SPOILERS INTERmission Chapter 2 Spoiler Discussion

Eerie

Fire and Blood
That’s kind of my whole point though, I think we can all agree that something is wrong here it’s just a matter of what that something is

But then, Zack says "Aerith..." and her name appears as the screen fade to black... this is what the devs are pointing at. They want us to think about Aerith.
 

KindOfBlue

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Blue
But then, Zack says "Aerith..." and her name appears as the screen fade to black... this is what the devs are pointing at. They want us to think about Aerith.
Of course they want us to think of her, that’s why he’s there…I’m talking about all the theorizing about her being dead / in another timeline that comes after that observation, like I said, my brain is too small to keep up with every crazy ass theory this fanbase comes up with so I refuse to let myself think too much about anything until I know without a shadow of a doubt that it’s worth losing brain cells over lol
 

Fiz

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Eh?
Okay, so let me know if I'm understanding correctly.

This is what I think is happenening:

And this is what the you guys think is happening:
Is that correct?

I have an alternate reading on this, assuming multiple timelines.

That there were multiple timelines, Sephiroth travelled back in time/across timelines, Cloud and Co defeated the whispers and now all timelines are merged into one. Or the singularity is it’s own timeline. They’re now there. Something like that.
 

KindOfBlue

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Blue
“Maybe I’ll head over to her place and see if she’s there…”

(“Flowers Blooming in the Church” plays)

“There! In the window, it’s…Aerith and her mother, eating dinner with…Tseng?!”

(Tseng winks at Zack a la James Franco in Spider-Man 3)
85EC20A6-E90D-49E6-9A0E-7485A4BE7635.gif


“NOOOOOOOOO—!!”

(“Hollow” plays)
 

grooveorganic

Lv. 25 Adventurer
Maybe she's there but she's... changed...?

You might be on to something. I've seen very little mention of her reaction to when it started raining again in the end of Intermission. It's the total opposite of how she reacts at the end of the base game.

She went from this...

aerith_rain_01.jpg


To this...

aerith_rain_02.jpg

Knowing the symbolism behind water/rain in relation to Zack, her reaction is supposed to mean something. Zack is alive, so the sadness she'd have at the coming of the rain should be gone/never existed. Either Aerith doesn't seem to understand this connection to her feelings/senses and the rain anymore, or this could possibly be one of the things that changed about her in regards to them passing through the singularity.

1624640352921.png


We beat the Whispers (I still find it super strange she knew an actual battle was coming for us to even have to fight and win) and I'm of the mind that she's lost her connection to the Planet after everything that went down. We might have to spend some time in part 2 helping her reconnect to it.

But, in her own words...

1624640754410.png
 

Fiz

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Eh?
You might be on to something. I've seen very little mention of her reaction to when it started raining again in the end of Intermission. It's the total opposite of how she reacts at the end of the base game.

She went from this...

View attachment 10403


To this...

View attachment 10404

Knowing the symbolism behind water/rain in relation to Zack, her reaction is supposed to mean something. Zack is alive, so the sadness she'd have at the coming of the rain should be gone/never existed. Either Aerith doesn't seem to understand this connection to her feelings/senses and the rain anymore, or this could possibly be one of the things that changed about her in regards to them passing through the singularity.

View attachment 10405


We beat the Whispers (I still find it super strange she knew an actual battle was coming for us to even have to fight and win) and I'm of the mind that she's lost her connection to the Planet after everything that went down. We might have to spend some time in part 2 helping her reconnect to it.

But, in her own words...

View attachment 10408


That’s a good point, I think you might be onto a few things there.

Off topic, kinda, that last pic creeps me out. She looks like she’s made of plastic.
 

Eerie

Fire and Blood
Knowing the symbolism behind water/rain in relation to Zack, her reaction is supposed to mean something. Zack is alive, so the sadness she'd have at the coming of the rain should be gone/never existed. Either Aerith doesn't seem to understand this connection to her feelings/senses and the rain anymore, or this could possibly be one of the things that changed about her in regards to them passing through the singularity.

I don't really think that she's meant to be sad all the time when she sees rain... The first time, she had a vision about Zack and Cloud, and it reminded her that the sky had taken Zack. That's why I always say that at this moment, she was forced to let Zack go, because she finally understood that. The second is because she indeed has a connection with Zack, and she feels that something is wrong with him, although she doesn't know what yet. Aerith doesn't know or understand things as they come; she needs to work around them a little to understand them, that's why she's trapped in a labyrinth. Because she needs to take the good route to "know things".

We beat the Whispers (I still find it super strange she knew an actual battle was coming for us to even have to fight and win) and I'm of the mind that she's lost her connection to the Planet after everything that went down. We might have to spend some time in part 2 helping her reconnect to it.

Beware, because the French translation does not convey the same feeling at all, and I'm guessing it's closer to the JP translation; Aerith says:

ch18-33.jpg

"This wall made of Whispers is destiny's doorstep"

ch18-34.jpg

"Know well... that by going past it, we all change our lives."

She doesn't mention changing themselves at all, but changing their lives... which makes sense, since they're trespassing into Destiny's Singularity. That's why Zack seemingly survives (although we know jackshit about which reality he does survive in...) and why her own fate may be at stake.
 

grooveorganic

Lv. 25 Adventurer
(I'm about to cry... This game is truly turning into a lost in translation nightmare for me.)

Aerith doesn't know or understand things as they come; she needs to work around them a little to understand them, that's why she's trapped in a labyrinth. Because she needs to take the good route to "know things".

Your read on Aerith is a lot different from mine. I think she understands exactly what's going on but she doesn't know how to convey her thoughts in a way that makes total sense to the party just yet. Or she thinks it's too soon the info/lore dump on them that she's aware for past events. I realize she's half problem solving out loud but... it's kind of mind numbing for me. I personally don't like when characters speak in code with the expectation of people to just follow along when they can just answer in simple terms. (Sephiroth does this shit, but he's literally making more sense than Aerith to me now.)

So, until this story shows me otherwise, I'm working with the idea that she knows way more than she's letting on, and I don't just mean about og events.

I don't really think that she's meant to be sad all the time when she sees rain... The first time, she had a vision about Zack and Cloud, and it reminded her that the sky had taken Zack. That's why I always say that at this moment, she was forced to let Zack go, because she finally understood that. The second is because she indeed has a connection with Zack, and she feels that something is wrong with him, although she doesn't know what yet.

Aerith's reactions to the rain feels like two different people, and I really suspect there's a reason this scenario was repeated in what feels like a few hours later. Cloud isn't concerned about her well being in the rain the first time around, so what makes now, outside of Kalm, any different? Are we supposed to see that Aerith is more comfortable with the rain after being outside for a few hours? Is she finally okay with being out of Midgar and from up under the protection of the steel sky? Why is she happier now in the rain, in relation to Zack, if she was only holding onto the hope that he was still alive? She doesn't act like he's dead during the game. Why feel uneasy now that he's alive, but never mention being uneasy the whole time he was dead? Why feel that something is wrong about a man you think is dead at all?

This is why I think she feels off, because her connection to the Planet and that sense of just knowing things is gone. Aerith just hasn't figured that out yet. Edit: Or this is unrelated to the planet and Aerith feels knots/uneasy because she can suddenly feel/sense that Zack is alive. Like, that must be such a strange sensation right? And she doesn't know that's what this feeling is because it's new and different. Unease and knots doesn't have to be bad.

When is part 2 coming out to make this make sense?

She doesn't mention changing themselves at all, but changing their lives... which makes sense, since they're trespassing into Destiny's Singularity. That's why Zack seemingly survives (although we know jackshit about which reality he does survive in...) and why her own fate may be at stake.

In any case, I can only understand the English version, so it's all I have to work with, but thank you for showing me these differences. LOL! I like both, but "change our lives" feels a lot more... absolute. Passing through the Singularity or not, leaving Midgar to hunt down Sephiroth would change them going forward. And if we're just talking about Aerith's fate, whatever these changes are literally can't be any worse for her because in the og events she just... dies. Her fate going forward has to be better than that right?

Also, this scene and Aerith's line... is completely different from the French version. Dear god... Did they switch where some lines come up for the French version? Aerith tells the party her portal is "Destiny's Crossroads" a moment or so prior to this in the English version.
 
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grooveorganic

Lv. 25 Adventurer
That’s a good point, I think you might be onto a few things there.

Off topic, kinda, that last pic creeps me out. She looks like she’s made of plastic.

Thanks! I know I'm probably over thinking but why not at this point. Lol!

And yes! She totally looks plastic ?. I hate it and it really is amazing what light and shadow can do. Her shots in the ending scenes look super strange to me too.
 

Eerie

Fire and Blood
Your read on Aerith is a lot different from mine. I think she understands exactly what's going on but she doesn't know how to convey her thoughts in a way that makes total sense to the party just yet. Or she thinks it's too soon the info/lore dump on them that she's aware for past events. I realize she's half problem solving out loud but... it's kind of mind numbing for me. I personally don't like when characters speak in code with the expectation of people to just follow along when they can just answer in simple terms. (Sephiroth does this shit, but he's literally making more sense than Aerith to me now.)

If you want to see how I see Aerith, I made a whole thread about it in this forum. To me, she doesn't know everything. It's way more complicated than that. I've also been looking at her drawing lately, and concluded that it kind of... told the same thing. But the way I see it, Aerith's way of looking at the future (to me there's no time loop, it's a parallel timeline to the OG, and she draws her knowledge from the Lifestream) is more hindered than Sephiroth's (who's INSIDE the Lifestream).

Aerith's reactions to the rain feels like two different people, and I really suspect there's a reason this scenario was repeated in what feels like a few hours later. Cloud isn't concerned about her well being in the rain the first time around, so what makes now, outside of Kalm, any different? Are we supposed to see that Aerith is more comfortable with the rain after being outside for a few hours? Is she finally okay with being out of Midgar and from up under the protection of the steel sky? Why is she happier now in the rain, in relation to Zack, if she was only holding onto the hope that he was still alive? She doesn't act like he's dead during the game. Why feel uneasy now that he's alive, but never mention being uneasy the whole time he was dead? Why feel that something is wrong about a man you think is dead at all?

This is why I think she feels off, because her connection to the Planet and that sense of just knowing things is gone. Aerith just hasn't figured that out yet. Edit: Or this is unrelated to the planet and Aerith feels knots/uneasy because she can suddenly feel/sense that Zack is alive. Like, that must be such a strange sensation right? And she doesn't know that's what this feeling is because it's new and different. Unease and knots doesn't have to be bad.

Cloud asks the second time around because she mentions the roof (again, the translation in the first round was a little off, she doesn't speak of the plate in Midgar acting as a roof), so he notices and remember their chat on the roofs where she talked about that. So he's concerned that maybe she isn't that well when it's not really about that.

The rain is the important connection she has with Zack, yes. It's not a mistake that it rained when she had a vision of him (the sky is cruel in French, though I know the line is again different in JP, but it's meant to convey that), and then again that odd feeling as we're switching to Zack the second time around.

Also, you might be interested in that thread that talks about the difference between the translations.
 
I'm back on the topic of the connection between Avalanche and Wutai, because I've been replaying the Remake and I was reminded of this snippet of dialogue in Chapter 16:

President Shinra: I trust the narrative is intact?

Heidegger: Rock solid. The people have embraced the Wutai-Avalanche conspiracy wholeheartedly. I've almost come to believe it myself.

President Shinra: Wutai's response?

Heidegger: So far, nothing. And if those cowards do react, all the better for us and our story.

President Shinra: Very well. Then we shall stay the course.

I think it's pretty evident from this quotation that Heidegger and President Shinra have fabricated the Avalanche-Wutai conspiracy out of nothing in order to sell a renewal of the war to the public.

However - What an irony if Shinra thought they'd invented the Wutai-Avalanche connection, and then it turned out to be true!!

PS Oh hey and what if Tseng turns out to be the liaison point between Avalanche/Rufus and the 'new Wutai government'??

Wheels within wheels...
 

looneymoon

they/them
AKA
Rishi
the amount of time I spent trying to do this Top Secret battle with just the materia I had could have probably been cut significantly by grinding :/

I think I've done everything, but my play log says I'm missing 1 enemy Intel? Did I miss something or is there another secret fight?
 
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Makoeyes987

Listen closely, there is meaning in my words.
AKA
Smooth Criminal
the amount of time I spent trying to do this Top Secret battle with just the materia I had could have probably been cut significantly by grinding :/

I think I've done everything, but my play log says I'm missing 1 enemy Intel? Did I miss something or is there another secret fight?

What enemy is it?

I have a feeling that it's one of the launcher enemies that show up during Scarlet's fight.

If you beat her first phase too quickly, the other launcher enemy won't show up, making you miss the only chance to assess it.
 
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