More Information On Sephiroth's childhood and showing Sephiroth as a child

[Flare]

On the thoughts of a 'Sephiroth redemption arc' plot idea, I do have to say I find it hard to see it happening. Like Starling mentions, Sephiroth gave up most of who he was after the events of VII, so that he could basically keep just the core of what he now was, which was his hatred for Cloud, intact and not let the Lifestream dissolve it. He gave up all his memories and feelings of his life before the Nibelheim Event, really.
At the point you see him in most of VII and especially in AC, he's really a different person. That's why I always consider the Sephiroth from AC to not be the 'real' Sephiroth; he's not who Sephiroth really was when he was human, when he was himself, you could say.
So, I always viewed there to be two Sephiroth's: the human one and the Jenova one.

Since the Sephiroth from the events of VII isn't quite human in many ways anymore, it's hard to see that one redeemed. Especially when he gave all those memories away during his second time in the Lifestream. What's there to redeem? He doesn't have any love for anyone, except perhaps Jenova, and even that is debatable. How can someone who doesn't feel love be redeemed?

Now, if we're talking about fanfiction territory, I thought that if there was some way for the human Sephiroth to keep his sanity (by having someone there for him during the Nibelheim Events), the whole events of VII could've been altered. However, VII so far has no indication of time travel, so that's highly unlikely. If there was a way for the human Sephiroth to come out of the lifestream after the events of AC, there's also a chance of that one being able to survive and/or beat the other Sephiroth.

tl;dr, I don't think the Sephiroth with sprinkles of Jenova's intent can be redeemed, but if there was some way for the human Sephiroth from before the Nibelheim Incident to come through that without losing himself, and also being able to manifest after the events of AC, that one can certainly be redeemed, if he even needs to be.

Jeez, this probably sounds complicated and confusing. Sorry guys.

Oh, and a side-note: I personally would love to get more info on the human Sephiroth. I don't need to know every single minute detail; CC was able to show you Zack's personality and life pretty well, despite not being a very long game, and it didn't show you every detail of his life either.
I'm the kind of person that revels in more canon info to write my fanfics from, because I want my fanfics to be as close to the 'real facts' as possible.

 

[AerithLives]

I think its a fantastic idea. I think now they know how big the game is, and how much nerds like us obsess over the story and characters, they have a responsibility to fill in gaps (where necessary) they missed out during the game...unless it involves characters like Genisis

I want there to be more light shed on Sephiroth as a child and his relationship with Gast. I mean the fact Sephiroth knew about Gast would help further the irony of the fact that he later kills his daughter. I was thinking maybe there would be journals in the games that could have belonged to Gast which tell of his experience with Sephiroth. Even better maybe there should be some journals from Hojo detailing Sephiroth's childhood.

 

[Dragonslayer Ornstein]

Sephiroth's preoccupation with finding out who his parents were can be said to reveal a rather large emotional hole. Becoming at least somewhat secure in one's own identity as a human being or at least a person of some intrinsic worth is something that generally occurs during childhood. Aside from his brief time with Gast, Sephiroth was most certainly denied this. His self-isolation after seeing the Makonoids housed in Nibelheim's reactor, how tremendously he snapped after reading all he could get his hands on in the basement, and how obsessed he became with his 'mother' after that shows a sort of preexisting codependency on the very concept of said parent. It shows how greatly he longs for that parent's approval. It also points to a man who was forced to grow up and play the part of an adult and a soldier so fast, there is likely a suppressed part of his thinking that is still very much that of a child.

I think this is an incredible observation and really clears up any assertions that Sephiroth's motives are as 'clear as mud' as one reviewer put it. FF7 arguably did a really good job of show over tell with this part of his character.

Honestly, I'd love a Sephiroth side story included in any future FF material just to showcase his ascension to a sort of godlike being and how his perception changed when exposed to the lifestream. I find him to be a very intriguing villain.

Oh and some other thoughts, if he were to redeem himself, perhaps he some aspect of the process reversing could occur through him reading journals about his childhood and what he was? That'd be interesting since reading the wrong information transformed him to begin with. They could highlight this subtle thematic about information you don't necessarily remember changing you.