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100wendybirds · 4 years

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FF7 Remake: Translation Matters!

We’ve been playing FF7R. Never having been a fan of the original, I had no idea there were “fan wars” about Cloud’s romantic choices. But it was interesting to see how much the translations differences impact how you’d react to and understand Cloud’s relationship with Tifa or Aerith. Case in Point: Chapter 4 “Alone at Last.” We play the game in English since my husband doesn’t know Japanese. I rewatched this cut scene in Japanese and the differences are clear. The following is the entire scene that I translated as a more faithful expression of what is in Japanese. In parenthesis, I added the official English script. After that is any commentary on how differently this would portray Tifa and Cloud. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIBNnaungMk *** After she finishes changing her filter, Tifa gets very close to Cloud. She is so close that you can hear Cloud breath out heavily. They are ALONE AT LAST after all. Then she says: “So tell me...about after you left the village.” (Eng: So. After you left the village.) Cloud is surprised by her question. “Huh?” he blinks. (Eng: “Hm?”) “You promised, right? Remember, back at the hall?” (Eng: “I let you off the hook before. Back at the Hall. But not this time.”)

Comment: The English makes Tifa look incredibly pushy, as though she has the power to make Cloud talk. The Japanese is much more neutral and simply references an earlier conversation they had.”

“During the war, SOLDIERS were treated as heroes.” (Eng: Well, when we were kids...everyone wanted to be a SOLDIER, right?”) “Mm, I saw them on the news every day.” (Eng: Yeah, I remember they were on the news every day during the war.”) “But, by the time that I became a SOLDIER, the circumstances had changed. It was nothing like the job that we dreamed of. It was just working for SHINRA. Just a...” (Eng: “Thing is, by the time I finally made it in, they didn’t need heroes anymore. It was nothing like what we'd dreamt of. It was...just working for SHINRA. Just...”). “I’m sorry. You don’t want to talk about it, right?” (Eng: I’m sorry. I know it’s a touchy subject.”)

Comment: The English makes it seem like Tifa is pressing on a sensitive topic despite already knowing it is touchy. The Japanese makes it seem like Tifa is realizing that this is something Cloud doesn’t want to talk about.

“It’s a job that involves weapons. (literally: 剣を使う仕事だ。）It’s not a conversation to have when catching up with someone.” (Eng: Not exactly small talk. Especially with someone you haven’t seen in a while.)

Comment: In English, Cloud seems to push Tifa away and emphasize their distance from each other. They are not close enough to talk about something so serious. In Japanese, it sounds like Cloud is protecting Tifa from hearing about the disturbing things he had to do in his job.

“Yeah. I understand.” (Eng: I get it.)

Comment: In both English and Japanese, Tifa seems to be saying that she understands on a deeper level. She herself has had traumatic experiences over the last few years since leaving their destroyed village.

“But, isn’t it strange? When we went our separate ways back there, thinking we were parting forever...to think we’d see each other again in a place like this. Oh! Let’s celebrate our reunion! Let’s totally get dressed up!” (Eng: Still, it’s kinda funny. Us going our separate ways, thinking that must be it...that we’d never meet again - and then here, of all places, we do. You know what? We should totally celebrate. Let’s dress up and hit the town!” “Dressed up?” (Eng: “Really?”)

Comment: Cloud is skeptical about dressing up. In English, he seems skeptical about...well, it is vague enough to be about the entire idea. But right after that, the camera pans up their bodies to show us how they are dressed.

“Even I get dressed up too you know!” (Eng: I mean, why not? It’ll be fun!”) “Do you even have something to wear?” (Eng: Do you even have fancy clothes?”) “No but I’ll get ready somehow. What do you think would suit me?” (Eng: Not like fancy fancy but I’ll figure something out. What do you think would suit me?”)

Comment: As in the previous translation choice, Tifa’s reaction in English seems like she is awkwardly reacting to Cloud’s potential rejection of her date idea. However in Japanese, it is very clear that Tifa is feeling defensive and embarrassed about how she is dressed. This is why she crosses her arms across her body. She seems to be self conscious about her slum-outfit and that she is not someone who gets prettied up. This makes sense in light of the flashbacks when she was much more feminine (frilly white dress, frilly blue dress) and in the way she acts as a comparison point to the very feminine Aerith.

Finally... “It sure is nice to make fun plans.” (Eng: “This is gonna be so much fun, you’ll see!) “Yeah, it is nice.” (Eng: “Yeah...maybe.”) “Well then, on that happy note, shall we head to the shop?” (Eng: And on that happy note, I think it’s time we headed back to the bar. C’mon!”)

Comment: In Japanese, it is clear that Tifa is happy to be able to make fun plans. Cloud agrees. This seems to be a direct reference to their Avalanche plans, which are definitely not fun! The English is VERY different. It presents Cloud as unsure about the entire idea. Tifa is, again, presented as pushy and controlling.

“You’re okay without taking a rest?” (Eng: “Uh, you don’t need a break?” “It’d be a waste of time. But keep that a secret from Marle.” (Eng: “Honestly, I’m feeling pretty good. Marle isn’t always right you know.”

Comment: Tifa does not want to waste any time she has with Cloud. The entire scene is pretty romantic (thirsty!?) but that clinches it for me. In English, the response is vague - Tifa feels good. Does that just mean she has the energy to keep running errands?

***

When playing the game in English, I had no strong feeling towards Tifa but thought these scenes were awkward. Like, so many girls throwing themselves at Cloud! But when rewatching the game in Japanese, I found myself liking her quite a bit and finding these interactions to be incredibly sweet. Translation matters!!

#tifa #cloud strife #ff7r #ff7 remake #cloti #tifa x cloud #my translations

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silver-wield · 4 years

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FF7R: The Cloud Narrative

While in the middle of one of my replays that involved making different choices for Cloud to get other stuff, I started thinking, “What would Cloud choose?”

And that got me thinking some more about the fact we say it's all what Cloud would choose, but really, it's what we pick to get the best story that suits our preferences.

And since I'm that kind of dork, I decided to replay and let Cloud's personality and development lead me to make the choices so I could try and see what Cloud would've chosen if he had autonomy. It makes for a slightly different game than the one I usually play, but it was fun really thinking over the options and deciding how Cloud would react to every situation and whether he'd choose to engage with it or not.

I didn't actually remember to grab every screenshot of my playthrough, so some of these are from Youtube, but the decisions I say I made are the ones I made because why would I lie?

Ok, let's mosey...

Spoiler warning for ppl who haven’t played – do I still need to do this? Eh ok, (I tag FF7R spoilers as final fantasy 7 remake spoilers) and it’s gonna be long.

The opening decision is in Chapter 2 when we first meet Aerith. None of these decisions affect anything within the game to do with the resolution, it just makes either girl react differently to Cloud.

I'm sure some people would argue he'd buy it because Aerith, but he doesn't know her, has no obligation to be nice to her – especially compared to the Avalanche crew who he needed to rely on back in the reactor and he was a dick to them – he's in a rush and has no reason to buy flowers unless people want to assume he already had Tifa in mind the moment Aerith mentioned it. If we do choose the option to buy it right away, Aerith flirts a little and slots the flower into Cloud's shoulder strap over his heart. We get none of the extended dialogue if we choose this option. For those people who say the more someone talks is a sign of canon, this would make the “how much” option the non-canon choice because it contains the least amount of dialogue and time they spend together.

If we choose “I'm good,” then we hear Aerith insisting he takes it by saying, “When was the last time you saw a real one,” and adding that “it'll make your girlfriend's day.”

Then we get the automatic line from Cloud that happened when we originally chose “how much.”

After some more dialogue from Aerith another choice occurs, one which can make Cloud sound like a royal shitbag or not.

I think everyone would agree that Cloud purposely pissing off a total stranger is out of character, and if you choose the second option he doesn't actually speak and Aerith goes straight into her line about how “lovers used to give these when they were reunited.”

For my choices as Cloud I said, “I'm good,” and then when she insisted, I agreed to take it because to me – and this is how I always answer – it feels the most Cloud kind of answer.

Chapter 3

The next choice Cloud's presented with is during chapter 3 when Tifa offers him a drink. No matter which choice you make he calls Tifa beautiful as the outcome.

By answering “something hard” Tifa goes into her cocktail making routine before pouring Cloud a drink that looks suspiciously like piss, but is actually meant to represent the colour of his hair. Hard and bitter. Like him. He doesn't like it. Colour me shocked. She then goes on to make the red drink that's a representation of her eye colour. This is when Cloud raises the glass and makes the “beautiful” comment.

If you choose the refuse option, Tifa replies that “if you were in the mood” and then goes into the same drinks making routine as the first option, with the exact same dialogue and outcome between them. (And now I know it's almost identical I wonder why the devs did it? It seems like a straw man option tbf. There's no real choice or changes to the dialogue and it's like it's been put there to give the illusion of it being optional).

Since Cloud is secretly into Tifa I figured he'd choose “something hard and bitter” as a way to try and show off how tough he is. However, it’s worth noting that Cloud isn’t a big drinker and only drinks when he’s in a low mood. He’s pretty happy here, so I’d say in general he wouldn’t drink, but because he’s only recently reunited with Tifa he still wants to impress her. So yeah, to drink.

The next chance for Cloud to have a choice concerns the chapter 3 side quests that open up the alone at last which goes towards choosing a dress for Tifa later in chapter 9. If you don't finish the quests or miss alone at last you always get Tifa's blue dress and moon charm earring. That is her canon outfit.

The quests for chapter 3 are all monster related apart from one – which I'll get to in a minute.

Chadley's report involves scanning monsters for data and killing them. Rat problem comes from the item vendor and involves killing doomrats.

Nuisance in the factory involves killing drakes.

On the prowl involves going after a shinra dog thing

Just flew in from the graveyard involves a larger drake.

These are all the type of job that Cloud would accept without thinking about it too much. He's a merc, he's getting paid to kill monsters. It'll show off his skills and build his rep and as Tifa says, the better his rep the more he gets paid. These five quests are ones Cloud would take because that's the type of person he thinks he should be. The monster slayer.

As for quest 4, lost friends, I initially said that Cloud would avoid this because it involves two things he isn't good with: kids and animals. Now, I've heard from people that by AC Cloud is actually pretty good around kids, and I agree, he's got a lot of love from them by this point. But that's at least two years away from now and he's not even slightly good around kids and actively avoids them. Cats seem to have a grudge against him, too, at this point in the game – though Wedge's cat mellows towards him after he helps out. These were my reasons for deciding to avoid this quest because Cloud just wouldn't do it. Then, once I got to it, I realised the reason why Cloud would do it.

Tifa.

Tifa likes kids and animals. Now, as a respectful type of girl, she doesn't usually push Cloud to do things he doesn't want to. She's always considerate to his feelings and to others too. In this case, though, she's not focused on Cloud and if he'd want to do this job, but on helping out a little girl. Cloud's been running around doing jobs all morning, so Tifa's related him to the task of finding the cats.

Usually Cloud would refuse to something that's so obviously beneath his skills, but because it's Tifa who's asking, he agrees.

Alone at last triggers and we get to view a moment between Cloud and Tifa that ends in him choosing a dress for her. Alone as last is narrative canon whether we choose to see it or not because of other hints in the game that refer back to the conversation they had. While they talk about the past we get an above view of the rug that has a reunion flower pattern on it. Tifa and Cloud both take steps towards each other during this scene, which symbolises their closing the emotional distance that's between them.

This choice changes nothing about the game and only matters if you want to go for the dressed to the nines achievement.

If you choose the top option – for her canon outfit, Tifa replies “Yeah, I guess we aren't kids anymore.” If you choose the second option she says, “That's not much different to my regular style.”

If you choose the exotic outfit she says, “really?” and acts a little awkward about it.

She then asks Cloud to dress to match her. The dresses he wears during wall market all have a similar style to Tifa's options, showing he did dress to match her. The narrative canon choice for which dress Cloud eventually went with is something I'll be bringing up later.

By choosing the canon outfit option and getting Tifa's canon dialogue we get a reference to the fact they've known each other for a long time. This ties into the conversation they had which also touched on their shared history. This is a background development scene between them, but isn't necessary to know because we get other info about them over the rest of the game. This extra bit of dialogue is to increase our knowledge of Cloud and Tifa, both separately and together.

Chapter Four

Jessie’s bike ride, which isn’t optional in the sense you can choose how it goes. The result depends on how good you are at the minigame. However, since there’s three endings, this is a choice based result.

Are you, Cloud? Really? When did you get that SOLDIER mandatory training? Of the three optional endings, the narrative canon that makes the most sense is Cloud being really bad at it. This is his first time doing any of that, but it gives him the crash course he needs for later in the Shinra building when he does all those fancy moves. Cloud owes Roche some props for observational bike stunting.

Chapter Five

And our next canon narrative choice is between making Cloud look incompetent at his job or choosing to have an intimate moment with his one true love. Well, seeing how the cloti roll is in the ultimania we know this is the correct narrative choice.

Chapter 8

There's a long gap between chapter 5 and the next option we get for Cloud. Once we meet Aerith again and get her back to Sector 5, we go into her side quests and optional discovery. Aerith's side quests are tied to what dress she later wears during chapter 9.

The side quests for Aerith's chapter are split into groups of 3. This means that by unlocking one, you get the further quests on that branch. One branch is more of a Cloud oriented style set of quests, while the other involves the thing he doesn't do well around: kids.

Kids on patrol → A verified hero + Angel of the slums

Weapons on a rampage → Paying respects + moogle merchant.

If you don't complete kids on patrol first then the other two don't unlock. One of these further quests involves more kids and playing with them. Not really Cloud type activities and unlike with chapter 3 where he'd do something because Tifa asked, he's not got that type of relationship with Aerith that he'd be willing to do stuff that he doesn't want to just to impress her.

Breakdown of sidequests in sector 5 and NPC background dialogues.

Weapons on a rampage is more his style of quest, which leads to the NPC who set it to ask a further favour. This links to the next quest where you have to pay respects for the old man. The thing is, he doesn't have the graveyard key, which leads to the next quest where we have to go buy it off Moggie. This is the only kid related quest on this branch and it's over in moments. Cloud has the minimum amount of contact with Moggie and doesn't show any kind of tolerance towards her while he's talking. There's also no apology for his behaviour – unlike when he said to Tifa he was doing his best when she scolded him for being rude.

The way these quests are set out in blocks of three and the fact one half is heavily reliant on child interaction – which Cloud wouldn't do at this point in his development or association with Aerith – leads me to believe he wouldn't agree to these quests. This means the language of flowers discovery doesn't trigger and Aerith ends up in her second option dress – which I've theorised is her canon outfit because of its design similarity to the OG version, her reaction to the dress, the fact that in OG, Aerith chose her own dress, the hairstyle and accessory match the OG style and Cloud's reaction is a very Cloud reaction to have, compared to the other two outfits – the bad dress has dogs and rats following her and the red dress is so ott she's swarmed by fans, a red carpet and so on, but also her accessories don't fit her symbolism theme of flowers because she's wearing stars.

With all of the above in mind, I surmised Cloud would do the monster hunt branch of quests and quit while he was ahead.

Chapter 9

Where before we had a few choices happening, once we hit Wall Market we're inundated with options that affect Cloud's outfit later on. They also showcase what kind of morals Cloud has. Either way, it's canonically easier to get Chocobo Sam's pts higher than Madam M's, leading me to believe he is the canon narrative choice for this section and that Cloud's black and blue corset dress is the one he ends up wearing.

This contradicts my previous theory about the ultimania in which Cloud is shown very uncomfortable in the loli outfit, which led me to believe that was the one he ended up in if he made the choices in Wall Market. I now believe it's because if you pick this outfit it's his “bad ending”, worse than if you don't make any effort and get the plain black and grey dress.

The maximum amount of pts you can get from Chocobo Sam's options is 6.5, compared to Madam M's 5.

There are several people who offer you options during Wall Market.

The love hotel owner (not a Nojima self-insert lol).

Johnny (discovery) + before the first coloseum match – there's a bottle on the table and the choice is to drink or not.

Madam M x2

Sam x2

The first option you get in Wall Market happens before you've even entered the place. Sam asks you what the girl you're searching for looks like. No matter which option you choose, Sam says that Cloud has a crush on Tifa – which he doesn't deny.

If you choose the first option you get 1pt with Sam.

If you choose the second option you get 0pts

If you choose the 3rd option you get 1pt with Madam M.

I chose the first option because Cloud's a guy, with eyes, and the other two choices don't offer anything in the way of a physical description and if he's describing her to someone then he needs to actually describe what she looks like in some way. This is the only option that does that. It's also the only option that gets a different reaction out of Aerith, whereas the other two options have the same reaction from her.

This is the second option we can choose from and it's the love hotel guy (still not a Nojima self-insert). If you choose “no thanks,” this gets you 1pt with Sam and Aerith flirts with Cloud.

If you choose “how much?” you get a surprised “Cloud!” from Aerith and 1pt with Madam M.

If you choose “back off” you get 0pts and Aerith apologises on his behalf.

Of the 3 choices, I picked “back off” because it's the most Cloud appropriate choice.

Next, we have the Johnny discovery when he literally runs past you as you try to go to Don Corneo's for the first time. By following him to the Honey Bee, we get a lecherous dialogue from him and then a question about Cloud's own preferences. Would he go into the Honey Bee? If he agrees with Johnny, we get a slightly self-loathing assumption of a reply, whereas if we disagree, Johnny says that Cloud hasn't experienced anything yet. Either way, he runs off once he's finished.

By agreeing with Johnny you get 1pt for Sam.

If you don't agree you get 0pts.

I chose to disagree because Cloud isn't a lecherous pig and is actually pure af with no experience.

We learn from Leslie that the only way to get into an audition with Corneo is through the trio. Andrea Rhodea has a 3 year waiting list, so we don't even see him. So, we go back to Sam.

This is a hint that the following event with Sam is a load of bull. Johnny telling Cloud – if you interact with him – that he should've followed his gut is a hint that Cloud should trust his instincts. It’s also confirming that while Cloud is a total cheapskate who doesn’t do anything for free, he’s also a betting man who’ll think little of dropping 1000g on a sure thing (why 1000g? because that’s the amount he says to Barret in chapter 6, showing that while Cloud appreciates having money, he’ll also spend it.) Then it's around the corner to where Sam waits. Who, despite having already endorsed Tifa, says he's willing to help Aerith if she can guess the result of a coin toss.

Ofc it's rigged. But if you choose to gamble, it impresses Sam. You get 1.5 pts for choosing heads or tails. If you refuse to gamble then you get 0.5pts.

I believe the narrative choice is to pick heads, like Johnny suggested because he is the inner voice of Cloud and gives us hints as to real Cloud’s feelings at different points in the game. Either way, Cloud gets the coin and says he had a hunch about the result.

After this it's away to Madam M's and the most hilarious choice I've ever seen! I have to wait until the room's clear before choosing because it's a watch from behind a cushion moment lol

Madam M won't help Cloud unless he agrees to a massage. Since our SOLDIER boi doesn't like being forced into decisions and has issues around touch and intimacy, not to mention he's stingy af and wouldn't drop 3k on a massage when he's previously hounded people for a lot less money. But, he also doesn’t stop to think about spending money if it’s worth this while. 1000g doesn’t seem like much of a big deal to him, if it’s his standard amount of bet on a sure thing. He wants to save Tifa, so he’d likely go with the standard course. The other one alludes to him being a cheapskate like Aerith accused and there’s no reference to the luxury course anywhere in the game except here. This isn't something he's doing for pleasure, he's in Wall Market to save Tifa, so the things he's doing are a means to an end.

If you pick the luxury massage you get 2pts with Madam M.

If you pick the standard massage you get 1pt with Madam M

If you pick the poor man's massage you get 0pts.

I chose the standard course massage because I believe that's what Cloud would choose just to get Madam M to agree to help them.

The next choice comes right off the back of the massage at Madam M's and involves Cloud giving an opinion of Aerith's outfit.

If you choose the first option it gets you 1pt with Sam and a pleased reaction from Aerith.

If you choose the second option you get 0pts and an angry retort from Aerith.

If you choose the third option you get 1pt with Madam M and a middle of the road comment from Aerith. No matter which you choose, Madam M scolds you.

Since by this point in the game Cloud and Aerith are friendly enough for him to pass comment on her outfit, I could see him answering with the second choice, but not the first since he doesn't even notice what anyone's wearing let alone have an opinion on it. The third option sounds the most Cloud-centric choice, so that's what I picked.

The last option is for Cloud to drink an unknown substance or not while waiting for his match to start at the coliseum. Johnny gives the explanation of what it is, who it came from and what it potentially does.

By choosing to drink the mystery substance you get 1pt with Sam.

By ignoring the drink you get 0pts.

Since Cloud is the last person to put weird shit in his body I went with not drinking it.

The final tally for the options that Cloud gets set him on Chocobo Sam's side quests for the blue corset dress that matches Tifa's canon outfit – she said dress to match, remember? It's also the one that in the ultimania Cloud looks the most at ease in.

Chocobo Sam's sidequests are the ones that I got as a result of choosing the options I did. I believe this is the canon narrative that Cloud would take if he were choosing. After several playthroughs I did waver on whose quests seemed more the narrative canon. I began thinking Sam's were, but then the ultimania illustration of Cloud embarrassed in the satin dress led me to think Madam M's were the narrative canon. After playing both sets of side quests, I've come to the conclusion that Sam's would be the narrative choice if Cloud were making the decisions.

Having Cloud's choices result in Sam's side quests we get burning thighs (appears in both), the party never stops and a dynamite body.

Burning thighs is the squats contest that echoes the OG storyline. We meet Andrea's little brother, Jules – who is totally not staring at Cloud's ass through the entire minigame while encouraging him. This side quest touches on egos and being cocky – which Cloud can be. It's a humble pie moment, which is another life lesson that Cloud needs to learn also.

The party never stops features the return of Johnny, who appears as we leave the dressmaker's son who's the originator for the quest. We're sent over into the bar, where we can collect the Midgar Blues single for the cd achievement. This song is canonically Cloud and Tifa's romantic theme in Advent Children. Once we meet the dressmaker, we're sent over to the materia guy who wants “the sauce” in exchange for “inspiration”.

This sidequest is a bunch of tongue in cheek dick jokes and it's hilarious! It's also alludes to the fact that Cloud has zero experience since he had a crush on Tifa until he left the village, spent his time pining for her as a grunt, then got stuffed in a test tube and was in a coma for five years. Ofc he blusters his way through it, handling his balls and making comments about how he doesn't need lessons on “whipping it out”. Oh you poor sweet boi.

Once we get the sauce – fun fact there's no picture in the inventory of it when you get it – and we hand off to the materia guy (unintentional pun but I'm leaving it in now I've done it – and that one) we head over to the next weirdo on the list. The chef. Who literally poisons all of his customers. I suspect he and the pharmacy guy are in cahoots. He poisons people, the pharmacy guy cures them and they both get rich.

The chef asks Cloud to help fix the problem with his kitchen – but from npcs around it sounds like it's just his cooking that's the issue. It doesn't matter which option you pick, Johnny still gets food poisoning. Even if you max your materia, nothing changes. Cloud doesn't even offer the options, Johnny does the talking.

Once we're done with the killer chef, it's over to the pharmacy guy, who asks Cloud to go and deliver medicine. If you maxed your cleansing materia you get 3 packets of meds. The only one that matters is the guy in the pub bathroom since that moves the side quest along. The others are optional, but increase Cloud's rep about town since he's helping more people.

The pharmacy guy gives Cloud a Honey Bee Inn VIP pass, which is the dressmaker's inspiration. Once that's handed back, Cloud chats to the dressmaker's son, who caps the side quest off with the below screen.

This is a reference to the dream that Cloud had during chapter 8 where his mother mentioned he should have a mature girlfriend. This is the contradicting opinion that balances that. The dressmaker's son saying age doesn't equal maturity is referencing Tifa – since these quests are the ones that get you the matching dress to her canon one. This is the same as the Midgar Blues playing in the pub. These are Tifa centric quests, which is the entire reason Cloud's in Wall Market to begin with.

The last quest is a dynamite body, which comes from Sam. Tifa has a bomb bracelet on her default weapon that is part of a matching pair with her chocobo bracelet. Tifa is represented by “da bomb” and everyone knows Cloud’s a chocobo head. This quest is referencing cloti, and a comment from the announcer using a mixed metaphor mentions putting on shades.

Afterwards Same tries to hand Cloud his cut of the prize money and Cloud says he's there for Tifa, not money. Sam replies that Cloud has changed since his arrival and could likely storm Corneo's place all by himself to save Tifa. He also mentions that Tifa is a bombshell and Cloud goes to confront him by taking a step forward and saying “Hey.” This is Cloud stepping up to people sexually objectifying Tifa.

Once the quests are done, it's back to Corneo's where Cloud considers breaking in – like Sam suggested – but Leslie uses Cloud's feelings for Tifa against him by saying Corneo could hurt her if he does anything he shouldn't. This isn’t the first time Cloud’s emotionally blackmailed in Wall Market.

Cloud backs down, but is now operating under the sense that Corneo is a lot more dangerous than he first thought, and he's sending Aerith in. Aerith. Who's useless in a fight. He's now thinking that he'd have to go in and save them both, which is why he says to Aerith that he's not letting her go alone.

We've now reached the point where Cloud's earlier refusal to do kid related quests gives us the result with Aerith's dress. Her theme has been given a slightly rock vibe, which is SOLDIER Cloud appropriate, and the design is something that she has chosen – this is in line with her OG dress which she chose herself. She also has a large hair bow, similar hairstyle to OG and her flower symbolism throughout – compared to the red dress which has stars that haven't been associated with her at any point. The straps on the pink dress – which is her signature colour – also match the straps on the OG design. Johnny’s around throwing cherry blossom petals, which match several of her abilities and are a reference to Zack. Aerith wore this dress for Zack. This is her Zack date dress. This leads me to believe that this is her canon narrative outfit.

The accompanying blocking to this scene is also more realistic than the other two.

Cloud's reaction to the dress is suitably Cloud. His jaw drops a little and he gets a bit soft voiced when talking to Aerith, though it's a quick moment that ends when he asks why she left Madam M's.

And now we're at the point where Cloud has to impress Andrea Rhodea. As long as you get 112pts in his dance sequence (great = 2, good = 1) then Cloud will wear the earrings with his dress, no matter which one it is.

This is the last choice you have and it's the tie breaker between the two girls if you chose to do all of the side quests for them. By choosing Aerith you get her resolution later in chapter 14, but in the meantime you get a short dialogue and then Tifa wakes up.

If you choose Tifa, this goes towards her resolution in chapter 14, but in the meantime you get a longer dialogue concerning the imminent dangers in sector 7 and also she questions Cloud about his relationship with Aerith. This is referencing all of the strange things about Aerith from her initial touch to Cloud’s wrist letting him see the whispers, to the whispers attacking them later in sector 7, to her not letting him leave sector 5, to her crying and wanting to go with him. Tifa’s question makes Cloud suspicious. It’s not romantically motivated on her part because her focus is on saving sector 7.

Cloud doesn't get a chance to answer, as Aerith wakes up.

Chapter 12

Technically not a choice -- in fact it implies the opposite -- because if you run the timer out in chapter 12 at the top of the pillar nothing happens. This is a message that all previous timed events were optional because that’s what the players wanted. This is saying that no matter if you try to choose to ignore Tifa or Barret or any of the plot, that the game will wait for you to move. There are no consequences to running this timer down because it’s implying that the time for optional choices has passed. Narrative canon only will commence from this point on.

The last optional choice in the game comes a lot later with the stairs and elevator, so anything that Cloud says or does between then is canon. All of the resolutions are canon, but we're only able to view one at a time because of how the game operates. Cloud is the witness to the resolutions because they’re Barret, Tifa’s and Aerith’s resolutions.

Barret's resolution is first because the lighting is much brighter indicating it's earlier in the night.

After that comes Tifa's resolution, which is much later in the night, but well before dawn.

The last resolution is Aerith's and she indicates that it's almost morning at the end of hers.

All resolutions are canon

Aerith's resolution is hinted at by Mirielle during the lost wallet and Kyrie sidequests.

Tifa's resolution is hinted at by Tifa, through Leslie in the chapter 14 intel gathering main quest where you hunt down Don Corneo. Tifa relates Leslie's fiancee's necklace to a symbol of reunion. Since the necklace has a reunion flower on it, that she's seen, and the only time she mentions learning about the meaning of that flower is during her resolution, this is the confirmation of it having happened. Also, the fact that Cloud was about to mention the meaning, then stopped because he thought it might embarrass Tifa – who'd been in a vulnerable state at the time – shows that he was aware of both the meaning and the resolution and Tifa's feelings.

Chapter 16

Last choice in the game and it’s between the stairs and the elevator. And as much as I love the stairs, Mayor Domino tells us later on that the stuff in the elevator is what happened.

Feel bad for Cloud having to confront his claustrophobia with Tifa there. He’s not happy at all by the time they reach the top.

In Conclusion.

Playing as though Cloud were the one making the choices was a lot harder than I thought. I tend to choose things either as he would, or close enough in most cases, but there were some choices that had me stopping to debate which was the right choice. Cloud's character development is a slow process and even though I know he's got a whole kid army in AC, I couldn't resolve that with his current personality, so that led me to avoiding the kid quests. This revealed that Aerith should have worn her pink dress in the narrative and the scene between them when she reveals it feels a very narrative canon type of scene.

Tifa's dress is the same no matter what. I also believe she'd be the narrative choice in the sewers over Aerith because of the content of her dialogue and the fact real!Cloud has a crush on her still. He often checks in with her to make sure she's ok and he has an overriding urge to support and comfort her even when he doesn't know how. The way she lands in the sewers is echoed later in several other falls, but there’s one in the opening of chapter 13 where she’s got her arm under her head. This is because Cloud positioned her that way after she got knocked out. This shows he’d go to her if he saw her hurt.

All of the events, options and side quests culminate in Tifa's resolution being the main narrative option we see, with Aerith and Barret as a second and third option through replay choices, though all three do happen. From Cloud’s pov, though, the important one is Tifa because that’s the person he cares about the most. You only get Barret’s resolution by being a closed off asshole and Aerith’s if you act out of character and more like Zack, which is what Aerith wants. The quest dialogue with Leslie shows the resolutions happened, which makes them narrative canon.

People can disagree with this, but I found the narrative canon a really enjoyable way to play – once I got over messing up in wall market with the dress and had to start again (the choices are hard lol). Seeing events through Cloud's eyes, instead of being like some puppet master telling him what to do so I could get the story I wanted to see, was a really fun way to play. I definitely recommend it!

#final fantasy 7 remake spoilers #the cloud narrative #cloud strife #tifa lockheart #Aerith Gainsborough #choice analysis #long post

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bwprowl · 4 years

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Rage and Replacements in Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII isn’t my favorite video game ever. Hell, it’s not even my favorite Final Fantasy game (That’d be FF4). But it is a game that I really, really like, and for that I’m immensely grateful that Final Fantasy VII Remake exists. Not just for letting me dive into an exhaustingly immersive version of this game’s world that, thanks to design, music, and general vibes, ‘feels’ pitch-perfect as a recreation of that, but also because it lets me experience a resurgence in Final Fantasy VII fan enthusiasm and discussions in our modern era. Just being able to scroll through my Twitter feed and see tons of great art and memes based on this old game I love is a testament to how worthwhile this project has turned out to be.

That said, as anyone who’s played through all of FF7R can now tell you, much of that rich retro-recreation is in service of the later twists in this installment. The whole thing turns out to be designed to pull the rug out from under the player and the characters by the end, an exercise in escaping the original plot of Final Fantasy VII as much as the walled-in city of Midgar itself. And there’s thus some trepidation from people who may have preferred that this revisiting of the story stay on the rails they remembered, sticking only to the plot of the original just with all those glossy current-console-generation bells and whistles helping it along. And while I can’t really condemn that mindset, I also can’t really adopt any element of my own.

As someone who’s played through Final Fantasy VII several times, and has played the beginning of Final Fantasy VII particularly quite a few times, the attention to detail in recreating the Midgar portion was worthy of applause. But as much as I was happy to get sucked back into the world, right from the start, pretty much, I was being even more drawn in by the presence of new elements. Right after that first reactor bombing run, where the demo left off (both in the original and for the Remake), we get a new illusory scene of Sephiroth and the appearance of the spooky plot-arbiters called Whispers as Cloud, Aerith, and Sephiroth himself all make cryptic statements hinting towards the idea that we might have Done This All Before. And as an absolute slut for metatext in fiction, that really drove me as I played through the thing. It creates an interesting context, treating the plot of Final Fantasy VII as a setting unto itself that we’re then drip-fed this new plot on top of. And of course that doesn’t become clear until right at the end, but it’s still an element, that question of what’s ‘really’ going on here even as we’re also enjoying being taken through an FF7 theme-park with fancy new takes on stuff like Wall Market and the Train Graveyard.

I guess my hang-up comes in comprehending the real issues of FF7 faithful upset that we didn’t get a straight recreation. A lot of times my attitude towards new versions of things is “The original still exists, so if you don’t like the changes made to the new one, you can still go back to the old one.” And indeed, if all these folks are as big of fans of the original FF7 as they profess to be, they can understand that Remake isn’t going to cause their PS1 discs to blink out of existence. Part of me can understand a fear that with Final Fantasy VII Remake 2 (whenever that manages to come out) pointedly going in an ‘unknown’ direction plot-wise, we may miss out on seeing reenvisioned versions of our favorite later FF7 stuff, but this is Tetsuya Nomura we’re talking about. I think it’s clear that whatever else you think of the man, Nomura is a HUGE fan of FF7. Cait Sith has already popped up, and Cid, Vincent, Yuffie? Safe to say all those characters will still be in there. The Gold Saucer will almost certainly still be in there. Chocobo breeding and fights with the Weapons, probably all still going to be in there. They’ll probably still make us do the Wutai sidequest again. The contexts may end up changing and there may be all sorts of wild new shit in-between, but to think a massive FF7 fanboy like Nomura is going to completely excise a lot of the most enjoyably iconic parts of it is to ignore the sheer unbridled love for the game that came through just in this first part.

And god, how can you not be excited to actually have no idea how or if Aerith is going to die in this version? They’re setting me up for another shock based on one of the most overspoiled spoilers in video-game history, and that’s friggin’ brilliant, if you ask me.

Because the fact is, all those elements in the original FF7 are what make it still hold up today, and if you want to experience them in their original iteration, you can absolutely still go back and play it. Heck, I’m amazed at how much playing through Remake has me hankering to return to the original, never mind revisiting all that Compilation material. This game has me curious about checking out Dirge of Cerberus, a game that everyone knows is bad! But on the subject of the original, there is the point of those who seemingly were counting on Remake to ‘replace’ that old game, or newcomers who jumped on thinking this would be an ideal way to experience that story for the first time. And with that ending up a wash, I don’t think it’s as big a deal as some are making it out to be, again for the simple fact that the original FF7 still exists, and can be bought and downloaded and played on more platforms than I can list at this point. You can play FF7 on your phone! If you’re reading this and getting mad about Remake’s plot changes on mobile, you can just download the original FF7 on that device and play it instead.

Because it’s important to admit that graphical fidelity and robust modern gameplay flourishes do not a masterpiece make. I like a lot of the touches in the original FF7, its prerendered backgrounds used for a sense of style and perspective that would’ve been unthinkable in the sprite era of RPGs, but it is true that a lot of its other graphics, especially its overworld models, look a bit shit. They’re chunky, awkward first attempts at translating the old Final Fantasy style to a polygonal place, and they definitely don’t hold up. But for something great, looking like shit shouldn’t matter too much. I said my favorite Final Fantasy was IV, and that game looks like shit too, running into simply awkward translation to the 16-bit era the same way VII did with 3D on the PlayStation. But IV is still a wonderful game to play that tells a killer story with characters I love. And FF7 does the same, with its own systems and interfaces to gameplay that make it great to go through even as those characters are represented by shuffling tinkertoys. If you love FF7 so much that you were all-in on its Remake and compelled by the nostalgia it summoned, then you should still be able to derive joy from that original and recommend it to newcomers for the same reasons. To feel betrayed that this new version didn’t sufficiently replace it is to admit that you thought your timeless favorite needed replacing.

And finally, I have to laugh at anybody arguing that Final Fantasy VII Remake was ‘falsely advertised’ as it was, since you know what other game famously misrepresented itself in its advertising?

Final Fantasy VII.

youtube

#final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii remake #ff7 #ff7r #final fantasy

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visionmarred-archive · 5 years

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6 and 7 for Sky. 8 and 15 for Amethylia.

thank you! always a pleasure to talk about my number two KOTOR gals

Amethylia Cypher

8: Describe one of your OC’s bad habits.

Amy’s a smoker. She picked up the habit way back during the Mandalorian Wars, and it stuck around even through the amnesia and her new identity being programmed into her by the Jedi Council. She’s normally pretty mild about it, usually ten a day, but she’ll burn through pack after pack whenever she’s stressed.

(Coincidentally, there was a lot of empty packs in the Ebon Hawk’s trash compactor after she found out she’s Revan, and Bastila was held hostage by Malak. Not a fun time for her.)

15: Your OC is given the chance to go back in time. Where do they go and what do they do?

She’d go back and find Malak before he fell to the Dark Side. Tell him to go back to the Council like Sky did and get away from her. Amethylia has a lot of regrets as Revan, but one of her biggest is corrupting her best friend and dragging him down with her. Sure, he probably would’ve been exiled like Sky was, but at least he’d still be himself and be alive.

Skysargas Starbrac

7: Describe your OC’s fashion sense.

Absolutely no Jedi robes, for one thing. They’re so… tasteless. Bland. Sky’s very feminine and enjoys skirts and dresses - if she can get away with a fancy gown and nice shoes, then she absolutely will, but if not then she’s content with a nice dress and some sturdy boots.

And for what it’s worth, I usually just imagine her in the light blue versions of Aerith Gainsborough’s clothes (since ngl, Aerith was an influence for her character when I was first playing KOTOR 2):

(Note to self: commission her in the blue versions of those someday)

6: Describe your OC’s love life.

Under a cut now bc long description is long. :)

Sky’s had three big loves in her life - Atris, Atton, and Visas. (Sometimes I toy with the idea that she had a relationship with either Revan or Malak during the Wars, but I haven’t liked either enough to stick to it yet.) She loved Atris once, but things never quite… happened… and she’s currently in polyamorous, communicative relationships with both Atton and Visas.

Atris was her best friend and confidante, once. She was actually the first friend that Sky had ever made upon joining the Jedi Order, when she was a still kind of spoiled little noble girl who didn’t want to leave home. She had mixed feelings about being a Jedi throughout all the years that she was one, but Atris was always the one thing that made it feel like home to her. Theirs was definitely that kind of childhood friend romance thing where you fall in love with your best friend when you get older, but neither of them ever really… spoke… those feelings out loud, so they always thought it was unrequited. They had plans to work for seats on the Council together, but everything fell apart spectacularly when Sky chose to follow Revan during the Mandalorian Wars. Things were said that neither could take back, they both resented the other’s decision, and Atris in particular was bitter over Sky’s decision. Sky wasn’t exactly expecting Atris to welcome her back to the Order with open arms when she went back to face the Council’s judgement, but seeing how much Atris seemed to hate her really did crush any lingering hopes she had of coming home again.

There’s an effort to make amends after KOTOR 2, though. It’s awkward and it’s messy, it takes a lot of patience, but they eventually reach that place where Atris and Sky are at peace with each other, and they can finally apologize for the things that they did over a decade ago.

Sky and Atton are kind of a weird match, on a surface level. He’s a rude scoundrel, she’s ladylike and a bit of a doormat. But they’ve got a deep respect for each other and a solid friendship; she absolutely meant it when she referred to him as one of her best friends once, and they’re always looking out for each other. They both began to fall for the other pretty early on (right away, in Atton’s case. Thank you, restored content mod), and flirted back and forth so much that something probably would’ve happened between them sooner if she hadn’t found out that there was something to hear about his past on Nar Shaddaa. But also, it’s a good thing she did? They’ve both done horrible, bloody things in the past, and they both hate themselves for it. But they can respect and accept the other, warts and all, and it kind of helps them start to care for themselves too. Even before they finally admitted how they felt, they were good influences on the other and important parts of their healing.

And with Visas, there’s just. Intense devotion and caring for the other. Love at first assassination attempt (I’m kidding. Kinda.) Also kind of a weird couple on the surface, what with Visas being a dark ex-Sith and Sky being a plucky medic. Sky was drawn to Visas practically from the get-go, showing mercy to her in spite of her assassination attempt, and resolving to care for her and help her when she discovered just what, exactly, she had to go through under Nihilus’s thumb. She appreciates Visas’s support, but is the first to try and turn away that sense of self-sacrifice that she has, remind her that she matters. That she’s worthy of life and of being loved, whatever darkness she’s gone through in the past. And Visas kind of helps save Sky right back, because she’s the only other person to understand what it’s like to feel the death of a planet - and because she understands that the Exile, for all her efforts to help Visas, also hates herself. Both will remind the other that however dark things were, whatever the dark things you’ve done, you’re worth it. I feel these scars on you from your past, and I love you even if they make you hate yourself.

Sky’s still kind of amazed that she’s with both of them, because… how did I get so lucky to meet two people that I love so much I’d die for them? Or even scarier, live for them? They both mean the galaxy to her, and it hurts more than anything to leave them behind when it’s time to find Revan. If something happened to either of them because they followed, she couldn’t forgive herself, so it’s better to have them alive and hating you than dead and in love, right?

this may not have entirely answered the question, but… ah well lol

#Sierra's Asks #KOTOR stuff #reverienne #OTP: I Kept It As a Reminder #OTP: Thought You Were a Dream #OTP: More Than My Life #OT3: Love Her and Despair #I love invitations to be nerdy about my ships on main sudghsgsdug #thank you again!!#OC: Amethylia Cypher #OC: Skysargas

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ciara-shaderunner · 5 years

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Octopeacock, First Date(?)

“Oi, where’re ya takin me, Flare?” A very confused Farley calls to the half-drow guiding her through the crowd of the city. The man in question turns back to her and sends her his most charming smile. “We’re going on a date!” He proclaims with a small chuckle and blush as he turns back around, and guiding through the crowd. “W-wait...this is a date?!” Farley calls out, a full blush on her face and reaching up her ears, she hadn’t exactly been expecting this when Flare had asked to see her before the ship trip tomorrow. Some music practice, a mug of cider, sure… but when did he have time to plan this? He NEVER plans ANYTHING!. These thoughts and more raced through Farley’s head, and they led to to how she got into this mess in the first place…

--- Flare HAD been unusually quiet since their mission, and the entire party thought the ring might not have worked, and each of them considered talking to him….especially Farley. But when they had gotten back to the city, Flare turned on his heel and walked up to Farley without making eye contact. “H-hey...Farley. Before we head back out onto the water tomorrow… would you come with me for a bit?” Flare then looked to her with the nervousness of a small girl and it did not help that he was pretty enough to charm a bear out of its cave. Farley actually found it difficult to respond, when she felt a hand push her forward. Looking back, she saw Gust and Chalice nod and wave for her to go with him. As she turned back, to Flare, she stuttered out. “S-sure, where are we goi- Wahhdafuk!” Farley yelped as Flare grabbed her hand and held it in his own, just like she had grabbed his when they had their heart to heart and gave her the most radiant smile. “Great, let’s go! We’ll see you guys later tonight!” Flare said as he dragged Farley into the city. ‘Right...so...what do people do on dates?’ Farley thought to herself, coming back to the present as she looked to the responsible for such a wide spectrum of emotion in her since meeting him. Before she could voice her question, Flare came to a stop and looked up to the building they stood in front of. Farley followed his gaze and read the sign that read “SPA” among a bunch of other fancy lingo. ‘Oh right...the peaco- Flare talked about Spas before left on the mission.’ Farley remembered as Flare looked to her with a smile and a wink that made her heart skip a beat. She didn’t understand, she saw him wink at plenty of people, most occasions trying to score a discount on something they needed, so why did this one feel different?’ “So, are you ready to get pampered, Mon Amie?” Flare asked with a slight hint of sultry undertone that passed Farley by. “Uh...sure? I don’t know what that is but I’m sure if you like it, it can’t be so bad, right?” Farley offered, to which Flare chuckled and nods before leading them in. ---- All in all, this pampering is just…. a very weird experience to the druid so far. She had her reservations when after Flare paid for them she was led into a room and told to strip down and put on this overly large towel.. Flare simply nodded encouragingly at her as she was guided into this steamy room she’s in at the moment. The human that had helped her had called this place a ‘sauna.’ Whatever a sauna was, it was very humid and hot, and was making her sweat. Farley sighed, Flare had to have his reasons for bringing her here, right? Farley’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard a door opening behind her, but when she turned around in shock, she saw nothing but this screen that reached the ceiling. “Right in here, My Good Man.” a gruff feminine voice said to… someone? “Ah, thank you so much darling, I’ve been needing this!” Farley knew that voice anywhere. Flare. A gruff grunt was all the reply that was given as Farley heard Flare lean back, and the felt a slight pressure on her back, for a moment. “Ah! Sorry, whoever you are!” Flare called over. “Fl-Flare?” Farley croaked out in shock. Flare gasped, Farley could tell, before responding “Oh, Farley! So they put us in neighboring rooms!” Flare then sighed in relief, before calling over again. “So, what do you think of the sauna, Farley?” Farley then saw the indent of the screen near to her, but they weren’t back to back like before. Somehow...this was less preferable after the shock of the happening. Farley thought to herself before responding back to the question. ‘I...I don’t know. I’m not sure what the point of a ‘sauna’ is. “Well, a sauna helped you seat, as I’m sure you’re experiencing, but the heat also helps with muscle relaxation and helps clean your pores. I’ve also heard it helps breathing by clearing up our airways,” Flare begins listing out the many benefits of the sauna, and Farley inched a bit closer to the indent in the screen.

Closer, closer... “Lastly, it helps detoxes your body- Oh? That you, Farley?” Flare cuts himself as Farley leans against his back through the screen. Immediately she felt more blood rush to her face, but she was a bit happier, a bit less lonely in this room by herself. “Y-yeah, it’s me. Don’t move, though. I can’t see in this blasted steam so It’s nice to know I’m not alone kinda.” “S-sure….whatever you want, Farley….” a more nervous Flare responded, to which Farley chuckled. “Are you blushing, Peacock?” She says, an attempt at teasing the usually dauntless paladin. “It-...It’s just the steam! Yeah No I’m completely fine!” Flare defended himself weakly, prompting another small chuckle from the druid. “Liar…” Farley says softly, though the hem she got in response tipped her off that she had been heard, not she minded really. “So Flare, is this ‘Pampering?’ or is there more to it?” Farley asked, to which Flare immediately laughs. “Oh my dear friend… this is merely the beginning!” “Oh Aerith, what did I get myself into?” Farley murmured before looking down and seeing a wilted piece of green vegetation on the floor that she was sure wasn't there before. In fact it looked a teensy bit famil-

“Oh shite…”

“Something wrong, Farley?” Flare called over, his voice a bit heavier as he relaxed more.

“Erm...it’s nothing, don’ worry bout it.” Farley called over, doing her best to put as much confidence into the statement.

“I get the feeling I shouldn’t believe that. Won’t you tell me what’s bothering you?” Flare asks sincerely.

“It’s nothin I can’t handle on my own.” Farley calls back over as she quickly realizes that her and Flare’s stuff was placed aside for safekeeping. Remembering where it was, she resolved to go and get a spare leaf and was on her way out the door when the door opened and Flare was standing there looking concerned, a towel wrapped around his waist for modesty. Farley shrieked and took a few steps back, doing her best to hide her face from Flare. “Don’t look at me, not you!” Farley yelled over her shoulder as she backed up. A hand grabbed onto one of her own. “Farley, what’s wrong? Why should I not be looking at you? You’re beautiful…” Flare began, taking a step forward. Farley shook her head. “No, you’ll think I’m just some freak...you’ll just think I- !” Flare cut her off as he hugged her to him. As soon as Farley got over the shock at this much physical contact...she realized Flare was shaking, and that her shoulder was getting water dripped on it. “No! Don’t say I won’t like you!” Flare choked out, doing his best keep his outburst under control, but by the trembling of his hands, he wasn’t doing a very good job. “I’m an absolute idiot in most things and what I feel for you in new...but it’s definitely not something I could call dislike! Not ever… I saw my mentor get disintegrated in front of my very eyes, and to this day whenever I go to sleep I relive that horrific moment the minute I close my eyes. I think you’re so amazing...but to hear you say that you think me shallow enough to not like you because of what’s under some silly eyepatch…..that hurts more than anything else.” Flare breaks the hug but keep his hands on her shoulders as he looks at her square in the eyes, the streaks from his eyes glistening, even as he smiles for her.

“I will not force you….but know that I won’t run away, Farley...it’s far too late for that!” He says with a chuckle, before trying to back away. Farley’s hands snap up and keep his arms there, wanting to relish in the touch a bit longer. “You and your honeyed, silver tongue of yours, peacock. Fine...But you said it...it’s too late fer you to run...I’ll use my roots on ye if you try!” The druid replies as she reaches up and moves her hair out of the way of her eye. Flare, to his credit and by his word, didn’t flinch or recoil in disgust as he saw and empty eye socket marred with scar tissue.. He simply tilted his head a bit. “Your god did this?” He asked as one of his hands came up to trace around the scarring. “Yes, another reminder of how foolish I was in trying to trick my god.” Farley said stoically. Flare continued to marvel at it before realizing why he could even see it. “What happened to your eyepatch? The leafy one?” Flare asked, to which Farley showed him the shriveled up green remnant of her eyepatch.

“It’s actually just a leaf that I use one of my spells on to form it into a patch…a wise woman taught it to me as my journey was just gettin’ started. But, even with the little trick I do, it is still jus’ a leaf, it shrivels up like any plant would in this heat and humidity. Speaking of which...how long are we supposed to be in here fer?”

A deep clearing of the throat brought both the half elves to the entrance of the steam room. “I trust ye can contain yerself fer the rest of the treatment, lover boy?” The dwarf woman said, looking accusingly at Flare who immediately blushed and coughed. “Y-yes, er…. I was just…. Leaving.” Flare stuttered out before shooting an apologetic look to Farley. “I’ll...see you when we’re done, Farley.” “Oh...r-right. See ye later…” Farley says as she hides her eye behind her hair again. As Flare’s footsteps leave her audio range, followed by the dwarfs, the human that brought her in here came back none the wiser as to what occurred. “My my, the steam room worked wonders on you! Look at that flush!” The woman, Aella, Farley thinks her name was, remarked before pulling Farley along with her to a different room, this one containing a sort of bed-like table situated in the middle of it, another counterlike table in the corner with a bunch of bottles with labels Farley couldn't really make out from this distance. After Aella closed the door, she bid Farley to lay face down on the table, to which Farley nervously complies.

That nervousness quickly dissipated, however, when Aella began to knead and dig into her back, undoing knots Farley wasn’t even aware she had. “Sweet Aerith- AH! That hurts, don’t stop! By the gods….” Farley moans as she feels so much ache and stress she had just been unconsciously carrying all this time just vanish with this woman’s ministrations. Is this what has Flare so hooked on these Spas? Even Farley could see the merit in this ‘pampering’, now. Farley almost begged her not to stop the massage, but the woman simply smiled and said that it was time for the last part of the service, which floored Farley….there was even more past that?

Farley was then led by Aella into a room with a fully drawn and steaming bath, to which she eased her way into. She had found a hot spring or two in her travels, but none of them smelt this flowery. That was a strange bit...this would never happen in nature…. But nature also wouldn’t ease away all her aches and pains like this spa had, so she had to give with her take, she supposed. Farley let out a sigh as she finally was submerged up to her shoulders when there was a knock at the door. “Er...come in?” Farley called out, to which the doors swung open to reveal Aella carrying a deep green length of fabric. When Farley asked what that was for, the aide simply smiled. “The gentleman you came in with requested I bring this to you at once. ‘She’ll know what to do with it,’ is what he said.”

Farley took the fabric, which when she was feeling it felt like a heavy silk, inside the folds Farley found a note with a flowery script. “This should last until we can find you a more….permanent solution to your problem, Farley.” With Regards Like-Like, Flare.

Farley felt another blush coming on as she read the note a few more times, but she couldn’t help but smile at his edit, she didn’t even know why. It just brought her joy to see him correcting himself like that.

After placing the note aside for safekeeping, she took the silk back into her hands. It had been awhile since she had to tie a knot, especially since she hadnt had to snare an animal in weeks, but after a bit Farley managed to tie a makeshift bandana around her head and right eye. Despite how heavy the material felt, it actually let air circulate nicely, it wasn’t noticeably stuffy. Though, now that it was in front of her face, she could see small tear marks. ‘That fool tore one of his outfits to give me this?! Of all the foolish things for that pacock to do! She’d have to scold him for that later...she didn’t want him ruining his outrageous outfits for her comfort! She couldn’t possibly be that selfish, that’s where she had to draw the line and put her foot down!

Still…. It was nice of him to do, she supposed.

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