"Final Fantasy VII Lateral Biography: TURKS - The Kids Are Alright"

[Soakette]

Wait.. so the Rufus we see in the OG when Weapon attacked the building was not Rufus? Or ....damn I am confused. If it wasn't him then his story about escaping in CoS is...not true?

 

[Shademp]

I think he means that a dead body double was planted (the question though is if the double just happened to die at a good time or if the Turks killed him to act as a double) sometime after the Weapon attack, so that news would report that the dead body of Rufus Shinra had been found. It was still the actual Rufus Shinra who was bombarded by Diamond Weapon etc.

That's my take on it. Still troublesome though, what-with so many in Episode Shinra learning of Rufus's survival.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I don't know which is less plausible - that Rufus's body double just happened to also die in the attack on the Shinra and the Turks just happened to find his body, or that they had one handy at such a moment of crisis to shoot in cold blood. Unless... the body being carried away in DoC was actually a wounded body double, who died later in hospital? Why am I even rationalising this - I have new cupboard doors to buy!

 

[Roger]

So in this scene he's impersonating someone she used to know quite well, and that someone was called "Kadaj"? The implication being that Kadaj borrowed his name from this old acquaintance of Kyrie's?

I get the impression that the deceased boy whose appearance Sephiroth used to create the first Remnant is actually Kyrie's old acquaintance and was named Kadaj.

 

[Octo]

The plot shittens

EDIT: i mean seriously. I had just about, almost nearly accepted the fact that Rufus survived by jumping down a laundry chute at the last minute or whatever the hell it was...even though the guy in the OG cutscene is clearly toast.

But now, what....what is it now? Is that OG cutscene just some random Rufus lookalike, because that was supposed to be a poignant scene there where the king of the world is powerless to stop his own destruction. But now it was just Herbert Pocket from Dry Gulch west Kalm?

These fucking people....

 

[Shademp]

I get the impression that the deceased boy whose appearance Sephiroth used to create the first Remnant is actually Kyrie's old acquaintance and was named Kadaj.

If he did, then it was only as a template. The description we get is this:

"Of course he was a person. Round nose and orange hair. That's Kadaj's look. Did you see him?"

I see two possibilities, neither of which I'm more devoted to than the other.

1) The deceased boy whose appearance Sephiroth used has nothing to do with Kyrie's old acquaintance, aside from the name which the remnant got from digging into Kyrie's mind.

2) Kyrie's old friend(?) is the deceased boy who was the template for Kadaj, but his round nose got turned into a sharp nose due to Sephiroth influences. Orange hair turning into silver hair is an obvious change.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I got the impression Kadaj, in this story, has Jenova's ability to change shape and appear as people you know or are close to. It's too bad he never used that ability in ACC. I think I'd go with explanation No. 1 - Kadaj plucked this look out of Kyrie's mind.

 

[Roger]

I got the impression Kadaj, in this story, has Jenova's ability to change shape and appear as people you know or are close to. It's too bad he never used that ability in ACC. I think I'd go with explanation No. 1 - Kadaj plucked this look out of Kyrie's mind.

What's his business with Kyrie tho, she's not looking for Jenova or has any connection to it at all. And he seemingly took his name from this acquintance too.

 

[mecorx]

mecorx has been fixing up the translation. I might be missing something, but considering Episode: Shinra, this doesn't make sense. Unless Rufus planted a dead look-alike to make people think he's dead.

Otherwise he's just retconed CoS, so the person who died in the weapon attack was a doppleganger.

I need to read through this book again.

「ああ。バカ社長でいいぞ」
"Indeed. You can call me the 'Idiot President'."

ルーファウスは質問を引き取り、応えた。
Responding to the question, Rufus answered.

「生きてる....」
"You're alive..."

またレノに聞いた。
He directed it at Reno, again.

「死んだのは替え玉だ。おまえもその候補だが....見たところ、合格だな」
“The one who died was my substitute. You’re one of the candidates too, and... from the looks of it, I’d say you pass.”

I think he's just messing with Evan.

This is judging by the fact that it says "Rufus decided he would go along with his subordinates’ secret plans this time."

 

[Airling]

OR, to add a nr. 3 to Shad's list:

3) Just as Kadaj has the ability to look like himself to one person, and like an old/deceased friend to another at the same time, like when Tseng first sees him, he can also say "I'm Kadaj. I'm an old friend of Kyrie's.", and Tseng hears that, while Kyrie hears him say her old friend's name.

Which would mean, not only do we not know what happened to this guy, when did it happen etc. We don't know his name.

It's pretty complicated, far out, and hard to explain. But we're dealing with Japan here.

 

[Roger]

OR, to add a nr. 3 to Shad's list:

3) Just as Kadaj has the ability to look like himself to one person, and like an old/deceased friend to another at the same time, like when Tseng first sees him, he can also say "I'm Kadaj. I'm an old friend of Kyrie's.", and Tseng hears that, while Kyrie hears him say her old friend's name.

Which would mean, not only do we not know what happened to this guy, when did it happen etc. We don't know his name.

It's pretty complicated, far out, and hard to explain. But we're dealing with Japan here.

Is he also making him hear Kyrie say Kadaj instead of what she's actually saying?

 

[Airling]

He gets in people's heads, so it's not impossible. Not extremely likely, but not entirely impossible.

Soon we may know. Or they'll just leave it as a loose end and have us speculate uselessly.

 

[Kuja9001]

「爆発寸前」
"It's about to explode."

後ろからキリエが言った。
Kyrie said from behind.

「え?」
"What?"

「エヴァンの、 背中のボム」
"Evan, the bomb on your back."

「ああ」
"Oh."

「カッコいいよ」
"It looks cool."

「知ってる」
"I know."

What? lol a sane person wouldn't be so casual about something like this happening.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Maybe Kyrie was the first person Kadaj encountered after he was "born", and so he latched onto the first name he came across in her memory as his name. It's not as if the Remnant's names have any obvious relationship to either Sephiroth or Jenova, so it makes sense that they might have called themselves after random people (but it's kind of funny that none of them are called "Isaac" or "Mary-Sue" or even "Hideo").

Maybe all Kadaj knows about the world is what he can absorb from the memories of other. So his global concept map is like this great big black blank (like a dungeon map when you first enter it) and every time he absorbs another person's memories more areas light up and connect. He can't know about Cloud until he taps into someone who not only knows about Cloud but would immediately associate to Cloud when he (or she) sees a silver-haired man. And maybe the reason Kadaj thinks Sephiroth is "nasty" is because that's the vibe he's picked up on from everyone he's tapped into.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

One of you (I won't say who ) has correctly guessed what's up with Kyrie knowing Kadaj. You'll find out in the next chapter.

 

[Pixel]

It's confusing. They reference things that happen in Episode Shinra, like Tseng being taken to Junon, and Kylegate starting the construction of Edge. I must be missing something

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Pix, what's your PayPal donation link? I want to send some thanks to you and mecorx.

 

[Soakette]

Doesnt Tseng being taken to Junon happen in the OG? I think he is just looking back when he remembers waking up there after Sephiroth attacked him, just like he does in CoS.

 

[Shademp]

Pixel should have PayPal link in his signature, YESYES. I think his heavy work justifies it.

 

[Arianna]

I know naught of this The Thing of which you speak, so I'll just help out with what I do know about.

They aren't Jenova. If they were, they probably wouldn't need to find her/him/it (?) to make the reunion happen. That's pretty canon to my knowledge, but don't quote me on it.

Thank you.

The Thing is a movie from the 1980s by John Carpenter (remade in 2011.)

It's about an alien that has powers to take on the appearances of beings that it assimilates - eats, basically; it then can act and look like the being.

Not as perfectly as Jenova though. As far as we know, the alien Thing can't read minds or act just like the person it - took in.

 

[Octo]

As far as we know, the alien Thing can't read minds or act just like the person it - took in.

It can't read minds, or rather it can't read non assimilated peoples minds, but it could act and behave exactly as the normal person did - in fact it's debateable whether or not assimilated people even know themselves.

Sorry to derail things

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

The 2011 movie was a prequel, though it plays out almost like a remake. It's hard to say which is better.

Anyway, yeah, it's long been believed that The Thing was the inspiration for Jeonva. They're too similar to be unrelated.

 

[Pixel]

I think the first post needs updated. We have final drafts up to chapter 18 now. Don't know how Hito feels about it, but it'll make it easier to share this with people.

6 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=546688&postcount=277
7 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=546934&postcount=286
8 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=547571&postcount=293
9 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=547803&postcount=296
10 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=548304&postcount=299
11 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=548824&postcount=302
12 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=548951&postcount=303
13 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=549828&postcount=307
14 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=550571&postcount=314
15 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=550845&postcount=315
16 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=551038&postcount=317
17 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=551390&postcount=321
18 http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=551626&postcount=323

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I'll update it tonight when I can be on my computer instead of my phone.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Got to it a little later than I intended, but it is done.

I'll keep updating it as you and mecorx get the final drafts prepared.