#crisis core spoilers

[finallyfantasy7]

I've seen people accuse Angeal of being a coward.

Either for choosing to die, or for making Zack kill him instead of doing it himself.

Angeal Hewley was a hero.

I didn't see anything cowardly in his behavior. I only saw a person willing to sacrifice his life to protect others.

Not just the story but imagery and motifs support it too: his name, being the only one of the trio having a white wing, being called Angeal Penance in the final fight, the way he's depicted at the end...

As for the story, what drove Angeal to get Zack to kill him wasn't cowardice, but a wish to protect others. Suddenly faced with Genesis and unaware of motives for his desertion and behavior, Angeal disappeared in Wutai because he didn't want to drag Zack into the whole mess while Angeal takes time to reason with Genesis to come back. Being a SOLDIER had come to mean so much to Angeal but he left without hesitation to protect Zack. He left to get Genesis back.

Yet, despite Angeal's love for his friend, he stands between Genesis and Zack in the Banora factory, because protecting is what he does.

Angeal never joined Genesis because he couldn't justify the violence. Angeal was there only to convince Genesis to return with him to Shinra. Of course, once Angeal learned the truth of the horrible experiments that created them, and of all the disgusting things Shinra did, he couldn't morally justify returning either. He was left in a limbo.

On top of that, his own degradation got triggered and affected his mind and made him confused and unable to think clearly (G-SOLDIER degradation makes them irrational and more prone to violence), and he wrestled with the newfound knowledge of his twisted origins, his mother's willing participation in it, her lies, and that the fact that it was actually the sleazy lowlife Hollander who was his biological father (and not the man he respected and loved all his life and who was so proud of Angeal he had sacrificed everything for Angeal to have the Buster Sword). Hollander used Angeal's moment of helplessness to harvest his cells and with them started creating Angeal copies. Angeal never consented to this. Sephiroth's conclusions that both Angeal and Genesis are in league with Hollander when he saw Angeal copy is incorrect and comes from Sephiroth's own issues.

Yet, Angeal's own existence created the one thing he strove all his life to prevent. A danger to others. Aside from Lazard, all Angeal copies were monsters, not humans. And monster are dangerous. They attack people. They kill. They create suffering.

If he were to prevent it, he had to destroy the source of the cells - himself, or the world would never be safe from Angeal copies.

Now, it's very important to note that this decision to destroy himself was very different than the self-loathing wish to die he expressed to Zack in Banora, or the pointless attempt to get Zack to kill him on the bottom of the plate above the Sector 5 church.

By this point, Angeal had managed to overcome the degradation's effects on his mind by using his willpower and his SOLDIER honor, and he was not searching to die to end his own shame, he was searching to do his duty.

We see this change in him when he starts helping Zack and Sephiroth deflect Genesis' and Hollander's attacks, protecting people in Shinra Building, and informing Lazard of their plans, although never officially returning to Shinra. He retained the spirit of what it means to be an honorable SOLDIER without supporting Shinra that created it all.

Now, with his mind clear and his honor restored he does not loathe himself, but he can clearly see his copies have to be destroyed. And there is sadly no other way to do this than to absorb them and destroy himself in the process.

He is not a coward, he is selfless and brave for willing to die to protect others.

He did not saddle Zack with this. Zack consented. Zack agreed that their enemy is all that creates suffering, even if he didn't fully understand what that would entail. At that point Angeal probably didn't either.

But think about Zack's personality. Killing his mentor and friend is unthinkable to him, but how would he feel if he had refused and then Angeal copies killed innocent civilians? If they killed a little kid? Zack was devastated but ultimately it was Angeal's free decision. How much more devastated would Zack be if his refusal to fight Angeal led to deaths of people who had no choice in the matter unlike Angeal?

From what I saw of their last fight, Angeal faced several issues:

to collect his copies and destroy them

to prevent Hollander from getting more samples from him

to find a way to destroy himself while being merged with the copies which seems to rob him of self-awareness. He didn't seem at all in control as Angeal Penance, so how could he destroy himself?

So, what course of action is left? Who can Angeal trust?

Who is strong and skilled enough to fight a SOLDIER 1st Class strengthened by degradation? Who can be trusted to prevent Hollander from collecting more samples? Who cares enough about protecting others to crush his own feelings by killing his friend? Who has mental fortitude and emotional support to do it and come out on the other side still himself?

Gensis is still obsessed with a cure and revenge and is creating untold suffering himself, and Sephiroth was taught that collateral damage is no big deal and doesn't care about much except his friends. And besides, Angeal already saw Sephiroth had started spiraling into despair.

So who is left?

Only Zack.

And Angeal prepared Zack. He prepared him by training him, by loving him, by teaching him about being an honorable and moral SOLDIER. He certainly couldn't even dream this is what he was preparing him for, but he inadvertently did. Zack is powerful enough, and cares enough, and is emotionally strong enough. Zack is the most emotionally strong person Angeal had ever met.

Only thing left to do was to convince Zack to do it because Zack has shown he would rather die than fight Angeal. But while Zack was alright with sacrificing himself, he wouldn't hurt Aerith by never returning to her (which very nicely makes Crisis Core even more tragic).

Angeal did everything in his power to make sure Zack would be alright. He checked to made sure Zack has emotional support after Angeal is gone. He went to the Church to meet Aerith.

He made sure she is the kind of person to be there for Zack.

And she was.

He made sure to leave one of his copies he could influence from the Lifestream to protect Aerith.

And it did.

And Angeal knew Zack is emotionally strong enough to handle it.

And he was.

[i-lived-bitch-beatdown]

[a-view-without-light-pollution]

Can't get enough Zack

Ever get a keychain you don't wanna use because it'll get ruined?

Got that thing I really wanted.

[the-blue-wraith]

[fangirl-1st-class]

The way I am going to freak

[jemtokall]

Matching icons for you and the bestie that never gave up on you

[emotionalwarmth]

"Could you find a way to let me down slowly? A little sympathy, I hope you can show me If you wanna go then I'll be so lonely If you're leaving baby let me down slowly" I am. Just. In brainrot. That's all. I am imagining a typical AMV with this song but I cannot make one and I cannot look them up because spoilers xD

[onigiri-dorkk]

Attack on Titan AOE vs. Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth Parallels

Alright fam. This is my ultimate multi-fandom post! This will go out to fellow AOT x FFVII fans -- especially those who have been looking into the AOT/ANR theories regarding AOE.

Obviously there will be heavy spoilers for both Attack on Titan as well as for Final Fantasy VII (OG and Remake).

Recently I've dived into the theory and lore to FFVII and a LOT of it lines up with what's been theorized for AOT regarding different medias being different timelines for one entire story:

For AOT, the manga is theorized to be a different timeline than the anime.

For FFVII, the original game (OG) is now officially implied to be a different parallel timeline than the current Remake.

In AOT, Eren and Paradis Island's fate from the Manga ending is death, that Paradis is still destroyed despite everything he does to prevent that. In the Manga, he reaches 80% Rumbling and then dies by Mikasa's hands; a sacrifice he was willing to make in order to allow Mikasa, Armin and friends to be heroes and live long lives (which they do) and for Paradis to survive -- however the cycle of hatred still continues on when Paradis is bombed, negating most of what he acted towards.

Before I get into this next part, let me also mention that the Cabin dream is implied to be a previous or parallel timeline -- in this, we see Eren die; his eyes slowly close, fading to black to his peaceful death as Mikasa says, "See you later, Eren..." which directly reflects the beginning pages of the manga of the moments and words he sees just before he wakes up underneath the tree. In other words, when Eren dies in Cabin timeline, he awakens to what we know to be the Manga timeline. It's a peaceful wakeup, sitting up against the tree as he had been sitting at the Cabin during death. He doesn't cry -- he only wonders why Mikasa's hair was long (because when he saw her last in Cabin timeline, her hair was short). Then the manga story ensues, leading up to his inevitable death by Mikasa beheading him -- a violent, gruesome death in the Manga...

...To which he wakes up in the Anime, in fright and shock, laying down on the ground with his head laying directly where Mikasa had laid his headstone in the Manga post-war, as if he'd just woken from his violent death in manga.

This is very similar to what is actually happening (not just theorizing) with FFVII right now.

In the original (OG) game, Aerith is killed by Sephiroth while trying to save Midgar/the world from Meteor destruction, then her soul is essentially absorbed into the Lifestream. In the end, Cloud defeats Sephiroth (who also goes into Lifestream), but in the process, Midgar is still completely destroyed by the Meteor as it was too late to completely save everything, even if the rest of the world was saved.

There are already some parallels here:

Rumbling = Meteor. The world is saved, but still experienced mass destruction. Lifestream = somewhat like Paths, allowing people to transcend time/space/etc.

However a big thing paralleling AOT theories is that the FFVII OG game ends with Aerith (remember, she was killed), surrounded by Lifestream energy, closing her eyes... Then the Remake game opening with Aerith, surrounded by Lifestream energy, opening her eyes as it leads to the new game unfolding.

Aerith woke up in a new timeline.

And there is plenty of evidence throughout the Part I that shows that she knows what is fated to happen based on the OG game/previous timeline:

She knows details about Cloud even though he didn't share/she acts like she already knows him well.

She gives him a flower because he's a 'special' customer, and says that the flower is a symbol for when lovers reunite.

She knew that the Plate would fall and destroy Sector 7, even though Tifa and Cloud were doubtful, but she couldn't tell them. (Tifa: "Aerith... What are you not telling me?")

She knew Tifa wanted her to save Marlene, even before Tifa even said it

In the special cut scene between Cloud and Aerith, she tells him with sadness that everyone dies eventually. And she advises Cloud to never fall in love with her (because she knows how that tragically ended in the original). She KNOWS she's fated to die.

And these are ALL differences from the OG game -- Aerith didn't have any of these reactions, dialogue, thoughts, sentiments before. She is implied to be operating in Remake with the knowledge of how things ended before: that she would be killed, that Midgar would still be destroyed, that Sephiroth would still be alive.

Except this time, with all that knowledge of OG fate, Aerith is now trying to actively veer things away from the tragic fate and destiny laid out before them. (Side note, Whispers are also game-original and are trying to reel things back to fate/destiny. Also, Sephiroth, being part of Lifestream from OG, is also operating with the knowledge that he failed in the OG. Like Aerith, Sephiroth is trying to change destiny.)

And if that isn't enough yet to convince you that it's a different FFVII timeline... ZACK IS ALIVE. They show him make it out of the battle that killed him before. It is an entirely new journey. (I will cry if/when Zack and Aerith reunite)

Now we circle around right back to AOT.

Like Aerith, Anime Eren is theorized to know how things ended in the Manga: his death, Paradis' destruction, etc. He gained this knowledge when he kissed Historia's hand (in both anime and manga), gaining access to memories of the future... and of the past. But not just memories of the Anime timeline. Founding Titan Eren is interconnected with Paths, the way Aerith is to Lifestream, both of which surpass time itself, as we've seen with Eren/Zeke traveling through his memories. (There's a lot of imagery alluding to Manga art intertwined with Anime, but that's a sub-sub-sub-theory)

There is also a side theory that Aerith transferred memories to Red XIII (as she pressed her hand to his forehead upon meeting) because he was already most attuned to the Lifestream itself, and he becomes her aid almost. Likewise, there is a fun theory regarding Eren using Falco as a messenger/Falco receives memories from Eren (which is why in Anime, Falco recalls memories of 'flying around with swords'... Which couldn't have come from Ymir Freckles. You can only see memories once you HAVE the Titan shifter; Falco at the beginning of S4E1 was still just Falco. Falco has also already been used as a messenger of Eren's letters. Falco is also one of the most neutral characters who shows empathy and understanding of both sides. He is a special character. If AOE happens as theorized, many think Falco will play an important role)

Now there is a certain tragic ending that we think Isayama has been alluding to for forever. I'm not gonna say it here because some of you will get triggered over attachment to certain characters/ships and whatnot. But the core of it is that we think Eren is going to do things very differently to change the fate and destiny -- that maybe, instead of choosing others over his freedom, instead of only committing 80% Rumbling (leaving enough people to lead to the demise of Paradis)... Maybe Eren will even choose his freedom this time via 100% rumbling, etc.

Honestly, who knows! There may be an entirely new ending that's the best of both worlds for every single fan. (...Sarcastic, though, because not everyone can or will be pleased. Even for FFVII, OG purists are frustrated by it veering off.)

I do not believe AOT Anime is going to end the same way the Manga did even if I have reasons for wanting it to stay the same (y'all know me and why I would NOT want it to end different; there are special scenes between my OTP I need to see, especially post-war) but it's because we've seen many consistent things throughout the anime -- through the story, dialogue, recurring imagery, etc. all for a separate detailed post -- that Isayama could have potentially been foreshadowing since 2013 towards a new ending.

"What's the lie? What's the truth?"

The fact that Tetsuya Nomura (maker of FFVII) is already doing this meta-narrative of having one media/game being an entirely different timeline than the original content is SO cool, and affirms that if Isayama is pulling this same stunt, it's not because of fans trying to riot and change an ending, but because that's... well, that's what could've been planned from the start, and because it's a really unique storytelling technique that would elevate a work by making many pieces come together as one, singular, consistent story in a brilliant way.

Obviously there's no IRL link between FFVII and AOT, but again, Nomura doing this makes it less crazy and more probably for another Japanese mastermind storyteller to do this, too. (And I won't even START on Muv Luv/Muv Luv Alternative! But it's the same thing, too!)

I'll stop there for now. Any AOT AOE x FFVII fans out there?! PLEASE tell me I'm not alone LOL

[spoiler-alert-andabunchofnumbers]

It's That Time Friends LET'S TALK ABOUT SEPHIROTH!!!

Specifically, we're talking about OG Crisis Core Sephiroth because my hopes are high for this remake and though they made sure most of the OG lines are the same, why are the voice actors unable to raise their voices and shout into their mics like what?

Anyway, let's start with his friends because Genesis and Angeal deserve more attention for shaping Sephiroth into who he is.

We all know the fight scene, we all know how epic it was, but let's break it down because yes I've watched it practically frame by frame what do YOU do with your free time?

Did you notice Genesis does the sword prayer at the beginning of the fight, same as Angeal does with his Buster Sword? It could just be Genesis showing off his weapon for the audience, but he closes his eyes and specifically lowers his head a fraction. We have little of pre-Crisis Genesis to go off of and how friendly he truly was - I mean, his best friend's Prove-Your-Honor-to-Me Angeal and Sephiroth actually does seem to admire him for his genuine efforts to get stronger. Most people who face Sephiroth likely just give up knowing they'll never match him, but Genesis is insistent on becoming stronger even when he's beaten. He even makes headway against Sephiroth in this fight, something that no one else has probably EVER done, but we'll get to that later.

The music track my goodness it's so great! *Dramatic violins*

But to the actual fight, it makes you think about why Sephiroth's sword is so freakishly long and how anyone in Shinra possibly invented a metal strong enough to hold up to Sephiroth's strength. Angeal's Buster Sword is extremely thick, Genesis enhances his weapon through magic, but Sephiroth's just got an extremely long sword that can somehow hold its own no matter which way he's using it, which falls in line perfectly with his fighting style. With a blade that long, Sephi can basically block a hit from every angle just by twisting with little effort, which becomes relevant when he's fighting as a left-handed fighter against a predominantly right-handed society. In order to properly turn his blade at the right angle to parry, he would need to turn his blade at a sharper angle. Or he could just swing however he pleases and force his opponent to be the one turning their blade at an awkward angle.

Because he's basically the equivalent of hitting a brick wall, every time he parries an attack from Angeal or Genesis, he is never flinching or bouncing back from the blows no matter how terrible the angle should be. This is literally a scene showing how impossibly strong Sephiroth is, not just from a big-muscles standpoint, but from an illogical "how-are-you-not-moving?" standpoint, and it should be showing you how frustrating it is for Genesis to try and keep up.

We all know physics hopefully, and how length increases force the further down you go. That means that hitting further down the length of Sephiroth's blade should be increasing the force needed to block the hit, but because Sephiroth is so strong AND his weapon is good at holding up to that strength, even if you're hitting the tip of his blade and he's blocking at a very poor angle, he is STILL successful at being completely unmovable.

These two slam their blades into Sephiroth's, and then they press forward together and lean in, AND look at the downwards angel Sephi is holding his Masamune. It's cut off in the picture above, but Sephi's thumb is facing downwards towards the blade, meaning he's not using his palm to push as effectively as if his thumb were facing upwards. You can tell because right after this, he swings up to slice the pair's blades back in their respective directions.

And during this first clash, he NEVER uses his right hand as a leverage point to reinforce the other end of his sword. The only time he uses his right hand is when he and Angeal are bashing it out at the last clash, and it looks like he was doing that mostly for aesthetic purposes.

Motion blur is a bitch.

Anyway, when Genesis powers up his sword and smashes his blade down to put Sephiroth into a crater, you can tell that both of them are having so much fun. Like even Sephiroth smiles because now Gen is putting up a decent fight. But then Genesis's hits actually start driving Sephiroth back. He's hitting fast enough and hard enough that Sephiroth's parries are becoming detrimental to him. His blade is useful for long-distance hits, keeping his opponents outside of a bubble where he can parry from literally every angle, but Genesis is getting too close and he isn't letting up, meaning that every time Sephiroth parries, it's at an angle that prevents him from resetting for the next swing. It's become more of getting his sword in the way than it is actually meaning Gen blow-for-blow, and he has to actually jump back in order to put real distance between them.

Then, Sephiroth makes a small "tsk" noise. He's genuinely upset that Genesis is actually making headway. This is probably the first time he's been on the defensive for a single opponent in a sword fight, and while he's slightly upset, he's also excited. This is why the fight gets out of hand. Genesis is determined to come out the winner, even if it's just in the training room, but Sephiroth is eager to have a real fight that he can put his full strength into - or at least more strength than normal.

When he blocks, this time, he uses his right hand for leverage. It's gotten serious. He uses both of his hands to shove Genesis back, and it is epic. Also do y'all think that's why he wears those bracelets? Are they for this exact purpose, to act as a bracer for when you gotta use your other hand to hold your sword?

Anyway, you can tell that Sephi is turning the tide because he's completely reversed the situation. Genesis is barely managing to keep up with the speed of his strikes, and because this is Sephiroth, getting your blade in the way of his is actually less effective than just dodging. When Sephi is doing the striking rather than the parrying, it means you're at risk of your own sword bouncing back in your face from the force of his hit.

Genesis jumping up is a reasonable response, putting distance between them, but in the air he also has no footholds, making blocking strikes even harder for him. Ignoring the lack of gravity because fall-damage doesn't exist in Final Fantasy (except for 15 but 15 isn't real I'm sure of it), Genesis using magic to try and turn the tide is precisely what his strengths are. He manages to match Sephiroth when he infuses his blade with magic, and let's be honest I don't think anyone else is capable of using Fire Materia like he has. He's basically using a SHG technique from FF Type-0, firing little blasts from every finger, and THEN controlling them remotely to converge on Sephiroth to create a creaking mini-sun worthy of Ifrit. I don't think his final blast would have stopped Sephiroth if Angeal hadn't stopped him, but I think Sephi was enjoying being overwhelmed even for a second.

No one can beat Sephiroth in terms of his raw strength, and his long blade is suited for his casual style of blocking and poking (it's embarrassing how easy it is for him to take Cloud down in Advent Children when he stops smacking his Fusion sword and just bypasses it by using a thrusting motion), but then Sephiroth starts using magic just like Genesis and all bets are off the table. The energy blasts that come from his sword just casually slice through the Mako Canon, and the way he just casually falls out of sight only to tear his way straight towards Genesis as his theme starts is Sephiroth having so much fun.

You know he did that to be dramatic. You know he did that because Genesis is a dramatic theater nerd and he's respecting Genesis by matching him in using magic to enhance his blade. He knows the fight's basically won now because he's actually trying. He's being nice. And he's having a blast.

The fact that Sephiroth is no longer being careful of his surroundings is also telling of how much effort he's putting in. Sure, he's slicing up the Mako Canon probably just to show off, but he's also just swinging his sword like you naturally would in a fight. He's just ignoring its length and letting it cut through whatever gets in its way even when he misses; it's a casual warning to Genesis that he's going to slice through him without pausing if Genesis gets in the way of Masamune. The situation is completely reversed from earlier as Genesis grunts in frustration before powering up to match Sephiroth's hit.

I love how when Angeal gets between the pair, he uses his Buster Sword to block Sephiroth from behind knowing that he'll need the foothold if he's going to stop Sephi mid-attack, but he's actually pushed towards Genesis because Sephi is pushing down so hard even after he's been stopped.

Genesis breaking Angeal's small sword is actually really interestingly set up and executed. This is the wound that begins Genesis's degradation, setting off the plot of Crisis Core's story. Genesis is really good, don't get me wrong, but it's unlikely that he didn't get his fair share of cuts and scrapes while he was learning to fight; I don't think Genesis would have begun degrading if he'd taken a hit like that normally.

I think this scene is setting up that Genesis's wound was really an anomaly of anomalies and the worst of bad luck. He infused his sword to maximum strength while he was determined to hold his own against Sephiroth when he was actually trying, he was so determined to keep the fight going and get Angeal out of the way that he used two types of magic at once - the red fire as well as what I think is ice magic to potentially immobilize Angeal (or he could have been using the same blue magic that Sephi was using when he first created those giant energy waves to make that first cut against the Canon). Because his blast hit Angeal's sword, which was blocking his own enhanced one, the two magics mixed in an explosion so strong that not only did it break the sword, but it created a Mako magic nightmare that was then injected straight into Genesis's shoulder.

I mean after everything that Sephiroth and Genesis did while they were going at it, it was Genesis's blast that actually broke the simulator. Sephi isn't even celebrating his victory. Though he doesn't say anything, he's concerned about Genesis and guilty that he'd let the fight get out of hand. When Angeal got between the pair, Sephiroth actually seemed to come to his senses - the original has Sephi seemingly like he was warning Angeal to stay out of the fight, but the remake seems to imply that Sephiroth was realizing how serious it was when Angeal intervened to stop them. I got this from the way Sephi says the line "Angeal..." That's how subtle the difference in voice acting a line can be!

His narration after confirms that he was concerned that Genesis wasn't healing and quietly blaming himself for letting this happen.

He finds Angeal's lectures amusing, he's memorized LOVELESS from being around Genesis for so long. He cares deeply about his friends, he's heartbroken when he has to accept that they're turning against Shinra, that they're working with Hollander. Zack has a full-on breakdown when Angeal dies because he was the one that had to watch his downward spiral, his transformation into a monster, and kill him, but imagine what Sephiroth is going through. He's not an emotional person, but he's enraged when he learns that Angeal left in Wutai, he does his best to appease Genesis when they meet in the Mako Reactor and tries his best not to fight them. He goes so far as to go rogue and tell Zack that they're going to fail to eliminate the wanted fugitives - probably the first time Sephiroth has ever actively rebelled after being raised in Shinra under Hojo.

Crisis Core is the story about Zack but it's also a story about Sephiroth. He was a person born and raised in Shinra to be nothing but a soldier, and the first time he actually gets friends (from a small humble town rather than a big city) and gets a new perspective on life, finding out they were experiments and monsters absolutely breaks them. He watches his friends fall apart, drift away from the kind and fun people that had been his first and only friends and taught him what friendship was truly LIKE.

Zack is probably the only reason Sephi doesn't break from Shinra then and there; he has the power to leave, even if he doesn't know what he'd do with his life, but Zack becomes a cheerful 1st, as passionate in his beliefs as Genesis and as kind as Angeal after being mentored by him. Another friend who doesn't let Sephiroth's cold attitude hamper his ability to see the good in life, one who believed in Angeal enough to even try believing in Genesis for a moment too. Sephiroth still has hope.

That's why it takes Nibelheim to absolutely break him. Not only is he close to Jenova, but he has the knowledge that his friends were failed science experiments, the informtaion causing them to absolutely fall apart - he's seen it happen and has been forced to accept that his friends are gone. Learning about his own past as an experiment sends him down the exact same rabbit hole that his friends fell into, but he's a "perfect" monster, and even Genesis showing up at the reactor confirms it. He says to Genesis "you will rot" when he comes asking for help, which seems like a great moment where Sephi refuses to let Genesis's harsh words get to him. In actuality, it just proves that he's aggressively distanced himself from the pain of losing those he trusted, reminding him and reinforcing the idea that Sephi can't trust his fellow 1st class friends. How easy would it have been to convince him that Zack was going to turn on him too?

This is serious manipulation from Jenova, taking advantage of Sephiroth's upbringing being isolated in Shinra with Hojo, taking advantage of his trauma from finally finding friends who went mad and turned on him, and then taking advantage of the fact that their history was revealed to them to drive them mad to do the same to him. Quite honestly, why WOULDN'T Sephiroth hate a world that did this to him? He's been a loyal soldier all his life, he's angry at Shinra who made him, tired of the whole world being too weak to pose a challenge against him, and he learns he's a monster who can help Jenova if she helps him

Honestly, I'm on board with that fan theory that Remake is Sephiroth trying to break free of Jenova's control over him as well and break the chains of fate or whatever. Not so he can be a free good guy or anything (that theory is reserved for the fanfiction), but so that he can take all her world-ending power for himself. You go, dude. Be the greatest villain ever and force the world to get its shit together in order to stop you.

Anyway, Reunion just finished downloading so I'ma go play now. Byeeeee

[hitinmiss]

First vs Last

Happy Crisis Core Reunion day!!!!!! My guys! My blorbos!!!!

[gomacave]

Bro who was gonna tell me ang gets a wing too 😭 they should form a boy band honestly would make bank

[finallyfantasy7]

Ooooh, nooooo, I just realized something.

Gast Faramis was the only decent scientist in Shinra, with noble intentions and who treated child Sephiroth well and as a child, not a mere scientific experiment and a weapon. He seems to be the only person Sephiroth emotionally connected to before he met Genesis and Angeal. Even years later when adult Sephiroth is falling apart, he calls Gast's name who he hasn't seen in years.

And then we have:

Hojo killed Gast.

Hojo (indirectly) killed Ifalna, Gast's partner.

Sephiroth - Hojo's son, killed Aerith - Gast and Ifalna's daughter.

Sephiroth didn't just kill Aerith - Sephiroth and his family completely wiped out Aerith's family. And Sephiroth didn't even realize. He still respected Gast at the time of OG Final Fantasy VII.

How many tragedies can they write into one game series?

[bread--hood]

Look at that small smirk!♡

[willosword]

never before have i actually wanted to strangle a fictional character like god. sephiroth's glare is MINE...................

[the-blue-wraith]

[dalimoor]

Ughh that took way too long. Got Zack to level 99, got all stats (except for luck, fuck you luck) to 255, cleared all missions, viewed all DMW scenes and got a full set of Genji equipment. If something is worth doing, it's worth over-doing, if you ask me. But uh, maybe I should, y'know, finish the game now? 😂