ToolMan

Here's a thread on the Whispers and why they are exactly what the game is telling us that they are. As well as how that connection bridges into Rebirth. JP script referenced, as well as both Ultimanias.

@AnatoneRich @didinowmove @pollenainne So you want to do an analysis of the song without actually taking in the context of the ending in which that song is placed? You're analyzing scenes in the ending, but completely ignoring the context and events that create those scenes. 🤡 behavior.

@TooliusManicus @didinowmove @pollenainne Because my analysis approaches the song as it relates to Cloud’s overall loss, not how it relates to defying destiny. You’re literally epitomizing the “Sir, this is a Wendy’s” meme. Feel free to do that analysis on your own. Don’t forget to tag me

The problem is that you are parsing every line of Hollow as if the song has no connective tissue. Finding a scene that vaguely resembles one lyric is not enough. That scene still has to connect to the emotional journey of the song as a whole. If the song moves through regret, longing, hidden tears, wanting someone back in his embrace, and finally saying, “I know that you’re long gone,” then every proposed reference should contribute to that same sense of loss. That is why inserting Tifa’s Resolution or the LSS does not really work. Even if one line can be associated with Tifa crying, how is that moment connected to Cloud’s loss of Zack or Aerith? It is too far removed from the grief the song ultimately reaches. And if “drifting along” is supposed to refer to the LSS, how does that interpretation connect to everything surrounding it? By contrast, if the subject is Aerith, the progression remains continuous: he remembers the pain hidden beneath her smile, regrets not understanding sooner, wishes she were still in his arms, searches for a way back to her, and finally acknowledges that she is gone. You cannot interpret a song as a collection of unrelated fortune-cookie lines. The question is not merely, “What scene can I attach to this lyric?” It is, “What story are these lyrics telling together?”

@therantindave @MikoC00kie You like to chirp a lot without saying anything of substance and when I offer to debate you then you start dodging. Reeks of cowardice

@TooliusManicus @MikoC00kie We've done this dance before, Tool. You showed everyone then that you are incapale and disingenuous, and your response of 'DEBATE ME, BRO' as you've highlighted here shows what your true character is like. Move along.

Fascinating read that approaches 'Hollow' from multiple perspectives. Very nice work!

@therantindave @MikoC00kie I'm still waiting, Dave. Let's see your critical thinking.

@MikoC00kie @TooliusManicus I wouldn't worry. That gent is incapable of critical thinking, as he's already shown by calling an in-depth and multi-faceted musical analysis of 'Hollow' a 'Cloti' post.

@AnatoneRich @didinowmove @pollenainne If you can't ignore the ending, then why does your analysis not touch on the ending of the game and the premise presented which is that Destiny has been changed. The entire scene with Zack is contextualized by Destiny's defeat.

@didinowmove @TooliusManicus @pollenainne Hollow *Skies* plays in the slums. That’s a musical transformation of the main theme “Hollow.” “Hollow” plays in the ending with a lot of emphasis on Zack and Aeris, as I addressed in the thread. I don’t disagree with the Slums reading btw. But you can’t ignore the ending

@michelangeloRit @AnatoneRich @pollenainne What secret is Zack or Tifa hiding behind a smile that would be known to "hollow" Cloud?

@TooliusManicus @AnatoneRich @pollenainne like she had planned to do w/ Zack, but he's not here w/ her. And instead of a beautiful fair sky, its a rainy sky just like that day he died. And then we also see interlude-Zack & Cloud walking into Midgar, to how RB starts w/ them (mirroring how hollowCloud shuffled into Midgar

@therantindave @MikoC00kie This is peak irony.

@AnatoneRich @pollenainne You aren't applying the most basic logic. The lead in to the final feeling of hollowness is the line about being long gone. It expresses a persisting feeling, not a momentary one felt *sometime*. This is Reed Richards levels of reach here.

@TooliusManicus @pollenainne That’s why a reading that addresses his overall arc makes more sense. There is no contradiction if you include foreshadowing. But if you do that, you must apply to all logical possibilities.

@SoulEater923 @motokomakima @AnatoneRich At this point in the game, half the events of Rich's analysis haven't happened yet and Cloud does not remember that Zack is dead. Try again.

@motokomakima @AnatoneRich @TooliusManicus To these guys, it's always about Cloud and Aerith, fuck his mom, his burned down village, his best friend dying in front of him, it's about his bff Aerith, who still hasn't even died yet at that point in the game.

Today, we address the question “What is ‘Hollow’ about?’” I'll provide a thorough musical analysis into #FF7Remake’s main theme composed by Nobuo Uematsu and its transformation “Hollow Skies” arranged by Octopath Traveler composer Yasunori Nishiki.

@AnatoneRich @pollenainne Except you aren't viewing it from the overall arc. The positioning of this line in the song suggests finality. While you're way out of chronology with this forced interpretation that makes it nonsensical.

@TooliusManicus @pollenainne No failure to understand. He *believes* her to be long gone. Cloud thinks she died in the Nibelheim Incident and again at Gongaga. I’m viewing it from Cloud’s overall character arc. You’re viewing it from a specific moment in Cloud’s story. That’s where the disconnect is

@AnatoneRich @pollenainne It still doesn't line up with his overall experience. You're failing to understand that. Tifa is not "long gone" at any point in the story, especially a retrospective one like the song portrays.

@pollenainne But the difference in interpretation is that you’re addressing it as “sung to a person from a person at a given moment about a single event in the story.” I’m addressing it as told by the Cloud writ large: detached from a single event and instead told from his overall experience

@SMOKINGCHAIN97 No one cares when fans do their own analysis. It's when fans try to give their analysis with the added tag that it's "unbiased" when it clearly isn't. The least someone can do is admit their bias and act accordingly.

The recurring theme this week is that some insecure people being angry over fan made analysis and essay to a point where they harassing the author Usually i would say for you to write your own essay but i forgot that your only talent are bullying people and being a dipshit

@MeganT0831 Megan you're top 5 coolest cats. Stay real

The devs did their job and did it well. Denying this so hard heading into Revelation is a choice. This thread is so much energy and precious hours to rationalize how Hollow could not be about Aerith... AFTER the recent release even! No getting off this train

@AnatoneRich Anytime you want to discuss my DMs and replies are open

@TooliusManicus I know. It took me a while to get there. Don’t worry—you’ll get there someday. Thanks again for spreading the word!

It takes an active effort to reach this level of dissonance with the message.

There is an active effort to ignore parts of the retrilogy because they don't align with the narrative being pushed by people afraid of change.

Remember the spicy remake crowd tells you that kids have to die so that *checks notes* humanity can feel like it was punished for abusing mako.

@CWilson2197 I'm optimistic for one more, but the finale? Not a chance

@TooliusManicus The books that will never be finished because George is a fat, lazy bastard