something something the scene of rufus looking out the window of the executive suite of shinra hq is framed less as a high lord looking down from his tower and more like a prisoner trapped in a glass cage something something something
Omg so this feeling wasn’t just me????? Kjvcfhjjdxch I don’t know what it is exactly, but for some reason it’s almost like he doesn’t feel comfortable being in that office. At all. Could it be because it was his father’s office, where he built his whole legacy and looked down upon others (including his own son) while he did it? Or because he realizes there’s a SHITton of things that he now has to fix because of the former president’s carelessness and ego maybe? I see the discomfort so much when he gives the “Bring them in” line. It seems so disconnected, like he’s not really dwelling on the thought because of more prominent issues on his mind. He’s clearly distracted by something else in that scene. I mean, it /could/ have something to do with the Whispers but…idk. I really think it’s something else entirely.
YES THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING
i was like
“ok it could be this this this or this but that still doesn’t feel like enough”
and i feel like a big part of it is the sharp contrast between his appearances
it’s a massive shift in his energy levels and just his demeanor in general, even before the whispers show up
i had this thought earlier that rufus is kind of like the most disinterested showman ever. he doesn’t care what other ppl think of him, he’s not in it for the glory or the approval. when he does his flashy shit like his boss fight and jumping off of that skyscraper in AC, he’s doing it for himself. he’s doing it for the fun of it.
and the fun time’s over now. he won’t be able to pull his stupid stunts anymore, because his role and status has changed.
it feels like rufus is feeling the enormity of the weight of his responsibilities bearing down on him in that scene. and this office that was once the big prize for him to take is now a prison – now that he’s standing in it and the deed is done. he’ll be confined there as he works.
and that order to tseng? “bring them in”? the first of many. the first of the rest of his life. i’ll bet he wanted nothing more than to just jump out that window and pursue cloud on his own, but he can’t do that shit anymore.
but even this post?
this all doesn’t feel like enough, either.
idk what it is about that scene that makes me feel some type of way but it’s rly bugging me now that i’ve noticed it
YES EXACTLY.
It just feels like he (and we as the players) didn't realize how unfulfilled he felt in finally getting that role after all that time. Like (and I hate to use this pun but) it felt hollow to him. So now that he's got this position, what does he do now?
I completely agree that he would love to go out and chase them down himself, because that's just something he would /like/ to do.
But he /can't/, and I think in that scene that was when the gravity of where he now sits hits him like a ton of bricks and he's not sure how to react to that.
I think you can also see that in the other scene near the end too but maybe that's just me...?
It really doesn't feel like enough to him, or to us, for him to just sit in his office and give orders. He's not that kind of person--he's a 'get shit done himself' type of individual, and we realize that as much as he does. And it sucks when you think about it.
