#ff7 leviathan

[stygiovictoria]

never gonna finish this so may as well post it. leviathan w/ my ffvii oc medusa

[blahblahblahviolentpain]

OK, now that I have power and internet back, here are some other sketches I had for Yuffie's birthday

[jaquis-desolate-world]

At least it wasn't a Remora.

[mariogirl369]

Hey guys, so... Since EPIC: The Musical is done (that ending was beautiful fr), I am now gonna reveal something I've been forming in my head for a while...

MY FF7 EPIC: THE MUSICAL AU!

That's right! I've been forming this AU for a while, and it's finally complete after it was initially formed, (I am open to people giving suggestions on adjustments for the roles), here are the characters and roles we have:

Vincent: Odysseus

Lucrecia: Penelope

Zack: Telemachus

Hojo: Antinous

Minerva: Athena

Angeal: Eurylochus

Ramirez (Infantryman, got the name from Machinabridged): Elpenor

Cloud: Perimedes

Genesis: Hermes

Yuffie: Aeolus

Ramuh: Zeus

Bugenhagen: Tiresias

Leviathan: Poseidon

Phoenix: Apollo

Shiva: Aphrodite

Ifrit: Ares

Aerith: Calypso

Scarlet: Circe

Jenova: Scylla

Reeve: Polities (stand-in for Cait Sith)

Hollander: Eurymachus (the Suitor that tries to convince Ody to spare them)

Dyne: Amphinous (the Suitor that finds the weapons room unlocked)

Elmyra: Odysseus's Mother (Anticlea)

Loz: Polyphemus (Kadaj and Yazoo can be Cyclopes as well)

Rufus: Prince Hector (never seen, but mentioned)

Sephiroth: Astynax (Because of a dark thought I had one day)

Heidegger: Hephaestus

Tifa: Hera (Debated between her, or Elena, if you think the latter fits more, then I'm willing to change it)

And finally, Weiss: Melanthius (the Suitor that tries to get the others to capture Telemachus)

All roles have been filled! (Charybdis is the same)

If anyone has any suggestions for the roles that could have a better selection for it, please feel free to comment or reblog your choice, and I'll see if it's a better fit, if it is, I'll update the post!

Btw, everyone who sees this post is free to make animatics, or illustrations for this AU, but please give credit to me for making this AU, and Jorge for making this amazing musical in the first place. (You can also make illustrations and animatics for your own version of the AU if you wish, but that's up to you lol)

[djgamek1ng]

Magic The Gathering x Final Fantasy - Spoiler Season Part 20 (14/05/2025 - Everything Except Jecht and Vincent)

I only got one post in that didn't need to be 2 parts and now we're immediately back to a 2 part post... goddammit >..> Anyway, let's get started with Cloudbound rat Moogle. Okay fine, I won't do that bit the whole time :v

This is the first starter deck card where I have to rewrite my entire thoughts. In a vacuum, I thought this card was pretty decent, but after seeing the other land type cycling cards... oof. Even with my bias against moogles... This is a 5 mana 2/3. That is genuinely awful for stats to mana ratio. Sure, it gives a +1/+1 counter on a creature, but that's still bad, you're looking at a total of 3/4 entering the battlefield for 5 mana. Sure, it is a flyer, but it still isn't good enough. Unironically, the best part about this card is that you can cycle it away for any Plains typed card. Sorry, but unless you're using this in a Moogle deck, at which point your options are going to be quite limited, this is bad enough that you'd just want a basic Plains in your deck instead. Even compared to the other land type cycling cards in Malboro and Balamb T-rexaur (not covered that one, we'll get to it when talking about the 20th of May cards), this sucks.

Now for the art. Credit to Andrea Radeck. Link to her BlueSky. That sure is a moogle flying in the Sea of Clouds. Looks... fine, still a bit uncanny, but whatever. Really wish this was more vibrant, but that's a complaint I have with FF14 in general, so not too surprising to see it here too.

Let's go to the next card, Coeurl!

2 mana 2/2 is solid. Plus it has an ability to keep something tapped, just at the cost of tapping itself and 2 mana, which isn't nothing. If you can get Vigilance on this thing, you can be very mean with how you do your attacks with this thing. Attacking, but tapping something down on instant speed on reaction to you attacking. Honestly solid. Kind of confused that a Coeurl isn't Green, but I'm not gonna ask about that too much.

Now for the art. Credit to Miho Midorikawa. Link to their Twitter. That's a pretty dope looking Coeurl. Good, powerful stance to show you it means business. Very nice!

Now we go to Fate of the Sun-Cryst!

This set's equivalent to Luminous Rebuke or something, but it is more flexible. 3 mana to destroy a tapped creature or 5 mana to target any nonland permanent. Will definitely be a potential replacement for some spot removal in some decks due to its flexibility. White makes perfect sense for this, since it is an object the gods of Ivalice used to control mankind by giving shards to the people they trust.

Now for the art. Credit to Erikas Perl. Link to his ArtStation. Ashe... I think? standing in front of the Sun-Cryst, which is glowing very bright. Pretty cool artwork, love how our attention is drawn to the middle due to the light, while still having details everywhere. Great!

Next up... another moogle card. Well, sort of. This one is kind of cool though. Moogle's Valor!

So 5 mana for an instant that does: For each creature you control, create a 1/2 white Moogle creature token with lifelink. Then creatures you control gain indestructible until end of turn. So this is a pretty slick protection piece and a potential wincon card even. If you already have a pretty big board state, you essentially double the amount of creatures on your board, with half of them being the moogle creature tokens and can potentially swing out and win the game off of that. Only thing that stops that is a counterspell or like a Farewell, where everything gets exiled instead of destroyed. Also, it is 5 mana, which is a lot of mana to keep open for a protection spell. It's good, just not flawless.

For commander, run it as a protection piece. For 60 card formats, don't bother, god can't hear you in turn 3 kill hell.

Now for the art. Credit to Kotakan. Link to their Twitter. Those are definitely 3 of the 10 moogles guarding Terra in the mines of Narshe. Honestly, looks good. The moogles do seem a bit smooth, but that does emulate the artstyle that FF6 had for moogles, even when drawn, so fair enough!

As for the alternative art:

Credit to YOSHIYA. Link to their Twitter. These are 4 of the 10 moogles. Yup, nothing much to say. I do love the art for this, this looks like it could've been promotional art or concept art for FF6 in some form.

Next up, Sahagin!

Not much to say here. Sahagins being merfolk makes sense and them being most caster heavy is also logical. Pretty good flavor win. Blue also because sea creature and let's just not pretend it is any deeper than that. Aside from that, cheap creature that gets bigger (and temporarily evasive) as you cast noncreature spells with 4 or more mana spent. Neat, but ultimately, a good amount of hoops to jump through for an okay creature. Best in mana spent matters type decks.

Now for the art. Credit to Nino Is. Link to their ArtStation. That's a Sahagin. Looks good.

Next we have Retrieve the Esper!

Simple, easy. Basically a 4 mana 3/3 that you can cast one more time for a 6 mana 5/5, but then in sorcery form instead of straight creature spell form. This alongside a lot of the effects on the common and uncommon cards in this half of the deck most likely means that UB is going to be noncreature spells as its limited archetype (probably not the case anymore, between Ultimecia, Time Sorceress and Locke Cole, seems like UB is graveyard shenanigans and this card is actually built for WU, which is artifact tempo). Nothing much to say here other than "solid." If you are running this with any kind of token doubling, this definitely becomes "great" instead.

Now for the art. Credit to Jake Murray. Link to their website. That sure is some magitek knights going after an esper. Gets the point across fully.

Next up: Dreams of Laguna!

Cantrip effect for 2 mana (or 4 for the Flashback cost). Will see use in spellslinging decks. Also some deck filtering, so might even see some use in just general Blue decks, but it's not insane by any stretch.

Now for the art. Credit goes to Solan. Link to their ArtStation. A nice recreation of the scene where Kiros and Ward are pushing Laguna to eventually meet the woman that would become Rinoa's mother, Julia. Very very nice!

Let's talk about Quistis Trepe next!

Blue for a Blue Mage. I see what you guys did there. Also, it fits Quistis pretty well.

Anyway, 3 mana for a 2/2 is below rate. A shame. Her ability is that when she enters, you may cast target instant or sorcery card from a graveyard, and mana of any type can be spent to cast that spell. If that spell would be put into a graveyard, exile it instead. So some stealing of people's instants and sorceries to use for your own gain. Pretty slick and fitting for a Blue Mage. Use her with blink effects to repeatedly get this working, especially since you're not gonna be super interested to use her as a combatant.

Good in commander blink decks in the 99, might be okay as the commander of such a deck. Don't bother with this card in 60 card decks, unless it is tech to steal an instant or sorcery from your opponent's graveyard that can turn the tide, then it is a sideboard piece.

Now for the art. Credit to Touge369. Link to their Twitter (they don’t post much art). That sure is Quistis firing off a spell. Neato.

Up next... Leviathan leviathan (breathless). Summon: Leviathan!

6 mana for a 6/6 is perfectly on rate. Ward 2 also makes it a bit protected, though not hugely so. Its abilities are:

Lore counter 1: Return each creature isn't a Kraken, Leviathan, Merfolk, Octopus or Serpent to its owner's hand. Well then, this is sea creature typal huh. Bouncing every non sea creature. Pretty good first ability, could be enough to win a game on its own.

Lore counter 2 & 3: Until end of turn, whenever a Kraken, Leviathan, Merfolk, Octopus or Serpent attacks, draw a card. Well then, in sea creature typal, you will be drawing a ton of cards when both of these trigger... assuming your sea creatures didn't get removed as a response to the first lore counter.

This summon sure is "sea creature typal: the card." You won't be using this in any other deck than those decks. Nothing much else to say. It is powerful, but only in those decks.

Now for the art. Credit to Otumami. Link to their Twitter. That is Leviathan. I do like the colors used and the water being tossed around. Cool!

As for the alternative art:

Credit to KOTA NAKATSUBO. Link to their Instagram. That is Leviathan in a more classic Japanese style. Dope.

Next up, Shinra Reinforcments!

Good enough stats, interesting ETB effect. I don't entirely get where they got mill and life gain from for Shinra soldiers, but this will probably see some use in mill based decks and decks that wants to gain pretty big numbers of life per thing that gains life instead of small incremental life gain decks.

Now for the art. Credit to AIRI YOSHIHISA. I couldn't find a link, so please let me know, I would like to properly credit them :( Those sure are some Shinra goons. They are looking pretty neat!

Now onto Undercity Dire Rat!

Black rat creature that wants to die to give you a treasure token. Honestly, my only problem is that it is a 2/2. That is... some decent stats for no real reason. This thing wants to die pretty quick, maybe take out one thing with it. If it was like a 2/1 or even a 3/1, I'd just be like fair, but this can genuinely tank some chumps... that feels off and weird, but not a bad creature to be honest.

Now onto the art. Credits to Leonardo Santanna. Link to his ArtStation. A giant rat coming to bite Vaan's face off, hell yeah. I do really like the colors used on this art, properly bright in the places it needs to be, dark in the places that matter not as much.

Let's talk about Sephiroth's Intervention.

Holy crap, a card with Sephiroth on it that is a common?! (God I was so right.) Aside from that, good removal effect. Potentially a bit expensive, but the life gain also makes it have a niche over other removal effects in life gain decks, so a bit of a trade off. Solid either way though, 2 life can sometimes be the difference between living and dying.

Before I get to the art... let's talk about the one artwork I didn't discuss from the very first trailer. I mention it at the end of this post:

I'm now convinced that the art that was shown in that very first trailer has been scrapped, especially since, like you can see, a different artist is credited for this card. So, unless there is another card that shows Sephiroth plunging down with his sword like this that shows that original art, I do believe this is the art that replaces it. I'm still not gonna point the finger and say that this confirms that the original art was AI, but it is noticeable to me that Wangjie Li, the artist of that original art, hasn't had any card revealed for the set so far, which is interesting... since we're like 70% through all reveals. I'll keep it at that.

Now let's actually talk about the art. Credit to Joshua Raphael. Link to his ArtStation. Wow, this is incredible! The lighting is incredible, the feathers surrounding him ominous and Sephiroth with his long ass katana ridiculous. Amazing!

Let's talk about Al Bhed Salvagers next!

Let's just start with the flavor: Al Bhed being Black makes sense, since they are a marginalized group that because of the attempted genocide for not following the oppressive religion are now more than willing to use whatever they need to do to strike back. However, I still would've made them just Dimir, since they are all inventors and machina experts.

That said, don't entirely get why they have a drain and life gain effect, but it makes perfect sense that it is triggered by a creature or artifact dying, including the creature itself. Not bad though, Blood Artist effects are always pretty solid and extending to artifacts is also quite nice and flavorful!

Now for the art. Credit to Masateru Ikeda. Link to their Twitter. Now those are some Al Bhed fighters... Yup, don't got nothing more to say.

Let's talk about Shambling Cie'th!

We don't have the statline for this thing, but for 3 mana, I'd expect a 3/3, 3/4, 4/3 or something (I did mention 3/3, so go me!) The statline being unknown does make me a bit more hesitant on trying to answer how good this card is. It's pretty solid. If nothing else, it will see play in reanimation decks that have a good amount of noncreature spells, since it is cheap to bring beck from your graveyard.

Also, Cie'th being Black makes complete sense. They are l'Cie who failed their Focus (or didn't complete it on time for the brand to overtake them) and transformed into these things. They are the result of being turned into something horrific, which is usually Black aligned.

Now for the art. Credit to Nottsuo. Link to their pixiv. This is delightful frightening and unnerving. I love it, since the Cie'th are exactly meant to be like this, they are supposed to be weird and uncomfortable to look at. Fantastic!

Up next: Evil Reawakened!

Let's go, my boy Exdeath! :D You better be in this fucking set Exdeath, I SWEAR TO GOD. Anyway, solid reanimation spell that gives two +1/+1 counters on the creature you bring back out of your graveyard. Also makes me think that one of the Black limited archetypes will have to do with +1/+1 counters, potentially either BG (or Golgari) or WB (or Orzhov). Sure would be a shame if those are the two limited archetypes we have 0 info on via having seen their signpost uncommons as of the time of writing (24th of May 2025). SURE WOULD BE A SHAME. The only thing is that I don't agree with Exdeath being reanimation focused, since you know... he wants to bring everything to the void and all that.

Anyway, now for the art. Credit to Nino Is. Link to their ArtStation. Now that is how a real villain greets those pesky heroes! >:D God, Exdeath always looks like an absolute boss and this art is no different, I love it. Also really love all the roots around him. This is fantastic, absolutely peak.

Let's go to the Item Shopkeep next!

FF3 item shop merchant. Good buffing piece for an equipped creature to give them menace. 2 mana as well for a 2/2. Just solid. Couldn't tell you why this card is Red, but whatever. You will run this in Equipment decks if you need some more consistency for evasion.

Now for the art. Credit to IWAO. Link to their pixiv. Yup, that sure is an item merchant. Honestly, she does look lovely and so does the item shop. Really cool art!

Next up, Warrior's Sword!

It's alright. 4 mana for a 4/3 Hero Warrior is nice, but no extra effects means that this is just kind of limited in what it is and the equip cost for 5 mana to give something +3/+2 is alright really bad. This is by far the least interesting of these equipments we'll see, but it isn't bad it is awful. You just won't use this outside of a Limited format or unless you are maybe doing something with the party mechanic. If you want to use it, you need to cheat the equip cost. Even then, there are much better Equipments out there.

Now for the art. Credit to Andrea Tentori Montalto. Link to his ArtStation. Is... is that a lady FF1 Warrior? Huh. That's actually super dope. The sword is just alright looking, but I kind of love the lady warrior. It also makes me kind of laugh, since I now can only imagine that Warrior of Light at some point transitioned in his life :p

Up next, Freya Crescent!

Freya from FF9, let's gooooo! Definitely would've personally gone for Boros for her, but mono Red is also fine. She herself is not bad honestly. I like the flavor of only having flying on your own turn to simulate the Dragoon's iconic Jump ability. She is also cheap as hell. 1 mana only. That also brings with it a 1/1 statline, but she is also an equipment ramp piece. I won't say she will be a staple in equipment decks that have Red in them, but she can work in the 99 or as your commander. The very cheap mana cost and relatively low threat from the get go means can possibly cast her 3 times in a game with those times being relatively spread out. As the commander itself, eh.

This might see some attempting in 60 card formats? 1 mana for a mana dork for Equipment isn't bad to get Equipment to be more usable in 60 card formats, but I don't think it will make full blown Equipment decks worth using.

Now for the art. Credit to Nereida. Link to her ArtStation. That sure is Freya. I think the artstyle is actually a good fit for her, so good job on that.

Let's go meet grandpa with Summon: Esper Ramuh!

Ramuh in Red is interesting, since he is usually pretty calm and reserved, mostly testing if someone is worthy. I would've expected Green or Blue from him, but I suppose lightning = Red in MTG a lot of the time, so whatever.

4 mana for a 3/3 is below rate, but I suppose it isn't as bad for a summon. His abilities are:

Lore counter 1: This creature deals damage equal to the number of noncreature, nonland cards in your graveyard to target creature an opponent controls. So you definitely want this in a spellslinger deck due to this ability. Decent bit of damage based removal if you can fill your graveyard with instants, sorceries, artifacts and enchantments.

Lore counters 2 & 3: Wizards you control get +1/+0 until end of turn. So a buff for Wizards typal. Neato.

Yeah, not much to say about how good this card is. It is mostly there for the Rakdos limited archetype of Wizards typal and burn and in those type of decks, even outside of limited, it will work out. In 60 card formats, this probably stands no chance.

Now for the art. Credit to Justyna Dura. Link to her ArtStation. That sure is Ramuh casting red lightning. Neato. It does go into purple, which isn't uncommonly used in the FF franchise, so I suppose that's fair.

As for the alternative art:

Credit to KAORU HAGIYA. Link to their pixiv. That sure is Ramuh casting red lightning in a more classic Japanese style. Neato. Looks nice though.

Next up: Samurai's Katana!

This on the other hand is very solid. The initial cast is pretty good if you ask me: 3 mana for a 3/3 Samurai Hero with Trample and Haste? That's very solid. It does get worse when you have to re-equip it, since 5 mana is steep, but it can give a new creature Haste to immediately be able to act. Plus if you can cheat the equipping cost somehow, this gets so much better.

Now for the art. Credit to Smirtouille. Link to his BlueSky. That sure is a male Au Ra with a samurai katana and its sheathe doing Hissatsu: Senei. Looks neat, though maybe a bit over done on the special effects. That isn't necessarily inaccurate to FF14 though, so... mission accomplished?

Let's get explode-y with Self-Destruct next!

2 mana for an instant that says target creature you control deals X damage to any other target and X damage to itself, where X is its power. Almost entirely better Fling, since your creature can actually survive this. Also, Jumbo Cactuar + this on attack. Have fun explaining that someone is taking 10.000 damage directly to the face. Aside from that, you could use this with innately indestructible creatures, creatures you've given indestructible or with creatures that have a higher toughness than power to use as either creature, planeswalker or player removal.

Now for the art. Credit to Liiga Smilshkalne. Link to her ArtStation. That sure is Gilgamesh exploding himself to kill Necrophobe. Surprisingly, Gilgamesh survives this encounter, since we know he is now realm hopping via the Interdimensional Rift. Anyway, cool art, it really shows how violent that Self-Destruct was.

We now get to our one Green card of the post and... man, they had to hurt me like this. Galuf's Final Act.

2 mana for an instant that says: Until end of turn, target creature gets +1/+0 and gains "When this creature dies, put a number of +1/+1 counter equal to its power on up to one target creature." Neat way to ensure the power of a creature isn't getting lost from your board if it is to die. Also good with Summons, since they will sacrifice themselves, but you can give their power to another, hopefully more permanent creature.

Now for the art. Credit to Nijihayashi. Link to their pixiv. GALUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUF! This is such an awesome moment in the game and it is captured perfectly. Now if only I had a Galuf creature card I could use this with... nevermind the fact we know he isn't getting one, just due to following the numbers :( Fantastic art!

Next up, our only multicolored card of the post: Choco, Seeker of Paradise!

I got nothing for color identity, we don't really get a grasp of the personality of Choco. I guess Green/Blue makes sense, since Choco changes feathers based on the type of terrain that he can traverse. I got nothing for White.

Anyway, 4 mana for a 3/5 is perfectly on rate, good job. His abilities are:

Whenever one or more Birds you control attack, look at that many cards from the top of your library. You may put one of them into your hand. Then put any number of land cards among them onto the battlefield tapped and the rest into your graveyard. So, if you have a super wide board of birds, this can be turbo ramp. Let's say you have 8 Birds attack, you look at the top 8, you put one of those cards into your hand and you will put like 2-3 lands on to the battlefield tapped. That's actually kind of insane.

Whenever a land you control enters, Choco gets +1/+0 until end of turn. So that first ability goes even stupider with this. Let's say in the aforementioned example, you get 3 land cards into play, Choco has just freely become a 6/5 until end of turn, not assuming you put a land card into play before that point.

Holy. Choco will be a threat. Landfall and Birds typal will be ways he can slot in, with him being extra great as a Birds typal commander. For 60 card formats, no shot, since he doesn't do anything turn one and ideally wants a wide board state to really take advantage of the first ability.

Now for the art. Credit to Miho Midorikawa. Link to their Twitter. Neato, Choco in the foreground showing off how cool and cuddly he looks, Zidane cheering him on and the forest is so nice. I'm sure I'm not forgetting to mention anything else in this art :) Very nice, though a bit more washed out compared to what I'd expect for FF9.

Last and probably least, let's very quickly talk about the first of 10 dual colored Towns: Rabanstre, Royal City.

Nothing too much to say. I'm guessing they chose this as Boros for the fact that the Resistance rose up against the shitty hand they were dealt after the city got invaded and taken over? Aside from that, I got nothing.

Now for the art. Credit to Shahab Alizadeh. Link to their Instagram. What a beautiful rendition of Rabanstre, holy crap! Absolutely gorgeous.

And that's it for this part! Next part will just be Jecht and Vincent, since they are both flip cards that have 3 versions each, so that's 12 images and they could fit inside this post. That will come out very soon! Thanks for reading and take care o/

[aceduooooooooooooooooooooooooo]

I will start yapping about my FF7 au soon once i flesh it out a little more

[lugiafly]

I didn't managed to draw anything for Mermay so have Leviajune instead *totally real name*. Feat. strongly headcanoned Yuffie and BIG BIG materia 'cause why not 👉👉

[finalbrickasy]

Day 18... if your pet was human. I don't actually have a pet, so I went with my favorite plushie, a Leviathan I made myself. I'm sure if he was a human, he'd be the most daring surfer all around and he'd be friends with dolphins. That's it, that's my headcanon.

[domitantmal]

"It is power, gifted by Gods."

His words, were filled with confidence , the smaller child inside, yearning for mother is replaced by a man who simply wants to fight the strongest, and than-

"Odin is me, and I am Odin. I am its last host." And it helps that Odin has no will of its own, only himself, Odin is simply power given form. A specific form for specific kind of abilities. the ability to cut through anything...

"Odin is simply, power."

"You are familiar with it. Are you not? Your face says it all." The lack of answers he seeks, makes him dismiss the sword entirely. It was not like there was anyone else to sense him.

boredom settles back into his face.

domitantmal​:

Perhaps there would be some entertainment in this world, his eyes sharpened upon looking at the Shinra Building with renewed interest. After all there was so many things he could fight, and the excitement to spring up from his long becalmed heart…its making him happy, deep deep inside.

“Should I send a request, or should I just cut it all down.”

Magic surrounds his hand before it forms a giant long sword, the magic of darkness forming and generating.

“I will not mind either way to wait.” His sword taps the ground, the sheer sharpness of the blade causing the ground to turn into outright sand.

Magic surrounds him, priming him…

And now he’s wearing a full set of armour, looking every inch the dominant of Odin.

    “A...request?” Aerith turns to him, head tilting. Huh! What a thought. Given his hunger for the good fight, though, it makes sense with the rest of his personality she’s gotten to know. “Hmm, maybe? I guess it’d mobilize more of their forces, but... I’m not sure what that would do for you...?”

    On the other hand, she’s not sure what SOLDIERs do on their off time. Zack ranked up to First Class, but his free time seemed to have shrunk from 2nd to 1st. What that meant for the elusive, and few high-ranking? She hardly knew, nor cared to keep tabs on. It’s a bit...of a lot of an effort.

    Though... Aerith turns her head, preparing to ask something...and freezes. His sword changed. The aether on it so vastly different from the world around them and yet...at once, somewhat familiar. It’s a chill down her spine when he completes the look. Different, yet familiar, indeed...

    “How...did you do that?” She asks, voice quiet. “You summoned...onto yourself?” She remembers Odin. Going to Cloud’s hometown was no small affair, nor was the experiences had there. And in a locked safe... A materia, that she still can recall within it.

    Who is this strange man...?

[rojaceartandgaming]

if there's one complaint i do actually have about ffxv it's... it should've been a longer game. i know, i'm biased, i'm used to final fantasy games being a 40 to 70 hour main story experience without fucking around in the world map for ages. but like.... i don't think that's a bad thing. my average playthrough of ffxv if i'm forcing myself to solely focus on the story and level grinding so i can progress the story is about 20 to 35 hours at a time which would be fine if this was a kingdom hearts game... but it's not.

the reason why i think ffxv should've been longer in the main story side of things is just... the fact of the matter is, the ending of the game feels rushed. All the way up to Altissia, you have time to fuck around and let story beats settle in since you have the open world. it's hard to ignore the threat of the Niflheim empire even when doing Chocobo Related Sidequest Number 57. But from Altissia onwards, everything happens so quickly. Leviathan boss fight, Luna's death, Ignis is blind now, that one kind of angsty dungeon, Prompto gets pushed off the train, we learn Ardyn's immortal, Zegnautus Keep, going into the crystal, learning that Noct is doomed, and then the end of the game. it's like getting punched in the face repeatedly and the story has no time to like. breathe.

all things considered, i reckon it makes Ardyn a less impactful main villain. I love how different he is vibes-wise, he is characterized incredibly and his voice actor did an incredible job but... he doesn't have time in the main game to be the main antagonist. If the latter half of the game was just a bit longer and we properly explored his backstory in the main game instead of needing to play a DLC (and the alternate route of another DLC), watching an animated short, and reading a novel to understand him, it would so. so much better.

furthermore, we don't really get to explore accordo or the imperial continent. the game suddenly goes from a sprawling open world to a linear experience and that just feels... off. honestly, final fantasy vii rebirth has the same issue in reverse as the linear bits of ffviir are incredible but it has the worst open world i've EVER seen. we never get to feel the impact of longer nights which could've been cool with a day-night cycle, and the party members outside of Noct have a rushed end to their character arc (especially poor gladio)

which leads me to another point. the DLCs... should've been in the main game in the first place. this includes the DLCs that were converted into the novel (yes, even the alternate ending. Final Fantasy games and many rpgs have had alternate endings before). if there were more things in the game where we could switch to playing as a different member of the main party, i honestly think the story would've flowed better. hell, i wouldn't have such loathing for episode gladio. it feels scummy that we only get super important lore in external bits of media. and plenty of other final fantasy games have had moments where the party is split and we go to a different POV! final fantasy 9 is the best example of this! the main characters can be continents apart and still have story beats that we, the player, know about. it could've been so cool in Altissia if we saw Noct and Luna on the altar together and instead of going straight to "oh Luna's so dead now" if we suddenly panned over to the frantic vibes of Episode Ignis. it would be much like how the party is split between Zidane, Dagger, and Steiner during the fall of Alexandria.

anyways. that's my ramble for the day. how i wish 60/70 hour long main campaigns still existed (and I do NOT count padded playtime that's caused by horrendous open world padding as a 60/70 hour campaign. I only have 70 hours in ff7 rebirth against my will. I just wanna play the main story I do not care for the way level grinding works in that game. turn based combat grinding whilst watching a movie on my second monitor how i miss thee)

[blahblahblahviolentpain]

Happy birthday, Yuffie!

[aislingyngaio-games]

Junon and Nibelheim Tifa symbolism through Rebirth lore

This tumblr post is actually further expansion from this twitter thread I made on the relationship between Tifa and Junon that I've noticed. Now that Rebirth is out.... hoo boy idk if I'm overthinking this or if the devs are just this big-brained. Spoiler alert for Rebirth, OBVIOUSLY. You have been warned.

Part 1: Phoenix, Deity of Junon Region

So to begin with, I'd like to draw your attention to what actually first attracted my attention to the possibly deliberate symbolism of Junon: the combination of the regional deity (Phoenix) and the regional chocobo (Belle the mountain chocobo).

As is obvious to any Final Fantasy fan by now, Phoenix is the summon of fire and life/rebirth, two themes important to Cloud and Tifa, both of whose childhoods "died" in the Nibelheim fire and massacre five years ago and yet "reborn", or rather survived, from the ashes of their fallen hometown because of their promise and bond with each other. They are each other's proofs they are who they are: Cloud and Tifa from Nibelheim. As a sea-facing town with an underwater reactor (even Under Junon is named "Sea Dragon Square"), wouldn't it have been more thematically appropriate to have Junon worship either the Leviathan (admittedly Leviathan is the guardian deity of Wutai in FF7 lore, but Wutai was pushed to pt3, and it didn't stop Leviathan from being a Chadley-earned summon in Remake either) or Shiva deities (which is the summon you get in OG Junon from Priscilla) instead of Phoenix, unless the switch was a deliberate narrative choice? After all, as I've posted in my original Twitter thread, Junon is the first place Real Cloud truly tries hard to "awaken" SOLDIER Cloud into speaking with Tifa. This is translated in Rebirth into Cloud and Tifa's reconciliation after their falling out at Kalm, and Tifa's relationship wheel being the non-optional, story-mandated dialogue choice in this chapter. The Rebirth-themed summon in the Rebirth-named game being set in the Junon region over all other regions? HMMMMMMMM. (And nobody better forget that Mr Dolphin <-> Tifa's limit break Dolphin Blow parallel either ;) )

Also, OG callback: Phoenix summon was actually obtained from Fort Condor in OG, and guess what huge ass creature immediately appeared the moment the party exited the Junon-side entrance of Mythril Mines? Aye, the Giant Condor. The protorelic sidequest in Junon is also linked to the Fort Condor minigame (a variation of the boardgame from FF7 Remake Intermission) that specifically chose to magick both Cloud and Tifa (as well as Barret) in to do battle. And of course, the "Dreaming of Blue Skies" Tifa-related sidequest in Junon region involves baiting the Giant Condor with bovine meat to take a picture of (and while waiting, they sky-gazed together at the clouds).

(Side Crisis Core tangent: Phoenix's materia is obtained from - guess where - NIBELHEIM WATER TOWER, as the first part of the Seven Wonders of Nibelheim sidequest)

(Side simulation tangent: The Phoenix simulation Chadley makes for the Rebirth team to fight can summon Bombs, which is one of the two bracelet charms Tifa is prominently featured with in the Retrilogy, the other being Chocobo, which usually symbolizes Cloud)

(Side LOVELESS tangent: The summon that Rosa calls to defeat Varvados looks amazingly like the Phoenix summon, and the resultant ending motif - the fiery destruction of Guardia, the mutual protection of Alphreid and Rosa, and the unpromised promise of fidelity and reunion - most resembles the destruction of Nibelheim, the mutual protection between Cloud and Tifa - Cloud as Tifa's physical protector & Tifa [being Cloud's motivation] as Cloud's emotional protector, and the fulfilled yet voluntarily continual fulfillment of the promise at the water tower between them)

Part 2: Odin, Deity of Nibel Region

Now what of the actual place of Cloud and Tifa's births? Well the regional deity is, appropriately, Odin, Norse god of death, while the regional chocobo is Selena Shirena (in JP romaji), the blue ocean chocobo.

Odin in OG is also obtained from Nibelheim (specifically Shinra Mansion), and interestingly, when linked with "Added Effect" materia on an armour piece, can provide immunity to instant death on the wearer, while if the same pair of linked materia is equipped on a weapon, it can cause instant death. This is a most curious and most pertinent symbolism for the birthplace of not only the only two people in the FF7 party to have ever tasted Masamune blade first and survived (rip to the other Nibel villagers though) but also, thematically tragically, the birthplace of Sephiroth, whose destructive powers with said blade are legendary. Not forgetting of course, that central in the stories of Nibelheim is "the other side of the mountain" being a local reference to the mythical/thematic land of the dead (remember which two characters are pictured on the Mt Nibel side of the two Rebirth Nibelheim keyarts?).

Part 3: Junon/Nibel Connection via Regional Chocobo Abilities

From Junon region, we have Belle the grey mountain chocobo (which btw, is a requirement to reach the Phoenix summon crystals that will both weaken the simulation fight and strengthen the summon materia), and a clearer parallel cannot help being drawn to Cloud and Tifa hailing from the village of Nibelheim located at the base of MOUNT NIBEL, where both share memories being on that mountain (once when Tifa was 8 and Cloud 9, and again when Tifa was 15 and Cloud 16 - SEVEN years apart). Similarly, the Nibel region chocobo - required to access the Odin summon crystal - is Shirena the blue ocean chocobo, making both Junon and Nibel chocobo abilities the diametrically opposite elements of their region's most significant landscape/towns - Junon the ocean-facing city with the mountain chocobo, and Nibelheim the mountain-shadowed village with the ocean chocobo.

(Side Costa del Sol tangent: Cloud's blue shirt swimsuit is named "Ocean Chocobo" which makes for it being the Nibel region Chocobo ability seems accidentally on purpose appropriate, as well as being the more "real Cloud" of the two swimsuit options for him imo, while the Wild Surf option seems too... Zack minus the sunflower, so basically the SOLDIER Cloud option)

So, let's now look at the symbolism of Junon and Nibelheim together, as both mirrors and opposites, as parts of a whole.

Junon and Nibelheim

Phoenix and Odin

Life and death

Mountain and ocean

East continent and west continent

Taken together, the bond between Junon and Nibelheim almost looks like the endless cycle of death and life/rebirth, which is very symbolic of how the Lifestream works (those who are born from the Lifestream return to the Lifestream). Just as Phoenix is both life and destruction, just as Odin can be both death and protection, it is the complementary, symbiotic love of Cloud and Tifa, at once opposites yet similar, at once separate but a team, both strong yet each having their own weaknesses that the other balances, that ultimately is most emblematic of the lifecycle of the planet.

It is no wonder then, that Tifa is the one chosen by the planet and the WEAPONs, both in OG when Sapphire Weapon caused the distraction that allowed her to both embody yet subvert her role as the Andromeda of Greek legend by enabling her to save herself from her execution at Junon with the help of friends, and in Rebirth when the Gongaga WEAPON choose to show her the true struggle of the planet that she might reach Final Heaven, and be the heroine who will save and stay by the hero's side till the end.

[silly-bean]

AU Tag Master Post

Doing some blog organization and decided I wanted to streamline my pinned post a bit, so I'm making a separate master post to document all my AU tags/WIPs

A current list of my AU tags:

FF7:

tsurugi au (time-traveling cloud au set in Wutai)

superhero au

jenova monster cloud au

turk reject kunsel au

ghost au (another time-traveling cloud au)

calamity cloud au

baby gen au (another time-traveling cloud au)

time-traveling turk cloud au

bloodborne au

most dangerous game au (rip on calamity cloud au)

soulmate au

sign from god au (time-traveling cadet cloud)

spider cloud au

fey au

fool's gold au (weapon cloud au)

frostbite au (winter soldier au)

glory au (sci-fi)

round and round au (time loop)

dragon cloud au

calamity's fool (fool's gold cloud meeting calamities of the multiverse)

leviathan's emissary (another weapon cloud au with a dragon cloud)

hurricanes (an au of leviathan's emissary where Nebel ends up in vi's lightning verse)

for all the miles on the clock (aka redux au. a time travel fix-it with Zack lives and a slight variation of Fool's Gold continuity)

Trigun:

things with teeth (trigun au where nai and vash look much more inhuman by default)

reporter-verse (a tristamp au where Roberto met Vash back at the beginning of his reporter career and is responsible for Vash's title of the Humanoid Typhoon)

[11queensupreme11]

HELP

i got the dlc bonuses (leviathan and ramuh summon) from ff7 rebirth, BUT I CANT GET MY PREORDER BONUSES????

im already done with the flashback sequence and i redeemed the other bonuses^ but where the fuck do i get my preorder bonus???

amazon says its sent via mail or receipt but NONE of them show the code 😭😭 what am i doing wrongggggg

[aceduooooooooooooooooooooooooo]

I want to talk about my ff7 au but I'm nervous 😔

[takenbynumbers]

tseng for the ask meme!

sexuality hc: irrelevant but mostly queer. he's been with women, but has found he prefers men as he gets older.

gender hc: he is gender envy to literally everyone around him.

a ship that i have: tseeve (they are soulmates). HOWEVER, it may surprise you to know that my first ff7 ship ever was tseng/vincent, affectionately known as the verboten otp. why? spicy reasons (they are still so spicy but i don't write it much anymore). another pairing i quite like is cloud/tseng but only post-canon, and i have been known to ship tsengru under very specific conditions.

a brotp: tseng/zack. they're such BROS. also, seph/tseng!

a notp: tseng/aerith (i like the idea of him teaching her how to protect herself, but they have more of an estranged siblings vibe) and tseng/elena (she's 18, he's at least 30, not to mention there's a HUGE power imbalance and again, i can see him mentoring her but romantically? huge no).

random hc: okay so, tseng's family clan back in wutai used to serve as priests at one of the temples of leviathan, but going back even further, they are descendants from spira (specifically, moonflow region when there had been a city there). due to the folly of his ancestors, they became scattered across spira, but ended up being between djose temple and macalania temple.

fast forward back to gaia, and as a result, he learnt quite a few ways of the temple of leviathan. when tseng was (forcibly) moved to midgar, he tried to put it in the past, preferring to move on, however at some point, he lost a tiny statue he had of leviathan (his mother gifted it to him) and as a result, he ends up getting leviathan tattooed across his back so he could still carry her with him wherever he went.

(my other random hc is that post-fight/torture at the hands of the Remnants, he ends up not recovering fully and tends to wear an eyepatch.)

...i actually have a lot of headcanons but i'll stop here.

general opinion: tseng has been my main blorbo for so many years, alongside cait sith and mog. he's such an interesting character, who truly proves that not everything is so black and white within the compilation, and that is no more evident than in his actions. a lot of people tend to lump him in with the rest of the turks or completely ignore his characterisation in favour for louder characters (like reno and rude), only seeing him in a pairing (tsengru) or apparently hunting down zack for shinra (that's not what he was doing oh my god please stop).

anyway, i could talk about him all day.