Talk About A Coincidence!

well-adjusted young man

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Marlene knows him well.

Marlene is a smart kid.

Trust Marlene.

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"With you by my side, I'll never give up no matter how bad it gets."

Next big project is a calendar for 2020, starring FF characters from VI to XV, flowers, and wings. First up, these lovely ladies from VII.

As always, the project is funded by Patreon. Do have a gander over there for this, and other goodies, if you’d like to help us out!

The new tag will be FF Calendar Project.

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I was thinking about this part of Trace of Two Pasts and its potential future implications:

There might come a day where she would no longer be 'the last descendant of the Cetra'.

No wonder that so many people got excited at the idea that perhaps this is an hint that Remake takes place in an alternate timeline where Aerith may survive and have kids.

Is she thinking to Cloud as a feasible partner? Maybe, I wouldn't exclude part of the intent here is to set up a future insight on Aerith's romantic feelings.

However I find this part extremely intersting for a different reason, and considering it into an overall view of the story, I'm guessing if the real intention of the writer wasn't to set part of the foundation of a greater theme of FFVII.

I think it's safe to assume that both Trace of Two Pasts and Picturing the Past, despite being purposedly written to enrich the narrative of Remake, are meant to expand the story and its characters as a whole. In other words, these two novels fit both the OG and the Remake, whether the latter is going to have a different ending or not (not going to discuss this here), nothing clashes with the original plot. No mentions of Whispers or glimpses of the future, just an insight and a modernization of the characters' backstories.

As regards the OG we already know what happens to Aerith:

In an extremely short span of time she endures a lot of internal struggles and development.

First of all she's torn between her human and Cetra sides. It's more my personal interpretation for now, but I think that Aerith tried for years to set aside her Cetra heritage. Being the last one, the special one, always turned out to be a negative thing. Her mother endured terrible experimentations that lead her to death, she had to live imprisoned and alone for years and even when she started living in Sector 5 with Elmyra she was constantly under surveillance, all this because of this uniqueness. Her special powers made her the strange one, who could hear voices and perceive people dying, and Aerith didn't want all this, she wanted to be as normal as any other girl. She wanted to work, to ejoy life, to be happy and free. But whenever her powers would have awaken again Shinra was ready to take her back to its labs. This unexpected journey forced her to learn about her heritage and accept the fact that her wish to be human couldn't overshadow her Cetra responsibility. And when she fully accepts herself, her powers and consciousness finally resurface.

Moreover she has to face her inner turmoir concerning her feelings. The boy she loved is dead, although she's unaware of the reason why he didn't come back to her 5 years before, and now she needs to understand what Cloud really means for her. He bears similarities with Zack yet he's not Zack and she perceives there's something different under his cold surface. And she finally resolves she wants to take a step forward and meet the real Cloud, wherever it may lead.

But all these quick realizations break off in the worst way possible. After more or less one week Sephiroth kills her. The White Materia falls in the waters of the Forgotten City and as far as we know it loses all its powers and becomes useless.

In this case those lines would...end in nothing but just stress on Aerith's will to be a normal human girl? The usual and obnoxious "red herring" that often fans apply to Aerith's character arc, as if everything concerning her feelings and expectations for the future were just a literary device to make her death hit harder?

I think there's something more.

Let's be clear, even IF the Remake will take a different direction than the OG and leave Aerith live, I think there are no chances Meteor won't be summoned. If anything because it's...the symbol of the story itself, it may sound simplistic but it's a matter of fact.

On a deeper level I'd point out that the symbolic dualism between Aerith and Sephiroth - that later will lead to Holy vs Meteor - has already been abundantly shown in Remake part 1. Aerith and Sephiroth are the two key characters with knowledges about a post AC future, they both present features and motivations that stem from Case of Lifestream Black and White. I'd say this is also a good reason to believe Aerith's fate can't be changed because her role as Sephiroth's counterbalance is set in stone, and I think this is quite the point of this character, accepting to be the embodiment of the spirit of rebirth and preservation, the true Cetra against the fake Cetra, the son of Jenova, who symbolizes oblivion and destruction. The yin and the yang of the FFVII universe, while Cloud, a completely normal human being who happens to be both the "living legacy" of a hero related to Aerith and the perfect Sephiroth clone, is in an unsteady balance between these two forces.

But I'm getting off topic.

Contextualizing that line in the original flow of events, I think it can take a way deeper meaning and the answer is already before our very eyes.

Common human beings descend from the Cetras, yet lost all their powers. They can be considered as a bad evolution, a sort of involution due to the loss of the connection with Nature in favour of an easier materialistic life.

This lifestyle culminated with the creation of Midgar (deriving from the epic Midgard, the "realm of humankind") and the reactors that suck the lifeblood of the Planet itself in exchange of comfortable lives.

The Cetras managed to save the Planet from the Calamity from the Sky at the cost of their own lives, and now humanity is draining the Planet of its most precious element, reactors are turning the Lifestream in a tainted substance that causes the rapid growth of monsters. Even without Sephiroth and Jenova, the planet would die prematurely. Groups of dissenters joined into Avalanche to try to stop this process in an aggressive way that caused deaths and destruction as well, the salvation of the Planet often turned as a pretext to take revenge against Shinra.

Holy is the ultimate resort, whose role is not only to contrast Meteor but to cleanse the Planet of all threats. And this kind of parasiting humankind would be doomed for sure if it were not for this little group of people, each one on their own internal journey to discover and embrace the importance of preserving the Planet and the Lifestream. Aerith is the lead of this journey of rediscovery (and self-rediscovery) that she passes on all the others after her death.

No one but a delicate yet strong flower girl finally saves the Planet leading the Lifestream to support Holy and reject Meteor, and the Planet decides to give humanity a second chance.

The price is high though, during the following two years people struggle to start over. The survivors of Meteorfall are now decimated by Geostigma and Aerith alone can't stop Sephiroth's plans. Geostima affects especially children, those who didn't die because of the disease got under the control of the Remnants. The only kid who seems to be spared is Marlene, the one who more than anyone else carries on Aerith's legacy.

It has been rumored more than once that Marlene could be a Cetra. I'm starting to guess if the point could actually be that Marlene is instead a human girl who has learnt, through her special bond with Aerith, how to find that lost connection with the Planet that drew the line between humans and Cetras.

Sephiroth tried to rise again using kids, parasiting their minds to find the remains of Jenova; the same way Aerith announced Sephiroth's defeat through the kids, asking them to wait for Cloud to come back from the Lifestream. Hundreds of kids are framed enlightened by a warm light while they get to the church, Marlene and Denzel in the lead.

Not causally the name of the movie is Advent Children, and not causally Crisis Core and the Remake kept linking her to children.

I think that this is what that line is hinting. Not a biological kid to whom physically give the globe of White materia, but a new generation aware of what has to be done to deserve the survival allowed by the Planet, conscious of the importance to preserve the cycle of life. People willing to find the lost connection with nature and live in harmony with it.

Aerith's living legacy.

Just my two cents.

Is Sonon really dead?

Yuffie’s mission in Midgar ended unsuccessfully. Shinra destroyed the base of her allies in Sector 7, she couldn’t get hold of the Ultimate Materia and, most importantly, Sonon died in order to save her.

His death gives a sense of closure to this newly introduced character. Although being quite short, the DLC is full of clever parallels between Yuffie and Melphie, Sonon's younger sister who got killed in front of his eyes during the Wutai war. He failed to save Melphie back then, but he can save Yuffie now.

But the big question is: is Sonon really dead?

The OST playing during the death scene is Seeing Melphie again. After getting stabbed, he has a vision of his little sister (a very touching moment tied to FFVII theme of reunion in the afterlife) accompanied by a bitterweet piano melody, that gets always softer until his last breath. But just when Nero seems to finish Sonon off, instead of mercilessly swallowing him into the darkness, he gently picks him up while the music digresses in an ominious and mysterious tone, hinting that his role may be not over yet.

But what could Nero want from Sonon?

I think the answer may be deduced diggin a bit into Dirge of Cerberus lore.

There's a not very well known entry related to the main DoC game (especially by the western audience since it had been released only in Japan and for a very short period of time): Dirge of Cerberus Multiplayer on-line. While some of the missions were later included in the international release of DoC, the plot of this game got lost despite its importance for the full understanding of the Deepground dynamics.

Here is a link for an excellent article from thelifestream.net that tries to keep a record of this expired entry, and here's a playlist of cutscenes from the game with English subtitles that helps understanding the main plot (btw, a great YT channel where you can also find localized playthroughs of rarities like DoC Lost Episode and Before Crisis).

A quick summary about Deepground and the Multiplayer game.

Deepground is a top secret facility created by President Shinra and located beneath the slums (remember that underground lab where Cloud, Barret and Tifa went to save Wedge? That's Deepground) where troopers and SOLDIERs - but also unaware civilians - endure severe experimentations that push their bodies and minds to the limit, aiming to create ruthless SOLDIERs with no moral boundaries. The elite DG SOLDIERs are known as Tsviets, like Weiss, Nero, Argento, Shelke, Rosso and Azul. To avoid any rebellion each candidate and Tsviet has a restriction chip implanted in their brain controlled by four Restrictors loyal to President Shinra. This mechanism is particoularly useful to control those Tsviets who don't make a distinction between allies and enemies.

Because of this the Tsviets started to secretly plot against Shinra until they finally understood how to cheat the system. Shelke and Argento found a way to implant a non-working chip in a candidate, so that they could kill the Restrictors. The protagonist of DoC Multiplayer is indeed this candidate (gender and name chosen by the player). Thanks to her special abilities Shelke tricked the candidate into seeing a supporting partner, Usher, who helped them into ranking as a Tsviet, and most importantly she instilled the hatred towards the Restrictors giving to the candidate false memories of a little sister brutally killed by one of them. In the end the candidate managed to kill one of the Restrictors but got stabbed as well. This is the final dialogue of the game:

Weiss: Can this one still be of any use?

Shelke: Negative. The prolonged SND [Synaptic Net Dive] has rendered most of the brain inaccessible. It's only a matter of time before it breaks down completely.

Rosso: Really? After all that hard work. What a shame.

Weiss: Then hurry up and find a suitable replacement. After all no one knows what the Restrictors really look like.

Azul: So we have to find another one? This is becoming frustrating.

Weiss: It can't be helped. Only one out of hundreds can make it this far.

Rosso: Ordinary humans simply aren't as strong as we are.

Weiss: Precisely.

Shelke: Well, it's actually quite simple. With the help of the HJ Virus I am able to hack into Patricia [computer system] and bypass security. Then all that's needed is to pick a suitable subject before it's implanted with the chip.

Weiss: Shelke, find a new one quickly.

The devs had never provided any time reference for the Multiplayer story but now, with Intergrade, we know for sure that the Tsviets are still under Shinra's control when Yuffie and Sonon met Nero on December 12, and, while the President will be killed the next night, it seems clear that Scarlet is the one who will take full control of Deepground until her defeat the next month.

Conclusion

My theory is that Sonon could be the perfect person to replace the Tsviet-candidate and the dead Restrictor, so that Weiss and the gang can pursure their plan of rebellion gainst Shinra:

Unlike many soldiers Sonon has proved to be an extremely strong and capable fighter standing up to Nero.

He has the right motivation as he seeks revenge against Shinra - especially Scarlet - for the death of his younger sister, which Shelke could further manipulate.

Unlike any other Deepground candidate, he has no working restriction chip implanted.

Sure, one could argue that Nero severely wounded him, but the game clearly reminded us before the battle that Nero can easily disintegrate the bodies of his victims, while he reserves a different treatment to this particoular character. And, by the way, this wouldn't even be the first time a Tsviet pretends to kill someone as Shelke did the same with the Tsviet-candidate. As far as I know the main DoC game never explained how the Tsviets overpowered the remaining Restrictors, who replaced the Tsviet-candidate or what happened to Argento - who isn't part of the DoC cast. Sonon might be the missing piece of this sub-plot that may lead to new secondary arcs that could tie a bit more Deepground to the main FFVII story.

A few more for the FFVII minor arcana. 

I often get asked if the deck will be printed, and the answer is yes! The best way to keep updated is on Patreon, where you’ll also get card meanings, WIPs, and monthly prints of the cards and pretty much anything else I’ve drawn, if you so choose. Bonus being you’ll also be helping me pay my bills and ensuring I can keep creating. Please consider joining us over there if you can.

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