FFVII Dirge of Cerberus – Part 24: Shelke in the Void

Summary: A great little section focusing on flashbacks seen through Shelke’s eyes. Her experience within Nero’s void. (Not sure of the actual name for it or what it is, so I’m going with that term for now.)


Flashback - Crystal Grotto

-This must be a flashback. A dude in a cape is accompanying Lucrecia to the grotto where we keep seeing her encased in crystal.

Lucrecia seeing that crystal for the first time.

-FHDJKLSFHDJLSFHDJKLS IS THAT VINCENT’S DAD??

His name is Grimoire (lol SO DARK), and Lucrecia calls him Dr. Valentine.

-Grimoire says that this grotto is where Chaos would emerge. I don’t know how this’ll lead to Lucrecia being in crystal. Maybe she’ll feel guilty and sacrifice herself to help Vincent keep control; in this case, that sacrifice could look like her being in crystal.

-Lucrecia looks absolutely giddy to see this place.

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Flashback – Lab

-Lucrecia and Grimoire are together in the lab.

-WAIT WAIT WAIT – NEW THEORY. GRIMOIRE IS NERO, RIGHT? LET ME BE RIGHT. GRIMOIRE IS NERO.

-I could be totally wrong, but now I see an image of Grimoire with Lucrecia and the void stuff in a mako container behind them. That, combined with the fact that Nero looks a lot like Vincent… hm.

-Lucrecia is obsessed with proving her thesis correct, though Grimoire is urging caution.

-The void stuff erupts from the mako container. Grimoire knocks Lucrecia out of the way and takes the hit himself.

-That looks pretty fucked up.

-New theory: this isn’t just random Vincent flashbacks, but rather what Shelke is seeing inside him.

-lol. The Grimoire-is-Nero theory dies a swift death.

We see Grimoire die and get taken by the lifestream, dissolving into green sparklies.

-Lucrecia is absolutely crushed. This whole series of Lucrecia-Grimoire flashbacks is pretty surreal.

-While my first theory bit the dust, my second theory is alive and kicking. Shelke appears in the scene to try comforting Lucrecia, saying that things will be okay and Grimoire just is returning to the planet but she doesn’t notice him.

Makes me think she’s just proving outside commentary on a memory she’s watching.

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Flashback – A Cemetery

-We see a wooden cross, a grave marker covered in flowers. The grave is fresh. Someone is crying.

-A voice: “Stop crying, Shelke.” SHELKE FLASHBACK??? YES!!

-The camera is shaky. This isn’t just a Shelke flashback, it’s her PoV. It’s Shelke’s mom that just died. Someone (Shalua probably) is giving Shelke the advice that Shelke just tried giving to Lucrecia. That the dead just return to the planet.

-KID SHALUA!!

THE GLASSES! I’m dead from cute. Coincidentally, also dead from sad. This is pretty brutal.

-Interesting. This seems to be a flashback where Shelke is both reliving the memory and commenting on it.

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Shelke in the Void

-Shalua’s spirit visits Shelke. Asks permission to rejoin the planet.

Shelke isn’t ready to let go.

-Shelke sheds tears.

I get the sense this isn’t something she was allowed to do in Deepground. A newish experience.

-Even in the void, she continues to rediscover her humanity.

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Next time: Vincent, outside the void.