#Tifa and cloud love each other. cloud and Aerith LIKE each other—and even she comments DIRECTLY on ‘liking v LIKING’

[emblazons]

WARNING: FFVII spoilers + ship talk—scroll if you want to skip, because I am simply commentating my own gaming experience & not trying to start a war in the comments

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It’s the way I’m DESPERATELY trying to play FFVII with an openness to Cloud and Aerith because I know it means so much to so many people—and yet even when I go to YouTube and watch alt versions of mandatory scenes I cannot fathom how people are missing the subtext of “Aerith knows and acknowledges Tifa is so much more than Cloud’s friend even as she wants his attention because she doesn’t know if he’s really himself, has been extremely lonely since Zack left + knows somewhere she’s going to die for herself” ☠️

Like I am 3000% for FF ships that have a lot of groundwork but aren’t primary canon, because Square is notorious for building true chemistry between people who are not ever canonically romantic (hello Phoenixflare) but…it’s getting kind of absurd to see how many people are denying the subtext of Aerith as secondary to Tifa solely because they love their ship.

Perfect example: the scene where Aerith goes up on the Nebelheim water tower (a place wholly and entirely tied to Cloud and Tifa’s ongoing relatonship) and asks Cloud about his town…only for us to get this:

As someone who just consumes media generally…the whole subtext of the scene is clearly that Aerith trying to 1) pull Cloud’s actual memories up from the mind muck he’s going through (something she and Tifa both do repeatedly) and 2) remind Cloud of the side of him that inherently has always had a whole ass crush on his childhood best friend to help jog his memory.

Sure, it reads as a cute moment between them if you want that…but if you’re paying attention to the purpose of the scene itself and what’s being said (verbally and subtextually)…it’s astronomically clear this is a Cloud x Tifa recognition delivered to the audience through a Cloud/Aerith moment…and this happens repeatedly ☠️

And then…immediately after having her be upset that she doesn’t have someone the way Cloud has Tifa, and asking to be alone? I…I just. Like it’s so hard to be here in the middle of a war about “optional scenes” when shit that happens to everyone happens just like this 😭

[my-current-obsession]

I have officially beaten 7 Rebirth! I mostly enjoyed it - loved the story and characters, though personally my feelings on the ending are up in the air until I see how the final game follows it up. There was TOO MUCH exploration and minigames for my taste (I have completionist tendencies so I WANT to do everything but GOD I hated some of it and eventually did give up on some stuff), making me possibly the ONLY person to prefer Remake to Rebirth, but I understand that's a personal hangup.

I know most aspects of the GS dates have been talked into oblivion at this point, but there are two little tidbits I haven't seen mentioned in Clerith's favor - first is that even OUTSIDE of the play and the skywheel scenes, Aerith's version flows the best narratively, and 2nd is the ending of the play might be a callback to their scene in Kingdom Hearts 2.

The game reveals that whoever your "date" was is locked into your battle party when facing Corneo the next day. Prior to the date, Aerith is always the one at the battle square who led us to Dio to fight in the first place AND she straight up SAYS she wants to fight. She also comments on fighting together AFTER the date - "Wall Market Warriors, you and me!" Even before the game actually reveals you're FORCED to fight alongside your date, Aerith sets the expectation that she's fighting too. Of the other dates, only Barrett implies he's fighting too ("tomorrow we'll go to town on them") while no one else says anything about the impending fight.

As for the play, the ending is the same for each love interest but the dialogue made me immediately remember Aerith and Cloud's scene together in KH2. He has to leave, but promises to return and knows she'll be waiting for him. Honestly the line about her not NEEDING to promise to wait felt like a subtle acknowledgment of when Aerith DID say she'd "stay here and cheer for you" in KH2. It just gives an added layer of depth to Aerith's version of the play that the other ladies don't have.

Between these two things and Aerith definitely fitting the role of Rosa (magic/staff user) the best, PLUS Cloud ALWAYS getting a close-up where he looks enamored while she's singing (similar to him reacting to her in the red dress in Remake) and briefly taking her hand when everyone bows (again, regardless of if Rosa was Tifa/Yuffie), Aerith's date DEFINITELY feels the most narratively satisfying and canon. Everything flows together so well even before and after the date where it doesn't flow that way with anyone else.

[silver-wield]

So about the last ask you responded to, could that "Cloti" writer be from that so called FH discord? If I remember correctly they LOVED the LTD, they also loved the "Cloud loves both girls" bullshit and always tried to insert that shit in their fics somehow. They also get really upset if Clotis say something bad about Aerith/Clerith, but it's crickets when the DDC says horrible things about Tifa daily. AND if I remember correctly they were also in contact with Cali. Ewww 1/2

If I'm being honest with you, I think they (FH discord) are one of the reasons why the ClerithCult had such a big space in the FF7 fandom (before Clotis like you and others arrived), I feel like they let Cleriths lie their ass off and they never stopped them because they LIKED the LTD, which is so weird because that shit is soooo 1990/2000, it's old and it's cringe af. Whoever likes "love triangles" in 2022 is weird af. Anyway, thank God y'all came into this fandom. 2/2

Oh and also since the time they were called out by Clotis on why they were so fast to defend Clerith/Aerith but they were always *crickets* when the Cult said all kind of horrible things about Tifa, I've noticed that they have stopped writing and updating Cloti fics, weird isn't it?? 3/2 or 3/3 idk...

Idk since the anon didn't say, but it's very likely. When I was reading on ao3 I noticed all the ones who were in FH were pushing ltd bs/both girls in their fics and all their replies in the comments were treating it as if their opinion was canon and nobody was correcting them cause more of them would pile in demanding people accept their opinion as canon and screaming that there was proof for both but never proving any when asked.

Because there's no proof. Because their lies are not canon.

And yeah, they're buddies with the cult and even passed on personal info they gathered from doing their zine and gave it to Calli so she could threaten people by saying she knew where they lived. These scumbags have always done this to clotis to shut us up because they know they're lying while we're telling the truth and they need the world to buy their bullshit because it's all they have.

They'll never defend Tifa or clotis despite claiming to be fans, but always pop up to wag their fingers whenever Aerith is involved, which actually makes more people dislike her character because there's this enforcement where nobody can say anything without being reprimanded which goes against any popularity she might have. People don't like being told what to do. Being told to be sympathetic and nice because her fans can't handle anything is grossly pathetic.

And the ironic thing about love triangles is they're not really triangles. It's always a couple who haven't expressed their feelings for each other and some interloper trying to steal one of them. The feelings of the couple are for each other, although in a lot of old fashioned American shows they have one party being flattered or possibly two timing because the writers are scum, but if you look at Eastern works the couple always reject the third party very sternly at every turn unless there's some kind of manipulation plot, but even then they reject the third party in the end.

Aerith is the third party. Cloud has shown zero interest in her, sneered and scoffed at her arrogantly going on about love, even if it's an illusion, and been totally devoted to Tifa to the point of almost ignoring Aerith in danger to favour being by Tifa's side even though she didn't really need his help at the time.

[iaintyourbro]

The New Red Herrings: Biggs and Zack and How Avalanche Tells Us the LTD is Dead

Biggs and Zack are seemingly alive at the end of FFVII Remake Part 1 - so what does that mean? Will they live throughout the story? Maybe they’ll be like Wedge and escape death initially, only to be forced to face it shortly after?

There’s also interesting similarities on the death scenes of Biggs and Zack, A while ago I took screenshots of the “death” scene of Biggs and thought it was interesting how they had Biggs touch Cloud’s head and also made him promise something. 

And how are all these things connected to the LTD? 

Now, clearly, neither Biggs or Jessie had as dramatic of a death as Zack or Aerith. We actually see the initial injury or incident that causes each of them to die. Cloud comes upon Biggs while he’s already sitting down injured. Cloud and Tifa come to Jessie after she’s under the rubble and try to save her. 

We know Cloud pretty much loses it when Zack dies. He collapses mentally. He’s already been through enough shit to fill a lifetime, and now his only friend, his best friend, and the guy who saved his life, dies trying to get them back to Midgar. 

Why Zack is Important to Cloud

Relationship wise, Cloud obviously had a much deeper connection to Zack. At the point that Biggs dies, he doesn’t know any of that, but I think his death definitely triggers something in him. Biggs saw through Cloud’s front. We know Biggs dealt with the kids at the Leaf House, and most likely acted like a volunteer in the Big Brother program. He tells Cloud he’s got a lot in common with the kids at the Leaf House.

Zack had Cloud take on the responsibility to be his living legacy. Of course we all know he shuts down about five minutes later. Biggs had Cloud promise that this wouldn’t all be for nothing. In both cases, it doesn’t work out. He forgets what Zack told him and the Sector 7 plate still falls. 

Zack’s death has a major impact on Cloud - it’s ultimately what breaks him. It also gives us these really sad moments of somebody who’s already been through so much and is breaking now. 

Cloud is upset about Biggs. He was becoming his friend. The three Avalanche members really did accept Cloud and tried to be his friend. He was included with them - in most cases. Of course there’s the Avalanche party that he’s kicked out of (mind you - he does this to himself by acting like an ass to Barret and them) and then during Chapter 4, he’s separated to go steal Jessie’s dad’s ID. 

Ultimately, though, we know that Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie all like Cloud. They seem to see through the hard exterior pretty easily. So Cloud loses another person in his life.

The ending of FFVII Remake takes an interesting turn. Anybody who played OG or CC knows what is supposed to happen to Biggs and Zack.

But, Remake’s ending seems to imply that they survive the event that was supposed to take them out. 

Did Zack survive the last stand? Is this a case of the Last Stand in CC being combined with OG where as they walk away, Zack ends up getting shot anyway? 

So we also see Biggs.... wait, wrong picture.

That’s the right one. We get a shot of Charlie Sheen Biggs waking up in a bed in what looks like some type of either infirmary or large room. In OG, we know that all three of the Avalanche members die during the Sector 7 plate fall. In Remake, the only one we get confirmation on is Jessie, and that’s only in the Chapter description. 

Wedge we know survives until the Shinra building, where the Whispers ultimately take him out since he defied fate. 

So, what will happen to Biggs?

The biggest thing talked about seems to be the ending. Zack surviving created a lot of buzz. Is there a second timeline? Is he going to just simply walk another 10 feet and get shot in the back? Did her survive in the first place? Why does Stamp look different on that bootleg chip bag?

Will we have a beautiful Zerith reunion? 

In the OG, the Love Triangle illusion was the red herring. This was mostly to trick and distract the player to focus on something, so later they can destroy you with major twists. It also was used to get the player to like Aerith so her death would be more impactful. In addition, it makes the whole Northern Crater confession from Cloud about Tifa’s opinion being the only one that matters a slam in your face of holy shit what is going on?!

At this point, everybody and their mother knows Aerith dies. It’s not something that was kept a secret. It’s referenced in various materials. The one thing not openly referenced is what’s going on with Cloud. They never reference the Lifestream, the fake persona, or anything outside of the OG and Ultimanias. I think this is a shame since it’s such an important part of his character arc, but I get that they want to try and leave the element of surprise in play.

I think everybody would agree that the moment you find out Cloud was just a grunt that was WITH Zack during the Nibelheim incident is super powerful. I still get chills all these years later. Letting this be a well known thing would take away the element of surprise from new fans. Of course, people can go online and read blogs like this one and know all of this, but for somebody - especially future generations - who may just be looking for a new game to play, you’d want this element of surprise to stay in tact. 

We can’t use Aerith as the only red herring anymore, and we can’t use the love triangle. For many reasons. Everybody knows about it and the love triangle was a poor choice for something like this because some people missed the point completely.

Now, FFVII Twitter is always on fire. 

Also, even though the Lifestream and Cloud’s true identity are pretty well kept secrets in terms of printed media, most of the people who played FFVII Remake played the original game, they know what happens. People who were new and played Remake first most likely went and bought OG and played it. So now they know what happens. 

They knew this, or they probably wouldn’t have shown Cloud in this state, but even for those who don’t, the alternate timeline theory is born. Biggs enhances this theory because he’s alive too. How can Cloud walk past them AND be carried by Zack in some catatonic state?

It keeps us distracted. They want us to think that fate can be changed. In the case of Zack, they’re even saying that the past can be changed. 

Ultimately, whatever they do, it’ll be shocking to most players. I do trust that the devs aren’t being deceitful when they say they are going to keep the major plot points the same and FFVII will be FFVII going forward. Part 1 keeps major plot points but adds substance to a lot of things. They took out unnecessary parts and enhanced others. They also removed a lot of the love triangle stuff. 

Another striking thing with all of this is the Jessie factor. The Chapter screen tells us she died - it only says Biggs was seriously injured. That hasn’t stopped speculation.

The ending shows gloves on the table next to Biggs’ bed and a lot people said oh it’s Jessie’s left glove! And it does appear that it is. There’s only one glove. To me, this seems like they recovered her body and were able to pull of some personal affects of hers to leave with Biggs. Both articles look damaged or faded. 

Faded could mean they’ve been sitting in the sun for a while. The incident happened a few days ago, though we don’t have a definitive time on when we’re shown Biggs. This could be a future look.

They also could simply be damaged and full of dust from the plate collapse. 

It is implied in Chapter 4 if you listen to the conversation between Jessie’s mom and the gang that Biggs and Jessie have a different relationship than Wedge and Jessie. 

I have some thoughts on what this may mean:

Biggs is Jessie’s BFF and her mom likes him.

Jessie and Biggs dated at one point and decided to not tell her mom that they no longer are or that its casual.

Jessie’s mom was hounding Jessie about finding a man so she picked Biggs to be her pretend boyfriend and he agreed.

Biggs and Jessie are secretly dating and only her mom knows.

Which one do I think it is? Well, knowing Jessie, I can definitely see her doing #3. I can absolutely see her acting like Biggs is her boyfriend to get her mom off her back. I think #1 and #2 are also huge possibilities. #4 is far fetched, but they could cover it up by having Jessie flirt relentlessly with Cloud and appear to be single. 

Some people think that Jessie will end up at the Gold Saucer singing. Personally, I really hope not. If they keep a bunch of people alive (even if it’s for a short amount of time), it really takes away one of the major themes of FFVII which is death and moving on. In addition, I think it’s too many people they’d need to kill off later. Jessie is a very popular character, so I hope they don’t take that as an incentive to change that aspect of the story. 

Aerith’s funeral and Jessie’s death are similar as well, so I think it is foreshadowing some things. 

We get a princess style carry here. Aerith and Jessie both get these in Remake. Jessie’s second one ends in her death. Will Aerith get a second princess carry by Cloud? Will it be to take her to her final resting place?

Maybe she won’t even go to the lake - maybe to the sky?

We know Tifa was super upset in OG, and they really don’t touch on it much. We only see her run away crying after this moment. You learn in Case of Tifa that she’s really upset about, but a lot of people don’t read Case of Tifa, so they only know this scene. 

We know that she gets very upset over Jessie’s death.

I think Aerith’s death will be much worse. 

It seems Jessie’s death is a reference to how Aerith’s death was handled in the OG.

Will it be handled the same? Maybe. I think they’re going to make it seem like she’s going to be okay, and then boom.

So the ending gives us hope that we have two friends that are alive. It makes us think that we can save Aerith. I do think Wedge’s death towards the end and comments that Red XIII made in Chapter 17 may also be hinting towards the fact that you cannot change the past and you cannot change fate. 

Over on Discord, @anesuna​ brought up a good point about Wedge’s cats. Biggums survives the plate collapse along with Wedge. The other two cats - Reggie and Smalls - sadly perish (::cries a lot::). This could also be a reference that Biggs survived while Jessie and Wedge do not. 

So what about the LTD?

I think this is a heavy reference to the old OG love triangle. Don’t fall for it! They’re warning players now instead of wanting them to fall for it. 

Why do I say this? Aerith seemed to think the love triangle was fun. Thing is, Cloud wasn’t all there at this point, so it was just an illusion. Since players didn’t seem to get that the first time, they’re going to make it clear now. There were a lot of aspects they seemed to take from Aerith and give to Jessie. Overly flirty (with Jessie they added thirsty) and being overly childish at times. Aerith in remake is still somewhat childish, but not completely.

Oblivious Cloud is Oblivious. Yeah, he was oblivious in OG that Aerith and Tifa had feelings for him. He has no idea what Wedge is talking about now. Earlier in this same conversation he thinks that Wedge is telling him not to come around because people will gossip about Jessie being in Avalanche, but the player knows really what he’s referring to...

I think this is probably a reference to the Gold Saucer date because of the stage part. I take things at face value and don’t really dig too deep, but I think this exchange with Wedge is supposed to tell the player not to fall for these false loves early in the game.

It’s brought up again during Aerith’s resolution scene.

Earlier Wedge said not to fall for Jessie’s trick, because it was a game to her. It wasn’t real love. Aerith is now telling her that if Cloud thinks he falls in love with her, it’s not real. 

We have two separate instances in the game where they’re telling you to beware of the false love. It’s two times the word love is used. 

After all of this, the ending presents us with two guys who should be dead that appear to be alive. One of them is directly connected to Aerith.

This was their way of trying to shut down the LTD and replace it with different red herrings. Will it work as well as the LTD? Well, it seems that the majority of FFVII Remake fans have talked about the ending.

Yes, a lot of people talk about the LTD, but I think the majority of players are more interested overall in what happens next and what’s up with Zack. I think the majority of the fandom is also ready for the LTD to officially be dead so we can actually focus on everything else and stop the madness. 

It’ll never fully stop, but at least it’ll be clear for anybody who plays the game and alleviate the bulk of the chaos. 

Say hello to your new red herrings: Biggs and Zack. 

Say bye to the LTD.

[dutchdread]

"The promised land, I think I can meet her there".

This article argues that it's unreasonable to see the line as a romantic gesture from Cloud, and that an alternative interpretation of the line as a comment concerning the impending doom is more likely. __________________________________________________

People try to use this to prove that Cloud wants Aerith ever since 1997. Now lets be clear here, this interpretation is patently absurd as soon as you think about it for more than 2 seconds. Do you really think for a second that Square would end the game with Cloud randomly telling Tifa as they're about to die, "you know what I want to tell you before we die? I don't love you and I'm glad I'm dying so I can be with another woman in the afterlife"? They wouldn't, this is the most unreasonable story interpretation I've ever heard, whatever that line is meant to mean, it wouldn't be that. Let's be clear here, the only people who think that this line is a genuine argument in favor of Clerith, are people who are already Cleriths. They see the line, and find it to be in line with their beliefs, and it is. The problem is that that's not how science is done. The question isn't whether or not a piece of evidence is in line with your point of view, it's whether it disproves the opposite point of view, which in this case it doesn't. (Also see: "The Wittgenstein test") It should be noted that arguments like these do not do Cleriths any favors, because in addition to proving nothing, they show something fundamentally problematic about the Clerith view of the story. In order to believe that this line in incompatible with a Cloti interpretation of the story, there are a number of tangentially related positions that you'd have to defend. 1: It's impossible to want to be reunited with anyone except if you love them romantically. 2: Cloud is an absolute asshole who would dump a woman he just had sex with, just as they're about to die. 3: Tifa is the worlds biggest simp. 4: This is how SE wants you to see their characters. In one fell swoop of a bad story interpretation you've undermined the importance of all other forms of love, you've undermined the importance of Clouds character arc concerning guilt. You've basically trampled on those who suffer from mental health issues by simplifying their issues into love cliches, you've made a villain of Clouds character, made a mockery of Tifas character, and revealed that you don't understand basic storytelling.

This is the fundamental problem with these arguments that cause many of us to develop a distinct distaste for Clerith as a ship, because when Cleriths attempt to argue in favor of it, it often comes in the form insults towards all characters and stories involved. You could have a story about Cloud loving Aerith, but if defending said story requires you to argue that Cloud would leave a girl with two children, one of which is dying, for no other reason besides being lovesick, then that does a disservice to the characters, the story, and the franchise in general. In a sense, by trying to defend Clerith like this you're insulting the entirety of Final Fantasy. Are there people who are assholes? Yes, are there people who get straight up "pumped and dumped"? Yes. Is that the sort of hero that SE is trying to show us? Obviously not. (for more information regarding this I advise you read: Insane hobbits article where he touches on the differences between clean and messy narratives) If SE wanted to end the game with Cloud proclaiming his love to Aerith in some way, they wouldn't have Tifa hanging on his side while he's doing it, and she wouldn't respond with "yeah, lets go meet her" like the universe biggest simp. So what is actually said? Well, I am not a translator, but as far as I can tell Japanese doesn't have pronouns and the line generally refers to meeting people in the promised land, which includes Tifa in the people going, and it's not specifically about Aerith. Is Aerith included? Of course, she's probably even the main person to meet there, she's certainly singled out as the person talked about by certain supplementary materials, but it's not a romantic sentiment, it's a tragic "we're about to die" sentiment, meant to convey a more generally positive message about being "reunited" with those who have died. The more likely paraphrasing for this scene is: "Cloud asks for an answer from the planet, the planet reveals the lifestream, Cloud and Tifa realize they're about to die. Cloud muses that he thinks he gets it now, they're all going to die and be reunited in the lifestream, both with each other, as well as those who have died, with Aerith being the most obvious and recent example." So is there any evidence for this? Well, for one there is the storyboard for the scene:

c「帰るぞティファ」 t「え？」 c「俺達も帰ってからやることがあった。まだ…あの山の向こうを見てない」 t「うん…帰ろう」

Cloud: "I'm going home Tifa" Tifa: "What?" Cloud "We had something to do after we got home. We haven't seen the other side of the mountain yet ..." Tifa: "Yeah ... let's go home"

"the other side of the mountain" is a reference to the mountains of Nibleheim, where Tifa believed the dead went. In other words, this is either a reference to them going home because they have stuff to do, which ties into the general idea that Cloud and Co had to live in order for their sins to be forgiven, as is evidenced by:

“I’m going to live. I think that’s the only way I can be forgiven. All sorts of things… happened.” ~Cloud in case of Tifa.

Or more likely it's be a reference to how they're about to die. Neither interpretation says anything about this scene being intended to be a romantic sign towards Aerith. Now, of course, the line was changed, and intentions can change during development. But if we're unsure on what the meaning of a line is, then going back to the storyboard is a pretty good way to get context.

Page 27 of the FFVII Ultimania omega:

"They're talking about", confirming that this is a mutual discussion, and not Cloud in isolation.

Page 203 of the FFVII Ultimania omega:

Provides context for the intended ideas the line is meant to convey. It calls back to earlier concepts concerning death not being the end, and is something Cloud and Tifa talk about together.

From: Final Fantasy Art Museum movie card ( https://twitter.com/dorobbongie )

These are not prescriptive canon, but descriptively they can give us some indication of how we're supposed to interpret the line.

Also reinforces the idea that the final line is meant as a more inclusive statement concerning reunions after death. Taking these points into consideration it becomes unreasonable to take the "I think I can meet her there" as a shipping line between Cloud and Aerith. If it were:

SE wouldn't have hung Tifa from Clouds hips.

Wouldn't have had Tifa agree with the idea.

Wouldn't have done it as the two were about to die.

Wouldn't have the storyboard refer to a shared journey beyond the mountains.

And most importantly, SE wouldn't have followed it up with Cloud commenting moments later that he's going to live in order to atone for his sins, and that things would be different now that he has Tifa. Clearly meeting again in the afterlife was more of an immediate danger rather than an immediate goal:

As Tifa looked away from the sky towards the ground, she was fearful of the future. However, Cloud beside her chose to smile gently. It was a smile that she hadn’t seen before during their journey. Cloud noticed her gaze and asked, “What’s wrong?” “Cloud, you’re smiling.” “I am?” “Yeah.” “It all starts now. A new…” Cloud looked for the right words. “A new life.” “I’m going to live. I think that’s the only way I can be forgiven. All sorts of things… happened.” “That’s right…” “But when I think about how many times I’ve thought about how I was going to start a new life, it’s funny.” “Why?” “Because I’ve always failed everything.” “That’s not funny.” “After this … I think I’ll be okay.” Cloud was silent for a long time before he spoke again. “Because I have you this time.” “You’ve always had me.” “What I mean is kind of different,” Cloud answered with another smile. -Case of Tifa; revised; released with ACC.

__________________________________________ thank you "thelifestream.net" for some of this information, as well as Kagesakura (https://otp-oasis-heavenxearth.tumblr.com).

[lockefanfic]

Business Trip - Part 2

 “You’re wrong! Cloud clearly felt stronger feelings towards Tifa.”

 “No, you’re the one that’s wrong. Did you know Aerith was the default choice for the date scene? And what about the fact that Cloud and Aerith are in Final Fantasy Tactics and Kingdom Hearts together? If you still think Cloud belonged with Tifa, you’re crazy.”

 As if to emphasize her point, Minatozaki Sana makes a cute pouty gesture with her lower lip before downing the rest of her glass of beer. It was relatively noisy in the busy izakaya you were both having dinner in, but Sana’s voice still had no problems drowning out all the other voices around you; apparently, the love lives of fictional characters was a passionate subject for her.

 “Okay, okay, you win. I guess maybe Cloud was meant to be with Aerith.”

 “That’s right!” she says in her charming, mildly accented English, “I can be very aggressive.”

 “Aggressive? You mean, persuasive.”

 “Yes, that’s the word. Persuasive. But I’m also aggressive.”

 “Really?” you ask, allowing a little flirtatiousness to your tone.

 “Really,” she replies, a small smile forming on the corners of her lips, returning the flirtation with some of her own. She lets the word linger in the silence between you for a second, before her smile widens, the cuteness returns with a giggle, and she reaches for another chicken yakitori.

It’s been quite the busy afternoon, and Sana has proven quite the capable tour guide, taking you to all the major tourist destinations in town as well as a few lesser known ones. You quite enjoyed the hours you spent in Akihabara, watching as Sana hunted down an apparently elusive figurine of a Final Fantasy character and picked up copies of her favorite mangas from three different bookstores.

 The afternoon with her made it obvious that most of her charm came from the innocent naivete that pervaded every part of her personality. Her accented English perhaps played a large part in that charm, but there was no denying that she was also ridiculously beautiful, with large, expressive eyes and a round face with cute, small features. She had a fit body to match - not quite as fit as Momo’s, mind you, as Sana’s was more shapely and feminine; however, it was mostly her innocence and that cute, sweet face that attracted you to her.

 But she also had a playful, flirtatious side - an innocent “accidental” touch or graze here or there, a soft pat on on the forearm whenever you made a joke, her suggestive jokes whenever you encountered something lewd or sexual in your journies throughout Tokyo (the incidences of which were surprisingly common).

 It was refreshing, in a way, to spend time with a woman who was in many ways the exact opposite of Hirai Momo. Where Momo was upfront about her intentions and confident in her sexuality, Sana was shy and playful; she liked to flirt, apparently, although she did so in a less overtly obvious way than Momo did.

 “So where else did you want to go this week?” Sana says as she chews on her yakitori stick, “Perhaps we should go to Ginza or Roppongi with Momo? I know a few nice izakayas there.”

 “Sure, that’d be nice,” you reply, “I’m getting kind of tired, though. It’s been a long day. My feet are killing me!” You enjoyed every minute of Sana’s whirlwind tour of Tokyo, but all the walking, not to mention your activities with Momo that morning, had worn you out.

 Sana giggles, her giggle a musical sound amidst the loudness of the izakaya, before nodding in understanding. A waitress happens to be passing by, and she flags her down to request the bill. You reach for the bill when the waitress returns with it, but Sana snatches it away.

 “This is my treat! Now you’re debted to me,” she says with a smile that is mostly cuteness on the outside, and a hint of suggestiveness. You smile back, both at the suggestiveness of her comment and at the fact that she used the phrase “debted to me” instead of something more casual, like “you owe me.” Either way, you found it charming.

 You both gather your things (consisting mainly of Sana’s shopping bags filled with geeky sundries) and head to the door. Once Sana has paid and you are both outside, you pull out your phone to map your way back to the hotel, only to find that the battery has died.

 “Dammit, my phone’s dead,” you say dejectedly, “can you tell me which stations I need to get to to get back to the hotel?”

 “Oh, darn,” she says, and you find her use of the word darn intensely endearing, “well, I have a battery pack at my apartment and it’s only three stops from here, if you want to borrow it?”

 The idea of getting lost in a foreign city without a working phone to guide you back to your hotel is daunting, so you decide to take her up on her offer.

 “Sure,” you say, “lead the way!” Sana smiles brightly at your response before you head towards the nearest subway station side by side.

 ---

 Apparently, being an interpreter for a large international business paid well enough to afford a pretty swanky apartment in downtown Tokyo. Sana’s residence was small, as most apartments in Tokyo tended to be, but it was modern, well-designed, and filled with a ton of geeky anime and video game related collectibles.

 You had expected her to dart into her apartment to pick up the battery pack while you waited at the door, but she insisted that you check out the view from her window, which apparently was spectacular - and it really was. Looking out over the bustling Shinjuku district, Tokyo appeared as a dazzling array of moving and blinking lights, stretching out over what seemed to be an impossibly long distance. Nightfall had just begun to creep over the city, and the last vestiges of the daylight began to disappear into the distant horizon.

 “Pretty, yes?” Sana asks as she stands next to you.

 “Definitely,” you agree, although much of your attention was devoted to admiring Sana’s reflection in the window, “it’s gorgeous.”

 You notice Sana’s smile grow wider in the window reflection.

 “I have a question,” she asks, her tone shy and demure.

 “Yes?.”

 “You and HIrai-san… or, Momo. Are you... sleeping together?”

 The question catches you off guard, but you nonetheless respond with a smile.

 “Was it that obvious?”

 “No,” Sana says, “but girls have ways of knowing.”

 “Are you disappointed?” You wonder if perhaps your relationship with Momo, as purely platonic as it was, had ruined any shot you had with Sana. Even worse, you wonder if perhaps she thought less of you for sleeping with a woman you weren’t in any sort of romantic relationship with.

 “No, no,” she replied, waving her hand in front of her in that cute gesture Japanese girls do, “Not at all. Hirai-san is very beautiful. I can see how you can be attracted to her.” You notice that she has has reverted to calling Momo “Hirai-san” - perhaps it is instinctual.

 “We’re just friends,” you say, eager to set the record straight, “nothing more. We just get lonely on business trips, I guess,” you add, in a lame attempt to justify yourself - the second the words leave your mouth you wonder if perhaps you shouldn’t have said them.

 “No, I understand, you don’t have to explain,” says the young woman next to you, “it happens.”

 A moment of silence passes between you, both pairs of eyes searching the Tokyo skyline for something to say, hoping to find some new conversation starter amongst the flashing lights and tall buildings.

 “Even though you’re just friends, do you have feelings for Hirai-san?”

 “No,” you answer, surprising yourself with how quickly the words came, “not right now, anyway. We’re just friends, and that’s all.”

 Sana nods.

 “Did you like what you’ve seen of Tokyo?” she asks.

 “Definitely,” you answer, “it was amazing. I can’t wait to see more of it.”

 “I’ll show you whatever you want to see.”

 As Sana says those words she turns to you with a bright smile. You are struck in that moment by how beautiful she looks, the neon blues and greens of Tokyo’s evening lights playing on one side of her face whilst her apartment’s lights paint the other side of it in warm yellow. It is almost surreal; her face looks like it was drawn by a painter.

 What she does next surprises you - swiftly, gracefully, she moves so that she is between you and the window, her back against the glass, your view suddenly filled with her warm, beautiful face. Her proximity makes you fully aware of everything about her - her gorgeous face, the way her one-piece sweater dress hugs the soft, feminine curves of her body, the slight hint of perfume she is wearing. You harbor strong, perhaps undefined feelings for Momo, but the young woman standing in front of you presents such a strong contrast to her. Both are wonderful young women that any man would be pleased to have any sort of relationship with; but each are wonderful in their own, different way.

 It dawns on you that her inquiries about Momo earlier were just to ensure that she wasn’t getting in the way of anything; now that she was sure you were merely friends, she could make her move. It was a small gesture, but one that you respected.

 She stands still for a moment, allowing you a moment to adjust to her sudden closeness. Then she looks up at you with those eyes - those large, round, impossibly deep eyes - and after holding your gaze for a moment she raises her head so that your noses touch. She lingers there for a split second - although it seemed like forever - and then suddenly you are both kissing, your lips crashing together as the romantic and sexual tension that has been building up all afternoon between you is finally released.

 Her arms wrap themselves around your neck and yours wrap around her slim waist, your arms fully aware of the relative thinness of her grey sweater dress, happy to find that she is likely not wearing anything aside from her underwear beneath it. As your hands wander around her back her tongue enters your mouth in a move you weren’t quite ready for. You remember her statement from earlier about how she could be aggressive - she certainly was.

 Minutes pass as you explore each others’ mouths, relishing the newfound intimacy with another human being that Sana has initiated. You are content to stand there, making out with her against the glass of her apartment window, but clearly that is not all she has in mind. You feel her fingers working your belt, and within seconds she has your pants loosened.

 You suddenly realize what that means - what she has in mind for the evening. The girl didn’t waste any time. She breaks the kiss and looks you straight in the eye.

 “Keep admiring the view,” she says, a devilish look in those eyes that seconds before you had thought were so innocent.

 With that, Sana lowers herself to her knees, hooking her fingers into your pants and dragging them down with her. From this position on her knees, she was below the windowsill, and thus no one looking into her apartment could know she was there. Sana tugs your pants down your legs and you kick them free.

 Seconds later your boxers follow suit, and before you knew it your manhood has sprung free. Sana wastes no time in grasping your mostly hard shaft with her soft, delicate fingers, while her nose - her cute, button nose - brushes up against its base. Then her small tongue darts out quickly, placing small, wet licks up your shaft until she reaches your tip - and at this point, you are hard as a rock. Satisfied that you are fully erect, she pumps your shaft a few times with her soft hand, before pulling it down slightly and taking it into her warm mouth.

 No straight male in the world could have possibly kept their eyes off that sight, and so despite her insistence that you keep admiring Tokyo’s skyline, your find yourself looking down at the young Japanese girl kneeling in front of you with your shaft in her mouth. Sana giggles softly as she looks up and sees that you have failed in the task she has given you.

 “You’ve failed the mission,” she says with a giggle.

 “Oh no. Do I get punished?”

 “No punishment,” she says, eyes still locked with yours, her hand giving you two quick strokes that send shivers of pleasure up your spine, “only pleasure.”

 With that, she takes your cock back into her mouth and continues her blowjob. As she takes your shaft in and out of her small, warm, wet mouth, you force yourself to stare out the window, and even you can’t help but be hit by the ridiculous naughtiness of the situation - there you were, standing at an apartment window in downtown Tokyo, getting a blowjob from a beautiful young woman you had met the day before (and someone you technically worked with, at that) - and no one looking up at you from the street could have known.

 Added to this was the fact that just minutes before, you had Sana pegged as an innocent, naive young woman - and now she was on her knees in front of you, taking your length in and out of her mouth.

 Momo gave amazing head, but Sana was no slouch either, using her grip on your shaft and working her fingers in a corkscrew motion as she pumped them up and down along your length, her mouth focused on taking only your head and the first inch or two into her mouth at a time, her tongue playing circular patterns on the very tip.

 Your gaze returns to watch Sana’s head bobbing up and down your cock, and while you were never one to turn down a blowjob (particularly one in such erotic circumstances as this), you also knew that she deserved just as much pleasure as you did.

 “Stop, Sana,” you say, bringing your hands to her cheeks and slowly easing her off your cock. She lets the head pop out of her mouth, and the look of her large, round eyes looking up at you in surprise arouses you to no end.

 “It’s your turn to look out the window,” you say, and you pull her up by her shoulders until she is standing up again. Before she has time to say anything, you have switched positions so that she is now facing out the window - and you are down on your knees in front of her.

 You waste no time - why should you, when she certainly didn’t? You quickly bring both of your hands up and draw the hem of her tight, short sweater dress up until it is bunched around her hips, revealing the simple pink thong she is wearing beneath. There is a small, pink bow on the front of the garment’s waistline, which you find cute - but even more alluring is the significant damp spot between her slightly spread thighs. You bring both of your hands to her warm, full ass cheeks, taking a moment to admire their firmness, before hooking your fingers into the waistband of her thong and pulling them down.

 The second her underwear hits the floor your mouth moves forward, and your tongue darts out, giving her a long, deep lick, burying your nose and mouth as far between her thighs as it would go given her standing position. Your reward is a loud, startling gasp of pleasure that escapes Sana’s lips, and as she takes a moment to compose herself, you savor her sweet, slightly tangy taste on your tongue. You look up to watch her quivering face as she struggles with every ounce of self control to keep her gaze outside her window, her beautiful features wracked with pleasure. Anyone glancing up at her window from the street would probably only notice her silhouette, not realizing there was a man pleasuring her at that very moment with his tongue.

 Before going in for a second lick, you bring the middle finger of your right hand up and drag it up her slit before digging slightly between her lips, playing around her entrance, her abundant juices lubricating your digit easily. As your finger teases her entrance you return your mouth to her crotch, your tongue darting out, spending long seconds teasing her, playing with her warm, wet flesh, before you find what you are looking for - that warm, hard, small nub that is the centre of her pleasure.

 When you find it, you immediately penetrate her simultaneously with your middle finger - and the effect is immediate, to say the least, as Sana’s hips quiver sharply and a wordless gasp of pleasure escapes her lips. You are merciless, and this time you don’t give her time to recover as you continue, your tongue weaving random circular patterns around her clit whilst your finger pumps in and out of her drenched slit, curving slightly to scratch that rough, wavy patch at the front of her pussy.

 “Fuck!” Sana gasps, the English swear word being the first recognizable word that you can make out amidst a stream of syllables that might have been Japanese, “Fuck! It feels so good!”

 You take that to mean that you’re doing it right, and after a couple of minutes of steadily increasing pressure, you take a moment to introduce a second finger into her pussy as your index finger joins the one already inside her body. Almost immediately Sana’s pussy tightens around your questing fingers, and in a moment of pure pleasure, she cums.

 “Oh! Fuck!!”

 Her hands find your head, and her nails dig almost painfully into your skull as she finds release, her body shaking and quivering as the waves of pleasure finally break and overwhelm the young woman, her legs threatening to give out beneath her. Your tongue darts out and continues to give her clit soft, wide licks, flattening your tongue against the part of her pussy that is left exposed, savoring the increase of delicious juice flowing from her body.

 Eventually the aftershocks cease. You look up at Sana to find her her round, beautiful face flushed with pleasure, her once tidy and neat hair now sweaty and unkempt, strands of black and purple hair plastered against her cheeks. You try to remove your fingers from her body, but her tightness won’t let you.

 “Let me go,” you say with a smile, and Sana giggles at the ridiculousness of your demand. The smile is still on her lips as you are finally able to remove your fingers from her body, your fingers drenched in her slick juices. She lowers herself until you are both sitting on the floor, your back up against the wall as she sits in your lap. She dives in for a kiss that is full of desire and lust, evidently uncaring that her juices are still in your mouth.

 “I’ll do whatever you want,” she says, tearing her lips from yours for a second before kissing a path to your left ear, “You can do whatever you want to me. Just fuck me.”

 The aggressiveness of this girl continues to surprise you, and you take a moment to draw the moment out, teasing her with feigned indecisiveness as she plants soft kisses on your neck and ear. You savor the moment - here you were, sitting on the floor of an apartment in downtown Tokyo, with a gorgeous young woman in your lap that was willing to do whatever you wanted, her dripping pussy rubbing your hard shaft even as her juices stained your lips and fingers.

 The possibilities cycle in a split-second across your mind, although you realize that there was no need to do anything too crazy - it was best to start with the basics.

 “Take your clothes off,” you tell her.

 Sana’s response is to reach down and grasp the hem of her sweater before pulling up and over her head, tossing it aside. She was not as well endowed as Momo was, but her round breasts are well shaped and perfectly proportioned to her body, held in place and pushed up deliciously by a simple pink bra that happened to have a pink bow at the front that matched her thong.

 Patience, apparently, was not a word that was in Minatozaki Sana’s vocabulary, and almost as immediately as she as able she reaches behind her to undo her bra clasp, before pulling it forward and throwing it away. Her soft breasts sway slightly, newly freed from their lace prison, and Sana leans forward, allowing you access to her chest.

 Her breasts are on the smaller side but no less alluring, and as the warm flesh dangles deliciously in front of your face, you bring both hands up, cupping them both from the side and allowing your thumbs to reach up and play with her quickly hardening nipples. Sana lets a soft moan escape her lips, and at that sound you lean your head forward and take her left nipple in your mouth, your tongue happy to taste another part of this young woman’s flesh, swirling around the hardened tip in random patterns. The Japanese girl leans her head back and moans as you continue to suckle her breast, your other hand taking her right nipple between a thumb and index finger and teasing it similarly. A deep, wordless growl of pleasure torn from Sana’s throat is your reward, and you are acutely aware of the wetness between her thighs pressing against your crotch, as she rubs and grinds herself onto your erect cock.

 Seconds, minutes, maybe hours pass while you play with Sana’s chest - you cared little for how much time passes while you enjoy a young woman’s body. But eventually you tear yourself away from her chest and look straight into her eyes.

 “Ride my dick,” you say, and Sana returns your statement with a look that is full of lust. Gone is the innocent; naive girl you thought she was - now there was only lust, and passion, and desire written all over her face and body.

 Reaching between your bodies - which are at this point hot and covered with a film of sweat - she takes your cock with gentle fingers and aims it for her entrance, still drenched with her sweet juices. She allows the head to penetrate her, rotating her hips whilst it is just inside her lips - the teasing is wonderful and sends soft pleasure radiating from your body, but as you have realized, when it came to sex, Minatozaki Sana had little patience when it came to sexual matters.

 All at once, she thrusts her hips down, taking you into her body. Both of you gasp loudly, and you find yourself realizing again that no possible other sensation on earth could possibly equal the pleasure of first penetration. Every woman you have ever entered has felt different, and Sana is no exception - she was ridiculously tight, the outer muscles of her pussy squeezing every inch of your cock deliciously as you enter her.

 Sana takes a brief moment with you fully impaled inside her, perhaps allowing herself to become accustomed to your size. Before long, she is raising her hips, drawing your cock out of her body, and as soon as only the head remains inside, she is sliding down your shaft again.

 Her pussy feels amazing around your cock, and while Momo’s was soft and wet, she was not nearly as tight as Sana, whose insides constantly felt like a hot vice of moist silk pressing against every bit of your shaft as it entered and exited her body. She was probably the tightest you had ever had.

 “Fuck!” Sana exclaims as she continues to bounce up and down, grinding herself against your crotch, “It feels so good… fuck… you’re so big! Ahhh!”

 You take a moment to savor the sight and feel of her body bouncing up and down on your lap, her soft breasts bouncing freely, her thin arms bracing her weight against your chest and shoulders. Momo’s body was in amazing shape, more like a supermodel or an athlete - Sana was no slouch and was also fit, but she was slightly softer, with more feminine curves and more meat on her bones in general. You found yourself admiring her round, full thighs and the way they slammed against yours as they flex up and down with effort, raising and lowering her body in an attempt to drive you as deep as she could inside her.

 Her long, graceful neck is extended as she throws her head back and allows a long moan to escape her lips, followed by a mixture of Japanese and English syllables as she continues to impale herself again and again on your shaft, every muscle in her body working towards the pursuit of pleasure. There was something intensely intoxicating about watching a young girl who was so demure, so feminine in public, become such a fiercely passionate woman in the throes of lust. She was not slutty, nor was she overly fierce or aggressive - she was merely a young woman who knew what she wanted with sex, and she wasted no time in getting it.

 “Fuck! Your cock… feels so good inside me. You like… you like my pussy?”

 “Fuck yes,” you answer, your brain barely able to form the words amidst all the pleasure. The way her accent tinges the words ‘fuck’ and ‘pussy’ makes them infinitely sexier.

 Her tightness is almost overwhelming, her pussy’s grip around your cock intoxicating. You want her to ride you until you cum, want to pull her hips down into yours and drive yourself as deep into her body as you can before you spill into her...but you also have another idea in mind - revenge.

 “Stop, Sana,” and again Sana’s flushed, pleasure wracked face is surprised at your command. You hesitantly, slowly push her off until your cock pops out of her grasping pussy with a pop that is accompanied with a sigh of dismay from the young woman. You take a moment while she is sitting on the floor to quickly pull your sweater up and over your head, so you are both finally fully naked.

 You bring yourself to your knees, then to your feet, and taking her hands, you pull her up as well so that she is standing - but then you turn her around, and push slightly on her back so that she is leaning her hands against the windowsill and bent over, her round ass in the air - then, wasting as little time as possible, you grasp your slick, wet cock with one hand and penetrate her from behind.

 “Fuck!” Sana says, the word almost a shout, as you begin to fuck her against the window, obvious for anyone to see were they to peer into the window of her apartment - not that either of you gave a damn about that aside from that fact that it added another layer of raunchiness to your fucking.

 “Tokyo… is… gorgeous,” you say between thrusts into her pussy, driving home the naughtiness of the situation and getting a little revenge for her earlier teasing.

 A stream of passionate, lustful sounds erupts from the young woman’s throat. Some of it sounded vaguely Japanese.

 “Shut up and fuck me,” she says - there was no misunderstanding that.

 She felt even tighter in this position, as if such a thing were possible. You watch as each thrust into her round ass rocks her body, sending a shock through her full thighs and through her slim, graceful back and her thin arms. She had a little more meat on her lower body than Momo did and you appreciated the sight of every thrust jiggling the soft flesh of her thighs and ass.

 “Fuck! Fuck me! Just like that… You’re so deep!”

 Sana throws her head back, sending strands of black and purple hair flying. You grip her waist tightly, pulling her back towards you as you thrust forward, in an attempt to somehow get deeper into her tight, willing, wet body, making every effort to fuck her even a fraction of an inch deeper than you already were, that delicious friction between your bodies overwhelming every part of your brain.

 The thrill of it all - the fact that you had each gone down on each other while facing the window, the fact that you were now straight up fucking this girl for anyone looking up at the window to see - it was starting to drive you towards that point of no return. The thrill, the audacity of the action is one thing, but there was no denying that Sana’s tight, grasping pussy was the main driving force towards your impending orgasm.

 Before it came, though, you had to make sure she was safe.

 “Fuck, I’m gonna cum, Sana. Where.. Can I...”

 “I’m… I’m gonna cum too,” she says, the words barely discernable amidst the stream of moans and soft noises of pleasure that are escaping her mouth, “I’m… I’m cumming!”

 Sana writhes suddenly in a way that she hasn’t before as the pleasure suddenly erupts in an orgasm that she would later tell you took her completely by surprise, her pussy contracting and releasing in pulses around your still thrusting shaft. It is almost unbearable, and whereas before you were merely close to orgasm, the feel of her pussy now meant you were mere moments away.

 “Sana… I’m so close. Where…”

 “Inside! I want it inside!” she says, her answer almost a shout, “Cum with me. Please! Cum inside me!”

 That was all you needed to know, and you willingly threw yourself into the pursuit of orgasm as you thrust deeper and deeper into Sana’s pussy, driving her quivering body forward against the window. Her hands search for something, anything to grasp, both of your bodies orgasming at near the same time, both of you reaching that wonderful plateau together.

 In a split second it hits you all at once - the fact that you were fucking her in front of an open window, the soft, wetness of her body, the moans of desire that spill unbidden from the young woman’s lips as you drive in and out of her wonderfully tight pussy as she is locked in the throes of orgasm - and you join her as you cum as well.

 You grip her hips tightly as with one last stroke you drive yourself as deep as you can go inside Minatozaki Sana’s body. Warm, hot semen erupts from your cock and into the welcoming depths of her pussy, and with each spurt you give short, quick thrusts to elongate and multiply the pleasure that flows outward from your crotch like a tidal wave.

 Time loses all meaning - you would have stayed there for a year if you could have, buried deep inside her body, but eventually your strength and hers gives out, and you both fall to your knees on the floor. Through some miracle (perhaps it is the tightness of her pussy not wanting to let you go), you maintain your connection, and as you both hit the floor you remain deep inside her.

 There are no words spoken, and every effort is given to heavy breathing and recovery from the intense session. You admire the sight of Sana bent over, one hand still gripping the edge of the windowsill above her head as though she were afraid to let go of it. The rest of her is slumped and bent over in front of you, her black and purple hair hiding her face. The most alluring sight of all is her back and full, round ass, between which your cock was still impaling her pussy, her lips tight around your softening shaft as though unwilling and unable to let it go.

 “Let me go,” you say finally between heavy breaths, and Sana giggles in response despite her fatigue. Eventually your cock softens enough that you are able to withdraw it, and seconds after you remove it you are delighted to see a thin stream of thick white liquid appear and begin to flow down her full, flushed thighs.

 “That was… that was…” Sana begins, and you could see that she is searching for the right English words in her head, “fucking amazing.”

 It’s your turn to let out a small laugh. Sana finally falls onto her side on the floor, and you join her, propping yourself up on your left arm so you are facing her, your right hand palming and massaging her butt. You brush her hair away from her sweaty brow to reveal the same cute, lovely face of the afternoon’s tour guide, but flushed and painted with the afterglow of sex.

 You lean down for a kiss that is less passionate, and more emotional. When you break your kiss you notice the soft smile on Sana’s lips.

 “I can’t believe we did that,” Sana says, “anyone could have seen you fucking me.”

 “I guess so,” you say with a shrug.

 “Whatever,” Sana says, “it was fucking hot.”

 You both share a smile.

 “Sana… this was… just sex, right?”

 “Of course,” she answers quickly, “it was just sex. Fucking amazing sex.”

 You are thankful that she sees it the same way - for a moment you are afraid that perhaps she had thought differently. She was a wonderful, gorgeous girl inside and out, but the fact of the matter was you had little to tie you together except for a single afternoon in a foreign land - and the fact that you technically worked for the same company.

 You cursed the fact that you lived on opposite sides of the planet, and wonder what would have happened had you met her on the sidewalk back home.

 But nonetheless you are happy your paths have crossed, if even for a day - and she did promise to see more of you in the five days you had left before you went back home. And at the very least, you had a new friend in Tokyo whenever your business trips led you there.

 “I should clean up,” Sana says, interrupting your reverie, “you were like a fire hydrant.”

 You laugh as Sana finally gets up on shaky legs, and admire her small, thin form as she gets up and walks towards the bathroom. When Momo did the same after your sessions in the morning you found your eyes glued to her ass - strangely, your eyes are only watching the back of her head as Sana walks away, cursing the fact that such a wonderful young woman lived so far away from you.

 ---

 “I guess this is what you came for,” Sana says as she presses the small battery pack into your hand. You smile as you plug your phone into it and slip both items into your jacket. You are at her apartment door, and about to head out back to the hotel.

 You had both spent a few minutes recovering, sitting on her kitchen table and sharing a random assortment of Japanese snacks she had lying around, even making a game of it where she would place a random snack in your mouth and you had to guess what the ingredients were. It was made even more difficult by the fact that Sana was wearing what was probably the most distracting t-shirt in the world, a pale blue, thin cotton shirt with a frog on it that was low-cut enough to reveal some delicious cleavage and barely, just barely covered her nether regions. If she were to lift her arms, it would raise the shirt and expose herself - she clearly knew what she was doing when she chose that shirt to put on.

 Alluring t-shirts aside, it was getting late, and as much as you would have gladly spent the night there, you knew it would probably be best if you headed back to the hotel.

 Sana is watching as you slip your shoes back on. You turn to her once you are ready to go.

 “So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

 “Yes!” Sana says, her face bright with enthusiasm, “we can go see that giant Gundam. And we can go to Tokyo Skytree! The view from the top is amazing.”

 “I don’t think it would be as good as it is here,” you say suggestively.

 “Maybe we can make it better,” Sana retorts, a naughty, teasing look in her eyes. How was it possible for a girl to look so innocent and so racy at the same time?

 “Good night, Minatozaki Sana,” you say finally.

 “Oyasumi,” she answers, her voice soft and barely above a whisper.

 As she gives you a short bow, she lifts her head and looks straight into your eyes, and for the second time you find yourself cursing the fact that she lived thousands of miles away. You wonder what might have been had she, or you, simply been born in the same city.

 These thoughts give you a sort of sudden sadness, and you turn to make your way back to the hotel. As you step out the door, you feel her catch your upper arm with her hand. Before you can turn fully, she reaches up and plants a kiss on your cheek, before giving you a smile, her cheeks flushed red with emotion. You smile back at her sweet, lovely face, before you finally step out her door and take the first steps to the nearest subway station.

 Ten minutes later, you are sitting in the subway when your phone vibrates. Pulling it out of your jacket (along with Sana’s battery pack), you read the text you have received.

 MinatozakiSana says: Do you know what the Japanese phrase "3P" means?

 You take a moment to ponder the term, but it doesn’t ring any bells. You reply to Sana’s text and tell her that you are unfamiliar with it.

 MinatozakiSana says: Hehehe. ^^ Good night. <3

 You are puzzled by what it could possibly mean, and so you turn to your good friend Google for the answers. Your Google-fu is strong, and within minutes you know what 3P means - it is right there in front of you in black and white, on the screen of your phone:

 “3P is a popular Japanese term for a threesome.”

 You smile to yourself as you get off the subway and head towards your hotel. You hoped Momo were still awake, as you had much to discuss.

[melinabeana]

hi! i saw you arguing about how zerith and cloti shippers often demean the women in the pairings by saying they 'belong' to the men (and i agree). i know you're a clerith shipper, but i was wondering if you could help me pinpoint why people saying aerith is cloud's 'default' interest makes me feel the same? like she's somehow lesser or inferior. it feels like an insult to her, instead of somehow making her or the ship seem better or more supported. the argument is...uncomfortable

Hi! If I’m understanding you correctly, you’re saying that people will say Aerith is Cloud’s ‘default’ love interest in the game as a form of evidence in support of Clerith. 

If that’s the case, that is an incredibly weak and lazy piece of evidence. I think just the existence of Cloud and Aerith is enough evidence, but let me explain why I have always supported Clerith. Cloud and Aerith are so similar and yet so different. They both grew up in less than ideal situations. They both grew up alone and lonely, during a time when creating relationships and having friends is so important as a child. Cloud develops a superiority and hero complex, enter Tifa, who enables the behavior. We know Cloud is not the typical hero, and quite frankly, he is in no position to play hero. He’s not always very good at it, so when he fails, it becomes even more detrimental to his self-esteem. 

Aerith refuses to play the damsel, insisting she’s not a princess who needs to be coddled and saved, even when she could definitely use the help. But, Cloud and Aerith save each other, and Aerith is more than capable of keeping up with Cloud. We see this in battle and throughout their time in the Colosseum. Also, Cloud doesn’t have this silly ‘promise’ to always save her lingering in the back of his mind at all times. Aerith does not rely on Cloud. She has her own dreams and aspirations apart from Cloud. She can save herself and she can save Cloud and she’s happy to do both. 

Cloud doesn’t respect Aerith when they first meet. Cloud doesn’t really respect anyone when we first meet him. It’s all about the paycheck for him. But, we very quickly see, during their time on the rooftops together that Cloud grows to respect Aerith, arguably more than any other character in the game. She laughs off his backhanded comments and it becomes a game between the two. It becomes their way of communicating and their way of joking with one another. This is healthy behavior, as long as it’s not one-sided.

They poke fun at one another, because they know it won’t hurt the other’s feelings. This brings a sense of comfort to Cloud. He can relax and be himself around Aerith. He doesn’t have to worry about opening his mouth at the wrong time or saying the wrong thing. He doesn’t have to worry about being scolded for not being nice enough. We have to remember that the developers told us that Cloud still has the mentality of a sixteen year old boy. Sixteen year old boys are not ‘nice.’ They can be sarcastic bullies who often pick on those they have crushes on the most. 

Aerith doesn’t let him get away with his sarcasm and bullying. She laughs it off or gives it right back to him. He starts to see Aerith as an equal. Aerith has to learn patience with Cloud. She’s impulsive and typically says whatever’s on her mind. Cloud is incredibly socially awkward, to a point where he doesn’t even know how or care to high-five anyone. Cloud grows with Aerith. Once they’re in Wall Market, I think she forgets herself a little, and starts pushing Cloud hard. But ultimately, he agrees because he knows Aerith won’t judge him and he has her support. Before Wall Market, Aerith doesn’t push Cloud.

There are two very important character defining moments for Cloud during his time with Aerith. The flowers and the high-five - neither of which Aerith tells him to do. She doesn't tell him to scold the flowers for her. She doesn’t even think he’ll believe her. Knowing Cloud, he probably doesn’t believe her. But, he can see she’s upset and he can see how important this is to her, so he listens while she talks and he scolds them for upsetting her. This is so important in a relationship. You don’t have to share everything in common, but you should respect your partner’s interests, even if they don’t interest you. 

Aerith doesn’t ever say a word to Cloud about him not high-fiving her, but she also doesn’t hide her emotions very well either, which is good for Cloud. As someone who is clearly socially inept in some regard, Cloud needs someone who will tell him or show him how they actually feel. He can’t necessarily read between the lines. She frowns and sighs when he doesn’t reciprocate and he looks at his hand and clearly shows signs of confusion. Part of me thinks Cloud is wondering if something so simple, that he could do, could actually make her happy and it does. 

Again, Cloud is stuck with this hero complex. He believes he has to save the girl to win her affection. I think Aerith confuses him. Is he actually gaining her affection by just listening to her and spending time with her and high-fiving her? Of course he is! 

One of the most frustrating pieces of ‘evidence’ I see supporting Cloud and Tifa is that they need each other. This is so unhealthy. You should never need a single person. They should be a form of support, but they should not be your only support. What happens when that relationship ends? You’ve lost your only support and you’ll crumble. Tifa is essentially a representation of all of Cloud’s past failures. Aerith and Cloud need to move on from their pasts and that doesn’t make them cowards and that’s not unhealthy. They both had terrible pasts and sometimes in order to move on, you have to keep looking forward, not back, as Aerith described it. 

Long story short, Cloud is the quiet, stoic, thoughtful type and Aerith is the vocal, eccentric, opinionated type. They completely balance each other out. Cloud pulls Aerith back, when she needs to be pulled back, and Aerith pushes Cloud forward out of his comfort zone, when he needs to be pushed forward. They don’t need each other, but they want each other. Cloud and Aerith’s relationship is the textbook definition of perfect, whether it’s romantic or not, it would be successful.

I could go on and on and on, but I won’t. I hope this helps answer your question! If not, let me know! I’m always happy to chat! Be well! :) 

[randomfandomimagine]

Being Friends With Tifa And Aerith Would Include

Requested by @x-joie-x​

You enjoy hanging out with them separately

But you especially love it when it’s the three of you together

Even if sometimes they do ally against you

To tease you or to get what they want

Say they want to go somewhere but you don’t feel like it

They both take you by the arms and give you the puppy eyes

And are all cute and adorable asking you ‘pretty please?’

Until you just give in and go with them, you can’t resist them together

And they know it so they have a bit of fun with it

Unless you really don’t want to go for some specific reason

Because they’re still your friends and are respectful 

They care about you, so they wouldn’t force you to do anything

But if you’re just lazy... Well, they’ll give you a little push

The three of you are extremely protective of each other

Always looking after one another and ready to defend the other

Training with Tifa often, even if it sometimes ends in goofiness

Also training with Aerith so she stays ready for battle as well

The three of you going to pick flowers with Aerith

And visiting her mom, who is so happy that you’re friends

Hanging out at the Seventh Heaven

The three of you are like Marlene’s cool aunts

And Barret has absolutely no problem with it

In fact, he likes that you three look after his daughter

Getting on Cloud’s nerves because he tries to play it cool

But if Tifa and Aerith are convincing against you...

Well, the three of you often break his cold facade

And he gets annoyed that you have such an influence of him

Still, everyone likes your little group, because you’re often together

As much as people are fond of you, you care even more about each other

Tag list: @call-me-harley-quinn​ / @anxiouslyreckless​ / @xionroxas​ / @dancewaterdance02​ / @little-faerie-artist​ / @x-joie-x​ / @honeybunhanbin​ / @legallyblindgamer727​ // If you want to be added or taken off the tag list for these fandoms or characters, let me know!! // Reblogs and comments are appreciated!

[rhoeysama]

I used to ship Vincent and Aerith. Weird, I know. I still kind of do, even though it makes little to no sense, because Aerith loves Cloud (and arguably Tifa as well, really) and Vincent is hung up on Lucrecia and atonement. Sure. But even so, I want to see Vincent and Aerith have one or two bonding moments, establishing their friendship. Not romantically, because it wouldn’t fit into the story, but as friends. Perhaps we could have a moment where we see the two of them have a deep conversation; these two, who are very much like a foil to each other’s character, and yet so similar in many ways. If this happens, I will be crying with joy.

Here’s a headcanon/idea I have, about how it could potentially go down: Since Vincent was born in 1950, he probably grew up in a flower-power-esque era when a lot of young people were against the war with Wutai. Although he ended up working for Shinra in his 20′s, he had a rebellious streak in his teens, and a lot of the hippie culture and lingo rubbed off on him. And since he was technically secluded for 30 years since the 70′s, and times have changed, some of the time, old slang slips out when he makes an effort to partake in fun activities with the others, much to his embarrassment. Aerith pokes fun at him for it relentlessly, and teaches him some new slang, and she in turn has a lot of fun learning 1960′s and 70′s slang from him. Vincent, who is the most serious of the group, even finds himself chuckling from time to time.

One time, Yuffie loudly makes a point of that she’s been thinking about Vincent’s age and calculating, and comes to the conclusion that he must be around her dad’s age or more, and that once upon a time, Vincent used to be a hippie with big hair and wearing flowers in his hair. Vincent denies this, but he fails to mask his embarrassment, and Yuffie bursts out laughing and exclaims “I KNEW IT!”. Embarrassed, he clears his throat and tries to explain away that it was “just a phase”. But alas, his secret is out, and Yuffie points out that she can’t get the image out of her head, and is laughing hysterically, and says that she needs pictures of this. The girls especially, together with Cid and Barret, are having a ball, making comments and laughing. Vincent leaves the group behind to go and be by himself, and doesn’t return for several hours, and eventually everyone goes to sleep.

Unable to sleep, Aerith is out for a walk that night, and comes across Vincent by himself, and decides to sit down and join him. She makes it very clear that all of the joking was all in good humor, and they didn’t mean to pick on him, to which he says “It’s all right”. She tells him that she knows what it’s like to feel like one doesn’t belong. She tells him, sincerely, about growing up, feeling like she was all alone, and that she can’t imagine what it must be like to have been like a “stone in the river of time”; to being locked away for so long and to come out into a world that has changed and you no longer recognize it.

Aerith then also ventures to ask him if he knew Professor Gast. Vincent tells her that he has met him a few times, and wonders why she brought it up out of the blue. She then tells him that growing up in the Shinra building, Professor Hojo once referred to Professor Gast as her father, and she always wanted to know what he was like, and figured that since Vincent used to be a Turk working under Professor Hojo, he might have known her father. Vincent tells her about Professor Gast, that he was a great man in many ways. “He would have been proud of you,” Vincent tells her, “and...I think he is”. To that, Aerith smiles. They have a little bonding moment, the two most unlikely of friends.

[breezy-cheezy]

I finished Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Long story short, I loved it!! So much!! And there’s alot I wanna rant about so here we are. A review of sorts?? Major spoilers ahead! 

And if y’all think you’re immune to spoilers because you played the original FF7, YOU ARE NOT. Lots of new stuff here....just warning y’all.

Although! I did find this great looking walkthrough playlist if anyone’s interested and can’t play the thing themselves? Idk how complete it is with the details, but from a glance it looks nice! 

- FIRST OF ALL the music in it all is amazing!!! From the menu song all throughout, I got Emotional. All the rehashings of Aerith’s theme?? Tifa’s theme?? The FF7 main theme here are there?? AMAZING!!!! I need to find a tracklist or something there are so many versions of the songs specific to the scenes they played in and I die??? Man it is Good. 

- On the music front, I really enjoyed the Jukebox feature! So they could add in old classic songs that story-wise couldn’t appear yet...good nostalgia there. 

- Lil disclaimer, I played the original FF7 fairly recently, on Steam. HOWEVER. I played Crisis Core years ago, and watched Advent Children, etc. And Final Fantasy music has been a staple homework playlist for me for ages now.... So yes I’m new to the whole FF7 original story. But not new in how most people are...it’s a weird situation lol. Like I knew the general FF7 story for awhile but just recently filled the details....

- The gameplay is awesome!! I wasn’t great at it, but...tbh it felt like mechanics combo of the original FF7, FF15, annnnd Kingdom Hearts :D Also appreciated it PAUSED when you picked out commands lol. Loved upgrading weapons. Loved working with materia. I wish there were like...ways to save a materia set so you could easily switch over when your characters were switched out though X’’’’D 

- Biggs is Aro/Ace

- Cloud is VERY Aro/Ace

- Tifa might be Ace

- I decided long ago (in my Crisis Core phase) that Sephiroth is Aro/Ace. There’s nothing to “prove it” in this game but I’m holding to it. I have claimed these characters askjdhuiwdhguerhgr

- Side note, slightly related, but I love how the relationships shone in this remake?? Lots of casual, comfortable touch with Tifa and Cloud (in which Cloud seems in general pretty touch averse due likely to Trauma) in a “we’ve known each other our whole lives” way and gosh I love them. Aerith with Cloud is adorable. Barret!!! Was characterized SO WELL here, and I love him way more than I ever did!! Barret and Tifa interactions as well were so heartfelt and wonderful aaaaaa how good

- Like...Barret haaaates Cloud in the beginning. But somewhere along the way he adopts Cloud instead and ain’t that fantastic?? He just can’t contain how much he cares about others and especially his daughter and goSH I love him. 

- Aerith!! I love her!! She gave such a vibe that she knows more than she says, but is still so cute and sweet and sassy I LOVE!!!! Also that scene in the train graveyard with baby Aerith ;;~;; 

- Also

Cloud: You need any help??

Aerith, climbing a ladder: I’m fine. You don’t need to treat me like a princess or anything~~~

*ladder breaks*

Aerith, completely serious: s h * t.

I LAUGH

- Cloud was actually really cute with kids!!!!! 

- I think I saw a post where they talked about how much more consistent characterizations were here?? I have to agree. I feel some stuff was lost in translation while playing FF7 original, and it felt alot more put together, character-wise, here. I feel like some of that was learned from FF15 and its success with character relationships?? It was Good. 

_ I rambled about this before, but Wall Market was every bit as embarrassing as you would think. *covers face*

- Also I thought it was interesting how they handled who was in your party when! A little annoying sometimes though, switching materia around!!! DX I also really wanted to actually PLAY Red XIII/Nanaki....but sure make him an NPC, whatever. (I am grateful he healed me often.)

- *me when Nanaki shows up* AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! THERE HE IS!!!!!!! (sidenote, in the original, I didn’t wanna call him by his experiment name. He’s the only character I changed the name of. The name I picked? Ignis. :”D )

- The motorcycle segments were ANNOYING AS HECK, especially that last one in escaping the Shinra building DX The game forced your camera to focus on the boss and that made the controls VERY ANNOYING. Cool to watch tho.

- I actually almost completed the game boss fight chain early last night!! But RIGHT when I got to Sephiroth, the family demanded I get off the TV for their use D: all that progress....I had to redo ALOT. DX 

- STILL the fights were VERY cool! Reminded me of KHII end alot actually, jumping around on broken floating buildings and whatnot?? Also the creature looked like a HUGE DARKSIDE heartless lol

- There’s actually alot in this remake that gives alot of a KH feel to me?? Nomura I see you....

- *screeching the One Winged Angel theme still not knowing the words* 

- I LOVED how they showed scenes of the future in the end?? Probably ripped from Advent Children, but?? The characters actually seeing that?? Going “this CAN’T be our future!!” Yo. Also it’s implied it might not HAPPEN now going against destiny and all. I know alot of people are pissed but I am EXCITED. I’m all for a fix-it fic game thank YOU. 

- Speaking of fix-it: ZACK. ZAAAAAACK!!!!!! It’s implied he’s alive in one reality so WHERE IS HE??????? I’m so curious about this new story. I’m gonna eat up theories. I want!! To see!! My baby boy!!!!!! to be Fair (haha) I spoiled myself knowing he was in the game but I didn’t know WHEN!!!

- This is terrible, but I love how much they expressed how NOT OK Cloud is. His mental state is awful, but boi won’t talk about it. 

- Like I know it’s in the original, but it comes up ALOT more in the remake, and the flashbacks/brain short out moments are more obvious in HD for sure. Plus Cloud’s eyes seem more green there, which is a great touch!! Also the incredible FORESHADOWING it brought. Love it. Please someone help this idiot with his headaches....

- I did get annoyed with the whole scene in Hojo’s lab. Cloud’s walking like a zombie toward where Jenova is, saying CONCERNING things, and NO ONE reaches out until he outright collapses? We all just gonna stand back and watch?? Sure ok. 

- Hojo is absolutely disgusting and horrifying and exactly how I imagined him, creators did great job.

- Also why does no one use curaga in these character death scenes???? Potion? Anything????Hello??????

- I was so relieved Wedge (and one of his 3 cats) got to live, and then devastated when they chucked him out a window last minute ;;A;; still. I didn’t see a body. Maybe he’s ok.....*sobs*

- I WAS NOT EXPECTING BIGGS TO BE SEEN IN RECOVERY THO YEEEEESSSSS (I love ANY sign that they DID manage to change the future a little...I thought he was dead!!) Fun fact! The one part I legitimately started crying was when Biggs “died”! Hhhhhhhhhh

- Those dang dementors huh? X’’’D Whispers of fate...there to make sure the story goes according to the original game basically. Does that make the whispers the purist fans of FF7? ...please don’t kill me for that comment sidfiushguigerha

- I just wanna say making a game ABOUT making a remake (that is different from the original) and the struggles in that is VERY meta and so clever and delightful and I LOVE IT. I really wanna see what happens next....

All in all I spent 52 hours on this game. WAY more than I expected for only covering Midgar. And I ENJOYED it!! Some parts felt like the story was being dragged/padded, but most of the time I didn’t care. Also there’s even more to do?? Apparently I missed some scenes....I don’t have time for now, but maybe someday. Or maybe I’ll just look them up ;;7;; 

It’s a good game y’all!!

[hardnoctlife]

My Thoughts on FFVIIR

It’s been a few days since I finished FFVIIR, and I wanted to put my thoughts on the game into words, but I gotta get a few housekeeping things out of the way.

1.       These are all MY opinions. I understand and respect that others may have different opinions from me, however, that does not make this an open invitation for argument in the comments, bashing, etc. I have no problem blocking anyone who wants to be an asshole. Just be nice, please.

2.       I grew up playing FFVII and all of its spin-offs. FFVII was my first RPG, and ultimately what got me into playing video games. Nostalgia is a -huge- part of why I enjoyed FFVIIR so much, and therefore I am openly biased towards the game. I’m interested to hear the thoughts of people not familiar with the original, because they’re seeing the story with a fresh set of eyes.

3.       With that being said, I’ve already noticed drama surrounding FFVIIR fans who -have- played the original vs. those who haven’t, or those who haven’t played Crisis Core, etc. I am firmly of the belief that this is a great game for new and old fans and won’t tolerate any condescending attitudes in either direction. Video games are supposed to be fun, so let’s just all agree to enjoy the thing TOGETHER, shall we?

Alright, now that those things are out of the way, onto my thoughts. **MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD**

I’m going to be breaking this up into sections, because there is just too much to dissect! Let’s start with the characters.

“The Good Guys”

Cloud: Still my favorite character of all time, even more so after playing the remake. And of course, he is gorgeous. I could stare into his eyes all day. I know there has been a lot of controversy over getting new voice actors for the remake, but I feel like his VA did a great job. They nailed his personality of “broody asshole with a heart of gold”, and I think the remake had reasonable and believable character development when it came to Cloud’s interactions with the other party members. His dynamic with Tifa, Aerith, and Barrett was also spot on. I think it was a good move on Squeenix’s part to keep him pretty much the same, because he’s such an iconic character for the entire Final Fantasy series, so no complaints on my part!

Jessie: Okay, so, I hated Jessie at first. She was too flirty and all over Cloud for my liking, and I felt this strange disconnect between the “I used to be an actress but now I’m fighting for the planet” part of her backstory. Yes, she was still spunky in the original, but they didn’t draw it out nearly as much (I assume because she was killed off early). I -do- appreciate that the developer’s felt the need to give her more depth and show more interactions between her and Cloud and everyone else, but I also thought it detracted from Cloud’s relationships with Tifa and Aerith to an extent, especially the whole scene where she was asking him to come back to her place with him (yikes). And, true to Squeenix form, they killed off her character, even while letting Biggs and Wedge live (they both died in the original). So, in that sense, I didn’t really care that much for her, although her final scene with Cloud was very moving and redeemed her in some ways for me. So, yay for more screen time, but c’mon Squeenix, why do you gotta use your female characters this way?!

Biggs & Wedge: I loved the updates to their character models, and like with Jessie, I appreciate they tried to give them more depth and dialogue to make their involvement more significant. It did throw me for a loop when they both ended up living instead of dying when the Sector 7 plate fell. I was delighted to discover they survived (until I found out Jessie died and they didn’t). At times, I felt like their exalted importance detracted from other characters, especially at the end in Shinra HQ where Wedge shows up to warn everyone and Avalanche comes in to try and rescue Cloud & the gang, only to imply that he dies -there- instead. To me, it felt like an unnecessary moment to add in, but hey, there are only so many characters in the remake that people get to see, so why not give the Avalanche crew a more important role? I’m interested to see if this means that they’ll be returning in the next installments as they may be ‘fated’ to survive.

Barrett: What a glow up! Barrett looked good, he sounded good, his character was solid and true to the original. I have to say my favorite thing to see was how the banter and dialogue shifted between him and Cloud as you progressed through the remake. They went from basically hating on each other to complimenting each other and being buddy-buddy, and it was truly heartwarming. I even enjoyed using Barrett in battle (more on the fighting system later), which was refreshing. It was a good move on Squeenix’s part to show his softer side by including more scenes with Marlene, and he’s an excellent foil to Cloud’s character, which I feel was consistent for both games.

Tifa: My lady, the love of my life, my HERO. Tifa was -amazing- for me. Also, her VA was probably my favorite of the bunch. The updates to her outfit were much needed, yet she still retained her sexy allure, even if it was a little awkward to hear all the male NPC’s talking about how hot she was all the time. Other than Cloud, she was my favorite party member to use in battle—what a total badass!—and the scenes with her and Cloud made me squeal with delight. I was grateful for the extra attention put into their relationship, and how it was made clear that she was just as important and strong as the male characters.

Aerith: First, the positives. They expanded Aerith’s fighting range, which was appreciated, because in the original I only used her as healer. Her personality shone through a bit more, as she was even ore outgoing than I remembered her being (and even cursed a few times!), and I loved all of her interactions with Tifa and Cloud (my favorite trio/love triangle). Her backstory was pretty well communicated regarding the Ancients and her relationship with Shinra. On the flip side of things, I found her party banter annoying as hell and her voice grating at times (it reminded me of a high school girl), and I’m not sure how I feel about her interactions with the Whispers and what that implies for future installments. There was some hinting at the end of the remake that Aerith may not die like she did in the original (at least that was my interpretation), and I’m not sure whether I like that possibility or not, mainly because Aerith’s death is one of the most memorable scenes of FFVII, and that would change the entire plot. For better or for worse, who’s to say?

Red XIII: I loved all of the scenes with Red! His voice fit him really well, and they showed a lot of character development with him and the group in a short amount of time. I was sad you couldn’t control him in your party, but I’m hoping that will change in the next installment. I’m excited to see his backstory in Cosmo Canyon when we finally get to that point in the remake.

Chadley: This kid was annoying and weird, and I wasn’t sure exactly what his deal was, but he was definitely shady AF. Not sure why he was entirely necessary if he was simply a way to upgrade your materia, but hey, I’ll take that assess materia from ya buddy if it means new stuff for me to use. 

Johnny: Johnny grew on me. Was he also annoying and weird too? Yes. But he reminded me of a Prompto-Gladio lovechild and turned out to be a sweetheart, so I say he can stay, Squeenix.

“The Bad Guys”

Shinra executives: Not much to say here for me other than great job in bringing this diabolic group to life. Yep, still hate every one of ‘em. They stayed pretty much true to their original selves, and all of them matched what I remembered of them, right down to the dialogue. I thought it was an interesting choice to see Sephiroth kill President Shinra (in the original you just find him dead at his desk, impaled on Sephiroth’s sword), but I’m not complaining. That guy was a grade A asshole.

The Turks: Love, love, love how they portrayed each of these guys, and showed how they are also unwilling participants in all of Shinra’s shit. They definitely made them more likeable from the get-go and I felt a lot of callbacks to Advent Children. Reno cursing and being sassy was probably one of my favorite things out of the entire game. He had -so- many great lines, even if they weren’t direct translations of the Japanese. I’m hoping they will include more of the Turks in future installments (like Cissnei in Crisis Core) and continue fleshing out their story arcs.

Rosche: Okay, unpopular opinion, but I did not like this guy at all. I’m not sure what the hype is about him all over my social media. Could be the mullet, which is an automatic ‘no’ for me (Gladio from FFXV being the only exception), but he seemed like an irritating and very pointless addition to the game. His sole purpose appeared to be to prepare you for escaping Shinra and fighting from Cloud’s motorcycle towards the end, but I felt like he could have been taken out of the story entirely without missing anything. I didn’t hate as many of the newer characters (like Leslie) as much as I did him, but I guess he and I just didn’t vibe. I’m assuming he’ll return later on, so maybe my opinion will change. (I sure hope so.)

Leslie: Okay, at first, I was like, “who is this knock-off Noctis wannabe?” but I really enjoyed the backstory and depth they gave this seemingly minor character. I see that Squeenix is trying to provide new things for older fans to take interest in, and in this case, I felt he was a nice touch. (Edit: I was told that Leslie, Kyrie, and some of the other new NPCs were featured in an audio book?! Which I had no idea even existed, so...the more you know!)

Don Corneo: Even slimier and creepier in HD! Honestly, hats off to Squeenix for translating what was possibly the most cringy and controversial part of the original in a ‘tasteful’ way in regard to all of Wall Market. This guy was definitely a worthy villain in the remake.

Rufus: Holy hell. I never ever in my life thought I’d be saying this, but wow, is Rufus hotter than I remember. Thank you, Squeenix for giving me another foxy bad boy to drool over. He was also, for me, the hardest and most frustrating boss battle (even more so than Sephiroth), but it was totally worth dying to watch all the cut scenes with him over again. Can’t wait to see more of him in the next installment.

Hojo: God, I hate this guy. I know you’re -supposed- to, but he is such a creep. Hearing his dialogue in the remake was even worse than reading it in the original. Gotta say, dealing with his four wards in Shinra HQ was my least favorite part of the game by far, but I know he will get his comeuppance later down the road. All the dialogue was just as shocking as I remember, so, yeah. Good job?!

Sephiroth: Alright, anyone else feel like they made Sephiroth EXTRA SEXUAL in this remake?! You too? Oh, good, good, same bro. Now, it could just be me projecting, but anytime he came on the screen…panties were dropping y’all. Of course, I’m not one to complain about Sephiroth content. On the contrary, I lap it up like I just walked through the desert and found an oasis, BUT, I will say this…you barely see Sephiroth at all at this point in the original. As a reminder, the remake only covered the first 4-6 hours of the original game, and I get you can’t really do a remake without at least SHOWING Sephiroth for the people who have been waiting to see him in HD, but with that being said, he was VERY involved. I love Sephiroth, he’s a great villain, but they are definitely changing things with him, so I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

My one criticism? His voice was my least favorite out of the main characters. Not saying the VA didn’t do a great job, but it didn’t sound deep enough to be as intimidating. I prefer the VA who voiced him in Advent Children, but I’m sure it will grow on me in time.

Gameplay

Battle system: When the remake’s demo was released, I remember a lot of people were complaining about how ‘difficult’ the new battle system was, but I absolutely love it. It’s just the perfect balance of turn-based and real-time, with plenty of options for customization. If you want more real time, you can set your short cuts, and if you want more turn-based, you also have that option. My only real complaint was that item use is also tied to the ATB bar, but overtime I figured out when to heal myself in a timely fashion (after dying more than a handful of times). Button mashers won’t enjoy this battle system because it requires a little more strategy, but I think the point was to create an updated version of the original fighting style that would appeal to both old and new players, and it definitely delivered. Seeing the classic limit breaks used and being able to run around during battle was so much fun for me, and I about died when I saw Cloud strike his OG victory pose in Wall Market’s coliseum. Also, the transition between running through Midgar and entering battle was SO incredibly smooth and seamless that at times you didn’t notice the shift. Phenomenal.

o   Boss Battles: As much as I enjoyed the battle system of remake, some of the bosses felt unnecessarily hard and/or tedious (I’m looking at you, Hell House). Making use of the assess materia early on definitely helped me out, but I legit got bored at times, especially that damn giant robot you fight with only Barrett and Aerith when escaping Shinra HQ. This is really just a minor complaint, but there were a couple bosses where I died several times (*cough* Rufus *cough*) before I figured out the secret to defeating them, while others were super easy or just not that interesting. Meh. For context, I played on “normal” mode, but it truly felt hard in certain scenarios. (That could just have been me trying to get used to the new fighting style.)

o   Materia: speaking of materia, I did notice some new materia in the game, which was neat, and although I didn’t care for Chadley (dude, where are your parents?) it was nice to have a way to develop and earn new materia throughout. I found it somewhat strange that summon materia was just a thing you could get so early on instead of having to work for it, but I was excited to use it. Shiva and Ifrit were definitely my favorite summons (which hasn’t changed from the original for me). My one big question: where is the freaking ‘all’ materia?! I know they kinda split ‘all’ up into many different types of materia, and you do have ‘pray’ for healing your entire party, but man, that was so versatile in the original so that was a hard adjustment for me not to have use of it.

o   Weapons: I think it’s cool that they developed an upgrade system to make use of your weapons long term, giving them their own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Made me think of FFX where you used the spheres to upgrade your characters. Also? I loved being able to see materia in my weapons when I switched them out. That was a really neat touch. 

Music: And here I thought they couldn’t make the music of the original game any more epic, but they definitely outdid themselves in the remake. I enjoyed hearing all the remixes and ways they wove the classic themes into different parts of the games. I think my favorite was when you’re going through sector 5 with Aerith and have to control the giant robotic hands. The music in that section SLAPPED. The in-game jukebox was also a nice way to honor the old school classics. Hearing Aerith’s theme for the first time just about made me cry, and listening to One-Winged Angel fighting Sephiroth? Nothing could beat that moment musically for me.

Side quests: I’m not sure about anyone else, but I really didn’t care for the side quests. They weren’t very fun for the most part, and considering how linear the game is, they felt more like chores that needed to be completed because I had to, and not because I wanted to. The only exception was Wall Market, but all-in-all, most of them didn’t add much to the story, unlike in FFXV where I could go down a rabbit hole of sidequests for hours and hours.

Graphics: This is clearly stating the obvious, as anyone with eyes will tell you, the game is nothing short of gorgeous. I cannot tell you how many screencaps I took of just Cloud. It was definitely a world that I wanted to run around in for hours (and did) and will do so again and again just to look at all the little details. My favorite thing to do is watch comparison videos of the original and remake openings side-by-side. How crazy is it that technology has come this far!

Playtime: My biggest critique of this game is that it was too damn short. Stretching the first 4-6 hours of the original into 40 was definitely impressive, but considering I waited 20+ years for the remake, it was pretty disappointing to finish the game in less than a week. Like most people, I’m wondering just how long they plan on stretching this out, how many installments there will be, and when the second part will be released. Hopefully not another ten years, but it -is- Squeenix we’re talking about...

Storyline

Most people who played will tell you that most of the remake stayed very true to the original, even lifting some of the exact dialogue and scenes. The nostalgia hit me so hard in parts that I was literally in tears. The first time I watched the opening in the demo, I cried. That’s the power this game has over many people, including myself.

In other ways, the remake improved on parts of the story or re-imagined them. We always knew it wasn’t going to be a copy and paste of the original story, which I’m sincerely grateful for. I would seriously hope that after 20+ years they would have thought of ways to improve or polish FFVII and make it new and exciting for returning fans and people just picking it up.

My pros regarding the updates in the story:

- They fleshed out many background characters and added in new ones. Most of the core group spent more time interacting, and the party banter felt natural and progressed realistically as the game went on.

- New mini-games and side quests expanded on the slums and made the areas larger and more interactive, yet they still kept the nostalgia of iconic locales.

- Plenty of fuel to fan shipping fires with emotionally charged scenes and pretty boys abounding (Cloti and Clerith especially).

- All of Wall Market was brilliantly done. I was wondering how they’d update it for the new generation, and it was seriously the best part of the game for me (and had me laughing the entire time).

-  Hinting that Zack is alive and/or Aerith may live is something I’m listing as a pro, only because I would love to see these characters used to their full potential, however, this is also a con for me, and I’ll explain why.

My cons:

Whispers: If you played the original, you probably had the same reaction as I did when the ‘Whispers’ showed up. “Wtf are these dementor-looking things?” At first, I thought they might be something similar to what we saw in Advent Children, and that they were ‘remnants’ or parts of Sephiroth, or somehow his minions, or even souls from the Lifestream, etc. When I found out they were actually supposed to be ‘protectors of fate’ or whatever, I rolled my eyes, especially when Barret was ‘killed’ by Sephiroth and then miraculously brought back to life. It felt very ‘deus ex machina’ to me in the sense that ‘everything has to go a certain way because we said so.’ While it makes sense, I really wasn’t buying it, but I’m assuming that we will learn more about them in the second installment. 

The Ending: The whole final boss battle of the remake was surprising, because it felt almost exactly like the final boss bottle of the original game, right down to the cutscene where Cloud is thrown through space and faces off against Sephiroth one-on-one. Before you defeat the ‘harbinger of fate’ (anyone else get KH heartless vibes?) and fight Sephiroth as the final boss, Aerith goes on her long spiel about ‘fate’ and ‘destiny’ and ‘this will change us,’ and it’s laid on so thick that it’s almost like they were setting us up for an alternate timeline, which is entirely possible, but that’s all speculation at this point. Regardless, they made it clear that whatever is coming next is going to be -very- different from the original, or possibly is going to be another timeline of the story, especially since Zack was shown alive and well. One criticism I heard from someone who hadn’t played the original game was that they treated Sephiroth and Zack like people you were supposed to know, and I can agree with that. They didn’t spend -any- time explaining their significance, backstory, or why people were so afraid of Sephiroth other than showing you little flashbacks into Cloud’s deranged memories, so in that sense, the ending might have fallen flat for those who don’t know exactly what Sephiroth represents or who he is, or why he stole Jenova from Hojo’s lab, etc, etc. Plus, throwing in Zack at the end is something that anyone who played the original game or Crisis Core would get, but new fans would also not understand the significance of. Personally, I screamed when I saw Zack because I was so happy , but I can see why that ending would be very unsatisfying and/or confusing for some.

Overall: 9/10

No, it doesn’t get a 10/10 for me, even as someone who absolutely loves Final Fantasy VII, but hey, no game is perfect. It’s honestly hard to live up to the hype this game has created since it was officially announced, and all things considered, Squeenix -did- live up to it. I will still be eagerly awaiting part two, playing the shit out of this game and squeezing the most I can out of it until I get to experience more.

I’d love to hear what other people thought (so long as the discourse is respectful of course). If you read this far, thanks for listening to my ramblings!

[greatxgospel]

STUDY    :    AERITH GAINSBOROUGH.    

—    BASICS.

▸     IS    YOUR    MUSE    TALL    /    SHORT    /    AVERAGE ? Aerith is quite short, she’s 5'3, like me. 

▸      ARE    THEY    OKAY    WITH    THEIR    HEIGHT ? Yeah, she doesn’t care much.

▸      WHAT’S    THEIR    HAIR    LIKE ? Her hair is wavy and really soft. Even when she gets them tied, she let some brands on each side, simply because she prefers them this way. 

▸     DO    THEY    SPEND    A    LOT    OF    TIME    ON    THEIR    HAIR     /    GROOMING ? Not too much, but she still enjoys taking care of her appearance, so she wants her hair to remain pretty when she’s with other people, even if it’s mostly for herself. She wants her hair to look pretty, period. 

▸      DOES   YOUR   MUSE   CARE   ABOUT   THEIR   APPEARANCE   /   WHAT    OTHERS    THINK ? She doesn’t care much about what other thinks, but she cares about her own appearance, for her own pleasure. It’s important for her to look great, even if it’s only for herself. She’s quite a lonely person, so it’s a small pleasure she can take through her loneliness.

—    PREFERENCES.

▸      INDOORS    OR    OUTDOORS ?     outdoors. ▸      RAIN    OR    SUNSHINE ?     sunshine. ▸     FOREST    OR    BEACH ?      forest. ▸      PRECIOUS    METALS    OR    GEMS ?      gems. ▸     FLOWERS    OR    PERFUMES ?     flowers. ▸     PERSONALITY    OR    APPEARANCE ?      personality. ▸     BEING    ALONE    OR    BEING    IN    A    CROWD ?     being alone. ▸     ORDER    OR    ANARCHY ?     order. ▸      PAINFUL    TRUTHS    OR    WHITE    LIES ?     painful truths. ▸     SCIENCE    OR    MAGIC ?    magic. ▸      PEACE    OR    CONFLICT ?     peace. ▸     NIGHT    OR    DAY ?     day. ▸      DUSK    OR    DAWN ?     dawn. ▸   WARMTH    OR    COLD ?     warmth. ▸     MANY   ACQUAINTANCES    OR    A    FEW    CLOSE    FRIENDS ?     few close friends. ▸     READING    OR    PLAYING    A    GAME ?      reading.

—    QUESTIONNAIRE.

▸      WHAT    ARE    SOME    OF    YOUR    MUSE’S    BAD    HABITS ? Aerith enjoys teasing people around her and she can also be really sarcastic, which could end up being a bit annoying for people who takes everything she says on the first degree. Because she’s quite lonely, when she’s with other people, she also enjoys being the center of attention, so she can make unappropriate comments just so the attention could come back to her. 

▸      HAS    YOUR    MUSE    LOST    ANYONE    CLOSE    TO    THEM ?      HOW    HAS    IT    AFFECTED    THEM ? Aerith lost her parents back when she was a child. She doesn’t remember them well, but she still feels a special connection to her mother sometimes, because of their links to the Planet as Ancients. She also loves them, and they departure contributed to her loneliness. And of course, there’s also Zack. I don’t know how they will present it in the remake, but until then, I write Aerith as she felt him returning to the Lifestream like in Crisis Core. She has always known something was wrong with him never answering to her letters, but his death made her feel even more lonely and empty, since it confirmed he would never come back. She’s mad at him, but on the other hand, she wants answers. 

▸      WHAT    ARE    SOME    FOND    MEMORIES    YOUR    MUSE    HAS ? Her mother’s smell. She smelled like flowers, and this is one of the reasons why she loves flowers so much. She also cherishes her first memories with Elmyra, who has always been too good to her, raising her like her own child. And there’s also the moments she spent with Zack in her church. It was the first time she had a real friend, someone who wasn’t trying to use her. 

▸     IS    IT    EASY    FOR    YOUR    MUSE    TO    KILL ? Aerith would never kill someone, unless she really has to. She prefers to talk than to fight, and even when she fights, she prefers to give them a lesson instead of directly killing them. If she has to, she would never forget it. 

▸      WHAT’S    IT    LIKE    WHEN    YOUR    MUSE    BREAKS    DOWN ? Aerith just closes herself to other people; she doesn’t explode, but inside her, she does. And it makes it even worst, because she knows she should talk about it, but she keeps it inside since she doesn’t want to become a burden for other people. 

▸      IS    YOUR    MUSE    CAPABLE    OF    TRUSTING    SOMEONE    WITH    THEIR    LIFE ? It’s difficult because so many people has tried to use her. However, with time, when she sees that someone is truly her friend, she trusts them, like she did for Zack, Cloud, Tifa and the others. 

▸      WHAT’S    YOUR    MUSE    LIKE    WHEN    THEY’RE    IN    LOVE ? She’s flirty because of her playful nature, but when it comes to talk about her feeling, she suddenly becomes much more shy about it. She’s also really touchy, and enjoys just having her lover’s hand in hers. She enjoys to have soft moments, but she doesn’t need anything special. Just spending time with the one she loves already feels special and important to her. 

TAGGED BY: @elaceto​, thank you dear :D ♥ TAGGING: @coscuvilheiro​ @badassbarmaid​ @fatescourge​ @burdenofthebuster​ @sentofight​ (Zack) @benedictusxlunaris​ (Luna) @dawnblxde​ @whistleblitz​ @healcresth​ @lastorion​ @aethersworn​ @ancientblxde​ @lasthope-sniper​ & YOU ;D

[arcelian]

i haven’t played the ff7 remake and have no idea when i will do so, so instead have some post-canon headcanons i’ve held for... a while

after advent children, more and more people start coming to aerith’s church; first for the healing water, but then because of the flowers.  it turns out plants grow well in the soil and clear air around the spring, and many of the former slum-dwellers came from rural towns; it’s been years since they were surrounded by greenery, and they’re starting to realize how much they missed it.  soon, the flower patches in the building become too small for the number of hands, and so they start clearing out the area nearby to build more gardens.  someone brings a truckload of good soil in from outside midgar, and someone else gets a load of fertilizer from the chocobo farm, and two dozen people fill several raised gardens over a single afternoon, and then they fill them with rows of vegetable seeds.  a group of elderly wutaian immigrants unofficially take charge of the daily upkeep, and are happy to give street kids fresh vegetables in return for help with the weeding.  a team of construction workers spend their days off repairing and reinforcing the church building, and then they draw up plans for a greenhouse.  eventually, people start taking home excess plants and growing them in window boxes and hanging baskets; even when they’re no longer fed by the spring’s water, flowers raised in the church gardens are hardier than anything else.  nothing grew in the slums of midgar, but in edge there’s green everywhere.

barret’s job might take him far away from marlene, but that’s fine.  he’s a miner, and he’s used to operating on miner’s schedules.  he spends two weeks away from home, and then two weeks in edge with his family (and tifa and cloud and denzel are family now; barret can hardly believe it sometimes, how much he’s come to care for them).  during the weeks he’s gone, he phones marlene every night, to tell her where he is and where he’s going, and lets her talk about her day, while denzel makes comments in the background, and then he talks to tifa, and cloud if he’s home.  marlene’s got a map up on her bedroom wall, and she puts pins in it for all the places he’s visited, with a special shiny one for wherever he is that day.  (he knows she and denzel do the same for cloud, and possibly others as well - it’s all colour coded, and there seems to be too many colours for just two people.)  marlene draws up plans for things they should do together when he’s home; she’s getting very good at scheduling.  they do seventh heaven’s grocery shopping, and help in the gardens, and take trips to kalm and to the chocobo farm.  they miss each other, of course, when barret’s on the road, but only a little bit; after all, they’re certain in their love for each other, and they can always, always call.

the honeybee inn survives meteorfall mostly intact, but at first, nobody particularly cares.  there’s no one with the money or time to waste away with the girls there, but that’s fine with them - they have better things to do.  most of them had come to midgar as runaways from small towns and villages, and they're familiar with working past the sort of desperation of people who have nowhere to go.  in the weeks and months after meteor, as some people fight over the food and supplies they've brought out with them, and others build temporary shelters and then more permanent ones, the honeybees roll up their sleeves and start gutting the inn.  they drag all the pretty clothes and costumes, every scrap of fabric, into a pile and start turning them into more practical things - clothes, blankets, bandages.  they flirt - and shout - men into sharing supplies instead of hoarding them, and they offer the intact main floor of their building as a makeshift hospital, and whenever they see a girl like them - alone, vulnerable, afraid - they close ranks around her and give her their protection.  someone jokingly calls them worker bees, and the name - and reputation - sticks.  eventually, the honeybee becomes a symbol of solidarity between them, and even when edge is built and they leave the inn for good, those women wear the title of ‘honeybee’ with pride.  a few of them start a clothing shop; others open restaurants, or corner stores, or other businesses.  two of them get married, and it’s a struggle finding a place that can fit all of their sisters.  three others start a band and name it the hornets.  they all still call themselves honeybees, and whenever any of them is in trouble, the others gladly come swarming.

one year after meteorfall, as the anniversary approaches, the people of edge start to draw into themselves.  they’ve kept themselves busy with the simple act of survival, but things have begun to settle, and all the fear and anxiety of that time - the weapons, meteor, the dread of waiting for the end and then the scrabbling to keep going when they, impossibly, survived - all comes rushing back, and they spend that month hiding away, licking their wounds.  two years after meteorfall, it happens again; but this time, there is the added weight of geostigma, haunting the dark corners of the city.  the third year, they decide - they’ve had enough.  someone hangs a light in their window, tinted blue-green, like the church’s spring, or the lifestream itself.  it quickly spreads, and as meteorfall approaches, the city is filled with shimmering, blue-green lights, shining defiantly against the darkness.  instead of hiding away, the people of edge start reaching out to each other; they check up on old friends, and invite each other to dinner, and give out small gifts, symbols of life, protective charms: flowers, fruit, shards of materia made into jewelry or suncatchers, herbs and trinkets said to bring fortune in their hometowns.  they leave flowers on the memorial in edge, and at the edges of the ruins of midgar, and gifts by the spring in the church.  some people sing as the sun goes down, defiant songs of hope and survival shouted into the coming night.  on the third anniversary of meteorfall, the city of edge is filled with light and sound, as the citizens of edge celebrate the fact that they are here, and they are alive.

[silver-wield]

[1] I just feel like sharing this. I'm very new to the fandom, only ever played the remake earlier this year but I did know about the shipping wars prior to playing it. I used to be neutral because I didn't have enough knowledge of the ships to love which one. But after experiencing the game myself, it's so obvious that Cloud and Tifa have strong feelings for each other, and it's very romantic and intense to me. I never got the same vibe for Cloud and Aerith.

[2] I don't hate Aerith but from what I saw just on the remake, her friendship with Cloud is just mostly her inserting herself in everything Cloud does even when Cloud clearly seems uncomfortable about it, although later on it does help him to open up, but to be fair he's done that even before he meets Aerith (with Avalanche, which is pretty clear to me that he's become warmer because of Tifa since she's part of Avalanche who helps him find a place to stay and feel welcomed).

[3] Cloud and Aerith to me is just painfully one-sided. Even my sister who knows nothing about FF in general and FF7 or the characters, questions why Cloud is kind of a jerk towards Aerith. She came to watch me play on Chapter 8 and funnily again on Chapter 11, she made comments how Cloud seemed so annoyed with Aerith in Chapter 8 and how Cloud only seemed to care about grabbing Tifa to save her instead of Aerith etc 😂

[4] I've never seen any chemistry between Cloud and Aerith, and I feel validated that my big sister who knows nothing about the game feels the same way. I always feel weird when people say that it's up to our interpretation to understand the story. While it's true, one should also recognize if their interpretation is based on what canon has given us or not. I feel like most C/eriths are too far up their headcanons that they don't realize that it's just that, their headcanons.

[5] There's nothing substantial in canon so far that shows Cloud has love for Aerith. Care, yes. But love, no. Cloud has a deeper bond with Tifa than he does with Aerith who forces herself into Cloud's life, if anything. It's Aerith who wants hold on to Cloud. I just think it's too obvious that it's Cloud and Tifa, rather than Cloud and Aerith.

They're pretty obvious and it's only part one ❤️

[iaintyourbro]

I remember one time an anon talked about Aerith ENG VA and her reaction video about A resolution I saw it today not trying to be disrespectful but can she stop overreacting about everything regarding A like she was over the in her video I saw how she was trying to be emotional but failed (sorry it was fake) and then she started talking about how it was her favorite line"you can't fell in love with me" and C and A ,how deep C felt for her in here excuse me!!! these 2 knew each other for like(1/?)

For like 1 day and a half what could he possibly feel for her that could be this deep WTF !! And oh God the moment she said if you look at C and A backstory you would understand her resolution umm what backstory C story isn't even linked to A likewise to A Tifa is the key to C real self the fact she didn't explain "it not real" and stuck with the L word just shows how she doesn't understand a thing about FF7 and she thinks everything about C&A in this game (2/3)

How can anyone take her seriously at this stage just because she the voice of A well they have to think again cause she's not Nojima , she erases everyone on the game and focus on C and A like there's no T or B , omg I just can't the moment she started to fake crying I was done with her tbh how can anyone believe that heh look at C and A backstory she said like she can't be serious I wonder why she didn't explain "not real" line, I'm sorry I went on rage mode but the way she explained (3/4)

I got really curious about the anon ask you got and I just had to see it and i regret it now I'm so glad Britt isn't like her "bias&blind" , I loved how BRITT talked about Tifa and Aerith as equals and girls doesn't need to fight each other over a man they have a beautiful deep friendship , I like how she's trying to stop the shipwars with her words while White was firing up the shipwars because of her bias toward A , again sorry for this long ask I just couldn't stand how wrong she was(4/4)

Hey anon!

No worries on the rant, I feel you. I can get fired up about this topic myself. 

Bri White is an entertainer. Since she seems to have a heavy following of CA fans, she’s going to cater to them. I had heard in the past that she was extremely biased during her play throughs, but have only watched a few parts of her videos. She only seems to post the Aerith scenes on YouTube - the rest of the play through is on Twitch. 

Of course she’s biased - she voices the character. My first experience with her was her crying over Cloud and Aerith meeting and I couldn’t deal with that. I’m not good with that type of overly emotional stuff, so it’s a personal preference, I’m not saying anything bad about her in that regard. 

A few times she’s upset fans and actually added quite a bit of fuel to the shitshow that’s the LTD is when she called Tifa “stinky” and when she said Tifa was “second best girl.”

The stinky comment was clearly supposed to be a joke in reference to her shower comment. I think in normal circumstances nobody would have gotten upset. I don’t think initially anybody got upset. It’s because the extremists took it and started using it as if this is some type of weird fact. 

The second best girl shit was a poor judgement call on her part on how to name the video. I know both Bri and Britt weren’t too familiar with the LTD, Britt even saying she wasn’t really aware of it until people definitely harassed her on social media she heard about it on social media 

Bri I think was not malicious in what she did. She was catering to her audience. I do think that VAs and other people who could be seen as an authoritative source on things SHOULD be a lot more conscious of what they’re saying. People may take it seriously and it just creates more issues. Britt’s interview was great how she handled it. 

I would love to know how she’d react to Tifa’s resolution scene on her stream. It’s the most intimate interaction that he has in the game. It’s non-action oriented. 

The thing is, it’s heavily implied during Chapter 11 who the guy prefers. This isn’t a jab at Aerith, though. She’s not interested in him aside from the fact she’s digging for Zack info. I think what people miss is how she’s looking at Tifa in this shot. She’s not challenging her, she’s not angry... Tifa is softening her look - she’s also scared out of her mind here. 

But Cloud doesn’t hide this during Chapter 10 and 11. He’s pretty obvious that he has a preference towards Tifa. So much so, that Tifa has to start stepping in to help out Aerith if she’s in trouble. Aerith returns the favor on multiple occassions - neither of these ladies are damsels in distress. 

If we need a damsel, nobody falls more in this game than Cloud does. One thing is for sure, though. He didn’t fall for Aerith in two days. 

[ego-driven-one-wing-angel]

How are you enjoying FF7?

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!! 

Except there are a few minor details that are a bit annoying, like Sephiroth’s voice. Not a big fan. It’s not as intimidating as I wanted it to be and about 60% of his sex appeal came from that deep and alluring voice and I was a bit disappointed, to say the least. BUT HEY! THERE’S MORE OF HIM SO I CAN’T COMPLAIN.

But anyway. The storyline is a bit weird, to say the least. I don’t want to give out spoilers since the game literally came out last Friday, but they added a load more stuff and characterization that’s amazing, but there are other things they have done that make it odd in comparison to the original. Again, I don’t want to give out spoilers, but if anyone wants to talk about it my PMs are open! It just opens more questions and kind of disappoints me as an OG fan, but we still have other parts so I’m hoping they’re just as good and give the answers we seek.

Again, the characterization and added scenes really give the game more personal connection with the characters and scenes. I love the immerse city of Midgar, the slums, tiny details that just add to the story as a whole really gives the player a unique experience. My dad and I have been enjoying this since he bought it and we’ve been checking out the small details the game developers add. 

Cloud. That’s it. Cloud is the best thing. His sly comments, his sighs, his small laughter here and there. It’s really cute to watch, even more so when you can tell he’s trying to be cool but just fails at it sometimes.

Tifa, Barret, Wedge, Biggs, and Jesse are so much more developed and each of them have been done so WELL!! Even Aerith. I love the voice acting on these ones because they all fit with how I imagined them. Aerith is TM sweetheart. Tifa has a more impactful voice, not too sweet but you can tell she’s got heart, Barret is our TM Eco-terrorist dad and just breaths justice, Wedge, Biggs, and Jesse all are greatly done with their own fleshed-out personalities, and even President Shinra has got some good acting. It’s just amazing to see how well they’ve done. (Except Sephiroth, but we’ll ignore that)

Reno was honestly the toughest boss. Not going to lie. This agile Turk really got the anger in me boiling and it took me and my dad a few times to take him out. 

But this game was worth the money and hype! I’m planning on replaying it again in a few days because there’s a good chance I missed a few things and options, and I want to see how it plays out. Anyway, I 100% recommend this game for any FF lovers out there because even though the storyline is odd, everything else is so well done it makes up for it in the long run!