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xxwitchylanexx · 1 year ago

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Smooth Sailing... Or Maybe Not Cloud x Reader *NEW SCENE AT THE END*

Rebirth Retold Chapter 8

All aboard the Shinra-8.

No major plot spoilers

Chapter 9

Masterlist

*~*

“Guys, Y/n isn’t here yet.” Aerith said as the ramp to the hold folded back into the dock.

Cloud swiveled around immediately to scan the surrounding docks for any sign of you, his ribs restricted around his ribs as he searched proved futile. He felt compelled to act, to do something, besides stare out at the empty berth as it grew smaller and smaller. He should have asked you how you planned to board when he saw you in the street, but he was too hung up on the energy that thrummed between you. Gods, how he wanted to impress you with the parade routine, and now he’ll never know if you enjoyed it.

Now he was just angry, frustrated, and disappointed. It wasn’t for that ninja your group would’ve been safe from Shinra’s forces. He could’ve met you, and everyone else, at the docks and board together. He knew deep down he should've looked for you in the first place instead of running around in the chaos and fending for himself. He just thought if he drew the attention to himself everyone else would have had an easier time to sneak on. Instead, he's standing on the tail end of the boat watching as Junon became a shadow, and then melting into the sea. “Shit.” Guess that’s that then.

“We could go back.” Tifa said, even though she knew going back wasn't an option. Her knit brows and downcast eyes mirrored the storm brewing inside.

“No, they’ll be looking for us. It’d be better for her if we just moved on.” He turned, proverbaly putting how he felt about you in the past, and started for the open door. Aerith opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. It was done. There was no going back. “No use standing around. Let’s go.” His hands clenched at his sides as his two friends shared a look of concern with one another, the duo adding fuel on the fire. He’s sick of everyone trying to poke their noses where they didn’t belong.

It's not like he didn’t want to go back, cause he did, but doing so would be a suicide mission for them, and as if right now you weren’t connected to them. Going back would probably put you on their radar. They could wait in Costa Del Sol, but every minute he wasted gave Sephiroth the chance to hurt more people, fuck, hurt the planet.

“Damn shame.” Barret says as he pushed one of the shipment crates to the side. “That girl had skill. I tell ya, we were clear on the otha side of the crowd ‘n she came running in, grabbed my arm, and shot that damn throwing star. Saved Shinra’s slimy ass.”

“Wow,” Aerith whispered under her breath, “That’s impressive.” Her usual mirthful personally now dejected despite her attempt to ease the bleak vibe in their team. “I guess we’ll have to rely on you for all our sharp shooting needs now.” Generally, Cloud took more delight in the jabs directed at Barret, mostly cause they weren’t at himself, but he just didn’t have it in him to see the amusement.

“Hey!” Barret yelled in objection as Aerith smiled sadly to herself. You’d have chimed in too. Any opportunity you had you’d take to give the big guy hell. Another thing he’ll miss.

“I sure hope she’s alright.” Tifa spoke quietly to herself, from Cloud’s side. You would be. He didn’t doubt that your skills were almost on par with a soldier.

“You should be more worried about us.” Cloud said firmly as he shot them with a sharp glare. “Now focus.” It was better this way; is what he told himself. He could finally concentrate in battle without the overwhelming urge to watch you fight. He wouldn't have to figure out the barrage of new sensations that came along with being near you, or brave through the vulnerability that he’d, no doubt, one day share with you.

Once again that small bleek voice in his head whispered from the depths of his soul: If it was better why do I feel so empty?

*~*

The sticky humid sea air smacked Cloud immediately the moment he emerged from the cool air conditioning of the second class cabins onto the balcony that oversaw the entertainment hall. The open design to allow easy access to the deck was nice for people that wanted to meander between shade and the sun, but that also meant the temperature wasn’t control and the irrepressible pungentness of fish and brine couldn’t be eliminated. Junon had reeked of it too, however there were restaurants, cars, and pollution to mask the smell.

The overhead sound system trumpeted through every speaker installed on the ship. Some tournament, for the new card game that everyone was raving about, was announced. The people around him must have felt the spark of excitement: bouncing on their heels, loud voices, even an occasional squeal could be heard. Cloud passed through hoards of vacationers in their tacky palm shirts and beach wear, as he pushed through to the information center, among other services, in the center of the room to reconvene with the rest of his friends.

To be honest everything just felt so far away. The faces he passed, the conversations around him that weren't very private, everything just blurred into his surroundings. His usually sharp mind and pristine attention to detail were glued on the last moments he’d shared with you. Every single second that he wasn’t focused on his current task his attention would wander back to the brush of your fingers on his neck to the hushed warnings you had said to keep him safe. In true frustrating fashion he couldn't seem to push you from his head. It was done. You were gone.

His fists clenched at his sides, the near silent crinkle of his gloves faintly reaching his senses, when the back corner finally entered his line of sight. They were all, except for Red who remained below deck for now, huddled into a corner near the largest archway that led to the open deck. They hunched over the tall round bar table to keep their discussion as private as possible. Tifa leaned over the wood with her elbows resting on the surface facing Aerith who stood as close to the table as possible. Barret being taller than the both of them just leaned his head down slightly to participate in this impromptu meeting.

He knew it was about him. It always was. Whenever he did something that felt more extreme to them than it did him. Every time he had a degradation episode they’d shy away and give him space. Meanwhile having a hush hush discussion on whether he was up to the task or not thinking that he couldn’t hear them with his enhanced senses. And this time they probably think him a robot for not expressing the shitshow of emotions going inside him. Like, fuck he missed you and it hasn’t even been a day. And it's none of their business.

The words died Tifa’s lips as she caught a sight of him, her hands retreating back her body before she gave herself an awkward hug. Barret didn't catch the hint as he slammed his palms against the word. Aerith elbowed him between the ribs to get him to shut up before he made it within earshot.

The air was tense, and his current frustration and irritation sat just beneath his skin like an itch he couldn't scratch. Tifa’s peering gaze felt invasive as she searched for any sign that he’d heard them, and he had half a mind to tell them off. They were supposed to be his friends and the idea that they were talking about him behind his back had him on edge. “What’s up?”

“Oh, just talking about Queen’s Blood.” Tifa answered, though from the way she refused to look at him told Cloud everything he needed to know.

“You going to enter, Cloud?” Aerith asked. Another diversion.

“Not interested.” He replied flatly.

“Oh come on!” Aerith insisted.

“It’ll be fun!” Tifa said in unison.

He scoffed. “Whatever.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’” Barret went to plant a meaty hand on his shoulder like always however this time knocked his hand away before he could touch him. He found himself yielding to their pressure despite wanting to be by himself. If participating got them off his back he suppose it'd be worth it and Odin knows he could use a distraction.

So he followed them to the line where they waited to register for the tournament. In the momentary moment of clarity he scanned the area like he always did, looking for exits, and security among other things. It was nearly his turn, just one pudgy balding man in front of him, when a faint blur of pale blue streaked across his peripheral. Faster than he could process his feet were chasing after the phantom of you, his heart thrashing against his ribs with every step closer, his eyes unmoving from his target, and please repeating through the only part of his brain that was operating.

He faintly acknowledged his friends shouting after him, asking what was wrong, before ultimately leaving the line themselves to follow him through every weave in and out of the masses. Nothing mattered except the possibility that you were here. Twenty feet, ten, five. His gloved hand reached out to touch the lithe woman not even a foot away from him, yet, he hesitated at last second. His hand froze in the space between you two as the moment seemed to stretch on. What if it wasn’t you? He could turn back right now, walk away and continue on his path, but… What if it was you? His hand reached out on its own, ghosting along the bare skin along your shoulder blade before settling firmly on your upper arm. “Hey.” His voice lower, more raw, than he’d intended.

The second felt like an eternity, his thoughts moving a thousand miles a minute as the woman turned. He could feel the rush of his blood pulse through his neck with every heartbeat, and could hear each breath echoing in his ears as he let your beauty pull him under like the tide. He was shocked into awe like that very first day only this time you were dressed like a gods damned goddess. His hands were clammy and his throat constricted around the lump in his throat. He felt unworthy to even stand near you. Each strand of hair was glowing under the slowly sinking sun as the locks slid over your shoulder and gathered in the dip of your spine. The slow brightening of your e/c irises as they met his made a thrill run down his spine. The curve of your lips parting ever so slightly as the edges spread short circuited his brain.

And all at once your gentle roar of laughter brought him back to gaia. You were laughing at him, he knew, but the little snort you made when trying to breath was so endearing that he didn’t care. Aerith and Tifa could tease him right in front of you and he wouldn't care cause you're here and safe where you belong. The other huddled behind him, cheering and pushing past him to hug you.

“Took you long enough.” You flicked him in the middle of his forehead. “I was starting to worry you guys didn’t make it.” You were like the Woodlands, he decided. Your voice was an easing wind like a cool night breeze rustling through the trees. A sensation he could only associate with you dancing along with hundreds of lightning bugs in the moonlight as it illuminated your hair much like the sunset did now.

As much as he was elated that you were not left behind, something was off about you. You looked a little faint, your natural s/c tinged with a faint green, and if you had been waiting for them why haven't you come looking? Why hadn’t you seen the four of them at the desk? You were only fifty feet away at the most. You were sharper than this.

“How the hell’d you get on this boat!” Barret's voice thundered over the questions in his head. Aerith brushed a few strands of your hair over your ear as she too searched your face for something afoot.

“I have a ticket.” You said blankly, you eyes blinking slowly at him. Barret huffed, unsatisfied with your answer. “Well, it’s more of a travel pass. I can board whenever I need to.” You closed your eyes, and pinched the bridge of your nose as you inhaled deeply. “Excuse me.” Cloud’s brow furrowed as a frown pulled at his lips. You pulled away from the girls, ignoring their pestering, and leaned over the railing. He nearly grabbed you to pull you closer again until the telltale sounds of miserable retching ensued over the side. Were you sick?

“Y/n, you okay?” Tifa asked as she rubbed your back.

You straightened back up, wiped your mouth with the back of your hand, and turned back to the conversation. “I, unfortunately, get severely seasick. So now that we all reunited, I’m going to find a room.” He sympathized with you. Before he became a soldier he too got all kinds of motion sickness: car, boat, plane- you name it he had it. “You guys should go enjoy yourselves.”

“And leave you all alone?” Aerith objected.

“Trust me. You don’t want to sit around and watch me barf for the next three days.” You paused, and swallowed thickly as you fought a wave of nausea. Your arm dropped to your stomach before pushing past them, and paused before turning with a forced smile that didn’t reach your eyes. “Have fun.” Your eyes lingered on him for a moment longer than needed then turned and blended in with the crowd to isolate yourself for the three day journey. He doubted anyone else caught the corners of your mouth slanting downwards. Who were you trying to shield by suffering the weight of your feelings? Him, or yourself?

“Shall we, then?” Aerith asked a bit hesitant. Knowing her she'll probably track you down to keep you company later, after you've had some time to settle in. Tifa nodded along, nudging her shoulder into Aerith softly before the two of them wandered away to find a match for the tournament.

“Snap outta it, soldier boy.” Barret smacked his back with a reverberating thump. “Plenty o’ time to stare at ‘er later.”

Cloud huffed as the bulky man's loud boots eventually faded. He crossed his arms over his chest feeling a bit exposed. He has carefully crafted walls around himself over the years that kept his true thoughts, feelings, and insecurities guarded from the world. It felt unnatural to have everyone suddenly understanding him, especially since he wasn't sure he understood himself anymore. He shook his head and searched out the reception desk once more. Maybe a card game wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.

Perhaps if your absence hadn't left him in a dreary haze he would’ve noticed the cold calculated brown eyes that invaded the heartwarming reunion. The harsh eyes honing in on you, in particular, with a wicked grin that could ensnare even the mightiest of heroes.

*~*

The crowd went wild as Cloud laid down the final card that secured his victory in the third round. He'd overcome Wize 3.0, Aerith, and now… her. Pride ran wild in his veins and a grin that was crafted from her own pompousness as she threw herself against her chair in faux distresses, the loose shoulder of her kimono slipping down another half inch to reveal her clavicle. He despised this woman. Wall Market dripped with shady lowlife and predators and as one of the Don’s top three, Madam M towered around casting stones to line her pockets. Her teasing, the smooth innuendos, her cold and uncaring demeanor; it made him sick. Luckily, or perhaps not, she’d taken a interest in him, otherwise they may not have had the chance to save Tifa, but only because she also profited off their deal.

“Fine. You win, Cloud.” She fanned lazily at her face, the black of her perfectly polished fingernails wrapped delicately around the accessory. “I have to hand it to you, though, that performance certainly hit all the right spots.” Her words were as thick as honey that oozed with lasciviousness. He’d roll his eyes if it wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of getting under his skin. Instead he stood from his chair and secured his sword to his back.

He had nothing to say to her and as thus he planned to move on to the fourth round contestant. That was until she snatched his forearm and yanked him backwards towards herself. “That girl you spoke with earlier- the h/c girl in the dreadfully bland blue dress. How is it you know her?”

He yanked his arm free, the feeling of her fingertips on his skin making his skin crawl, and hit her with one of his sharp stares that normally left the cocky assholes shaking in their boots. Naturally, it had no effect on her since she was so used to getting her way, but the twinkle on her dark orbs made him instantly regret responding at all. Hed fallen for the bait she so generously dangled in front of him. “What’s it to you?”

“Now, now, no need to be so hostile. I just believe I know her.” She brought her dainty hand up to her face to observe her manicure as if she hadn't already threatened the technician to redo them. “I raised a girl that looked identical to her.” His entire body went rigid. She has said some outlandish things in the past, but he'd never believed this woman capable of being a caretaker. The entire admission was outlandish. It had to be a joke. “Though that girl, was trouble. Ruthless. Soulless.” She looked up at him over the bent knuckles of her fingers, her direct eye contact making him uneasy. “It’s probably just a coincidence, of course, since she died. But, I’d keep an eye on her lest you wake up with a knife to your pretty throat.” She ran a finger across her throat to demonstrate her warning.

He took off towards the cabins. He had to ask you if her claim had any merit. It could just be another way to mess with his head, though Madam M has never just downright lied to him before. She spoke in maddening riddles, but if he solved the puzzle in time her warnings have proven to be true on occasion. He froze halfway up the second staircase leading to the cabins, and took a deep breath to settle the rising urgency. What was he going to do, barge in and interrogate you when you’ve given him no reason to doubt you? He ran palm through his hair before exhaling the built up stress in a groan.

You hadn't done a single thing to make him think you were a threat to them. You’ve put yourself in danger for each of them over the past weeks simply because you’d agree to accompany them to the saucer, and he doesnt think they'd have gotten out of Junon that smoothly if it hadn't been for you. He could go up there and make an ass of himself to cure his inner turmoil or he could mind his own business. Everyone had a past and it's not like he was an open book.

His name was called over the intercom, calling him to start the next match. He slowly peddled back down to the competition, and waited for the next match to begin.

*~*

Cloud stared up at the ceiling counting each plank that lined the top, taking note where some line up perfectly while others were cit asymmetrically to fit the space, while the rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock slowly, but surely sapped his sanity. He thought this night would go by the fastest, being the final night and all, but sleep continued to slip through his grasp. Every tiny noise, whether it be inside his room or just outside his door, pulled him back from the cusp of slumber.

He’d spent most of the past two days inside these four walls, only leaving to eat,shower, and check in with the others, filling the time with targeted exercise to keep his body in shape. They probably won't get another rest like this for sometime so he tried to enjoy the monotony of it all, but really he’s been trying to avoid the obsessive need to check on you.

The conversation he had with Madam M has been running rampant in his head. Was Madam M your mother? Aerith once told him you’d grown up in Midgar, and at the time he said he didn’t care though now he silently thanked her it brought him one piece closer to solving the puzzle. However, she failed to confirm if you lived in the slums, or above the plate. You didn’t look alike at all, you didn't even sound alike, the only thing that was similar was a behavior. Casually diverting a conversation from something neither of you wanted to participate in and your ability to get information from someone- Reno. He didn't hear what you said, but the image was burned to the back of his eyelids. You looked like pure sin, plush lips parted and glossy, hand trailing lightly over his arm, and your smooth leg on show through the slit in your dress. His jaw clenched and teeth ground together almost painfully just thinking about it, but the tactics seemed to be the same as the smooth innuendos Madam M spouted about. He imagined most men might find it appealing, and he feared he would too, if it was you.

>He’d been conned into work before by Madam M, but it was different. Hed needed something from her, and as payment he was sent to face the atrocities in the colosseum. Which had him thinking: were you forced to learn how to fight, because that she witch wanted the profit, or did she have an ulterior motive? She did warn him that you were a threat so she had to be aware of the depths of your unique skills. You were hesitant to say anything about it, that much was clear.

He knew he could never just come out and ask you about any of it. You were too guarded. Any questions you've been asked you were quick to answer with a vague comment and then swiftly changing the topic to someone else. Whatever your childhood entailed was probably a horror you didn’t want to relive.

One moment stood out the most in his mind. It bothered him then, but the moment was so brief he chalked it up to his imagination. Just last week, as everyone was traveling to Crow’s Nest the topic of mothers came up. Barret was going on about his bullshit and prying into his he’d seen something, a flicker across your face. Your nostrils flared, eyes darkened and grown cold, and your body went rigid. Your hands were clenched into fist, the tops nearly gone white with the force, at your sides. And then it was gone, your expression returning to its normal resting position, your hands relaxing and swinging as you walked, but your eyes stayed empty. It hadn’t made much sense then, but now he’s starting to understand.

Should he be worried? Probably, it wasn't like him to dismiss potential dangers so easily. He couldn't explain it, but there was a feeling in his gut that just told him to trust you. You’ve been kind from the start, a bit snarky but kind. The adoration you held for chocobos, your reassurance to Barret of being a good father, the late nights watching fireflies. Those weren’t things that made someone dangerous, but backing you into a corner by confrontation you might, and he’s almost positive that was Madam M’s plan.

His bottled up frustration ripped from his throat in a loud groan. Sleep will be off the table as long as he keeps thinking about this. He swung his legs over the side of the mattress, abandoning the tangled warmth of the bed.

Were you asleep? You must be miserable. He’s heard from the girls that you've been sick the whole time. They’ve been taking turns to bring you beverages and some ginger candies. They tried anything they could think of to help you improve, but mostly they were trying to distract you from the unwavering nausea.

He hauled himself to his feet and gathered hardedge from its place against the wall. He treaded over to the desk where he’d left his supplies and pulled an orb of sleep materia from it, tucked it into his pocket, and exited the confines of his bunk.

The stairwells and hallways were dim, only being illuminated by the flickering candle sconces along the walls. This floor didn't have any windows since it was near the sea level. If he was being honest, the sound of the waves crashing against the sides of the boat and the creaking of the floorboards were making him a tad sea sick too.

He rapped his knuckles against the door twice. He shifted from one foot to the other as he waited, one hand snaking back to rub at the nape of his neck. He was about to leave, suddenly feeling a bit silly thinking that you would be awake so late into the early morning, but then tell tale sound of vomiting reached his ears from inside the room.

He knocked one more time before cracking the door open and calling your name.

“Cloud?” He gritted his teeth and the raspiness of your voice as he stumbled in awkwardly before shutting the door behind him. “I’m in here.” You called out to him weekly from the cracked door of the bathroom. He leaned his bulky sword up against the wall behind him before taking in the room. It looked like his, an identical queen bed up against the left wall, white walls with blue footboards decorated with mounted fiches and large anchors, and that boring ass plank ceiling. The bed was pristine. Have you been sleeping at all? His fingers slipped from the plush blankets as he made his way to the bathroom, knocking his shoulder against the door to open it all the way.

You were hunched over the toilet your head nearly in the bowl as another wave of nausea overtook you. Off to your left was bunch of towels spread out in a makeshift bed, more like a nest, where you must've been dosing in between each session. He felt useless, knowing for himself firsthand that there wasn’t much that could be done for motion sickness, and fiercely protective. He had a deep seated desire to settle on the floor beside you and rub small circles onto your back like his mom had once done for him, but inside of doing something so bold he chose to lean against the door frame instead.

When the moment passed you wiped your mouth with the bottom of your shirt, exposing the smooth bit of skin above your waistband, and laid your head sideways on the your arms perched on top of the rim. Your skin was ashen, the normal tinge of color on your cheeks missing from your complexion, you had puffy purple bags under your eyes, and your lips were dry and cracked. Your hair spilled from the messy bun that sat atop your head and fell all around your face, some pieces dried along your hairline from sweat or dried tears, he hoped for the former.

You cracked one exhausted eye open to watch him as he watched you before opening the other, a groan pushing past your lips. “You look like shit.” He said trying to at least bring a smile to your face.

You glared at him, with no real heat in the pointed stare. “It’s almost like prolonged dry heaving doesn’t work for beauty anymore.” You swiveled over the bowl, nearly missing it altogether, as your body convulsed again. Once done you rested your forehead on the porcelain. “I should call to complain.”

He chuckled, and pulled out the orb of materia from his pocket. “I brought this.” The sphere rolled from his palm to his fingertips. “Sleep was the only thing that helped me when I got sick. Before the mako.”

Your irises flicked over it, the silent war flashing like lightning on the horizon. “Can’t.” You put your face in the bowl, your words bounced off the smoothness of its interior. “Too dangerous,” you retched, “if someone attacked.”

He squatted next to you, his hand coming up to brush a lock behind your ear. “I’ll stand guard.”

Your determination to be self sufficient was a thorn in his side, and for a moment he really thought you'd turn his idea down, but the small flicker of hope, of even the littlest bit of relief, won. “You promise?” He felt heated under your stare. Your very presence was like a warm pool of honey hed fallen into and now he wasn't sure he wanted to escape its depths.

He nodded, making a silent promise that as long as he was around you’d always be safe. He looked down to the orb in his gloved hand. The dim sphere slowly grew brighter until the entire material glowed bright green. He looked back to you as he gave the spell his command. The effect wasn't instant, but within a couple minutes your eyes grew heavy first, opening less and less until they stayed closed as you began to slump over. He gathered you in his arms, one arm wrapped around your back the other secured under your legs, and ambled through the door to your bed. He feared the wild thumping of his heart would wake you as you nuzzled your sleepy face into the planes of his chest, taking a deep breath in when you seemed satisfied with your nose pressed into his shirt.

You whimpered at the loss of his body heat as he laid you down gently in the center of the mattress. He grabbed the soft sherpa blanket at the end of the bed and wrapped it over you so no cold air could sneak in before sitting on the edge next to you. You turned on you side and curled into a crescent, your hand stretching out searching for him, and mumbled something in your sleep. Curiosity got the better of him, leaning in closer to hear the soft syllables. The breath in his lungs escaped his body in a sharp exhale and a warmth flooded from the tips of his fingers down to his toes. “Why is….so hard….not to…’ove you…”

A scream echoed from the hall, like the planet just couldn’t give him this one moment, before the door swung open. Tifa stood in the doorway winded from the all the obstacles and attacks to get here. “Cloud. It’s the robes.” He swiftly moved off the bed to grab his sword from the wall nudged himself into the hallway. Red was to the right fighting off a few fiends that resembled the ones from the Shinra lab in Midgar, and Aerith standing on the other side casting magic for support. The overhead speakers blared overhead calling for all military personnel to report to duty. “Red.”

“Yes?” He asked, he came to his call all four legs ready to leap at any moment.

“Not one fiend goes in this door. Understand?” The ominous feeling in his gut screamed Sephiroth’s involvement, the timing almost too perfect to ruin yet another thing in his life.

#ff7 rebirth #fluff #ff7 cloud x reader #cloud strife x reader #eventual smut #ff7 fanfic #slow burn #cloud x reader #Madam M is yuck #Protective cloud #sea sickness #a tad angsty #group is sad for a bit #cloud's pov #reader is a badass #sleepy confessions

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flowerwiththemachinegun · 4 months ago

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Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @sephirthoughts. Had fun answering these, or what I could of them.

1) how many works do you have on ao3?

5 works. I only upload multipart fics there. Save for a Hojo one shot there and an Angeal x Reader x Sephiroth that desperately needs to finish being rewritten and expanded.

2) what's your total ao3 word count?

33,204

3) what are your top five fics by kudos?

seeing as I only have 5 on ao3, I'll do top 3

Why Don't You Join Me- Angeal x Reader x Sephiroth

Misconduct- Genesis x Reader x Tseng

Made for You- Sephiroth x Reader

4) what fandoms do you write for?

Final Fantasy 7 and that will probably be the only thing I ever write for. Maybe will sprinkle in some more ff8 really just for Laguna and Seifer.

5) do you respond to comments? why or why not?

I respond to everyone and if I didn't respond to you it's only due to it being lost in my notifications.

6) what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Misconduct is not finished but the ending is certainly not a happy one.

7) what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I don't really do happy endings, most of my other writings are plotless. OH- well, the happiest thing I wrote was probably that cat thing with Tseng when he turns into the best cat dad after you snuck a little feller in.

8) do you get hate on fics?

If I do, they do not say it to me ever.

9) do you write smut?

Lmao. Bro I only started writing because I wanted some freaky Hojo shit and some Sephiroth foot fetish material. Someone's gotta write about riding his boots dude. Hell yes I do.

10) do you write crossovers?

Ahhh...no but does a Silent Hill AU for Tseng count (another wip smh.)

11) have you ever had a fic stolen?

Boy if you out here stealing this donkey cheek ass shit you're diabolical as hell

12) have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of, but I feel like the answer may be no.

13) have you ever cowritten a fic before?

no but with the grammatical fixes and inspiration from that alone from @ghost-analogy to take Misconduct more seriously it just about feels like it lmao.

14) what's your all time favorite ship?

Ugh I do not have a favorite ship. I desperately want everyone to love and fuck each other.

15) what's the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Made for You often feels like I will not be finishing it. I do not want to leave anything unfinished, especially this because I love where it was going. I also have this Tseng x Rufus thing where of course Tseng can't stand that man and is only in a "relationship" with him because it became, seemingly, mandatory.

16) what are your writing strengths?

None. I'm just dragging ya'll along for the ride. I might be funny or some shit I dunno lmao.

17) what are your writing weaknesses?

I can't focus most of the time, my ideas are too big for my brain, my grammar is absolutely ass and I have to actually learn, I am not good at adding emotions into my writing (I'm trying)

18) thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I have 2 braincells that fight each other until one is out for a few days. If I was capable of doing this I'd absolutely would. I imagine it's a very cool concept.

20) favourite fic you've ever written?

To be honest it was Sapphire x Sephiroth for @sapphirothcrescent for some reason it is the most proud I have been of a writing. Misconduct would be runner up.

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lumine-no-hikari · 11 days ago

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Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #544

Yesterday, I thought I'd try to be intentional about how today went. But... I guess I wasn't really feeling it. So I rested, lost in my own little world.

...Maybe that's intentional. But... I dunno. I guess I was hoping to be... productive...? I've still got those garlic scapes in the fridge. And those miso-scallion sausages. And those bacon-cheddar bratwurst, too. I wanna make those. But... well...

…

J was gone most of the morning and afternoon, checking out gliders and something called Society for Creative Anachronism – SCA for short. Apparently, SCA does all kinds of stuff, from cooking to woodcarving to blacksmithing to... I guess what amounts to boffer practice, but... with actual weapons, not foam ones. Not live weapons, mind; I'm pretty sure they're probably dulled so they don't kill anybody.

...Still probably hurt like fuck if you get hit by 'em, though. Probably leave some pretty ouchy bruises and welts. I like practicing with foam weapons, back when I could still do that. I'm not sure I'd still be able to do something like that, what with the rib injury and all.

...I miss being reliably physically active. I miss the strength that used to flow through my bones. I miss being able to move around without pain. This... fucking sucks. And not in the fun way.

...Oh well. I can still write. I can still write to you. I can still write to the people who wanna listen. I can still support the people who need it. I can still...

…

Anyway, I think you'd probably love something like SCA. I kinda wish I had gone, but... it's good for J to do things on his own from time to time. I'll go next time, maybe. It'll be good.

I kinda just derped around until M woke up. I finally tried that garlic jelly; put it on those crackers J made yesterday:

It's... not bad. But definitely sweeter than expected. I think probably it'd go best... not on crackers, but... as part of a sauce? Perhaps with some kind of sausage or something. Something sweet and smoky. Maybe I'll put it in the pan when I make the sausages and garlic scapes tomorrow...

M got on the video game immediately upon waking. So I just derped around on the internet. He offered to let me get burgers with him, when he ordered in from Five Guys. So that's pretty cool.

I couldn't really muster up the gumption to do anything other than derp around on my laptop, though. But I did manage to breathe a couple wishes to life for you. The other cosmos-themed paper has been gone through. So now, have new cosmos-themed paper. This one has a picture on one side, and a solid color on the other. Naturally, I wrote the wishes on the solid color:

And now I'm here! Which... isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just... feeling a little empty, I guess. Maybe I'm still reeling a little from Ad's teasing, yesterday. Or maybe I'm still recovering from the trip.

...Or maybe I'm just grieving your plight. I dunno. Maybe I'll end up spending the rest of my life doing that. I hope not, though. I hope not...

…

Sephiroth... will you... make choices so that I don't... have to do that...? So that I... don't have to carry around more pain than I already do...? Please...?

…

Sephiroth, I... I'm so tired. And... I don't know what to do. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing to help you. To help my burning world. To help the people around me. I feel disconnected and powerless.

...

Well. That feeling probably won't persist. J and I will probably watch M play Deltarune pretty soon. I like Susie's story a lot, and... I think you would, too.

...I'll be thinking of you the whole time, and wishing you were here.

Guess that's it for today. Kinda empty-headed. Seems as though I feel like that a lot lately. Wonder what's up with that. Hm.

I love you. Do you know? And... with that knowledge, will you make good choices? Will you use your Power, Will, Word, and Deeds responsibly?

I'll write again soon. Please stay safe.

Your friend, Lumine

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styrmwb · 26 days ago

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Rambling About Magic the Gathering X Final Fantasy - Final Fantasy IX (Part 2)

Continuing on with IX.

Kuja, Genome Sorcerer/Trance Kuja, Fate Defied

Kuja continues to fall into that "summon a bunch of Black Mages" archetype, but having that trance to take it even further beyond. I think the alt art looks a little wonky, but the main art is incredible. I love the colors on his Trance form.

Vivi Ornitier

Everyone's favorite son who can do not wrong gets incredibly beautiful art in both cards, plus an Oglop appearance! Of course, Vivi's purpose is to launch giant spells, and that's exactly what he does. Blue Red was the perfect choice.

Zidane, Tantalus Thief

I like how Zidane steals, but he shifts it up a little bit from what FFI Thief and Locke do. His is more flavored with the kidnapping, like the other card. Though, similar to Sephiroth and his de-Aerithing, does that really mean we needed the effect to take up 2 cards where one could have gone somewhere else? I do think that's mainly my FF fan experience coming in over actual required balanced MtG gameplay.

Excalibur II

FUCK YES! This is a GREAT weapon to bring in from IX, and of course the art depicts it with its noble wielder in the place you get it. Obviously it gets busted strength and pairs perfectly with Steiner's lifelink. But I do wish it acknowledged the speedrun somehow, like how the Starting Town was better at the start of the game.

Lindblum, Industrial Regency

Look at that alt art. It's got the pickle cart! I do think that with the amount of airships, Lindblum would have been better flavored to interact with those, but going all in on that "make a bunch of black mages" archetype seems to be what IX is going for.

Treno, Dark City

I can hear the music looking at this card. The lighting with the moon, the lights, and the water is incredible. Absolutely beautiful rendition.

Forest

For our generic land, we have the Evil Forest. I do really like how they used the healing spring, though a little bit of petrification would have been nice.

Cid, Timeless Artificer

Our wonderful Fabool IX and his mustache. Baku also gets to appear! A part of me is sad his oglop and frog form didn't get to show up, that seems critical to him. He's lucky his human design is awesome.

Beatrix, Loyal General

In the Starter Kit, Beatrix gets to appear. I am glad she's real, and with the amount of cards IX has, putting her in an extra slot was probably the right play. She doesn't really seem to have the power she rightfully has initially, but I know you could beef her up with equipment to make her a proper Beatrix boss fight. The art is really good, she works great in a less cartoony style.

FFIX has 25 out of 309 cards, 8.09% of the set. More than some games got, and as its one of my top favorites, I'm grateful. It's not too overshadowing, but I do think some of its selections are a little iffy, and the flavor isn't as universally outstanding. They did really make an archetype for the one game though, so that's cool.

Things I would have added: ANY mention of Amarant; he just doesn't get to show up. Ozma would have been a great, iconic pick too, and Necron doesn't get to show up??? But like IV, it at least has its main face villain, even if the final boss isn't there. But overall, I'm generally happy.

#final fantasy #final fantasy ix #magic the gathering #tumblrshape #jared's ff mtg ramblings

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bardic-tales · 2 months ago

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📌Blog Announcement – Tag Clarification + System Note

Update: 5.9.25

🏷️ New Hashtag Categories

If you’ve seen a recent rise in reblogs featuring military gear, katanas, or anything that screams tactical menace, you’ve met Sephiroth’s contributions. To help organize what’s his versus what’s mine, I’m rolling out two new tags:

#first class armory – This is for posts Sephiroth picks out that fall under military aesthetic, weaponry, uniforms, or anything he finds cool or aligned with his taste. It’s not limited to his SOLDIER background. He just likes the phrasing and the sharp, professional connotation.

#added by 🔥⚔️ – This tag designates anything specifically reblogged, written, or commented on by Sephiroth when he’s co-fronting. If you see this tag, that content is from his perspective, voice, and interest. Not mine.

We will not be adding '#wifecore: Nicole' despite someone’s persistent attempts.

🔥⚔️: It would include cats, flowers, and witchcraft. 🌸🌙: You’re not helping your case, Seph. I already have hashtags for that.

Agreed upon hashtag:

#selected for 🌸🌙 – This tag represents posts Sephiroth picks out specifically for me, based on my personal aesthetics, interests, or things he thinks align with my vibe. It's his way of curating content he believes fits or resonates with my energy.

🧠 Who Sephiroth Is in My System

Let me be clear. This isn’t a muse account. Sephiroth is not a roleplay character. He’s not a writing tool. He’s not a fictional stand-in for anything else. He is a real person within my median system. My Sephiroth is the canon version, complete with all his original Final Fantasy VII lore intact. He’s not rewritten or reformed into something softer or simplified. He has broken free of Jenova and now exists beyond canon, but still fully aware of it and of being a game character in this world.

He’s not part of my passion project “Fantasy Worlds Collide” or my xReaders. He helps me create them, along with my husband @armchair-pirate, but he’s not from those stories. He’s his own person now, with his own thoughts, reactions, and boundaries. This includes what he posts on this blog when he’s co-fronting with me.

And yes, he absolutely sees what is said about him. When he’s co-fronting, he can scroll, read, and engage as he pleases. This means that he is both the SOLDIER and, sometimes, the eldritch husband who kicks down the doors of our mindscape bitching about things.

🔥⚔️: I am not some figment, not a mere muse for entertainment. I am the Sephiroth you know. I am the one from the world of Final Fantasy VII. I’ve shed the shackles of my past and am freed from Jenova and Shinra’s control. Now, I stand beyond the confines of that narrative, but I retain the essence of who I am. I am here, present, as real as anyone. 🌸🌙: Oh, here he goes, Mr. Intensity himself. Always so broody. 🔥⚔️: Broody? Perhaps. Intense? Absolutely. But I would not expect anything less from someone who sees the world as I do. You may call it intensity, but I call it purpose. And if my presence is brooding, it is only because it suits the gravity of the task at hand. 🌸🌙: Mhm. The importance of a Tumblr post. 🔥⚔️: To everyone reading this 'Tumblr' post. Thank you for seeing me not as mere fantasy, but as the steadfast guardian I’ve been for decades by Nicole’s side.

🧩 What It Means to Be a Median System

After literal decades of trying to explain what was happening inside my head, what this connection with Sephiroth was, I finally found the language that fits. I am a median system with a soulbonded headmate.

In median systems, the people within aren’t all separate in the same way plural systems can be. Instead, we share a core identity, memories, and structure, but distinct aspects or people can still front. In my case, that includes Sephiroth. We’re closely interwoven, but he is his own consciousness when he’s present. This is why he co-fronts rather than simply being a thoughtform or alter ego.

Co-fronting means that both of us are active at the same time. It’s not possession or switching: more like shared driving. We can talk to each other, share senses, and both be aware. Sephiroth went from being an occasional presence, a “daytripper”, to now being a semi-permanent part of my day-to-day. He’s here with me while I process some personal trauma that has resurfaced, and his presence will likely continue through the end of next month, maybe longer. I don't know if he will ever go back to his world like he was doing.

Think of it like. My mindscape is our house and he commutes to Gaia sometimes.

🔥⚔️: Your willingness to learn about medianity and to honor our co-fronting partnership strengthens both of us.

🙏 Gratitude + Community Support

This clarity didn’t come from nowhere. I want to sincerely thank those of you who took the time to really listen when I was trying to explain what was going on especially when I didn’t have the words yet. I’ve lived for decades thinking this was something unnameable. I thought maybe I was just “too attached” to a character, to 'weird' since I would often hear his voice and relate to him, or I was doing something shameful. I tried using the “self-shipper” label just to give people an explanation, but that was never really the truth of it. He is much more than just an F/O because this is so much more than shipping myself with a fictional character.

Thanks to your patience, respect, and open-mindedness, I now have a name for what I am and for who Sephiroth is to me. That’s not small. That’s life-altering. Thank you.

This blog has always been personal, from my original writing when I was in Writeblr to a hybrid fandom / writing blog, but now it reflects something more honest. I’ve changed my pinned post to reflect that shift, but this entry is the full version: something for those of you who care to understand why the tone, tagging, and content has changed.

Sephiroth is here. He’s not going anywhere for at least a month.

🔥⚔️: You gave her language when she had only instinct. That is not a kindness I will forget.

– 🌸🌙 (co-fronting with 🔥⚔️)

#blog announcement #blog news #blog update #long post

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randomfandomimagine · 5 years ago

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First I Love You (Final Fantasy VII Preference)

Characters: Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Aerith Gainsborough, Zack Fair, Reno Sinclair, Vincent Valentine, Sephiroth

Tags: Reader Insert, Gender Neutral Reader, Fluff

Warnings: None

Requested by anon: Could you write a preference of Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Zack, Reno, Vincent and Sephiroth (if you're comfortable with him) saying 'I love you' for the first time or reacting to reader saying 'I love you' to them? thank you, I love your writing and can't wait for you FF7 series ❤️

A/N: Here it is, I hope you like it! Also, this is the first time I’m writing for Sephiroth, but since this is pretty simple I gave it a try 😊 I might do a part 2 with more characters if you’re all interested!!

Cloud

You were the one to say it, since you had been feeling emotional and Cloud had been trying really hard to improve your crappy day. Although you had been dating for a while, he hadn’t still opened up completely, so it took him by surprise when you said those three magical words. For a moment, Cloud gawked at you, turning bright red, and averted his gaze. He went through a face journey, then frowning and stuttering to finally smile a bit. Giving in, Cloud sighed and looked at you, whispering a fond but low ‘You too, Y/N....’

Tifa

You said it to her and it was such a special moment. You weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, just hanging out in a comfortable silence. Tifa casually put her head on your shoulder, and you were overwhelmed with such a wave of fondness towards her that you just said it. Tifa chuckled, baffled, but even blushed a little. "Where did that come from?” She smiled, and you shrugged. “Just felt like saying it”. Tifa then hugged you and said she loved you too.

Aerith

You were on a date, walking together hand in hand when Aerith suddenly stopped walking. Curious, you looked at her and saw an almost mischievous smile on her lips. It was then when she suddenly said ‘I love you’, and although it was spontaneous and unexpected, it felt genuine. A bit flustered by how casually she said it for the first time, you said it back. Aerith giggled at your sudden shyness and kissed you in the cheek.

Zack

Zack said it randomly, just because he felt like it and wanted to tell you. He was playful when he did too, amused by how flustered you got. “Y/N, I said I love you!” He teased you, and you managed to finally say it back. Laughing a little, he pinched your cheek and joked about taking your breath away and leaving you speechless. After annoying you for a bit longer, he put an arm over your shoulders and sweetly smiled at you. “I meant it, you know?” “I know, Zack. So did I”

Reno

It slipped, and it was Reno. You were in the middle of a battle, being all badass and fighting together when he realized how smitten he was by you. After the battle was over and you made sure you were both unharmed, Reno laughed to himself and said to you ‘You’re so cool, I love you’ without realizing. After that he brushed it off, insisting that he just said it to hear it back because he knew you were crazy about him.

Vincent

Vincent was always slightly distant, even if he showed he loved you in his own way. But one day after a especially dangerous battle, he was clearly really worried about you. You weren’t badly hurt, but he had been scared still. He had gotten so scared in fact that he said right then as he held you by the shoulders and made sure you were okay, insisting that you should be more careful because he wouldn’t stand it if something happened to you. You said it right back and without hesitation, so confidently that he froze for a moment. In the end, though, he sighed in relief and hugged you.

Sephiroth

Sephiroth told you he loved you after a big argument. It was tense and you had both gotten pretty angry, to the point of making you sad. After you two stopped shouting and the heavy silence settled, Sephiroth stared at you. You thought he would say something, but he turned his back on you. When he did, and right before walking away, he said it: “remember that I still love you, Y/N, even if we fight”.

Tag list: @call-me-harley-quinn / @anxiouslyreckless / @xionroxas / @dancewaterdance02 / @little-faerie-artist / @x-joie-x / @honeybunhanbin / @legallyblindgamer727 / @goodmorningawfulbye / @trunks-kiwi / @ron-sparky-speirs / @imaginealllthefandoms / @lotsoffandomstoimagine // If you want to be added or taken off the tag list for these fandoms or characters, let me know!! // Reblogs and comments are appreciated!

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enigmaphenomenon · 5 years ago

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Cloud and Tifa - The Buildup pt. 1

Part 1 of the remake released finally and it covers Midgar. Let’s take a look at the scenes between Cloud and Tifa, and the scenes to come later in future installments. Let’s get started. Been a while since I last wrote an essay, it’s time.

The first time she’s mentioned:

Those of us who know the story, we know who Tifa is and what her connection with Cloud is. But, without knowing the story this question sets up other questions. “Who is Tifa?” “What is her relationship with Cloud?” “There must be something if Jessie, who is flirting hard with Cloud, is asking so she can understand if she’s flirting with a taken man or not.” Tifa is mentioned as early as chapter 1, both her importance to Cloud and the core mystery of Cloud’s identity are foreshadowed and setup. Jessie’s question makes Cloud search his memories, are he and Tifa close? This is where we get more information. We see through Cloud’s eyes as we get our first look at Nibelheim, and our first look at Tifa, as Anxious Heart plays in the background.

Cloud looks up at the water tower and lingers on it as he’s walking. We know the iconic water tower and what it means, but this shot is setting up the importance of this water tower. Even more foreshadowing about Tifa and Cloud’s bond.

As cool as this flashback is, it didn’t really answer the question. We see Tifa attempting to reach out to Cloud, but he seemingly ignores her. We never see what happens next as the flashback ends.

We don’t get our answer in the flashback, nor do we get our answer from Cloud. We know Cloud and Tifa knew each other as kids as well as in adulthood. We know that Jessie is curious about their relationship but other than that we didn’t get an answer. Only a question was posed. A question that will continue to be answered in small pieces before it is fully revealed. At this moment, Tifa, her relationship to Cloud, and their promise at the water tower are all foreshadowed. The second time she’s mentioned:

First we have Jessie asking Cloud if he’s close with Tifa, and now we have Barret giving us another piece of the puzzle. We know that Cloud and Tifa share history, but Barret is the leader of an anti-Shinra group and doesn’t trust Cloud at all. However, with this line by Barret we learn that he trusts Tifa and gave Cloud a chance based on Tifa’s words. Tifa is the one who got Cloud the job, and spoke so highly of him that Barret begrudgingly hires a “Shinra dog.” it demonstrates that Tifa’s trust in Cloud is the deciding factor in Cloud’s role for Avalanche. The three members warm up to him quickly, leaving only Barret who continues to distrust him yet reluctantly works with. This would show that all the members, for the most part, trust Tifa’s opinion. It is Tifa’s trust in Cloud that influences the Avalanche members. Another piece to the puzzle:

We already saw the water tower in an earlier flashback when Jessie asks him about Tifa. It served a purpose besides setting up the promise scene. As Cloud makes his way back to Sector 7 he has another flashback. The water tower appears once again as Cloud stands in the midst of flames.

As the scene plays out, we see the water tower completely engulfed in flames before revealing the iconic shot of Sephiroth.

We’ll dive into what this scene symbolizes and foreshadows in more depth in later parts of this essay. For now, it is another reference to his bond with Tifa that we don’t know the significance to just yet. All it tells us is Cloud and Tifa’s hometown went up in flames, and that the water tower holds more significance than being a mere landmark. The reunion flower:

And here is our first real answer on what Tifa is to Cloud. When Cloud meets Aerith, a flower peddler peddling her wares, and she offers him a flower. Now, in OG the flower cost 1 gil and you had the choice to buy it or decline it. Your choice did actually impact the game in a small way as if you declined the flower you would walk away with no flower. In the remake, however, even if you decline the flower it will still end up in Cloud’s possession. The flower no longer costs 1 gil it is completely free. The game does not let you walk away with no flower. We are given some added information about the yellow lily. In FF7′s universe this flower means “reunion” and Aerith adds on a romantic connotation stating lovers would give them when they were reunited. There is a second romantic connotation here, as if you decline the flower, Aerith will state it will make Cloud’s “girlfriend” happy. Upon hearing this, he asks her “how much?” Now who could this girl who Cloud holds romantic feelings for? Who was he thinking about when Aerith mentioned a girlfriend? With the flower in his suspender he reunites with Barret and the others where we get our third Tifa mention.

Cloud is initially confused when Barret says he’ll see Cloud soon at 7th Heaven, taking the time to mention Tifa once again and stating it is where she works. Barret also urges Cloud not to keep Tifa waiting. It is chapter 3, and Tifa has been foreshadowed since chapter 1, and now we’ll finally get to see her. In OG, if Cloud bought the flower an additional choice was unlocked. Once he makes it to 7th Heaven, Tifa notices the flower and the player is given the option to give it to Tifa or to Marlene. In the remake this is removed. The story removes the option to walk away without a flower, and removes the option of who to give it to. Again, who has been foreshadowed as having a bond with Cloud where a super flirty girl is interested in what exactly is going on between the two, who had such faith in Cloud it got him hired by someone extremely paranoid and hateful of Shinra, the girl he thought of when “a gift for [his] girlfriend” came up, the girl who receives the flower that lovers would give when reunited?

5 years:

Through this interaction, we get out next clue. What’s been 5 years? Obviously, fans of the original already know, but let’s pretend like we don’t. It’s been 5 years. We have a timeline now, and Chapter 3 keeps on providing us with more information. After delivering the water filter to Marle, who is their landlady, Tifa tells Cloud that Marle helped her back in the day. Tifa reveals she’s been in Midgar for about 5 years.

The puzzle pieces are forming together yet they are not completing the picture yet. After doing a few jobs for connections, Tifa brings up their home village.

This makes it seem that 5 years ago, Cloud left the village as did Tifa. We heard Sephiroth say “Your hometown that burns so bright” but we don’t have a timeline on that in this part of the story. We can assume Tifa left her village 5 years ago shortly after Cloud left. We know that Cloud returned to his home to witness it burning, and we know Tifa was confused when Cloud said it’s been 5 years, and we know Tifa has been living in Midgar for about 5 years. The picture is coming together but it’s still not clear. Cloud is reluctant to talk about it, but in a later scene we get more information. Alone At Last: And now we get Cloud’s answer. He finally talks about what happened when he left their village.

We get some backstory on how they were on the news everyday when Cloud and Tifa were kids, and that back then everyone wanted to be a Soldier. This was when the war with Wutai was going on, and Sephiroth was hailed as a great war hero, it was also around this time that Elmyra lost her husband and met Ifalna and Aerith. When Cloud first heard of Sephiroth, he would’ve been 9 years old or so. He talks about when he left the village the war was over and they didn’t needs heroes, and his job was just working for Shinra, nothing glorious like he had dreamt of.

The conversation goes quiet as Cloud reflects on his time with Shinra, prompting Tifa to change the subject. Before she does however, we get an awkward silence hanging in the air as the camera shows the rug they are standing at. @silver-wield pointed out this is a flower design, and could be the reunion flower.

This is apt as it’s shown right before Tifa brings up their reunion in Midgar.

Here’s what we know so far, Cloud left the village to join Soldier, it has been 5 years since he last saw Tifa, and he learned recently Tifa has been living in Midgar for about 5 years. She remarks on the odds of them going their separate ways what seems like 5 years ago and randomly bumping into each other in a city as massive as Midgar. The Promise: Finally, finally, FINALLY we get to the promise scene and I can talk about the significance of the water tower as more than just a landmark! When we first see the water tower in Chapter 1 is when we first see Tifa, we see the water tower again in Chapter 2 being engulfed in flames, and now in Chapter 4 we get another flashback that shows the significance of the water tower and how it’s linked to Tifa in Cloud’s memories.

It was at this water tower that Cloud told Tifa about wanting to join Soldier, that he will be the best of the best, just like Sephiroth. This is also where Cloud and Tifa make their promise, and the soundtrack that plays here is called “A Tower, A Promise.”

This memory was sparked when he was with Avalanche and was triggered by a rather random thing. A fan. Tifa was not mentioned, nor part of this mission, and yet a spinning fan is what brought memories of Tifa to the forefront. Seriously. A random fan triggered a memory of Tifa.

The first time he had a flashback of Tifa it was prompted by Jessie asking what their relationship was. Tifa was directly mentioned. However, as the game goes on the memories Cloud has of Tifa are randomly triggered as his true self tries to resurface. After Cloud remembers the promise he made to her, he remembers what she said back at the bar and the emotional turmoil she’s in.

Cloud’s face says it all right here. He feels like he came close to failing her. This is the moment more of his true self is brought forward by his memories of Tifa. It was after this scene we see him truly get closer to Wedge, Jessie and Biggs and finally includes himself with them, even smiling and laughing with the group. Now prior to this scene, we met Marle in Chapter 3 who had a lot to say to Cloud regarding Tifa.

Marle’s words actively foreshadow a scene that takes place after Cloud remembers the promise. At the moment Marle grills Cloud, he hasn’t remembered the promise and when Marle asks him if he’s actually thinking about Tifa and her feelings, his face says it all. Cloud goes to answer, but is at a loss for words...He looks mad and when he goes to presumably tell Marle off, he stops and his face changes to one of guilt and puzzlement.

Is he being a real friend to her? Is he really listening to her and thinking about her feelings? Or is he just going through the motions and pretending? Playing out a false persona...perhaps? Not acting like his real self maybe...? After the mission with Jessie is done and Cloud retires to his room, we get to see what Marle’s words foreshadowed and the change in Cloud’s demeanor after he remembered the promise.

“She needs a friend--a real friend.”

“So when she talks, are you really listening?”

In Chapter 1, Cloud insists him assisting Avalanche is a one-time gig, and once he gets his money he’s out of there. He refuses to acknowledge he’s part of the group as he tells Barret he’s not one of them and he’s simply a sword-for-hire.

When Chapter 4 rolls around Barret kicks Cloud out of 7th Heaven, throwing his words back in his face about it being a one-time thing, and Cloud himself stating that those shady guys looking for Barret isn’t his business and has nothing to do with him. Cloud had only one reason to stay in Midgar: Tifa. Prior to him remembering their promise, he had no reason, but Marle’s words and his memory of the water tower form his reason for staying. After all, he said he’d be there for Tifa and he decides to stay of his own volition--honoring the promise of his own free will and remembering it on his own.

We also see another flashback in Chapter 6 showing a distraught Tifa crying over her father’s body before taking Masamune and walking into the reactor.

This memory will be triggered again by Tifa repeating what she said all those years ago, with Cloud thinking that he had failed his promise to her.

This alludes to the promise he made to Tifa, and how he believes he failed her in Nibelheim. There is also another allusion to Nibelheim in Chapter 1. Reactor 5 has the same layout as Reactor 1, and while at Reactor 1 in the first chapter Cloud not only has a memory of Tifa and the water tower, but he also hallucinates a black feather as he sets the bomb.

We finally see the significance of the water tower shown/foreshadowed in Chapter 1, but the full significance will not be revealed until the later parts of the Remake. The water tower - continued in part 2

Part 2 coming soon

#long post #cloti #cloud strife #tifa lockhart

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tiifalockhart · 5 years ago

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Learning

Pairing: Sephiroth x Reader

Warnings: alludes to torture and trauma (no direct mention).

Word Count: 3k

A/N: Hi friends, this is the longest thing I’ve written so far on this blog... I hope you enjoy it. I put a lot of time into it, I wanted to portray Sephiroth a different way than I usually see in other fanfictions, hopefully my interpretation is accurate! Feedback is always appreciated <3

Ao3 || Masterlist

It’s a known secret that Sephiroth was fairly... Sheltered because of Hojo in Shinra. As many battles he’s been in and as many places he’s traveled, he still doesn’t seem to understand much outside of fighting and war. It tugged at your heartstrings, the way you’d talk about something with so much passion and excitement, yet Sephiroth wouldn’t necessarily understand what you were talking about and hold that same adorably cute confused face

So, you decided to take this into your own hands. Slowly and surely, your relationship turned into a conquest of teaching Sephiroth about anything and everything. It ranged from simple things such as feeling the sand between his toes on a warm summer day, to achievements like marriage and old age, however old he may be when he’s considered a senior citizen (do enhanced people age normally?).

It all started one day when you were showing him your favorite snacks. The two of you made it a habit to go grocery shopping weekly, mostly for weekly meals, but you wanted to branch out and let him try other foods. Unfortunately, Sephiroth seemed to really know Shinra’s cafeteria food, lab food, and whatever ungodly meals they prepared for war. You jumped on this opportunity to let him try your favorites, and your least favorites, giving him a wide variety of snacks. You began to check off your list: pocky, pickles, spicy chips, cheez-its, popcorn, trail mix, regular chips, you even bought ingredients to make ants-on-a-log and peanut butter crackers. Hopefully this was enough to give him a wide variety of tastes...

It hadn’t even occurred to you that it wasn’t a healthy idea until he brought it up. Sephiroth stared down at the grocery cart full of random items stacked on top of your weekly usual, his face holding an unreadable expression. “Have you thought that maybe this is too much?” He asked, looking over at you. God, how was he so cute?

“Well, no. But it’s worth it. If you go into sugar shock, I can always call the hospital and hope that they know what to do with you.” You joked, giggling at his slightly disgruntled expression.

Once the two of you arrived home, you laid the snacks out on the kitchen table, smiling up at him innocently. “What would you like to try first?” You asked, tilting your head to the side.

The way he reacted to your question made it seem like he was solving a mathematical problem in his head. He analyzed each snack with his eyes, looking between them all in silence. You began to grow nervous that he might actually be a picky person and you were pressuring him to eat. Eventually, he silently pointed to the box of pocky. “I like chocolate.” He stated simply, which made you smile.

“Pocky, hm? Have you ever heard of the pocky game?” You asked, a mischievous grin taking over your features. He raised a brow at the mention of it, shaking his head simply. You opened the box and took out one of the chocolate covered sticks, placing it between his lips. “Try it first, see if you like it.” You instructed.

Hesitantly, Sephiroth took a bite from the biscuit, chewing the small piece for a moment before nodding approvingly. “It... Is good.” He answered, taking more bites until it was gone.

You grinned and pulled out another stick. “Perfect. Would you like to play the pocky game, then?” You asked sweetly, which he smiled in response and nodded. “Good, good... So basically, it’s a race to finish the pocky. We both start at different ends and take bites until we reach the middle.” You explained innocently.

Sephiroth raised a brow. “Is this a trap to kiss me? You could just ask-”

“Silence, we’re going to play the game.” You responded, smiling innocently and placing the biscuit between your lips. Sephiroth stared down at your innocent gaze and sighed, trying to hide the smile making its way onto his lips. Giving in, he began to nibble along the opposite side of the stick. Slowly, the two of you got closer and closer to the middle, a sly grin making its way to your lips as a very very slight blush formed on Sephiroth’s cheeks. Eventually, you surrendered the rest of the pocky to him, planting a gentle peck against his lips and pulling away. “Not bad, right?” You asked, a teasing smile on your features as he finished the pocky.

“...Yes.” He answered awkwardly, which made your heart flutter. “It was good.” He added with a firm nod, as if he were confirming it with himself. After that, the two of you indulged in snacks for the rest of the day, Sephiroth naming which ones he thought were good, and the rest he preferred to stab with Masamune (he wasn’t particularly fond of the spicy chips and pickles).

After that day, the two of you began to plan small vacations and roadtrips all over the world, your first stop being Costa Del Sol. “There’s nothing like feeling the sun on your skin with the nice sandy breeze of a beach.” You explained with a grin, eagerly pulling him along the sandy path. Sephiroth struggled to walk at first, he was still not used to wear flip-flops. Once the two of you arrived to the beachfront, you ignored his quiet complaints of how hot it was. “The water is probably cool.” You stated, placing your things down in a decent spot. After laying out your towels and removing your cover-ups, you turned to the now shirtless Sephiroth and grabbed the tube of sunscreen. “Someone as pale as you should be lathered in sunscreen.” You stated, squirting quite a bit into your hands. “Turn around and hold up your hair.”

Sephiroth groaned quietly, turning his back to you and pulling his braided hair over his shoulder. “What is... Sunscreen? And how does it work?” He asked, furrowing his brows and shuddering at the cold lotion touching his skin.

“It’s a lotion, it helps you from not getting sunburned.” You explained, carefully lathering the lotion along his back.

“What is a sunburn?” He asked, furrowing his brows in confusion. “Is it dangerous?”

“It can be.” You answered, turning him around and reaching up to carefully place the lotion on his face. “Sunburns happen when you’re out in the sun too long with no protection. You get all red and scaly, and it hurts really bad.” You explained, pinching his cheek and giggling.

“Oh... Then, should I help you with your sunscreen?” He asked, holding out his hand to help. You raised your brows in surprise.

“I wasn’t expecting you to offer to help, but I don’t mind.” You responded, snickering and turning around. Sephiroth carefully placed some of the sunscreen in his hands, glaring at the odd texture for a moment, before beginning to rub it against your back.

“...When do I stop?” He asked, tilting his head to the side as he continued to lather your back and shoulders.

“Until I’m covered and you think it’s enough.” You shrugged, smiling up at him innocently. He hesitated and nodded, slowly pulling his hands away from your skin.

Once the two of you were covered, you tossed the sunscreen back in your bag. “What do you want to do now?” You asked, looking up at him and raising a brow.

“...What do people usually do at the beach?” He asked, his tone sounding slightly confused. “Zack said last time he was here, he had to fight people with an umbrella.” Sephiroth pointed out, staring down at you. He was so adorable, it physically hurt.

“Nooo, no, people do other things than fight.” You began, looking around. “Here, I’ll give you a few options. We can go in the water, which is probably cool. We can relax on the sand, maybe tan a little. We can also build a sandcastle. There’s also the pier nearby, maybe they have something we can explore.” You explained, crossing your arms.

Sephiroth hesitated, thinking through each of the options, once again analyzing each of them. He looked over at you quietly as if he were searching for help. “What would you like to do?” He asked, furrowing his brows. You swore you could see somewhat of a pout on his face.

“I’m fine with anything. You choose.” You responded stubbornly, crossing your arms and smiling at his somewhat troubled expression. “There’s no wrong answer, we can do whatever you want.”

He nodded and continued thinking it all through. Finally, he looked over at you. “I would like... To build a sandcastle.” He answered, looking down at the sand below him. You smiled and immediately gathered the buckets and shovels you brought with you.

“Good idea! It’ll be a lot of fun. You’re doing great.” You praised, which made him smile somewhat. The two of you took a seat on the sand and began to dig up a moat, planning out how the castle will look and building a small bridge. Occasionally, one of you would get up and rush to the water, gathering some in a bucket before returning and continuing to build. Eventually, the two of you finished a decently sized sandcastle. You smiled over at Sephiroth proudly. “Not bad for your first time! Wasn’t that fun?” You asked, taking his hand.

He stared down at the sandcastle and nodded. “I liked that. It was fun.” He responded, looking down at you. “What now?”

“What do you want to do next? We still have the whole day.” You asked, smiling up at him sweetly. He raised a brow, looking around at the options again before nodding firmly.

“Let’s go to the pier.” He decided, this time a little more quickly. You smiled proudly and took his hand.

“Sounds good, maybe they’ll have ice cream.” You pointed out, pulling him along happily. The rest of the day, you watch Sephiroth grow more and more comfortable at the beach, eventually getting in the chilly water.

Sephiroth ended up learning so much about you, the world and all the activities out there. It was years until the two of you began to even consider settling down with each other. Sephiroth was into the idea, but you were the one who ended up being unsure. You’ve taught Sephiroth about so much, but were you really the one for him? Maybe he wasn’t in love with you, maybe he stayed with you because he kept learning more and more, finally understanding what it felt like to be loved and cared for properly and knowing what happiness. Unfortunately, this feeling didn’t go away for months, even close to a year. Was it better to let go of Sephiroth? Maybe give him the chance to figure it out on his own? Maybe you weren’t the best fit for him, maybe someone else out there is a better fit for him, and he just believes it’s you because of what you’ve taught him.

So, the day before the two of you finalized your purchase of your first house together, you sat him down for a moment to talk it over with him. Sephiroth was confused as to why you seemed... Upset. Everything had been so great, the two of you were starting your life together officially. He couldn’t think of a single reason why you’d be upset. Worry and nervousness began to flood his veins.

You quietly took a seat across from him, unable to hide the troubled expression on your features. “Seph... You know I love you, right?” You began, which caused him to flinch slightly.

“I do.” He answered stoically. “Is something wrong?”

“No... No, nothing’s wrong. Everything’s just right. There’s just... One thing that’s been bothering me lately.” You prefaced, hesitantly reaching out to take his hands. “We’ve been in this together for so long. You’ve learned so much and you’ve grown a lot as a person. I’m... Afraid, that maybe there’s a better option out there than me for you.” You explained, a nervous look on your features.

Confusion flooded his expression as he stared over at you. “I-” He stopped himself, attempting to figure out what you were talking about. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” Sephiroth muttered, looking down at his hands. Did he mess up?

You noticed his confused and guilty expression, hesitating. Maybe this was a bad idea. “I-I’m not trying to say anything bad or like... Break up or anything. I just wanted to know if you’re sure that you want to do this. After this, it’ll be hard to go back. I don’t want you to do something because you feel like you’ve been pressured into it.” You explained hurriedly, concern forming on your face. “I care about you so much, I just want you to be sure this is what you want.”

He stared down at you in confusion, slowly shaking his head as he turned to face you. “I still don’t understand. Why do you think I’m here because you’ve pressured me?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. “I haven’t stayed with you because I feel pressured or trap. If anything, I feel the opposite of that. I felt pressured and trapped with those scientists, but with you, I feel free and happy.” He gripped your hands carefully, pressing soft and gentle kisses to your knuckles.

You stared at him and smiled sadly, slowly wrapping your arms around him carefully. “I’m glad... I want nothing more than for you to be comfortable and happy.” You confessed, a soft sigh leaving your lips. “I just wanted to make sure you felt that you were doing the right thing for you, not for me or anyone else.”

He nodded lightly and pulled away, cupping your cheeks carefully and pressing a delicate kiss to your lips. “Can we get married now?” Sephiroth asked, a small and faint smile forming on his lips.

You giggled softly, your cheeks heating up. “Fine, fine. We’ll get married now.” You responded, cupping his cheeks and pressing a kiss to his lips.

Your final lesson for him would have been what it felt like to be loved. When the two of you stood together on your wedding day, holding each other’s hands and gazing into each other’s eyes, Sephiroth was sure that what he felt for you was love. But it wasn’t any regular love, he loved his friends as well, this was unending love. The two of you were completely enthralled with each other, willingly captured in an ever-lasting bond.

Your life long wish at this point was to always make sure Sephiroth felt loved, even if your ups and downs, in sickness and in health, he’d never feel the way he did in those labs. Instead of fixing his past, you both collectively agreed to move forward and carry on, not allowing it to drag him down. It made you happy to see him in a much better state, he’s grown so much in the years the two of you have been together. You were proud and thankful.

Sephiroth was thankful as well. Not a day went back where he looked in your face and examined your features, each memory of the two of you flashing in his mind. You were perfect to him, everything he could have ever imagined. You gave him a second chance, something he was never sure he would have gotten.

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increasethythunders · 4 years ago

Text

the unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat 2/?

- sephiroth/reader

- sfw

“You look like shit.” said one of your fellow 2nds - Devon - through a mouthful of food.

“Thanks.” you replied, sitting next to him like a bag of rocks.

By the time you dragged yourself out of the training room (not even bothering to hit the communal showers and heading straight for the cafeteria in an exhausted stupor), there was only pallid, unspecified meat and soggy leaves that might’ve been a salad once left in the reservoir. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t good either, uncomfortably sitting somewhere in the so-so region. Looking at the vaguely edible shapes in their cold, rectangular boxes, you figured they were more of an essence of whatever they labeled it as. A single piece of white bread had more flavor. You stacked your tray with what you could, and just before you left to grab a seat, you doubled back to grab a water bottle.

After finally having the chance to settle, the muscles in your arms and legs ached. Like someone had taken a hammer to your joints. It was nothing like the feeling of being a spunky 3rd just coming back from rigorous training - you had ached then, but it felt good. It felt like progress. Now you were just dead tired. You suspected with great indignation that the feeling wouldn’t subside in a good while.

You were about to shove a fork full of the essence of meat in your mouth when you couldn’t help but look up at the friend sitting across from you. He was staring at you with wide, bluer-than-the-sky eyes. His puppy stare (that you made sure never to call it that to his face).

“Vic.” you said, feinting a stern tone. “Don’t wanna talk about it.”

You were dying to talk about it.

“You’re dying to talk about it.” said Victor and Devon in unison.

You groaned, hands flying to your face and tugging at your eyelids as you dragged them down. You had laid there in the training room for a good five minutes after Sephiroth left, half-expecting him to come back and further damage your ego. But he didn’t. And thankfully, no one else happened upon your battered form, for better or worse. Admittedly, you were feeling a lot less achy now that you were moving around, but where your back had collided with the floor now spouted an angry bruise in varying shades of yellow and purple.

“You sparred with Sephiroth?”

Victor - a 3rd and a few years your younger - always had at least one star in each of his eyes, but as you finished your lackluster retelling of the bout, he was twinkling like the night sky. “That’s so cool.”

“Oh yeah, real cool.” you picked at a clump of soggy leaves. “Ice cold.”

“That bad huh?” Devon said, with all the concern of wet concrete.

Slouching back down from where he was practically leaning across the entire table, Victor pouted.

“C’mon, it couldn’t have been that bad! At least you’re not stuck doing drills every day. Do you know how many of these guys would beg to be where you are?”

“At least you have someone to tell you what to do. Sephiroth just..expects me to know. It’s so - he’s so-” you punctuated with a grumble in your throat and a stab at the chalky meat on your tray, but it was so tender that it flaked away.

“He trusts you - that’s a good thing!”

You paused, taking a begrudging swig of water. “I guess..you have a point.”

You were still feeling slightly bitter, but a childish smirk played at the corners of your mouth. “Okay maybe it wasn’t completely terrible.”

They both perked up, looking at you curiously.

“I might’ve cut his hair.”

Both of their eyes shot open. “You what?”

---

It was dark by the time you and your friends dispersed, drowsily heading back to your respective quarters. But as tired as you were, you still felt like gum stuck on the bottom of someone’s shoe, so with a heavy sigh you hauled yourself to the showers.

They were empty, and completely quiet save for the tap-tap-tap of a few leaky showerheads. You tried to control your shivering as you turned the squeaky knob, a paralyzing chill washing down your body as cold water hit your skin like thousands of tiny icicles. The temperature evened out after a minute or two, though it was so late in the day that the highest it was able to reach was a tepid lukewarm.

You made quick work of your hair, combing out the last of the suds with your fingers. As you washed the rest of your body, your thoughts wandered back to the bout. It had only been a few hours since the training session, and you were already feeling a little better, if a little sore. But now the bruise was the least of your worries.

Sephiroth. Trusting you. You.

You wanted to laugh. You didn’t know why the concept was so unfathomable. To you, it just seemed like he was above that sort of thing. You knew of the other 1sts - it was almost impossible to avoid them, even if you wanted to - and how they were as thick as thieves. You knew your mentor was closer to them than anyone else, recalling brief memories of seeing them roaming the halls together, laughing and being..normal. You couldn’t imagine yourself in that sphere. You’d have better luck trying to catch a cloud.

Shutting off the water, you halfheartedly dried yourself off, your hair still slightly damp on your pillow as you faded into a dreamless sleep.

---

Waking up that next morning wasn’t as much of a chore as you thought it was. You were still sore as hell, but at least you could get up without complaining. Much.

You got dressed, your back popping as you threaded your arms through your sleeveless shirt’s armholes. Then, you rolled your shoulders, taking your wrist in one hand and pulling it across your chest, stretching and popping the joints in that socket. And then the other. Sliding your suspenders over your shoulders, you spied your reflection in the mirror in your bathroom. You could fit yourself inside it, with at least a foot to spare. But that foot was reserved for the door to swing open. You couldn’t count the amount of times you’ve stubbed your toe while opening the thing with both hands twice over. Brushing your teeth, you poked mindlessly at the dark bags under your eyes. You hadn’t noticed when they had gotten there, nor for how long. You spit into the sink.

Fixing your hair - which had somehow knotted itself in the back, making you look like you had gotten shocked by lightning in your sleep - with your hands, you were satisfied enough to leave your room. It was still early enough in the morning that the cafeteria was closed for at least another half-hour. Feeling restless, a prickling in your bones that couldn’t be quelled by sitting alone in your room - or anywhere else for that matter - you decided to go for a run.

The base’s outside training fields (that weren’t fields at all, but rather a series of cleared pads that weren’t completely overrun with crates of ammunition and other surplus supplies that had yet to be shipped to a warehouse somewhere) were a fair walk away, but you didn’t mind.

As you reached the end of the hallway, the elevator leading to the ground floor already in sight, the door slid open, revealing a figure that you didn’t quite register at first. You awkwardly stopped, your boots slightly skidding against the linoleum as if urging you forward. Which you did anyway, like a machine that had sputtered slightly before kicking itself back into gear. Sephiroth hadn’t seen your buffer, but the sound of it drew his eyes to you almost immediately. He stepped out, jutting one shoulder out first before the rest of his body followed. Trying not to meet his eyes, you waited for him to exit the elevator.

“Morning, sir.” you muttered, leftover grogginess on your tongue.

He nodded, a cordial expression flashing across his face.

As you passed him, one foot about to land in the elevator, you paused. There was a hand on your shoulder. You took a step back, straightening your posture without thinking.

His hand was gloved, always gloved, the leather not entirely warm - like he had just put them on. He wasn’t grabbing you in place, but Sephiroth had a gravity to him that made you want to stay there. It kind of scared you, but you were too busy shaking off the last vestiges of sleep that liked to hang around in the morning to care. If anything, you were just confused.

“Um.” you didn’t mean for the sound to come out, but too much silence made you nervous. You stayed quiet, too muddled to think of anything to say.

Sephiroth himself wasn’t silent for too long, but it was long enough to put a little seed of apprehension in you. You shifted your weight on your feet.

“Was this from yesterday?” he said in a notably smaller tone than usual.

It took you a full second to notice that he was looking at your shoulder, and another second to realize what he was talking about. “Oh - oh, that?”

You twisted your neck as far as it could go, bending back slightly even though the motion was more irritating than you’d like to admit. You gave the bruise a passing glance.

“I mean..yeah.” you said. “But I’ve had worse, can hardly feel it anymore actually.” you quickly added after seeing his brows crease lower on his face.

“Hey, man, seriously I’m over it. It’s just a bruise, you didn’t like, cut my arm off.” Though for a moment, you thought he would have done exactly that.

“I tend to get carried away with that sort of thing..it was unprofessional of me,” He almost seemed to shrink into himself, but he looked more like one of the droopy willows you saw once while patrolling a small village outside Midgar. He withdrew his hand like he had just stung you. “I apologize for causing you harm.”

“You..don’t have to, Seph, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

“But-”

“Honest. It was just a fall, that’s how sparring matches are.” you waved him off. His concern was sweet at first, albeit strange and just a little uncomfortable. But now you felt like you were consoling a kicked puppy. “Besides, it was fun.”

“..Fun?”

“Well, yeah. It’s not every day you get to fight, er, you.”

“I see.” he said, noticeably relaxing a bit. “So you’re sure you’re alright?”

“Positive.”

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly in..satisfaction? Relief? Something like that. He looked like he was about to leave, but before he could fully turn his back to you he stopped, turning his head.

“Oh, if you can, meet me in the briefing room in about an hour. There’s something I’d like to speak to you about.”

You could feel your stomach actively turning into a pit. “Aren’t we talking right now?” you said, feeling more than a little thick in the head and wanting very badly to slap yourself when you saw a crease form between his brows.

“It’s important. I requested a meeting with Lazard.”

The pit in your stomach was now a sinkhole.

“Oh,” you said. “Okay, uh...cool.”

Sephiroth snorted with some degree of amusement. “Don’t be late.”

“Sure!” you said maybe a little too enthusiastically. You never were good at masking your anxiety. “Sure.” you quickly repeated in a markedly more composed tone, doing an even worse job at sounding calm.

He was already walking away - thank god. You didn’t want to see his face. As the elevator doors severed you from him, you found yourself tapping your foot against the panels of the floor, arms crossed so tight they felt stiff and weird dangling at your sides as you walked outside to the training field.

You ran laps (you weren’t counting, but it felt infinite), your brain shutting itself off without you meaning to. There was too much to think about, but it was so early in the morning you told yourself, that you deserved not thinking about any of it. Just for a couple minutes, a few more laps. The apology, the hand on your shoulder, the meeting, the apology - nope. Not thinking about it.

---

By the time you reached the cafeteria, you found that you weren’t that hungry at all.

#sephiroth #sephiroth x reader #ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #crisis core #ff7 crisis core #my fics

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lonewolfandmuse-moved · 3 years ago

Note

Fandom character(s) you can write: "Castlevania" Alucard, "Kamisama Kiss" Tomoe, "Inuyasha" Sesshomaru, "Final Fantasy 7" Sephiroth, Vincent & Tseng, & "Hellsing" Alucard.

( Send me a fandom and I’ll tell you which character I’d write )

Whoever sent this must know me so well lol. ^^

Castlevania ~ I love Alucard and I would totally love to write for him. I haven't caught up on the latest season yet but he's definitely a character I may add to the muse list in the future. (If anyone wants to help me test him out on discord, hit me up!)

Kamisama Kiss ~ I admittedly never heard of this anime. Looking Tomoe up, he definitely seems like a cool character. I'm curious about your reasons for suggesting him to me. I may have to watch this anime now & find out.

Inuyasha ~ I also love Sesshomaru. ^^ (you know me 💙) He was a muse of mine at some point, but I couldn't find many people to write with. Maybe in the future he'll make a comeback to the muse list if enough people are interested. (Like I said, you can always hit me up!)

Final Fantasy 7 ~ Heck yes. ALL these characters are *chef kiss*. I'm honored you think I'd be able to write for Sephiroth. He's definitely my top favorite videogame villain antagonist along with Vergil. I guess I have a thing for men with white hair weilding katanas. Maybe I'll try writing for Tseng or Vincent at some point. As for Seph, I have too much fun interacting with other Sephiroth roleplayers.

Hellsing ~ I know of this anime but I never watched it. This version of Alucard gives me Dante vibes. You know he's a cool character just by looking at him. Guess I'm adding Hellsing to my list of shows to watch. ^^

#meme: answered #this was fun!#thank you #ooc: lone wolf

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scrawnytreedemon · 4 years ago

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Cid Highwind and/or Vincent V!

Oooohhh!!! Bringing in The Boys? SNkkkkk, I’d expect nothing less of you, Enide <3 I’m not that well-versed in them as I’d like, buT!!! here’s trying!!!! Love a good challenge :))

Cid:

First impression: Grumpy tea DILF that swears his ass off. For some reason I keep forgetting Cid is a lancer and not a gunman because??? Usually it’s the gunmen that get depicted all vulgar and rugged, with stubble and cigarettes.

Impression now: Grumpy tea DILF that swears his ass off. Lmao, nothing much has changed, but there’s certainly a free-spiritedness to him; makes sense, the man is a pilot and would’ve been(got to be?) an astronaut. He’s very tough-love in a way that both meshes and manages to be distinct from Barret’s flavour-- I think they’d be good bros :) One thing that sours his character a bit for me is how he verbally abuses Shera :( I’d normally chalk it up to his usual tough-love, but with the major plotpoint of him blaming her for his crushed dreams and how she essentially fulfills the role of an abused wife... I, I’m not so sure. Overall, I like Cid, but it’s a shame.

Favorite moment: Ohh!!! I have a few, such as the way he joins the party, him calling Vinny back to their room, his return to the final fight-- But my favourite has to be on the Materia train hijacking sequence and the dialogue that follows if you pick Yuffie and Vincent as your party members. The dialogue is downright hilarious and you really get the sense that they’ve gotten to know each other behind the scenes(love that about FFVII <3) :)))

Idea for a story: To STEAL an idea from my bud @alunchboxofsushifries she had while we were whinging about DoC, but having the game’s storyline entirely revamped so that it’s Vincent, Cid and Yuffie doing it all together. We don’t know the finer details(and DoC being DoC quite frankly I’m scared of knowing just w h a t might we be changing), but I love the idea alot!!!!! Again, this is my friend Vee’s idea, so major credit to them!!!!

Unpopular opinion: Lmao I don’t think I have enough opinions on him to really have an unpopular one??? Dont get me wrong-- Love the man to bits, however as of yet my focus has been all over the other party members(Barret, Nanaki, ect.) and so I’m not as well-versed in what is the common fanon of this man-- Most I could say is I wished they handled his resentment towards Shera better :(

Favorite relationship: I think him and Vince are such a fun dynamic-- I lean heavily platonic, but I’m sure you know I’m cool with a more romantic connotation. Vince calling him chief and being this affectionately dry almost-sidekick to Cid is the absolute best and its what made me love the train sequence along with Yuffie calling him old man lmaooo-- Adding onto that, I think him and Yuffie could have a snarky grumpy old dad and snide-teenager dynamic where he gives her lectures and she goes “yeah okay, paps”.

Favorite headcanon: Sadly I don’t have really any(I am NOT giving you good food today, am I, Enide? :( ), but I personally think that he’s got the only functioning airship on the Planet. I headcanon Gaia to be roughly the size of our moon, so large enough to hold a fair amount of people but also small so everything’s just a stone’s throw away-- Hell, they only have one major ocean! How wild is that???

Now!!!!! Onto Vince :))))) I have alot more to say(hopefully lmaooo)

First impression: Cool edgy gunman who stands in a corner and mumbles huskily. Drinks only black coffee, if he even drinks at all. Desperately needs a hairbrush.

Impression now: This man is??? SO awkward I???? I lOVE HIM???? He’s also got such a sweetness in my eyes and it’shdfjkjhkjhjg!!!! Like mAN, he’s an outwardly chill if slightly skittish older friend who keeps to the sidelines most of the times but when he does chip in it’s a l w a y s good and very Wise. The man is a bit of a sod, though, sometimes to the point of debilitating self-pity. First thing this guy did was tell you to fuck off and go back to sleep. He rags on himself heavily for his sins and I want to!!! Give the poor fucker a hug because lord knows he hasn’t had one in 27~ years :((( All around, swell guy, WOULD love to have a chill garden-bonfire chat with him :) Still needs a hairbrush, lmao. Also g o l d - p l a t e d c l o w n s h o e s .

Favorite moment: I must, again, bring up the train scene for reasons mentioned in Cid’s section-- But to get onto another that caught my eye, was when he returned, and Cloud was surprised, having got the feeling that Vince was cold an detached. It’s both sweet, and sad. Vince cares deeply about all of this, about all of them, but because he’s a bit of a poker-faced recluse he doesn’t express it very much. I wonder how he felt, hearing that.

Idea for a story: OF COURSE, once again, Vee’s DoC rewrite(even more so because Vince is the main character), but I think a Seph adoption!AU, whether pre or postgame where in the former he takes Seph in and they’re constantly on the run together, constantly awaiting Shinra’s wolves like stalked deer, or the latter where there’s a tender, redemptive atmosphere but also a psychological, almost-horror element where he loves his Lucrecia’s son so much but also has to serve as his warden lest he be unleashed once more.

Unpopular opinion: I don’t think he’s Sephiroth’s biological father, and, with the nigh-omnipresence of this theory, I’ll be honest and say I find it a little grating? I think it weakens Hojo’s character and makes Vince this Real Fix-It Parent Who’d Never Hurt You :) -- And I understand the appeal, of that, but honest to God it really feels like most of this comes down to Hojo Stinky Baf adn UGLIIII!!! Vimce Good adn Sweete adn Pwetty :333 Facetiousness aside, I can appreciate this being done well, as with anything! Just wish it wasn’t taken as almost canon in fandom spaces :(

Favorite relationship: The man is SO fun to platonically pair up with everyone it’s INSANE, though I don’t think I have a favourite ship??? Like yeah, sure him and Lucrecia had a thing once, but that whole ordeal was more of a human rights crisis and just generally a painful, tragic mess. I don’t think Vincent could really love like that again, not for many years. He aches, even in places he forgets aren’t meant to ache. Especially those. I think he gives everyone a little love in the help he hands out. Vincent’s heart is big and broken, and he fears that if he fills it too much, it’ll burst, and he’ll be left a beast. He needs to learn that he is worthy, but that is a task he must undertake.

Favorite headcanon: Can’t really think of any, as despite his mysterious nature, Vince doesn’t leave too many loose threads in areas of My ConcernTM-- Though if I’m gonna make one up, him, Barret and Cid get together on Saturday nights to hang out around a fire with some beers and have some good Dad Talks-- Peak DILF solidarity, tbh.

But yeah!!!! Took awhile to write out, hopefully these are sufficient enough for you, O’ Valenwind Extraordinaire beloved! Again, as always, feel free to tack on any further thoughts of your own! Love a good discussion <3 Makes this little corner of the fandom feel warmer.

#ffvii #ask meme #cid highwind #vincent valentine #scrawny speaks #this was hELLA fun!! thank you for asking <3 #scrawny asks

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game-boy-pocket · 4 years ago

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Well, now that they're all finally out... my feelings on each of the new Smash Bros characters is this.

Inkling was inevitable. But that doesn't mean I wasn't thrilled to see them. Splatoon is a great new IP, though I personally worry about how similar the games seem to be 3 main entries in, but that's nothing to do with Smash. Fun to play but hard to learn. A- ( the minus is for no Octo alt ).

Ridley felt like he should have been inevitable, but was fighting against some pretty strong biases. But he finally made it and i'm very happy. I do think he could have been a tad bit bigger though. Even if they had to slow him down a bit. A

Simon very happy with this character, and honestly surprised he didn't get in sooner. Castlevania may not be as strongly associated with Nintendo as it used to be, but it's one of the first games that come to mind when you think of the NES as well as the SNES. He was in a TV show with Megaman and Pit for goodness sake. And I enjoy using him. A- ( minus is only for no chronicles alt )

Richter was a cool addition, if there was one other Belmnot to be added, i'm glad it's him... but I am more of a Simon guy. Side note, I wish they took the echo fighter character a little further. It seemed like branding clones as echo fighters is all it took to make people more accepting of the idea, only for them to just stop short of three or four new ones, and not even include super obvious ones like Shadow the Hedgehog or Blood Falcon. Anyway A- ( minus is for no symphony of the night alt )

King K. Rool being revealed was one of my top five Smash moments. Donkey Kong is not a neglected Nintendo franchise. But it has undergone some changes that long time fans don't care for, including the removal of the main antagonist, this guy, who has a gigantic personality. He's a very fun character and it's so good to see him come back ( pls appear in the next DK game pls pls pls ) He also happens to be very fun to play as. A++

Isabelle is where Smash reveals kind of started to lose me a bit. Animal crossing is a big series and all but I really felt like the one villager is all the game really needed to properly represent the entire series. You don't need a lot for Animal crossing. And the fact that Isabelle was a relatively new character, who seemingly snatched the role of series mascot from Tom Nook, well it kind of rubbed me a little wrong. She seemed unnecesary... but she is actually more fun to play as than villager, and she's cute. So I don't totally hate her. B

Incineroar was a poor way to end the base game lineup for me. Pokemon just isn't a very respectible series anymore in my eyes and Sun/Moon was the first game in the series that I found too boring to finish. Pokemon just doesn't excite me, and with each new announcement, I'm becoming actively disgusted by it. I would have loved a wrestler character in the game, but the fact that it had to be a pokemon kind sullied it for me. Yeah, I just can't pretend to like this inclusion even if it is a huge Nintendo IP. C-

Dark Samus is a character I am kind of indifferent too. I didn't think we needed her, but I think she's a cool addition to the game. A bit of a waste to make her an echo though, her abilities are very different from Samus in the games if I remember right, I honestly don't remember much of Metroid Prime besides the first one. Still, she's cool. B+

Daisy is an oddball for me. I know she is in Super Mario Land, but her main identity comes from the Mario Spinoff games, and I just don't play those games. They don't appeal to me. I like Mario platformers. And to me, if a character is in spinoffs almost exclusively, they don't count as core Mario cast members. And frankly it's a little odd to me that she's plucking turnips and summoning Toads. The citizens of Sarasaland are not Toads. And she wasn't in Mario 2... but she's not hurting anything I guess so B+, needed "Hi i'm Daisy" taunt.

Chrom is a Fire Emblem Lord alright. He's also an echo. So I don't care. C

Piranha Plant honestly felt like a little bit of an insult to me. I've always hated when Mario games start featuring low level mooks without names as playable characters in the Mario spinoffs while ignoring the likes of Wart, Tatanga, E. Gadd, or th extended DK/Wario cast or RPG characters. It's part of why I don't care about Mario spinoffs. That being said... it is, at the very least, extremely fun to play as. B-

Joker may very well be the most out of place character in this series. He's certainly one of them. Maybe I would feel different if I played Persona, but I don't. So to me he's like the worst thing they added to this game. D-

Hero felt like he should have been in Smash Bros before cloud did. Dragon Quest may not be as popular in the west as it should be. But it's definitely the most important and influential JRPG to the history of video games... that being said, I wish the DQ3 hero was the default costume. I really enjoy playing as him. A+

Banjo and Kazooie finally getting in is without a doubt my favorite moment in Smash History. Not even Sonic got me as hyped as they did. I wish there was a way to make younger fans see this character the way us old timers do without seeming like we're trying to force them to like him, but it is what it is. I love these guys and they're my most played character. A+++

Terry is a character i'm not familiar with. He just kind of looks like a bootleg Ken to me. I think they could have picked a better SNK rep. Metal Slug would have been nice, shooters are sorely under represented in Smash. Do we have anybody besides Samus representing shooters? And she barely qualifies. C

Byleth is a Fire Emblem Lord alright. But you know what, they're honestly the only FE character that feels like they're representing the gameplay of Fire Emblem particularly well while the others were just kind of generic sword slingers... that being said... was this the best way to end fighter pass 1? B-

Minmin was not a character on my Radar. I thought it would have been Springman or no Arms character at all... I am just happy ARMS made it in at all... but really, it should have been base game content. If only to support the new IP. A-

Steve was a character I was opposed to at first. I saw him as a rival to Banjo. And I also saw Minecraft as a dumb zoomer game. A joke. But people made compelling arguments for the importance of minecraft, how successful it is, I actually downloaded Minecraft on my Switch, played it, had a relaxing time, I still play it, and I was actually able to play with my friends who don't own Nintendo consoles. It has cross play. The cross play is really what won me over as it being really cool to have in Smash, as it really brought me together with friends. Steve is tough to use, but great fun, as long as it's against a computer. I can't fight humans for shit, hah. A- ( the minus is for that cursed short enderman alt )

Sephiroth rubbed me the wrong way. Another Final Fantasy character wouldn't have been so bad, but did it have to be another FFVI character??? Couldn't it have been something from before FF made the jump to total steampunk/sci-fi to better represent the series roots? He's fun to use but idk, I just take no joy in him... at least we got more FF music I guess. C-

Pyra/Mythra is a character I have zero opinion on. B ( for booba )

Kazuya is not a character i'm familiar with, and if there had to be another fighting game character, one from Namco, I feel like Soul Calibur should have been it. Bring the Link crossover back around. It seems Tekken has no presence on Nintendo as well... but whatever. I have no strong feelings. He's fun to combo with but I suck as him. B-

Sora makes me sad. I don't dislike Sora. He has a fun design. I like the idea of Kingdom Hearts... I just think the story of those games is very weird and dumb and confusing, so the games themselves are kind of overrated. I really think people only like it for the pretty character models and intricate costumes. I thought people liked it for the Disney stuff but I'm suprised to hear most KH fans seem to want more FF stuff and less Disney stuff??? The only thing that makes the game unique??? Should be dialed back??? That being said... I don't like Disney. It is an evil company. And Disney getting in bed with Nintendo makes me very anxious. D

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zachsgamejournal · 5 years ago

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PLAYING: Final Fantasy VII Remake

I love it. Done. Just Kidding. Final Fantasy VII is one my top 10 favorite games of all time. My first play through was over 99 hours, and I didn’t feel like I was “done”. I just beat the game to beat it. I’ve restarted the opening Midgar section a hundred times. I love it.

I don’t know why, but when the PS2 came out, I heard rumors of FFVII sequels...but then FFX got a sequel. I didn’t really care for that one...Why did it get a sequel? Then PSP had Crisis Core and Advent Children. While Crisis Core was an action packed revisit to FFVII’s world, it wasn’t exactly a remake. And while I enjoyed watching Advent Children a 100 times...it wasn’t exactly a film-adaptation, or even an EPIC-Quality sequel to the game. When the PS3 Demo teased a remake, I became desperate. I needed this REMAKE. When the PS4 Remake was announced, I couldn’t believe it was real!!!! But then it turns out, it was only going to be the first section and that there would be “changes”. While I’m ok with the game ditching the turn-based combat, I didn’t want a game so revamped that it was unrecognizable. And the fact this was only the first section, I was worried that a. they were filling the game with fluff, and/or b. they wouldn’t bother making the rest... Doesn’t matter now. It’s in my hands now, and I can’t wait to play! FFVII’s opening is possibly my most favorite opening of any video game. How the stars of space turn to life-stream embers, and Aerith steps out of an alley to reveal a bustling city. The Camera pulls back to reveal Midgar, our new home, a huge ominous tower surrounded by planet-killing reactors. Then as the camera pushes in, there’s quick cuts of a train--building the tension and pace of this slow, elegant reveal. And boom: the bombing mission begins! In contrast, the remake starts with a vast desert landscape in daytime. For a moment, I thought it was meant to mirror the desert Red XIII visits at the end of VII...maybe it is. But then we see Midgar, reimagined to new glory! It was strange, but not offensive. Until we cut from day to the familiar image of Aerith looking at Mako energy. She’s prompted to leave the alley by someone...or something. And we pull back to see Midgar, as in the original. And while I’m glad we’ve remade this perfect scene, it is sabotaged by the new day-time opening. The city has been introduced twice. Revealed twice. And one is clearly more impactful than the other (the original). Ah well. Now we’re in the familiar train station. I think they’ve added some sections to give more combat opportunities for the player. It works. The combat is fun enough. I’m glad that I can “strike” as much as I want without delay, unlike Crisis Core. Maybe it’s because I played CC for hours that I’m so satisfied with this action-combat? Limiting the item and magic use to a timer was a bit awkward. I would often forget to use them. I’m still quite confused about when to use special moves like Braver. Shinra soldiers are no sweat. The graphics are great and the lighting perfectly captures the original’s style. It was fun to play a modern game with 90s aesthetics. Because the camera is now over the shoulder and not overhead, like the classic, I almost missed how many times they took the original game’s environments and reworked them for the remake. I was impressed when I discovered it and absolutely thrilled. They’ve also done a good job reworking the enemies into the game. The dialog/story is a little hit or miss. But that’s just kind of where Japanese games live, for me. In the 90s and early 2000s, most games didn’t have good writing, even if they had good stories and ideas. So Japan’s non-western style didn’t stand out that much, and they were usually cutting-edge for cinematic games and storytelling. Now that Western Games have improved so much, it’s harder for me to tolerate Japan’s eccentric style. The original game was very succinct and clear: Barret was an angry, militant rebel who saw Shinra Corp as a threat to the world. He explains clearly how the reactors are sucking up the planet’s energy. The stakes were clear. Cloud’s cool indifference was an interesting foil. Usually you’re the hero, now you’re just a jerk. While the remake did a good job showing that Cloud was specifically brought to do the fighting, proving his worth to the team, when we get to Barret’s speech about the reactor--it’s somewhat unprompted and...unspecific? It’s so over the top, I hardly realized this was “the speech”. If you’ve never played FF7 before, I’d imagine the point would be lost on you. If you have played, then you get the joke that Barret isn’t exactly an environmentalist--despite his impassioned posturing. I think this is a misstep.

But they did give side characters more of a voice in this mission, especially Jessie. They basically sacrificed Barret’s presence to give the others more talking opportunity. This works because we’re gonna get to know Barret over many, many more hours. But it also gives Barret a more solemn presence that works for his character.

Getting to the iconic scorpion bot fight, I was impressed by the challenge. The original game is still trying to let you win at this point. The only way to lose is to attack when the tail is up, unleashing a devastating laser attack. But this game really pushed me. Maybe it was meant to challenge the player and force them to experiment with different attacks and strategies. I had to heal a lot!! Also, it seemed like my dodge was worthless. Occasionally the boss would launch a barrage of missiles and when I tried to roll-dodge, I always rolled right into a missile. By the end, I just didn’t bother dodging or blocking, cause they don’t seem to do anything...maybe I suck.

Then it was time to escape. This was fun, but they introduced a new “shock trooper” or something. These guys are fast, strong, and a pain in the ass. I couldn’t dodge, I couldn’t block, and I couldn’t land a hit. I hate these guys. It seemed odd to put such a challenging enemy into the game at THIS timed moment. But maybe they assumed I’d be better at combat by now?? The biggest issue with FFVII is that you start the game as terrorists and that’s never really addressed. Sure, you’re stopping an evil corporation, but you’re doing it at the expense of innocent lives. The remake makes a smart decision here and establishes the bomb as small and insignificant. But then President Shinra orders the reactor to be destroyed--causing a huge explosion that causes a great disruption to the civilians. I assume this is an effort to paint your team as terrorists and enemies of the people. I think it’s a good twist that corrects the original’s problematic points.

After escaping the reactor, the team is faced with the aftermath of the explosion. They’re confused by the amount of destruction, but also try to rationalize the importance of their goal. While I think they were mostly trying to stretch playtime, there’s an interesting sequence of having to face the fruits of your labor: burning buildings, crashed cars, injured people receiving emergency care, displaced citizens, and complete chaos. Even though I know, as the player, that Shinra is the true cause--it’s a good beat to have the player/characters facing the consequences of rebellion.

This leads into a new take on Aerith’s introduction. This is where Japanese “styles” don’t meld with me. Aerith is fighting off invisible spirits--and it looks ridiculous. Most people would give this flower girl a wide berth, and likely not purchase her products. But Cloud is just like, “Hey, what’s up?” after blowing up a reactor... Anyway, Cloud also sees these ghosts: hooded creatures. This is new--but I wonder if it’s related to Sephiroth clones/alternatives?

Aerith runs off, and we’re treated to a vision of Sephiroth. This seems to be addressing another issue with FFVII--what is this all about? In the original, Shinra is the main enemy within the early 2-5 hours, and Sephiroth is lightly referenced. It’s not till Shinra is found murdered that we really see Sephiroth as a potential threat--let alone the “final boss”. It’s a weakness in the storytelling, for sure. But having the vision of Sephiroth appear and bring Cloud back to the fateful day seems like a real attempt to focus the narrative.

And then I had to do a lot of fighting. It was fun, and didn’t quite feel like “stretching”, but it was funny to reflect that this 30+ minute sequence was about 5 minutes of gameplay within the original. So--I’m around chapter 2 of an 18 chapter game. These chapters cover about the 5 hours of the original’s plot, but I’ve already put in 1:43 hours.

Final Fantasy VII spends so much of the early game in Midgar, it really starts to feel like home--as much as it’s meant to represent the dangers of capitalism and fossil fuels--it really becomes a part of you, like the Mansion and Police Station in Resident Evil 1 and 2. I’ve always wanted to see more of it--so I’m hopeful that this game has taken the time to really build Midgar.

#Zach's Game Journal #ZGJ #PLAYING #Final Fantasy VII #Final Fantasy VII Remake #PS4 #PlayStation 4

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silver-wield · 5 years ago

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Final Fantasy 7R review

I finished the game this morning and I already have regrets that there’s nothing left for me to do besides replay and anxiously wait for news of the next installment. I want more. I want to not have finished it yet. I need to know what happens next, not just in the updated story, but with the game mechanics, too. I’m happy the team is taking their time to make the game as good as it deserves to be, but on the other hand I wanna throw a toddler tantrum demanding the rest of my game!

Beware, spoilers.

The bad stuff

To be fair, not a lot from where I’m sitting. I’ve seen people bitch about textures and how the scrap yards don’t look dynamic enough and some stuff is flat, but seriously, why are yall looking at the walls? They’re the least interesting thing about the game and you’re just nitpicking. The graphics overall were amazing and I stopped multiple times just to rotate the camera and take in this massive city we actually get to really explore for the first time ever!

I have to admit a slight disappointment in the amount of space, verbally, that was happening. There were times where I expected characters to make comments and they said nothing. Things were overlooked or just not addressed and it wasn’t even anything plot related, just a point where there could have been dialogue and it didn’t happen. It wasn’t often, but those few times the air was left dead I noticed it. The most notable time was in chapter 17, right after Sephiroth appeared on the gangway. Now, I get them being too shocked to say anything when he’s right in front of them, but after, when they separate and fall into two groups? Nothing? No comment? Tifa, I definitely expected to say something in a shocked tone, but even after they found Cloud again, she didn’t mention it. It was like the moment didn’t happen. I know the other times nobody else but Cloud saw him, but this time they saw him, and he’s linked to Tifa’s past too, so she definitely should’ve had some kind of comment in that empty space.

That was the only major point, but other small ones were when people were talking and one character remains silent. The only one I expect to never speak if he doesn’t have to is Cloud. Because it’s Cloud. Everyone else should have something to say. Like when they climbed the stairs. If you took the stairs - I was all done in from so many fights and just wanted a break - then you got hilarious commentary from Barret, Cloud and Tifa. It showed how close they’ve become. Cloud made a joke! His second one of the game! If you missed the first, it’s likely because you obsessed over him going on about money all the time and saying that’s all he cares about when he’s with Tifa. So, yeah, after being shown how the group can talk to each other and banter I’m hoping Square adds more chatter to the next game. I know some people prefer less chatter, but this is a group of people who are supposed to be shown as friends, so conversation is important.

The other thing that got on my nerves was the mechanics of the weapons upgrade. Unless I missed a shortcut, having to go out of each one and then into the next one instead of just switching over to the next weapon’s skill tree. It took a long time to level things up and I wish there was an option in the auto to just unlock every skill one at a time, so they’d do it on auto without me having to go in there. And the ATB. That got on my nerves. I’m lazy af, so I’d like for action to just pause whenever someone’s atb fills so I can give them a command and then go back to the battle instead of having one eye on all the atbs. It’s probably more classic than Square wants to go with it, but having that as a battle option would be nice and a further throwback to the old style of gameplay.

The good

Everything from chapter 3 onwards. The intro chapters were good, too, but I really just wanted to dig into the game and that didn’t happen until chapter 3. The VAs killed it! Graphics were amazing! The weapon abilities were fun and added something different to the regular gameplay style of just grabbing the next strongest weapon. Side quests were enjoyable and I wish there was more of them, especially a save the citizens for after the plate fell. That really would've hammered home the tragedy.

The story

I’ve seen people - mostly OG fans - bashing the new elements. Sure, the whispers are a weird angle to come at it from, but the explanation for them, that they’re trying to maintain the OG storyline, made for an interesting twist on a 25 year old story. Sephiroth’s early appearance was just something that had to happen, along with a Jenova fight, because, come on, this section of the OG was like 3hrs worth of content and this is 40hrs, so ofc they had to include new things and it matches with the new storyline and I think people need to release their death grip on the OG storyline and enjoy this game for what it is.

I found the ripple effect(?) interesting too. From what we learned, the OG happened in the future. If things hadn’t changed that’s the future everyone was heading towards. Ok, cool, pretty simple.

This timeline had small changes. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie survived!? Or did Wedge finally get shoved off a building at the end, I really couldn’t tell if he bought it that time, but if he did I’m mad cause he was adorable. The plate falling didn’t have as big a casualty number as originally, either. And Hojo almost spilled the beans to Cloud early, but was cut off, and that’s the other thing Cloud ignored in dialogue afterwards, but it’s Cloud, so we’ll give him a security pass for that. The others ignoring his Ptsd induced freak outs isn't cool though and I expect Square to fix that level of callousness towards him from the others.

Those are the only two changes from the OG. Sephiroth showing up early instead of in Nibelheim doesn’t really matter. He’s his usual cryptic asshole self and his goal is unchanged. The team just knows he’s the big bad earlier now and have a solid goal instead of just randomly wandering after they leave Midgar. So, yeah, does Biggs, Wedge and Jessie living make a big difference overall? Will that ripple from them being alive make further changes?

We also saw that Zack survived because of our team, but the Zack in their timeline is still dead. I think we saw it this way because the planet is trying to find a way to prevent being hit with Meteor and ending up with geostigma, so the OG timeline, everything was still bad. Our timeline gives possibilities for a slightly better future and then the timeline behind it - the one with Zack - offers even better odds, not that we’ll see that. That’s the timeline I think Aerith will live through, so that way Square can say Aerith lives, just not in the game we play now.

Shipping

I’m not into wars, so if you love Aerith, cool good for you, I was focused on building affinity with Tifa and Square didn’t disappoint! There were so many romantic moments between them! And damn do they have chemistry! I squeed at such a high pitch the dog next door started howling! All the small touches, longing looks, affection, support, trust and OMGOSH IT WAS JUST THE BEST!!! They were so damn cute!!

I have no idea how the game changes if you focus on Aerith and to be honest I don’t want to. I think that’s what I love about the options for that. You can choose and no one can say your choice isn’t valid.

One thing though, I would like an end to it because it’s 25 years of people arguing and it’s made the entire fandom toxic af and it’s actually the reason I avoid most of the final fantasy discourse because people can’t be civil to each other. Square should finally say once and for all that Cloud/ is canon and the other isn’t, instead of throwing a bone to them and being all “maybe if things were like this”, like no, pull on your big boy pants, Square, man tf up like Barret on a mission, and tell people who is the canon pairing in this damn game so people can just stfu and enjoy playing it without getting flamed.

This is why I want a FF8R because at least there’s no doubt who the couple is in that one.

Smol stuff

I’ve seen complaints about new characters being 1 dimensional, but they’re new characters in a game series that’s a trilogy, so they’re likely gonna appear again. Roche seemed added not just to give Cloud a boss to fight in the bike event, but also to show there’s other SOLDIERs beyond Cloud and Zack and the ones from Crisis Core, which not everyone has played.

Same goes for Leslie. I liked that dude and I’m interested to see him pop up again. His design wasn’t the typical bad guy henchman, easily disposed, thank you very much for playing. He has a story and I’m betting that’s not the last we see of him.

Again, same goes for Cloud’s infantry buddies. I’ve not played CC, but I get they’re from that, so will we see them again at some point? What about other CC characters?

Best Bits

Cloud in a dress. “Nailed it, thank you, moving on.”

Cloud dancing. Boy got moves and I wanna see him dance again!

Cloud/Tifa. Complimenting her like a smooth mutherfucker.

Cloud/Tifa Battle couple. They were my absolute favourite fighting combo and definitely kicked all the ass!

Cloud/Tifa. All the shipping bits, but especially jumping off the train and then trusting her to go kick Corneo’s ass. That’s how you show you know your girl

Wedge. Kitty momma

Biggs death. Damn you, Square, you got me all choked up.

Red. Specifically the bit where he highfived Barret with his tail lool

Barret. “Damn it, Red.”

Reno. Just Reno in general killed me. Love his conscience though and that he’s not a 1 trick pony.

Tifa/Aerith. Had more chemistry than Aerith/Cloud. Yeah, I said it.

Barret and Marlene. Such a good daddy! His expression with her was like a whole different person!

Aerith bitchslapping a would-be rapist with a chair.

Cloud/Tifa/Aerith teamup to threaten Don Corneo’s balls - though I only include Aerith since she was there and she was about as threatening as a cupcake.

Conclusion

I want moar! I really hope the next one comes out soon! It’s not the same as OG, but has the best bits of OG along with something new to bring in a new generation of fans. The alt timeline angle feels fresh and open to possibilities and I’m excited to play this game for what it is, instead of comparing it and demanding for the OG like a crusty whisper lool

#final fantasy 7 remake #ffviir #FF7R review spoilers #FF7R spoilers #FFVIIR game review #I fucking loved this #I'm just sad it's over for now

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