”On the Way to a Smile” (Case of Barret)
-A world without Mako must be so different.
-Barret This is pretty hard stuff. And yeah! In peace-time, a dude walking around with a machine gun for an arm has gotta be terrifying. I know I wouldn’t be comfortable in the grocery store or whatever with some guy walking around holding a machine gun.
-All these stories seem to be about redemption in some way – if not for the main characters, then for people they meet. (Like, Aerith had nothing to seek redemption for, but AVALANCHE did.)
-The geostigma sounds pretty gross. Like “The Filth” in “The Secret World,” though I hope the comparison doesn’t extend that far.
-Weird that oil is actually more environment-friendly than Mako. Was gonna say “more green,” but… lol.
-Hi, Shera!
-I want to see teacher Yuffie.
-I know that it’s serious, and anger issues (especially after what Barret went through) are legitimate, but the image of Barret’s guilt and anger manifesting by him yelling “Grrrrraaah!” as he flails his arms wildly at random intervals is at least a bit funny to me.
-A nice touch: people aren’t using Mako not because they had a change of heart, but rather because Shinra’s not there to keep up the reactors and because they’re terrified of the Planet’s reaction if they use it again.
-Ok, no. No more mako reactors! Or can they use it safely in some renewable/non-harmful way?
-Barret’s getting an actual prosthetic hand! Or… no, he’s not, but at least ordered it and has it for later.
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N.B. I saw “Advent Children” before this and the rest of the stories.
”On the Way to a Smile” (Case of Yuffie)
-“It really is goodbye for us all, thought Yuffie. But that’s fine. I’ll enjoy our parting with all the energy I have.” Have I mentioned yet how great Yuffie is?
-It’s strange to me that they don’t want to give her battle materia because “Wutai.” Was Wutai the main aggressor in the war with Shinra? I can’t imagine that, just because Shinra sucks so bad.
GODO: “In the end, the universe’s will was to end that dispute and it summoned Meteor but, our planet defended itself by releasing the Lifestream and destroyed it.”
YUFFIE: “The universe’s will? Who came up with that stupid story?”
-So the lifestream washed over. Maybe it ended up infecting everyone with the geostigma.
-WTF?! Why are you all locking Yuffie in? …ah, they blame her for the geostigma. Fuck these people.
-Sometimes, the Returning Hero is all, “Just doing my job. I only want to return to a life of quiet.” It’s so great that Yuffie’s like “Give me a big ol’ hero’s welcome! Come on! Where’s the party?”
-Nanaki and Yuffie are an awesome pair. (And no, not in a Hojo way.)
-The magnificent Doctor Yuffie.
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”On the Way to a Smile” (Case of Denzel)
-So this is four years after the base game.
-Interesting – it seems like this won’t at least start out from Denzel’s perspective, but from “Johnny’s.”
-Hi, Reeve!
-I’ve said Shinra sucks before, and I’ll say it again: Shinra sucks. Abel reminds me at least a bit of that bureaucrat from “Torchwood: Children of the Earth.”
-It’s awful to see the collapse of Sector 7 from this poor kid’s point of view.
-Johnny’s handkerchief must be Tifa’s. Or the game could just be saying, “It’s okay for him to have a feminine handkerchief and still be a MAN!” but it seems unlikely the game that decided to feature Don Corneo will do that.
-“A trickle of black fluid started streaming from the corner of Levy’s mouth. Thinking this was an omen of death, he hastily wiped it off. Then the black liquid started pouring out from her hair.” SO GROSS
-HOLY CRAP CAN SOMETHING GOOD PLEASE HAPPEN TO DENZEL. He’ll probably find a puppy and then watch as the puppy slowly decomposes from geostigma.
-Ricks is great.
-And this takes us to “Advent Children,” where Denzel calls Tifa by accident.
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”On the Way to a Smile” (Case of Shinra)
-Why are these guys called “the Turks” anyway? Were they founded by Wilhelm H. Turkheiser or something?
-Doesn’t Tseng have a crush on Aerith? If so, this is SO CREEPY that he started watching over her when she was a child. That’s some Twilight bullshit right there.
-I now have a name for the stuffed thing Reeve’s winged cat rides: “Giant Mog.”
-So weird to see Reno looking out for Midgar’s safety.
-Cool to see the cycling of perspectives.
-Rude seems the most institutionalized of the Turks, the one who’d have the hardest time in life outside Shinra.
-The Turks seem legitimately loyal to Rufus.
“Partners, right?”
“Yeah.”
“The best partners.” RUDE & RENO
-I’ll best Dark Knight Cecil would’ve made an awesome Turk.
-I’ll give the writer credit – I’m actually rooting for Rufus (though I know he lives).
-Glad Reeve officially got out.
-On the whole, this was a pretty neat take on Rufus.
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Next time: Final Fantasy VII: CRISIS CORE BEGINS AAARGAHAAHFDJKLS (I’m excited sorry).
