You’ve no doubt encountered someone who posts on social media like they’re Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, right? You know what I mean. These people, usually to simp for billionaires, voice their support for AI taking over creative fields, or justify discriminating against people, love to make their arguments in the most grandiose, wordy way possible, as if they were the one-winged angel himself monologuing over Aerith’s corpse. I think I’ve found the perfect counter to Sephiroth posting: Barret posting.
For those who don’t know, Barret Wallace is a party member in Final Fantasy VII. He’s the leader of the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE which is trying to save the world from the Shinra megacorporation that is destroying the planet. He’s also a no-nonsense activist known to give a rousing speech or two when the going gets tough. Unlike Sephiroth, he gets right to the heart of what he’s trying to say, doesn’t bloviate about why bad things are actually good, and speaks to real issues with the kinda gusto you need to change the world. If somebody speaks with clarity in favor of the common good, you can probably put it as a caption under Barret’s face and I would believe it to be a genuine screenshot from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
The shame of it all is that you have to go looking for Barret posters on social media. Sephiroth posters, meanwhile, will come looking for you. They just spent 30 minutes coming up with a 300-character diatribe, and they’ll be damned if someone isn’t going to at least be subjected to it long enough for them to hit the block button. But Barret posters, I see you, I hear you, and I know you’re fighting the good fight against these insufferable fucks.