#ff7 leviathan

[stygiovictoria]

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

[blahblahblahviolentpain]

Happy birthday, Yuffie!

[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 👉👉

[devileaterjaek]

Leviathan

[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...?

[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.

[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

[sangaverage]

So I have a fun story for you guys

Aka, how I got into demonolatry using pop culture magick and final fantasy summons

Oh boy here we go!

Divider credit: Here

So when I was younger I was impressionable like we all were at one point, and I loved (and still do to an extent) the final fantasy franchise, I used to watch my dad play ff7 when I was a little kid and as I grew older I finaly got around to playing my first (and favourite) final fantasy, FF12

Now I loved the summons/espers/eidolons in those games, yould call on some ancient being or mythical creature and it would help you in your battles, epic cutscenes that were sometimes just a little too long included...

Now some of my favourites were Bahamut, Phoenix and Leviathan.

One slightly boring day during PE/ Gym we was going to be doing basketball outside, now this wouldn't have been so bad if the school didn't just assume we all knew how to play (I was never taught how to dribble a ball)

So not wanting to embarrass myself and get myself further bullied than I was l did the most logical thing I thought of

I asked Leviathan for rain

Bare in mind this was Leviathans final fantasy aspect, I hadn't learned about the demonolatry/ biblical one yet.

And I was answered, not by rain but by a whole storm! The outdoor lesson was promptly postponed and we got to do whatever activities in small groups in the indoor hall, so I opted for something I was oddly better at, badminton (yes I know!)

Alot later on in my life I got gifted a copy of the lesser key of Solomon and another book on demons (I wanna say the demonolators handbook?)

and lo and behold, what two entities do I find while gracing the pages?

Phenex (yes it's spelt like that) and Leviathan!

me, a little year 7 (roughly 6th grade for the USA) kid, ended up summoning this:

I love magick sometimes!

[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.

[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)

[blahblahblahviolentpain]

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

[aceduooooooooooooooooooooooooo]

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

[kiigan]

❝Life is just like the flowing of a river.❞

⇾ final fantasy VII verse ⇾ tag: land of the free; and blood splatters for applause ⇾ status: cross-over; open to interactions

Based on the original ff7 + Crisis Core + the Remake trilogy.

ㅤThe Uchiha clan is one of the proudest and most respected of Wutai. Their most defining characteristic, the sharingan, is a form of ninjutsu dating from an ancient bloodline and said to have been a gift from Leviathan as reward for their devotion and worship. Among other duties, the clan is responsible for keeping the flames in certain caves lodged in the mountain where the statue of Da-chao was later carved, for the sake of safely storing Wutai's prized items and treasure.

ㅤAs per a long-standing tradition, the clan head serves as personal guard to the nation's ruler. With Fugaku, therefore, appointed as guard to Godo, Itachi and Sasuke spent their childhood as close friends to Yuffie. From a very young age, Itachi showed great skill in the ninja arts, both in combat and espionage, and eventually joined the Crescent Unit, being assigned the codename Rubrum.

ㅤDuring the period of the Wutai war, Itachi made a name for himself in a similar fashion to Sephiroth, only on the opposite side of the conflict. Around this time, he met and developed a friendship with Sonon, although sadly was just as helpless to prevent Melphie's death. During the battle of Fort Tamblin, Itachi also had the opportunity to briefly exchange words and ideas with Zack, growing to respect his personality and kindness despite crossing paths as enemies.

ㅤWith the war lost and Fugaku, Mikoto, and Shisui killed in action, Itachi and Sasuke were taken under Godo's personal care. To prove himself worthy despite his still young age, Itachi challenged and successfully overcame the trials of the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods - being then allowed to take Fugaku's former position as Godo's guard and also being entrusted with the Leviathan materia.

ㅤWhereas not completely in accordance with Godo's newly found passivity and the gradual transformation of Wutai into a tourist resort, Itachi remained loyal in his service for a few years. With Yuffie and Sonon eventually leaving for Midgar to join forces with Avalanche, however, Itachi decided to ask Godo for permission to leave as well - not necessarily for the sake of revenge, even though he does plan on bringing the Shinra Electric Power Company to justice, but to try and find a peaceful resolution for the long-standing tension between Wutai and Midgar.

⇾ Abilities Shared with Yuffie: elemental ninjutsu, brumal form, doppelgänger Unique abilities: Amaterasu (single casting of a black-colored, unblockable equivalent of a firaja spell), Tsukuyomi (single casting of a status-altering form of ninjutsu that inflicts confusion, berserk, sleep, poison, darkness, and silence), Susanoo (single casting of a defensive form of ninjutsu that makes the party impervious to both physical and magic attacks for a limited period of time)

⇾ Equipment and Materia Weapon: katana; fire + magnify, revival, cleansing, chakra Armor: chain bangle; binding + warding, enemy skill + mime Enemy skills: magic hammer, death force, trine Summon materia: Leviathan Accessory: aureate pinion

⇾ Random little bits

Big fan of Da-chao beans, chocobos, moogles, and tonberries.

Definitely spends a lot of his free time hanging out in the cat house.

Collects Turtle Paradise/Happy Turtle flyers for fun.

The one time he borrowed Yuffie's Steal materia, he actually grabbed an adaman bangle from an Adamantaimai on first try.

Codename Rubrum, unsurprisingly, comes from his sharingan.

The voice of reason whenever Shisui, Sasuke, and Yuffie would gather together to suggest adventures. Imagine that level of chaos.

Before leaving Wutai, Yuffie offered him a moogle cloak just like her own, which Itachi is actually very fond of.

When once exploring the nearby islands with Shisui, they chanced to find an ancient orb of Mime materia, which the two then would share and take turns at using in battle.

Very interested in the study of Planetology and, if possible, would love to visit Cosmo Canyon one day.

Even though he specializes in wielding his katana, he's also very talented with shuriken and staves.

Will demolish you at both Fort Condor and Queen's Blood

Once stared a Malboro in the eye and the Malboro actually felt intimidated and fled the battle.

Chadley, I love you but Leviathan belongs to Wutai, thank you.

[lunarsilkscreen]

Final Fantasy 8 mechanical redesign

Inspired by FF7-R, what could a remake of FF8 look like mechanically? FF8 is well known for its GF junction system (Guardian Force, not Waifu) and Magical Draw system, and to a lesser extent; it's Devour system.

Unlike our heroes in FF-15, Squall and Co enjoyed eating their prey raw and still mooing.

Balamb Garden also features a "Battle Zoo" full of dangerous monsters that its students hide inside when they want to get a little alone time from the rigors of being students at a battle academy.

FF8 is also the first FF game to have designed it's own card game as a mini-game, where in order to collect all the cards you need to battle friends and former foes.

Doing so also changes the rules of the card game as you move between regions.

In intense survival situations; Rare Cards doubled as an emergency meal ration for the hungry.

These mechanics, along with the Chocobo Forest side-quests make up the core of the FF8 game loop.

Unlike older games, you can't buy weapons. Instead you would bring materials like old rusty screws to a blacksmith who would modify your weapon for you.

And unlike other FFs, your summons or GFs, would work as both your defensive and offensive equipment. Defeating the entire purpose of leveling up, as leveling up would only serve to make the enemies stronger.

You could also read old magazines to learn limit breaks and of secret side-quests. Like resident aliens and where to find them.

So how could we take all that and improve on it a bit?

Well, the first thing to look at is the "Draw" system. Im this game, the magic system is replaced with Draw. Magic is a limited resource that you use like items, and can collect either from "Draw Points" (that are the intersection of ley lines) or from enemies.

You can then equip the magic to your GF.

Which really made the player either avoid using magic all together, or be incredibly selective on when using Magic.

But since the battle system was mostly either Summon Spam or Limit Break spam, casting magic was the worst thing you could actually do in the game.

I like the idea behind Draw system, you pull "Magic" and store it for use later. However, because it works like items, what is the difference between this system and just using items?

It also vibes well with the idea of Mako in the previous installment. Making a connected idea in the overall FF franchise about how magic (and materia) works.

It gets difficult because you equip your magic, and then don't use your strongest spells. Because your strongest spells are hard to find, and also are the strongest equipment.

We'll come back to this idea.

Because using your Eidolons as equipment, and because the two options players tend to focus in battle are "Use Limit Break" or "Use Summon" we can see these two options as our core battle loop.

Like the FF7-R, we can liken FF8 limit breaks to the skills used that require ATB gauge to use. We can also give the GFs abilities that also use ATB gauge.

But here's where we can change it up. Unlike FF7 where your summons becomes a playable party member, FF8 is better when they feel like they're powering up the Player.

Equipping a summon then, should be evident in the characters attacks. It should change how the character is played. Even if only just visually and in strength.

So when Squall attacks with his gun blade, he should get bonuses from leviathan that he's junctioned. That way we're not dedicated to summon spam taking away from the overall battle system.

The "Trigger" mechanic here was unique to Squall and his gun blade (or at least seemingly unique) it should be given to every character, or an alternative should be given. And this should *also* pair with junctioned summons.

When we go to a blacksmith for better weapons; we should be able to create multiple different pieces of the weapons that can be assembled by the player. Each piece would offer different bonuses and change the way the character approaches battle.

This would include the *ammo* that Irvine uses. (And this ammo sub-system should also be given to Squall) Later, each should get an upgrade that allows them to cast magic as part of their main attack. Because what is the point of a world where technology and magic is mixed if not in the weapons?

A spell then could be similar to how it functioned in FF15, but I suspect it should be more in depth.

Using the energy drawn from draw points and enemies as a resource to make other things (like weapon parts and also to empower your GFs) would lessen the strain on the player.

Doing this could also give the player access to a handful of spells they might actually use. However, I dislike the core FF15 magic system and didn't really use that during my playthrough.

If we liken Spells to ammunition, then they should be used like ammunition instead of grenades. And the weaponry should reflect this

So with the "Draw" system, we're drawing spell components instead of spells themselves. Since this is components, it can also allow for breaking up hidden GFs into multiple parts.

Allowing for construction of certain GFs, similar to how weapons could be constructed.

Did I get everything? Oh the cards and Chocobos...

The question I ask about these is "How can we integrate them into the main game?" And "Should we leave the ability to use them as M.R.E.s? (meals ready to eat)

Which allows the players to convert certain cards into rare or unique items, which is an ability for the original end game as once the party progresses past a certain point; there is no purpose for cards anymore. So why not just eat them?

And what if the "Devour" system?

Devour is a core mechanic of the Blu Mage, but since every character is a Blu Mage thanks to the draw mechanic, this is more of a grindy addition for completionists than it is a mechanic.

That one of your party members also happens to be a Blu Mage when it comes to her limit breaks, also kinda muddies the waters here.

Quistis->Draw->Devour

Perhaps each character should have a core mechanic that they are the best at doing. And "Devour" should instead be an upgrade to "Draw" that captures the entire monster instead of just one or two bits of energy at a time?

In this way it brings it more in line with the way players play the actual game. Where Limit Breaks are just skills the player uses. Instead of "Rare" one or two time occurrences in a fight like the rest of the franchise.

There's also an interesting mechanic in a limit break that the character "Selphie" has which is a slot machine for powerful magic. Effectively "creating magic on the fly" and doesn't require the draw or magic system.

This could be expanded I think. If continuing with the "Each Character has a core mechanic they're the best at."

I think for the "Draw System" there could also be the ability to absorb defeated enemies, which may work differently from draw on the surface.

*or* we could simply turn draw into a command that instantly cast an ability that an enemy *could* cast. And Quistis is just the only one who knows how to use those abilities later.

That way there is less of a focus on farming enemies.

Then the sorceress who can actually cast Magic seemingly without any resources would feel *more* menacing.

Since the players are more limited in their own magic. This would also allow for a change in How Rinoa acts at a later point in the game. When she is corrupted by Sorceress Edea, effectively becoming a puppet and sorceress herself.

Expanding her ability repetoire. And then giving the interactions with the white seed, and [redacted] who teaches Rinoa better techniques to control her power.

Then with Limit Breaks, we see an ultimate ability that is combined with what used to be a summon. So when Zell does a Leviathan upper cut (I really like this particular iteration of Leviathan in this game specifically) we see Leviathan motifs with an ultimate upper cut.

Making the limit breaks feel more like *an ultimate* and less like *a regular skill with a paywall*.

When the player party switches to somebody else's memory, this could *also* be further linked because they're using effectively they same GFs. And this would be a theme reusable with the current *GFs eat memories* idea that we know and love about FF8, while giving credence to remembering somebody elses memories despite spending memories in order to continue fighting.

And after flashing back to historical events, the characters could then *remember* new abilities. Since they came as part of the "flashback."

But what about the cards!?

I honestly don't know... The overall inventory system and store system and everything about FF8 seems intended to try to go about a different way of doing things, which made all the systems kind of lame in comparison to every other game. And the worst offender was the Card system that limited certain items to melting down cardboard cards into different items.

What're they using to foil these cards!?

The cards also seem to be legendary and synced to the Draw system. As if they were divine items that the humans just decided they could be used to gamble with.

Seemingly both *human created* AND *divinely motifed*.

Perhaps the card game needs some in-game lore. (And the draw ability could be modified into the [card ability] as well)

I think that since [Draw] is the core defining feature of FF8, it should be more well thought out and integrated into the rest of the mechanics. I feel like this was the original intent, but creators fought over a complete Draw system and reusing more familiar RPG elements.

Since the opportunity is here though; completing the draw system and fleshing out this ability that every SeeD member uses religiously should be a priority. This feature should be integrated into everything the SeeD does, they should eat, breathe, and live the [Draw Life].

And that should be reflected in the mechanics of the game. And so it shouldn't feel like an after thought, or "That thing you do before you fight anything".

It should be a part of who the main characters are.

[axnewxera]

// I've been replaying a lot of Final Fantasy XV lately.

I love Ardyn SO MUCH. He is such a fun character and I might revive my muse for him soon. Also the Leviathan boss battle about halfway through the game is genuinely one of the COOLEST moments in the entire Final Fantasy series.

Buuuuuut I also have thoughts on a XV verse for Rufus!

Rufus, in the Final Fantasy XV verse, is the son of Niflheim's emperor, Iedolas Aldercapt.

As Ardyn slowly began rising to more and more power and corrupting the emperor and the rest of Niflheim's top officials, Rufus grew weary and put together his own personal makeshift Crownsguard, drawing inspiration from Lucis. His Crownsguard are the Turks from FF7: Tseng, Reno, Rude, and Elena. They become their own traveling party, primarily using a Magitek engine to get around.

Initially, Rufus and his party keep an eye on Noctis, who is pretty much public enemy #1 of Niflheim, and Ardyn, who Rufus suspects is up to something. They clash with Noctis throughout his journey but are relatively civil toward Ardyn and claim to just be supporting him.

Rufus's fighting style and abilities are pretty much what they are in VII's Remake and Rebirth, but I think he would put more emphasis on using his shotgun as a mode of quick transportation around the battlefield, to mirror Noctis's "throw a weapon and teleport to it" trick.

As Ardyn's corruption of Niflheim's entire leadership team becomes more and more apparent, Rufus would start more openly helping Noctis. I'm thinking he has a big part in helping Noctis through Zegnautus Keep and starts openly fighting against Ardyn and the daemons in that point of the story. Maybe he even tries to ally with Ravus before Ardyn gets to him.

Once the emperor becomes a daemon, Noctis finds the Crystal, the world is plunged into darkness, and Ardyn's true colors are revealed, Rufus goes into hiding and is thought to have died alongside Niflheim's other top officials - I think it'd be fun if his faked death involved a battle against Ifrit or something to mirror his battle against WEAPON in VII. He secretly finances Lucis's Crownsguard and the scattered safe havens throughout Eos, while simultaneously trying to find a way to stop Ardyn and end the eternal night himself in Noctis's absence.

Once Noctis returns after his 10-year slumber and heads for Insomnia... I'm thinking Rufus is somehow responsible for breaking the Wall that Ardyn put up around the Citadel, similar to how he eradicates the force field over the Northern Crater in VII.

Once Ardyn and Noctis are gone and light is restored to Eos, Rufus would be a big part of the rebuilding of society. He would start specifically trying to rebuild Niflheim and forms a shaky alliance with what remains of Lucis.