#do NOT ask me which genesis track is which

[salmalin]

My sincerest apologies and warmest welcome to my rant about FF7: Crisis Core. Or, as I like to call it,

Propaganda: The Video Game

I say this with the utmost affection. Crisis Core ranks really high up there in my favorite Final Fantasy 7 installments. I played it when it first came out, borrowing it from a friend to play on a borrowed PSP. And, the more I learn about the game and the more I replay it, the more everything lines up.

This game is not about Zack Fair.

This game is about how Capitalistic Propaganda can sink into every aspect of life to the point where it is entirely indistinguishable from reality. And it’s very overt about it. So…

Here we go.

My treatise on Propaganda’s starring role in Crisis Core.

Part One: The Timeline

Something that a lot of people gloss over due to decades of Child Heroes in media—Japanese Shonen and Shoujo series in particular—is how young these protagonists are. We’ll hand-wave a lot of stuff in non-live-action series with just a little bit of suspension of disbelief. And that’s honestly just accepted these days. But here’s the thing about those hand-waves.

Final Fantasy 7 doesn’t do that.

Now, FF7 hand-waves a lot of stuff. For example, how far you can travel in a day by foot, the distance a man weighing approximately 165lbs can jump after being genetically fused with what might as well be a cocaine demon (Jenova), and how much hairspray one can reasonably carry on a cross-country journey while on the run from the feds.

Age is not one of them.

Exhibit A: Yuffie Kisaragi.

Do I really need to say more? She acts her age. So does Zack. And Aerith, even. Most of the characters in the original lineup were over twenty for a good reason. We see several kids in the series, and they all act their age, too—both the OG and the remake. Age is not a thing that FF7 really grapples with. It’s something they take relatively seriously.

Now, to the point.

Zack is 16 when Crisis Core starts…

… and he was 13 when he ran away from home without his parents’ knowledge to join the military.

Which accepted him.

At 13.

Without a parental permission slip.

Think about that for a second.

… Or for the next several parts of this breakdown.

Part Two: The Main Character

As I mentioned in the introduction, Zack is not the main character of the events of Crisis Core. Instead, he is the focal point of the second person POV. This is not the first time Square has done this. It was done most notably with FF9, FF10, and FF12. (I’m not going to go on an Akira Kurosawa rant right now, but please check out his film “The Hidden Fortress”. FF12 and Star Wars episodes 4-6 borrow heavily from this film.) The purpose and position of this character is such that they might best witness the effects the other characters make on the world as their stories unfold, usually in the role of a love interest. For Akira Kurosawa, it may have been told this way because these people are most effected by the decisions being made.

“Well, then, Sal,” you may be asking, “who would you say is the main character? Would that be Aerith, since she’s the love interest, like in the other games?”

No, actually.

It’s the antagonist.

And by that, I mean Genesis.

Hear me out. I used to hate Genesis, for I was once young, full of judgement for flamboyancy (thanks, internalized homophobia), and was led by the narrative to believe he was mean to his friends. Then I met my Lovely beta who loved him, so I wrote a fic for her as a gift. So for that I kinda just… read stuff. Because that’s the thing about Propaganda—you gotta read stuff to navigate it. I read the in-game emails. I re-watched all the scenes I could get my hands on with him. I read his wiki and tried to track down more information about him. Then I watched the scenes in Japanese and gained a better understanding of not just Genesis, but Sephiroth’s character. And I realized that Genesis was put on this road from the start. In fact, a big part of the fact that he’s seen the way he is in Canon—only at his most hostile and lowest points—is because the story is told through Zack’s point of view.

So before we get into the breakdown, here’s the hard facts about Genesis.

1. He was a test tube baby who may or may not technically be Angeal’s fraternal twin brother, which we are not going to unpack right now.

2. He was adopted by a relatively rich family.

3. He was a child genius (which requires not only resources, but drive to achieve), and at a tender young age of like… ten or something? He decided to mess around and literally invented pasteurization. Which is incredible, and really speaks to his knowledge of the world and ability to grasp complex concepts even at a young age. But, again, this is not the time or place to unpack that.

4. He was best friends with Angeal, who might as well have been the sweetest, kindest boy to ever walk the Planet. (I’m biased. I love him.)

5. As a teenager, he became fixated on Sephiroth, who had gained national acclaim as a SOLDIER despite them being the same age. (Please see part 1 and think about that for a second.) He then goes to join SOLDIER and brings Angeal with him. And Angeal brings his step-father’s puritanical “hard work is honorable” mindset with him. (On that note, Angeal and his father’s arc really are a wonderfully scathing letter to companies that overwork their employees and how toxic/unhealthy that line of thinking is. But. Again. We are not unpacking that right now.)

6. At one point he became consumed with LOVELESS, a series of poems with heavy prose and symbolism thicker than syrup. It got to the point where he was so well known for it that there was an entire fanclub dedicated to both him and analyzing the text.

7. While he was in SOLDIER, he repeatedly had his achievements publicly accredited… to Sephiroth.

Over and over and over again.

Everyone did, really. They mention it in the beginning of the game. Sephiroth even got public credit for Zack’s raid on the castle when he wasn’t even there. How much of his legacy is real? How much of it is made up? How much of it was faked? We don’t know. No one knows. But he keeps getting credit, anyways. And when Genesis confronts him about it, Sephiroth doesn’t care. In the Japanese version of their fight scene, you could even say he indirectly implies that he wants Genesis to take his place as the “hero”. In the English, Sephiroth’s line is, “Come and try.” But in the Japanese the line is closer to, “Wouldn’t that be nice?” Which, depending on how you take his tone, can mean wildly different things—from mocking, to earnest, or even admiration—which is especially to tell because he might be annoyed with Genesis at the moment.

Fun Fact: In Ever Crisis, Sephiroth explicitly says they are making up his achievements in the press to target boys his age for recruitment. (Thus why they accepted Zack at age 13.)

My theory on this line is that he is being cynical; that Genesis doesn't understand just how harrowing and even humiliating his experience has been. This only enforces my theory that the "come and try" translation in the English not only does a disservice to a line as wonderfully heavy as, "Wouldn't that be nice?", but fundamentally misunderstands Sephiroth as a character.

8. Genesis then took the fight to Shin-Ra. Inspiring a good chunk of their staff to leave the company, he then staged multiple attacks on facilities, staff, and the main building—which also spilled out into the city of Midgar. He murdered his parents, buried them, killed everyone in town, and… Yeah. It wasn’t pretty. A lot of innocent people died simply because they were vaguely associated with Shin-Ra. These are the actions of a villain. What’s more, this is clearly a sign that he has been acclimatized to death and violence by Shin-Ra to the point where he doesn’t even consider taking hostages.

Except.

Except the entire town was a Shin-Ra town.

Banora, canonically, was a Shin-Ra built town, which means everyone there was basically an employee of the company. No one was safe. Everyone was a threat. And that…

That was how he was raised. And he finally knew the truth—that every moment of his life was touched, controlled by Shin-Ra, all the way down to his very conception. He has never known freedom. He has never known his own identity. And now that very cage was killing him, slowly and painfully, and turning him into something that couldn’t even be recognized as human. He was watching himself rot in the mirror, and it was all because of Shin-Ra’s greed. And as he searched for salvation, he sunk into LOVELESS as he always had, hinging his entire life on Minerva’s Gift because he knew he was dying and that was all he had.

9. And then he died…

10. … but then it turned out LOVELESS was actually kind of a blueprint, and he did meet the Goddess, and he did get reborn without his degradation so he was rewarded for his journey in the end.

So why wasn’t Genesis the main character of the game?

Simple.

His actions challenge the status quo without being about the status quo. It’s a story about revenge. It’s a story about retribution. It’s a story about answering mass violence with mass violence and ultimately being rewarded by it. And while, yes, the series is an action-based violence simulator, the violence in the original FF7 was a guided, tactical effort. (For all that the characters aren’t the brightest bulbs in the sun lamps.) But the biggest, most obvious shift in the narrative happened when they realized their role as terrorists—bringing mass violence to the company via bombing and open aggression—was just resulting in increasing levels of retaliation against uninvolved people. They might as well have been a child beating the ankles of a giant. The goals and themes of the game fundamentally change when they realize that answering mass-scale societal violence with mass-scale physical violence was not only unsustainable, but also wasn’t going to solve their problem.

FF7 is about change and learning when violence—and what kind of violence—is appropriate in the face of different threats.

Genesis’ arc undermines all of that, and making him the main character would contradict the very heart of the OG game.

So, instead, we are positioned as Zack, connected to him through a mutual friend. From there we see all the damage and horror this vengeance brings to those living under the status quo.

But also, that plotline’s a major downer in a lot of ways, so they needed to lighten things up a bit to keep audience involved. And that’s why Zack is, well…

Part Three: Zack is a Himbo

Please, for the love of all that is holy, keep in mind that everything I say here is with the utmost affection.

Zack is dumb as a rock.

He is a charismatic, enthusiastic sixteen year old jock who ran away from home at thirteen years old to join the military. Which, please know, why I say “military” I mean “private security guard force with a standard-issue Death Baton and a license to kill”. The first scene in the game is him being excited that he gets to murder a bunch of people in a simulation, which he is immediately scolded for by his mentor. He is a glorified, souped up private security guard who is canonically only in it for the glory at first. He wants to be a “hero”, but doesn’t seem to fundamentally know what that means. And, over the course of the story, the definition of that clearly changes for him.

Which tracks, because the story takes place over a period of time with high stress.

Occasionally I see people saying they wish that Zack had more complexity to him, and honestly? The game. Would be. SO. BAD.

Full Disclosure: I am not the biggest fan of Zack specifically because he lacks a lot of nuance. I wish he was a bit more complex, too. But I also know that would break the game. What’s worse, if he was still on Shin-Ra’s side because he understood Shin-Ra’s mission… Well… That would make him a villain, or a cog at best. That’s not main character material. It would make the ending more messed up, though.

Anywho, Zack was thirteen when he left home. He had no formal education. He didn’t tell anyone what he was doing. He even joined without a permission slip from his parents. This means that Shin-Ra was accepting thirteen, possibly fourteen year olds into the military. (Some people will say this tracks because you can get a job at fourteen in many parts of Japan. But, and this is important, you aren’t allowed to be a security guard until you’re quite a bit older, and you need a specific license for it, much like in the US.) Clearly they didn’t teach this boy critical thinking skills. Not because he’s a himbo, but because having their Super-Powered Private Security Force With A License To Kill think independently would explicitly go against their interests. (EX: Genesis.)

Shin-Ra needs SOLDIERs to follow orders or the company would no longer be able to function. Seconds and Thirds aren’t even allowed to reject missions. (One could argue that sending certain someone on back-to-back missions would be a good way for them to eliminate undesirables within the ranks by sending them to their deaths, which… would make an incredible fic idea, actually.) We already know that First, Second, and Third Class rank assignments do not actually reflect the power of the SOLDIER. This is canon. I would instead argue that those who make the rank of First Class aren’t necessarily the most powerful, but are instead the most visible in the media, thus the easiest to market, and/or the easiest to manipulate and control. (For a great example of this, see The Umbrella Academy.)

The point is, Zack may have been elevated to his position as a first specifically because he is malleable and single-minded. Even after all he saw with Genesis, he stuck by the company to the very end, with the exception of the time Sephiroth was literally guiding him to fail a mission. Zack allowed himself to take Shin-Ra’s side every time, taking down their enemies and following their orders, preserving his “honor as SOLDIER” as he had been taught. The only thing that made him stop…

… was literally getting put in a jar.

It was when he was no longer a SOLDIER.

Part Four: Honor

There is no such thing as SOLDIER Honor.

I repeat: There is no such thing as SOLDIER Honor.

It is a fictional thing that is borne of an ideology based around hard work. It only has power because it is believed in. It is an intangible social construct similar to the law, mathematical order of operations, and gender roles. So why are Angeal and Zack obsessed with it?

Pretty simple.

Angeal’s step-father followed it.

Now, we know three things about Angeal’s step-father.

1. He was chill with the fact that Gillian was already pregnant when they started dating.

2. He was a very good father.

3. He worked himself to death trying to pay off the sword he bought Angeal.

This, of course, says a lot about Angeal considering he rarely uses the sword. He essentially sees that sword as the symbol of his step-father’s life. Everything he uses it for, he sees as more important than his step-father’s life. That thing is usually Zack.

Zack, who is the child who joined the military based on stories of heroes.

Zack, who rises against Angeal in the name of his own step-father’s ideology and tries to talk him down, even at the very end. But Zack fails because he fundamentally doesn’t understand what’s going on, partially because “Soldier Honor” is just one more aspect of this narrative he was given. It is a narrative that Angeal has had to step away from, even though he doesn’t want to leave the memory of his step-father behind. He was a good man. He was a good, hardworking man.

And that is why he died.

Corporations will use you up until there is nothing left, then honor your memory/sacrifice. Shin-Ra was doing the exact same thing the company his step-father worked for did; using up SOLDIERs until they outlived their usefulness. And Angeal was horrified to realize that his “SOLDIER Honor” wasn’t honor at all.

It was willingly submitting to control.

But, unlike Angeal, over time, this meaning changed for Zack. Partially because he didn't understand it fully in the first place. It became about acting with integrity. It became about helping people. It became about not lying down and watching the abuse Shin-Ra handed out in exchange for literal money; for maintaining the status quo.

At the very end, Zack understood what it meant to be a hero.

Part Five: The Conclusion

To sum up, Zack believed in and idolized the propaganda spread by Shin-Ra at such a young age, and was so convinced by it, that he ran away from home at thirteen to join the military.

He was their target demographic, so they happily took him into their ranks. What’s more, people think this is normal enough that we see no one opposing this, because the only people who oppose Shin-Ra are “extremists” or “violent terrorists”.

Zack then became their loyal puppy, groomed to fill his role as super-powered attack dog to sick on anyone they deemed appropriate, and he filled the role. He believed he was doing good. He didn’t think they were invading another country, because that’s not what he was told.

He went after Genesis, because that’s what he was told, and he wouldn’t let Genesis’ actions shake his faith in the company.

Then he went after Angeal, hoping to get answers, only to become more confused. Angeal taught him about SOLDIER honor. He taught him about a higher calling. He was the one who made Zack truly loyal to the company. This challenged everything Zack knew.

He went with Sephiroth, planning a small rebellion of their own (a white lie on paperwork) to get answers, only to find things he wasn’t ready for and couldn’t fully understand.

Zack is shaken by each of these events. Horribly. At times, we even watch him grieve. But time and time again, he doesn’t leave the company. He sees the damage they do first hand, and he doesn’t leave the company. The company isn’t the problem, to him. He reads their emails, does their dirty work, and “maintains his SOLDIER honor”.

Zack swallows what they give him right up until what they give him is torture.

Zack swallows what they give him until he becomes their victim.

Every step of the way, Zack is fed a story of how the world is. He was raised on it. He lived it. He became part of it. He was paid peanuts to enforce the status quo Shin-Ra installed in the world by force, and he was proud of it because it was, to him, something to be proud of.

Zack believes the propaganda whole-sale, and we get to watch, from the point of view of an outsider, as it slowly destroys his life before killing him.

Propaganda has the power to make suffering normal. Propaganda has the power to make murder righteous. Propaganda has the power to take a thirteen year old boy out of his home so they can give him a sword, and when they point him in the direction of their enemies he charges of his own volition, because they made him believe in their cause. And he believes in their cause because he believes that it makes life better for everyone.

But that’s not what’s actually happening.

That’s just what he was told.

Crisis Core is about propaganda, and the depths to which it can affect our lives. It changes our belief systems. It changes our perceptions of reality. And when it’s torn down around our eyes, it can make us go insane. It can make us violent and unreasonable as we realize just how much violence is being forced upon us—violence other people just plain do not see. It's just a a piece of paper. It's just a law. It's just a job.

It's just a war.

Final Fantasy 7 was about Fascism.

Crisis Core is about the propaganda that built it. It is told from the point of view of a boy, then a man, steeped in it. He watches until the people suffering around him—Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal—are twisted into villains by the truths and lies around them. Genesis and Angeal are tortured by truths, Sephiroth is transformed by lies, and Zack is subsequently hunted down to conceal them.

Crisis Core is Propaganda: The Video Game.

[ariseur]

Hi!for your event can i ask messy half asleep kisses with sephiroth pls:)) thank you so much

“alright my love, i must take my leave for now,” sephiroth’s voice barely echoes past the barrier of your sleep, velvet tone seeping into your mind as it only delves further into the corners of your brain.

“hmmph—?” you hum sleepily, lifting your head up ever so slightly from the silky pillows only to peek a bleary eye at your beloved, seeing his face gaze down at you with only adoration. his slender eyes track yours as your lashes flutter with the leftover residue of sleep still remaining in your eyes. the vision of him comes out blurry yet you can still clearly make out the bulky uniform of his armor.

“i must leave now — but i promise to you that i shall return tomorrow, alright?” he asks, and although it’s posed as a question you know he needs to go anyways. to attend to his duties as a SOLDIER, a role you had always resented only due to the minimal time you had together.

he basks in the glow of the room, how the dawn had barely shed its light and it had already blessed your figure. gloved hands go to bring the covers a bit over your shoulder once he hears your breath shudder at the sudden cool temperature of awareness.

“nooo..” you keen, dragging out the vowel for as long as your raspy voice could. he chuckles, shaking his head before he takes a small seat on the mattress. you sigh comfortably at the familiar dip in the bed before your hands reach out to him out of instinct, knowing that he’ll always interlock your fingers together ( leather clad or not ).

“i know, i know — but you’ll see me again soon, will you not?” you huff at his rationality. little did you know that it was getting harder and harder to get out of bed with you around; feelings of guilt swelling his heart when he sees you cling onto him as he tries to get out of bed or seeing the note you prepare on the nightstand beforehand knowing he wakes up before you do, so he’ll read it and at least know that you love him.

he hears you sigh and he lets out another soft laugh at the sound. “always so theatrical,” he mutters.

“one last kiss?” your head tips up to look at him, and he doesn’t think he’s seen anything more gorgeous. your bed head splayed out in every which way with indents on your face from the markings of the pillow was a sign of heaven for sephiroth, and if he didn’t listen to this by far religious call then he knew there must be something wrong with him.

you display your best puppy dog eyes with a pout, pointing at your lips as he takes in the pink color of them — natural and swollen with perhaps just a little bit of drool at the corner, but he has never minded any bad habits of yours. he loved you too much for that.

he scoffs in amusement, clearly entertained by the sight, before he leans down to press a light kiss to your lips. you barely lean upwards to meet him halfway, allowing for more messier kisses afterward. you hum, seeing as he lets you kiss him more. he tastes like mint and bergamot, something so familiar, oftentimes you forget it’s not your default palette.

“i really must go,” he mutters before your eyes flutter closed and you kiss the bottom corner of his lip, making sephiroth quirk a brow as if it was intentional or if you’re just too sleepy to care.

you exhale through your nose. you don’t bother to open your eyes because you know he’ll be there, and you know that you’ll try to keep him longer and longer once you see those eyes, filled to the brim with mako and crystallines so gorgeous you could lose time.

you place a hand against his chest before gracefully falling back down against the pillows. sephiroth scoffs. you’ve definitely been hanging around genesis too much lately, he thinks.

“you’ll come back to me, right?”

“always,” he says before grabbing your hand off of his chest and grasping it within his own, pressing chaste kisses along the prominent vein on the back of your hand.

your eyes peel open as your lips purse, mocking consideration with letting him go — even though you know he has to anyway. so you huff and tilt your head to the side, trying to fall back asleep. “okay,” you mumble.

sephiroth softly smiles, before pressing a small kiss to your forehead. he got up from the bed, hoping the slight creak in the frame doesn’t disturb you too much. all you see is silver hair flowing behind him as he takes a swift exit.

he was a carcass with the walls of a weapon, only made to serve and protect — walls only you were made to melt as you wriggled your way into the soft interior that littered this man. something so delicate, you’d felt the need to cherish it forever.

you smiled, your lashes already flitting closed as you felt the gentle thump of your heartbeat against your ribs; and you thought of sephiroth.

𐙚 dottie’s 500 event - 🍡 ( action ) prompts !!

𐙚 taglist ; @xiansiii @ch3rryfiles @snoopicle

𐙚 non-500 requests are closed — august twenty-fifth, 2024

[runerapier]

If you don't mind me asking, what makes you interpret Angeal as anything other than a straight man? He's the least gay character I've ever seen and he doesn't act gay either.

I'm going to assume this isn't sent in bad faith but this is pretty on point with the definition of stereotyping. I mean if you’re defining being gay by how someone looks or acts that is your first problem. Angeal has very outwardly masculine actions and appearance, I’m not really a fan of the insinuation that masculine men don’t “look” gay enough. Angeal isn’t even a hyper masculine or toxic masculine character, he is almost always described in a way that is seen as nurturing or caring. His own fan club compared his hobby of cooking to that of a wife. Things like gardening are often seen as more a “feminine hobby.” This isn’t to say Angeal breaks insane boundaries but Angeal isn’t this rigid masculine character in the first place. Besides my personal headcanons, Angeal and Genesis' stories take quite a bit from The Fall of Mankind (and religious and mythological symbolism in general but I'm going to try to stay on track). They purposely made two male characters represent Adam and Eve, and this isn't the first time they have done something like this in a final fantasy game. For example: while they are more developed than Genesis and Angeal, characters like Fang and Vanille are based on the Nordic myth of Ragnarok. There is a lot of information that couldn't be included in the final game of Crisis Core but is still intended canon, I'm going to be using a lot of that as a reference point. The full explanation is pretty extensive and I'm also not an expert on The Book of Genesis. I tried my best to do research for this, but it is possible I am still missing things and that this can still be expanded upon.

I'm going to start off by giving a deeper explanation on how Angeal represents Adam and how Genesis represents Eve. Genesis already has a very strong connection to The Book of Genesis because of his name. Rhapsodos comes from rhapsody, his full name is literally "genesis reciter". Genesis and Angeal were the first two attempts at an artificial “cetra” created by Shina representative of Adam and Eve being the first humans created by god. (While there is some debate if the first woman is Lilith, she is often been seen as a demoness.) The kanji for Shinra already is a direct reference to god, and is symbolism for how they like to play god themselves. The image below has a great explanation that is much better than what I can do, but to keep it short 神 (shin) literally means god or divine and 羅 (ra) is derived from 網羅 (mōra) which means "encompassing".

The fruit of knowledge is typically portrayed as an apple, which connects with banora whites. It represents temptation, Genesis offers the apple to others when talking about truth and revelation. Instances like in Nibelheim, Genesis offers the fruit to Sephiroth after telling him the truth of his origins. Sephiroth rejecting the fruit is a sign of him rejecting the truth, and we see he continues to go along with a story he is happier with. Sephiroth decides to believe misinformation that is less painful, the rejection of knowledge is indication he is not Adam or Eve.

Banora is heavily connected to the flow of the lifestream, which is what makes Banora whites grow any time of year. The lifestream is said to contain knowledge of the planet and its people, that being what powers the fruit further reinforces the idea that they represent the fruit of knowledge. Banora being the source for what is essentially miracle fruits powered by the planet, it is clear Banora is meant to be Eden.

Minerva is said to be sleeping in the caves of Banora, she represents the will of the lifestream. Though Minerva is connected more to Roman Myth and Sophia from Gnostic belief, I would still say she emphasizes the holiness of Banora's land.

Angeal has a story about not stealing to reflect Adam trusting god and not taking from the garden. God's words to Adam were "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die." (Genesis 2:17) Angeal stole from other trees besides the big one that had the most delicious fruit. While it can be argued Angeal didn't steal from Genesis in general, Angeal's story focuses solely on the biggest tree with the most tempting fruit, that tree represents the tree of good and evil. At the end of the game, Zack eats an apple under this same tree with Genesis, protagonist and antagonist sharing from the same tree. Shortly after eating the apple Zack learns the truth about how long it's been and leaves to meet his fate.

Hollander approached Genesis with the truth of his origins, convincing Genesis to help him with his plans in exchange for a cure that Hollander never had. Eve was afraid of eating the fruit and dying because of what God told her, but the serpent convinced her she would live. “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5). Both being deceived, they were convinced that they would live if they defied God, and become the catalysts for knowing the truth. Eve did not want to be alone in her defiance so she looked to Adam, much like how Genesis approaches Angeal to persuade him to take revenge against Shinra.

Besides Eve being referred to as Adam's wife, Adam also placed his trust in Eve above god. He decides to listen to her and trust her despite his creator telling him he will die. Angeal places his trust in Genesis above Shinra when he decides to defect, believing he can rationalize with him despite this being high treason.

This has happened before already, Angeal placed his trust in Genesis above Gillian and defies his mother to join Shinra. Gillian didn't want her family to be connected to Shinra and despite how highly Angeal respects his mother he still defied her wishes for the sake of following a dream with Genesis.

This leads into the next part, less about how they parallel The Book of Genesis and more about how they parallel other characters in the narrative. This makes me a little nervous to talk about so I’m going to put a small disclaimer that I am not arguing for any canonicity of ships because I think it is a waste of time. However, I think discussing characters' feelings that push their motivations is important.

In the narrative, Angeal also greatly parallels Cloud, I feel like this isn’t something that is talked about enough in general. They share a great deal of small parallels like both enjoying landscape photography, being associated with wolves, and elementally representing lightning. Besides surface level things, both Angeal and Cloud have a guilt complex and feel responsible for the people around them. The main parallel that’s important to this conversation is their childhood friend from the same countryside town.

Cloud was inspired by Sephiroth and his desire to protect people he loved like his childhood friend, Tifa, to join soldier. This is similar to Angeal joining to be with Genesis; their childhood friends are motivators for both of them.

This is something that’s pointed out in DFFOO as well, Angeal hears about Tifa and immediately draws the connection.

Both Cloud and Angeal feel responsible for protecting and looking after their loved ones, Angeal is seen as a caretaker type for this reason. Both Cloud and Angeal want to help fulfill the dream of their childhood friend, Tifa's was being saved by a hero and Genesis' being to share an apple with his hero Sephiroth. We see this when Cloud berates himself for not being the hero Tifa wanted and Genesis telling "Angeal" the dream has been fulfilled implying it has been something he knew about and wanted to help him achieve. Angeal's will in Lazard only fades away after Genesis said the dream came true, like there was a sense of fulfillment and that he could finally pass on after holding on for so long.

I find it interesting they intentionally draw parallels between Genesis & Angeal and Cloud & Tifa, people who have more explicit romantic feelings. I think Angeal and Genesis are supposed to represent a more “genuine” version of Cloud and Tifa’s relationship. Angeal represents the story cloud wanted to have throughout ffvii, having a childhood friend who never grew apart, who stayed together, and who followed a dream together. Angeal genuinely made soldier, and for a time he felt like he was in control of protecting others unlike Cloud. This contrast stays until the end, Cloud and Tifa learn to repair their relationship while Angeal and Genesis fall apart. Despite having everything Cloud wanted, it was not enough to sustain. This contrast is important in emphasizing that it is not about your background or your past, it is about what you do now and having people to fall back on. None of this is meant to be used as proof Genesis and Angeal are canon, but rather talk about Angeal's strong devotion and feelings for him since he was at least a teenager. They do not perfectly replicate the fall of mankind but it is interesting nonetheless. Here's to hoping we get to see more of how they interact in ever crisis.

[thumpypuppy]

oo! your last ask was really interesting! do you have anything to say on the relation between the various Loop related tracks?

it’s very cool that you’re talking about your music in such a way, thank you for engaging with this community!

So Loop's theme is just kinda silly weird mysterious. There's a chromatic walkup at the beginning of the melody because weird and silly.

Loop's hangout is one of the few tracks written by Alice Liston, who is no longer with the studio, but she's an incredibly talented composer who took a lot of the fundamental aspects of the original song and turned it into something dreamy, which I emphasized with some unique instrumentation.

Spoilers ahead:

The Loop fight is yet another one of my MEGA BATTLE compositions where I go ham because it's a fight song and I have to do way too much.

We start with that chromatic walk up in our classic title theme synth and immediately launch into Sandra's intense drums backed with Spitfire Audio's Albion ONE strings to fill out some space.

There are a couple of wild synth solos here written again by Alice Liston, and the drums move into a standard time with a staggered syncopation before jumping back into double time on the riff. Toward the end we build into a kind of combination prog rock EDM drop, and then…

Lo-fi! We take everything down here to a more sonically simplified version using some synth guitar designed in MASSIVE, a couple of simple wave forms, and some bit-crushed drums. We also introduce a new simple counter-melody here with a fairly straightforward motif we repeat while the exact notes change depending on the chord. We're still riffing on Loop's theme at this point, but we're adding some more context.

(Side-note: If you're interested in emulating vintage consoles of a particular era, one of the most important things to look up is the system's sample rate and bit depth! I'm 37 so "vintage" in this case is like… Commodore 64, NES, SNES, PS1, Sega Genesis, Neo-Geo, etc. It's also important to look up for something like the N64 where a lot of the sound design came from, like a lot of DX7 presets.)

Now with a powerful fill from the live kit we come back to our normal instrumentation, restating our previous section. Toward the end of this section we slowly build in our strings ramping up to a half-time breakdown that will lead into a totally new part.

The strings build intensity while also taking the responsibility of playing our main Loop melody, and we throw in a Dormont-style counter-melody to add to a sense of nostalgia as we ramp up our heart-string tugging.

Next, we bring in lead guitar-style synth to double our Loop melody that's playing in the strings to add an extra helping of epicness because come on, an electric guitar playing over the soprano part of a string section is like pique epic/dramatic.

Meanwhile the drums are still going in half-time to give it a breakdown feel (especially leaning on that china cymbal to give it a classic death metal breakdown feel), but at this point we're starting to get more embellishments and double kicks to make use of the space left to build further intensity until we hit that 80s metal crash mute and pause for emphasis, and then tom roll into our next section.

With the break into a new section we're saying NO MORE! We're getting serious now! We have a lovely riff written by Sadie Greyduck, which has a really uncomfortable and tense progression built into it that's emphasized by the strings that have moved to the very high soprano range to keep tension.

Then on our next repeat we jump into yet another solo! This one was partially written by Alice Liston, but ultimately I ended up fitting it into context and completing it. One thing you'll notice here is that there are a lot of passing tones and chromatic walk-ups to emphasize the Loop-ness of the situation.

Now we're jumping into yet another me(n)tal breakdown! This is more riffing on the Loop melody, but then we hear that brass section jump in! We're moving forward and doing a little more light riffing while the rest of the band takes us home in a slightly stronger and more triumphant fashion.

Finally we pick up the pace and we're back to our old classic, the title theme, but it's add odds with the context it exists in and starts to move in a spacier direction, eventually morphing back into Loop's theme.

For the album version we put a cap on it with a piano restatement of the beginning of the song!

(Also I finally looked it up and the other piano I used besides Spitfire Labs "Soft Piano" is Native Instruments "The Gentleman".)

Honestly I love fight/boss themes so much and they're always so fun to work on because I can go ham and the people I work with can do some of their more extreme work, plus it's always an excuse for Sandra to go nuts on the drums.

Thank you so much for sending in your ask! We're always so happy to get these and to hear how much our work has affected so many people! 🐶💙

[myloveismineallmine]

Part 3!

Going back to sydcarmy for this one!

This might be the first instance of a romantic song being used with sydcarmy?

Song: In Too Deep- Genesis

Technically, it's only Sydney in this scene. However, contextually, it applies to a situation with Carmy, which is why I'm counting it. (There's a few that are like this I will go over later)

So, plot recap: Carmy is busy dealing with his grief, and he tells Syd to basically reorganize the whole work environment all by herself.

We see this shot of Syd trying to pull herself together in the walk-in, and as she exits, the song begins.

Lyrics over the shots of her with Tina and Ebraheim:

All that time I was searching with nowhere to run to It started me thinking Wondering what I have could make of my life And who'd be waiting

Sydney walks past Marcus, cuts herself on the box cutter, Tina & co ask her if she's okay:

Asking all kinds of questions to myself But never finding the answers Crying at the top of my voice and no one listening

"Crying at the top of my voice and no one listening" is audible as Sydney yells at the staff and tells them she's fine, which is super on the nose.

On Tina:

All this time, I still remember everything you said, ah-ha There's so much you promised, how could I ever forget

The volume grows for this line, so you can really hear the lyrics.

On pot over heating:

Listen, you know I love you, but I just can't take this

Shots of a pigeon and other stuff in the city to establish that we are no longer in the kitchen:

You know I love you, but I'm playing for keeps

The song is abruptly cut off as we see a shot of Carmy, the audio drowned out by the sounds of a train going over tracks.

Kind of a weird cut for the song, since it cuts in the middle of chorus and not in between verses. Like, you're not gonna even play the "But I'm in too deep" part? Damn.

Contextually though, the main chorus "You know I love you, but I just can't take this." was obviously chosen because it fits this scene perfectly. Sydney is having a breakdown because Carmy put her in a really shitty spot. It is technically a love song though? Like, let's not forget that.

I wonder if the choice to cut off the song in the middle of the chorus, especially by being drowned out by a louder sound, was meant to showcase that Carmy was not paying attention to how stressed he was making Sydney. The scene of him they cut to is actually him seeing Nico, who was the person who called him on the phone earlier, reminded him of his dead brother, leaving Carmy to disassociate and leave Sydney on the struggle bus for the subsequent 5 or how ever many minutes of runtime while he goes to al-anon. I didn't really get why they included that sequence before, but it actually makes way more sense after doing this whole breakdown of it.

Bonus song analysis:

Song: Heat Not Hot - Serengeti

Carmy is yelling at Syd about the stock boiling and the onions not being cut and we all feel bad for her.

Don't have the exact lyrics for this song, so I can't break down what the lyrics are in this shot, but the volume does increase as Sydney steps away and starts chopping onions.

How many times I gotta tell you your heat shouldn't've got hot?

How many times you given up, telling me that’s all you got?

It’s not all you got

All you need’s direction

How many times you want the answers for the same questions?

(Tried to write what I heard, may not be 100% accurate.)

How do they find these songs, lol. Such a fitting verse for this scene. Not a love song or anything, but one of many examples of how on the nose a lot of these lyrics are to the story.

[sburbian-sage]

You know, you get all these people who talk about the funny and silly things they do in their sessions and the weird things they find but

I feel like you dont get enough people that talk about how utterly horrifying it is to live like this

To be eternally stuck in a body thats never yours and be forced through death over and over and over

I should be turning 65 this year or at least close, copious amounts of time travel make it impossible to keep accurate track. Ive gone through dozens and dozens of sessions, learned things, forgotten most, ive loved and lived and died, and fought and fought and fought because in sburb you can never stop fighting not even for a moment

Ive turned entire sessions into fragmented code and ripped open holes into the deepest of voids and me and my coplayers jump in every time, new friends, new beings, new lives

Ive waded through the gene code slop of cancerous frogs and come out the other side more construct and grist than flesh only to wake up eternally 13

Ive killed at least a dozen coplayers, either because they were pkers or for the safety of my other coplayers

Ive been transitioning in every session for nearly 30 years only to finish the game and wake up 13 in the wrong body over and over

Sburb is hell, or as close as we can get

But its also so, so, beautiful

Watching skaia break the horizon on prospit and sink below on derse, hundreds of lands never cease to be beautiful in their own ways, fog on broken buildings and mist in endless pines, oceans of anything imaginable sloshing on candy cane beaches and sand made of broken screens

The birth of a Genesis Frog is continuously one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, the sheer majesty of a being that contains a universe, of such internal scale that it boggles the mind

Sburb is so many many things but above all it is a game of creation and survival, its a world drunk on its own pure space, pure volume. Where the laws of physics don't exist and space is a suggestion and time less than a guidebook, its imagination in its purest most distilled form

Its my home, and the only thing ive ever known

I was originally going to be really mean and point out that "nobody talks about how badly SBURB sucks" because everyone already knows it. Every bad thing you described, 20 people are experiencing *right now*, in this very moment. It's kind of like walking into the Room Full of Spikes That Stab You In The Eyes, seeing that everyone is telling stories to take their mind off of things, and then asking why they don't acknowledge how painful the spikes are. But this kind of turned into a sappy vent post. Which I also don't like, but I'll allow it this one time.

Sorry to hear about the transitioning thing, by the way. I'm fairly certain that SBURB should be scanning your brain and generating Dream Self and God Tier bodies congruent with whatever's in there. Either this is a very bad and persistent bug you've kept running into, or you're genderquirked in a different way. Every time I've seen discussions on this topic, it's always centered binary trans people. Maybe the nonbinaries are better at dealing with it, or turned into oysters and can't type or something.

I am glad to hear about everything else though. Fight on!

[sorry-moots]

Inversion of Genesis But I Changed It

um hi. hello there. i'm not good at formatting. characters featured: scaramouche, dottore cws: none wc: 1,016

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Chapter Two

They gave you a new mask. One with the Balladeer’s crest on it. It hurt like a–

You let out a hiss as the new mask, tangled in your hair, ripped out a couple strands. This was the sixth time that had happened this morning and you dreaded the long term consequences. Not everyone can pull off the chrome dome.

As you near the Balladeer's office, your mind drifts back to yesterday's events. The paperwork alone took almost two hours and when you finally showed up at Dottore’s office, he dismissed you almost immediately for having an “uncharacteristic excess of enthusiasm”.

With the free time you had, you brushed Apollo’s coat and cleaned up his tack. You were concerned about making a good impression and this translated to taking care of your beloved Clydesdale horse and cleaning your house, despite knowing the harbinger would not see either.

After nodding a greeting to the guards on either side, you gently knocked at the door, unsure of yourself. From inside came an aloof “it’s open” which you hesitantly took as permission to enter.

Before so much as breathing in his direction, you dipped into a deep curtsy. “Greetings, Lord Harbinger. My name is [Y/n] and I’ve been assigned as your new assistant.”

After a beat, you cautiously looked up but quickly averted your eyes when you realized he was staring at you.

He scoffed. “Well your desk is right there. Get to work.”

It was hard to suppress your wince as you straightened from your curtsy. I already know this is going to piss him off.

“Actually, my lord,” you started, swallowing hard. “I would appreciate if you told me, in detail, what my duties will be.”

You looked up again, this time holding eye contact, to find him looking at you incredulously. Then, he rolled his eyes.

“Every morning, you will let yourself into my office at eight o’ clock. You’ll sort through my mail, first by who is authorized to respond, my staff or just me. Then, you’ll sort them again by requests and reminders. Then, you’ll sort them again by priority. Got that?”

Normally, you wouldn’t have much trouble keeping track of what you’re being told, but the mask was digging into your scalp. Head… aching… “Yes, my lord.”

“Once you’re done organizing the mail, you’ll go through your stack. You deny anyone asking to schedule a meeting unless it’s mandatory. Then, you do your best to get me out of it.” He went on listing all of your duties as his assistant, but the pain from the mask was getting harder and harder to bear. I’ll just adjust it a little bit.

“...if I’m not here. Hey, are you even listening?”

You snapped back to attention, your hand returning to rest at your side. 

“Yes, my lord.”

*****

It was hard to relax knowing you had upended your entire career and would be working with an infamously ill-tempered harbinger who was known to kill his subordinates.

You didn't actually know if he was watching you because you didn't dare check, but you were convinced he was. Every scribble of his pen or rustle of paper had you struggling not to flinch.

The icing on this uncomfortable cake was that accursed mask. It's tight in all the wrong places, it catches in your hair, loosening makes it droop, but tightening it gives you headaches.

Just as you're about to excuse yourself to fix it, the harbinger speaks up. “When are you going to stop fiddling with that infernal mask? You've been massaging your scalp like a mother of four with migraines for the past hour.”

Your cheeks heated at the notion that, not only had the Harbinger been watching you, he was irritated by you.

Turning to face him, you said, “I’m sorry, my lord, this mask isn't as comfortable as my old one.”

“Then, take it off.”

The mere suggestion had your eyes widening. “But, sir–”

“Whatever unsightly visage you're hiding beneath it can't be more disruptive than you picking at your hair like a child with lice.”

After you removed your mask, the rest of the day went smoothly. No complaints, no yelling, the man barely even talked to you.

In spite of this, you let out a breath you had been holding the entire day as you closed the door to the stable behind you. The stable boy already had your horse tacked up and you dropped a few coins in his hand before you swung yourself into the saddle. You sighed as you flicked the reins. 

“Let’s go home, Apollo.”

*****

The clock had barely struck nine when both doors swung open, revealing Scaramouche. He strided over to his desk, sitting down in one fluid motion to assess the documents and letters you had organized.

I should probably tell him which stacks are which. This in mind, you stood from your desk and walked over to his.

“Sir, if I m–”

He cuts you off. “What's that on your face?”

Suddenly self-conscious, you try to think of any blemishes you overlooked or food you forgot to wipe off. He captures your attention once more with a couple of snaps.

“...Do you mean my mask, sir?”

Though his glare was menacing, he spoke softly as he beckoned you. “Come here, [y/n].”

Once you had stepped as close to the desk as you could without disturbing the things on it, he stood. In the blink of an eye, he tore the mask from your face, alleviating your pain but messing up your hair.

“I have little patience for people who make the same mistake multiple times,” he murmured as he studied the object.

With a strength belied by his delicate appearance, he crushed the mask in one hand and let the pieces fall to the floor in front of you.

He sat down again and continued his perusal of the paperwork as though nothing happened. “Clean that up.”

You were stunned but snapped out of it quickly. You uttered yet another “yes, my lord” before grabbing the dust pan that was kept in the corner.

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[getvalentined]

A-Z ask game: O(tailored) bc I would like to slide you a song[String Theocracy, Library of Ruina], R, U please!

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

I looked up the song and I'm assuming it's this!

I was gonna say that I was getting huge A Turtle's Heart vibes off this, then I realized it was the same person so that explains it. I'm not a huge fan of the track itself* but those lyrics!

I'm going with Genesis, for sure, specifically Genesis to Zack.

Cut it off, cut down your loss All that stubborn loyalty is gonna get you killed In a world built on convenient theories For the puppets on TV There is comfort in the strings If you're gonna control me At least make it interesting theatrically [...] Cut it off, you've already lost All that precious bravery is gonna get you hurt In a world that feeds on the minority May that self-centered belief lead you to peace If you're gonna replace me At least have the audacity to kill me thoroughly

I'm not sure there's anything I could say to explain that interpretation that these lyrics don't already say loud and clear. Thank you for sharing it with me!

* I'm not generally a fan of jazz, and this song is really jazzy; also the way Mili mispronounces words to fit a rhythm that they could have fit anyway is pretty egregious in this track, and that's the thing that keeps me from listening to more of her music. The combination of the two makes me a bit "ehhhh," but that's just me! It's a really solid track, just not my vibe. THOSE LYRICS THOUGH, GODDAMN.

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

Answered here! A little convoluted because for me, all ships are friendships regardless of whether there's a romantic context.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Oh this is a fun one!

1. Vincent Valentine (FFVII) is my favorite character in all of fiction and I've explained the why of that a couple times over the years, but suffice to say there is just nothing like finding a character with whom you resonate so intensely that you can love them even more after over a quarter century than you did when you first discovered them as a child.

2. Harle (Chrono Cross) is way up there! I love her entire character arc, starting as an agent of human destruction who falls in love with the very person she was created to kill, and holding that love so tightly that the horrifying superweapon she was fused into uses magic to sing him the song he needs to save the entity responsible for the destruction of her own people. Harle is my favorite female character ever, even moreso than Miyazaki's Nausicaä, which is saying a lot coming from me.

3. Turo (Pokemon Violet) will be my third. Not Professor Turo, mind you, the other Turo, the one who actually gave a shit about the safety of others, who loved the son that wasn't actually his so much that he gave everything to make sure the world he lived in would be safe. I have a soft spot for characters willing to give themselves up for love, and familial figures determined to set things right even if it means they won't get to live with the family they're saving will make me sob every single time. I'm not normally into mainline Pokemon titles (I like Arceus, Gale of Darkness, Snap, etc.) but Turo is literally what sold me on this one and it turned out to be one of the best story experiences I'd had in years (even outside his part).

I wanted to include a Zelda character, but I realized that's basically impossible because I love too many of them to choose one as a favorite. I managed to narrow it down in my head to Midna, King Rauru, or Nabooru, and then I thought of Mipha for .027 seconds and literally burst into tears because I love her so much and I can't not talk about her if I'm talking about favorite Zelda characters—and I decided I couldn't do that so I set that franchise down for this one.

[ for the A to Z ask game ]

[salternateunreality2]

AGSZC Wedding Highlights (crack)

from the @strayheartless archives <3

The ceremony will be quiet, sweet, intimate, possibly an elopement, and the after party/reception will be a literal zoo because Zack will invite every friend he's ever made, which of course includes animals. Naturally, Cloud's dragon aunt and cousin (Asil and Knarf) will also be invited.

Cloud biting Hojo and Sephiroth immediately urging him to let go… because of how gross Hojo is (that can't be healthy for Cloud), not because Hojo is screaming in pain.

Sephiroth and Cloud hiding under a table/in a closet is going to happen. No, not to make out (though that will happen), but to get away from ~the people~.

Sefikura do come out at regular intervals to show love for their partners by braving the humans. They emerge together, holding hands, and go greet family members or dance with AGZ for 30 minutes at a time, then they make eye contact from across the room and go rescue each other.

"Excuse me, Aunt Rachel, it was lovely meeting you, but it looks like my new husband needs a break" *scuttles off to rescue Cloud from a dance with Cousin Casey*

"Oh, my new husband looks like he needs me, thanks for the dance, bye" *skitter skitter skitter*

AGZ being so proud of them and grateful that they're pushing through AND taking care of themselves.

The Strifes defend the new husbands from obnoxious relatives (some lines borrowed from the illustrious @strayheartless)

Cloud: *materializes out of nowhere* Hello, Genevieve Rhapsodos. I heard you were saying this cake was triggering your asthma because of the gluten. You meant celiac disease. Which you don't have and didn't warn us about. Furthermore-

Sephiroth: Nope, back to the table *drags Cloud away, desperately grabbing his hands so he can't flip her off*

Zack: *laughing his ass off*

Gillian: You had that coming.

Angeal: *trying not to laugh and come up with an apology*

Genevieve: *sputtering indignantly* Are you going to let him talk to me like that?!

Genesis: *smirking* Yep.

Claudia: How's that for a country bumpkin, bitch? *shoves cake in her mouth*

Genevieve: Are you going to let HER talk to me like that?!

Genesis: I don't LET the Strifes do anything. They do what they want. If you want to fight her, go ahead and good luck, mother.

Claudia: If you need me, I'll be under the table with them having delicious, gluten-filled cake, mmmmm!

-----

(((For context, Asil is Claudia's dragon mom friend, as discussed here, and Knarf is Asil's dragon son)))

Hojo: *shows up, starts making a scene with security. Apparently being bitten wasn't warning enough.*

Claudia: I smell bitch. Be right back. ASIL!

Hojo: *suddenly gains the power of flight via dragon*

Knarf: *is raiding the buffet, his mom can handle this*

Hollander: *skedaddles with a pocket full of cake after seeing what happened to Hojo*

Knarf: *pops his head under the table to lick the boys then trots off because he smelled Scientist with CAKE*

Hollander: *is about to learn a valuable lesson about dragon tracking abilities*

Claudia: *adopts Sephiroth on the spot and pats his head because she's awkward and doesn't know what to do. It's the perfect thing to do.*

Genesis sneaks each of his boys away to dance in the night air at some point, just the two of them in a circle of fire he lit with his materia skills to show off.

Angeal makes sure everyone eats, especially Cloud, who was nervous before the ceremony, and Genesis and Zack, who simply forgot.

Sephiroth whisks each husband away to look at the stars together and fumbles through a few lines of the individualized love letters he wrote for them.

He knew he wanted to do something like this and wound up asking Cloud's friend Tifa, who walked him through romantic ideas, and encouraged him to write them each a letter if he was uncomfortable speaking it all out loud. Once he had a structure, the rest was easy. Each of them cherishes their letter to this day.

Zack worked really hard to smooth the way for everyone socially, and also gave each of his men a special, meaningful wrapped gift.

Cloud pulled each one into a random hallway, got on his tiptoes, and kissed them.

He's not the biggest on physical affection, so they were all thrilled that he agreed to marry him despite his hang-ups AND that he's initiating a lot. They're all out of their minds and over the moon over how incredibly cute he is.

He also told them each the same thing, trying to be romantic. And, well...

"I'd kill a god for you and rip out their innards with my teeth".

He...probably should have asked Tifa for help. They love it anyway.

After the party, they take their time on their honeymoon to chill in each other's company.

That suits Angeal just fine, because even neurotypicals get worn out by socializing, and he LOVES cuddling his boys.

Cloud gnaws on a lot of stuff in happiness.

Sephiroth is purring non-stop, and they all take turns laying on his chest.

Everyone passes Cloud around like a prize and he puts up with it because it's THEM.

Everyone simultaneously decides to dogpile Angeal and thank him for all he does for them while suffocating him to the happiest death ever.

Besides marital activities, cough cough, there will be a lot of...

Them play fighting in the long grass. Them getting ticks in the long grass. Them being treated by Angeal and told not to go back into the long grass. Them going back anyway because one of them (Zack) found the coolest bug ever. Genesis setting fire to the long grass because he hates bugs. All the ticks dying because he firagas the shit out of the long grass. Angeal sighing about the long grass. Sephiroth pulling out his textbook knowledge and saying it's fine, the grass will come back, but the ticks won't, and really, they did the world a service. (I KNOW THIS IS NOT SCIENTIFIC, LET A SALT DREAM)

Them all stargazing in the burnt field, Cloud falling asleep almost right away, sandwiched between two of his husbands. Zack asking to be carried home when it's time, then falling asleep in Sephiroth's arms. AGS putting the spiky ones to bed together and taking so many cute pictures as the pair automatically gravitates to each other.

They stumble across a Hojo lab and discover their new children: the Remnants and some Chadleys.

Zack: I love all our babies 🥰 we should have more! Video of Zack with his babies

Sephiroth: Alright, let's find another lab to raid.

Angeal: *reading documents* WHAT THE FUCK, HOJO?!

Cloud: ikr even after Asil ate him we're still finding his experiments. They're hella cute experiments, but still.

Genesis: *at the babies* STOP CHEWING ON YOUR BROTHER.

[lunarianebula872]

Okay ignore the [I'll post an Owl pic later on] thing and yes this Owl pic is old art but oh well.

Anyways wanted to do some of that AU thing that C!Cloud stumbled into to give a concept of the designs [idk what to name this said AU so feel free to give any names for it].

Let's start with little Cloud here who clearly doesn't think to highly of his dads but he puts up with their bs [I put him in a more Chibi style because why not] when he first encounters C!Cloud he asks himself "what did my so called 'dads' do now...?" Because he thinks his dads did something again

let's move on to "Oto-san" Tseng [Google said Oto-san is a word in Japanese that is used for papa but I'm not entirely sure] who is the 2nd one to meet C!Cloud, Tseng due to an incident/accident which almost killed him and made him mute however his stepson Cloud saves him via healing him which does surprise Tseng on how a kid would know strong magic so he wonders what Genesis would think about it

Now onto "Papa" Rufus [whose not a full on asshole] and is the last one to meet C!Cloud and gives C!Cloud a lot of food that he made himself which he's surprisingly good at, when he and C!Cloud talk to each other after C!Cloud woke up from the tranq to the ass [thanks to Rufus] Rufus looks at C!Cloud and says "Cursed? You look a lot more like my son a he's no curse which I can apply to you since your a version of him somehow... you also look like you need more sleep, food, and also a way to heal yourself" to which C!Cloud replies with a "and why should I trust you Rufus? You going to tranq me in the ass again?" Which Rufus explains with "only if you give me a reason to-" he is cut off by C!Cloud who says "before you finish that sentence... I'm older than you" this somewhat annoys Rufus but he's got a lot more patience due to having Tseng [who got injured] and his son to take care of though the question of genocide C!Cloud asks out of the blue does cause Rufus to admit he killed his own father due to the mistreatment of Tseng, the Turks, the SOLDIERs, and his son which gave him the reason to deal with his father.

Okay this may be long but perhaps I should fill in who Owl is [to some extent since he's still a developing oc], Owl is someone with combat experience outside of Shinra [he also does some odd jobs for the company if needed to obtain gil] Owl currently plans to go into Shinra as a Turk due to his knowledge of things that others tend to overlook rather quickly, he's also a night owl so he tends to be up late at night keeping an eye on things then, Owl gets his name due to the tufts of his hair that make him have what an owl 🦉 has on their head due to feathers, Owl is known for his sharp shooting abilities and his way around machetes, tracking, and even hacking enemy tech which does lead to him discovering a rouge group of scientists who don't work for Shinra who have stolen research and resources using fake ids that look eerily similar to their own [some research has to deal with blood samples] which he reports this so it can be dealt with.

Alright this is to long now and it's 3:37am so I'm going to bed... apologies for the slight blur to, @aimeelouart enjoy some more information of the dimension C!Cloud has gotten himself in and even some information about an oc of mine.

[typingtess]

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch:   “A Farewell to Arms”

The basics:  A tech guy creating chips for the Navy is badly injured in a hotel attack.

Written by:  Chad Mazero co-wrote "Internal Affairs", "Revenge Deferred" and "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", "The Noble Maidens" and "Pandora’s Box".  Wrote "Tidings We Bring", "Can I Get a Witness", "All Is Bright", "Diamond in the Rough", "High Society", "Murder of Crows", "Overdue", "Sorry for Your Loss" and "Flesh & Blood".

Directed by:   John P. Kousakis directed "Imposters", "Sacrifice", "San Voir" part one, "The Fifth Man", "Parley", "Inelegant Heart", "Chernoff, K.", "Active Measures", "The Long Goodbye", "Talion", "Glasnost", "Unleashed", "Party Crashers", "This Is What We Do" (episode 200), "Goodbye Vietnam", "Ninguna Salida", "The Guardian", "High Society", "A Tale of Two Igors", "Under the Influence", "Genesis", "Come Together", all of the Afghanistan scenes from "Iron Curtain Rising" to "Zero Days" in season five and all of Kensi’s injury/recovery storyline scenes from "The Queen’s Gambit" to "Sirens" in season eight. 

Guest stars of note:  Lesley Boone was back from “Best Seller” as Nina Barnes.  Marilu Henner as Elizabeth Kilbride, Valerie Azlynn as Colleen/Paulina Kaminska, Michael Bow as Sean Baker, Nick Hargrove as Clyde Greene and JT Neal as Bartender.

Our heroes:  Track down chips on their way to foreign enemies.

What important things did we learn about: Callen:  Plans to leave his Leatherman to Sam. Sam:    Has a guy who can make the Leatherman leaving an item in Callen’s will. Kensi:  Wants a 9PM curfew for Rosa. Deeks:  Thinks about therapy after a creepy doll encounter. Fatima:   Notices something different about the Admiral. Rountree:   See Fatima. Kilbride:  Hanging with the ex.

What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen:  Not impressed with the bartender’s screenplay plans. Sam:    Does the big chase on foot. Kensi:  Third Eye Blind fan. Deeks:  Missed curfew by two-days. Fatima:   In the mood to go clubbing. Rountree:  Worried about massive rains in Los Angeles. Kilbride:   Plays Wordle.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange?  No idea.

Who's down with OTP:   Kensi and Deeks are in full parent mode.  Kilbride and the ex have a warmer relationship than one might think.

Who's down with BrOTP:  Sam has yet another guy for Callen. 

Fashion review:   Callen wore a dark blue, button down shirt.  Long sleeve black tee for Sam.  Kensi wore a white sweater with buttons.  A pale red sweatshirt for Deeks (not quite pink but not quite red either).  Fatima’s leather jacket looks soft like butter and it is over a concrete grey turtleneck.  A dark pink jacket over a red sweater for Rountree.  The Admiral is three piece suiting with a pale blue dress shirt and blue tie.

Music:   “These Boots Were Made for Walking” by Nancy Sinatra opens the episode.  There is a song at the end that I could not track down and the credits didn’t show up in the closed caption (which rarely happens).

Any notable cut scene:  Not today.

Quote:  Elizabeth:  “We were still in the hospital, and I was still in pain.  I couldn't sleep.   So you told me that you wouldn't either.  Even though you had just gotten back from... wherever they had sent you.” Kilbride:  “Cambodia.  We were in and out in 36 hours.” Elizabeth:  “Yeah, you were exhausted.  So there you were, holding Alex, and...fighting like hell to stay awake for me.  Then you fell asleep.  Now, I may have been young and..but I was smart enough to know that there are very few certain things in this world.  And seeing the two of you like that...I said, "Damn it, one thing is sure.  That man will always be there for his boy."  You let me down, Hollace.  But more importantly, you let Alex down too.”

The Nina Barnes rugelach conversation was a delight.

Anything else:  A woman walks into a hotel’s rooftop bar dragging a small, carry-on suitcase behind her.  With a bit of a southern accent, she asks the bartender for something quick and fancy, like a gin and tonic, hold the tonic.  She and the bartender share a laugh.  As he goes to make the drink, the woman speaks to another patron sitting at the bar.  She remembers seeing the bartender on one of the CBS soap operas.  Her fellow patron isn’t a soap fan.  He’s busy with his phone.  She introduces herself as Colleen from Virginia.  He’s Sean.  She’d love to stay with him but she’s flying home to Virginia in two-hours.  Sean is worried that she’ll miss her flight, traffic it LAX is a disaster.  She’s flying out of Long Beach.  That’s not much better.  If she leaves right away, she might make it, according to Sean.  Colleen quickly makes her way to the door.

As she walks through the hotel’s mezzanine level, Sean catches up with Colleen.  She took his suitcase by mistake. She apologizes and Sean seems good with it.  Except she’s not apologizing for taking the bag.  She swings the suitcase at his head.  The two fight – Sean has no problem hitting her and Colleen has no issue kicking Sean off the mezzanine and to the floor of the hotel lobby.

Sam drives in with Callen.  The two are talking about a text Callen sent Sam.  If anything ever happens to Callen, he wants Sam to have his Leatherman tool.  Sam wants Callen to talk to an estate lawyer – Sam knows a guy.  Callen tells same he doesn’t need an estate lawyer, he doesn’t really own anything.  Sam disagrees.  If Callen is getting married, he needs to have his affairs in order.  The Leatherman is going to Deeks now.

Deeks is telling Kensi a story about cows and missing curfew by two-days.  Kensi didn’t really have a curfew because she was homeless but before her father died, she stayed out late to see Third-Eye Blind.  While she made it home in time, she stole backstage passes.  Realizing that teenagers do things they shouldn’t, Rosa is looking at a 9PM curfew.

In the office, Rountree is worried about catastrophic rains, an ARKStorm, that are headed to Los Angeles.  Fatima, not so much when she hears it is between five months and 50-years.  She hopes they can solve their case before the rains come. 

In Ops, Sean Baker, the fellow from the bar, is on the big screen.  Currently in critical condition, Baker has been living in the York Park Hotel.  Callen asks why is NCIS interested.  Baker is the co-founder of Almaya Technautics, an LA-based company working with the Navy.  If they are LA based, why would Baker be living in a hotel Rountree asks.  Fatima isn’t sure but the address on his driver’s license is no longer current. 

According to the Navy, Almaya Technautics was creating autonomous rescue agents for the battlefield.  Basically robots.  If the robots were trained to find members of the US military on the ground, they could also be programmed to hunt and kill the military members by a bad actor. 

Cameras were off in the mezzanine and lobby areas – no way to know how Baker wound up on the lobby floor but witnesses saw him with a blonde woman.  Security cameras on the hotel rooftop has a clear photo of Colleen.  Facial recognition has not matched her with anyone in the system.  Kilbride wants to find Colleen and see if she’s made off with any of Baker’s technology.  Callen and Sam are on their way to hotel.  Kensi and Deeks are interviewing an exec from Baker’s company to see if there were any threats prior to the morning’s attack.

When Callen and Sam leave, Rountree asks about Kilbride, who isn’t in the office.  Fatima says all the information she got about the case was from him via an encrypted message.  Rountree worries if he is in trouble.

In his house, Kilbride is straightening his tie when he hears a door open.  A woman – Elizabeth - wearing what looks to be his bathrobe is walking into the kitchen with some daisies.  Kilbride is surprised she’s still there.  He also remembers that she hates daisies.  Elizabeth is touched he remembered she hated daisies.  Maybe if he remembered their wedding anniversary, they wouldn’t have divorced 30-years ago.  She’s kidding, they got divorced because of his temper.

Kilbride has had enough of memory lane – he’s going to the office.  Elizabeth was about to make them breakfast but he had nothing but expired Vienna sausage in the fridge.  Kilbride recommends a diner down the street.  Whispering, Elizabeth said they had fun the night before.  “Last night was something,” Kilbride replies. 

The Admiral really wants to know why Elizabeth is there.  She said she told him last night – she was in town for conference, thought they could get drinks and catch up.  “Well, I didn’t expect us to catch up so much.”  Saying he was able to read her face since she was 25-years old, Kilbride wants to know what Elizabeth really wants.  She wants to take a shower.  He tells her where the towels are and asks her to lock the door when she leaves.

Callen and Sam check around the hotel – which is a pricy place.  Employees told Sam that Colleen left through a back stairwell.  LAPD said she had Baker’s suitcase.  Cameras saw her in the alley but lost her once she hit the streets.  Fatima is checking for nearby security cams.  Sam sees the blood on the mezzanine floor.  Callen uses the blood stains to recreate the fight.  With the distance between the blood spots, Callen and Sam realize they are dealing with a professional.

In the boat shed, Kensi and Deeks are meeting with Clyde Green, Baker’s partner.  He immediately asks about Baker, who is out of surgery and things are looking better.  Greene thinks Baker’s mother is going to blame him for the fall.  “She blames me for everything bad that happens to him.”  They’ve known each other since they were kids and they got into the trouble that kids get into.  Deeks brings up his conversation with Kensi – cows and Third Eye Blind.  Greene is unfamiliar with Third Eye Blind, offending Kensi.

Back to Baker, he and Greene had the idea for the company in their dorm room in college but they built up their resumes with other jobs so they could get the company off the ground.  About a year ago, everything changed with the explosion of interest in AI.  Asked why Baker was staying in a hotel, Greene tells them Baker stays in hotels all the time.  Moves every few weeks, likes to shake things up.  Does the same thing with his hobbies – finds consistency smothering.  Deeks agrees, again offending Kensi.  Back to Baker, Kensi asks if Greene knew anyone interested in hurting Baker.  He does not.  Greene wants to go back to the office – things are chaotic after what happened that morning.  When Greene leaves, Kensi says she and Deeks aren’t the only ones who are best friends and working together.  Deeks agrees but the only thing he started in his dorm room was a fire with a hot plate.  Kensi asks what’s a hot plate.

In Ops, Fatima asks an arriving Kilbride if he is okay.  “Well, considering that I have been forced to live out my so-called golden years in this overly triggered insecurity blanket of a town, the answer is no, Agent Namazi.”  Fatima is almost laughing but knows that’s the wrong move.  She mentions she was worried when he wasn’t in that morning.  He wants a sitrep.  Fatima looks at the Admiral and asks if there is something different about him that day.  The Admiral doesn’t think he should have to beg for a sitrep.

Fatima has been in touch with the Office of Naval Research.  All work done by Baker and his company is being reviewed and any systems installed are being prepared for possible cyberattacks.  Rountree walks in talking about access to Baker’s bank accounts without knowing the Admiral was there.  Looking at Kilbride, Rountree asks if there is something different about him that morning.  “I got highlights,” Kilbride snarks before asking Rountree to proceed.

Baker has been paying a downtown art gallery for a studio over the last three months.  Without a home and without a longstanding hobby, why would he be paying an art gallery over the last few  months?  Saying they need a warrant, the Admiral wants Kensi and Deeks to check out the gallery.  As he leaves Ops, Fatima and Rountree are looking at him.  When he turns around to face them, they quickly turn away.

At the rooftop bar, LAPD is all over the place.  Callen talks to the bartender, who wonders if they got any hits on the fingerprints yet.  He used the word “hit”.  Callen thinks he is the one who should be asking questions, not the bartender.  The bartender starts on the perps who left without paying.  Callen asks him not to use the term “perps”.  The bartender is also working on a screenplay.  He’s been researching crime for his story.  Callen claims he isn’t a big reader.

Sam arrives with Baker’s briefcase.  The laptop is still inside.  Recapping the events of the day, the bartender confirms the woman from the security footage sat down with “our John Doe.”  Sam makes it clear, it is not “our” John Doe.  Or even a John Doe.  Callen shows the bartender a photo of Sean Baker, who not only confirms he was the guy at the bar, he also tells Callen and Sam that Baker was upset when he noticed his bag was gone.  Callen and Sam discuss that Colleen likely target Baker.  “And we all know how that worked out,” the bartender says shaking his head.  After a glare from Callen and Sam, the bartender is back behind the bar.

Callen wonders what was in the suitcase that was so important to Baker.  On Baker’s briefcase, Sam finds an Apple tracker.  There is likely a similar tracker in Baker’s suitcase.

Walking into the art gallery, Kensi and Deeks are in a studio Baker was using.  Looking around the studio, Kensi finds a box of dolls.  Cutting open one of the dolls, she finds a microchip – AT4756.  AT, like Almaya Technautics.  Kensi starts checking other dolls – they all have microchips.  Baker may have been selling them. 

With all the dolls cut open, Kensi feels really bad.  Fatima, on comms, thinks they are living a reboot of “Child’s Play”.  Unlike most computer chips, the microchips can be repurposed for all kinds of technology – they could work in drones, missiles or dishwashers.  US manufacturers of chips are not allowed to sell them internationally – why give a possible enemy such high end technology.  Baker could have been providing these to foreign militaries for big money.  Fatima is going to call Clyde Greene to see if any other chips are missing.

Callen and Sam call Rountree.  Rountree got a warrant to go into the iCloud and track Baker’s suitcase.  In the meantime, Baker’s personal devices are clean.  That makes sense to Callen – a career in tech means Baker knows what not to put on a personal device.  The suitcase is currently in a parking lot downtown.  Callen and Sam are on their way. 

As Rountree ends the call, the Admiral passes by on the office’s second floor.  He’s explaining to Elizabeth that he’s busy at work with a national security matter.  She’s making them dinner and dessert.  She’s brought in groceries including leafy green vegetables.  She’s worried about his heart.  “There’s a first time for everything,” Kilbride notes.  Elizabeth tells him she misses their fights.  They bring up best fight in the Tropicana in Atlantic City where she stabbed him with a crab knife.  They made up twice in the elevator.

Ending his call with Elizabeth, the Admiral is approached by Fatima.  “Walk and talk, Agent Namazi.”  The two go down the main part of the office.  Nobody on any flight leaving Los Angeles – any LA airport – matches Collen’s description.  The Navy also confirmed that the chips in the dolls were manufactured by Almaya Technautics.  Clyde Greene isn’t at the office so they can’t confirm if any other chips are missing.  The Admiral wants a sitrep when she has something new to tell him, not a rehash of what she doesn’t know.  Fatima sighs as the Admiral walks away.  Offering some comfort, Rountree tells her the ARKStorm could wash them all away and the Admiral wouldn’t remember their conversation.  It doesn’t help Fatima.

Rountree thinks if Baker was selling the chips, he would have to have buyers.  There’s one person in the selling weapons to bad guys business they could talk to.  And she has pastries.

Callen asks Sam about what he’s getting if Sam “heads out to that big math competition in the sky.”  Sam’s turn to be offended.  He’s not dying first – Sam tells Callen that Callen thinks the sixth food group is “fast”.  Callen is worried that Sam keeps things bottled up – that will catch up to him.  Callen and Sam see Clyde Greene pulling a suitcase from a car’s trunk.   Sam yells “federal agents” and Greene talks off with Sam behind him.  It isn’t much of a chase.

While Fatima looks at the parking lot’s security cameras, Sam tells Callen the suitcase is empty.  Greene explains this is all a misunderstanding.  Callen and Sam were not the federal agents he spoke to that morning.  Callen asks if Greene thought there were only two federal agents in the entire city of Los Angeles.  “Budget cuts are no joke.” 

Callen and Sam have a theory – Greene found out that Baker had a side business.  Afraid of being cut out, Greene hired a killer to take out Baker.  Greene could cash in on all of Baker’s side deals and on the success of Almaya Technautics.  Greene said he didn’t hire anyone to kill anyone.  Their deal with the Navy barred Almaya Technautics from selling their chips to anyone.  With the worldwide shortage of the chips, they did a few side deals on the dark web.  Baker got greedy – he was going to sell 200.  That’s what was in the suitcase – the buyer was going to be in the bar.  Callen explains that Baker was set up.  They knew he’d be in the bar with the suitcase.  Enemies of the US could now have the chips – Greene could be charged with treason.

Nina Barnes is selling a customer on her new cupcakes – horseradish in the mix – when Kensi and Deeks arrive.  She thinks Kensi and Deeks are there to thank her for the rugelach she sent for Hanukkah.  They’re not but they were grateful for the rugelach.  Kensi shows Nina a photo of Colleen – does Nina know her.  Nina does not.  Deeks explains that Colleen may be involved with stolen microchips.  Nina doesn’t deal in microchips but they are changing the world of arms dealing.  While she’s not in the microchips business, Nina knows someone who is.

Back in the office, Callen and Sam are approached by Fatima.  She has parking lot footage including Colleen leaving her vehicle for an SUV.  She’s going to an airport in Van Nuys.  Callen wants Fatima to stop any air traffic in or out of the airport.

Rosetta Stone grad Nina Barnes is speaking in Italian to a contact on the phone, impressing both Kensi and Deeks.  Kensi is also enjoying a cupcake.  Phil Collins comes up in the phone call.  Seems the Italian gunrunner confused a German gunrunner for Phil Collins.  Anyway, Nina has a name – Paulina Kaminska, who was going by Colleen.  Kaminska and a partner broker deals across Europe.  She left the game a few years ago but she’s obviously back.  Maybe the money being offered for microchips pulled her back in.  Nina says Kaminska is really good at her job – she’s never been caught, that’s why she not in any database.

In Ops, Fatima and Rountree have a background for Kaminska.  She’s a Polish national who has contacts all over the world.  If she’s out of the US, she’s in the wind.  And the microchips are up for sale to the highest bidder.  Van Nuys airport is closed to incoming and outgoing traffic.  Kaminska’s vehicle was dumped off by the airport at an abandoned night club. 

Callen and Sam are at the airport, Kensi and Deeks are 10-minutes out.  Callen and Sam see Kaminska move the chips but a vehicle pulls up to where she’s making the deal.  Two more men come to the sale.  Callen takes photos of the men and send them to Ops.  Kilbride orders Rountree to join Callen and Sam in the Van Nuys airport.  Fatima searches for the men.  Callen realizes Kaminska wasn’t going to the airport, she was going to the abandoned night club.

Kensi and Deeks arrive as Kaminska and her buyers enter the night clubs.  Anton Kusev is one of the men in the photos.  He’s a former Russian intelligence officer who has become a Russian arms broker – one of the most wanted men in the world.  Kilbride makes it clear, the sale can’t go through.  Sam has a plan.

Kaminska is showing the chips to her Russian buyers when Deeks knocks on the back door.  When one of Kusev’s men answer the door, Deeks knocks him out and enters the building.  Deeks gets into a little hand to hand combat with another one of Kusev’s men, this guy grabs a knife from the club’s kitchen.  Deeks knocks away the knife and Kusev’s man falls to the ground, making a loud noise.  Kaminska, Kusev and one of his guards run.  Sam and Rountree tackle Kusev and his men.  Callen stops Kaminska before she can drive away.

The team are meeting around the briefcase with the chips and talking about food.  Deeks says he’s feeling good about going out as long as he’s home by 9PM for Rosa’s curfew.  If she has a curfew, so does he.  Sam laughs at curfew.  Deeks says they just stopped a Russian arms dealer – if he can’t maintain a curfew, what’s going on.  And what’s going on is Deeks noticing that the microchips are different than the ones he and Kensi found in the studio.  The microchips are all blank – no AT branding for Baker’s company.  Callen looks over to an in-custody Kaminska.  They are fakes.  Callen tells Deeks and Rountree to go home.  They are going to handle Kaminska.

Hoping she’d get a nap in before Callen and Sam figured it out, Kaminska tells Callen and Sam she destroyed the chips.  She gives them an address to find the destroyed chips.  She explains that her home is near the border.  Now there are thousands of refugees crossing into Poland.  Knowing what she did for years, she saw what arms dealing did to real people.  “Karma’s a bitch.” 

Knowing that the Russians were going to get Baker’s microchips, she stole them.  They were going to Russia, China or Iran – things were not going to end well.  “What’s one last job?” she asked.  Callen and Sam asked why she would sell the fake chips.  Well, a girl has to eat. 

Rountree returns to the office.  The REACT team found all 200 of the real microchips, according to Fatima.  Fatima has club plans – a new retro place downtown.  If they big storms are going to take them away, might as well have some fun.

Entering his home, Kilbride finds Elizabeth, jazz playing in the background and dinner was wrapped up in aluminum foil.  She didn’t want to get the food cold.  Sharing some wine, Elizabeth asks about the happiest day of the marriage.  Kilbride jokes it was the day her mother moved away.  “That woman loved you,” Elizabeth tells him.  Elizabeth says it was the night after their son Alexander was born.  He was just back from Cambodia and while he was exhausted, he held their son until he couldn’t fight sleep anymore.  Seeing her then husband with their son, she was sure he’d always be there for “his boy.”

Feeling he let both her and Alex down, Elizabeth wanted to be sure if Kilbride changed.  He claims that their son made choices, and made them as an adult.  Kilbride tried to help “many times” but Alex wanted no part of his father.  Elizabeth explains Alex is clean now but she’s worried it might change.  She’s tired of worrying alone. 

Sticking with his treatment program, Alex is going regularly.  Elizabeth goes regularly as well to family therapy.  She wants Kilbride there too.  “Promise me you’ll thinks about it.”  That earns a “fine” from Kilbride.  She starts to reheat the food – crab legs.  He’s switching from wine to scotch.  “I think I’ll make it a double.”

What head canon can be formed from here:    It will come up again later in the season but the exploration of Kilbride’s personal life should have started a season earlier.  I know the prior season was about getting Callen engaged and making Kensi and Deeks parents but a man who put everything into his career at the expense of his family, a man struggling that his choices hurt his family, especially played by Gerald McRaney really would have worked on a longer runway than the final few episodes of the season.

Marilu Henner was a great choice as Kilbride’s ex.  Terrific actress who can do comedy and drama, age appropriate too.  One thing – Elizabeth divorced Kilbride for his temper but she stabbed him with a crab knife?

The case of the week was rather generic outside of the Ukrainian connection for Paulina.  I don’t think Paulina spends a day in jail after her arraignment.  Her connections are far too valuable, especially since she’s retired.

I was half expecting Sam to tell Callen it was his Leatherman tool that Callen borrowed years ago.  That was a silly missed opportunity.

Kensi disappeared when they got to the bar in Van Nuys.  We were told Kensi and Deeks were 10-minute behind Callen and Sam, Kensi said they were on their way and outside of speaking once to Deeks as he went into the bar on the earwigs, Kensi was MIA for the last 10-minutes of the episode.

Episode number:   This is episode 13 of season 14, the 315th episode overall.

[arbitrarygreay]

I would love to hear more Berryz vs C-ute meta if you're interested! I started out as a Momusu fan and dabbled in Berryz but C-ute felt way, way too young for me at first so I mostly ignored them. By the end of their careers though, Berryz sometimes felt like they were miserable performing while C-ute just got better and better. I've never seen anyone seriously ruminate on this though.

Thanks for the ask!

The thing to know about the era is the industry context. MM is the obvious case, starting in the late 90s when there were some pretty big girl groups (Speed, Zone, Folder5), and of course the Golden Age was called that for good reason.

(Huh, weird, now only Wikipedia lists MM's single sales in table format.) But if you look at the singles sales numbers, they've already fallen back down to Morning Coffee/Furusato level sales by 2003. This is why when you read the ancient fan forum archives (o7) the people who are all around for Golden Age have a grudge against 5th and 6th gens, and the taken-for-granted assumption of management's incomptence. So, H!P is already in a decline by this time (not that H!P broadly was ever as successful as MM in this era), but Tsunku is on a total roll musically, so it can be hard to notice.

And outside of H!P, the idol market (for girls, anyways, Johnny's is still trucking along as usual) is pretty bleak. Avex makes a few attempts every now and then (with dream, BRIGHT, and SweetS), but none of them really take off. For reference, AKB48 starts in December of 2005. I have treasured fan forum memories where Maeda Atsuko was "the one who looks like Kamei Eri". They won't get any real traction (especially sales-wise) until 2008, at which point they spearhead the Idol Sengoku Jidai.

This is the environment in which the H!P Kids are formed and have their early careers. H!P in decline but in denial about it and so throwing about some money they probably didn't make back their money on (very notably, the Sports Festivals actually going so far as to rent out Dome arenas). ZYX, Aa!, and early Berikyuu are receiving god-tier music, Berryz skips doing indies and is doing hall tours right off the bat. (Idols won't really get into livehouses until years later thanks to Idol Sengoku Jidai.)

At the same time, there are some signs. Most notably, the similarities between Berryz and Melon Kinenbi. Sure, I just called early Berryz music god-tier, but there are also quite a few songs and singles in those first three albums are now forgotten deep cuts, aren't they? Even the good ones! At the time, people could definitely predict that Kofuku Kangei would get lost, but the ever catchy Piriri to Yukou? More than that, there is the easy sense that this music is already deeply uncool. Those MKB songs are outright cringe now, especially in the visuals. This is why MKB eventually had to re-pivot to that rocker energy (to the point of mosh pits and even crowd surfing at some of their lives). Berryz, however, were never able to do that. To the end, their music retains a composition style harkening to this mid-00s Tsunku pop, even their dance tracks like Want! or Dakishimete Dakishimete. His last hurrah of the unabashed cheesiness that took Love Machine straight to the top and Koi No Dance Site to peak MM's sales. Pata did a series of posts where he complained about Tsunku's intrusions into Buono's otherwise blessedly Tsunku-free run of singles.

Kobushi, of course, also never recovered sales-wise from their scandal parade and exodus of members. However, because the members of Kobushi grew up in the social media age, as well as after H!P had gone through true industry dark ages, the members reacted to the shrinking by upping the sass and DGAF that make for great clips, Jojo Gundan able to engage with them on improv comedy.

Berryz, meanwhile, kind of had a chemistry problem. They were friendly enough. A newbie like me found their early making-of footage compelling. But they could not really carry a non-scripted segment. Again, maybe a newbie might find their DMs sweet, but the moment you switch to another group, you can see the difference when the interactions have snap and rhythm. Wota joke about Yurina's inability to tell anecdotes. There's a very real reason that only Momochi was able to break out on TV, and even Momochi's schtick feels more forced than the attitude the 48G was bringing to the table, honed by late night variety willing to be really mean to them. Maasa and Chinami are getting pretty good at DGAF, but it says something that they seem to get better mileage when interacting with their juniors (like 5nin J=J or 2nd gen S/mileage) than their own group.

So yeah, by 2007 (around Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba) Berryz can tell that it is not going to happen for them. I guess given that they started their careers so early, they really didn't know yet what they could possibly do outside of the industry yet, so they all just stuck around because why not? And they broke up when enough of them had found post-Berryz prospects.

Honestly, I can't give you an answer as to why C-ute succeeded. They were why I thought Kobushi's scandal parade and member exodus would actually benefit them, but I was never really into C-ute's music. Their songs were also pretty unabashedly Tsunku cheese? Someone I met through SNSD fandom really liked e.g. The Middle Management, but didn't seem to get any deeper into H!P. Anyways, some kind of magic happened, with Chisato and Nakki embracing late blooms intersecting with being able to snag onto the Idol Sengoku Jidai momentum with with a will. Who knows? Love is timing, after all.

[spammreviews]

A BRIEF DEVILMAN CRYBABY RANT

What on Earth is Devilman Crybaby?

I watched Devilman Crybaby, the 2018 anime, because I heard that it was like a mix between Neon Genesis Evangelion and Berserk.

That’s true, in terms of imagery, symbolism, structure. Even the soundtrack of Devilman is similar to NGE

 Devilman Crybaby is also similar to Dune in that both series ask the question “What makes us human?” Answer that question very quickly, and then proceed to spend the rest of the series adding additional footnotes to this thesis.

With Dune, the answer is extraordinarily complicated. According to Devilman Crybaby, it our ability to cry.

Devilman’s themes are not really subtle or  complex. In fact, unlike the other three stories I mentioned, it’s kind of stupid, and that’s what makes it wonderful.

Beginning the first episode, the opening theme song and first scene made me think I was in a for a surreal, poetic experience. It’s a fantastic first scene, introducing us to the characters of Akira and Ryo and setting up the theme of kindness all the while having a wonderful atmosphere.

Then, we suddenly cut to a high-school track practice, and the next few scenes are a blur of horniness, weird jokes, and some of the most inhuman dialogue I’ve ever seen.

A lot of the scenes are also so nonsensically paced, either being way to slow or way to quick, ending either abruptly or a bit after they should have ended. There’s also so many scenes where the actions of character’s straight up make no sense, like that entire scene at the peir.

However, the end of the episode…it sure was something. It sees some pretty awesome body horror and an absolutely brutal fight.

A complaint I do have is the animation. It’s…not good. The character designs themselves are often enjoyable, but the drawing style is just kind of ugly. Ryo’s a good example of this. His design as this thin, regal looking, blonde, pale person who always dresses in white does a great job at telling you what he is as a character, even if it’s basically just the design of Griffith from Berserk. However, he’s drawn with these weirdly shaped eyebrows, and his haircut just looks bizarre. This seems really nitpicky, but it’s important.

A lot of the monsters also seem like they could be a lot cooler if the animation was a bit more detailed.

Not only that, but you can tell that this show was very low budget with all these instances of re-used animation and many obvious cost-cutting measures. There are multiple scenes where we barely see the characters talk and instead just see looping shots of the environment around them.

Oh, also this first episode is super horny. It’s close to being porn sometimes, and I’m not joking or exaggerating. I’m fine with art being horny, but there’s a certain point where it just becomes indulgent. It doesn’t help that, 90% of the time, it’s women being sexualized. 

I’m not even going to get into the way the character of Miki is treated.

The episodes after the first one…fine, I guess.

The problem is that this story jumps the gun on its weirdness and darkness, ending the first episode with something very weird and dark. As such, the next few episodes, which are remarkably less insane, just saw me waiting for things to go crazy again. 

Another problem is that the series is ridiculously quickly paced. I really liked the main characters of Ryo and Akira, and I liked their dynamic, but they barely had any time together. It doesn’t help that a lot of time is being spent with subplots.

This quick pace continues to hound the series until the very end.

People in this series keep talking about rising crime rates and how the world is going to heck, but this is never elaborated upon.

Characters like the beatboxing gang, Miki’s family, Miko, Psycho Jenny, Akira’s parents, the gay guy, Silene and her friend, and many others, go underdeveloped.

Stuff like government conspiracies, the tattoo gang, the demons having a secret plan, christianity, sexuality, and the meta aspect of the in-universe Tv show, are all underdeveloped.

Only a few plot elements feel completely finished, like running. The use of the relay race at the end is pretty creative, with Ryo not taking the baton, serving as a metaphor for his apathy.

Relay running is used similarly in many other placed. It symbolizes how the gay guy and Miko are being individualists, and Akira being the anchor shows how others depend on him. It ads a bite to Miki’s death. Blah blah blah. 

The PE coach was also a brilliant use of set up and pay off carried out over the episodes.

The idea of hands grabbing others is an image used repeatedly throughout.

Miki is also a really nice character, and while I was annoyed at how little agency she had for most of the show, I appreciate how she did help save Akira in that one scene. Unfortunately, that was it, and I feel like we barely knew her as a character.

The tv series has a racism metaphor that I would rank 4/10. It shows how racism against devilmen is bad, but it also claims that demons are ontologically evil and it’s okay to kill them all. There are suggestions that they do have hearts, but this is never elaborated upon.

We see a running pattern here, the show not having enough time. As a result, its themes are half-baked and overly simplistic. It talks about how we should get along, and how humanity are the real monsters, and how individualism is bad, and empathy is nice, and how imperialism is bad, and all that jazz, but it never tied these ideas together.

Compare this to Eva, where it feels like End of Evangelion managed to touch on every idea the show had set up. That’s probably because Eva was twice as long. 

It also doesn’t help that this show is almost laughably unsubtle. Miki’s “social media” post that saves people is so on-the-nose.

There’s also scenes that are just weird, like that one scene with Bonito flakes. Also, what was the deal with the kid looking up porn. Also, Donald Trump canonically exists in it. Also, who were the people shooting at the rainforest people? 

I’m sure there’s an explanation, but that’s not important. It’s fine if a show is ambiguous, but this doesn’t feel purposeful so much as it feels sloppy. 

It feels like the show doesn’t know what it wants to be about, with their being two or three episodes were are titular crybaby barely appears. That’s not great. 

I don’t hate all of these subplots, it’s just that none of them go anywhere. For instance, we watch this romance bloom between Miko and Frizzy Haired Guy for two episodes, and I will admit, I like Frizzy Haired Guy. I was rooting for him. Then, he gets killed off and is barely mentioned again. All that buildup was for nothing.

I suppose the story is trying to purposefully be unsatisfying, something both Eva and Berserk do, but when you do that, you need to have a reason. They could have made the scene where Frizzy Haired Guy die really tragic, but they instead make it all flashy and confusing so they can have us wonder if he’s maybe still alive for a bit.

Also, we had this whole episode introducing us to gay dude, and then he randomly goes evil and gets killed off in the last episode. So long, character development!

Comparing this show to Eva again, the ending is almost amazing. The imagery sounds awesome on paper, but the animation and character designs are so minimal. It also feels like Akira stopped growing as a character after the first six episodes. He feels almost removed from the destruction, as it’s all happening because of someone else.

I could also nitpick that entire last episode to hell for the thousand different moments that are written weirdly, like that one scene where Ryo doesn’t notice that Akira’s bottom half has been removed. Also, that ending shot was way to one the nose in looking like End of Evangelion. I know the Devilman manga came before Eva, but I don’t care. Why is the sea even red?

Despite all my complaining, I still like this show. The characters are fun, even if they really aren’t that complex (especially all the characters that aren’t Ryo and Akira). The world-building is imaginative and awe-inspiring, many of the action scenes are pretty cool, and there are moments when the minimal animation does work. 

Also, sometimes it’s nice to have a story that’s willing to be as bleak as this one, and as weird as this one.

To be honest, I feel like it could be weirder. I generally understood what was going on most of the time. In fact, the most confusing scenes were from the ordinary slice-of-life segments, like when that family had that giant The Last Supper painting.

I also think an idea which is carried out to its fullest is the idea of apathy. It’s the source of most of the conflict between Ryo and Akira. The ending sees Ryo destroying everything, including the one person he cares about, in his pursuits. It’s a tragic irony, I guess.

I feel like it would hit more if we had more time with these characters. What was Ryo’s reaction to learning that he was Satan and that everything he knew was a lie? What was the nature of his relationship with Psycho Jenny? What were Ryo’s actual motivations beyond “destroying humanity”.

If Ryo’s goals were more fleshed out, than the irony of him accomplishing his goals at the cost of the one thing that truly mattered to him would hit much harder.

This is definitely a story which you’re supposed to feel, not understand, but I don’t think I felt everything the show wanted me to feel. 

Another victim of the quick pacing is a lack of atmosphere. Now, the show does have a few sequences with some fantastic, otherworldly atmosphere, like the beginning. However, there are many times when it would be nice if the story could slow down a bit and let us enjoy the imagery.

The lack of atmosphere in the final episode is also a result of how needlessly complex the show can be sometimes. A lot of lore is thrown into our face in that episode, as well as a lot of character backstory and insight. A lot also happens in that 25 minutes. It would be nice if we got time to digest what was happening. 

I feel like I need to stop, because it seems like I dislike this show, but, there were times when I was on its wavelength. 

There is some beautiful and horrific imagery in here. I love Satan’s design, and I feel like it actually works with the minimalist artsyle. 

A lot of the scenes showing nuclear war in the last episode were pretty breathtaking, as the show is pretty great at showing scale and grandiosity. The use of filters really helps to sell the effect. The flashbacks to Ryo and Akira’s childhood also had an awesome juxtaposition, with these brightly colored childhood memories that use these long shots clashing with the dark and frantically edited present.

There are also many scenes of brutality earlier in the series that are legitimately pretty shocking, mainly the massacre at the track meet.

This is a series that has a lot going for it, but it ultimately stumbles at the finish line, ending up seeming more like an ant by the feet of the stories that the manga inspired.

However, they say the book is always better, so I’ll be sure to check it out.

[queenlucythevaliant]

Do you think Behemoth and Leviathan were actually real and happened to be dinosaurs? Behemoth was a huge and formidable land dinosaur while Leviathan was a pleisiosaur. Technically, plesiosaurs weren't dinosaurs, but you get my idea?

So I've been sitting on this ask for a little bit because I honestly didn't know what tone to take in answering it. I don't know your background, and thus don't know whether to be more blunt or delicate. Ultimately, I settled on blunt, simply because I could not figure out how to answer this question delicately. That said, I hope you take this in the gracious spirit in which I have written it.

SO. That's a hard no from me, friend. Let's discuss!

So typically when you hear people say that Behemoth and Leviathan were dinosaurs (or dinosaur adjacent), it's in the context of arguments in favor of young earth creationism. It's a fairly big talking point with the Answers in Genesis crowd. Basically, they make the argument that Biblical texts referencing creatures that superficially resemble dinosaurs are evidence that humans and dinosaurs could have lived at the same time.

This works out if the earth is only 6,000 years old, but not if we take paleontology, geology, or human evolution at all seriously. The writer of Job would have had no way of knowing that dinosaurs and plesiosaurs existed because they had already been extinct for many millions of years. Even if you want to argue that maybe God is describing creatures with which Job was unfamiliar, it still doesn't track. God's address to Job treats these creatures as something for which he has a point of reference. It also just doesn't make sense why God would choose this moment to reveal the existence of dinosaurs. Talk about a tangent!

I don't know where you fall on the spectrum of Christian beliefs regarding origins and the age of the earth, but I've written at length on this blog about the case for theistic (old earth) evolution, so I won't rehash that here. Check out my all truth is God's truth tag or shoot me an ask if you want more on that. Regarding Behemoth and Leviathan, however, I think some of the same exegetical skills involved in reading (or misreading) Genesis are involved in the relevant chapters of Job.

When God addresses Job out of the whirlwind, he uses poetic language. He's talking about a real thing (his sovereignty over the universe), but it's something that transcends human comprehension on an overwhelming scale. Much like we can't ever hope to wrap our heads around deep time, we're simply not capable of grasping the extent of God's sovereignty.

When God describes storehouses of hail reserved for the day of battle, are we supposed to literally think that there is a giant building in heaven where God keeps all his hail? Or is it a picture of God's might as both creator and judge of the universe? If we know our Bibles, we see that hail is frequently used as a tool of judgement against God's enemies: Egypt, the Canaanites, apostate Israel, and ultimately the rebellious earth. So when God describes his storehouses of hail, we see the reality of his total control over the arc of history, his ultimate justice, his orderliness.

Likewise, Behemoth and Leviathan use the established language and symbolism of Scripture to convey truths for which plain language wouldn't suffice. Behemoth's description isn't that of any real animal, living or extinct. God paints a picture of a creature that no man could ever hope to tame and expresses that he, God, can.

Leviathan is the longer and more interesting image; it's a mighty creature of the deep that breathes fire and cannot be controlled. We know that in Biblical parlance, water is frequently associated with chaos (too many places to enumerate, but Psalms, the Prophets, and Revelation are good starting places). Leviathan is a picture of this chaos: mighty, rearing, deadly, uncontrollable, terrifying. Then God says to Job, "Can you draw this creature out with a fishhook? Can you make a covenant with him? Will he serve you? Can you injure him? Do you have any means at all of controlling the chaos monster? I do." It's poetry used to express a truth that we humans cannot hope to grasp otherwise: We cannot control the chaos of the world around us. We can't even try. But God can, and he does it effortlessly.

So no. Not dinosaurs. And I think that arguing that they are, especially trying to pick through the text and figure out which ones they're supposed to be and using that to argue for literalistic interpretations of Genesis, really misses the point and the power of what God is saying here.

I think Job's words back to God at the end of the book actually give us a remarkably important principle when it comes to Biblical interpretation: "I have uttered what I do not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." The whole Bible is too wonderful for us. God condescended in order to give us his truth, and he had the magnificent grace to give it to us in ways that we can begin to grasp.

I think a lot of really literalistic reads on Scripture (Job, Genesis, Revelation, and elsewhere) are a kind of grasping at control. There's an assumption in it that God gave the ancients an exact accounting of things that humans just aren't equipped to fully comprehend.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't try! But it does mean that when we read Scripture concerning the Big Things: the Sovereignty of God, the creation of the universe, the origin of life, eternity, infinity, even spiritual mysteries like the Trinity and the nature of the Incarnation, we have to approach it as something fundamentally beyond our comprehension which God is showing us the edges of. We can see other, different edges of many of those same things through scientific observation (or philosophy, or whatever other disciplines-- not all of the Big Things are scientific in nature.)

It's like Isaac Newton said: "I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

[scrawnytreedemon]

okay. hmm. making you sell me on a ship(once again)…how about a ship i accidentally got myself thinking of??? genesis x zack. yeah

OH BROTHER it's a hero x antagonist ship-- What more need I say???

So obviously we got alot of tension on that front, and Genesis is so irritatingly beseeching it drives Zack insane, which is already a good dynamic on the face of it <3 But I think there's alot of tragic depth in how they both relate to Sephiroth: how Genesis ignited his downfall and Zack tried to save him from it. How, at the end of the day, Genesis has to settle for Zack at the expected end of his life due to Sephiroth's absence; an absence he caused.

I feel like if you were to translate it into a postgame relationship dynamic, it's giving rebound. Genesis and Zack each grieving for all the things and people they've lost, trying to build something with each other but it's so difficult because they're putting all these expectations of other people onto their partner, expecting them to fill-in. Plus, if they're still on the run from ShinRa with a catatonic Cloud in tow...

...What a hot fucking mess.

Do they both move to Deepground? Try to make home among all these other rejects, relying on obscurity for security?

I'm going way off track now, holy shit. But I'd say I've somewhat managed to make an okay case for the ship; I can definitely see the appeal, regardless, lol.

Ty for the ask <333

[sealrock]

WoL Inspo Chart

I was tagged by @airis-ray for this, ty for the tag! this chart was fun, and challenging, to do because I had to look beyond heather as paris' main source of inspiration yes I cheated and added two characters from the same source material shhh

I'll be tagging @ahollowgrave @withheartsaligned @archaiclumina and @shroudkeeper (feel free to skip if you've already done this!)

get the template here!

without further ado, and in no particular order, I will explain under the cut what each character means for my wol:

james heller of prototype 2: like james, paris became cynical and developed a grim outlook on life after being the warrior of light for as long as they have. they both also have a similar one track mind: getting back at the source that caused them grief (alex mercer for james, halmarut for paris). besides this, paris has the mouth of a sailor and will curse up a storm when angry or irritated

dabi of boku no hero academia: I haven't read this manga in quite a while and I've only got back into it via leaks, but dabi has always been my favorite well after I dropped the manga. dabi is here purely for aesthetic reasons, for the 'cool & edgy factor' if you will. but some of dabi's more intimate traits and motivations are reflected in paris as well, especially with regards to endeavor (which, in turn, relate to andromache). I won't go into much detail because of spoilers and that it's not finished yet, but if you know dabi's whole story you'll know what I mean

heather mason of silent hill 3: like I said above, heather is the linchpin to paris' whole state of being. paris has a lot of heather's traits and personality baked into them, which I explained a little better here. paris, to me, is much like a survival horror character since their personality doesn't seem to fit the overall hopeful and happy tone of ff14. I imagine if you put paris in silent hill nothing would change; in fact, their own otherworld dimension may be no different from any of the other characters

tommy vercetti of gta vice city: paris tends to have a violent streak, which directly comes from tommy. tommy is also here for the cool factor, but paris is also intelligent, sarcastic, and cunning. paris tends to work alone like tommy and rarely asks for help. and like tommy, paris has little respect for authority and goes out of their way to antagonize authority figures (i.e.; their grandfather, political leaders and allies, etc.)

hitoshi shinso of boku no hero academia: they both have eyebags and are roughly the same height, what can I say? when paris isn't caught up in rage, they're stoic, distant, and sometimes petty much like hitoshi. they also fight dirty when the situation calls for it, and they will use anything to get the upper hand on their opponent

asuka langley soryu of neon genesis evangelion: while heather is the main inspiration, I would call asuka the secondary inspiration. paris in their teenaged years was much like asuka; arrogant, immature, aggressive, and stubborn in order to hide the still raw and vulnerable side of themself left behind from their parents, especially andromache. like asuka, paris refused to cry or show any sign of weakness in front of anybody and resolved to become self-sufficient to an almost obsessive degree, but this only served to damage paris' self-esteem growing up. despite having grown jaded and subdued in some ways, paris is still haunted by an inferiority complex like asuka: instead of it being centered around a love interest, paris' inferiority complex is based on their mother and paris' perceived lack of strength and fortitude against her as an opponent