#final fantasy rambles

[celestefox13]

One of my favorite parts about Dawntrail is that no one knows who the WoL is.

Like, Koana has a vague idea, sure, and Galool Ja Ja clocks that we're far from average in an instant, but no one else has a fucking clue who this adventurer the Third Promise brought with her is.

Cause it leads to so many moments that are absolutely hilarious for us as players (and arguably our WoLs if you rp).

The way every threat of violence against the WoL and the party, and every "I bet you've never seen anything like this" could absolutely get one of the responses about:

-how we've slain eikons and gods,

-how we've saved the Star multiple times,

-how we've channeled (and honestly probably still have some of) the power of dragons,

-how we've been to other worlds, the past, and the edge of existence

And instead we get to respond with things that are effectively intimidating smiles and humble confidence.

It's not "Bitch, you don't who you're messing with."

It's "Yeah, ok, bud." Which is arguably the funnier and the more insulting of the options.

This is Stormblood all over again, but x2 cause we've done so much more than help settle revolutions by now. 😂

[jieanette]

Cecil And Bartz Ramblings

One of the things I like about Cecil and Bartz is that while they don't really interact that much in canon Dissida (at least from what I know), the few times they do it's really just wholesome. They always lift each other up.

In Dissidia, when Bartz is up against Cecil, some of the lines he says to him are, "You are who you are. Believe in yourself!" and "You don't have to go hiding your face too." And, knowing Cecil it's something he would have needed to hear. When Cecil is up against Bartz, some lines he says are, "I wish you'd show me your moves!" and "I hope you would not hold back!" which, again, is quite encouraging and I like how it implies Cecil just genuinely seems to want to know Bartz more, like he wanted to actually know what his moves are and not mimics of the other Warriors of Cosmos combat style.

((I'm not sure if I'm being so delulu rn, but to me their lines to each other sounds like they're playfully teasing... But it could be just me))

Another significant interaction of them is in Dissidia Opera Omnia (RIP). In Act 2, Chapter 2: Light, Bartz was there for Cecil when he was facing an crisis, with his memories and lost sense of self. It seemed that he was the only person that gives him space and time for him to figure everything out. It was what Cecil just needed, and it was so sweet for him to do that.

In Act 2, Chapter 9: Whiter the Wind Returns, Cecil was there when Bartz became a husk of himself after giving his memories away to his manikin, gently asking if he is okay (which mirrors the moment when Bartz asks Cecil the same thing in chapter 2) and telling him that he and the others are there to help him. At the moment I felt like Cecil was returning the kindness he gave to him during his time of struggle. It was heartwarming read it.

So yeah, in conclusion to this whole ramble, Cecil and Bartz are really wholesome together <3

Even if you don't ship them, it's still worth exploring their relationship in a platonic sense. I feel like they're such an underrated duo regardless as friends or romantic partners and if SE decides on another Dissidia game I would really love if they interact more (please I am begging on my hands aND KNEES)

Thanks for reading my ramble!! And correct me if there's any inaccuracies on this post!!

[ooeygooeyghoul]

You ever think about the crushing guilt Thancred must have about being a prisoner in his own mind and being forced to watch Lahabrea kill the Warrior of Light using his hands.

I do.

A normal amount.

[accala]

Zack Fair had:

A girl who spent 4 years pining after him to the point she chased an afterimage of him (Aerith)

A girl who looked after his parents and his hometown due to sheer guilt and devotion (Cissnei)

A boy who spent 4 years trying to find him after he went missing (Kunsel)

And a boy who adopted his entire being and became his legacy after his death (Cloud)

Zack Fair was NOT playing.

[theghostavocadoe]

*SHAKING GENESIS WRITERS BY THE SHOULDERS* JUST BECAUSE GENESIS DOESN'T LIKE THE COUNTRYSIDE DOESN'T MEAN HE'S INEXPERIENCED WITH IT

this is the guy who nerded out about apples so hard that he INVENTED CANNED APPLE JUICE at the age of TWELVE stop acting like he wouldn't know how to drive a tractor or something

give me more Genesis who can sprint through gravel barefoot because he grew up doing so. give me more Genesis who is an absolute NERD about agriculture and it's sciences. give me more Genesis who hears a blood curdling scream in the woods and just goes "oh it's the foxes." GIVE ME MORE COUNTRY BOY GENESIS

he can still be a country boy at heart while living his dreams as a city boy

[foreststarflaime]

Yes hello I just wanted to say as a massive sword nerd ily square for making Genesis actually use Rapier like a rapier—you do tend to do a lot of stabbing with rapiers because they’re so long (although you can cut with them too, but he doesn’t really have great rapier cutting form with Rapier so can’t win em all ig, video game limitations) and they actually draw attention to it in this little cutscene. Rapier is also quite a notably long and thin(er) weapon, like an actual rapier. Awesome little details that made me very happy!

Also, I think it’s perfect that they chose a specifically one-handed weapon for him, since as the resident swordmage it leaves his other hand always free to cast spells when needed without dropping his sword’s defense. And I don’t know how to describe it really but he really has a rapier person personality (fondly, ily my more rapier focused friends lmao)

[ilminnestrone]

Guys, I hate to be that person, but Genesis and Angeal being older than Sephiroth is not a theory: it's the literal narrative of Crisis Core.

Genesis is an academic with a perfect use of language for dramatic purposes, and he told the story of the Jenova Project in perfect order: first Project G, then Project S, using the failures of the former to ensure a good success of the latter.

The progress is clear: Failure (Genesis) < still not there (Angeal) < success (Sephiroth)

Sephiroth being the youngest is not speculation, but intentional storytelling. They could always retcon this, but there was no doubt in the original script, at least the fact that Project G came first.

There could still make Genesis the middle child because their order of birth has not being stated, but there's no doubt about Sephiroth being the youngest, since Genesis stated it in Nibelheim.

Yeah, it would be awkward having a character called "The Origin" not being the first born, but in meta he would still be the origin of the crisis, so it could work. I don't like this option -logically the biggest "error" should be on the first try- but that's the only non-canon thing they could change without retconning.

I could go on telling you that basically Genesis also told us that Sephiroth is genetically sterile. Which makes perfect sense: Hojo could have just made another S by reproduction if it was possible.

I have a bunch of theories about the genetics of AGS, but they could sum up in "Genesis and Angeal are chimeras, Sephiroth is an hybrid" (and most hybrids, expecially males, are indeed sterile due to extra chromosomes).

[flshmans]

what do you think he wears casually

[dangoulains-devotion]

you mustn't blame yourself

[nether-fortress]

Wasn't feeling well for the past few days. To feel better, I sketched up two of my favorite FFXIV minions. They actually remind me of my cats: they were sisters and a very chaotic duo. x) Sadly, one of them has passed. I love Fat Cat minion especially because it reminds me of that cat. This comforts me. She's with me there now. Aside from the emotional stuff, I really like the design of this minion and even bought a mount version of it.

[meii-jasmine]

Richter, Firion, and Shadow talk about the Maria in their lives!

They are a family now.

[celestefox13]

So..... can we talk about how Sphene is a foil to Shadowbringers G'raha?

Like, under slightly different circumstances, or if he started to doubt his plan having a chance at success, he could've distressingly easily become like Sphene.

He admits to how he tried everything he could think of to save the WoL on the gondola ride. And the unspoken part, that perhaps even he doesn't consciously realize or want to acknowledge, is that he did everything he could think of without violating his morals. He held onto lines he wouldn't cross.

But what if he hadn't? What if his poor heart finally broke and he decided the means were justified if it meant saving the one person he wanted to save?

Or what if Emet got to him and figured him out sooner and managed to get the idea in his head that an umbral calamity would be a small price to pay if it meant saving the WoL?

The scale is arguably smaller, and much more intimate and close to the heart, than Sphene, but the steps to lead to that alternate timeline where our precious G'raha Tia burns the world and beyond if it means saving us was probably a lot closer than we ever dare consider.

The fact that he managed to endure and save everything that he did while going through all of the research about what leads up to the WoL's death in the world he woke up to, and didn't lose his morals in the pursuit of saving the WoL is an impressive display of mental and emotional fortitude.

But his poor heart. All those years of stress and frustration whenever a wall was hit, or an idea didn't work out when applied even in theory.

Their desperation levels even reach similar points. Because on every try to pull the WoL to the First, there IS desperation in his voice, increasingly so with each attempt. The try that finally works, he rushes to where they land because he has to be sure. He has to see with his own eyes to confirm that this plan that he finally landed on after YEARS of hard work and research is at least working on step 1. That he's finally gained a foothold on his goal.

And what a blessing that that plan didn't end up like Sphene's. That he never hit a point where the thought of "by any means necessary" truly meant by ANY means necessary. But now I wonder and worry about how close he may have been to that edge.

"This tragedy, even greater than the Seventh Umbral Calamity, must be undone. If history must be unwritten, let it be unwritten." - G'raha Tia about his goal to save the WoL

"For them I will do anything. If bloodshed will save my subjects, I will become history's most brutal Queen." - Sphene about her goal to save the Endless

[umbralstars]

I have an illness

[scalefeathers]

Thinking once again about how Nobuo Uematsu and Masayoshi Soken are both completely amazing composers but in completely opposite directions let me explain

Disclaimer I am not a music theorist; most of music theory is black fucking magic to me. I barely know what a chord is and the circle of fifths makes me quake as though before an Elder God. I just really like both of their works and sometimes I have thoughts about things. Also this is all just my opinion, it's fine if you don't agree, etc.

So: Uematsu is first and foremost, in my opinion, an absolute master of melody. I believe it's what makes his work so iconic and makes so many of his pieces so instantly recognizable. The Final Fantasy theme, the chocobo theme, Dancing Mad, Vamo'alla Flamenco, fucking One-Winged Angel--Just from seeing those names, you've probably got one playing in your head already. You could start humming it right now. Maybe you are already.

And it makes perfect sense when you consider the era he was working in, because back in the 8-bit and 16-bit era, the melody was all you had. When you have such a tiny amount of storage space to work with, you can really play only one, maybe two notes at a time. You can't do anything that's layered, because you only have one layer to work with. I think that's why so much video game music from that era is so memorable and iconic. It's not just because you played so much Street Fighter II when you were a kid that the music is indelibly seared into your brain (though that probably doesn't hurt); it's also because Yoko Shimomura wrote really solid melodies that had nothing else competing for your aural attention (apart from the in-game sound effects, which are probably also seared into your memory). (Yoko Shimomura, btw, also composed the music for Final Fantasy XV, the entire Kingdom Hearts series, and like 50 other games over the past 40 years, another fucking icon).

But back to Uematsu: like I said, melodic genius. Even when his work is upscaled into full orchestral arrangements, that core melody is always front and center. And his affinity for melody makes even more sense when you consider that before he got into video game composing, he was writing commercial jingles. (Younger folks may not be aware, but there was a time when practically every product had to have its own theme song, and the best ones were short, snappy, and instantly memorable--and for that, again, you need a strong, simple melody. Ba da ba ba ba, I'm lovin' it.)

Compare: Soken. Soken only started at Square 12 years after Uematsu, which isn't that long in human terms (to me at least, cos I'm old), but it is a long fuckin' time in video game years. By the time he started composing for games, there was so much more you could do with game music in terms of layering, complexity, and sound, and you can tell from his work that he takes full advantage of that. His work is complex and dense, a rich layer cake of themes and motifs, all beautifully merging and weaving together, often to extraordinary effect.

And again, if you look at his pre-music career, it makes a lot of sense that he'd have that approach to music, because he first got into the games industry as a sound designer; I believe that he is the sound director for all the FFXIV expansions, as well as being the composer. So of course he'd be very aware of not just how a sound (or piece of music) works on its own, but of how it fits into the greater whole, and of how to layer and balance lots of different sounds to create something greater than the sum of its parts. And of course it makes sense that he'd bring that approach to his compositions as well.

As a consequence of this approach, though, his music often lacks the memorable melodies that characterize Uematsu's work. Like, I ground (grinded?) Dun Scaith a lot the last time it was on the Mogstone rotation, I know all the boss themes extremely well and can recognize each of them instantly. But if you asked me right now to hum one? I don't think I could. (This isn't a deficiency, to be clear; music doesn't need a prominent core melody in order to be good.)

And that's also not to say that all his music lacks iconic melodies. His vocal tracks, pretty much by definition, have to put a single melody front and center; and then on top of that (or rather, behind it), you have all that trademark Soken richness and depth. Which is probably also why his vocal tracks go so fucking hard.

I think that's also why, out of all the expansions, I like Heavensward's music the best. Most of Heavensward's score is written by Soken, but the main theme is Uematsu's, and you may notice it's basically a tasting menu of like 5 or 6 excellent, very recognizable melodies, one right after the other. And basically every piece on the Heavensward soundtrack incorporates one or more of these melodies. So it really does give you the best of both worlds, and gives the overall score a cohesion that I don't see as much with the other expansions.

TL;DR, Uematsu and Soken are both amazing composers with very different and complimentary styles that reflect their differing backgrounds and the different eras of games in which they have worked and I just think that's neat.

[altocat]

Just while I'm feeling obnoxiously chatty, I will say that one of my biggest let downs in Rebirth (and there are a few, I really like to game but I'm not going to pretend that it's perfect), was them omitting the scene where Cloud physically assaults Aerith.

Like yeah, okay. I get that the game is rated T and we can't show a woman getting beaten up onscreen or whatever. But it DOES take the punch out of Aerith's decision. When I first played the OG, Cloud losing control via Sephiroth's mind control and attacking Aerith was one of those "holy shit wtf things just got REALLY DARK" sort of moments. It felt like a turning point in the plot, a way of showing that Cloud isn't merely a hindrance to the group, he's actively DANGEROUS. As long as Sephiroth has control over him, he could hurt the people closest to him, regardless of how earnestly he loves or cares about them. And that is FUCKED. UP.

Which makes Aerith instantly forgiving him and deciding to sacrifice herself all the MORE tragic. She's not just doing this for the planet, she's doing this for her friend. She's doing this to save him, both from Sephiroth and from himself.

Rebirth knocks a lot of moments out of the park. It's an amazing game. This was one of the more missed opportunities in my book. Just a personal preference.

[theghostavocadoe]

I think Zack and Genesis would've been friends in different circumstances.

I can picture Genesis teasing Zack in the training room and laughing when Zack fumes and pouts angrily at him, knowing that trying to quip back would be pointless.

I can picture Zack putting music on the radio - ABBA probably - and Genesis quickly turns around and gasps because he loves it too. They bond over their taste in music within seconds.

I can imagine Zack fumbling the lines to Loveless, which Genesis quickly corrects him on, but internally he's touched that Zack would even make an attempt. Every time Zack is corrected, he gives a cheerful "Oh, yeah!" instead of chastising him for being obsessed with a book.

I can imagine them both sprawled out on couches, rambling to each other about their interests. Zack is completely captivated by how Genesis talks, and despite himself, Genesis is actually intrigued by what Zack has to say about his life.

I can picture Zack one day confessing a rather embarrassing memory of how he used to idolize Genesis when he was a Third. Genesis finds it endearing, and it inflates his ego tenfold.

I can imagine Zack sitting at the cafeteria table and going "man that secretary on the first floor is annoying" and Genesis slams his hands on the table going "I KNOW, right?!" and the two immediately ramble off into gossip about the worst people in the company.

I can picture Genesis taking one look at Zack, shaking his head, and firmly declaring that they're going shopping to get him some better clothes. He knows everything that looks best on Zack and the two honestly consider getting Zack a bigger wardrobe. Zack even insists on paying for some clothes that Genesis was eyeing for himself while shopping.

idk. I just think they're neat :)