scenes only to rehash them with Zack and Aerith, and forces players to endure, at length, crimes against literature, courtesy of Genesis.

It's an odd prequel, to say the least, given how heavily it relies on the original story for context. Sequentially, it may take place before FFVII, but it can only be fully appreciated with the original in mind; it cannot be treated as a stand-alone story. The worst thing about Crisis Core existing is that playing it first can outright ruin people's perception of the original narrative by spoiling several major plot elements and even lessening them in the process. Crisis Core's writers are especially guilty of cheapening dramatic moments like Zack's last stand by transforming it from a quiet, tragic, harrowing scene about sacrifice to an utterly over-the-top and emotionally overwrought trainwreck. It all merely serves to add to the confusion, especially for gamers who started with this title instead of the original.

But if that were not enough, Crisis Core's reckless meddling with the story combined with the acrimonious and all-consuming nature of the shipping wars has resulted in one of the most nonsensical misconceptions in the entire fandom. During Crisis Core's ending, Zack implores Cloud to carry on his legacy, thus giving rise to the erroneous assumption that Cloud's behaviour in disc 1 is merely that of him "being Zack". Clerith-hating fans, in particular, pounced on this idea as a way to put a safe distance between him and Aerith, characterizing their interactions, whether platonic or romantic, as merely a case of Cloud utilizing Zack's memories and personality around her (Never mind that Zack and Cloud's personalities are as different as night and day).

It is a fundamental and willful misreading of the story, a gross oversimplification of a more complex and granular truth in service of a fan-originated meta-narrative, one that has been assembled in order to reach the conclusion that Cloud and Aerith's relationship is null and void, and that therefore the romance between him and Tifa remains unchallenged. (Never mind that the story is intended as more than just some playground tug-of-war romance). To maintain this lie is to do violence to the story by destroying Cloud's character arc and reducing him to a virtual non-entity until the very end of the game.

Having already been rebuked in regards to this pervasive delusion, certain fans have tried to hedge their bets by suggesting a second, more advanced version of this idea. ZaCloud Fallacy 2.0, if you will, which states that Cloud is only in Zack Mode (tm) when he's around Aerith. I don't even know what to say about that sort of nonsense. To paraphrase Charles Babbage, I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such an assertion.

I'd go into this in more detail, but YouTube creator LinkOnTheBrink has already covered this topic extensively in their superlative video essay "How Shipping Can Ruin a Narrative".

It may seem like I'm trashing Zack or Zerith here, but I'm really not. That was never my intent. So let me be clear about this: I like Zack. I just hate Crisis Core and what it's done to this fandom. If you prefer CloTi and Zerith to everything else, I don't much mind. Ultimately, this isn't about shipping wars nonsense, but protecting the narrative from such nonsense.

And that leads us to…

Part 6. I Against I: Where the fandom went wrong

We all know that the infamous FFVII Shipping Wars (tm) are as stupid as they are inescapable. Anyone who's spent any time at all within this fandom has inevitably run afoul of them and their detritus at some point, whether they've chosen to participate in them or abstain from the whole debacle. But there's a reason why this acrimonious dispute has raged on for as long as it has. Much like Blade Runner fans would argue until they were blue in the face about whether or not Deckard was a replicant, fans of this story have been squabbling about CloTi versus Clerith for ages for similar reasons. (Zerith got roped in as a "political wedge", I would argue, as much as a pairing in its own right.)

It's more than just a war over shipping, it's a war over canonization, over character motivation and psychology. Of how we ultimately interpret the story and its characters. Given the vagueness of the story's ending, one can't help but wonder and speculate as to how everyone ended up afterwards. (Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus may have offered some answers, but they still largely sidestep these questions in a noncommittal, to-be-continued manner.)

The problem is that, for many fans, it isn't possible to simply say "It's my preference" and be done with the matter. Unlike most rarepairs and bananas pairings like Cait x Jenova, CloTi and Clerith remain hotly contested because they go beyond mere shipping, or even aesthetic preference, or which characters one most identifies with; they lie at the core of how we perceive the story and its inhabitants. In that sense, I don't consider it to be an entirely frivolous debate, just an unsolvable one.

So, what's the answer?

There's this long-standing piece of received wisdom about JRPGs vs. WRPGs, where the latter involves more freedom at the expense of focused storytelling, and vice versa. This idea might hold true to some extent, but it is not some iron law that must be obeyed without question. For a game like FFVII, choices that radically affect the narrative structure would be considered an aberration and not the norm. And yet, it might represent the only way out of this quagmire that doesn't involve throwing half the fandom under the bus in the process.

For me, Mass Effect and similar titles (e.g., Quest for Glory) have already presented an obvious solution: Let the players choose. (There is already some precedent in the form of the Gold Saucer scene, although it ultimately doesn't change the outcome of the story all that much.) It may not be a perfect solution, but I'd argue that it's far better than leaving one side out in the cold. At least this way, everyone gets something.

"Ah, but this is not feasible," I hear you respond. "Not for an Eastern-style RPG, at least. Only one of these pairings can be correct, and one must, above all, respect the creator's vision."

Yeah, look where that got us.

Part 7. As You Like It: Ship whatever you please (just stop this nonsense)

I realize that this little essay of mine has been digressive, rudimentary, rambling, extemporaneous, and scattershot. So let me try to reach some kind of meaningful conclusion here.

Much of this anti-Clerith rhetoric we've seen over the years seems to stem from a place of insecurity, whether it's murmuring "but she ded tho", claiming that Cloud was only ever Zack in disc 1, inventing a fictional sex scene underneath the Highwind from whole cloth, and so on… The thing is, there is no need for it. Clerith and CloTi both exist canonically. Even the game manual says as much, describing Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith's relationship as a love triangle. In other words, the love triangle is what's canon, and the rest is by and large up for interpretation. (Zerith also canonically exists, and we've known this since the OG.)

The true reason why this whole disagreement has gone on for eternity, I suspect, has less to do with any debate over canonicity alone than it does the sheer enmity and pettiness that it has continued to spark for so long. It has metastasized over the years, going from being a mere squabble over which pair is canon to an exercise in holding the other side in contempt. That endless cycle of disrespect and reprisals is undoubtedly where it all went wrong in the first place. (If I had a nickel for every time someone commented "but she ded tho" or "wHy iS zAcK bLoNd iN tHiS pIc?" when someone posts a piece of Clerith fan art, I'd have a pretty nice collection of coins by now.)

Obviously, we should all try to just click off when we encounter content that we dislike, but it's not always easy, especially when something we harbour a strong aversion to is so deeply enmeshed within something that we do enjoy. And so, our fight-or-flight instinct kicks in. Before you ask, yes, I'm as guilty of that as anyone else.

Still, I firmly believe that the occasional olive branch can go a long way. So let me simply say that I have the utmost respect for Tifa and Zack. They are worthy characters in their own right. So create and share all the CloTi/Zerith fan works your little hearts desire. Hire a fleet of skywriters to declare Zerith your favourite couple. Throw a giant CloTi parade through the middle of Times Square. We don't mind. Honestly.

As stated above, whether it's CloTi, Clerith, or Zerith, you can stop fretting over which one is canon; they all are. The other three permutations (Zakkura, Zifa, AerTi) don't get much in the way of canon acknowledgement, but they probably should at this point.

In the end, this is about saving the narrative from the shipping wars, as much as anything else. To say that you prefer CloTi or something else to Clerith is fine. To assert that Clerith doesn't exist in any form, however, is where I begin to take exception.

Ultimately, I say ship what you like. All I ask is that you retire this sort of narrative-wasting nonsense. It's time we threw it into the garbage can of gaming history where it belongs. As for questions of motives, character interpretation, canonization, and so forth… if we cannot reach an accord, then let us at least try for a more amicable disagreement.

As for my fellow Clerith supporters, the next time you see the withered old canard that is "but she ded tho" being bandied about in the wild, feel free to laugh and treat it with the derision and contempt that it so richly deserves.

#final fantasy vii #ffvii #ffvii rebirth #final fantasy vii rebirth #final fantasy 7 remake #clerith #cloud x aerith #rant #final gritty reality #but she ded tho #spoilers

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scrawnytreedemon · 4 years ago

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going off that last ask: loz/yazoo character opinion? i wanna read your thoughts!

Ohooooo, I was waiting for something like this!!! Thank you, Vee :) I’ll do my best to explain <333

Starting off with Yazoo:

First impression: Calm, level-headed, perhaps a bit shy. What surprised me the first time watching was how deep his voice was. He’s got this grace about him that leaves you simply... staring. I interpreted the introductory scene where Loz nearly cries and Yaz tells him not to as comforting-- Which I think is what a good chunk of Rem fans see it as? Overall, pretty, but not much else.

Impression now: I think he’s fucking ruthless under that dainty face, if you ask me. Honestly, it’d be right in line with Sephiroth. I think out of the both of his brothers, he gets along better with Kadaj, but if he wasn’t around, I doubt Yazoo would have nearly enough investment in their quest. He comes across as apathetic and uncompassionate, perhaps even a little haughty. I feel like his relationship with Loz is tolerable at best, and downright acidic at worst. With Loz being the way he is, I wouldn’t be surprised if Yazoo and Kadaj had to keep an eye on him at all times, just in case. I feel, though, at the end of the day Yazoo does care about his brothers, and would risk his life for them. It’s in his bones, and he can’t help it, whether he likes it or not. Still very pretty though, lmao.

Favourite moment: Been forever sinced I watched Advent Children, and, unfortunately, Yazoo my beloved doesn’t get many scenes. I’ll have to go with the introductory scene, as it gives us an idea of who they are and what their dynamic is like right off the bat.

Idea for a story: I feel like any story with Yazoo inevitably ends up involving Loz, so I’ll make a joint bullet-point for them at the end of the post <3

Unpopular opinion: Mmm, probably the more apathetic, if not downright spiteful characterisation. If my friend @vesaniens’s experience is to be believed, then at least Back In Her Day it was far more common for Yazoo and Loz to be buddy-buddy while Kadaj goes off and does his own thing. I can see the appeal in that dynamic, and understand where it comes from. There’s alot of ways you can interpret ‘don’t cry, Loz,‘ and as it is the introductory scene, however you do sets down the foundation for all that follows.

Favourite relationship: The Remnants aren’t characters I can find preferable ships for in-canon, so romantic is off the table here. I will say, though, a dynamic where Genesis and Yazoo are mentor and mentee would be downright tooth-rotting. Genesis preening him, taking him out to nice places, showing him fine literature-- I love it! I don’t see much talk about how the Remnants would relate to Gen and Geal, and I think that’s a damn shame. Plus, Yazoo can then quietly rub it in either of his brothers’ faces whenever he gets annoyed with them. To pick another, though, definitely him and Loz-- Especially if it is strained. It’s very clear they’re meant to contrast each other. Yazoo is lithe, subtle and venemous; Loz is big, loud and sensitive. I personally have a huge soft spot for fics where they recouncile their differences and learn to truly love each other.

Favourite headcanon: Honestly, I feel like I need to make a general headcanon post for the Rems as a whole. They’re all inherently tied, so a change to one of them usually affects the other two. To touch up on one from a theory I read about a year ago now(God, has it been that long?), I like the idea that the Remnants got a little bit of Genesis and Angeal mixed in. They’re like 90% Seph, give or take, but the other 10%~? Now that’s where the fun begins baby!!! In this case, the donor would be Genesis, and Yazoo would’ve gotten the more passive-aggressive, snarky, preening aspects of his character. The resentment and feelings of inferiority towards Sephiroth end up getting mixed into Kadaj, however I don’t want to elaborate on this too long lest I go off-topic. On a more crack-heavy note, I feel like if you waved a laser-pointer in front of him, he’d be transfixed. He’s too dignified to actually leap at it... But he likes watching :)

Now, as for Loz:

First impression: Big phuckign himbo, idiotte of a man. Probably can’t even buckle his own boots. Playtime??? Bitch NO, it’s not playtime! WHY ARE YOU CRYING??? But yeah, my initial view fell alot more in line with what I think is the most common interpretation of him. His excecution leans heavily to Big Dumb Idiot Man Who Cries When He Sees A Duckling.

Impression now: Baby. Poor fucking baby. Honestly, that could be said for all the Remnants, but I don’t think Loz’s struggle is discussed nearly enough. I’ve talked about this before, but, for me, it’s painfully clear that Loz is essentially a child in a grown man’s body. Writer Kazushige Nojima has Loz’s lines about playing during his fight with Tifa were based off his own son, and has described him as “missing a little something upstairs” --And looking at him through that lens, things become alot more disturbing. He’s Sephiroth’s love for Jenova; a doting, yearning, infantilising love. There’s an innocence to Loz, something sweet, something light and airy-- And to have him fight, have him torture, have him kill... just, man. This jarring dichotomy between such hulking, brutal strength, this bringer of destruction, and this kid who wants his mother. Is he aware? Does he truly understand the weight of his actions? Can he? Most of this, admittedly, is a bit of a stretch, but I love this doof alot jhdhjfdjhs can you blame me?

Favourite moment: Oh, definitely the crying scene-- You must be real tired of hearing that again. Though, in Loz’s case, it sets up his sensitivity, and his dynamic with his brothers-- Yazoo in particular.

Idea for a story: Same answer as Yaz.

Unpopular opinion: I think my more infantile view of Loz as a whole is semi-unpopular? Fandom seems pretty split on whether he’s just a himbo or actual babyman. Again, hard to tell, what with most Rem content and discussion being several years old and tricky to find. I’d be curious to have a discussion on this! But yeah, if we’re talking about the wider fanbase, I think my intense appreciation of him is definitely unusual. Alot of OG fans see the Rems as tropey villains, and while I will argue that it makes sense considering they’re fragments of a bigger, badder, more complex villain, I don’t think Loz is nearly as shallow as most would have you believe.

Favourite relationship: As discussed with Yazoo, there aren’t any canon characters I consistently ship the Remnants with -- Especially not for Loz, in particular when viewing him through that youthful lens -- Though as with everything, I am flexible :) On the platonic side... Honestly, I think Loz would just be a big softie who hangs around everyone. If Angeal was baking, Loz would definitely chip in to help, though he might cause more trouble than if he stayed aside. I think he’d try and reach out to Sephiroth, only for his affections to be rejected because the latter is Bad With Emotions and is torn between on whether the Remnants are a nuisance he hands off to his old friends or his children who he wants to scoop up and carry off into the vast cosmos.

Favourite headcanon: Loz eats alot of shit he isn’t meant to. Like, shit that would kill twenty grown men. At least once he has mistaken stinging nettle for mint, and spent the next two or three days scraping his tongue constantly. Would chase a ball if thrown, no questions asked; try playing frisbee with this dude, and you’ll end up on the other side of town by the end of it. If you try and pick him up, he just slumps, like a big, brawny ragdoll cat-- Probably purrs like one, too. Definitely appreciates a good scratch behind the ear :)

There’s like... probably mountains more, but this is what I’ve been able to coax out after a day of writing this on and off. Again, thank you so much for asking!! I’ve been meaning to ramble about the Remnants for ages now, but didn’t know how to go about it.

Aight, as promised:

Story idea: This is one I’ve had on my mind for years now. I haven’t gotten around to it, as it’d require greater familiarity with FFVII’s world as a whole, but the premise is that Yazoo and Loz escape far out into the countryside, and end up in a village. Yazoo soon falls ill, and Loz has to provide a living working for a local farmer. Their dynamic is initially strained, and without Kadaj to hold them together, they nearly end up splitting before arrival. As time passes, and as they grow closer to the community, Yazoo’s grumbles fade into concerned murmers. Slowly, he begins to trust Loz more, and Loz learns to take more responsibility. But as their friendship blossoms, Yazoo’s body withers. Bedbound, he wonders how Loz would fare without him, if he could make it. I imagine this ends up leading to Loz deliberately blowing their cover to get needed medical help from WRO, turning themselves in during the process.

Again, there’s probably more to it, but to be honest even I don’t know. That’s the great thing about creativity :) You never know where you end up!

Thank you for asking, and feel free to ask more if you’re curious! This goes for elaboration on characters already asked, certain headcanons, and even pairings! Also, feel free to add on with your own thoughts! Whether they be additions, refutations, or so on. Fandom discussion(provided it’s civil qwq) can be so much fun!

<333

#ffvii #advent children #yazoo #loz #remnants #ask meme #long post #scrawny speaks #love doing these!! keep em coming <33

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vermillionage · 5 years ago

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I just got lost in this rabbit hole again.

After here goes nothing!

My impressions from the Chocobo carriage scene.

Hope some of you get where I'm coming from, in the end it is my interpretation of this scene by comparing his facial expressions with expressions I see/saw from people in my life and surroundings over the years. Learnig what they usually mean.

This game is a blessing for us fans. The effort the devs made to add Cloud's micro expressions just give me life! Those hint so strongly at his locked away emotions, spilling across the seams while he is with/when it's about Tifa--this is all just within seconds:

"Tifa?"

Ok, just look at him. His eyes are really so expressive. From the moment he spots the carriage.. then realising it's Tifa (Again How T FXXX does he do that?!?)...& running after it/her with visible determination.

Arriving. "BUT-!"

Pouty face I left out even though its iconic because one is only allowed 10pics in one post and I wanted to catch the angst in his shifting gaze after she says; "I'll be fine!" "You have seen how much ass I can kick."

After agreeing with her on being capable and awesome 🥰 ("wakatta") he just ... well you can see him looking at her so intensely:

Cloud is so talkative with his eyes (if he let's them!)... he looks at her..still a bit pouty, though lips loosened bit..but more wary now..

He is basically pleading with her to be careful with that intense stare! He is reading her, contemplating. Damn, Its burning!

He needs to make sure she really is careful. He probably debates within himself whether to tell her he is concerned. Wether to tell her he wants to go with. Even after she quickly shut his first attempt down

Yet he doesn't want her to think he lost his cool💪😎/or even worse : Her to get the impression he thinks she can't handle it herself!

Below- In the shot, just of the next millisecond , you can see that he reached a conclusion/got an answer reading her eyes.

You can see by his eyes getting narrow that he is not happy with the finds. His lips are pressed together. Not pouty anymore. Banter is over. This is even deeper now.

You can see how much it aches him to let go and do as she asked of him. Because that seems to be the conclusion seeing how the rest of the scene unfolds.

He probably feels bad not being needed as well, maybe even rejected. But I want to believe his concern for her is his primary focus:

He sees it's no point to argue with her anyhow if she asked him not to worry. Maybe feeling incapable of helping her, once again.

He even seems NOT to be focused on Tifa's face for a split second -his eyes are squinting unfocused, eyes even more downcast(sorry for the menu on the shot, was tough to time it right):

He then gets off the carriage

BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT while jumping he once more is lifting his gaze to Tifas eyes.

This is just a millisecond after he looked away. But our Boy is back at it.

This time a bit softer a bit angst even- this is to reassure himself one more time this is the only way and to make sure she really gets his intentions and he gets hers:

Look at him not happy that he has to let her go.

(Look at his furrowed brows, eyes focused on the carriage still):

This is yearning.

AT THIS POINT Tifa already sat back on the bench and her face is facing away, carriage turning around the corner.

He then turns away- still kinda *upset,concerned,annoyed by rejection,* but also determined now- to do what he was asked for.

***initiating Soldier/Cloud back on***:

Yeah, I love this scene. It is so rich. This is what I felt looking at the scene..and the stills.

So many sub layers in All the characters tbh.

I am happy Remake turned out this rich!

Tifa and Cloud are 💥 in this scene.

They are like ..she is his Polaris, his North Star. That he aims for. Orientation on her.

Aerith? Suddenly forgotten as soon as he spots Tifa.

Interesting.

Hope you enjoyed my little analyses.

#cloudpuppyface #cloud strife #cloud x tifa #tifa lockhart #chocobocarriage #ff7r tifa #ff7r thoughts #final fantasy 7 remake #cloti

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jsmnchwdhry · 4 years ago

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It’s Star here with another of my many children! As always, if you’d liek to have plots/connections/anything with her please don’t be shy about liking this, commenting or hitting me up on the DMs right here on tumblr since I don’t have a discord. We’d love pretty much every and anything! xoxo @chicagcstart

THE BASICS

Full Name: Jasmine Zhara Chowdhury

Date of Birth: November 6, 1996

Place of Birth: Denver, Colorado

Current Location: Chicago, Il (Living with @athenabelle-t)

Nicknames: Jas

Age: 24

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Nationality/Ethnicity: American | Bengali

Languages Spoken: English & conversational Bengali (thanks to her family)

Accent: Neutral American

Random Key Points

November 4th, 1996, Jasmine was born in Denver, Colorado to two loving parents with one older sister. The first generational native along with her sister.

Growing up in the mile high city was great and when her family made the move to NYC just as she was hitting her teen years proved emotionally difficult. Still, she managed to adjust despite yearning for her old friends and familiar places.

She’s best friends with @athenabelle-t & moved in with her a year after high school.

She has two one year old Somali cats who are litter mates, so, siblings. A ruddy girl named Tifa and a fawn boy named Cloud.

College was never a dream or goal of her’s so instead she just cheers on her bestie while going down her own path.

She has a rather successful business that she started when she was nineteen where she sells her own scented candles and soaps to local stores around the city.

You wouldn’t know it to look at her but she’s a bit of a nerd for movies and games alike and has a large shelf in her room above her desk dedicated to her precious Funko collection of characters from them she adores.

Personality wise, she’s easily seen as feline like both with her lean alluring stature as well as her more independent personality.

Connection/Plot Ideas: (again tweaking and such totally up in the air)

Neighbors: Of all types really. Could be on good or bad terms. Maybe you’ve had some of her cooking before or she can’t stand you always being too loud or whatever, really.

Although not a super fan of the outdoors, you could see each other a lot when her camera is in hand. Snapping photos for her candle labels she makes.

Possible romances: From tinder dates, crushes, to possibly more.

As usual, bad brain but up for pretty much any and everything you got so like this or comment or dm me for something!

#.intro #(kinda a reused muse but i love her and her face mishti is so pretty #ANYWHO please love her too)

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onnari · 5 years ago

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churrocigar replied to your post “churrocigar replied to your post “Title: call it gravity...”

Ohhh yeah, Aerti smooches for the soul! And yeah I totally need to get on my little Aerti ficlet! Saying ficlet sounds way more doable for me, haha. Also I’m with you on the how to make Cloti smooch - tbh as a Clerith fan as well idk how I’d have Cloud smooch anyone lol. He’s intimidating for me to think about writing!

lol the bonus of having aerith in any ship is that girl does not mess around for long. cloud and tifa on the other hand are a couple of reserved and yearning dumbasses that are way less inclined to make the first move. hence the sweet agony of them being in a slow burn!

#churrocigar #2/#3/#4/#5/#texty #final fantasy vii for ts

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recentanimenews · 6 years ago

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The 5 Most Loved and Hated Ghosts in Anime

The 5th and Final article in our 5-Part Halloween-themed October series! Last week we took measure of the fan favorite creature of the night, Vampires, and now, we’ll be looking at the dearly departed that just won't… depart. Lost souls, vengeful spirits, or helpful phantoms, these characters possess varied viscosity and ability to be seen but are always important to the story.

Loved them or hate them, you might just see them off if you can discover the mystery of their death. Our friends over at Anime-Planet spend day and night cataloguing unique features and leaving it to the fans to vote on the best and worst. A note before we begin, these are the result of popular votes that I can and will disagree with. Only your democratic will can determine who makes it on this list. With that out of the way, below are the 5 most loved and most hated ghosts in anime!

Loved

5. Yuuko Kanoe - Dusk Maiden of Amnesia

Starting off nice and tragic here with the amnesiac ghost trying to get her memories back and, in doing so, maybe discover what’s keeping her in this world. Always thought the idea of a boy meeting a girl’s ghost and the two solving the mystery of her death was a unique story until I realized it was an entire subgenre of anime. A perfectly likeable phantom. While she’s the cause of many of her school’s ghost stories, it’s more an accident than any ill-intent. Yuuko does have sort of a scary face though. Spooky until you get to know her.

4. Kazuma - Noragami

It’s one thing to be the last survivor of your clan, it’s another to be the last survivor of your clan of ghosts. Can’t even take solace in the fact that you still have a life to live. Kazuma’s got it rough, is what I’m trying to say. Always thought this guy looked like Yukio Okumura and, thanks to this article, just discovered they actually have the same voice actor, which is a roundabout way of saying absolutely not spooky at all.

3. Yami Yugi - Yu-Gi-Oh!

Hell yeah. I mean, you know certain characters are ghosts, but you just don’t expect them to show up in the list. Yami Yugi is living the dream of all pharaohs by surviving death, though I’m not sure many would be satisfied with getting locked in a necklace so they could play card games for the rest of eternity. If you do what you love, you never work a day of your death. Great ghost, although only spooky if you just challenged a spiky-haired kid to a duel and he pulls out the millenium puzzle.

2. Meiko Honma - Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

This was inevitable. Menma was a shoe-in for the most loved ghosts. It’s not just any phantom that haunts you to help you get over their death, rebuild your relationships with your old friends, and overcome your mental blocks that prevent you from expressing your emotions. The driving force in one of the most evocative anime of all time and maybe one of the most easily recognizable characters in the medium. Menma is good. Not at all spooky.

1. Yukine - Noragami

A very tragic boy. Although he doesn’t remember much, he had a hard life that was cut short, leaving him with an afterlife of yearning to experience a normal childhood. He’s usually the kind of brat I’d find annoying but Noragami found a nice balance and gradual improvement as he finds a place for himself in… whatever you’d call his existence? On the plus side, he can turn into katana(s). Not spooky unless you have a severe phobia of sharp things.

Hated

5. Aerith Gainsborough - Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

What the hell. How could you do this to me? Here I am, writing a listicle for your entertainment and you’ve gotta hit me with the most traumatic moment of my childhood? I’m completely blindsided by this. I can’t handle it. The worst part is, I can’t even say this isn’t an anime. Wait, she’s HATED? This is some vote brigading nonsense from Tifa fans, 100%. We’re moving on. I’m so angry. NOT spooky. Very sad.

4. Fuyumi Yanagi - Blood Lad

Blood Lad never fails to show up with the horror rep, although I’m surprised to see Fuyumi on the hated side here. She’s just a normal girl that basically ends up in the wrong neighborhood and gets killed by a horrible plant monster then spends the rest of the series trying to not only cope with the fact that she’s a ghost, but that all sorts of nasty horror movie creatures exist, and her potential savior is kind of a creep. Must be some sparse competition in this hated section. Not spooky.

3. Daemon Spade - Reborn!

Not many major villains have the advantage of already being dead. While that makes Daemon tough to deal with, I’m not sure if I could really say much about him besides that. Always struck me as your typical revenge-obsessed nihilistic villain.. until his move with Mukuro, that is. Probably a lot of Mukuro fans present for this hate vote and I respect that. First hate vote I’m on board with of the hated to have any real scariness to them. Possession isn’t cool.

2. Kugaha - Noragami

Any enemy of Bishamonten is an enemy of mine, so drop this dude anywhere you like on the hated list. He’s basically the “I know what’s better for you more than you do” kind of boyfriend and I think that’s pretty much canonically his villainous motivation in the series. So yeah, basically he sucks. Only spooky if you’re in a relationship with him.

1. Nora - Noragami

Dang usually the most hated is pretty cut and dry but Nora’s kind of complex situation. On the face of things she definitely deserves the hate. Trying to kill anyone who your crush spends more than 2 seconds with is a bad look. In retrospect, it’s hard to know how much of that was dear ol’ dad. Looks like a kid, but she’s definitely got her creepy moments and is scary in the way just about any homicidal stalker is, so there’s that at least.

I’m just gonna say this. If you have a ghost list that includes Yami Yugi but not Fujiwara no Sai from Hikaru no Go, it’s pretty much a failure. Also, the absence of Dimple from every list involving dead, deathless, or psychic characters is becoming an unfortunate pattern. I’ve got no problem with Noragami taking this list over, but please include some of the greats.

I can’t believe you hit me with Aerith…

Have a favorite phantom that didn’t make the list? Want to know where your favorite appears in the list of most popular poltergeists? Head over to Anime-Planet’s list of ghosts to see where they rank, or comment below with your favorite! Tune in next week, for the 5 most loved and hated pipes!

---

Peter Fobian is an Associate Features Editor for Crunchyroll, author of Monthly Mangaka Spotlight, writer for Anime Academy, and contributor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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smokeybrandreviews · 5 years ago

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Final Heaven

Apparently, there’s a controversy budding about the Final Fantasy VII Remake. Is it about the overhauled battle system you ask? No. Is it about the fact that this thing is going to be at least two, full priced, current gen, games? Nah. Is it about the fact that it might take another 20 f*cking years to finish this game because Nomura and his team have no idea what the f*ck is going on? Not even that. No, the controversy I am speaking on is about Tifa’s character redesign, specifically her nerf tits. A friend of mine brought this to my attention yesterday but I had been hearing rumblings about it for a while. There is, apparently, a dedicated section of “fans” that have decried this game, in spite of all of the glorious, good faith, innovations we’ve seen so far, because they downsized Tifa’s boobs. These are grown ass men doing this; cats old enough to remember the original art that Nomura made of Tifa, way back in ’97 because, anyone under the age of 25, only really know Tifa from the Compilation,where she was nerfed the first time! I mean, these weenies can’t possibly be upset about the difference between in-game models because, way back then, everything was a f*cking polygon puzzle! Seriously, there is more geometry in Remake Tifa’s left eye, than there was in her entire character model from ’97! You can barely even tell there were boobs. What are you outraged about? What her once literal triangles aren't proportioned on the new, high res, models? Really, bro??

“But, Ryan,” I hear you ask, “What about that cutscene boob jiggle when the WEAPONS took off? Surely that was boob enough for your outrage, right?”

F*ck, no, dude. What the f*ck? Look, with PS1 era graphics, we were still using our imagination for a ton of sh*t. That cutscene was gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, and I appreciate the little fan service we got there, but I was more in awe of EVERTHING ELSE GOING ON! To see all those things explode from that volcano in real time? Coming off a generation where f*cking Mode 7 SNES graphics we the best we got? And you want to talk to me about a booby jiggle? Get the f*ck out of here! This is the saddest sh*t I’ve heard all week, man, and it pisses me off. Final Fantasy VII is a goddamn classic and it’s remake is one I’ve waited two f*cking decades for. Now that it's finally within my grasp, I gotta hear a bunch of f*ckboys complain about a downgraded bust, on a polygon cartoon? Shut the f*ck up, man!

Hell, to be perfectly frank, all of this outrage is mute because Tifa’s tits have been nerfed since Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. I kind of touched on this before but, literally, ANY of the new material Tifa's been in since Squaresoft became Square Enix, has her bust considerably downsized. Everyone thought all of those redesigns were dope. No one was upset about her little cowboy outfit in Before Crisis and Crisis core. When she made her entry into Dissidia the first time, not a peep. This same, incel, bullsh*t happened way back when Advent Children released and no one cared. That sh*t died almost immediately after everyone saw what she could do in the film. All of a sudden the focus shifted from “Tifa’s titties are to small” to “Oh, sh*t! Tifa’s kind of bad ass!!” WHICH IS THE F*CKING POINT! Tifa isn't defined by her mammoth mammaries. They aren't a trademark or whatever. Tifa is a goddamn beast! She is defined by pure, unadulterated, ass kicking. That's where the buck should stop, not at her chesticles. You see her fighting style? She f*cking beats up robots and dinosaurs and JENOVAS with her goddamn fists! Her weapon of choice is them hands! You try doing a Dolphin Blow with a pair of E-cups flapping about! That sh*t ain’t even realistic.

Tifa’s redesign is dope. It makes sense for her character. It's functional while still subtly sexy. Her leather shirt is gone, replaced with a pleated one and spats because she kicks high. Her suspenders seem to act as kind of an underwire for extra ta-ta support, even though her boobs have been downgraded anyway. Seriously, it doesn’t make any sense for someone who has trained in martial arts since she was a kid, to have ginormous gazongas. Kind of hard throwing a straight punch with so much chest girth, ya dig? But that might not even be the case because, as far as I can tell, and this is brilliant on the part of Squenix, they gave her a sports bra! Those are like compression shorts for your titties! They are designed to mush, separate, and hold. They are created to specifically limit boob jiggle BECAUSE them tits get in the way of a fight. Why do you think all these MMA fighters wear them? It is necessary to mitigate them in any way possible, especially if you’re out here punching giant, world created, anti-life, machines. If that's the case, you can chalk up her tiny bosom to some sort of ultra bra! But, really, come the f*ck on, man. Why is it even that serious? Why you gotta go through such contortions just to accept the fact that her titties are smaller? Why the f*ck do I even have to write this goddamn post?

Ultimately, this is all f*cking dumb. It’s a video game, dude. I understand you’re attached to a bygone “aesthetic”, I wanted an ATB system and not this we're action RPG hybrid sh*t, myself, but whatever, get the f*ck over it. I did. The new sh*t looks fun so i'm going to reserve judgment, just like yall should about them honkers. Stop bashing a game that you haven’t played, a game true fans have yearned after for a whole ass, two decades, because your waifu’s polygon funbags are too small for your neckbeard ass standards. I love Tifa. She one of my all-time, favorite FF characters. Her redesign is amazing and practical. It makes sense. Get over yourself and your prepubescent horny, dude. You’re f*cking 30. It’s the creepiest of looks.

Besides, ya'll out her acting like the second this game hits PC, you sad motherf*ckers aren't make nude and bob sliders for it anyway. Get f*cked, weenies.

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smokeybrand · 5 years ago

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Final Heaven

“But, Ryan,” I hear you ask, “What about that cutscene boob jiggle when the WEAPONS took off? Surely that was boob enough for your outrage, right?”

Besides, ya'll out her acting like the second this game hits PC, you sad motherf*ckers aren't make nude and bob sliders for it anyway. Get f*cked, weenies.

0 notes