The first of three comic pages. Panel 1: Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, Nanaki, and Barret walk through the cargo hold of the ship, still in disguise. Panel 2: A smoke bomb lands at Barret's foot, and he goes 'What the--' Panel 3: Barret looks up as an unseen speaker says, 'I know it was you...!' Panel 4: Amid the smoke, Tifa shouts, 'Look out!' and Barret catches the 4-point shuriken with his hook arm. Panel 5: The smoke clears to reveal Yuffie in her black cape disguise, having just caught her shuriken.

The second of three comic pages. Panel 1: Yuffie stands facing the party, saying, 'You love your new President sooo much, you just had to ruin my shot, huh?' Nanaki replies, 'Wait. We aren't what you think,' prompting Yuffie to go, 'What the--' Panel 2: Removing her helmet, Aeris says, 'He's right. We aren't Shinra. See?' As she removes her helmet, Tifa adds, 'We're AVALANCHE.' Panel 3: Yuffie angrily points her finger at them and says, 'Then what the hell're you doing warning Rufus Shinra!? I almost had him!' Panel 4: Barret and Yuffie face each other angrily. Barret says, 'Yeah, an' you would've made him a goddamn martyr! You're gonna kill 'im when he's rewardin' the men who survived that shit in Midgar?' Yuffie retorts, 'He'd still be dead!' Barret counters, 'An' where'd YOU be?'

The last of three comic pages. Panel 1: Yuffie says, 'I made it out just fine, didn't I?' Cloud says, 'She's got a point.' Barret exclaims, 'What?' and Cloud continues, 'I'm not saying it was the greatest time to take out Rufus, but no one caught her.' Yuffie adds, 'Yeah, so you better stay outta my way next time!' Panel 2: Aeris asks, 'You're going it alone?' Yuffie replies, 'Huh? Of course.' Tifa says, 'I don't know. It seems like we're all on the same side here.' Panel 3: The party looks up as an announcement begins, 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking...' Unnoticed by them, Yuffie is pulling away. Panel 4: The party stands looking around while Yuffie hides behind a crate in the foreground, with only Nanaki glancing in her direction. Barret says, 'Guess that ain't happenin'.' Aeris says, 'Hmm. That's too bad. She seemed interesting.' Cloud adds, 'And she did almost get Rufus.' Barret says, 'Kid shouldn't have to do shit like that...'

Tumblr | Pillowfort

April 2, 2025

Ever since playing Rebirth, I keep circling back to my frustration with Yuffie’s early appearances. Her introduction as a damsel-in-distress and immediate positive reaction to AVALANCHE both felt so antithetical to her nature as a fiercely independent and antagonistic person. I’m not married to her OG intro where the party inexplicably recruits her after she mugs them, but I feel like Rebirth went about 1000 steps in the wrong direction.

I’ve been thinking about how I might have written it in this universe, and one thing I did think had potential was her assassination plot. I wanted her to be furious with Barret for messing it up, and having that assassination attempt be her first appearance would have been a great way to establish her as a character whose relationship to Shinra is much more clear-cut than the other party members.

Most everyone else at some point in their past believed in and was subsequently betrayed by Shinra, so they understand the propaganda at work here and how most of the world actually views Shinra. By contrast, Yuffie grew up at war with Shinra and thinks anyone who doesn’t see them for what they are is an idiot.

It’s in part because of that conflict of perspective that Yuffie takes so long to genuinely warm up to the party. It’s disappointing to just… skip all that messiness in favor of turning her into some happy-go-lucky goofball.

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