#verse: final fantasy crisis core

[thuganomxcs]

The bruised ribs?? Well he couldn’t exactly call the woman a friend, she was more than that. Thinking of the agony he’s even gone through in those days really brought a soft smile over his face. ━━   ❝   𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.   ❞  Yusuke said with a smile before a hand was placed upon his chest. “She was more like a grandmother t’ me…least she was old enough t’ be my grandmother. She’s the one that taught me everythin’ I know.”

Then came the subject over materia, and yes the SOLDIER was right, it’s never wrong to NOT rely on it but still- “Wouldn’t mind shootin’ lightning from the tip of my fingers though, that’s still cool in my book. So I’m lookin’ for t’ what you’d be able to do on this mission..I can already tell that it’s gonna be interestin’.” There was a smirk on yusuke’s face now as his presses his fist into his open palm.

AND the excitement that appeared on Yusuke’s face right now, it was as if he was a child in a candy shop and everything was up for grabs. A little friendly spar to show him a little here and there when it comes to martial arts and in exchange he’d allow Yusuke to wield the materia of his choosing?! DONE deal and it would be something educational. Granted his mind began to ponder of WHAT element he would choose considering there were 𝙉𝙐𝙈𝙀𝙍𝙊𝙐𝙎. “You’ve got yourself a deal Bright Eyes!” The grin on his face remained as the pilot then spoke towards them.

“We’re nearing the drop zone, please prepare for landing.” The man said.

The detective nodded his head and sat back on his seat as he prepared for landing. “Well ya didn’t hear it from me, but there’s a lot of conspiracy theorist sayin’ that Shin-...” Nah it was probably better if they had this conversation once their feet hit the ground. Zack himself was a SOLDIER yes, but he’s shown himself to be a ‘people’s man’. Yusuke always had an opinion on SOLDIERs and Zack did not fit that stereotype period..but the pilot? He was still part of Shinra..a bootlicker. There’s no telling what Yusuke might say would come back and haunt him. “I’ll tell ya when we land..nothin’ bad either way.” It was as if the tone changed completely. “Ya ready for the mission though?”

"No way! Not from a friend, I hope." Zack clicked his tongue. "Well, let's get through this mission, and then we can go out drinking together. On me, of course~" He had definitely had his own share of friendly betrayals. Seemed a common enough trend to be sad!

"Listen, it's no bad thing not to rely on materia. If you think about it--" He shrugged. "---might not be here for us to utilize forever. The Planet's feeling a little wonky lately." The Planet might giveth, but it could also taketh away, right? Maybe that was why ShinRa was suddenly in the process of researching various other ways to compose the stuff, make their own from scratch. Rather than harvesting it from the natural world. But also, who could say what ran through the minds of the bigwigs?

"Maybe we can spar sometime, ya? I'm always up for a little lesson or two~" He wasn't so far gone that he wouldn't take pointers from someone who may know a trade better than him. He had swordplay down, he had to say. Hand to hand, well he'd do what he had to do, but it wasn't his forte. "You do that for me, and I'll let you try a materia---" He held up an index finger. "---- even one of your choosing if you want." Seemed more than a fair trade to him!

"As for the missing Firsts, your guess is as good as mine. For some reason, they didn't think to consult me. What have you heard on the street?"

[gcdwinged]

tag dump

#* ic    /    all things must die.

#* aesthetic    /    defy the force that drags them all to heel.

#* musings    /    whispers from mother.

#* character study    /    beneath the legend is a longing.

#* visage    /    alone as a god.

#* dyn. sephiroth & aerith    /    we cast darker shadows with stronger light.

#* dyn. sephiroth & cloud    /    what you are without me? what am i without you?

#* verse: final fantasy vii    /    ruination to all.

#* verse: crisis core    /    the one who remains shall become a hero.

.#* verse: kingdom hearts    /    in the heart of darkness.

#* verse: remake    /    the sun rising on a rebirth.

#* verse: advent children / i send the pestilence and plague.

[silalcarin]

The many parallels between Aragorn/Arwen and Cloti

(Preface: before I start, I want to point out that I've already touched upon the first two paragraphs of this post, in more detail, in my previous post from last week.)

So, my bestie and I were watching The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition), and it got to the part where Aragorn rejected Eowyn because she wasn't actually in love with him. My bestie is more well-versed in LOTR Lore than I am, so she surprised me when she said that if you look at the book's timeline, Eowyn "knew" Aragorn for only 6 days at most before she confessed that she "loves" him, then he rejected her because she was actually Loving a Shadow.

I had to look this up for myself, because I haven't read The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit in years. Sure enough, Eowyn meets Aragorn in Third Age 3019, March 2nd, and on March 8th, literally 6 days later, before Aragorn departs for the Paths of the Dead, Eowyn confesses that she "loves" him, and he rejects her. Also in the book's timeline, by the time Aragorn met Eowyn, he and Arwen had been betrothed for 39 years. And Aragorn and Arwen have known each other for 44 years before Eowyn was even born. Heck, Aragorn and Arwen have known each other for 10 years before even Eowyn's father was born.

This is almost exactly like Final Fantasy VII. Cloud and Tifa grew up together and were very close as young children, as confirmed in Trace of Two Pasts. They've known each other for literally their whole lives (20 years, due to the 1-year age difference), and they've been in love with each other for over 7 years by the time they met Aerith, whom they knew for only 3 weeks at most before:

Aerith literally trapped Cloud in her dream world where Zack and Tifa don't exist and she manipulated Cloud into going on one last "date" with her (a.k.a. the infamous nightmare date/funeral date) — which was actually a recreation of Aerith's date with Zack in Crisis Core and which, like literally every other "date" Aerith has claimed to go on with Cloud, Cloud never actually agreed to go on this one last "date" with Aerith because Aerith physically stopped Cloud from angrily protesting against her; in other words, Aerith forced Cloud to go on one last "date" with her without his consent — and Cloud was visibly miserable and uncomfortable throughout its entire duration, and Aerith struggled to confess that she didn't know what type of "like" she feels for Cloud, only for Cloud to respond to Aerith's confession by calling her weird (twice in Japanese) with zero hesitation — per Trace of Two Pasts, after Elmyra adopted Aerith, Aerith's ability as a Cetra to talk to people through the Lifestream led to a lot of misunderstandings with the people around her and, as a result, she assumed that people thought she was weird, so she hated being seen or thought of as weird and wanted to be normal, but in Crisis Core, Zack made Aerith feel better about her thinking of herself as weird by telling her "normal is overrated" — thus Aerith realizes that, by calling her weird, Cloud rejected her and she finally understands that Cloud does NOT like nor love her, and

Aerith was killed later on the exact same day as the infamous nightmare date/funeral date.

I honestly wonder if Kazushige Nojima, the head writer of FFVII, took some inspiration from LOTR, because there are many parallels between Aragorn/Arwen and Cloud/Tifa:

(1) Aragorn is the hero (with Frodo and Sam) of LOTR.

Cloud is the hero of FFVII.

(2) Aragorn grew up in Arwen's home, Rivendell.

Cloud and Tifa grew up together in Nibelheim.

(3) Aragorn was very young when his father, Arathorn, was killed by Orcs. He was raised by his mother, Gilraen, until he left her in Rivendell to become a Ranger in the wild. During his time as a Ranger, Aragorn concealed his name and identity. Gilraen didn't hear much from Aragorn after his departure. They were reunited when he returned to Rivendell several years later, shortly before her death.

Cloud was very young when his father was possibly killed by a monster. He was raised by his mother, Claudia, until he left her in Nibelheim to become a SOLDIER. During his time as a Shinra infantryman, Cloud concealed his name and identity. Claudia didn't hear much from Cloud after his departure. They were reunited when he returned to Nibelheim several years later, shortly before her murder.

(4) Arwen lost her mother, Celebrian, after she was tormented by Orcs and her poisoned wound never healed, so she departed to the Undying Lands.

Tifa lost her mother, Thea, after she became struck with an unknown illness and she was never healed of it, so she died sometime afterwards.

(5) Arwen is Aragorn's beautiful light-skinned dark-haired future wife whom he's known for several decades.

Tifa is Cloud's beautiful light-skinned dark-haired future life partner whom he's known since they were toddlers.

[Side Note: per a discussion I had with one of my friends, Tifa is physically based on her Japanese voice actress, Ayumi Ito (as confirmed in the Advent Children Reunion Files), and Tetsuya Nomura stated that Tifa has Asian features and cuteness in this 2019 Famitsu article. However, in the actual games, Tifa is just as fair-skinned as Aerith, and there's no visible difference between their skin tones. Per my friend, who suggested either "fair" or "light", I decided to go with "light".]

(6) Lord Elrond, Arwen's father, disapproved of her and Aragorn's relationship, but that never deterred their love for each other.

Brian Lockhart, Tifa's father, disapproved of her and Cloud's relationship, but that never deterred their love for each other.

(7) Arwen is the sole source of inspiration and motivation for Aragorn, who must become King of Arnor and Gondor before Elrond allows her to marry him.

Tifa is the sole source of inspiration and motivation for Cloud, who felt that he must become a SOLDIER and a hero before he becomes special to her.

(8) Aragorn fell in love with Arwen first. Many years later, Arwen reciprocated Aragorn's love.

Cloud fell in love with Tifa first. Many years later, Tifa reciprocated Cloud's love.

(9) Aragorn/Arwen became betrothed on Cerin Amroth in Lothlorien (her second home), many years before Eowyn briefly came into his life and tried to come in between them, despite her knowing full well that Aragorn is in love with another woman, before Aragorn rejected Eowyn 6 days after meeting her and she was Loving a Shadow.

Cloud/Tifa made their promise on the water tower, a popular date spot in Nibelheim, where Tifa realizes she's in love with Cloud and wants to spend the rest of her life with him (as confirmed in Trace of Two Pasts), and Cloud holds on to that promise several months later as he travels to Midgar to become a SOLDIER for Tifa (as confirmed in 2000 Gil to Becoming a Hero), many years before Aerith briefly came into their lives and tried to come in between them, despite her knowing full well that Cloud and Tifa are in love with each other, before Cloud rejected Aerith 3 weeks after meeting her and she was Loving a Shadow.

(10) Aragorn is loyal to Arwen. Aragorn is deeply in love with Arwen, his only love interest. Due to his deep love for Arwen and his loyalty to her, Aragorn is never tempted by Eowyn, whom he knew for only 6 days.

Cloud is loyal to Tifa (as confirmed in a 2022 video on FFVII's official TikTok account**). Cloud is deeply in love with Tifa, his only love interest. Due to his deep love for Tifa and his loyalty to her, Cloud is never tempted by Aerith, whom he knew for only 3 weeks.

(11) During their marriage, Aragorn and Arwen have a son, Eldarion, and also at least two daughters, who are younger than their son.

During their relationship, Cloud and Tifa have an adopted son, Denzel, and also take care of Marlene, who is younger than their son.

I'm aware that the similarities between Aragorn/Arwen and Cloud/Tifa aren't perfect, but there's still enough there that I just can't help but have a feeling about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Link to the official TikTok video: https://www.tiktok.com/@finalfantasyvii/video/7137687150564314374

** Here's an alternate link: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYpmaB8a/

Here's a screenshot of it, in case you still can't view the TikTok video for some reason:

[onedate]

little bit of a LAZY PROMO while i get everything set up, but give this a LIKE or ( preferably ) a REBLOG if you're interested in writing with a PRIVATE, SELECTIVE, & INDEPENDENT portrayal of square enix's ZACK FAIR primarily set in the timeline established at the end of FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE PART I, with verses for the ORIGINAL GAME & CRISIS CORE, as loved by SILAS & previously housed at SOUGHTSKY !!

[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.

[thehorrortree]

Submission Window: April 1st - 30th, 2024 Payment: 8 cent per word for fiction, $20 for poetry, 8 cent per word for non-fiction, $125 for cover art Theme: Speculative fiction It's our goal to publish diverse voices from around the world, and to do that, we are actively seeking stories, poems, and non-fiction pieces by authors from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented in the science fiction and fantasy canon. Our submission cycle is therefore split into two categories, where every other month is explicitly reserved for submissions by authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. The interposing six months remain open to everyone. As writers ourselves, we do our best to handle each submission with the care and attention it deserves. Every submission is an act of bravery, and we know that putting yourself out there as a writer can be tough. Just know that any submission we receive, unless it contains something illegal, will be kept in confidence. When in doubt, don't self reject! Submit submit submit! Guidelines for Fiction We like stories that are subtle in their telling and stick with us long after we've finished, and we're more likely to buy stories that balance a sense of wonder with a bold plot and emotional depth. For our two issues focused on the climate crisis, we're particularly interested in publishing stories from people displaced by or threatened by the climate emergency (see our themes below). For our other four issues, we're open to a wide variety of stories across the SFF and weird spectra. Pay: 8¢ per word for original fiction Word limit: 6000 words Language: English Rights: We buy first serial print and electronic rights for publication of the story in the English language and throughout the world. We also buy non-exclusive archival rights for our website and non-exclusive anthology rights. We welcome writers from around the world who are writing in the English language, and we're open to translations as long as the piece hasn't appeared in English before. While we've accepted a few reprints in the past, we are currently only looking for original, previously unpublished fiction. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please no multiple submissions. We also ask that you use the Shunn manuscript format and either .rtf, .doc, or .docx file types. We try to respond to all submissions within ten weeks, and we ask that you wait at least a week after we pass on a story before you submit again. If we hold a piece, please wait until you get our final decision to submit again. And if we publish your piece, we ask that you wait six months from the date of publication before you submit again. Finally, while we do publish both flash fiction and stories close to our word limit, our sweet spot is between 1000 and 4000 words. Guidelines for Poetry We like poems that use complex fixed verse forms (think sestina, awdl gywydd, masnavi, etc), but we're not against blank or free verse. Most important to us is vivid imagery, clever lyricism, and a strong emotional core. For our two issues focused on the climate crisis, we're particularly interested in publishing poems from people displaced by or threatened by the climate emergency (see our themes below). For our other four issues, we're open to a wide variety of poems across the SFF and weird spectra. Pay: $20 per poem Limit: Five poems, each in a separate submission Language: English Rights: We buy first serial print and electronic rights for publication of the poem in the English language and throughout the world. We also buy non-exclusive archival rights for our website and non-exclusive anthology rights. We welcome writers from around the world who are writing in the English language, and we're open to translations as long as the piece hasn't appeared in English before. While we've accepted a few reprints in the past, we are currently only looking for original, previously unpublished poetry.

Both simultaneous and multiple submissions are fine, but please no more than five poems at a time, with each poem separated out as its own submission. We also ask that you use the Shunn manuscript format and either .rtf, .doc, or .docx file types. We try to respond to all submissions within ten weeks, and we ask that you wait at least a week after we pass on the poems before you submit again. If we hold a poem, please wait until you get our final decision to submit again. And if we publish your piece, we ask that you wait six months from the date of publication before you submit again. Finally, while we do publish very short poems, our sweet spot is something longer than just three or four lines. Guidelines for Non-Fiction We like articles on politics and pop culture, articles steeped in science or otherwise verging on the academic, and pieces with funny or interesting takes we might not have expected. Pay: 8¢ per word for original non-fiction Word limit: 1000 words Language: English Rights: We buy first serial print and electronic rights for publication of the piece in the English language and throughout the world. We also buy non-exclusive archival rights for our website and non-exclusive anthology rights. We ask that you use the Shunn manuscript format and either .rtf, .doc, or .docx file types for your submission. We also ask that you format the text so that any references are linked in-line and not placed in a work-cited section at the end. For example, if I wanted to make a reference to one of the many interesting stories in Haven Spec Magazine, I would reference it like this. Please only one non-fiction submission at a time. Guidelines for Art For each issue, we pay $125 for cover art. If you think your work would look great on the cover of a science fiction and fantasy magazine, send us a link to your portfolio! Themes WET ISSUE Each September, we publish our WET Issue! Here we focus on stories of water—monsoons and the rising tides, hurricanes and the disappearing coast—we'll center stories by authors directly affected by the climate crisis, though we'll consider anything that fits the theme, even vaguely! To submit a story for the theme, make sure to mention in your cover letter how your submission relates to the theme and, if you'd like, how you've been personally affected by the crisis at hand. Submissions by climate refugees are very welcome. DRY ISSUE Each March, we publish our DRY Issue! Here we're looking for content that focuses on the dry aspects of climate change—desertification and falling reservoirs, rising temperatures and endless droughts—we'll center stories by authors directly affected by the climate crisis, though we'll consider anything that fits the theme, even vaguely! To submit a story for the theme, make sure to mention in your cover letter how your submission relates to the theme and, if you'd like, how you've been personally affected by the crisis at hand. Submissions by climate refugees are very welcome. Go to Submission Form Interested to know how we go about accepting and rejecting stories? Click here! Via: Haven Speculative.

[youmourn]

#YOUMOURN, private zack fair from - crisis core - final fantasy. orig. made 2016. re - re - est. 2024. reimagined from canon. please read about his rewritten canon because it is crucial how different i portray him from the original source. crisis core critical. not affiliated with the ffrpc. rewritten by cassi. 25+. any pronouns. extremely low activity and primarily iconless. standard rules apply. has played through rebirth. spoilers will be tagged. verses include bloodborne, dark souls, ffxiv / xv / xvi, kingdom hearts, devil may cry, baldur's gate 3, resident evil. carrd tba later.

information about canon divergence below (does not follow rebirths timeline but does take some influences)

does not only include staying alive endgame (his price to pay is losing his left eye which is covered by an eyepatch) but upon finding out the truth about shinra and soldier as a whole skews his vision on what he thinks is wrong and right. absolutely does not follow soldier honor nor blindly follows in his mentors ideals, instead perceives his own opinions and changed directions of dreams. tries to cling onto naïve ideas of heroism he has embodied but loses it along the way. has come to the realization that soldier is nothing but monsters thus believing he is one in return despite no longer being a member. partakes in the bombing of reactor's 1 and 5 - albeit super reluctantly so despite his past dealing with them - thus following the events as an unwilling body of avalanche. there is fleeting proof of sephiroth that he absolutely can't ignore ie. a whisp of long silver hair, an echo of his voice that no one else can hear, but it's never in the full form like cloud.

horror elements will also be applied here so follow with caution.

[exoriiens]

Verse Announcement - Final Fantasy VII

A follow-up experiment of Project S that really shouldn't have existed, or prospered for that matter. Uriel (Eventually only know as Uri) was created more or less as a known failure. Gestated in an artificial womb in the brief time after the success of Sephiroth's birth and injected with a mixture of the altered cells of Project G as well as Jenova cells. To the incredulous shock of most, if not all of the scientists within Shinra, Uri flourished and was "born" within a few short months. Though, this flourishing wouldn't last long. As Uri grew into her teens, her body was suddenly at a war with itself, as the modified cells wished to degrade, and the Jenova cells refused to allow it. Unfortunately, shortly before the events that transpired in Crisis Core, Uri suffered mortal wounds and this kickstarted physical signs of degradation. Thus, as if on instinct, Uri finds a safe spot hidden well away from prying eyes and retreats into some form similar to a cocoon. Granted, she was meant to die in this cocoon, but after the denizens of Fate were eliminated this meant that Uri's fate was changed as well. Now Uri travels across Gaia, unaware of her changed fate and simply wishes to live.

addendum

OG ff7 continuity

though it seems she was meant to die originally, even in the original continuity Uri emerges from the cocoon, though it's only when the "reunion" begins properly.

The Jenova cells within her react in turn to Sephiroth's manipulation, though due to it's warring with the altered cells of Project G it leads Uri to not fully become as mindless as other "clones".

She still has a strange underlying drive to make her way to the North Crater, but Uri still retains mostly a will of her own in this case. Sephiroth's end at the hands of Cloud and the others comes as Uri makes it to her destination and in the subsequent collapse of the crater, she is mortally injured once again.

This results in another cocooning stage, and Uri only remerges about 6 months before the events of Advent Children.

I have not seen Advent Children yet so the OG continuity ends there but it may get a little more updated once I see it.

[kyndaris]

Nostalgic Reunion

In the good old days of high school, I was one of the ‘cool’ kids that sported a PlayStation portable. And although I had never played the original Final Fantasy VII, I was well versed enough in the lore to understand the implications behind Advent Children and was similarly excited to play out the story of SOLDIER 1st Class, Zack Fair. Back then, I thought the CGI cutscenes stunning, the combat fun and the story immersive. Especially when it came to the friendship between Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth. Despite that, I never did finish the origin story of the Buster Sword. Mostly because I got intimidated by reading a guide about the boss battles that I had yet to face.That or I got distracted by other games - honestly, can’t quite remember - and never returned to witness the terribly sad ending that was for our sweet dark-haired prince.

Fast forward more than a decade and Final Fantasy VII finally saw a remake on the PlayStation 4 and 5. Along with that came a remaster of Zack’s story for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 console. So, because I hadn’t played through to the conclusion of Zack’s story, I found myself forking over $70 once more to play a game that I already owned in the past. Enter Crisis Core: Reunion.

In the first few moments of the game, I was instantly swept back to my halycon days of high school. Though the graphics had improved, much of the game was still the same. In fact, I knew most of the story beats already, following Zack on his journey from SOLDIER 2nd Class and the war with Wutai to uncovering the secrets behind Shinra’s experiments with JENOVA cells along with Projects G and S. In fact, one of my friends, Bleachpanda, can attest to my annoying quotations of LOVELESS without having playing through the game. This one’s for you:

Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess.

Throughout the story, it was nice to see who and served as one of the major influences in Cloud’s life: Zack Fair. True, Cloud may have forgotten him due to his mako poisoning and the trauma associated with Sephiroth (one of his great heroes) burning down his home, leading Cloud to replace Zack in his memories, but had it not been for the way Zack selflessly sacrificed himself and passed on his legacy and dreams to the younger man, we might not have had the Cloud Strife that we know today. Zack Fair, although a forgotten hero in the original Final Fantasy VII game was a pivotal and very influential figure in the hero that would soon become its own complex compilation in a series of fantasy games from Square Enix.

In any case, it was a blast reliving conversations and meeting familiar faces ranging from Lazard, Cissnei and Angeal to young Aerith, Tseng and Reno. 

But what surprised me when playing the game was how short the game actually was. In my memories, Crisis Core was an incredibly lengthy journey. Possibly because I wasn’t playing it as consistently as I am during my working years, or perhaps because I had a less optimised build for Zack.

While I did read that the PSP version was longer than the remastered version, I remembered spending quite a lot of time with the game, perfecting specific moments such as the cutting down of missiles in Banora to the squat competition at headquarters. All of which were retained.

But what did change was combat. According to online articles, it’s much faster than how it was originally. Materia abilities are keyed to the L1 and an accompanying face button. Items are easily accessible through the L2 and R2 buttons with circle being the default ‘use’ button. No longer do you have to sift through a menu! Nor do you have to endure the constant ‘Modulating phase’ popouts that only served to slow down battle though the DMW is still very much the same as before.

As is the norm when anything is reliant on RNG, my luck was atrocious. Especially when it came to levelling up materia. I had to resort to setting the game aside for a few hours as I did chores just so I could max out a few choice materia for me to use as a means to demolish the monsters in my way.

The graphics, too, also saw an upgrade in the remaster with the in-engine game models being of a much quality and fidelity than the CGI cutscenes that remained untouched. In fact, it was quite jarring to see the difference. As one of the below images that I’ve uploaded reveals, the CGI just doesn’t quite hold up. Which was a right shame. After all, who wouldn’t want to admire Sephiroth burning down Nibelhiem for the umpteenth-time in full 4K glory?

Certainly this thirsty game blogger!

These changes aside, Crisis Core Reunion also sported updated voice acting with an all new English cast. And according to the internet, they were terrible and didn’t hold true to the direction and spirit of the previous recording. After hearing a few samples on YouTube, I opted for the Japanese voice-acting instead. Which remained mostly untouched and still with the original Japanese voice actors.

Did you know that the voice actor for Zack is married to the voice actress for Aerith? Zaerith confirmed!

Even with another language serving as a barrier, I still felt for Zacks’ plight and might have shed a few tears near the end as he faced the impossible odds that were stacked against him.

Rest in peace, sweet prince. You are and always have been the hero you dreamed to be! The price of freedom is steep but you paid for it gladly!

Now here’s to wondering what new wrinkle the altered timeline of the Final Fantasy VII Remake will play into all this! As well as all the complications that Zack’s survival might bring to the story that we know.

I just can’t wait to see what Rebirth might bring even as I fear that too many changes might destroy the fragile balance of what proved to be an iconic story from the past.

On a site note, why didn’t they ever animate blood? Why did Sephiroth and Cloud only ever have random wispy black smoke emerge from their wounds? It makes no sense!  Also, you know, the most cursed looking Moogle to ever exist in the Final Fantasy franchise.

[cryogenicmuses]

❄️ Pinned Post ❄️

CRYO LAB ACCESS GRANTED

INITIATING AWAKENING PROTOCOLS... COMPLETE

🧊 maintained by Maxie, 30, he/him, 10+ years of RP experience, low activity 🧊

An independent multimuse blog featuring characters from various fandoms.

OC friendly | Multimuse friendly | Dupe friendly

18+ THEMES PRESENT. MINORS DNI.

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Current muse list:

Format: Muse Name (base media) [Tagline] - muse priority

Angeal Hewley (Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core) [Honourable Soldier] - Primary Derek Stiles (Trauma Center series) [Asclepian Surgeon] - Primary

Snow Villiers (Final Fantasy XIII) [Heroic Sentinel] - Secondary Garcian Smith (killer7) [The Cleaner]- Secondary Victor Niguel (Trauma Center series) [Arrogant Researcher] - Secondary Alexandra Roivas (Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem) [Magickal Descendant] - Secondary George Stobbart (Broken Sword series) [Bottomless Pockets] - Secondary

Eliza (Skullgirls) [Bloodthirsty Diva] - Tertiary / On Request

Test Muses:

Aya Brea (Parasite Eve) [Mitochondrial Officer] - testing Lucia Lin (Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis) [Sniper Queen] - testing

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Interest Checker Link!

If I'm not here you can find me over at poeticphoenix!

(pinned post is still under construction)

Rules and Important Info under the cut!

RULES

Be excellent to one another! Don't be a dingdong.

Character =/= writer. Just because a character doesn't like your character doesn't mean that I, the writer dislike you or your character!

This blog is LOW ACTIVITY due to it not being my main blog.

I'm autistic. Executive dysfunction is a pain to work with.

When sending in memes, send the whole meme in! And specify which muse it's for!

You're welcome to nudge me for replies but please don't badger me!

I am totally duplicate friendly!

Personal blogs are allowed to follow but please don't clog my notifications. If you have an RP sideblog please ensure that it's clearly noted, thank you!

It should be noted that a lot of my FFVII muses and muses with FFVII verses are familiar with Genesis, but whenever I do refer to Genesis it will be to my specific portrayal of Genesis ( @poeticphoenix ) unless discussed otherwise ^^;

IMPORTANT INFO

Tagging format is as follows:

Character tagline refers to the little tagline listed on the character's profile page.

IC interactions - #interactions // character tagline Verses - #verses // character tagline // verse tagline Musings - #musings // character tagline Character imagery - #visage // character tagline Imagery of related characters - #connections // character tagline

[unforestalledreturn]

Verses

§ I’m Still Here §

Set in Genesis' early SOLDIER days, as a prodigy of magic but not so much physicality, he struggles to fit in amongst his peers. I’m Still Here is a verse that depicts Genesis during his early SOLDIER days. Feeling gatekept by ShinRa and his fellow SOLDIER, Genesis seeks to prove them wrong, picking fights, and isolating himself from his perceived persecutors and friends. Desperate to find himself and come to terms with what he wants, Genesis relentlessly fights for his place.

§ Crisis Core §

This verse is pretty self-explanatory. I do not create separate verses for every deviation in canon while writing, but should the deviation become extreme enough, it will receive its own divergent verse and receive its own section here.

§ Final Fantasy 7 Remake §

After the platefall of Sector 7 breeched an opening into parts of Deepground, I headcanon that Genesis’ holding cell was also breeched at this time, releasing him for shenanigity during the events of FF7. Genesis in this verse lurks in the shadows collecting fragments of his past. He is prone to breaking into ShinRa facilities to obtain confidential information, dispatching any remaining Genesis and Angeal clones, and seeking out familiar faces. As much as he tries to maintain a low profile, he remains impulsive and hungry to fill a void he is not entirely sure how to fill. He is duplicitous; a great ally in some situations and a terrible foe in others. 

§ Post-DOC §

Having laid dormant for nearly a decade, Genesis escapes from his prison in Deepground and emerges disorientated and confused in the rubble and monster infested ruin of Midgar. Everything of his prior world is dead and gone. In this verse, he aimlessly searches for meaning, desperately following clues of just how shattered his world has become. His personality has become tempered and morose, forced to stand upon the ashes of his reckless inferno.  Also of note in this verse is his relationship with the Tsviets. During their stay and mutual suffering in Deepground, I HC that there was a shared bond of pain, enough so to have Genesis referred to as “brother,” although it is possible that it could be sarcastic, indicating a bond of the opposite nature.  At the end of DOC, Genesis also makes off with Wiess with his cryptic message that, “There is work to do”. In this verse, I leave the interpretation very wide for as much flexibility as possible. 

§ Unblossomed Seed § In this verse, Genesis’ wanderings of a world completely change ultimately bring him to Wutai, the homeland of a people who he hunted and killed during his prime. He comes upon a village and is taken in and goes on a journey of self-discovery and growth. Healed by the people he once slaughtered and sought to conquest, he takes the lessons and tries to pick up the pieces back in his home, and whatever remains. 

[sokkas-fan-lawyer]

Ah the fun that is Final Fantasy XD there is some evidence he may be alive at this point(long post)

*WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS for Zack's arc in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth & Crisis Core Reunion*

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If I had to guess, it's that he's alive, at least for now. It appears his & Biggs' world is an alternate timeline where Sephiroth defeated Cloud & Co at the expressway at the end of Remake (the tornado the news reporter talks about at the beginning, with them finding Tifa, Red, Barrett, and Aerith in the wreckage, Biggs remembering Cloud helped them w/the reactor bombings & sector 5 as a mercenary), and Sephiroth begins taking over that world's lifestream and draining it of mako, as Biggs mentions when the reactor 6 is bone dry

Since there is no one to stop him. It is worth noting that Sephiroth comments that it's a world that has accepted its fate and is resigned to destruction. Without its heroes, everyone feels directionless and like they're just killing time before the end.

The only one who isn't is Zack and it's here that his role becomes clear: he is a wildcard that Sephiroth doesn't expect, meant to try to turn the tide, as not only is he not spposed to be there, but he is someone who has always refused to feel hopeless and helps others feel the same--the exact opposite of what Sephiroth wants to inspire.

In Crisis Core, despite killing his mentor, being experimented on by Hojo and failing to stop Sephiroth, Zack is noted for his ability to inspire, including Cloud, Kunsel, the other SOLDIERS & infantry, Yuffie, the kids of slums (who in Remake carry buster swords before they ever saw Cloud), Cissnei & even Tseng to some extent, and Lazard and Genesis--he consistently tells them they can be better, that they matter, and that nothing is ever hopeless.

Contrast that with the murmurs of the NPCs in Zack's world, who consistently say things are hopeless, that there is nothing they can do, that no one will come back; then along comes Zack--he manages to make Marlene smile, draw Elmyra to being hopeful (she even says she'd be lost without him), inspires Biggs that his life has value and that he can still help people, and to a lesser extent, Cloud (from the main timeline/world, where they win against sephiroth and destiny).

Now, the big questions: how is Zack there at all? Why are there 2 clouds, 2 Aeriths?

As for Zack, I think it comes down to the party defeating destiny in Remake, and down to whoever controls the Whispers/fates agents. In Remake, it's implied that Sephiroth has at least some control over them and that they're enforcing the timeline (or Canon events, to reference Spider Verse) and that he's tweaking fate to his advantage. However, once destiny and sephiroth are defeated, the tornado of whispers ceases. Zack completes the fight against Shinra and continues to Midgar and Biggs wakes up at the orphanage.

HOWEVER in Rebirth, we see that, shockingly, the whispers actually help save both Biggs and Zack and deliver them to safety. Why?

This is conjecture and may be a bit of a leap, but I think Aerith and Sephiroth are competing against each other on a bigger scale and the Remake trilogy is just one field of that fight--namely the times in Remake when Aerith appears to know far more than she should & acts slightly different than normal, and even helps Marlene and Red see the future as well. (There is even a moment in a hypothetical Cloud and Aerith venture where Sephiroth says to Aerith "So this is where you've been hiding--in a world that has accepted its fate", implying that she has been evading him by timeline jumping and she's aware of what he means vs being confused)

So when destiny & sephiroth were defeated in Remake, maybe Aerith was able to extract some control over them and while Sephiroth focused on killing Barrett, Tifa, & co, she focused on two people he wouldn't consider who could help prepare for the fight against Sephiroth and hopelessness--Biggs, the owner of Leaf House and known benefactor of the slums, and Zack, who the post-Shinra-Manor-Sephiroth considered beneath his notice but was know for his ability to inspire.

So Zack and his Cloud, by defying fate (that beloved FF tagline/motto) with the help of the whispers, are fed into the point where the worlds/timelines diverged into the world where sephiroth won--which if Aerith is the one who saved him, may have been her goal to bring --while the timeline where Cloud & Co won continued on and they proceeded as usual. It is worth noting that the Clouds and Aeriths, despite being alive, aren't in the same worlds--Shinra notes that they can't find Cloud among the wreckage despite everyone else being there.

Also: there is a moment in Zack's portion that seems to suggest multiple timelines--namely when he has to pick whether to go after Hojo or Biggs

and we're shown both--one where he has Aerith's ribbon on his hand and he makes a suicide run on Shinra headquarters and he feels hopeless.

and the other he goes to see Biggs but notably, doesn't have the ribbon.

And then after Bigvs dies and Zack gives his speech about defying fate, he evades the firing squad by jumping in the reactor, seemingly changing things since unlike his stand outside Midgar & fetching Hojo, he chooses to flee, though may not have survived the fall.

He is then shown at at the church; however, he seems unsure of what to do, who he should help: Cloud, Biggs, or Aerith

Implying he hasn't attempted yet, as Biggs died in his attempt to help & it seems Zack may have died trying to reach Hojo to help Cloud in that scenario (also when Zack chose Hojo, the route to Biggs glowed and seemed to disappear, suggesting Zack couldn't backtrack after his choice).

It is unclear if Zack remembers these attempts and so is unsure of how to make them succeed like some kind of time loop, or if instead of riding straight to the fork in the road, he just went to the church to mull it over and while there, runs into Sephiroth, who cuts him out of the world.

He winds up between the two worlds (normal & one where Sephy won) as they merge, where he finds Cloud, where he is then sucked onto Cloud's world and joins his fight, until Sephiroth splits the worlds again ("Just as worlds unite, so to do they part") to separate them. Zack defeats Sephiroth reborn, with Meteor approaching (notably with white Whispers floating around vs the black ones we have seen.

He is then saved by a white portal beneath his feat and returned to the church, where he concludes that his fight alongside Cloud wasn't a dream and muses that maybe the worlds could unite again.

Given Sephiroth attacked Zack at the Church and the mysterious portal (possibly assisted by Aerith) plops him back and Zack is confident it wasn't a dream and thinks about the worlds reuniting, it seems to suggest he isn't in the life stream or dead.

If he was, the logistics of how he could physically fight by Cloud's side haven't really been explored before/it behaves differently than all previous lifestream encounters & Zack having no idea he died doesn't match either compared to Advent Children or Crisis Core or Elylnyra's husband and Aerith's mom in Tales of Two Pasts.

As for where it goes in part 3, who knows? We still have Aerith 2 and Cloud 2 to help and maybe Biggs, if my theory is right that his portion was a possible timeline vs a real one. We'll just have to see.

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Either way, hope this helps and wasn't too long winded haha

I'm emotionally distraught...

I have mixed feelings about FF7 Rebirth.

On one hand, I like it. On the other I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I think I'm a little confused about it because I'm not even sure what Zack's purpose is other than helping Cloud fight Sephiroth... it's uh... weird. The story isn't over yet, but Jesus if there was ever a story arch I don't like about this, it's Zack. I love Zack, I really do, but what the hell is he here for?

Is he alive? Is he dead? Is he fucking dreaming? I don't fucking know!

[uchihashisuii]

Genesis + Akari

uh oh I’ve delved deeply into ffvii and crisis core hell. thank you so much to @l1p3k4 for this wonderful comm 🧡

[zaxxusu]

“Shine bright. Smile bright... once more.” CRISIS CORE: FFVII (2007) || FFVII REMAKE (2020)

continued from [x]

[steeleidolon]

Lightning Infusion (and gratuitous shirtlessness)

Kunsel maaaaad

[the-blackest-spider]

And it never ends. Dreams never end. You would not want them to. Not if it means forgetting. You can never forget. You, who are all that is left. So remember, we are born in fire. Again and again. You would live it all again. No matter how much it hurts. When it hurts you know you are alive. And you know that as long as you live, they live. And when you die, they die. You are the inheritor of memories.

                     Independent Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow

Private | Independent | Multi Verse | Multi Ship

18+ (Mature themes)

Established Final Fantasy VII Turk Verse

Newly made Secondary FFVII SOLDIER verse

Go here for information on both verses.