#I swear one day I'm gonna write a literal novel out of my analysis

[onewingedxngel]

Get me out of doubt once and for all, Sephiroth is a villain or an antagonist?

I think he’s both. 

He’s irrefutably an antagonist, since he stands as the main obstacle to the protagonist (Cloud). This is simply a fact of the story.

A villain? Absolutely! He kills innocents without mercy and wishes to destroy every life form on the planet, as well as the planet itself; which is a goal borne from his own rage and pain. He is not acting out of concern for a greater good (which could be argued if his only goal was to destroy humanity alone, or a large portion of it), but rather, to further his own wants. He destroys for himself, and not some greater reason.

BUT. At the same time, he is very much a victim. He isn’t just evil for the sake of being evil, and he doesn’t go around killing others ‘for the LOLZ’. 

He was created by humans to be used by them, initially to find the promised land, and when it turned out this was not possible, he was then manipulated and trained to become the personal weapon of the mega-corporation that created him. This was all out of his control. From a young age, he was raised to kill (as shown in how he, going off the timeline, began to fight against Wutai around 11/12 years old, and was very successful in doing so). He was genetically enhanced with strength and power beyond anything that lived on Gaia, and made to use it to further the interests of Shinra. Judging from how he was raised, his violent actions are in no way a surprise, because it’s all he’s ever really known.

Also, the fact that he was so suddenly faced with the truth behind his existence. That he only exists because humans wanted to use him. He is not the miracle he was raised to believe, he is a genetically engineered abomination that should have never existed at all– and the only reason he does is because of human greed. This realisation that everything he ever was, and ever will be, only occured because some scientists wished to exploit him. Even one of the few people he ever trusted in his life, Professor Gast, had been a leader and avid supporter of the project that created him, only backing out when he realised JENOVA was not a Cetra– and, by extension, Sephiroth was a failed result of the experiment.

You also need to consider that, when he realised the truth... he was completely alone. Not only did he realise that he should not exist, that everything he’d known was a lie... he also had no one to turn to. Professor Gast, who is implied to have been like a father to him... even he was a part of the lies. And Zack, arguably his closest friend in the OG game... he barely bothered to check up on him during the days he’d locked himself in the library, tormented by his revelation.

His hatred for humanity, for all living things, for the planet itself, his lack of remorse, the joy he takes in the pain of others... it is all born from his agony. And, although this is my interpretation, I think his wish to ascend into a God is born from his will to defy not just the humans, but the very world that created him.

So. Sephiroth is an antagonist. And I’d certainly say he is a villain. But he is a tragic and sympathetic one, to the point where I wouldn’t call him evil. His actions, sure, but him? No. He is a victim of his circumstances, of human greed; and his tragedy is that he simply cannot exist out of said circumstances. I’ve said this before, but Sephiroth would not be Sephiroth without the horrific experiments that lead to his existence.

Also I totally want him to win regardless

#anonymous #ask #mun #(ooc) #headcanon #Ramblings #jesus... what a surprise THIS GOT WAYYYYYYY LONGER THAN INTENDED #one of y'all: *asks a simple one-sentence question* #Me: *pulls this shit* #I swear one day I'm gonna write a literal novel out of my analysis