Having A Comfort Character Is Great And I Think It’s Fine To Have One But If You Can’t Handle Someone

I have written and rewritten the Gast Post wayyy too many times and put more time thinking about it then it's worth so now here it is, just so it will begone from my drafts, here's my beef with Gast Faremis and the two big narrative issues that make thinking about him fill me with rage

Also I'm gonna put a TW for grooming here actually because Gast's lack of a canon age makes it seem like he might have met Ifalna when she was very young and they have a weird power imbalance thing going that I kind of talk about

The Jenova Project

It is basically impossible to make a sound judgement on Gast's ethics because we have no idea when he left the Jenova project or really why beyond that he knew he misidentified Jenova. I know one of the ultimanias said he felt guilt/remorse. But to be quite frank, until they show this remorse in-game it means nothing to me. It's one thing to reveal details like ages in the ultimanias, but Gast is a far too critical player in the plot for his characterization to be getting done secondhand in supplemental materials. Do not get me started on how he never shows up in Dirge. They just... ignore him a lot of the time, which is really weird since his discovery of Jenova is the plot catalyst for the entire series.

Also, I've noticed people tend to passively talk about him like he's *the good one* on the team or that he would have saved Sephiroth from Hojo. I'm not really sure where this comes from? Sephiroth speaks highly of him, but i don't trust Seph to be an accurate judge of character when it comes to Gast. Sephiroth would have been, at the very vert latest, probably around 4 when Gast left the company. If he even remembers Gast at all, his memories are not gonna be a full picture of what the man was like. Besides that, I think it's incredibly likely Sephiroth has a mystical, idealized version of Gast in his head, because Gast is someone who could, in theory, give him the answers about his origins Hojo refuses to. Hojo also probably shit talks Gast if be ever comes up, which would only make him more appealing to Sephiroth. Gast is not Hojo. He has cleared the bar past literally the worst person Sephiroth has ever met. It is akin to praising a candle for being able to burn compared to a crumpled, broken, wet match. Gast being less abhorrent then Hojo doesn't mean he was a good person.

I think people also tend to automatically assume Gast was a good person bc he's Aerith's dad, but being a good person isn't genetic. He didn't have the opportunity to be a father to her for more then about 3 weeks. That's not his fault, obviously, but it means he had no hand in raising her, so him being her father really isn't indicative of anything outside of him being involved with Ifalna, which we will get to in a second.

Honestly, it seems to me like Gast was ambivalent to Sephiroth at best. Remember that a perfect weapon was not what they were designing Sephiroth to be; they wanted him to be an Ancient. Of course, Jenova is not one, meaning that in terms of achieving its original goal, Gast's goal, Project S was a failure from the outset. I can't help but wonder if Gast saw Sephiroth that way, or else as a horrible mistake, especially considering that after leaving the company and abandoning Sephiroth (and maybe Lucrecia depending on who left first) to Hojo, Gast on his own time achieves his original goal of making an Ancient, by fathering Aerith. Speaking of...

Ifalna

We know from the guides that Ifalna was 29 when she died. Aerith was 7, meaning Ifalna had her at around 22. If Gast was around Hojo' age, he would've been in his early 30s when Sephiroth was born. Sephiroth is 5-6 years older then Aerith, which would put him at around his mid thirties when he had a child with Ifalna. If Gast left the project shortly after Sephiroth was born or during Lucrecia's pregnancy, he might have met Ifalna as early as her being 18. I sincerely do not believe the devs want to imply their relationship was predatory. I honestly don't think all that much thought has been put into it at all, and while it's reasonable to sideline it since it's not the most urgent bit of lore, this sidelining makes trying to figure out what their dynamic was a nightmare.

Apparently the ultimanias are contradictory about whether the two of them met at Shinra or outside of it. The only time we've ever seen the two of them together was the Icicle Inn tapes, wherein their interactions seem mostly professional until the last tape. In this last tape, the dev's clumsy way of showing that these two are in a relationship was to have Ifalna start to address him as Professor, then correct herself and call him 'honey' instead, which is a hell of a Freudian slip for her to make, given that this tape takes place almost a month after the birth of their daughter.

Again, I think this was just a very awkward blinking neon sign hung up in order to quickly convey THESE TWO WERE IN LOVE, but if you take it at face value, it is strange at best and downright chilling at worst. Gast was the leader of the Make An Ancient Baby project, and when he realized he didn't actually make an Ancient, he left the project and went and had a baby *old school style* with the last Ancient while she was undergrad age. It is fully possible he and Ifalna did have real feelings for each other, but that context with the age gap just makes it... eugh. And it's not like they had a professional friendship and he just served as a sperm donor for Ifalna because she wanted to start repopulating her species or smth. She calls him by a pet name, they are in some kind of romantic entanglement.

At this point I don't think the devs have put nearly as much thought towards this as I have, we're probably just supposed to assume they were happy together because it makes Gast dying more tragic. But them neglecting this relationship leaves it uncomfortably unclear. For example, because they don't think about this relationship a lot, Aerith never mentions her mom telling her about her dad, which is very easily read as Ifalna not wanting to tell her daughter about Gast. That would just be because it hurts Ifalna to talk about his death, but... she also told Aerith stories about the Ancients, which must have also been painful since they were the last two, stuck in a lab away from nature. We know Ifalna gets emotional when talking about the Cetra, she gets worked up seemingly to the point of crying while talking about Jenova in the interviews. The only explanation I can see for why she wouldn't want to talk about Gast if they were happy toghether was that Hojo might punish her if she did. (Worth noting i have traces of two pasts but haven't gotten to reading it yet, she might mention him in there but again supplemental materials, Aerith has never knce mentioned a dad in the actual games)

If the goal is that we are supposed to see Gast as a bad or even morally compromised person who went straight after leaving the company, that's perfectly fine, but everything about him is so muddy that I genuinely can't tell what to make of him. Hojo and Hollander we're clearly supposed to hate, and Lucrecia has settled herself pretty comfortably in the "did fucked up things but has since paid for it" niche, but Gast is just... here. Floating around in the back of the narrative, not even really haunting it because his main contribution as the guy who discovered Jenova gets usurped by Hojo being the one to spread its cells. His other main contribution is being Aerith's bio dad, and she has never once seemed to give it any thought. The only person in the modern era who seems to give a rat's ass about his role in everything is Sephiroth, for like 2 seconds during his meltdown at Nibelheim before he's back to huffing the mommy issue fumes. He is just... such a bizarre, frustrating nothingburger, and I desperately hope they rectify it in remake 3.

Aerith's day

REBIRTH

Aerti Parallel [ 6 / ∞ ]: We make a great team

SOLDIER-Cloud VS Real-Cloud

I… I could make that mug

A little WIP to celebrate

Aerith's birthday ❤️🌸🎉

"Angeal, stay back. I'll take Sephiroth alone."

"Uhhhh yeah, Genesis so you don't want to do that because that sword that he's holding is bad news you see we basically went into this spooky temple and there were a bunch of statues and monsters and purple shit and everyone started talking like a lunatic and gaslighting the hell out of me and Seph and I kept dreaming about our moms and he was acting like a huge asshole and we had a slapfight and anyway the sword is cursed but not cursed but maybe kind of cursed and Seph went apeshit getting it and had to undergo all these bullshit trials with ghosts because the sword was kinda-sorta-maybe forged from an alien meteorite and has some freaky-deeky shit behind it and Seph was meant to have it or whatever but you really don't want to fight him because I remember what a nightmare that was and I'm not going near that sword ever again be glad I never even brought up Alissa because I'm pretty sure Seph would go into convulsions and does anyone even REMEMBER what happened to Bachman but seriously Genesis don't fuck around with Seph while he's using that sword you're gonna get--"

Tifa’s journey and resolve

As we’ve previously discussed, when Tifa first discovered Cloud at the train station, she found herself faced with a dilemma: she could heedlessly tell Cloud what she knows and risk losing him physically or mentally; or she could build up her resolve and wait for the opportune moment to tell him, hoping that with proper timing, she’d be able to tell him without losing him. Tifa chooses the latter.

Tifa wrestles with her secret across Midgar, Kalm, Gongaga, and Cosmo Canyon, but her worries finally push her over the edge at Gold Saucer’s Ghost Hotel. While Red XIII worries that he may go mad, Tifa is the only one who realizes that this is likely what is happening to Cloud; that Cloud may very well be going mad already. In her fear, Tifa snaps:

Red XIII: Cloud… I’m number 13. Am I going to go mad too?

Tifa: I don’t know what Hojo did to you, but you’ve been all right so far, right?

Red XIII: But…

Tifa: Be strong.

Red XIII: But, I…

Tifa: Stop it, Red XIII! Be strong!

Cloud: Tifa?

Tifa: You’re not the only one who’s worried!

(Source)

This uncharacteristic outburst convinces her. She has to talk to Cloud–and if she can’t find the opportune moment, she’ll make one.

So… she asks Cloud out on a date.

And the opportune moment reveals itself on the gondola:

Tifa: Ok, I’m going to just go ahead and say it…

Cloud: …what?

Tifa: Aeris would be able to just come out and say it, probably. Cloud… Sometimes being old friends is hard. I mean, timing is everything.

Cloud: Yeah…

Tifa: Cloud…? I……

Tifa: ………………….

(Source)

The gondola script looks like an attempted romantic confession–but much like everything else pre-Lifestream, looks can be deceiving. Given Tifa’s earlier emotional outburst, it’s far likelier that her words are hinting at her worries. But regardless of the interpretation, as “Interrupted by Fireworks” swells in the background, Tifa can only think of one thing: “I need to tell him.” Be it her doubts or her affections, could it be that now is finally the right time?

Surrounded by the flash and glitter of the Gold Saucer, Tifa hesitates… and before she knows it, the ride is over. Tifa lacks the confidence and resolve to be open with Cloud, and she allows the opportune moment to slip through her fingers.

Like Tifa said, timing is everything, and she never gets an opportunity like this again. As soon as they get off the gondola, Cait Sith’s actions set off a rapid-fire chain of events that culminates at the Norther Crater.

And suddenly, all of Tifa’s worst fears are realized. She loses Cloud mentally. She loses Cloud physically. He is gone. All of her careful, calculated efforts were for naught. Tifa is left bereft and depressed.

Which brings us to Mideel:

Tifa: What’s the matter? Are you all alone?

(dog whimpers)

Tifa: You got lost didn’t you? Separated from someone you love? Silly thing…

(Source)

This moment is huge for Tifa. This is the first time she is able to articulate, even indirectly, any of the thoughts locked away in her heart. Between Northern Crater and this moment, Tifa has changed.

And just in time. Tifa learns that Cloud may be alive and near. Filled with hope, “Interrupted by Fireworks” swells in the background and harks back to that moment on the gondola, when Tifa could only think of one thing: “I need to tell him.” And this time, Tifa is not going to let the moment slip through her fingers.

Final thoughts:

This makes Cloud’s clone status all the more heartbreaking. Just when Tifa thinks that Cloud is safe and she can finally make up for missed opportunities, Cloud is not ready to hear her. Once again she’s lost her chance and she’s lost Cloud. We all know Remake is going to rip our hearts out with this scene.

Damn this doctor is extra af, way to twist the knife (and explain why Tifa stays with Cloud):

“Timing is everything.” Tifa is right–from Cait Sith’s treachery through to Cloud’s clone violence, Tifa never gets the chance to talk to Cloud in private. By the time Cloud wakes up at the Gongaga Inn, his ego is at the brink of collapsing into full Sephiroth Copy mode–and if he got even a hint that Tifa doubts him, his ego would simply collapse sooner, same as it does later at Northern Crater. Tifa senses this, and hopes that fake confidence in Cloud will tide him over. This is also why she asks to stay in the party when the group goes to take on Sephiroth–she wants to keep an eye on him and support him, not just “settle things with Sephiroth.”

“Timing is everything,” reemphasized. Through the Lifestream sequence, we realize that even if Tifa had opened up to Cloud earlier, nothing would have changed–Cloud wasn’t ready to face his own flaws and work resolutely towards the truth with no reservations. The right time really is after Northern Crater and in the Lifestream. 

In an upcoming (mostly written!) post I’ll talk more about how “Interrupted by Fireworks” is actually a clever device to subvert our expectations… for both girls. There’s a lot of interesting symmetry that makes the divergences even more striking.

Special shoutout to @janeiteoftheslums​ who pointed out a detail I missed in the first (extremely short-lived!!) version of this post. Thank you so much! Everyone, if you’re craving some cloti goodness, head on over and read some of her fics.

Zack and Cloud parallels

Crisis Core vs. Final Fantasy VII Remake