Reno wasn't wrong in Advent Children Complete when he said that the world almost ended because of them, because of Shinra.

Sephiroth may be the main antagonist of FF7 OG and the current new Remake/Rebirth trilogy, but the real villains will always be those who made him a monster. The biggest villains of FF7 will always be the most corrupt and rotten to the core higher ups from Shinra who created monster and ruinined more than half of the FF7 characters's lives.

Even Omni Aerith is aware of that, she said in Remake that Shinra wasn't their ennemy but that it started with them, because Sephiroth is indeed the bigger threat on the moment, but he came to be because of Shinra.

I would say Sephiroth had to be heavily conditioned for Shinra to have him in line as long as they did. He would have been their biggest threat otherwise.

In Dirge of Cerberus, even the Deepground soldiers are aware of what they are and where they came from. They all know they were mistreated and experimented on and pushed to their limits as humans and why it was that way for them. And in response, they are all rebellious against Shinra and hateful. Or else they’re grieved over what they suffered, like Shelke.

All of Sephiroth’s past is a secret. He apparently has no limits to his strengths like an ordinary human and is able to withstand extreme damage without relying on endless doses of mako like the Deepground soldiers. He doesn’t degrade like normal Shinra soldiers either. He’s the world’s strongest warrior and doesn’t know why other than he’s been modified.

Shinra was smart enough to hide the truth and brainwash him to believe that he was with the right company, even if what they did upset him. He had no where else to go.

It’s no wonder he completely snapped at Nibelheim and turned on the world. Knowing what you were and why you were abused would have made anyone hateful, but discovering it all at once after being kept in the dark and thinking your life had been purposeful would have destroyed the mind.

On top of that, losing all of your potential family and realizing you weren’t human because your mother was deemed a monster by mankind…Sephiroth is understandably unstable when he leaves the library.

Conditioning and lies kept him from lashing out for a long time.

Based on all the evidence we've seen, it's extremely likely Sephiroth grew up in completely controlled conditions and was molded at an early age to view himself completely as a prop for Shinra. It's part of the reason why he pushes himself so hard, despite growing a sense of disdain for Shinra as he gets older. Despite having growing doubts and instances of rebellion, he still remains loyal to them. It's probable that he felt he really had no other purpose beyond what he could provide for Shinra. And what's more, Shinra was capitalizing on his sensitivity regarding his missing family. They ARE the only family Sephiroth has ever really known, the only reference in which he frames himself.

Sephiroth has pretty much always struggled with his identity. He's not really sure who or what he is. I theorize that he latches onto others so strongly because they help encompass a sense of self--he can come out of his comfort zone with them, express himself in ways he simply can't on his own. He's not treated like a weapon or an experiment. He's finally a person. That's why he deteriorates upon losing them, it's like an actual core of his identity is removed.

Sephiroth was always due for a breakdown given his story, trauma, and genetic heritage. But Shinra kept pushing to make it increasingly worse. They literally created a monster.

Square Enix you better give us some Zakkura flashback like this in the future FFR Part 3 for 2027 !!! T^T

Train Ride 🌤️

Funny how thinking that Cloud was inconsequential is exactly what got Sephiroth a buster sword in the guts and a nice dive into the lifestream during the Nibelheim incident XD

Sane Sephiroth should learn to not underestimate even the ones who looks weak and tiny ^^

Hello again ! I'm back with a weird question again but how do you think Sane past Sephiroth would react or think if he were to witness the way his future evil self from Remake and Rebirth behaves with Cloud ? Would it be a "Did I have a breakup with Genesis or something ? That's not a reason to go after the first twink SOLDIER I see next right ?" or would it be more like "What the fuck ? since when do I take my issues on a twink I don't even know ?"

Honestly, he'd be pretty surprised. Cloud was just an inconsequential trooper to him, from what he remembers. It's disturbing enough to see himself in such a deranged state, but the fact that his future self is wasting his time chasing Cloud around is even more confusing to him.

Since Kazuya lost his Devil Gene at the end of Tekken 8 I can only hope that one day either in DLC or in a future Tekken 9 we'll get a flashback with Jun having a moment like that with Kazuya in his devil form TvT

I like this analysis about Vincent, I agree that he couldn't have done anything else about Lucrecia. And had he attempted something to help Sephiroth, Hojo and the rest of Shinra would have agreed to get rid of Vincent, and there's no telling if Vincent had control over Gallian Beast and Chaos before he met Cloud and the others

Although, While Vincent plunged himself into a deep slumber in FF7 OG between the time of Sephiroth's birth and the time he's found and awaken by Cloud and the others, we still don't know if Vincent was truly too much in deep asleep that he was unaware of the things happening around him and above him (most probably since he never was aware of Sephiroth's presence in the Nibelheim manor during the Nibelheim incident), or if he might have been aware when Cloud and Zack were used as lab rats by Hojo. If that was the case then I would have a hard time able forgiving Vincent for his willing inaction.

Things about Vincent Valentine that I read around and piss me off.

"Vincent should have done more!"

It is one of the most common observations. And I hate it! What he was supposed to do exactly? Ok, let's take a step back and pretend we're in the real world and not in a fantasy action video game. Vincent was a highly trained Turk and an excellent marksman. That's not enough to say that he was definitely also a cold piece of shit ready to do any job. In fact, I believe that Vincent was the exact opposite of this and that he was not cut out to be a Turk at all. Which is why he got into trouble. "Stern and upright" is how Square Enix describes him, so we're talking about a person who has great morals and a high sense of duty. And these two things don't always go together. To this we must add the naivety he had as a young man (evident in DoC) and his great empathy towards others (which FF VII Rebirth is highlighting a lot). So when Lucrecia decided to use the fetus as an experiment, Vincent found himself in an impossible situation, where morality and duty were at odds. Human experimentation disgusted him, but his role was as a bodyguard, nothing more. His duty was to watch and let the scientists do their work. Furthermore, at that moment no one could imagine what the result of such experiments would be and what Sephiroth would do in the future. So we're talking about a man torn by his own principles, full of doubts and, lest you forget, heartbroken. It is not easy to act in a situation like this. But he couldn't ignore his own morals, so despite his role he tried to reason with Lucrecia first and then he confronted Hojo, with the consequences we know. Did he have to kidnap Lucrecia? Did he have to kill Hojo? Did he have to burn the Shinra Mansion to the ground? Let's be honest, normal people don't act this way. And Vincent Valentine was the sanest one in the middle, so he paid for it. But even if Vincent had freaked out and gone down the path of violence, there would have been consequences and it would probably have ended the same way.

But let's go back to Lucrecia for a moment. Vincent's naivety and empathy did not allow him to notice the red flags. He only saw the best and deepest part of her, the fragile, kind and brilliant one. When she pushed him away, he still behaved as correctly as possible. He stepped aside, hoping that she would be happy. There is no selfishness, there is no possessiveness. This is called unconditional love, and it is very rare. Should he have claimed Lucrecia for himself even if she didn't want it? Fight the other man to get the woman back? Continue to chase her proclaiming his love like a crazy? These are some traits of toxic masculinity. Vincent left her absolute freedom, he respected her choices as a woman, as an adult and as a scientist, even if his sensitivity allowed him to understand some things before she could notice them herself. And that's why Vincent's question "are you sure this is what you really want" hurts so much. He knew it. He knew she would love that child.

The fact that Vincent feels like a failure who was unable to protect the woman he loved and her child is understandable. But this is only his feeling, his perception of himself in a situation way bigger than him. So no one will ever be able to get it out of my head: Vincent Valentine did everything a good man with his hands tied behind his back could have done. He went out of line for Lucrecia and Sephiroth, and was killed for it.

It would be very clever to have given Vincent the need to sleep more and longer than the norm in order to regain his energy and keep his control over his demons.

Because this constraint puts a limit to his power despite the formidable strengh that he must possess through Chaos and Gallian Beast, and thus won't make him an over cheated character compared to the likes of Cloud and the other playable party members.

It also gives a potential explanation about why Vincent never woke up when innocent people like Cloud and Zack and the Nibelheim survivors were being experimented on and most probably tortured in the same manor and underground laboratory Vincent was sleeping in

Vincent's slumber

I don't know if anyone has already talked about it, I'm relatively new to social media (and I have the same skill as Vincent in using it). In any case, I share this thought that I have always had, but which with the release of Rebirth came back to my mind stronger than ever. I'm talking about Vincent's sleep. Nothing that comprehends how long it lasted, whether he woke up from time to time to do who knows what or whether he instead remained locked in the coffin for the entire time until Cloud arrived. Maybe I'll talk about this in the future, who knows. Instead, I would like to focus on why Vincent needs so much sleep. In the OG it would seem that he slept for 30 years straight, later with the expansion of the FF VII compilation we learned that there were moments of wakefulness. Even in FF Rebirth, Vincent's crypt seems way more comfortable than a plain one and Vincent's own statements suggest that he has experienced something in the meantime. In any case, we can safely say that Vincent Valentine is a sleepyhead, who spends much of his time sleeping (or napping around, poor Cait Sith). In DoC we saw him dozing under the Nibelheim tree (I hope in one of his moments of pause as a bodyguard, lol), where he and Lucrecia had their picnic. So our hero loves to sleep. Subsequently, after being used for Hojo and Lucrecia's experiments, in DoC Vincent remained in suspended animation in the tube for an unspecified period. Basically asleep. We currently don't know when he woke up, where he got his amazing cloak, and how he ended up lying in a coffin. Always sleeping. Surely after everything that happened to him, poor guy, being depressed, hiding from the world, self-punishing, etc, is quite understandable. And this would explain why he continues to sleep. Until a certain degree. For starters, I've always thought that the reason why, once Chaos and Protomateria were implanted, Vincent didn't wake up immediately was because his body needed time to adapt. To recover. We know that Hojo gave him a virtually indestructible body, but even so the burden of Chaos and the other demons/monsters is physically too much to bear. So both Hojo and Lucrecia thought they had failed in their experiment, precisely because Vincent didn't wake up. Even after regaining consciousness, Vincent continued to sleep in his beloved coffin, because he was unable to come to terms with what happened and what he has become, certainly, but also because physically it was still too much for him. He still has to recover, adapt, struggle for every little thing. And we don't even know how much he needs to hold back to control his four roommates. And we are talking about powerful and dangerous creatures. Chief among these is Chaos, a primordial god of destruction. All this must have a weight, which certainly weighs on the body as well as the soul. In Rebirth this thing seems even more evident to me, starting from the phrase: "Being outside is exhausting, I hate it." Ok, it makes me smile too, if you think about how introverted, antisocial, etc, he is. Plus he's trying to understand and adjust to all the changes that have occurred during the thirty years he's lost, but perhaps the myriad stimuli in the outside world are also exhausting him physically. Because he is not alone, there are five of him inside him, and we don't know exactly how Vincent Valentine perceives the world and on which and how many levels. Certainly, as Rebirth points out, he is very sensitive to everything dark and supernatural.

The Rebirth also gives us the opportunity to better observe the transformation into the Galian Beast. Vincent grabs his head, writhes, screams and the beast takes his place. It is a painful process, which requires physical effort. Not only that, but by the end of the fight, Vincent is completely exhausted. He barely manages to get back on his feet, his arms dangling, his head too, and the steps that separate him from the crypt are difficult and very heavy to take. A painful sight to even watch (at least until he rolls over in the doorway, lol). And no, it doesn't depend on the attacks of Cloud and company, you just need to look at Reno's face after the clash in which sector 7 collapsed to realize it.

Vincent is not injured, his body is indestructible, he doesn't have a scratch, he doesn't limp, he doesn't hold his side or arm where he was hit. No. He is simply emptied, drained, exhausted in every cell of the body by the transformation. What he does is go back to sleep, he needs it, to recover from the effort. Only then will he join Cloud and the others on the Tiny Bronco. This also happens in DoC, during the first meeting/fight with Rosso the Crimson in the city of Edge. When Vincent regains control of himself, after Chaos' intervention, he collapses directly onto the streets of Edge. As long as Shalua gives him the opportunity and time to recover in the tube, at the WRO headquarters. The same thing will happen later after the battle with Azul the Cerulean. Vincent loses consciousness and later wakes up on the floor of the Shinra building. So to conclude, I always thought that yes, he loved to snooze when he was younger. Now he's dozing because he's a grandpa, and maybe he had nothing better to do in the basement of the Shinra Mansion, but he often really, really needs to rest. Physiologically speaking, as far as Valentine's physiology is known. Because being him, Vincent freaking Valentine, is quite a burden.

All the images do not belong to me, I thank those who shared them on the web!

So basically in order to fully defeat Sephiroth without keeping the risk of him coming back like in Advent Children and without killing Cloud who unknowingly act as Sephiroths anchor on Gaïa, we would need to appease Sephiroths soul and make him accept to become part of the lifestream.

Yeah right with Sephiroth's found god-complexe and all the rage and hatred he nurtures toward the whole world, there no way we're managing that in FF7R Part 3. But then it may be possible to make in happen in a new potential movie once the trilogy is finished. The devs did confrms that they wanted to reach the Advent Children part of the story with this new trilogy after all.

Is there any hope for Sephiroth? Or is he doomed to semi-exist in the lifestream and hate Cloud forever?

More or less, Sephiroth is stuck as the villain until his soul can finally peacefully pass on into the Lifestream for good. And that's a matter of Sephiroth's choosing. Some people argue that it's Sephiroth's Jenova cells that prevent him from moving on, but in OTWTAS he's shown to be able to relinquish bits of himself into the Lifestream, namely his memories. The Remnants were able to dissolve as well. And I do believe the canonical explanation was that Sephiroth's hatred and will were simply so strong that he REFUSED to dissolve. Something of that nature.

So in order to escape his own doomed fate, Sephiroth has to CHOOSE to let go. It might not be the comeuppance that his victims would have wanted, but it's the ultimate endgame for every living creature on Gaia. And Sephiroth is human despite everything. He has to let go of himself and move forward in peace.

I remember how Cloud kinda calls Sephiroth back on his BS in the first FF Dissidia game, when Sephiroth accuses Cloud of always having wanted to cling to old memories, and Cloud's answer was that Sephiroth is the one who can't let go. There's also this one in the dissidia game :

Sephiroth : "You cling to me because you can't stand the despair"

Cloud with a poker face : "I don't remember clinging to you"

In my opinion Sephiroth is the one who clings a lot to Cloud ^^' because he's the one who cannot stand the despair of not having a connection that help him retaining a sense of self

“Your friend died in your arms and you didn’t shed a tear.” —Sephiroth to Cloud

ok seph since we’re in Grand Projection Central, which friend died in your arms and you didn’t shed a tear for huh? are you still feeling subconsciously concerned about that?

“All those lives cut short by your hand.”

like the ones in Wutai?

“Is what you’re feeling even real?”

questioning cloud’s humanity huh? sounds familiar.

“Fill your hollow heart with rage so that you may burn your world to the ground—as I did.”

see now we’re not even being subtle smh

Sephiroth is such a loser lmao All he does is project.

Geeze I didn't know Sakura basically harassed Sasuke into reciprocating her feelings. I have the feeling that he didn't sleep with her out of love, but because he thought that maybe she would finally leave him alone if he gave her what she wanted. Then maybe when Sakura became the mother of his child this warranted a new form of fondness from Sasuke toward her, because family is very important to him, but nothing more.

I wish Sakura had been more like she was in some of the Shippuden anime fillers, where she doesn't feel like somoene who's whole existence resolves around one single man's attention

No wonder why Kishimoto called Sakura is a character who is "addicted" to Sasuke, the only good thing that came out of this unheathy addiction is Sarada

And this is why Zoé is one of the best characters of Miraculous and why her relationship with Marinette is one of the things season 4 and season 5 nailed XD especially since their friendship also reflect Marinette's growth in maturity and as a person ^^

The days Zoe loved Marinette

In "Adoration", Zoe reveals to Marinette she had been secretly in love with her since the day they met. Marinette might have felt surprised to learn that she was the ninth grader Zoe was in love with all along, but it wasn’t long before Marinette's moment of surprise quickly turned to realization as she thought back to the time they shared together and realized it was obvious from the start that Zoe was in love with her, it’s just that no one thought to take notice.

Aside from Andre, no one else knew Zoe was in love with Marinette, but looking back, a lot of things that happened around Zoe in past episodes, make a lot more sense now.

Zoe met Marinette the day she arrived to Paris in "Sole Crusher," and at the time, no one knew who she was, making it all the more pleasant for Zoe as it was a brief window of opportunity to show her real personality, before having to hide it to fit the standards of the Bourgeois. Meeting Marinette was a complete contrast to what Zoe normally experienced, but was overall a moment Zoe felt she could genuinely just talk to someone without fearing the consequences that would come from allowing herself to be vulnerable enough to act more like herself.

Obviously Chloe did not hesitate to judge Zoe the moment they met, even threatening to send her back to New York if she didn't fit the family standards, while Audrey in turn saw nothing wrong in Chloe's methods and was more than willing to agree with Chloe for the same reasons. But with Marinette, everything was different. Marinette didn't judge Zoe, she looked at her with honest eyes and noticed she had her unique qualities, but also her share of struggles, all things Chloe and Audrey were quick to reject and ignore, from the unique shoes on her feet, to the way she hinted about her life in New York being anything but happy. Marinette listened to Zoe, she wanted to understand her, and despite not knowing much about her, there she was ready and willing to not only gift Zoe pastries as a way of welcoming her to Paris, but to also ensure the two of them would keep in touch by exchanging numbers.

Marinette gave Zoe her number on a box of macaroons, but it was her heart felt attempts to keep Zoe's number as close to her as possible, on the palm of her hand, that truly made Zoe realize Marinette was a kind and considerate person who wanted to befriend her, rather than expect her to be a certain way in order to obtain that friendship. But in actuality, this little moment always had more to it than the start of a friendship, it was the start of something more. Not long after Zoe wrote her phone number on Marinette's palm, Zoe BLUSHES, hinting she was not only falling for Marinette the moment they met, but that this new love she felt would grow the more Marinette reached out to her and saw through her attempts to fit in with her family, understanding there was something holding het back from being who she truly wanted to be.

(In "Sole Crusher", Zoe blushed at Marinette, revealing the beginning of her love towards Marinette.)

(In Sole Crusher, after Zoe arrived at the Collège Françoise Dupont and felt compelled to insult Marinette to please Chloe, it was Marinette, the one girl who actually got to know her, who understood something was wrong and who was unwilling to push her away without hearing her out.)

 Although Zoe believed she had no other choice but to accept the same fate Andre had, as he too accepted long ago that he would need to abandon his dreams and much of who he was so he could shape himself to fit the standards of the Bourgeois family, it was Marinette who once again tried to reach out to her and told her what she was too afraid to tell herself, that no matter the consequences she feared, she always had a choice to just be herself.

After Zoe was akumatized into Sole Crusher, Shadowmoth pointed out that Zoe was weakening the more she listened to Marinette's words, and of course she did, this one girl(Marinette) whom she had fallen in love with, knew exactly how she was feeling, how frustrated she was to have to hide herself from others and constantly put on a show to pretend her life was fine. And of course Marinette understood how Zoe felt as well as the life Zoe was living, because she too was living that very struggle everyday of her life as Ladybug, and had already known all too well what it was like to have to live a life where she was controlled and judged by Chloe, who expected her to fit the role she had made for her.

(Back in "Heart Hunter", Marinette opened up about her frustrations, one of which was being unable to just be herself, of always having to pretend she was fine for fear of the consequences.)

 Marinette didn't want Zoe to live with the same lonely struggle she had, to constantly hide from others, which is why she was so determined to reach Zoe/Sole Crusher and tell her she didn't have to hide her true self while in Paris.

Marinette did say there would always be someone there to help Zoe up when she is down, if she took that chance to open up to people who actually cared about others, and at the very least, Zoe could place her faith in knowing that someone like Marinette, who never gave up on trying to reach out to her, really would always be there for her, and she was, from the very moment they met.

At the end of "Sole Crusher'', when Zoe shared the macaroons Marinette gifted her with everyone at Anarka's boat, who welcomed her with open arms, there was a subtle moment where Zoe's eye's remained focused on Marinette, that look was not just out of friendship, it was out of love for the girl who gave her the life she never thought she could have.

We even see Nino pointing to a rainbow on the title screen as Zoe happily stood beside him, a hint that Zoe was LGBTQ+. Zoe loved Marinette the day they met, but there was just one problem, it was entirely one sided as Marinette was already in love with Adrien.

Back in "Transmission", when Zoe found out that Marinette was struggling with her love life, she did not hesitate to reach out to her to help. Of course, the situation surrounding Marinette and Adrien's love life was no easy matter to sort through and understand on account of their secret lives as heroes, but out of everyone in their social circle, it was Zoe who said she knew perfectly well just how complicated love can be. She knew because she was secretly facing a complicated love of her own, towards Marinette, that entire time.

And sure, Zoe still had her issues with her family to sort through, but it was precisely her love for Marinette that eventually helped her find the courage she always had to stand up to all of them, and learn to not let their threats continue to control her.

To be the one whom her family mistreated was one thing, but to watch her family mistreat the girl she loved was not something she could bare to stand and watch, which is why in "Deflagration", Zoe took any fear and doubt she had over facing Chloe, and threw it straight out the window, refusing to stand by any longer as Chloe attempted to humiliate Marinette during her special lunch with Adrien. Chloe's threats might have proven effective in the past to make Zoe grovel for forgiveness, but in that moment, Zoe could care less, she’d rather get sent back to New York than have to stand by and watch the girl she loved cry.

(In Transmission", Zoe found the courage to stand up to Chloe for Marinette's sake, and even though she quickly realized she may have to face severe consequences for it later, to see Marinette smile happily at her, thanking her for what she did, made it feel it was all worth while if it meant she helped the girl she loved.)

As tough as it must have been watching Marinette fall head over heels for Adrien, even helping in any plans to help her get closer to him, the one thing Zoe had that likely eased her heartache, was knowing that Marinette was still part of her life and had found happiness with someone who loved her just as much as she did.

In "Adoration", Zoe saw picture after picture of Adrien that Marinette owned, she saw Marinette's constant flustering and embarrassment towards him, her little sketches, her writings and talks about what their future together would be like, Zoe watched it all, and even though she knew every action and every word that came out of Marinette was for someone else, Zoe never reacted negatively towards it, instead, she smiled, smiled at how all those things made Marinette happy and larger than life. At the end of "Adoration", Zoe said she felt there was no point in telling Marinette she loved her if she was already in love with someone else, that doing so would only change, or even ruin, things between them, but thankfully, Marinette thought otherwise

In many ways, Marinette knew the kind of heartache Zoe felt, because she faced the same thing in the season 3 finale, when she tried to give up on telling Adrien she loved him and instead watched him drift towards Kagami, someone she thought Adrien loved and would love him just as much as she did in return.

Yeah, Marinette's situation with Adrien wound up working out as she realized he always loved her, but had she been in the same position Zoe was in, then she would have wanted to take the chance to tell the person she loved how she felt if they were willing to give her that chance, to finally have that weight lifted from her shoulders and allow her to move on with her life, and that is exactly what she gave Zoe, a chance in knowing the person she loved would be willing to listen to her confession.

At the end of "Adoration", Marinette gave Zoe the chance to speak her feelings, and despite Zoe's fears over what could have changed between them as friends in the process, thankfully, nothing did. If anything, the only change that did occur between them, was added respect towards one another in knowing they had both grown as people. Marinette never made any elaborate plans when she thought Zoe was in love with Adrien, and Zoe never broke the boundaries of their friendship to try and make Marinette fall in love with her. The two of them never lost sight of each other and accepted they both needed to be considerate of one another and be clear on how they felt. Marinette couldn’t reciprocate Zoe’s feelings, but this didn’t change the fact that she still loved her just as much as any other good person in her life, she loved everything Zoe did to make her feel better and appreciated everything Zoe did to look out for her in her most dire of times, such as when Chloe blamed her for stealing. Instead of ignoring Zoe’s confession, Marinette chose to acknowledge Zoe's feelings, giving her a proper rejection.

(Despite not feeling romantically drawn to Zoe, Marinette was still flattered by someone as wonderful as Zoe would fall in love with her.)

Zoe was always aware her love towards Marinette was entirely one sided, and even though she knew a romantic future with Marinette would never be possible, to know that Marinette valued her so much and thought so highly of her, meant more to her than anything, giving her the peace she never knew she wanted, and the confidence she needed to keep being that amazing girl Marinette said anyone would be honored to be loved by.

You know what would be a terrific change of pace for season 6?

Not having a villain to defeat every single episode.

Lila is cunning. Lila doesn't need to rely on powers to pull strings.

She can definitely use the miraculous, of course, but in secret and only to boost the effectiveness of her lies. She akumatizes herself in different ways to try to bring down Marinette or to slander Ladybug, only it never works...

Because, in a strange twist, instead of Ladybug saving the day, Marinette does. Marinette works together with her friends to restore the reputations of people that Lila tries to destroy.

Maybe Lila spreads misinformation, maybe she creates fake videos, maybe she gives herself the power to spread rumours that people will believe, etc.

But also, maybe season 6 should be about Adrien and Marinette being heroes without using their masks as much?

Just something I like to think about

I sure still not feel ready for season 6 ^^'. On another hand it would be funny if any potential scheme for Lila/Cerise/Iris to keep ruining Marinette's reputation or even Ladybug's in season 6 may be secretly foiled by Felix on numerous occasions ^^

Remember when Felix took Kagami's ring and replaced it with a fake, so when Tomoe ordered Kagami to give her back the ring so her mother would be able to fully control Kagami's actions like Gabriel is doing with Adrien, Felix's plan saved Kagami from that fate ? He fooled both Kagami and her mother but by doing that he saved Kagami from being abusivelly controlled by Tomoe in season 6 and havig her free will taken from her.

I want to see those same tactics of Felix in season 6 as long s it help Maribug in the long run

I was just thinking that given that Lila/Cerise is going to be a/the main antagonist in the future, it's a good thing that the Miraculous team now seem to have Félix on their side (and in their friend group too I suppose) as he might be the only one who will be able to see through her future's alias lies.

I mean, sure Marinette saw through her the first time, but not only was her jealousy over Adrien a major factor, she also knew for a fact that Lila didn't know Ladybug.

Similarly, Adrien, being Chat Noir, could find it suspect that Ladybug would be friend with a civilan, let alone one who talked about it so freely. What's more, while he might be a bit naive at times, his fame has him used to liars up to a point.

The rest of their friends though all seem pretty willing to trust her. I guess the only odd-one-out is Luka who I believe never interacted with her.

If she goes with more subtle lies, the way I seem to remember she did with Kagami, not lies about extraordinary achievements or famous acquaintances, but lies or implicit suggestions about interpersonal relationships, I'm not sure any if the Miraculous holders will see through it.

Félix might be the only exception in my eyes. While he seems to be somewhat sheltered, like Adrien and Kagami, and thus not the best when it comes to social cues and conventions, he is the most wary, the one most used to fend for himself. He is naturally suspicious where Adrien would give people the benefit of the doubt. I'm not sure if his Miraculous might give him an additional advantage (make him some kind of empath), but that's also something to keep in mind. His own acting skill might be, to our knowledge, limited to imitating his cousin, but his skills as a magician might help him catch Lila/Cerise red-handed at some point. And he has shown an ability to come up with ambitious plans and to achieve his goals through a variety of means that only Lila/Cerise can rival with so far.

The rest of them are just too "innocent".

Though Luka could also be a candidate, due to his "empath" music skills.

For both of them though, there is the question of how much interaction they might actually have with Lila/Cerise as they have been rather secondary characters so far. And the show seems to stubbornly only focus on Marinette/Ladybug, and Adrien/Chat Noir to a lesser extent. The start of a new villain arc would be a great time to change the dynamic, but I'm not very optimistic regarding the probability of this actually happening (this is a kids' show with a vested (economic) interest to keep focusing on the friendly heroine and her cool & gentlemanly sidekick, rather than the deeper, somewhat ambivalent secondary characters).

In the end I wouldn't be surprised if they have Marinette being the one to see through her because of Lila/Cerise's animosity towards her and Ladybug. Possibly with Adrien/Chat Noir being taken advantage of, with the true circumstances of his father's death being kept from him by Ladybug, and Lila/Cerise telling him the truth or something close to it, plus not having "been there to save his father" and him still being just "one of the (Miraculous) team" getting to him.

If they are going to stick to Marinette and Adrien instead of giving a bigger role to secondary characters, let's hope they at least make it somewhat interesting by having Marinette completely falling for the "new girl's" friendly attitude and Adrien being the suspicious one.

But yeah, fingers crossed for more Félix screen time (he's definitely the most interesting character so far, toeing the line between "good and bad") and him being key to "defeating" Lila/Cerise. And in general to more "mature" storylines than what we've had so far. And/or more realistic ones.

Felix better be a good ally to Marinette in season 6 to make up for the end of season 4 and for not helping at all during the Final fight in season 5.

Don't dissapoint me Felix please >_<

I was just thinking that given that Lila/Cerise is going to be a/the main antagonist in the future, it's a good thing that the Miraculous team now seem to have Félix on their side (and in their friend group too I suppose) as he might be the only one who will be able to see through her future's alias lies.

I mean, sure Marinette saw through her the first time, but not only was her jealousy over Adrien a major factor, she also knew for a fact that Lila didn't know Ladybug.

Similarly, Adrien, being Chat Noir, could find it suspect that Ladybug would be friend with a civilan, let alone one who talked about it so freely. What's more, while he might be a bit naive at times, his fame has him used to liars up to a point.

The rest of their friends though all seem pretty willing to trust her. I guess the only odd-one-out is Luka who I believe never interacted with her.

If she goes with more subtle lies, the way I seem to remember she did with Kagami, not lies about extraordinary achievements or famous acquaintances, but lies or implicit suggestions about interpersonal relationships, I'm not sure any if the Miraculous holders will see through it.

Félix might be the only exception in my eyes. While he seems to be somewhat sheltered, like Adrien and Kagami, and thus not the best when it comes to social cues and conventions, he is the most wary, the one most used to fend for himself. He is naturally suspicious where Adrien would give people the benefit of the doubt. I'm not sure if his Miraculous might give him an additional advantage (make him some kind of empath), but that's also something to keep in mind. His own acting skill might be, to our knowledge, limited to imitating his cousin, but his skills as a magician might help him catch Lila/Cerise red-handed at some point. And he has shown an ability to come up with ambitious plans and to achieve his goals through a variety of means that only Lila/Cerise can rival with so far.

The rest of them are just too "innocent".

Though Luka could also be a candidate, due to his "empath" music skills.

For both of them though, there is the question of how much interaction they might actually have with Lila/Cerise as they have been rather secondary characters so far. And the show seems to stubbornly only focus on Marinette/Ladybug, and Adrien/Chat Noir to a lesser extent. The start of a new villain arc would be a great time to change the dynamic, but I'm not very optimistic regarding the probability of this actually happening (this is a kids' show with a vested (economic) interest to keep focusing on the friendly heroine and her cool & gentlemanly sidekick, rather than the deeper, somewhat ambivalent secondary characters).

In the end I wouldn't be surprised if they have Marinette being the one to see through her because of Lila/Cerise's animosity towards her and Ladybug. Possibly with Adrien/Chat Noir being taken advantage of, with the true circumstances of his father's death being kept from him by Ladybug, and Lila/Cerise telling him the truth or something close to it, plus not having "been there to save his father" and him still being just "one of the (Miraculous) team" getting to him.

If they are going to stick to Marinette and Adrien instead of giving a bigger role to secondary characters, let's hope they at least make it somewhat interesting by having Marinette completely falling for the "new girl's" friendly attitude and Adrien being the suspicious one.

But yeah, fingers crossed for more Félix screen time (he's definitely the most interesting character so far, toeing the line between "good and bad") and him being key to "defeating" Lila/Cerise. And in general to more "mature" storylines than what we've had so far. And/or more realistic ones.

Oh My gosh I love this idea and perpective so much T^T

Many fans including myself are apprehensive about how Cloud's relationship with his companions may change for the worst at the start of Part 3 after everyone has witnessed Cloud's descent into dementia in the previous game T_T.

However, despite the fact that Cloud is in full denial of Aerith's death at the end of Rebirth, to me his date with her in Aerith's dream world showed that it was still possible for the real Cloud to emerge a few more times before they reach the Northern Crater (There was no longer any trace of the unhinged Cloud from the Temple of the ancient in is behavior when he was in Aerith's dream world). I like to imagine that while Barret, Tifa, Yuffie Nanaki and Cid will become more and more uncomfortable and disheartened as they see Cloud presumably being dominated by what they think is the SOLDIER's degradation, Vincent who is himself a host for demons that he probably had difficulty learning to control, would try to approach Cloud first to monitor him, then later to better understand him and maybe try to help him (as Vincent is more empathetic than we may beleive at first glance).

In any case, before we reach the Northern Crater in Part 3, I want for Cloud to have the time in the Iccicle Area for example to develop bonds with Vincent. And I also want for the players to be reminded of the others bonds Cloud already formed with the rest of the team, if only so that the temporary loss of Cloud at the end of the Northern Crater section will hurt even more than in OG.

And when Cloud is among us again, it would be a greatto see him and Vincent find a new understanding and complicity between each other, and for them to put an end to this Hojo trash once and for all, in a section of the game where we would play Cloud Vincent and Nanaki (all three being the greatest victims of Hojo among our playable characters outside of Zack and Aerith, who I beleiev will also be playable again in Part 3)

Let's go farther and imagine Cloud and Vincent finding Lucrecia in the mako cave where she hid, because I think there's also a slight parallel between Lucrecia and Cloud which has never been addressed : she cannot die because of the Jenova's cells inside of her which prevent her not only to age but also to commit suicide, while with Cloud, Sephiroth himself declared that he would not let him end, which may imply that if Sephiroth achieved his plans and his control over Cloud was total, he could even prevent him from dying of old age. Now, if I remember correctly Vincent is supposed to be also immortal in terms of age.

A potential Father-son relationship between Vincent and Cloud is somethingI've only ever seen and considered in fanfics, but I'd be happy to see this possibility become canonical.

One of the things I like when I think about the "Father Vincent" theory is how it could change the relationship with Cloud. Let me explain better, starting from an assumption. Whether Vincent is Sephiroth's biological father or not, he is incapable of hurting Sephiroth. He would like to, but he can't. It would be right to prevent the genocidal madman from carrying out his plans, but Sephiroth is the son of his beloved Lucrecia. And he also feels responsible for what was done to him when he was still a fetus. Even in this case Vincent is divided, torn between what is right and what he loves. Also crushed by feelings of guilt. So when he meets Cloud and the others, he sees an opportunity. He can't, he just can't, eliminate Sephiroth from the world. But Cloud can. And helping Cloud becomes the way he can do the right thing. From then on the two develop a relationship based on mutual respect and understanding, especially given that they have both experienced similar traumas. What would change if Vincent was Sephiroth's father? Here too I must make a premise, because Vincent could never be certain of a possible paternity. Just a suspicion. A worm that consumes his brain, probably. Only Lucrecia or Hojo could know the truth. In any case, this possibility would change Vincent's mental predisposition. Thinking of having a child, imagining himself as a father, would inevitably change his attitude. An opening would be created, a mental space solely for this new existence potentially created by him. In Vincent's case we would obviously be talking about an empty space. But suddenly this blond boy comes along and somehow forces him to face everything. A boy who needs help fighting the battle of his life, who lost five years of his life to the same project that ruined Sephiroth's. A boy for whom there is still hope, unlike the other. A boy who grew up without the figure of his father and who carries within him an empty space complementary to his own. In this context, the relationship between Vincent and Cloud would acquire new nuances. And I like to think of this paternal Vincent Valentine taking Cloud Strife under his membranous wing. In his own way, of course.

Check reblogs for Part 2!

Supporting my instagram page is also appreciated!

You summerized pretty well why I love FF7 Rebirth TvT It's so heartbreaking to see the Real Cloud break through his SOLDIER armor making up personna, only for Sephiroth and Jenova to further damage Cloud's psyche in the game to the point that a majority beleive that Cloud completly lost it at the end of Rebirth T_T

And yep I'm also a multishipper for Cloud he's just that shippable with more than one or two characters in this new F7 trilogy XD It doesn't matter to me who Cloud ends up with as long as he's happy (although Sephiroth is clearly the toxic manipulative and not at all healthy relationship so Cloud better avoid that one ^^) so I'm honestly baffled that the Cloti and Clerith ship war is making such a fuss as if the players's life depended on it. I just agree that one can love more than one person as strongly and romantically and that Cloud may have had feelings for both Aerith and Tifa and that it is best that he'll focus on those feelings when this war against Sephiroth and Shinra is finally over and behind him.

And the character development is one of the best there is in video games history, I so love what they've done with Yuffie, Barret and Nanaki's characters and their respectives interractions with Cloud (Platonic love is as important and can be as strong as romantic love and its a pity the fans seem to focus so much on Cloud romantic relationships with either Aerith or Tifa instead of his others relationship with all his party members). Even Cait Sith in Rebirth was so much more well done and written than in OG

Are ya'll ready for: El seriously overthinks video games + minor FF7 Rebirth spoilers hour?

I'm finishing up the mission on Junon where Cloud and Co go undercover and just watching Cloud lose himself in the role, genuinely getting ATTACHED to the Seventh Infantry and me then having to escort my baby infantry ducklings around as they murder other Shinra troops out of the mistaken belief they are on the other side made me FEEL A LOT OF THINGS. Like holy shit that’s insane even typing it out. And kinda dark and a little twisted. And potentially fucks those poor Infantry troops over yet they are STILL rode or die for Cloud. I wasn't expecting to get socked in the feels as much as I did.

Because Cloud is so detached and emotionally standoffish, watching him seriously get into the role of playing at the Captain of the Seventh Infantry is hella significant.

And I think it's because it's so familiar and something he is missing. He misses the camaraderie and brotherhood of serving. Sure, he moved onto becoming a SOLDIER and who was his damn role model/sempai? Zack Fair who is one of the most big-hearted, best big brother energy dude ever. So of course he would subconsciously internalize that's what a good leader should do. Sure, there was also Sephiroth but he's clearly the worst and reflects what bad leadership skills would be.

So yeah, I think there's a part of Cloud that misses serving, or at least misses that sense of brotherhood. He's been a lone wolf for so long, I can't imagine he's not starved for that kind of connection. It's also prolly easier and less complicated than the relationships he has with the main party.

Okay so that's me being all philosophical. Now let me be a degenerate and horny on main for a second.

Holy fuck nuggets Rufus is so hot. He's ALWAYS been hot but he's especially hot and v. Ice Prince-y and I fucking love it. I am laughing at the absurdity of his clothing and how it continually gets more complicated and ridiculous. He legitimately looks like he's wearing a fucking farthingale with that ridiculous belt collection he's wearing. Or yanno....bdsm gear. XD

Somehow they have managed to take Roche who was already at Maito Gai levels of over the time 100% energy and made him even MORE ridiculously and over the top. I lowkey wish he would stop talking. I have an excellent solution on how to do that and that is for Cloud to shut him up by fucking him until his brains bleed out of his ears over his stupid bike. Or yanno, there are other ways to shut him up varying from gag and other creative things to occupy his mouth with.

Even though it's clear Cloud is pretty hetero-coded but after like 25 years of soooooo much Sephiroth/Cloud, Zack/Cloud fan content, I don't think that's going to stop the internet (or myself) from shipping him like a fandom bike. Hell I actually love Cloud/Tifa cause I am a disgusting multi-shipper.

Ahem. Anyway I hope Cloud gets to reunite with his Seventh Infantry people at some point. I think I'm like.....1/3 of the way through the game and holy shit. I've discovered I detest minigames. I love side-missions in games but fuck DDR minigames or that damn in real time strategy game Fort Condor. There's a reason I've never been interested in FF Tactics.

EDIT: OMG Red XIII going full on Karen Mode and demanding to speak to the bartender/employee who won’t let him play in the Queen’s Blood tournament because he’s an ‘animal’ is the funniest shit I’ve seen so far in this game. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

EDIT 2: never mind, Red going full on Chester Cheetah/Michael Jackson absolutely takes the cake. I’m ded.  I also stayed up way too late beaten this freaking queens blood tournament mini game and I really gotta go to bed now.

Because of Cloud's mental fragility, it's easy to underestimate his resilience, Cloud is not only physically very tough, but I think that his will power is stronger than we think. Cloud may just need the right actions, words and motivation to help him snap out of Sephiroth's control and influence. And while near the end of Rebirth now Cloud's companions are walking on eggshells with him and scared to make things worse if they take action during Cloud's unhinged episodes, I beleive they are able to still find and reach a part of Cloud who would be willing to fight back against Sephiroth's influence for Part 3. And a good slap may have helped with that ^^

While Cloud seems powerless against Sephiroth's control in Rebirth, there are still little clues that things may not be as hopeless as some fans beleive, as other have noticed those encouraging signs

That and also the fact that in the Forgotten City, Sephiroth doesnt use his mind control power on Cloud to force him to kill Aerith, but instead chose to use the black whispers he controls for that, instead of just directly hijacking Cloud's body

Which makes me convinced that the reason of Cloud most unhinged episodes was a combination of external factors. Let's remember that Cloud is the most susceptible to Sephiroth's control when his own mind is either weakened or filled with doubt.

From the start of Rebirth Sephiroth tries several times to make Cloud believe that the Tifa at his side is a Jenova clone impostor, and Cloud finally gives in tothose doubts and attacks Tifa right after Sephiroth hijacked his body, and in a context where Cloud once again suffers the symptoms of mako poisoning, making him mentally weaker.

Cloud in the Temple of the Ancient is being influenced by Sephiroth into being colder, more ruthless and merciless, and borderline insane and obsessed with getting the black materia due to Sephiroth having harassed his mind numerous times before with the order "bring me the black materia" against which Cloud can hardly fight given that Sephiroth's will is present even in his very cells, a gift from that trashbag Hojo. And Cloud is at a stage where he is terrified of suffering the effects of SOLDIER degradation and becoming a black robed zombie. It didn't help to have seen Broden and especially Roche suffer this terrible fate (knowing that they meet blac robed Roche as soon as they set foot in the temple of the ancients on top of that, so a charming reminder of what awaits Cloud). Basically by the time we reach the Temple of the Ancient, Cloud is mentally at his most vulnerable state, easier for Sephiroth to influence and control, and none of his friends really know how to help him

What I'm trying to say is that fighting against Sephiroth's control is the most challenging thing for Cloud, and that is why his friends are the key to help him fight his nemesis's influence even if for now they're at lost to what to do. Which is why I'm very scared that Part 3 might make Cloud temporarilly lose this support he desperatly need

There must be a reason why Sephiroth tried to isolate Cloud from the others during the succession of final bosses, a reason why he quickly separated Zack from Cloud after one boss battle, and why he seems pissed off that Aerith' came to help Cloud in the final phase of his boss battle

Finally finished Rebirth! Gonna be honest I feel like a few good bitch slaps would've knocked Cloud out of Sephiroth/Reunion mind control. And someone screaming "get it together" right in his face.