Lore Summary of "On the Way to a Smile"

[Kuraudo.]

Lore Document of "On the Way to a Smile"
Some relevant story bits, character interactions and general lore from all the side stories that I thought was nice to list here. Including post-meteorfall world.

What's On the Way to a Smile?
It's a series of short stories filling the two-year gap between the original FFVII and FFVII: Advent Children. Written by Kazushige Nojima, the first story, "Episode: Denzel" was released in chapters on the official Japanese Advent Children website starting on September 5, 2005 and was released together with "Episode: Tifa" in V jump's FFVII: AC Prologue book (where the "Case of" prefix was instead used.) Then in April 16, 2009 the remaining episodes, Barret, Nanaki, Yuffie, Shinra, Lifestream Black & Lifestream White were released.

Heavy spoilers as follow, proceed only if interested. If you have any corrections to point out, please do write a comment.

This is the "directory" for other posts in this thread. Just click the title you are interested in to get more lore snippets.


Episode: Denzel
This story is told indirectly through the perspective of Denzel, the young orphan featured in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Four years after Meteorfall, Denzel meets with Reeve Tuesti and requests Reeve let him join the World Regenesis Organization (WRO). Denzel proceeds to tell Reeve about his life prior to the fall of Meteor; the narration includes Denzel's parents dying when the Sector 7 plate fell, living with Reeve's mother afterward, and ultimately surviving Meteorfall and becoming a scavenger in the ruins of Midgar before being rescued by Cloud.

Episode: Tifa
This story consists of Tifa Lockhart's account of the events following Meteor's destruction, overlapping in part with Denzel's story. Tifa, Cloud, Barret, and Marlene open a bar in the city of Edge, and try to begin their new lives. Barret eventually leaves to settle his past, and Tifa, Cloud, and Marlene form a family, including Denzel after Cloud finds him. Cloud becomes increasingly distant and secretive, a problem compounded by his job making long-distance deliveries, trying to hide away from them. Though Tifa tries to keep the family together, Cloud leaves and does not pick up when she calls his cellphone.

Episode: Barret
This story centers on Barret Wallace and his search for meaning in his life. Barret seeks a way to atone for his past actions as AVALANCHE, eventually helping Cid work on his new airship. When Barret learns of the fatal plague Geostigma, he decides to try and help the infected find treatment, and heads off to find a source of fuel for Cid's airship so they can help the world reach a cure if one is found. Barret also acquires a new prosthetic hand during the story, the story detailing his trouble in finding a suitable prosthetic when he first lost his real hand, the doctor who gave him his gun-arm explaining his desire for a weapon as a prosthetic symbolizes his hatred for Shinra and inability to let go of it.

Episode: Nanaki
This story centers on Red XIII, now known by all as Nanaki, depicting his inner struggle between living as a human or an animal, as he is more intelligent than normal animals, but is largely viewed as a beast by humans, and thus he is torn between which part of society he belongs in. He must also deal with an inner entity he called "Gilligan", spawned by his fear of what losses the future may bring him due to his longevity.

Episode: Yuffie
This story follows Yuffie Kisaragi as she returns to Wutai in the wake of Meteor's fall and must help those injured in the Lifestream's eruption. Later, the people become infected with a disease from Midgar, and blame Yuffie for it, believing she brought the illness with her from Midgar. Almost two years later, the disease, now known as Geostigma, still plagues the village, and Yuffie has spent much of her time treating the injured and attempting to find a Materia to cure them.

Episode: Shinra
This story centers on Rufus Shinra and the Turks, and follows their actions during and after the end of Final Fantasy VII. Shortly after fleeing to Kalm, the Turks search for Rufus and oversee the excavation of the ruins of Midgar and the construction of Edge, while Rufus is held captive by Mütten Kylegate and later Kilmister, both seeking to use his influence for their own purposes.

Lifestream Black and Lifestream White
This story is further divided into two parts "Black" and "White", and each part has three chapters and focuses on Sephiroth and Aerith. Sephiroth's portion of the story details his actions to inflict the Planet with Geostigma and create his avatars, while Aerith's portion follows her trying to heal the dead of Sephiroth's darkness and trying to find a way to help Cloud defeat the infection on the planet's surface and see him again.


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Source thelifestream.net
Novels
Audiobook


Also consider buying the original officially translated in: Italian, French, Spanish, German, English.

 

[Kuraudo.]

Episode: Denzel

• Post-meteorfall: for a while the people were unable to distance themselves from Midgar. Perhaps they thought they could return to their normal lives of blissfull ignorance if they stayed close.
• Before long, a new town called Edge was built, Edge’s main avenue started at the border of Midgar’s Third and Fourth Sectors.
• Most of Edge's buildings were actually constructed from Midgar’s debris. The streets smelled of iron and rust.
• Johnny ran a cafe that sat along the main avenue. He named the cafe “Johnny’s Heaven”.
• Customers who came there were subjected to the tale of “Johnny Reborn” again and again.
• Tifa reopened a new Seventh Heaven in Edge.
• Denzel was the only son born to Abel, a workaholic employee of Shinra’s Division Three, and Chloe, a sociable woman with a knack for housekeeping. They were living initially in Shinra’s employee housing area on the Sector Seven plate.
• Abel, wanted to live in the executive housing area of Sector Five.
• When Denzel reached the age of seven, Abel was promoted to head of division. That meant he had the right to live in the Sector Five housing.
• There is an urban legend on Midgar upper plates that sees poor slum kids forced into eating rats. However, that's not true.
• Arkham, a person that worked for Abel, under Abel's command brings Denzel over housing area, number 38 in Sector Five.
• Both Denzel parents died due to Sector 7 plate fall.
• Denzel after wandering for a while gets eventually in Sector 5 to live with Ruvie, Reeve's mother.
• Ruvie leant Denzel an encyclopaedia of monster, telling him it would be useful. That too belonged to her son, he had read it when he was around Denzel’s age. It contained descriptions and colour illustrations of monsters. The same thing was written on every page; "If you encounter a monster, run. Then tell an adult."
• Ruvie dies due to lifestream hitting the place when meteorfall is happening
• In the wake of Meteorfall Denzel was found by a man named Gaskin who was helping get everyone who did not evacuate to the Midgar Slums.
• Denzel received help burying Ruvie and left with Gaskin and other survivors to the railroad tracks and used them to descend Midgar's main pillar.
• Denzel and a group of orphaned kids his age made a living looking for scrap metal people needed to build the new city of Edge in exchange for food.
• Gaskin eventually dies due to Geostigma (most probably.)
• Denzel and his friends called themselves the Sector Seven Scavengers. Or Triple S.
• Denzel got separated from Scavengers.
• After an unsuccessful search for food Denzel wandered the ruins and made his way to the Sector 5 slums where, just outside of Aerith's church, he came upon Cloud's motorbike, Fenrir. He noticed Cloud's phone hanging off the bike's handlebars and examined it. Denzel decided to call one of the numbers on the phone's incoming call list. The number he called was that of 7th Heaven in Edge.
• 4 years after meteorfall Denzel is meeting Reeve in the attempt of joining WRO army. (is this post Dirge of Cerberus?)
• Denzel tells Reeve his background and only after that Reeve refuse to let him join WRO. Saying that the kids needs to "Bring out the strength in us adults.”
• WRO no longer enlists kids.

Did you know?
On the Way to a Smile -Episode: Denzel- Final Fantasy VII is an OVA adaptation of On the Way to a Smile "Episode: Denzel", a part of the novella set in between Final Fantasy VII and the feature film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The OVA was released alongside Advent Children Complete.

Episode: Denzel is also the second anime in the Final Fantasy VII series, after Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-, another OVA previously released with the original version of Advent Children.

 

[Kuraudo.]

Episode: Tifa

• Instability of the electricity supply in Tifa's new bar.
• Tifa introduce Marlene to the people as her daughter.
• The FF7 OG team decide to separate from each other.
• After promising to reunite one day, Tifa, Cloud and Barret separated from the others, leaving for Corel Village, Nibelheim and after that heading to Kalm.
• Kalm: Elmyra and Marlene, both of them were staying with Elmyra’s relatives, who owned a house there. Cloud explain what happened to Aerith to Elmyra. The three of them apologize.
• Rumour talking about an epidemic; a lot of refugees take repair in Kalm, some of them are very sick.
• Tifa learned how to serve Corel's wine and improved it.
• Several people helped building Tifa's new bar in Edge.
• The new bar in Edge it's also named Seventh Heaven and it is kids friendly, they have juices also specifically for kids.
• Barret would sip his drink in one corner of the bar. Maybe he thought he was the bouncer.
• Cloud’s job was to acquire the provisions and wine – but he didn’t know the names of most fruits and vegetables.
• Barret decided to head off to settle his past. He leaves for a new journey.
• There were many times when Cloud had to leave Midgar for their supplies. The destination was mainly Kalm. He usually had to rent a bike or a truck, or sometimes a chocobo, but now that he had his own bike that he could use freely, he would be able to take longer trips. Sometimes he would bring home rare foods to surprise Tifa.
• Tifa encouraged Cloud to turn the delivery service into a legitimate business.
• And so, that was the start of the Strife Delivery Service. Midgar was the center of their business, but they also delivered all over the world… well, anywhere Cloud could reach by bike.
• Geostigma was a disease that spread throughout the world since the day the Lifestream halted Meteor. It’s cure hadn’t been found yet. The patients also varied. Some would look healthy so no one would suspect that they were sick, but some died right after they contracted the disease. Then, the most important point for Tifa; there was a rumor that Geostigma was transmittable.
• Denzel suffer from Geostigma too.
• Cloud is a hero to Denzel. Saving Denzel as the symptoms of Geostigma appeared without warning, suffering with the fear of death.
• The way Cloud carried himself, the bike he rode around… it was everything Denzel looked up to. Denzel wanted to ask everything about Cloud’s past. Other times Denzel would ask about places that Cloud visited in the world, but when asked to describe them Cloud would only limit the explanation to "that route will be safer", "less monsters that way", etc.

 

[Kuraudo.]

Episode: Barret

• It had been several months since that day—the chosen day. After helping Tifa and Cloud build their home, Barret entrusted his best friend Dyne’s orphaned daughter Marlene to the two of them and embarked on a journey. It was a journey to settle the sins of his past.
• For half a year he roamed the world. Other than the Geostigma problem, life outside of Midgar had turned to some semblance of normal. The only difference was that hardly anyone used mako—not a single reactor was operating. At one time, this would have been considered a victory for Barret and the anti‐Shinra movement, but the feeling of being lost overcame any sense of satisfaction.
• Barret went to visit Old Man Sakaki, an artisan who once crafted prosthetic arms for him.
• What the old man had passed on to him was an adaptor that let him attach implements to his arm. By using it, Barret could attach various prostheses—or weapons—to his right arm.
• Barret told the old man to make him a new arm—one with a softer texture, with a hand at one end. One that nobody would fear, one that would let him melt into ordinary life. Old Man Sakaki only gave a snort and stared at Barret.
• Barret rode along in the truck. Old Man Sakaki’s nephew was driving, and Barret recognized the machine as the same type that took him all over the place as a kid. Its engine ran on steam from burning coal and heating up water in the boiler.
• It took four men working together to run it: one driver at the handle, one engineer to keep tabs on engine output, and two boilermen to pump coal into the chamber. At the rear of the truck’s massive body, a bed was attached that could carry about ten people. The coal occupied about five men’s worth of space, and Barret commanded about two men’s worth of the space that was left.
• The truck’s destination was a small village that made its collective living growing potatoes in the fields.
• Food prices were a problem in Midgar. Too high, even for a time of crisis.
• Once the mako supply stopped, most engine‐powered farming equipment was rendered useless.
• Barret knew that even if she went to Midgar (a lady he met), she wouldn’t find any decent treatment for Geostigma.
• Not far to the east of Rocket Town stretched a desert region where hardly any vegetation grew. Situated there was an oil derrick about fifty meters high, and a small, aging refinery built next to it.
• Several men and women stood beneath the weathered derrick. One of them was Shera, dressed in a white lab coat.
• Shera got Geostigma.
• Rocket Town was once the base for the Shinra Electric Power Company’s space program. The engineers had eventually settled down there, turning it into a bustling village.
• After that Cid steered the conversation away by talking about how Red XIII kept dropping by, how Yuffie was teaching the wushu fighting style to the kids of Wutai, and how Vincent had stayed completely out of touch.
• Barret helping Cid to build airship.
• Barret: “So you’re sayin’ there’s no way to make mako energy now?”
• Cid: “Ayup. Prob’ly not. There’s still some mako left that got sucked into Midgar’s reactors and never got used. Right now, those mako reserves power every mako engine worldwide. Area leaders are managin’ it, divvyin’ it up to the people they figure need it. Mainly it’s to get machinery runnin’ that’ll help with reconstruction.”
• Barret: “Yeah, I know. I was in Midgar. But c’mon, what’s wrong with spinnin’ just one of them reactors now and then? Forget how scary it is.”

 

[Kuraudo.]

Episode: Nanaki

• “The lifestream passed through here. That must have caused the boulder to fall. When I made my way back here, I noticed the geography had changed in many places. ”
• He looked around carefully again, and realized that parts of the canyon that had once protruded had been eroded away.
• "Gilligan". That was the name Nanaki gave to the thing that had suddenly appeared in his heart and struck him with fear. The word ‘Gilligan’ had no deeper meaning, but by giving it a name, Nanaki would surely not forget it. Names helped him certain events. And so, Nanaki continued on his journey with Gilligan as an unwelcomed dark passenger in his heart.
• Red's plan is to visit Wutai, then Rocket Town, then onto Corel, then Nibelheim. Then he would head north. He wanted to not only visit the villages, but also explore the remote, uninhabited areas.
• The life expectancy of his race was between five hundred and a thousand years.
• Nanaki was on his way to Wutai. If possible, he wanted to see Yuffie again. She was always playful, and treated him as if he was her pet, but Nanaki just accepted it as her way of being friendly, and learned to appreciate it.
• He was now almost fifty, and had always wondered why he only had the understanding of a sixteen year old.
• However, the intellectual development of his race anyway differed from that of humans, and at some point he had given up thinking about it.
• Yuri, Yuffie's friend, is sick of Geostigma.
• Nanaki had heard rumors that the disease spreads by contact with infected, but Yuffie didn’t seem the least bit concerned.
• Having the same thoughts and emotions as humans allowed him to observe and understand them. And it was his duty to pass on this knowledge of the evolution of the human race to future human generations. Nanaki was glad that he now understood his duty a little better.
• "Is that Gilligan’s true form? The fear I feel when the time came when my friends die?"
• Nanaki changed his plans and decided to investigate the “Midgar disease” as Yuffie and the people of Wutai called it. And where else could he learn more about this disease than in Midgar itself?
• Nanaki went south around Mount Nibel to continue on his journey east, but got lost in a forest he had never been in before.
• Nanaki met a female Nibel bear and one hunter with his son in the forest, the hunter will then kill the Nibel bear.
• The boy calls Nanaki 'Red' due to his fur colour. That name seemed like insults to Nanaki. It reminded him of the mad man who once gave him the same name.
• The hunter still had his gun aimed at Nanaki. “It’s been a while, but the Shinra Company used to have a premium on your whole clan. Huge wolf-like animals with red fur and a flaming tail. Damn it! If I had caught you just a year ago, I would be a made man now!”
• "So far we’ve only been able to use the Nibel bear’s tails. The Shinra Company has always paid well for them, because they could use them to produce a stimulant for their elite soldiers. But now it’s the meat that’s most valuable to us."
• "There’s gonna be global food shortages. Nobody knows how long it’ll last, but it is certain that food of any kind can now earn good money!"
• The hunter try to hit Nanaki, which runs away. Later on, two bear cubs appear next to the corpse of the Nibel bear mother.
• Nanaki takes with him the two bear cubs.
• The two bear cubs, whom Nanaki had given the names “Bazu” and “Rin”, had now bonded with Nanaki and he taught them how to hunt. Nanaki himself wasn’t necessarily an expert in the field, but in the end, the practice itself could even be of benefit to himself someday.
• One day Elena wearing Turks uniform appear in front of Nanaki, Nanaki will hide from her.
• After long, the bear cubs are now grown, one day they meet the boy again in the forest which is armed, they get to fight, Nanaki will protect the boy but will get scars from both Bazu and Rin's attack... long story short: Bazu and Rin will die in the attempt of attacking humans later on.
• Nanaki reach a village outside the forest. In the search of Bazu and Rin, which then will find dead.
• Nanaki lose control and goes wild beast mode, trying to take revenge on the now dead bodies of Bazu and Rin, humans attack Nanaki and then Nanaki lose consciousness.
• Later Nanaki found himself lying on a wooden bed and then sees Vincent. Vincent was the one saving Nanaki.
• One day, by chance, Vincent spotted a Shin-Ra helicopter in the sky and followed it, which led him to this village. The helicopter had landed here. Elena of the Turks was probably on the search for something, and had gone into the forest with the hunters. After a while Elena had obviously got what she came for, and then left with the helicopter.
• Nanaki leaves the beast world and head toward north.
• Cid was in Rocket Town, feverishly working on the construction of a new airship.
• When Nanaki finally realized that he had spent almost two years in the forest with the two Nibel Bears, he couldn’t believe it at first. Cid also seemed to have lost all sense of time due to his work, because even he was surprised that it had already been two years since the last time they had seen each other.
• One day the cheerful Cid invited Nanaki on a small test flight, now that the airship was practically finished. Nanaki accepted the invitation with pleasure.
• From the sky, it became apparent just how small the world really was. For Nanaki, who had traveled the world pretty much always on all fours, it was another big realization. He made a mental note to thank Cid for this memorable experience.
• Nanaki learns of the name "Geostigma" for the first time in Rocket Town.
• Yuffie: “Huh? You’re covered with scars. What happened?” (referring to Nanaki)
• Gilligan’s true face was the fear of loss. Now that Nanaki knew what it was, the unknown had lost its terror, and he didn’t have fear it anymore. Regardless, he still found himself trembling, and each time he needed longer to recover from the attacks.
• After a long time, Nanaki ran into Vincent again near the lake in the Forgotten City. Vincent listened patiently to Nanakis story… theory.
• He imagined himself running up a hill that overlooked Midgar. But when he finally got to the top, an incredible sight confronted him: Midgar was completely overgrown by plants, which he didn’t even know the names of. However, he could also distinguish people. However, among them there was nobody he knew.
• Vincent: "That day will never come. I am immortal, and I do not age. Whether that is fortunate or misfortunate for me."
• Vincent: "Hey. While I’m still alive, we should meet from time to time. Once a year."
• Nanaki: Why only one time per year?
• Vincent: "Well you’re an annoying fellow.”
• Both laugh: It was the first time since the days of the Cetra, that laughter could be heard in the Forgotten City.

 

[Kuraudo.]

Episode: Yuffie

• The Forgotten City. At a small lake where Aerith had lost her life and saw everyone off, Yuffie and the others had returned once again to let her know that the fight against Sephiroth was over. They all stood silently around the lake’s altar. None of them spoke but each of them were speaking to Aerith with their own words. (here for a little spanish ff7 mod with this novel sequence added)
• "It really is goodbye for us all." thought Yuffie.
• The group decide to separate from each other, but with the promise of seeing each other again.
• Yuffie raised her voice. She had almost forgotten the whole purpose of her journey.
• Yuffie: “Can I have all the- No, I mean can I just have half of all the materia? I’ll bring them back to Wutai with me and keep them in safe custody. Well, I’ll use them too maybe. Just a little.”
• Cloud: “You got it all wrong. Most of our materia are used for battle right? It really won’t be of much use for Wutai. So we’ll just share the ones that will be of use in healing and I’ll keep the rest. I think I’m the one that’s the most experienced when it comes to dangerous materia.”
• Shinra’s research, technology and knowledge of the planet’s life allowed them to bestow “powers” into the materia Cloud and his party possessed that wasn’t possible to produce naturally.
• Yuffie: "And so, now I’m the one with the most materia in the world. What do you think of that?”
• Yuffie goes back to her place, Wutai.
• Godo: “I’m glad you’re back safe, Yuffie. But listen my daugther, the town is in much trouble. Help me. Wutai is in need of assistance from young people like you.”
• Godo: “I know nothing about what you’ve done. What I know is that the world got dragged into a mess that the foolish Shinra and crazy SOLDIERs caused. 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—That is the way I understand it.” - this was the interpretation of Godo.
• Yuffie was sure her life as a materia hunter was at an end and was going to start a new page as the magnificent “Doctor Yuffie”.
• Many people were injured post-meteorfall due to lifestream. External damage could be seen in Wutai old buildings.
• The training hall had an hole on the wall.
• Even the materia Yuffie had couldn’t heal but, she was sure they would heal gradually if cared for well. The problem was Yuffie herself didn’t have the mental power. Materia was the crystallization of the Lifestream. To withdraw the power from the stabilized crystal, some form of shock is required and this is triggered by the mind waves of the user. As a result of that, the materia user’s mind is significantly weakened.
• Yuffie get locked in her place since Wutai people believes she brought the Midgar disease.
• Yuri is a childhood friend of Yuffie. Yuri’s mother is ill.
• Other people throw stones at Yuffie's sleeping place.
• "There’s some black pus that won’t stop coming out from her ears. It seems she’s in pain too. It hurts just to look at her.” Yuri talking about his mother.
• Yuri suggests Yuffie to find a cure so that people will change idea on her.
• Having escaped from Wutai, the two of them headed south to the place known as the Materia Caves. The area was where the Shinra Company had once planned to set up a Mako Reactor and it was what triggered the battle. Mako Reactor Construction Area. To put it simply, you could say it was a fertile land filled with the Lifestream. Long ago, it was a place that you could only be reached by chocobos that were raised and obtained special powers. However, after the Lifestream burst onto the surface, the geography has changed and you could now get close by foot.
• They reached the Materia Caves, and they are being attacked from a black liquid/water.
• Yuri is found on the ground with the black liquid coming out of his mouth.
• Nanaki reached Yuffie.
• Nanaki got for free a new mobile phone from the Manager of a phone shop in Midgar, since they told him that the PHS is dated. With a bit of effort he can manage to use it, he will put it to the ground and use claws.
• Nanaki: “Materia is also said to be the crystallization of the Ancient’s knowledge."
• “Maybe the Ancients didn’t manage to heal the illness your mother has either. Maybe it never existed during the Ancients Era. So maybe there is no materia to heal it” said Nanaki
• The number increased even though the new patients hadn’t been in contact with those that were quarantined.
• “It appears the disease isn’t contagious. Even though a quarantine’s been set up, the number of patients are still increasing. In other words, well—I’m sorry, my daughter.” Godo apologize since he was pointing at his daughter being the cause of the contagiousness.
• Even when Godo apologized, Yuffie still didn’t feel any more at ease. She didn’t care about what happened any more. She just wanted to know the cause of it all. She had forced Nanaki to leave the village, ordering him to gather information about the disease. It was possible he would get infected too if he stayed.
• Yuri: “I’ve been thinking about why some people are infected and why others aren’t.
• Yuri: “Yeah. The people here are those who have suffered from another kind of illness before and those who were heavily wounded by the overflowing Lifestream. In other words, they’re all people that think they’re going to die.”
• Everyone noticed the water’s taste had changed after the Lifestream erupted and passed by.
• They established two rules:
• 1. Take care when using water. It is unknown if boiling the water will have any effect but make sure you do so before use.
• 2. Do not think you are going to die.
• The number of huts had increased to two now. And three children had also caught the disease. They were brothers aged eight, six and four. Yuffie was surprised that children at this age were already thinking they were going to die. However, when she heard that they thought they were all going to be washed away together when they tried to rescue their older brother drowning in the river, she was confident the thoughts she and Yuri had about the disease were correct. Geostigma—that was what it was called around world now—spreading through a suspicious looking kind of water. It enters into the bodies of those who have given up on life or are faint-hearted.
• Yuri’s mother was gone. Even so, Yuri swore that he will always smile before Yuffie.
• Almost another year had passed. As Geostigma continued to spread, a cure was still yet to be found. Quite a number of people had the same opinions about the disease as Yuffie and Yuri did but, there were far more people that believed they will get infected as soon as they got into contact with the diseased and because of that, many of those unfortunate victims and their family lived in a life of despair.
• Yuffie was helping the sick people for two weeks and the other two weeks she was going out to research for a materia that could heal the disease.
• Yuffie eventually meet Cid with his new airship, after 2 years.
• Cid on his new airship limited power source: “I’m just going to have to place my hopes on that rush-headed Barret. He’s out looking for another place where there’s oil. I already have all the materials and the staff ready to go when he calls but, where on the planet could he be, eh?”
• Yuffie: "I‘ve become Yuri and all the patient’s hope by continuing my search for materia. That’s why I can’t quit being a Materia Hunter."

 

[Kuraudo.]

Episode: Shinra

• Pre-meteorfall: Reeve can control two robot cats at the same time. Even if it is a bit difficult for him.
• Cait Sith No.2 controlled by Reeve will save Tseng which is laying on the floor in very bad condition in the Ancient Ruins.
• Three men carried Tseng onto a boat. The men were his former superior and his subordinates (Veld from Before Crisis?)
• Reeve choose to contact them instead of people from Shinra Company.
• Tseng get treated in Junon.
• Rufus at age of 5 had a conversation with President and suggest the implementation of an escape route in case of emergency in the President office. President mark it as "L" for "Loser" (referring to the son.)
• Rufus use it to escape from WEAPON attack.
• Reno, Rude and Rescue team brings Rufus out then he will be moved to a small house in Kalm, which belonged to the Shinra Company, by helicopter.
• The city was now under the influence of Meteor. The increasingly strong storms and the violent earthquakes brought down the first of the buildings.
• Finally, even the former leader of the Turks, Veld, and their old colleagues (Before Crisis FFVII Turks) arrived in Midgar. Reno thought this must be a mirage, conjured by Meteor.
• It was the power of the lifestream bursting out of the Planet that saved it. The Ultimate White Magic “Holy” had triumphed against the Ultimate Black Magic “Meteor”. Cloud and his comrades had played a significant role in saving the world, but the majority of the population would never know. Rather, the general perception was that the planet had saved itself.
• Apart from a few ribs, Rufus had also broken his right heel, and was suffering from a whiplash. He was therefore in a wheelchair.
• Rufus order was to gather information on site (Midgar) and allies.
• Tseng and Elena were responsible for gathering information, while Reno and Rude were responsible for gathering allies.
• Their former colleagues (BC Turks), who had gathered here, had already parted to gather information from places other than Midgar, and would forward it to Kalm.
• As per Tseng the Lifestream brought a new disease in Midgar as observed in the Slums people.
• Rufus was taken away by force from a mob of people and a guy named Mutten Kylegate.
• "Some of the remaining army from Junon have taken over the head office. I think there are about a hundred of them. Some guy named, “Gate” something from military school is leading them." Reported Reno.
• Kylegate. He was born into a wealthy family, but after losing both his parents, he became head of the family. He really had no need to work for the military, but he applied, stating that he wanted to contribute to world peace by destroying the Shinra enemies. As a soldier he was very competent, but his character left a lot to be desired. He is known to be sadistic and cruel.
• “The Junon lieutenant was supposed to be on leave, but he has ordered his troops to Midgar. This morning he organized a meeting at the east of Midgar and made a speech. It was about the construction of a new town. He managed to get his hands on construction machinery belonging to Shinra” reported Veld.
• Rufus was held prisoner in Mutten Kylegate's mansion in Kalm as per Veld report.
• BC Turks are spread out around the world gathering information— But they’re also leading their own lives now.
• Over time, Rufus reveals his plans for a new city in the outskirts of Midgar, and gives him passcodes to Shinra warehouses for supplies. Kylegate gathers people to begin construction of the city, telling Rufus he intends to govern it himself.
• Kylegate eventually dies from one of his subordinates. Kilmister.
• Rufus is taken again in custody this time to a cave from Kilmister, where he has quarantined people with Geostigma.
• Kilmister when he was younger was one of Hojo's staff. At the moment local doctor in Kalm.
• Rufus: “At least tell me this – Is it contagious?”
  “I will also tell you this in due time.”
  It was clear for Rufus that the Geostigma disease was not contagious.
• Kilmister tells Rufus he has discovered a connection between Geostigma and Jenova, and is suppressing the pain of the disease using a diluted SOLDIER stimulant, but has had no success finding a cure.
• The stimulant was obtained from the tail of the Nibel bear.
• Kilmister then came to the subject of the black liquid. Rufus remembered the black liquid in the flooded cave – the black liquid that seemed to have a mind of its own.
  “Among the patients, the vast majority had seen this black liquid in hindsight. I believe they have either come in contact with, or drank the water without noticing it. We are talking about water after all. If you think of it like that, it can reach you wherever you are, if it wants to.”
• “The pain and fever the patients suffer from are symptoms that their immune systems are fighting against a foreign body. Compared to other diseases, perhaps this one is too fierce for the body’s immune system to handle, but with this opponent, it’s perhaps no surprise…”
  “And who is this “opponent”, as you put it?”
  “…Sephiroth’s genes… or Jenova’s genes – or rather, remnants of their shared consciousness. It’s as I told you before. They resemble the distinct characteristics of members of SOLDIER.”
• “There was a project that I once proposed, which was rejected by Professor Hojo. I’m dying to give it a try. I’m sure I can create something even beyond Sephiroth.”
• Cliff Resort was built in the early days of Shin-Ra Company as a health spa for its staff.
• Kilmister discovers that the disease is more directly caused by Sephiroth, and tells Rufus the disease intensifies to fatal levels when the infected give up hope. The next day he is found dead, shot by a man named Judd who blamed Kilmister for his wife's death.
• Rude and Reno were in the process of repainting the sign to Cliff Resort to the name ‘Healen Lodge’.
  “‘Healin’? What does that mean?”
  “It means to heal the world.”

 

[Kuraudo.]

Lifestream Black

• Sephiroth had decided he would use his Mother’s power. With a fragment of Mother’s body, I too can get a body again, the man thought. And so firstly, he tried to manifest on the surface as just a spirit, but his attempt failed. He had already returned the memories of his own appearance to the planet, and so he was not able to produce an image of himself. So the man found memories of a suitable appearance from the Lifestream, and with that form produced an image. It was the form of a boy. Soon the man remembered that being on the surface was incomparably more limited than the freedom of being a spirit. He created two more agents to do his work. These three were separate entities, and at the same time he himself. These three, created by the strength of the man’s will and detached from the system of the planet, were both at once a part of reality and monsters out of fantasy.
• The man thought of the future. As my servants are looking for Mother, if they come across someone who knows me, then from that spirit I can learn of who I once was. And with Mother’s further assistance, I can become fully real. Even if there’s something lacking, it doesn’t matter. Cloud will make me complete.
• Basically: Sephiroth didn't want to fade away so he made Cloud his spirit core. As long as Cloud remembers Sephiroth he can never fade.

Lifestream White

• Aerith had caught what Sephiroth was planning. He was apparently going to use separate entities to be his agents. Aerith asked herself if she could do the same. However, she soon changed her mind. Even if it were possible, I want to meet Cloud the way he knows me.

 

[frosty]

I'm not sure if this is considered "lore"? Since I imagine "lore" would be things like the origins of Jenova, tidbits of how the Ancients came to Gaia, Professor Gasts research notes...things that lend more to the richness to the history, geography etc. of the FF7 world and not so much the character interactions. These are more like, trivia?

But other things you might find interesting to add to Case of Tifa.

1. Cloud manages to barter the Fenrir by offering a lifetime voucher of free food and drink from Seventh Heaven
2. The continuity of Cloud not knowing the names of fruit and vegetables can actually be seen in Remake. If you say "No promises" to Jessie's proposition, she will prattle off the ingredients of what she'll use in her Pizza. And Cloud answers "uh, I never heard any of that stuff" lololol.

 

[Wol]

Thanks for summarizing all the important bits, wasn't planning on reading the novels but some extra info is always cool.

 

[Ite]

Impressive summaries! Thanks for the hard work, this is a great resource.

 

[Makoeyes987]

1. Cloud manages to barter the Fenrir by offering a lifetime voucher of free food and drink from Seventh Heaven

Imagine your partner coming home with a brand new car and saying that's what they paid for it.

From your restaurant.

God, I love you Cloud. Never change

 

[Kuraudo.]

Thanks all! Thanks frosty, if you or anybody else want to add more tidbits, please do!

Just updated Episode: Shinra

 

[Kuraudo.]

Added Episode: Yuffie

I coudn't help but to notice that Reeve/Cait wasn't really taken much in consideration in this novel.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Kalm: Elmyra and Marlene, both of them were staying with Elmyra’s relatives, who owned a house there. Cloud explain what happened to Aerith to Elmyra. The three of them apologize.

I still insist -- as I have for 15 years now -- that this is meant to be understood as "Cloud talked to Elmyra" about Aerith's death, not informed her of it. Reeve had already informed Elmyra of this in the original game.

The kanji used here in Japanese only for certain means that Cloud talked to Elmyra about the matter. The official English localization added a lot of text (that wasn't there in Japanese) about Cloud telling her "as gently as he could," and also that he and Tifa and Barret didn't know how to expect her to react.

That the localization specialist felt it was necessary to add all this strikes me as an obvious clue that this passage wasn't meant to be understood as saying Elmyra was learning about this for the first time. The sentence only reads as odd without the made-up stuff if you're already taking the meaning there was never reason to conclude was intended.

He imagined himself running up a hill that overlooked Midgar. But when he finally got to the top, an incredible sight confronted him: Midgar was completely overgrown by plants, which he didn’t even know the names of. However, he could also distinguish people. However, among them there was nobody he knew.

I'd forgotten about Nanaki having this vision. Along with the Advent Children script included with the Japanese Advent Pieces and North American Limited Edition sets, that's another indication we're meant to understand that humans are still around in the "500 years later" epilogue.

(The script says there's humans going about their business down among the foliage in Midgar from AC's opening scene.)