#Tifa theory

[tifa-simp]

In this essay I will try to convince everyone this means there'll be a triple synergy attack that can only be activate when Tifa's party leader-

[somebodys-nightmare]

Those Chosen by the Planet: Are Cloud & Tifa Soulmates?

We know from the OG/Compilation that Cloud & Tifa share a deep emotional and spiritual bond. But after Rebirth, I am curious about the true nature of their connection and how soul-bound they really are - and why.

In order to organize this efficiently, I’ve broken this down into parts to best explain both background information as well as specific events that have led me to my conclusions/thoughts. The outline is as follows:

Part 1: The Lifestream (Background)

Part 2: What’s Happening with Cloud?

Part 3: The Lifestream Scene (Chapter 9)

Part 4: The Reunion Flower & Tifa’s Trial

Part 5: The Ending

Part 6: The Lifestream Scene (OG/Part 3)

Part 7: Those Chosen by The Planet: Soul-bound

Let's get started!

Part 1: The Lifestream (Background)

To set the context, I want to first explain my thoughts on the nature of the Lifestream, which is the primary worldbuilding and lore context of FFVII and in particular, how it is being explored in the FF7R trilogy.

In the FFVII Rebirth Ultimania, scenario writer Mr. Nojima shares that he studied Buddhism’s Yogacara & Jung’s theory of the ‘collective unconscious’. He states these concepts inform the “worldview” of the story and give hints about the mysteries and the ending of the trilogy.

I believe that he is referring specifically to the multiple “worlds” that we see in FF7R, which in turn are manifestations of the Lifestream. Let’s break these down first. I will try to explain these concepts as succinctly and relevantly to FFVII as possible.

Yogacara is a school of Buddhist philosophy that states our experiences of the world are shaped entirely by our mind. What we perceive as the external world is really a projection of our consciousness. Thus, everything we experience is a result of mental activities & states.

There are 8 levels of ‘consciousness’ in the Yogacara philosophy:

1-5: The 5 Senses Consciousness: Sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. These are the things we “experience” in reality through our body’s physical perceptions.

6: The Mind Consciousness: The mental process that integrates and interprets the above sensory information. This is how our mind translates the Sense consciousness of what we see, hear, feel, etc.

7: The Self Consciousness: The aspect of consciousness that involves the sense of self and ego. This is the level of consciousness that revolves around our identity and how it relates to everything else.

8: The Storehouse Consciousness: The deepest level of consciousness that stores all past experiences and ‘karmic seeds’, influencing current and future experiences. These also shape and store an individual's hopes and dreams.

I believe that the Yogacara philosophy forms the lore’s basis of the ‘individual’ consciousness of a person, or their soul, as it relates to the Lifestream. Every human being has their own individual “Lifestream” which becomes a part of the “collective” Lifestream at death.

In this process, a person’s consciousness diffuses into the collective consciousness of the Lifestream. Considering what is happening to Cloud in the game, it is important to understand how the Yogacara and its levels of consciousness influence this lore.

Additionally, it's important to understand that both Sephiroth & Aerith are able to maintain their individual consciousness & not “diffuse” into the Lifestream. This is why after death they are still both ‘whole’ & able to traverse the Lifestream “worlds”.

Which brings me to…

The Collective Unconscious: In psychology, Jung’s collective unconscious describes the part of the unconscious mind that contains shared memories and archetypes common to all humanity.

These universal symbols & experiences influence our thoughts, feelings, & behaviors, connecting us to the broader human experience. It explains why people from different cultures or time periods can share myths, symbols, & themes in their stories and dreams.

I believe these both set basis for the “collective consciousness” of the Lifestream & its relation to the indivdual, which contains the essence of the planet & the memories, emotions, & knowledge of all who lived on it. In Rebirth, we see two representations of the Lifestream:

1. The Physical Lifestream: below ground, represented by ethereal green liquid, energy wisps, and rocky landscapes of the planet’s core. This is where Tifa falls in Gongaga, where the WEAPONs & Whispers are fighting, and where Sephiroth’s true form is.

It is also where Tifa sees fixed memories represented by holographs. This also seems to be the form of Lifestream reality in which the OG Lifestream scene takes place, again seen by the physical structures and the manner in which Cloud and Tifa fell into it in Mideel.

I believe the manifestations of individual consciousness/soul, or an individual’s lifestream, are seen here. Note that there is a physical battle between “the planet & its enemies” seen here and that Sephiroth is seen fighting perhaps more strenuously & aggressively than anywhere else, where we typically do not see his true form.

2. The Metaphysical Lifestream: This seems to be the “plane” of existence that manifests in infinite branches & paths, represented by rainbow imagery we see throughout the game & manifests the “worlds” present in 'Zack’s Story', each marked by a different breed of Stamp.

I believe that this is the manifestation of the “collective” Lifestream, thus containing memories, emotions, knowledge, AND hopes and dreams of the collective spirits within it.

This is where Zack’s realities manifest, representing, it seems, unfulfilled desires or unfinished business, creating a purgatory of sorts or a confluence of memories and emotions. Sephiroth and Aerith seem to have great power in and over these manifestations in different ways, which I believe is also a source of the conflict involving Zack (a separate conversation).

Now that we understand how the Lifestream seems to be functioning, this brings me to…

Part 2: What’s happening with Cloud?

Cloud’s true self/spirit/psyche is currently shattered within the collective unconscious of the metaphysical Lifestream. This is the definition of mako-poisoning, especially in a severe case like Cloud’s.

We see this explained with Jessie’s dad, as well as with Cloud in Mideel in the OG. When a person comes into prolonged contact with mako, they are at risk for information overload from the knowledge of the collective of the Lifestream.

This can cause a person to lose their sense of self, similar to how a person’s consciousness/soul diffuses into the Lifestream upon death. In the case of a living person who cannot withstand the mako poisoning, however, they become “trapped” or “shattered” in the Lifestream.

At this stage, Cloud is still functioning because his contact with Tifa allows him to “wake up” & build a persona, aided by the Jenova cells reading her memories, by his own desires & delusions of grandeur, and his memories of Zack’s experience.

However, we see his true, broken consciousness throughout the collective unconscious of the metaphysical Lifestream (Zack’s side story).

Tifa’s role, as we know, is to help Cloud restore his sense of self after further mako poisoning following the events of the Northern Crater when his false persona is broken and he falls into the Lifestream.

Which brings me to…

Part 3: The Lifestream Scene (Chapter 9)

There’s a lot to say about Chapter 9 and Gongaga, but Tifa falling into the Lifestream is arguably the most important scene in the game as far as foreshadowing for the final installment of the trilogy.

This scene’s purpose is to solidify Tifa’s heroine role for the third game and to prepare her for the task she will undertake, while giving basis for it - a basis that was famously unexplained in the OG but has now been fleshed out.

Tifa falls into the reactor’s mako pool & is carried directly into the physical Lifestream by the WEAPON in the earth’s core. Here, she sees her fixed memories, represented directly in the rocky terrain of the planet, & surrounded by energy wisps and liquid of the Lifestream.

While locations are fixed, images of memories are represented and play out with green holograms, and voices by green pulsing energy wisps. She also sees the white Whispers of the planet & the black Whispers of Sephiroth/Jenova fighting, & Sephiroth’s corruption of the Lifestream via Jenova, aka “Black” or “Negative” Lifestream, represented by purple energy.

Note that Sephiroth, in his true form, physically attacks Tifa & the WEAPON carrying her here.

I can’t say for sure, but while these are definitely Tifa’s memories, they also seem to be Cloud’s. Before Tifa falls into the Lifestream, Cloud becomes vulnerable to Sephiroth’s mental attack because of the effects of the mako fumes in the reactor. This leads me to believe there is an opening for Cloud’s consciousness in the Lifestream to be connected to Tifa's, and that the Planet took the opportunity of Tifa being pushed into the mako (by Cloud) to connect them.

The memories Tifa sees are her own but are also Cloud’s, and given the context of Gongaga but also Cloud’s identity crisis and the entire internal conflict, this is significant and what we must focus on.

The perspectives of the memories are more Cloud-centric - in 2 out of 3 the camera is behind Cloud (bridge and Tifa’s house) and in the third, the memory focuses on what Tifa is saying to Cloud (water tower).

We also have to consider Tifa’s lack of awareness of events and her memory loss during these memories. The Planet seems to be showing her these scenes from Cloud’s perspective to inform and prepare her prior to her duty in disc 2/part 3.

There are also untouched memory locations you can spot in the scene: the gates of Nibelheim, Stargazer Heights, and Seventh Heaven. The Nibelheim gates we know are important for Cloud’s identity from the OG Lifestream scene.

Stargazer Heights is where Cloud tells Tifa he remembers the promise (curiously, that memory is placed close to the water tower memory.)

And while Cloud and Tifa have obviously a lot of interactions in Seventh Heaven, I think the critical moments are actually those seen in Ever Crisis after Tifa finds Cloud at the train station, as those memories directly influence Cloud’s identity.

The “planet and its enemies” - The WEAPONs, Whispers, and Sephiroth and Jenova - are physically fighting over these memories. Sephiroth tries to kill Tifa here. We see the purple corruption of Lifestream Black occurring in this scene.

We see Tifa on the brink of death and seeing Cloud’s spirit being led away from her and her voice silenced from him by Sephiroth.

It seems to me that following this event, Cloud and Tifa’s consciousness’ are already linked. Tifa also has been given preemptive strength and knowledge to save Cloud when the time comes in part three.

Which brings me to…

Part 4: The Reunion Flower

The Reunion Lily appears on the mailbox of Tifa’s house twice: In Cloud’s flawed flashback of the Nibelheim Incident in Kalm, and during Tifa’s Trial in the Temple of the Ancients.

It does not appear at her house during the fixed memory in the Chapter 9 Lifestream scene. I think this is because the flower wasn’t actually there, but is rather a “totem” or marker of Cloud’s psyche.

Cloud knows from events in Remake what the flower symbolizes. In his flashback, he falsely remembers that he and Tifa reunited with him being a SOLDIER, though we know this isn’t true because he hid himself from her.

The flower reappears during Tifa’s Trial in the ToTA. Her trial takes place during the promise scene & the Nibelheim Incident, the same period as Cloud’s flashback, and when she was hoping to reunite with him - but thinks that she did not (because Cloud hid himself).

In the OG, the appearance of young Cloud is representative of the Real Cloud and his psyche. My belief is that his appearance here is another indication that after Tifa falls into the Lifestream, Cloud and Tifa are mentally and spiritually connected.

Next...

Part 5: The Ending

While the ending may be confusing, several replays make it clear to me that Aerith is dead & that once again, the metaphysical Lifestream (indicated by rainbows) is in play in what we see.

Cloud, who is shattered in the collective unconscious of the metaphysical Lifestream, can see what is “manifested” in these worlds. Similarly, these worlds are influenced not only by memories, and knowledge, but by hopes, dreams, and desires.

Without going off on another tangent, I think Cloud is seeing the manifestation of his desire to save Aerith’s life in the metaphysical Lifestream & that she is temporarily aiding him in this delusion (remember, Aerith can maintain her sense of self within the LS after death).

After the murder, Barret & Tifa run up & we are given BOTH of their perspectives of this death scene. Barret very clearly only sees the real-world scene - Aerith dead, bleeding, etc.

However, when we get Tifa’s perspective, she sees glimpses of what Cloud sees - including his mental static - with interspersed scenes of the real-world death and the rainbow Lifestream where Aerith is not dead or bleeding but is "saved”.

Tifa is quite confused & horrified but seems to accept the actual scene - her death. She is not deluded or blocking things out, she knows what is real.

It’s confusing but it is purposefully clear to me that Tifa is seeing, or can see, what Cloud sees. It is not revealed how much Tifa knows is Cloud’s delusion but it is clear that she is deeply affected, not only by the murder of her friend but by something else.

And Tifa remains disturbingly distraught for the rest of the game. In fact, when she calls Aerith’s name in this scene it’s her last line in the game - she does not speak again. Once again, this is a clue to me that Cloud & Tifa are soul-bonded bc of the chapter 9 events.

In the ending CGI, Cloud tells the group not to look up. Barret does and says he doesn’t see anything. Tifa looks up but doesn’t comment, instead continues to look distressed. Does she also see the rift that Cloud sees? Her behavior is the most jarring of the entire party.

In the penultimate cinematics, we see the WEAPONS circling Tifa & Cloud’s memories again, trying to protect them from “the planet’s enemies”. We can see Tifa’s house, the bridge, and the gates of Nibelheim under them.

These sequences are plot arrows for what we should expect to see in Part 3. It should be lost on no one that the planet is actively fighting to protect Cloud & Tifa’s precious memories, especially after personally guiding Tifa through them.

Which brings me to...

Part 6: The Lifestream Scene (OG/Part 3)

All of the above has led me to conclude that Cloud & Tifa are now spiritually or “soul-bound” in some way, explicitly for the preparation of the Lifestream Scene of Part 3.

Tifa’s role is to help Cloud “restore his sense of self” by entering his individual Lifestream and navigating their fixed memories and the truth about his identity in the physical Lifestream, which occurs when they fall in Mideel.

Rebirth has not only prepared Tifa for this role, but has given us the navigation, insight, and background lore for how it will occur and what the experience might actually entail. This may include elements of both the physical and Metaphysical Lifestream mentioned above.

It has set the stage for an in-depth expansion of the original scene that does not solely focus on what happened when rebuilding Cloud’s psyche, but the why behind his choices and decisions that let them to this moment.

These scenes have also demonstrated why Cloud’s consciousness - his individual Lifestream consciousness that contains his “self-consciousness” and “storehouse consciousness”- is and will remain closed off to anyone other than Tifa.

This is where Cloud’s true desires are concealed and must be revealed to Tifa in the Lifestream scene to facilitate his restoration and their reunion and reconciliation.

Which brings me to…

Part 7: Those Chosen by The Planet- Soulmates?

Why is all of this happening? Cloud is the boy who is destined to save the planet, and Tifa is destined to save him. If the planet has memories of the future as well as the past, then it knows this.

Just like the planet knows that it needs the last Cetra in the Lifestream to help save it, it also knows that it needs Cloud to defeat Sephiroth. And I think the planet has known this for a long time.

Is it far-fetched to wonder if the planet is somewhat responsible for the genesis of Cloud and Tifa’s bond? That, in keeping with the theme of fate, it has influenced the circumstances that have both brought them together and pulled them apart throughout the Compilation?

Is it possible that the planet kept baby Cloud and Tifa alive during the bridge incident? Now, with the context of the Remake Trilogy, I don’t see how two small children survived that fall.

Are Cloud and Tifa chosen by the Planet?

Are they soul mates?

Maybe we’ll find out.

Thanks for reading!

[strelitzia-mystery1097]

My FF7R Part 3 theory

*spoilers for FF7, FF7 Rebirth, etc*

So... this theory is based off the 'Cloud snapped and thinks he saved Aerith' theory. TL;DR due to all the extra mind screwing Sephiroth has done this time around, Cloud couldn't take Aerith's death so he's convinced himself that she's totally fine and that he totally saved her!

Anyways, let me ask you this. What exactly caused Sephiroth to lose in FF7? He was extremely close to achieving his goal but he made a mistake that cost him greatly.

He underestimated Cloud.

Remember back then Sephiroth wasn't NEARLY as obsessed with Cloud as he is now. He didn't really think much of Cloud apart from a puppet. But Cloud to Sephiroth wasn't any different from black robed Sephiroth clones. Yeah Cloud killed him, but he was just a lowly Infantryman.

Cloud was a pawn on the board he exploited, not his foil and his obsession.

So in the OG, once Cloud had fulfilled his purpose and gave Sephiroth the Black Materia, it makes sense that Sephiroth left Cloud to drown the Lifestream when the WEAPONS woke up. Sephiroth just threw him away like a broken toy not worth thinking about.

And that's where he went wrong.

Cloud washing up in Mideel, Tifa helping him piece together his memories, Cloud regaining his true self, these things led to Cloud being strong enough to face and kill Sephiroth. Cloud had proven himself more than a puppet and Sephiroth lost because of this arrogance.

So that's why Sephiroth in Remake and Rebirth keeps hounding Cloud and making him have way more mental breaks than he did in OG.

That's why Sephiroth wants Tifa dead too because to a lesser extent he underestimated her too. He used Tifa to break Cloud in the Northern Crater by showing the accurate memories. But he didn't expect her to piece together Cloud's mind. Tifa can help Cloud be stable therefore it would better for Sephiroth if she died.

But yeah Sephiroth is trying to break Cloud and make him be more of a puppet this time. For example, Sephiroth hijacks Cloud's 'inner Cloud' moments in Remake. Instead of being warned of the Reactor, Cloud sees a feather. Cloud talking to himself about scraping his knees falling down a great height gets interrupted by Sephiroth. And in Rebirth these 'inner Cloud' moments are not even there. The dream in Junon and us playing as kid inner Cloud as the body gives Sephiroth the Black Materia are absent.

Cloud in Rebirth starts to take some of Sephiroth's fighting stances and word for word sentences as well when he's supposed to be impersonating Zack.

(Also if you ask "Well why doesn't Sephiroth make Cloud stab himself so that Cloud can't stop him?" Remember that Sephiroth in AC goes out of his way to torment Cloud and give him Despair. If Cloud lost the fight you can bet he wouldn't of just killed Cloud. He would make Cloud watch him kill everything and everyone he cherishes because Sephiroth is petty like that. Sephiroth would make Cloud suffer forever if he could. That's why he saved Cloud's life in the swamp.)

And if you don't believe me that Sephiroth constantly harassing and messing with Cloud's head isn't making Cloud more mentally damaged, then replay/rewatch the differences in the OG and Rebirth post Temple of the Ancients. In the OG Cloud is self-aware and terrified that Sephiroth can control him and almost doesn't go after Aerith because he's scared of learning the truth of himself.

Rebirth Cloud does not do these things. He just... doesn't acknowledge what happened. When Yuffie asks how did Sephiroth get the Black Materia if he didn't beat up Cloud and he just goes "Uh..." and Yuffie rambles on and Cloud just ends up agreeing that Sephiroth totally beat the hell out of him. And when Tifa asked Cloud to let her know if he starts thinking weird thoughts and he asks her what she means. She gives the example of thinking she's not real and he apologises but- CLOUD YOU JUST WENT THROUGH A DEGRADING AND AWFUL EXPERIENCE OF SEPHIROTH MAKING YOU A PATHETIC PUPPET DESPERATE FOR THE BLACK MATERIA! HOW DO YOU NOT THINK 'Oh hey maybe that counts as weird thoughts'.

Which all results in Cloud blocking out that Aerith is dead because Cloud's now more insane.

Sephiroth has his claws deep in Cloud's brain.

But what is this all leading up to?

Here's where I go into pure theory and speculation.

At the Northern Crater, Sephiroth will not only show the truth of Nibelheim, but also Aerith's death and shatter Cloud's mind.

But...

Sephiroth isn't going to let Cloud be washed away and he isn't going to let Tifa fix his brain. He's going keep his puppet with him. Sephiroth will put up that barrier around the Crater to defend himself from the WEAPONS and Shin-ra, and make sure Cloud's on the other side of barrier this time.

So when the barrier and the party goes in to fight Sephiroth, they will be forced to fight Puppet Cloud.

I call this 'The Puppet Cloud Boss Fight Theory' btw.

But yeah they will be forced to fight their mind broken friend. (Bonus points if Cloud's theme plays as a boss fight remix. Also bonus bonus points if Cloud at one stage of the fight gets a bat wing on his left KH Style.)

The fight will end with Cloud being pushed into the Lifestream (by Tifa probably to mirror Clpud doing that in Rebirth) and then Cloud washes up in Mideel all make poisoned.

Maybe instead of that WEAPON attacking Mideel it's Sephiroth trying to stop history from repeating. OOO or maybe Sephiroth fights that WEAPON!

But either way Tifa and Cloud end up in the Lifestream.

Maybe one of the reasons Zack is here from another world or whatever is because the damage to Cloud's psyche is too much now for just Tifa to fix alone and Zack and Tifa go through a buddy road trip through Cloud's mind. Or maybe Zack will being having a boss fight with Sephiroth in the background to stop him from interfering.

...

And that's the theory! Maybe later I will figure out how the empty materia is involved or all the wacky worlds stuff. But that's my theory for now.

[smashbrosodyssey64]

Was watching an LP for fic inspy and it occurred to me how dutifully Tifa is listening to Cloud's story despite the obvious inconsistencies. Just when I was drafting a post of how much that shows her love for him, I realized that because Tifa outright tells her about Cloud's story (and presumably mentions Zack) Aerith's been aware since Kalm too, and goes along. Both girls keep the illusion going to keep their crush (and friend, in Aerith's case) safe and I think that's a cool detail.

[dark-elf-writes]

Yes!!!!! And also a time traveler that no longer fits in anywhere.

The people they loved and managed to connect with despite everything no longer being able to relate to them. Them not experiencing the same traumas that once tied them so tightly together.

The time traveler seeing their once peers as children now, no matter how old they get. Who views adults as peers but is only looked down on in turn.

This is why the Chaos Theory AU fucks me up so much and why I had to have one person who even sort of remembered.

Because Cloud knows in a distant way that in an ideal world he will never see most of his friends again. Not in a way he will recognize them. Not in a way they will recognize him. He doesn’t understand it but he knows.

He knows when he learns how to read a calendar and realizes Yuffie hasn’t been born.

He knows when he hears news about the possibility of a Shinra space program in the works.

He knows whenever he hears news about Corel.

He knows every time Tifa looks at him and sees another kid rather than her friend.

He knows that he will never have his friends again, never be able to cling to them as tightly as he dared with his enhanced strength and have them cling back just as tightly. Knows that their little unit that seemed so closely knit will likely never even cross paths.

Tbh without Vincent sort of remembering him through Chaos he might have shattered entirely in this horrific new reality where nothing has happened yet but each and every one of them are walking a tightrope only he knows about.

He misses them, of course he does, sometimes so much that he can’t breathe through it, but he knows that if everything goes right they will never miss him in return.

He wants it to go right.

He wants his family back.

[ffvii-series-incorrect-quotes]

[azuree1733]

REBIRTH COMES OUT SO SOON

[crisiscutie]

Have you watched the new FF7 trailer? Let us know your toughts! XD

My current questions are these:

1. During flashback where Sephiroth slashed Tifa off, he said that she's dead and "...so who is she"? I don't remember the OG much, but does he speaks the truth? Or maybe he's merely gaslighting Cloud to hand over black materia?

2. What do you think Ever Crisis is about? Will we finally able to play as Sephiroth? I have a bad feeling of it being developed for mobile phone...

3. Anything else you notice?

Hello, anon! Yes, I've seen the trailer for Rebirth and Ever Crisis, so let's hop right into C.C's analysis/ramble. Unedited and Unhinged. Disclaimer: These are just my opinions, of course.

༻❁༺ Tifa DIES!?

I don't think so... the Crisis Cutie is definitely messing with Cloud here. And he's messing with US. Sephiroth is aware of our existence. Yes, I mean "Us" and "Our". The 7R Universe is basically a self-aware AU, heh heh. He is determined to change fate, and he is doing whatever he can to make sure he wins, by manipulating us and Cloud into his plans.

I think the Whispers would've ensured Tifa's survival, as she is an important character in the FF7/7R universe. It's possible they revived her by the time Zack arrived to confront Sephiroth. I've always wondered how Tifa AND Cloud survived their gruesome injuries from Sephiroth, but The Whispers existing in the canon now make their survival logical (in my opinion)

And don't forget that 7R Sephy knows what happened in OG FF7, so it would make sense he would begin his new plan of sowing seeds of distrust between Cloud and Tifa. Remember that Tifa is also the one who repaired Cloud's mind, taking him right out of Sephiroth's clutches at the last moments. So it seemed logical that our trolling Sephy would want to carry out his threat, eventually. Sephiroth underestimated Tifa AND her connection to Cloud in the OG game, so he is definitely taking her more seriously this time around. Poor girl occupied a spot on Sephy's special hitlist...

One of my biggest questions I had in Remake is that I wondered why 7R Sephy didn't immediately off both Aerith and Tifa and beeline for the black materia considering his future knowledge, but I realized the existence of the Whispers prevents that: They're holding him back. So both Sephy and Jenova are planning around them to make their plans come to fruition. I still think the whole "Tifa dying" is an obvious red-herring, for now. Nothing says it can't happen in the next 7R game...

༻❁༺ What's up with the Miracle Cutie?

What I find the most suspicious is how quiet the trailer was regarding Aerith. I find it interesting how Tifa worryingly confided in Aerith about Cloud's absence from Nibelheim in the recent years... Aerith sounded worried herself about it. Her tone of voice gave it away. Like Sephiroth, she also has knowledge of OG FF7's events. She knows Tifa is the key to repairing Cloud. I also think this denial keeps the Whispers away and so Aerith's own plans won't be disrupted. The Whispers aren't just around to keep our Sephy snake in line; you know.

And while it was incredibly subtle, Remake was building up something between Aerith and Sephiroth... Guys, believe me when I say something is going to happen incredibly differently when Aerith "dies'. My theory is that her death will be delayed, due to Zack intercepting the party in some way. I also think instead of Sephiroth "killing" her the traditional way, I think he will corrupt her with Jenova's essence....

Aerith is Cetra and Human. Her Cetra DNA will surely try to expel the Jenova essence, yet her human DNA will surely be overwhelmed by it. So either Aerith will spontaneously combust (unlikely) or become a massive freak of nature (most likely), begging Cloud and the party to put her down. It can do so many wonders for Sephiroth's plan: Aerith is gone, Cloud is on the verge of breaking or WILL BREAK from being forced to kill a loved one or to see her be killed. And it's deliciously cruel, because Sephiroth can drink in the party's despair. And for a meta reason, this might happen: it'd be a bigger player punch for those who played the original and for newcomers to the series...

If Aerith doesn't die at the right moment, then I think the Whispers would end up working with Sephiroth to make it happen. Or maybe they will demand someone equally important to die in her place, thus making a trade of fate? It all depends on how the rules of FF7's time and space works. Maybe Ramuh will explain it to the party? Again, these are all just my opinions and speculations.

༻❁༺ The Ever Cutie

Ever Crisis seems cool, but the fact it's a mobile and gacha game is a huge turnoff for me. I will stick to Twitter, YT and the FF wiki for my daily dose of new Sephy lore, thank you very much. As I once said before, Sephy and the first class boyos are deserving of their own full-blown title. After so much resistance from the devs of not letting Sephiroth be playable, he finally is! ...In a gacha mobile game, sigh...

Anyway, it sounds like Ever Crisis will take us through several time periods of the FF7 multiverse. So it's at least semi-canon...

If what I read on twitter is correct, then it also seems the First Soldier will be retconned to be intertwined with Young Sephy's storyline, as it should be. Not sure what SE was thinking when releasing the First Soldier in the first place, it had so many lore inconsistencies...

And it seems like Sephiroth is getting a new friendo(?) to add to his small social circle.

It looks like we aren't getting anymore or little news for Rebirth now on, as Nomura said EC is meant to hold us over, so I hope those who play EC will enjoy it.

༻❁༺ What else did C.C notice?

I admit, I love Sephiroth's quote about Jenova.

"They say she’s a monster. That she can peer inside you, into the very depths of your soul. That she can become those you hate. Those you fear… Those you love.”

...because it's a big theme I'm trying to convey with the darling and Jenova in HoS.

Also, I do not take this as a quote of Sephiroth trying to warn Cloud. I think he's doing the opposite: he's rubbing it in! Going back to my point of him sowing the seeds of distrust between Cloud and Tifa, Sephiroth may even do it for Cloud and the whole party! I do not believe the common theory of a heroic Sephiroth being present. If Sephiroth ever changes his ways and joins the good side, it's something he will have to strive for and work towards in the storyline, I presume.

For a final thought, the trailer showed no mention or even a hint of Vincent, but unlike Aerith, I do believe this is more so than the fact he doesn't appear until later on. This is a random gut feeling, but maybe Vincent will have a major role this time? He could potentially aid in Sephiroth's redemption and go against fate, by convincing Lucrecia to leave her cave.. Lucrecia, for sure, will make an appearance. She is far too important to cut out.

I am very excited for Rebirth about the interesting and new things to bring. But also quite concerned... With all these mysteries and new story developments, Nomura and the writers may bite off more than they can chew...

[thefrostqueen]

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth Theory

Tifa glitching in front of Cloud and then Sephiroth immediately saying Jenova can create realistic hallucinations of people you hate and love…

The glitches throughout the games aren’t Cloud having a moment. It’s Cloud almost breaking out of Jenova’s hallucinations.

[nierielfaegir]

My guess is that the reason Cloud is not showned with the others in this scene, is because this takes place in the "Zack survives" timeline and Cloud is with him. Because he's with Zack, and not with Avalanche, Barret, Tifa, Nanaki and Aerith weren't able to get out of sector 7 in time before the plate collapsed.

[keykidpilipili]

KH seems to be moving away from minigame hub 100 Acre Wood with kh3. So i'm making a list of possible replacements as a joke:

Quadratum arcade corner(kh4 only?): Japan's arcade market is strong, also wreck it ralph cameos. The score boards could have cameos from other recurring characters present in the city like Yozora, Xehanort, Strelitzia or MoM.

Golden Saucer: could work if no gambling ingame(eu laws influenced pokemon remakes). The place could be accessible via gummi ship like the mirage arena, an actual flying saucer. You could fit races, accuracy and card games, dancing, an arena, photo booths(think remind simulator) a small theater(pokemon bw2) and most importantly COMMAND BOARD. The owner is unseen but all the top scores of the minigames were made by a STZR. If you beat all of those you get a special cutscene and bragging-rights crown accessory by the owner of the Saucer, Setzer Gabbiani.

Tyro's Roaming Shelves: basically similar to KH1/2's page and kh3's minigame collection, you unlock a different book aka sidegame through chest in different worlds. You use the books to project the minigame environment X[chi]/Unchained AR style. This would be another method to provide extra bosses, hard enemy waves without ten paragraphs of lore arguements. Blatantly defying world order by spreading the stories of other worlds but escaping backlash by people assuming it's all fiction. ;) There has been a record keeper collab in the past and it provided neat redesigns of established ff enemies.

[cyborgrhodey]

my spouse doesnt understand the shipper life, much less the multi poly shipper life 😔😔

[tifa-simp]

Oh? Never thought of this. But since you bring this up, I wonder if Gongaga LS and the Dream date suppose to be foils too.

Both girls fall from high place. Both girls take a brief trip to the afterlife. Both times Sephiroth is there to control Cloud and later goes after the girls.

With Tifa, Sephiroth uses the black whispers to manipulate the situation, takes over Cloud's body and only release his influence when the killing is done. Tifa's saved by the WEAPON, she hears her mother's, father's, old friends' voices guiding her to safety. Follow the voices, Tifa visits a lot of her special places like her house, the water tower, the Nibelheim bridge, we can see Seventh heaven and Stargazer height and Nibelheim entrance somewhere too. Then we see Sephiroth manifests from afar with his real body and immediately tries to kill Tifa but fails so he attacks the WEAPON instead (Also this is the only time we see Sephiroth canon struggles in a fight). However he does manage to make her suffocated and out cold. While being unconscious, Tifa sees even more of important people in her life (Barret, Dr Sheiran, Zangan and Aerith) and they all give her words of encouragement. Then we see the second time Sephiroth has talked to someone telepathically (the first is Cloud, if I'm wrong please correct me so I can fix it), mocks Tifa that her words can't reach Cloud no more. And after that, the WEAPON returns Tifa to the gang.

With Aerith, Sephiroth also controls Cloud but seem like it's not the same type of control in Gongaga. Cloud acts like an actual puppet in the Temple. And the black whispers attacks both Tifa and Aerith this time, not Cloud. When Aerith falls from the branch, either Cloud breaks free from the control or Sephiroth lets him go, he runs and saves Aerith and fall into the dream. In this dream, which takes place in sector 5 Midgard, we don't see Elmyra, Marlene or the sector 5 boy Oates, or anyone we know before, the only people we're familiar with in this world are Cloud and Aerith. Later we meet a bunch of npc that used to appear in Crisis core in Aerith and Zack's date. The difference that in this dream date, everything goes wrong. None of the gift options are available, their couple photo isn't chosen, all of the snack taste bad. At some point we can see the black feathers of Sephiroth flying around like he's taunting her. To end the date, Aerith asks Cloud to go to "their place" but Cloud didn't understand what she means at first. It's the church where Zack's sitting outside.(Fun fact, we can see a dog toy and a dog graffiti- likely reference to Zack, in previous date spots). After giving Cloud the white material, Aerith pushes Cloud to a portal and we can see Sephiroth is right behind her. It's unclear if Sephiroth's done anything to Aerith in the dream world, all we know that right after that, Sephiroth follows Cloud and shows him the true nature of reality. So my guess is that Sephiroth is after Cloud in the dream date than Aerith. Finally Aerith says goodbye to Cloud and they're back to reality.

Just like the parallels above, these 2 scenes mirror each other, one takes place in the Lifestream in the dark and one takes place in a seemingly afterlife world in broard daylight, one has memories of real Cloud and one has Cloud in the flesh of another variant of himself. One has Sephiroth directly attacks her and one has Sephiroth seems to skip her to aim for Cloud. One receives a lot of supports from all the dear people in her life and one has none.

A fun side parallel that I noticed after checking the dream date.

These are Tifa describing the Lifestream- which is a part of the Planet, Sephiroth describing the sound of the Planet and Cloud describes the sound of the Planet. There's so many ways we can interprets this parallel.

1. Has the Planet always been screaming but it doesn't do it with Tifa? Or was it really chill by Gongaga but gets so much worse to the point of screaming by the end of Rebirth?

2. Does the Planet wants to show to Tifa that it's winning but Sephiroth who thought it's on his side mistakes that as a rapturous sound and Cloud mistakes it as agony scream? Or does Sephiroth just want to gaslight Cloud but Cloud hears how it truly feels?

3. Does the scream sound different to different people so Sephiroth hears cry of joy while all Cloud hears is screams and Tifa hears no scream? Is the Planet more gentle to Tifa and more hostile to Cloud?

Idk if this is intentional from the devs but it's a fun parallel to think about.

I just realized how much these scenes mirror each other. There’s the obvious standing at a railing; night vs day; facing left vs right; bringing up Midgar as a way to start conversation. There’s more physical distance between Cloud and Tifa compared to Cloud and Aerith, and he doesn’t respond to Tifa’s attempt at casual conversation. He knows they’re about to have a difficult, personal convo, and he initiates it by voicing his doubts that Tifa is real. Aerith, on the other hand, catches Cloud off guard by bringing up Tifa. He’s expecting casual conversation, not a personal talk, and he’s reluctant to open up about what’s going on. Aerith ultimately doesn’t get much out of him.

I also think it’s neat that when Cloud is recounting (what he thought was) Tifa’s death, you can see the clock tower lit up behind him. The clock tower he climbs the next day with Aerith — the girl who does actually end up killed by Sephiroth later.

[tamamita]

As a result of disagreements with Barret's application of socialist theories in Avalache, Tifa forms a separate Maoist-faction of Avalanche, the Popular Socialist front of Midgar.

[sephirthoughts]

Honestly i feel like a lot of the problems with Tifa come from the juxtaposition of the writing wanting her to be a character and wanting her to be Woman Love Interest (which is a recurring problem in ff7 and in a lot of media)

Like, her flaws are interesting, she is a seemingly kind and sweet gal who then falls into manipulating a very vulnerable guy (who wasn't even her actual Friend ) because he is the last connection she has to her destroyed childhood home, but then her actions have nefarious consequences and she has to give up her selfish wishes and actually be considerate with the guy.

But nope, the story keeps ignoring her meaner yet interesting facets to place her in the childhood sweetheart and domestic wife mold, who scolds her cold (read: emotionally and mentally exhausted) man bc thats what the Female Love Interest must do, and then plays it as a loving couple instead of a dysfunctional relationship. I still like her as a character but i wish she wasn't Cloud's obligatory girlfriend and was allowed to have a more organic connection with him.

Enjoy this Tifa ramble on your ask box lmao 👍

it's funny that you sent this right after my neice and i had been discussing this exact issue and i think she put it really well, which is "tifa is such a cool character...in theory."

she actually said the exact same thing you did about the devs forcing her into the trophy female role, which prevents them from ever admitting let alone examining her flaws, and her emotionally manipulative, hypocritical behavior toward cloud.

she's supposed to share the same trauma, then have been taken and trained to be this badass martial artist, and then joined and eco-terrorist cell and beat cloud to midgar. that character could have been SO COOL. but they keep shoving her into the wishy-washy girlfriend role, which forces her to act in wildly contradictive ways and results in a pretty insufferable character.

like, imagine a male character with the exact same specs and backstory as Tifa. he'd be an awesome character because the writers wouldn't be forcing him act according to an extremely misogynist ideal of how The Girlfriend should behave. he'd be cloud's link to his lost past, his equal, there would be tension and conflict, there would be believeable chemistry and mutual attachment, and eventually he'd become his emotional anchor and the person who keeps him sane and grounded. which they try to make you believe Tifa is except they just CANNOT STOP forcing her to be the white lily waifu for like a fucking minute.

my niece said it made her skin crawl, because she always felt like Tifa was getting taken over and puppeted around by the male writers and forced to act like a Wife Back Home character, while her entire backstory and supposed choices up to that point in no way support her being that way.

we came to the mutual conclusion that our problems aren't with Tifa, they are with the way she's been written by men who should never, ever, ever write women unsupervised.

[silvergreenseraphim]

Angeal and Sephiroth (And Genesis?)—Dissidia Opera Omnia—Part One

Alright, so this chapter was a lot, and it opened with Weiss quoting “Loveless” for a reason, it seems.

“When the war of the beasts brings about the world’s end, the goddess descends from the sky! Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss…her gift everlasting!”

Weiss becomes our voice for Genesis, or his “brother,” in this chapter. When Seymour questions his quote, Weiss replies,

“It was a passage from a story our brother loved. He used to quote it for his best friend. That friend was Sephiroth, the hero and friend of the other “brother,” Angeal as well.”

This part was hard to translate into English, but Weiss essentially explains that Genesis used to quote Loveless for his close friend, Sephiroth, the hero, and Angeal was right there with them as the third friend in the trio.

Seymour is shocked and gasps, “Sephiroth and Angeal were best friends??”

Weiss replies, “It’s hard to believe of the now-evil “hero” that never reveals his heart. And yet, the exemplary First Class soldier that is a role model for everyone was his friend.”

I am on the fence about the translation of this part and may change it once my friend gets back to me, but for now, it seems like Weiss is pondering the friendship of Sephiroth and Angeal and how differently they turned out, because Seymour does make a comment like, “I suppose if you have dreams and honor, you can’t go wrong.”

But there is potentially more here that Weiss is saying about his own relationship to Sephiroth and Angeal—perhaps suggesting he is not their friend and doesn’t quite understand their past relationship himself. I will have to keep researching.

We cut to Sephiroth again, who is confused about his memory returning. He says he didn’t expect any memories to return from the Lifestream, but shakes his head and denial. He claims these memories Angeal brought back are unnecessary and that he most remove Angeal from the picture immediately. His motives are set.

Meanwhile, Zack and Angeal are talking about how Sephiroth changed. I translated this on Altocat’s blog and here is what they say:

Zack says,

“Angeal, I know you’re surprised…I can’t believe that Sephiroth changed like that…

Angeal replies,

“So, you were taken aback as well…”

Zack says,

“It was out of nowhere. We went to investigate Cloud and Tifa’s village…and I guess he discovered his origins. He killed everyone and burned down the village. He had always been the hero I strived to be…”

Zack and Angeal are both very crestfallen here, lamenting this knowledge. Angeal pulls himself together and says,

“I know…I’m disappointed too. Everything changed while I was gone, I guess.

Angeal further laments that he wasn’t there, and Zack reassures him that even though Angeal disappeared at the time and pushed everyone away, Zack would have stayed by his side and helped. Zack would have left Shinra, and he says he is sure Sephiroth felt the same way.

Angeal thanks his student but says that it was his choice and lonely path at the time—he had to carry the responsibility as a First Class soldier. Zack chastises him saying he shouldn’t think that way—after all, Zack is a First Class as well, and has enough experience. He could have helped Angeal. Angeal begins to reply, saying, “Zack…” but then they are interrupted by the others.

They say it’s time to make a decision about Sephiroth, and Cloud explains that the silver boi is planning to turn the world into an empty vessel that he may sail the cosmos with in order to find another world. An Advent Children reference, of course.

Rufus mentions that this goal is very similar to the desire of Jenova. He has to then explain what Jenova is to the other characters, as well as the Reunion theory.

This makes a lightbulb go off in Angeal’s head and he gasps, “So basically…Sephiroth is Jenova?”

He puts it together that Reunion implies that Jenova’s cells must be drawn back to their source, and since that source is currently Sephiroth, they must be the same.

However, the others simply say that Sephiroth/Jenova must be eliminated, and agree to hunt him down. Everyone nods and moves forward except Angeal, who lingers with hesitation.

In the next part, they are in the process of tracking Sephiroth, but the group notices Angeal’s troubled demeanor. They ask him if he’s okay and Kadaj says that he heard about Sephiroth being Angeal’s good friend. He says that it must be disheartening to see Sephiroth in his current state, since nothing is like it used to be.

Angeal notes Kadaj’s own tone of disappointment and Kadaj explains how Sephiroth used him as a puppet to find Jenova’s remains, which horrifies Kadaj because if Sephiroth and Jenova are the same, then his own “mother” used and betrayed him in such a way.

Angeal encourages Kadaj and gives him one of his classic pep talks, appealing to his usual “dreams and honor” code. Tifa notes that Zack often spoke the same way, prompting Angeal to recall teaching Zack all those things.

In response to Kadaj, he then says he was indeed surprised by hearing what Sephiroth did, but he says that,

“Sephiroth had his honor once too…and he has a tendency to hold onto things, so even if I am surprised, I can’t abandon him…”

The others say that they aren’t sure if Angeal’s words can reach Sephiroth, who was cruel enough to destroy Tifa and Cloud’s village. Tifa agrees as she recalls how she begged Sephiroth to explain why he did what he did, but she does say to Angeal that she believes he could have a better chance.

She kindly compliments him on how his “dreams and honor” philosophy had helped her as well. :,)

She encourages Angeal, saying that his words will surely be a beacon and that he should try to speak with Sephiroth again. Angeal hangs his head sorrowfully and agrees, saying,

“I don’t want to give up on him….so I’ll try as hard as I can…”

—

This is a good place to stop because the next chapters are where everything gets chaotic, but for now, we have some build-up for what Angeal wants to do, and for Weiss being a stand-in for Genesis later.

—

Some little notes:

The Zack and Angeal scenes were very sweet, as Zack wants to convince his old mentor to stop shouldering everything alone. Angeal’s absolute refusal to give up on Seph tugs at the heartstrings too, and I find it so sweet that Tifa actually encouraged him.

The “Sephiroth is Jenova” point is fascinating, but I believe we will soon find that Seph’s own will is blended into Jenova’s, as they are aligned, and this might be what reveals to Angeal that there may not be much hope for his old friend. :(

I am struggling with the Weiss and Seymour discussion, and this has been one of the parts that has slowed me down, because the context is hard to decipher, but I suspect that Weiss is comparing Sephiroth and Angeal to the figures in Loveless, which also becomes relevant later. I will update as soon as I can get an explanation from my Japanese friend. I am not skilled enough to decipher everything yet on my own, you see. 😅

But enjoy this for now, and I will be back with more soon! <3