#tifa (mentioned)

[secondarysefikura]

Back when he was still with Shinra Sephiroth used to secretly write fanfiction about himself. All of it was basically him having a normal life with his friends Angeal and Genesis, and of course his mother Jenova. It was pretty well received by those who read them, but even if they weren’t Sephiroth just enjoyed writing them. Years later after returning from the lifestream yet again Sephiroth decides for old time’s sake to write again. And while people are happy that NormalHuman7777 had returned they’re all also very confused because their stories have now drastically changed. Their new stories are no longer about the late general in a normal and domestic setting, but now their about him becoming a god? And Sephiroth’s mother is also now an alien? Where’s Angeal and Genesis, they used to have huge roles in the stories, but they’re not even so much as mentioned. Also who’s this Cloud person the author keeps shipping with Sephiroth? Every new story now has Cloud in it and the author spends paragraphs detailing everything involving Cloud, talking about how beautiful he is, and how much Sephiroth wants him, and they always get together at the end if not sooner. Is he a self insert? Also the author really hates their OCs Tifa and Aerith, always having the two die in the most horrific ways.

You know what would make this all so much funnier? If young Cloud was a fan of NormalHuman7777's works. Perhaps he even had a bit of a friendship with NormalHuman7777, with the two messaging from time to time and bouncing ideas off each other.

When Sephiroth starts writing again, Cloud gets a little notification about the new fic. He decides that even though he has no interest in reading Sephiroth fanfiction anymore, he may as well comment on the fic for old time's sake. Except when he goes to the comments, people are asking about this new Cloud character and this whole "God" plotline.

Sephiroth's fanfic: Cloud leaned his head back, exposing his neck to his god in a sign of submission. He looked even more beautiful than normal as his mouth parted just enough for his tongue to dart across his chapped lips. As Sephiroth reached out and touched Cloud's neck, the blonde's throat bobbed in nervous anticipation. A rather feminine looking man, it was nearly impossible to see or notice Cloud's adam's apple. Still, the faint bulge of Cloud's adam's apple felt devine under Sephiroth's thumb, and Sephiroth pushed harder to feel the cartilage better.

"Beautiful," Sephiroth praised.

Cloud's eyes fluttered shut with content pride as his god praised him. He felt stupid for ever opposing the great god and for trying to hide from Jenova's warm embrace.

"I know," Sephiroth said, sensing the distress that washed over precious doll as memories of those horrid women came back to him, "but now you are exactly where you belong, and you will never leave me again. We will be together forever--a god and his most cherished possession--and there is nothing those fools can ever do to change that."

"Sephiroth, please," Cloud begged, leaning further into Sephiroth's touch, "please fuck me. I want to be one with you in everyway. I need you inside of me!"

Cloud: What the actual fuck.

[xdevilrushx]

Summary: 'tis the season, and Yuffie is feeling… combative? Being surrounded by lovey-dovey couples leaves the young ninja feeling nauseated in an entirely new way, leading to a slight romantic fracas, miscommunication, and a sudden change of rules about certain mistletoe traditions. Hilarity (and potential heartbreak) ensues. Will things work out in the end? Maybe. Either way, someone's halls are getting decked.

Pairings: Clerith, Zifa

####

Two years had elapsed since the Deepground incident, and the Avalanche crew was gathered at the new Seventh Heaven for its annual holiday celebrations. Fresh snow covered the ground, presents were nestled under the tree, all ready for unwrapping, and the party's elaborate holiday dinner was reaching its final stages of preparation.

All in all, it was a rare chance for them all to enjoy a night of peace and quiet. Except for Red XIII, who was busy avoiding Yuffie's incessant attempts to dress him up as a reindeer.

"Yuffie, cut it out," the four-legged beast chastised her. "Why can't you act your age for once?"

The young ninja scoffed. "Like YOU would know anything about that, Mr. I'm-a-wise-old-sage-trust-me," she retorted, mimicking Red's grumpy old man voice.

Red XIII looked up at her, speechless, unable to think of a proper comeback.

Yuffie grinned. "Boom! Somebody call the fire brigade, 'cause you just got roasted!"

"Yuffie, calm down," Tifa said, suppressing a giggle as she passed them by.

"Nope," Yuffie replied, crossing her arms. "Can't stop, won't stop! Now, where was I?"

She looked at the red plastic nose and pair of fake antlers in her hands, then turned towards Red XIII again with mischief in her eyes. "Ah, right… c'mere, Rudolph!"

Red XIII promptly bolted upstairs before she could get any closer. She'd given him a good chase earlier, but spry as she was, she was still no match for Cosmo Canyon's finest. She huffed, reluctantly accepting her defeat.

"… Spoilsport."

[accala]

Cloud is a father. He has his own kid and a niece he takes care of. He raises kids with Tifa. He's a deadbeat.

It's not sinking in.

[tifa-simp]

Tifa's trial in the temple is so confusing but so interesting to analyze. The fact little Tifa, little Cloud and Brian feel like 3 separate entities instead of belong in the same illusion group like the rest of trials really sparks a lot of questions about how much of her trial is the temple's doing and/or if there's other third part's involvement?

I feel like her trial has a lot of setup for part 3, but I also think part 3 won't out right answer the questions we have with her trial, we'll have to gather informations and piece the answer together, just like what Tifa does with Cloud.

[daylighteclipsed]

I finished Rebirth! The last leg of the game gave big KH vibes imo (the name of the last chapter (End of the World) is even the name of the last level/world in KH1). But that ending was crazy. Does Cloud, like, know Aerith is dead, or is he so deep in denial that he thinks she’s alive?

[wowa-bublord]

I gotta know what animal you associate each SOLDIER with. Zack is a stray dog obv, but what about the other members of the CC cast? Do all/any of them have more animal-like behaviors? Does this impact their relationships with normal citizens??

AHHHH IM HAPPY 2 ANSWER!! None of them are meant to actually be part animal, and only the soldiers are meant to really have inhuman traits, (Weird eyes, sharp teeth, pointy ears) the rest are just artistic design ideas!! like. a design motif i think is the word?? let me collect some pictures.

I tend to base my Sephiroth design off of owls. particularly barn or otherwise tyto owls. Aside from the obvious. Bird. Wing. thing, I think its an interesting parallel to how white barn owls are said to bring prosperity/good luck (like how Sephiroth was designed to be a hero) but owls in general are said to be associated with death and bad omens (like sephiroth. my silly billy)

My Tifa design is based on bulls. I wanted her to look both sturdy and protective, while also being more of a local animal.. plus how she's dressed like a cowgirl in crisis core/flashbacks hehe

And Aeriths design is heavily inspired by a moth!! Representing change, transformation and growth. Though it's heavily based on the fact that Aeriths talk about being afraid of the sky reminded me of a moth to the flame metaphor. (I'm putting her animal comparison under read more NUBE DO NOT CLICKK)

[epicwin64]

This is insane. I didn’t know 6 characters on screen at all times without noticeable frame drops was possible.

[demynom]

Ffvii rebirth spoilers or whatever but I’m still not over how they entirely fumbled nibelheim

Why the hell would shinra build it back EXACTLY as it was if not to pretend nothing ever happened. If their intention was to start a “mako poisoning treatment center” why wouldn’t they…I don’t know. Incorporate that into the architecture instead of deciding “well, we need to make sure we rebuild tifa’s bedroom exactly as it was, down to the furniture placement. For the patients.” It would obviously be too much of a change if they altered it visually, so they didn’t, but that just kind of makes the repurposing of nibelheim illogical in the first place. That’s not to say Shinra’s “treatment facility” angle doesn’t have ulterior motives, but it’s severely lacking in narrative weight. It’s muddy.

I understand it’s a bit over the top in the original for shinra to have hired actors to inhabit nibelheim for the purpose of shock value to the characters/player, but that’s not really a fact that has to be dwelled upon if done well. It just feels like rebirth tones down the depravity of Shinra at any available opportunity and strips away all of the emotional gut punches and creepy ambience. Nibelheim went from a haunting set piece to….just kind of a pit stop.

[strawbrryrush]

closed event starter for kikyo & tifa !! @vcndetta

"kikyo?" the girl called out; her eyes shining with tears- after what she had done.. it was hard not to feel immense guilt.. the voice had been silenced- and her life no longer felt threatened- but how could she live with this.. all these questions raced in her head, but for now she tried her best to focus on the fact- that she- kikyo was okay. "-i'm so glad you're okay- you're okay right?" she asked; wiping at the stray tear she couldn't keep from falling.

[hgmason-hellion]

Another art dump

(Most of these will be from NobodyDaxian's twitch plays KH2 stream, team ballers rise up)

[patchoulol]

Little country girl in NIbelheim who affectionately shouts Cloud "smells like Midgar" loud and proud in the middle of the street to her friend is definitely one of us.

[junkosaotome]

I remember when people were saying aerith is native american/indigenous coded because of her connection to the earth lol

[pine-needle-shuffle]

Jaerti for the soul <- gem from my working notes doc

[bronzewool]

Final Fantasy VII: Traces of Two Pasts by Kazushige Nojima is a novel exploring the backstories of Aerith and Tifa, two party members you acquire early on in the game.

Traces of Tifa starts with a young Tifa in the small village of Neibelheim, playing with the other boys her age (minus Cloud) and reconciling over the knowledge their childhood is coming to an end as each boy is already making plans to leave and follow their future career paths. The boys try to cheer her up by promising to write to her, but it soon becomes clear to her that everyone has already decided she will marry one of these boys without bothering to ask her opinion. After Cloud and the other boys leave for Midgar, she becomes lonely and has no direction in life until a wandering material artist, Rashard Zangan, shows up, scouting for students to join his dojo, and finding the perfect pupil in Tifa. Throwing herself into her training, she proves to be skilled in the art form and even starts teaching a morning class for the other villagers. Fast forward to the Neibelheim Incident, where Tifa lost her father and is mortally wounded by Sephiroth, she wakes up in a Midgar hospital that managed to save her life, but she no longer has a home or any means of paying her medical bills. The doctor's son, Rakesh, also a student of Zangan, sets her up with a room in one of the slum container rows, and a job working at a steamed bun cart. Although Tifa is grateful for the help, she is still in the process of mourning the loss of her home while recovering from a near-fatal stab wound and yet still expected to work off her heavy debts. During her time living in the slums, we see how she met Barret, and the rest of Avalanche and would eventually become the bartender of Seventh Heaven.

The segment has a well-paced coming-of-age story of Tifa having no control over her life, and becoming the confident kickboxer and math-savvy bartender we meet at the beginning of the game. The story is slow in several areas, the major one being the attention to detail it goes into regarding her workout routine (to the point it starts feeling like an actual textbook) and her work rota at the food cart and preparing the bao buns (which starts feeling like an actual cookbook). Other than that it has a satisfying twist near the end with how Tifa manages to get out of debt and find a supportive community that becomes her newfound family.

The only minor complaint I have with this story is how little Zangan is in it, considering he is meant to be Tifa’s sensei, but he is only shown teaching her through textbooks that he leaves for her to study before disappearing for months at a time and returning to test her progress and handing her the next volume before disappearing again. This works in the context of the games as characters can level up by reading textbooks, but from a story standpoint, it's rather disappointing how little these two interact.

Traces of Aerith covers the timeline after Aerith and her mother escape Shina and hide in Sector 8 Slums, right before she dies and Aerith is adopted by Elmyra. The game briefly covers how Aerith and Elymra first met, but the book goes into greater detail about how they became a family and that it wasn't as smooth a transition as was implied. Elmyra's husband was a soldier who had been deployed during the Wutai War and was finally coming back home. Elymra would stand at the train station waiting for him with each passing day and on one such day, she finds Aerith weeping over the corpse of her mother and takes the girl in before Shinra finds her. Aerith is in the middle of mourning her mother and Elymra is overloaded with the responsibility of being a single parent while trying to maintain peace within her husband's business. Aerith's presence complicates things for Elmyra and they come up with a fake identity for Aerith which quickly backfires the more people learn of her existence.

The book tries to address minor details in the framing device of a polygon game and has various degrees of success while doing it. For example, Aerith's home is strangely bigger than the rest of the slums, with a two-story house and a garden filled to the brim with flowers. In the game, this area is heavily detailed because it's a set-piece that represents Aerith and the party spends quite a bit of time here. In the context of reality, this area makes no sense when just outside the gate the rest of Sector 8 is a shanty town. The book works around this by giving Elmyra a backstory where her father-in-law owned a construction company and stayed in the slums to oversee that company, as opposed to other businesses that would start a shop in the Slums and immediately abandon it once they earned enough to move onto the upper plate. Her father-in-law employed all those redundant employees and gained a lot of respect from the community for providing employment, hence why they live more lavishly in comparison.

My only complaint about Aerith’s segment in particular is how it glosses over major details in her childhood that fans were probably picking up the book to read about. We know the Turks have been spying on Aerith since she was a child, but they barely have a presence in this segment beyond one vital scene that needs to exist because it happened in the game and the climax where we can assume they saved Aerith’s life. Instead, we spend a lot of time setting up Aerith having a fake identity, and her panicking and using another girl’s name, and this somehow causes everyone to panic because two girls can’t have the same name I guess? (it's as stupid as it sounds and I don’t know why the book dives into this when we know Aerith uses her real name in the present timeline).

Is this book well written? Yes. Did it need to exist? No. There is nothing new we learn in this book that changes your worldview of the game or about Aerith and Tifa as characters. Hardcore fans will enjoy it but casual fans are not going to get anything out of it.

[tifa-simp]

Damn, Hamaguchi sure loves Gongaga. He's so right for that, best chapter of Rebirth fr.

[someoneoffthestreet]

currently foaming at the mouth over ff7 rebirth thaaaaankssssss