#And then barely involves him with Sephiroth personally

[altocat]

If he would just--

Sephiroth: "Welcome to JenovaLand, losers. First Stop: Me obliterating this planet."

Vincent: "Your Mother is Lucrecia, you were born of human parents, Jenova is just a dead squid thing that gave you super powers, you are literally living a lie. Stop being edgy and calm tf down."

Sephiroth:

The Planet (epilogue):

Realistically, it probably wouldn't actually do shit, but Vincent could have at least made an attempt, just saying.

[salmalin]

So I have thoughts about Roche, Queerness, themes related to Modern Christianity in regards to Conversion Therapy, and the Sephiroth Cloning Effects in FFVIIR. Which, uh… I realize are extremely strange topics to connect, but bear with me here.

(Spoilers under the cut.)

It starts specifically with thoughts about how Roche is flamboyant and fun and weird, and he’s also unapologetic about that. Thoughts about how his fight scene in Part 2 involve him exclusively on his bike, and how he’s weak to fire. He’s dramatic, invites others to the “party”, and makes a spectacle about everything. He involves his bike in every attack, too.

I’m also thinking about that last fight scene—after the procedure. I think about how he said he was disobeying orders. So who brought him there? His friends in the army? And honestly, the moment the scene started, I knew he wouldn’t come out of the other end of the battle. Why? Well:

1. He leaps out of a container full of people instead of bringing them with him. He has abandoned the audience and his fans and very literally left them behind.

2. He destroys his bike himself and doesn’t even flinch, then he fights on foot, suddenly without his bike but still demanding Cloud’s best despite having thrown away his ability to do his own.

3. He’s not even weak to fire anymore. Which means not only has he thrown away all his strengths, but all his weaknesses, as well.

Over the course of that scene, followed by the disappointing fight to follow, it becomes abundantly clear that Roche has lost all sense of himself. His ability to maintain himself leaves even before his will and honor, which is very in-character for him. Almost nothing remains of the man he was except his honor. But also the fact that they lay this out first is such in-your-face symbolism… It’s honestly a big reason why I’ve been enjoying the remake of 7 so much.

Roche lost every bit of himself piece by piece before our very eyes, and we watch the last of him slide off and become swallowed by Sephiroth’s ego, and that honestly drives home just how powerful Sephiroth’s ego is, and just how terrifying it is. How destructive.

I also think it’s incredibly beautiful to apply a story-line like this to a character who—let’s be real here—reads as unbelievably queer. Like holy hell. This man brought a brass band to a knife fight. His ego and his honor shine through even through the end. Even after every part of him is taken from him, someone else’s will hammered into his body and mind…

The Sephiroth Cloning technique, through this lens, reads a lot like Conversion Therapy.

Those subjected to this specific brand of torture are forced to conform to the identity of another, their initial personality lost and distorted as they are directed to bend to the will and desires of another. Most of them die before reaching the end, usually through the action of moving itself. They shuffle along, mindless, with nothing to them beyond this horrible trek to serve another’s purpose—a being that is beyond the reach of mortals; a being that has died and returned to their World through the touch of their (Father in Heaven) Mother.

Cloud comes out the other end after years of this and barely even has a sense of self left, if you can even call it that at that point. Heck, if Advent Children is still canon, this means he’s still so messed up by guilt years after the fact that he doesn’t even know how to be happy, or to bring himself to be around others for long periods of time. He fundamentally does not remember who he was before, basing his identity around a man who was not compatible with the cloning technique and managed to escape. However, this puts MORE holes in his head and his story because this is not who he is. He is pretending to be something he cannot even remember. You know. Like horrible PTSD from being in a Conversion Therapy Camp for just shy of five years.

I’m gonna stop myself here or I’ll go on for ages. Regardless, food for thought.

[nagoo]

I also wanted to ask something. What is Vincent’s place in the Snood AU? I’ve seen some art of him tagged with the snood au, but I couldn’t find anything that explains what he does. Is he a leader of the Naga cult or something? I was considering some involvement between him and Lucrecia, but I’m not sure how the timeline of that would work out. Could you explain this for me?

Vincent is very special in The Snood AU,, I am also the sort of individual who ships Sephiroth with Vincent, which im sure not everyone is crazy about, but alas, i simply cannot care. Vincent's involvement with Lucretia as such platonic in The Snood AU, but she does still play a role in how hes ended up with The Snood. The Snood himself is an actual Deity, but he is still very much artificially created here as well, a joint effort between the Goddess Jenova, and her two most trusted worshippers, Lucretia and Hojo. Jenova, having watched the mortals for so long, wanted more than anything, to know what it could be like, to have a family, something so intrinsically hers that would have come, and been created - not by her, but from her. Lucretia and Hojo were to help her. But where Lucretia's intentions were to achieve their goal, learn, and please Jenova, Hojo's ambitions were more corrupt. He DID want to create Jenova's son.. its just that he wanted him to replace her, under his control. Vincent's role in all this was as the person assigned to assist them. Vincent's Job wouldve been to retrieve the extremely rare materials needed for their experiments, and as such, when things got Hojo'd, Vincent would have been in the middle of the ocean, making his way back to deliver something. He would then have been juuuust barely far enough away to not die instantly from the initial effects of the conflict between Hojo and Jenova. That whole thing is its own loooong explanation, but basically, Vincent is the ONLY living thing aside from The Snood himself to have been alive that impossibly long ago, and the ONLY individual to actually truly remember and have experienced firsthand, what the world had originally been like, back when all the minor gods - and Jenova herself - were still alive. He is, for all intents and purposes, the oldest living thing on the planet; because he was literally around during the creation of The Snood! everything else would have been either destroyed instantly or would have died or gone extinct afterwards, but because Vincent just so happened to be at the one exact spot at the right time, doing the right thing in the right way without even realizing it, he survived to see what is basically an entirely new world built on the ashes of the old one. The Snood found him, dormant and fading away, sunk deep within an ocean cavern and has become incredibly attached. at this current point in time, The Snood hasnt yet learned all this however, as He has only recently found Vincent. As such, Vincent isnt a Snoodist, but he also isnt not a Snoodist - not a usual one, anyway. He is fond of The Snood, and just wants to help him be happy more than anything. The Snood is all he has left in a world he no longer recognizes, and Vincent is The Snood's only tie to a past that was taken from him before he had ever even finished forming. The Snood, despite his many adoring worshippers, is a very lonely creature, because he cannot relate to the mortals, and he has no peers among other gods because there arent any left; not even lesser ones, all of them wiped out before he even got the chance to leave the cocoon he was formed in. Though Vincent is not a god, he was able to have been alive to experience them to a degree no one else has, and has been alive long enough to be the next closest things as far as The Snood is concerned, even if only because of external side effects of The Snood's birth. There is so much that he just doesnt know or understand, and its overwhelming. it makes him anxious, but Vincent is quiet and calm, and it Soothes The Snood. The Snood fears constantly that now that Vincent is awake and no longer held in stasis. Vincent is just a mortal after all, and The Snood has been alive long enough to see many thousands of years worth of mortals come and go. But maybe He can find a way to keep him around...

[dutchdread]

Hello Dutch! Do you think the loss of mystery and less impact on certain scenes in the narrative was caused by long-term fanservice?

Yes and no. I certainly think it was a factor, but I don't think it was the biggest one. If I had to guess, and since I am not a mind reader a guess is the best I can do, I think the biggest reason is the necessary change of the pacing of the game. In remake the developers made the (in my opinion) mistake of constantly showing Sephiroth, almost from the start of the game even. The decision to do this was based on three main factors I think. 1: "In the OG the first time you see Sephiroth is in Kalm, however, that is only a few hours into the game. If we did the same with the Remake we wouldn't see Sephiroth until game 2 and we can't have an entire FFVII game without Sephiroth." 2: "People already know Sephiroth, so the mystery is gone anyway, so it doesn't make sense to treat his appearance as one when everyone already knows him". 3: "People love Sephiroth so lets give them a bunch of Sephiroth!!!".

I personally think all of these are flawed. For one people are capable of influencing their mind state to resemble someone who is watching something for the first time. It's not exactly the same, but close enough, there is a reason people can watch the same thing over and over again and get similar responses on repeat viewings. When people love a story they are willing to watch things as though it were the first time. They can feel mystery and suspense even though they know the answer. I also think that there is enough happening in FFVII that you can keep the player occupied while playing a long game when it comes to mystery. If anything I think that the extra time to let mystery build could be used to enhance the experience, rather than making it feel drawn out. Especially in remake I think Shinra was MORE than good enough to qualify as the main villain for the story segment, and I think Sephiroth being only "a shadow on the edge of memory" for 90% of the game would make his unseen appearance in shinra HQ all the more terrifying. And ofcourse the reason people love Sephiroth is how effective he is as a villain, and part of that is the mystique. If you give people more Sephiroth you are actually giving them LESS Sephiroth, because Sephiroth isn't just the man, it's the idea, the presentation, and that presentation requires restraint in implementation.

My suspicion is that the mystery surrounding Clouds condition was approached very similarly. They figured they had the new mystery surrounding the "parallel worlds" as an overarching mystery and since people already know whats going on with Cloud that mystery could essentially be spoken about more openly. But this suffers from the same problems I mentioned above. I can totally watch FFVII as though I do not know the mystery, and experiencing said mystery was what I was looking forward to most. To me it's the best part of FFVII, and without it I barely even consider it a remake. And yes, I think fan-service did play a part. One of the things you hear most often when discussing the LTD is the retort that FFVII is not a romance story and that we're too focused on something that FFVII just isn't about, and while I disagree with that assessment, since romance ABSOLUTELY is a massive and crucial element to the story, I do agree that the romance is, for the most part, something that is in the background, it is the underlying backdrop that is required to understand the characters and their actions. But the focus is still on the actions themselves, as well as feelings and events that the romantic backdrop have caused, namely Clouds alter ego and accompanying mental problems. However, in rebirth the romance is NOT the backdrop, it's the focus of a large part of the game. Hell, the main play loop of the game revolves around you getting the party members to like you. And while it is true that this also involves, for instance, Barret and Nanaki, I think it's pretty clear that this entire core aspect of the game was implemented mostly as a way to explore romance in the game and satisfy fan desires. The question is, did that impact the mystery? And yes, I think it did. For one, everything related to Aerith and Zack in chapter 14 is PURE fan-service bait. The entire "can we save Aerith" plotline was fan-service bait from the start. And both these things, on account of both not being well handled, and overshadowing the actual mystery of FFVII, have a negative impact on how well rebirth is able to tell the story of the OG. Not only that, but SE tried to avoid burning bridges by not being clear with their story in regards to Aerith. I've heard people say that SE was wishy washy when it comes to choosing between Tifa and Aerith, they weren't, this game is about as pro-Cloti as it could be, Cloud and Tifa are a thing, if that weren't already obvious it's even more obvious in rebirth. No, the thing SE is being wishy washy about, is between Aerith and Aerith. Between the interpretation of Aerith loving Zack and simply using Cloud as a stand in, or Aerith as having "genuine" feelings. And the problem is that by trying to keep that a mystery they've made themselves incapable of properly examining either idea. There could have been deep meaningful scenes and conversations about how Aerith is still searching for the guy she lost. But they can't be that explicit without alienating fans, so they instead are vague, which results in a whole host of issues. But the most important issue for this question is that this approach creates an unfocused story, one that lacks clear direction. And a story without clear focus and direction will never be able to tell its mysteries in the most engaging and enthralling way. They want to show Zack, they want to discuss Zack, so they can't have Zack be a twist, but they also can't properly discuss Zack since that would be too explicit and so they half-ass it. They want to imply that Aerith is looking for Zack in Cloud, but they don't want to burn bridges, so they also want to hold open the possibility that Aerith actually likes Cloud for Cloud, and by doing all this nonsense you're creating a teenage love drama where you could have had a meaningful story about two people helping each other where the scenes could be directed to maximize the effectiveness of the mystery of Zack, rather than playing into a "I love him, I love him not" soap opera that got boring 27 years ago.

[bitterarcs]

Reports or complaints? — the first thing which surfaced to mind, but in the presence of the big boss, Reno kept the genuine question bottled up. He didn't mess with anyone who couldn't take a joke. Okay, that wasn't entirely true. When desk jockeys and nameless suit donning employees roamed around like ants and crossed his way, there were certain things said and done because those people held no real power. Who would say shit against a Turk? Reno knew better than to shit where he ate, so he did not cause any genuine problems worth the involvement of third parties or landing a fist at each other's face. The SOLDIERs however . . they did irk him. He wasn't stupid enough to shit down Sephiroth's throat, though maybe some comments were tossed at those who stood in the great general's shadow. Reno wasn't threatened, yet he did not want to seem too disrespectful. Gemstone eyes rolled momentarily and bare fingers moved through scarlet spikes in a pseudo bored fashion.

(  ❛  I was talking about jerking a chicken. Y'know, adding spices to make it jerk. Basic culinary application, boss. Jacking though. I was talking about Jack in er, the fourth floor. He's an idiot, and I say that with love, of course.  ❜  )

Both hands entered the silky pockets of his trousers as Reno strolled about the office with cocky swagger. At the expansive window which stretched from one wall to the next, right hand moved out from pocket to push apart the blinds to find the sight of an orange-glazed sun setting brightly against the ShinRa building. Fucking thing was blinding.

(  ❛  Nothing wrong with asking some questions to get some sort of bond going. Plus, it's like a psychological test. Better to sniff out these crazies before they start fires at ShinRa, eh? I'm doing us ALL a favour.  ❜  )

Head swiveled to look at Rufus over his shoulder as a cocksure smirk twisted lips.

"Reno.." an exasperated sigh follows that name. "There's been reports that you're asking rather personal questions around the departments. And the term 'jerking and jacking' has been quoted.." he squints at the number "twenty-two times."  @ivory-paragon            (   is this a love confession, rufus ?  )

[notcompensatingforanything]

☠

☠ - angry/violent headcanon

So.

I have a headcanon involving Genesis, Sephiroth and of course, Angeal. I imagine all three of them having different strengths and weaknesses.

Genesis is the smartest of the three, cunning and witty, and the most proficient with magic and materia. He's also the weakest, physically speaking, but more than makes up for it with his nimbleness and nearly infinite mana pool.

He's passionate and mercurial, often emotionally-driven. He's also incredibly impulsive, headstrong and stubborn, but loyal to a fault.

He's either really vocal (read bitchy) about things that piss him off, or really quiet and silently raging, murdering whoever irked him with eye-daggers and resent them for the rest of his life.

He's known to set objects and people on fire when really enraged.

He's used his fertile imagination a few times, devising terrible methods of torture, often leading to slow, painful death.

Sephiroth is the quickest of the three, and has cat-like reflexes. He's has good control over materia and spell-casting, but prefers to avoid using them if given the choice. His precision with the blade is unrivaled, and his phenomenal stamina and stealth make him a terrifying and deadly foe. His uncanny upbringing also gave him frightening resistance to all kinds of ailments. Poisons and drugs have next to no effect on him, and only the strongest of status materia have a chance of stopping him. He's a cold, calculating machine and an expert in combat strategies.

Considering Sephiroth's being raised in Hojo's lab, he's not really in touch with his emotions. He'll try to avoid any personal conflict if possible.

If angered, he'll unleash his rage in the VR room, training until exhaustion. Or he'll hunt down monsters and beasts if away from Midgar.

Beware anyone trying to hurt his friends, however. An enemy's throat is never out of Masamune's reach.

Angeal is the slowest out of the three, and the least proficient with materia. He knows how to cast a few basic spells and cures, but only if it's necessary. He lacks both stamina and mana, meaning he can't fight for extended periods like the other two. His aim is not the best, either, and his height and weight make him the least stealthy.

However, he's physically the strongest. If he manages to hit someone, he'll probably kill them in one hit. His incredible endurance allows him to take a beating like no other, storming the battlefield with unstoppable force.

He's level-headed and wise. If a situation needs negotiating, Angeal is the go-to person. His calm demeanor and imposing stature are sometimes enough to de-escalate conflictual situations, and he will bottle his emotions for as long as the social situation requires it.

He'll spend his anger gardening, tending to the flowers and tomato vines in his apartment, and sometimes cook.

Pitied be the ones pushing him over the edge. His fury knows no bound. Angeal will maim, kill and rip members apart bare-handed in a berserk, blackout rampage

[bifca]

I’m not sure what ship to send you for the ask game so just the one that is Most Prominent in your mind right now?

works for me! XD you get three, because my brainrot knows no bounds. sorry this took so long!

Kinn/Porsche

when I started shipping it if I did: pretty much from the minute i started watching

my thoughts: literal permanent brainrot over these two. i don't have coherent thoughts about them i just pterodactyl scream and go insane

What makes me happy about them: it's the devotion, the renewed hope, the feral protectiveness, the way they make each other both better and worse, the insane chemistry. kinn is the only choice we see porsche make for himself. porsche is the only thing kinn would sacrifice everything for. porsche turned himself into a killer to protect kinn, and kinn bared his soft underbelly and knew, for the first time, that it wouldn't be used against him. i'll never recover

What makes me sad about them: as of right now, there's no freedom in sight for them (but i'm a sap so i like to think they'll be able to get it)

things done in fanfic that annoys me: how much time do you have. porsche is not a shy waif who can't stand up for himself. porsche is incredibly important to kinn, and kinn wouldn't mistreat him just because. the two of them struggle with communication but they do still attempt it. kinn is willing to let porsche go because porsche and his happiness are what he values most. porsche is willing to call out kinn on his shit but he also wouldn't be a dick to him for shits and giggles. sometimes i'll read fic and it's like they forgot those two love each other

things I look for in fanfic: characterization i like. that's key. everything else is pretty negotiable

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: no one. this is one of those ships where you can add but you can't subtract

My happily ever after for them: korn is dead and they're off jetsetting/running porsche's bar on the beach

who is the big spoon/little spoon: from what we see in canon kinn is the big spoon and porsche is the little spoon, but i can see them switching

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: from canon it seems to be cuddling. maybe going to different restaurants or going on a ride of some kind (motorcycle, car, boat, etc)

Zack/Sephiroth

when I started shipping it if I did: when i played crisis core for the first time

my thoughts: i've actually gotten more obsessed with this over the years. i used to kinda ship it and now it's my favorite ff7 ship

What makes me happy about them: sephiroth is so open so quickly with zack. he trusts him, and he met him a few days ago. him teaming up with zack to help genesis and angeal escape is him openly discussing committing treason. he tells zack flat out that he plans to desert. and let's not even count the line that gave me brainrot for over a decade: "i don't want to believe that genesis would be involved in something so petty." / "then don't believe it." / "very well, i won't." just instantly. instantly did what he said. and zack, if he ever hero worshiped him, got over that quick, but then grew to care for him for the person he was.

What makes me sad about them: nibleheim. nibleheim nibleheim nibleheim

things done in fanfic that annoys me: manly man top sephiroth and simpering shy bottom zack. body type has no bearing on what positions people like and zack took out a kill squad with his bare hands

things I look for in fanfic: again, characterization. that's my answer for most things, since as long as i like the characterization everything else is pretty negligible

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: i like sephiroth/aerith and sephiroth/angeal, and zack/aerith and zack/cloud

My happily ever after for them: sephiroth is still sane and he and zack ran off and deserted shinra and are living happily in some beach town

who is the big spoon/little spoon: i love little spoon seph and big spoon zack

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: sparring probably. and genesis and angeal would refuse to be around for it because they would absolutely start flirting

Byakuya/Renji

when I started shipping it if I did: oh i'm not sure for this one. it was sometime during the hueco mundo arc

my thoughts: i go absolutely feral over this enemies to mutually absolutely loyal duo. it's the way renji hated him but as they came to know and understand each other he's viciously loyal to byakuya. it's how byakuya looked down on renji but then he became on of the people byakuya cares about most, to the point that when he thinks he's dying his thoughts are on making sure rukia and renji are okay. they make me insane and have been for a decade and a half

What makes me happy about them: their relationship development. they really did go from hating each other to caring very deeply for each other. also renji gets to find out that byakuya is a bit of a weirdo and not only is byakuya comfortable loosening the dignified emotionless noble persona, renji takes it in stride.

What makes me sad about them: renji would have to put up with a lot from the kuchiki's if they ever got together, possibly moreso than hisana (although byakuya would likely be more aggressive defending him, since he's seen this play out before)

things done in fanfic that annoys me: making byakuya actually uncaring. making renji stupid. having byakuya see himself as above/inherently better than renji

things I look for in fanfic: again, the answer has to be characterization. that's 90% of why i read anything

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: ichigo, chad, shunsui, ukitake, grimmjow, shuuhei, probably some more i'm missing. i ship a lot of bleach ships

My happily ever after for them: them leading squad 6 and being happily married (or basically married)

who is the big spoon/little spoon: renji is the big spoon, byakuya is the little spoon. renji likes to hold people, and it probably soothes his protective instincts to be wrapped around people important to him, and byakuya likely doesn't care one way or the other

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: sparring. maybe i just like a lot of combat couples

[sepheroth]

this  conversation  must  remain  confidential . (Tseng, telling Sephiroth about what happened in Banora)

" About Genesis, Angeal? That would also involve Zack too. Would it not?" It somewhat felt strange for him to ask the obvious. A strange softness in his voice happens once he stumbled along and about it as he ran over to himself. It was pained and affected by grief. Sorrow ever residual in his eyes, brought by a heaviness and weighed heart. A special sort of grief that only he felt he'd known and could understand. Though then it soon dawned over him that he was unintentionally forgetting how Zack must've felt and now part of him wished he hadn't done what could no longer be undone. It was an option, he would've turned back the hands of the clock but that would be proven an ephemeral wonder. Angeal mattered to him as much as he does to Sephiroth. And so had Genesis. Both left without a word and and inevitably that left him scrambling about over the place, as many as he could for answers. Just exactly what had he expected would happen? It was the same very thing that he had tried to avoid, in which it fell under the very same case he couldn't bare a confrontation between either of his friends. The longer he stood in idle would be under the same moments he felt a little anxious of not being able to predict how much the fall out that Tseng dealt. Trying to not stare for too entirely long, Sephiroth snapped out of his temporal stake of blankness. "I'd rather keep it that way," he wouldn't say it but it was more a personal issue than he liked to say. "What of Shinra?" Maybe he misinterpreted what Tseng meant but he knew it would be no such of a simple manner for him to wash said topic free and off of his hands like it was nothing. He asks as if he merely had been trying to find some sort of way to distract himself away from his free thinking. Not that he wished to at the moment.

[wolf-pearl]

@aimeelouart I have finally finished writing the summary of that SSC au I mentioned on ao3.

This AU is based on the First's theories about Cloud. Basically, what if they were right with their assumptions? 

Zack is an early SOLDIER prototype and legendary 1st Class who got disappeared pre the Trio's time. His existence was completely erased. Zack was enhanced using only mako, no jenova cells. When the jenova cell infused mako treatment was found to result in greater enhancement than mako treatment alone, Zack was viewed as obsolete. 

Made obsolete by new j-cell SOLDIERS, combined with Hojo wanting to make way for Sephiroth to rise through the ranks, and fear that Zack's sway over the SOLDIERs would lead to mass insubordination in the event that Zack objected to ShinRa's immoral agendas became reasons for Zack to be disappeared and handed over to the science department. Zack was handed over to the science department by his own men, the betrayal resulting in his scorn for the SOLDIER program. 

Cloud was created to be a SOLDIER killer. President ShinRa, after seeing that there really wasn't any way to stop the SOLDIERs if they decided to turn against the company, orders Hojo to create some form of failsafe in the event that any SOLDIER turned against ShinRa. Cloud has been conditioned from day one to see SOLDIERs as highly dangerous combatants that will kill him if he can't neutralize them fast enough, and eliminating them is the job expected of him by Hojo and ShinRa. 

Zack was brought in at first to be Cloud's first real SOLDIER to kill. Problem was, Cloud was TINY at the time, and thus can't win that fight. Zack refuses to harm Cloud, because, you know, he's a literal child. So what was intended to be a fight to the death devolves into Zack giving Cloud pointers on his foot work and sword technique. Hojo sees the value in keeping Zack around to teach Cloud, as who's better to teach the boy how to fight SOLIDERs than an actual SOLDIER? On top of that, it has the added bonus of further instilling a distrust of SOLDIERS into Cloud. And so Hojo decides to keep Zack around for Cloud to practice fighting and to teach Cloud. (Don't be fooled, Hojo still absolutely plans on having Cloud kill Zack. He simply has moved that back as a potential final test before announcing Cloud as ready for deployment.) 

Cloud's actual name given to him by Hojo is Cumulonimbus. Upon hearing that, Zack declared that that was a terrible name for a kid, and started calling the boy Cloud instead. Cloud reacted poorly to the firsts calling him Cloud because that is Zack's name for him. Zack is the only person Cloud truly trusts, so the name Zack gave him is only for people he trusts. 

Cloud leveled his materia himself. They wanted him to have a full arsenal to take down rogue SOLDIERS. So, he's been using them since the moment he could. The fusion blade also belongs to Cloud. They put him through tests to see what all of his limit breaks are, and then designed the fusion sword to complement his final limit break, omnislash. 

Cloud was kept in the lab in Nibelheim. This meant that he was always in relative close proximity to Jenova. As such, Cloud has been subjected to Jenova's mind fuckery for his entire life. When Jenova first started reaching out to Cloud's mind it was simply to figure out what he was. Then she made Cloud's life hell. Cloud had to learn quickly how to block her out. This is why Cloud knows all the tricks to blocking out the crazy alien. This also means that Cloud has been getting visions of the future for most of his life.

Cloud wasn't meant to ever be in view of the public, or interact with civilians at all. The only people he was planned to interact with were his handlers and the SOLDIERS he was sent to eliminate. As such, there was no need to condition him to behave, hold his tongue, or be a poster boy like Sephiroth. The only behavior that mattered was following direct orders and returning to his handlers once his objective is complete.

Cloud recognizes the Buster sword because it used to be Zack's sword. It wasn't taken away from Zack when he was first brought in as they had intended to throw him into combat. After that he was allowed to keep it in order to further Cloud's lessons with him. Cloud knows how to tend to the Buster sword so expertly because he did so relatively often back in the labs. The scientists learned to use promises of extra time with Zack as an incentive for Cloud, and much of those bonus times were spent talking with Zack as they cared for the sword. Eventually the buster sword gets taken away from Zack as punishment for "bad behavior" - probably an escape attempt or attempting to interfere with one of the inhumane tests Cloud is put through. Zack assumes that it was melted down after being taken away. In reality, the Buster sword is given to Angeal. One of the last SOLDERS who served under, remembers, and still holds loyalty to Zack was the one who delivered the Blade to Angeal. The SOLDIER tells Angeal that the Buster Sword belonged to an honorable man who had no one to pass it onto, and that Angeal's dedication to dreams and honor reminded the SOLDIER of that man. Angeal was never told the name of the blade's original wielder.

Ribbon belonged to Zack. He had hid it from the scientists. Zack first gave it to Cloud after a nasty round of experiments involving status conditions. He had somehow braided it into Cloud’s hair. He gave it to Cloud permanently after the boy had clung to it like a security blanket. Knowing that the Ribbon was probably the first object that Cloud ever used as a security blanket, Zack vows that once they escape he will get Cloud an actual plushie. With ribbons of its own. 

During a time when Hojo is back in midgar, Zack breaks out of his cell, snags Cloud, and makes a break for it. They end up being forced to barricade themselves into a chamber that has a bunch of coffins. They find Vincent who takes one look at Cloud and decides that his sins can wait, there is a child right here who needs his help and he can help. Vincent and Zack tear through the scientists that are on site and scavenge what travel essentials they can from the lab along with the equipment that was made for Cloud, before making their escape with Cloud.

Somehow Cloud gets separated from Zack and Vincent, and decides to set out to destroy Jenova and burn the mansion to the ground. At this point Hojo is aware that something has gone wrong, and so Genesis is sent to Nibelheim, ostensibly to check an energy disturbance in the area. In reality he's been sent to retrieve Cloud, but he isn't told that. 

The outfit the Firsts find Cloud in is part of Zack’s old uniform. Cloud was pretty much only given hospital gowns and scrubs to wear by the scientists. When Zack and Cloud escaped Cloud’s clothes - which were nothing more than a hospital gown and scrub pants - got completely ruined. Zack wrapped Cloud up in his own outfit because while Zack was able to find extra clothes that fit himself in the lab, there wasn’t any kid clothes in the lab. Cloud ends up in Zack’s sleeveless turtleneck and pants, but Zack keeps the pieces that wouldn’t do Cloud any good for himself. This does mean that the outfit Cloud is wearing at the start is a little different than in ssc. Zack is smart enough to know that putting his massive steel toed boots on a small child is not going to do Cloud any good. So when Genesis finds Cloud the boy is not in a complete comically oversized ensemble with that skirt thing, the single shirtless sleeve, belts and all. Instead Gen finds a small bare foot child wearing a quarter turtleneck that's falling off his shoulders, a pair of already baggy pants that look like ufo pants on the kid, and a sword harness with an absolutely obnoxiously big sword. (Gen has a freak out when he sees Cloud standing in knee high snow without any footwear, because seriously how long has this kid been wandering around in below freezing temperatures barefoot, he could lose his toes.)

How did Cloud even get separated from Zack and Vincent, and how did he make his way back to Nibelheim from wherever they had fled to? Simple: don't ask me questions I don't have an explanation for yet.

Zack and Vincent are desperately trying to find Cloud. The First Class trio don't realize that they are being hunted down by two very protective, skilled, and enhanced individuals who are hell bent on getting Cloud back.

Because this AU removes (most of) the time travel aspects, Cloud’s reasons for being afraid of Sephiroth are different. One cause of Cloud’s fear of Sephiroth is that Cloud has been having nightmares and visions of the future for basically as long as he can remember. On top of this, Cloud also has been conditioned to think that the greatest threat he might ever have to fight is Sephiroth, as he’s the top SOLDIER. Hojo drove this point home by forcing Cloud to fight simulations of Sephiroth, and would punish Cloud if he failed to beat it. Hojo also constantly forced Cloud through intense experiments and enhancements to “bring his capabilities up to be equivalent to Sephiroth”, inadvertently causing Cloud to associate any mention of Sephiroth and/or Sephiroth’s continued improvement with being subjected to another barrage of experiments. However, Cloud probably won't be as afraid of Sephiroth in this AU as he is in SSC. Yes Cloud would still be afraid of Sephiroth, and yes Cloud would still be more afraid of Seph than he is of Genesis or Angeal. However without the time travel aspect from the original fic, Cloud just won’t have enough reason to be as afraid of Sephiroth as he is in ssc. In this AU Cloud’s more afraid of what Sephiroth represents (the visions of the future, the ultimate threat Cloud may have to face, and further experimentation) than he is of Sephiroth as a person.

Sephiroth could earn Cloud's trust through showing Cloud that Hojo had hurt him too. Sephiroth understands what it means to be hurt by Hojo. 

You still want time travel elements? Well you’re in luck because I have three options for that.

1) Cloud time traveled version 1: In the first time line, he escaped with Zack, but Zack ultimately got killed. Cloud takes Zack’s outfit to remember him by, and stays out of the reach of ShinRa, builds a life for himself as a mercenary. At some point during the years during mercenary work Cloud stumbles upon the Buster sword on a cliff in the midgar wastes. As Angeal had no protegee, he had neither a student to order to cut him down or anyone to pass the Buster sword onto. Angeal died while leaning against the flat of the blade that he had struck into the earth in an attempt to keep himself propped up. Cloud recognizes the Buster sword and takes it with him. He doesn’t learn how the Buster got on the cliff after it was taken from Zack. Cloud spends his years as a mercenary drifting to wherever his jobs take him, and for the most part ignoring the events that shake ShinRa such as the Nibelheim incident and the mass defections. He stays far away from anything to do with ShinRa up until he takes a job from AVALANCHE. From there Cloud follows an altered version of cannon events. When Cloud time traveled, he got sent back to when he was a kid in the labs with Zack, the only things he brought back from the future are his rare summon materia as well as his Master Materia, those really being the main equipment he got after the labs. This would mean Cloud being small doesn’t necessarily have to be because of Jenova.

2) Cloud time traveled version 2: Zack escapes with Cloud pre crisis core, but ultimately gets apprehended by Sephiroth, who was sent to recapture “escaped experiments”. Sephiroth kills Zack, and Cloud is returned to Hojo (this gives an alternate reason behind Cloud calling Sephiroth “murderer” in chapter 3). Cloud continues to be experimented on and is sent on his first mission during the events of crisis core to go after the SOLDIERs who defected with Genesis. Cloud is eventually sent after and successfully takes down Genesis and Angeal. Cloud doesn’t recognize them after time traveling at first due to how advanced their degradation was when he fought them on top of his memories of that time in his life being unclear. Cloud does recognize that the sword Angeal has is the Buster sword and takes it with him. All Sephiroth learns about the deaths of his friends is that they were taken down by “a classified project designed for this exact type of scenario”. When the Nibelheim incident occurs, Sephiroth was sent with a random SOLDIER first. Cloud was sent to investigate to see if the accompanying first went rogue after the team sent to Nibelheim fails to report in and ShinRa hears of a disturbance in the area. Cloud arrives to find the village burning and the unnamed First (along with everyone else) killed by Sephiroth. Following orders to eliminate any rogue SOLDEIRs along with recognizing Sephiroth as the person who killed Zack, Cloud kills the silver General. Hojo is furious when he arrives, demanding why Cloud would kill Sephiroth, to which Cloud retorts that he followed his orders as given to him by ShinRa and the Professor himself. His orders were to eliminate any rogue SOLDEIRs, and Sephiroth had gone rogue. Hojo takes offence to this, and as punishment he tries to experiment Cloud into oblivion for 4 years. Hojo leaves Cloud in a mako tank after the creations of the Sephiroth clones, and he reasons once Sephiroth returns there will be no more need for Cloud. Cloud escapes, equipping himself with his gear from his time as ShinRa’s SOLDIER killer but opts to wear Zack’s outfit that was kept in the lab’s storage after his death. Cloud makes his way to midgar where he joins up with AVALANCHE, and from there the story follows along an altered version of the cannon events. As a side note, I’m not entirely sure how this one would work out with the time line and character ages, so this one may require some fudging of the characters ages to make sense? Idk, I really don’t understand the timeline of FF7. I think that using Cloud’s canon age would make him 14 maybe 15 when he takes down Genesis and Angeal. Considering that Hojo sent Sephiroth to Wutai at around the same age, it could work. 

3) Zack is the time traveler. In the original timeline, Zack doesn’t manage to escape the labs and ends up dying before Cloud gets to see. Zack ends up following Cloud around as a ghost and is powerless to do anything as Cloud struggles through his time as ShinRa’s SOLDIER killer, and then dealing with the events of meteor fall, geostigma, etc. the Planet ultimately cant recover, so it Sends Zack back in time to prevent the disasters from ever happening. Zack is sent back to early on in his time with Cloud in the Labs. Zack makes a point of reiterating how dangerous Sephiroth is to Cloud, and this time succeeds in escaping the labs with Cloud by enlisting Vincent’s help (Zack learned of Vincent through waiting over Cloud as a ghost). While Zack was sent back in time to save the planet, He acknowledges to himself that his real motivation behind doing this isn’t to be a hero, he just wants to take care of his Cloudy. Zack absolutely freaks out when he gets separated from Cloud. He’s on a warpath to get his adoptive son back. When Zack catches up to the three Firsts Cloud’s probably going to have to talk Zack down from outright eviscerating them for daring to touch Cloud. 

[altocat]

Sephiroth loves pasta, but does he know how to make it? I can just picture him accidentally making WAAAAYYY too much and telling a flabbergasted Angeal "You know how it is with spaghetti" etc

Sephiroth barely knows how to cook beyond going out and killing things. So Angeal is his #1 personal chef!

This either involves Angeal cramming food down Sephiroth's throat because Sephiroth is stressed and refusing to eat or Sephiroth asking Angeal to make him pasta for the eighteenth time that week.

[seraphicwiing]

SEPHIROTH AU: ‘The Demon of Midgar’ 

Now this is an AU that was inspired by a very good friend of mine while I was having breakfast. The entire basis around this AU is that Sephiroth learns the truth of his ‘birth’ and instead of going insane  and burning down a whole village and gaining a ‘Messiah Complex’, he sensibly blames ShinRa for keeping all these truths from him and creating a lie that he has been forced to stick with for his entire life. A crude experiment that should never have happened. He becomes a Rebel much like how Genesis and Angeal became, but the difference between them and himself? He will win.

Below the cut will be details as to what may occur during this AU.

(PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS STILL A HUGE WIP, AND MANY THINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. AM SUPER NERVOUS ABOUT THIS SO PLEASE BARE WITH ME, CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS GREATLY APPRECIATED <3) 

(PSS: If by the end this AU interests you, please hit that heart button. I’d love to gauge interest and it would really help a lot!)

In this AU, Sephiroth becomes a lot more closed off and determined but he is still relatively the same old Sephiroth before Nibelheim happened. A silver haired angry boy but still possesses the heart and spirit of his old self, he just keeps it to himself more.

NOTE: Areas marked with * are topics that are subject to change.

At the Nibelheim Reactor, Genesis will converse with Sephiroth. 

When Sephiroth learns of the truth, he becomes very agitated at the fact that ShinRa kept the truth from him. Rage fills his heart, realising that his entire life was a lie but instead of falling into insanity, he instead decides that the only way his anger can be satiated is with the fall of ShinRa. He spares Nibelheim of the fate that it would’ve befallen and vows to destroy ShinRa from the ground up.* 

He will only open up and relax around certain people. I’ll leave it a mystery for now as to who those people might be, but some are definitely more obvious than others. 

Due to certain events being cut out for this, this may lead to Zack and Cloud never receiving the S Cells that were injected in them in the original universe and thus are spared from the four year imprisonment within ShinRa Mansion. 

Sephiroth decides to part ways with Cloud and Zack but leave in good terms promising one day that they will reunite. He returns to Midgar with one thing in mind. But first, he needs to tie up some loose ends. 

How does he hide from everyone? He will operate within the mining town of Kalm at first which is in quite close proximity from Midgar but it allows him to stay hidden from any prying eyes while also having easy access to the city to perform sabotage missions and assassination missions, taking out high profile targets from within the company. He ends up becoming quite the night owl, making his movements under the cover of darkness. In between missions, he will often go to Sector 5 to visit a certain person just to make sure they were okay. He did make a promise, he was going to damn sure keep it.*

As for another ragtag gang, Sephiroth has knowledge of the particular group known as AVALANCHE. While he considers them to be somwhat allies, he follows his own path and will not make an effort to partake in their missions. They can do things their own way, he can do things in his. Should their goals align though, he will assist on occasion as long as it meets his needs and does not interfere with his own plan for the fall of ShinRa. 

His presence within Midgar is quite an intimidating one, ShinRa begins broadcasting that Sephiroth is a traitor and that no one should approach him if spotted. The company begins to send in some of their best to stop the SOLDIER before things get too chaotic. This may involve the Turks, a large amount of Infantry and Third Class SOLDIERS hunting down the First Class Rebel. And of course, he ‘leads them on a merry chase’ every single time. Have you seen him ride a Daytona? He’s pretty hot. TRENCHCOAT FLAPPIN’ 

Well you’ve reached the bottom, this definitely needs fleshing out more but I thank you for reading down here. 

[ego-driven-one-wing-angel]

Send a number | Answers

Thanks again for 250 followers!!!

What’s one animal you wish you could have as a pet but can’t?

A penguin. I love them so much.

Favorite thing to wear to sleep?

Sometimes I wear one of those “drug rugs” or baja hoodies. With shorts. And sometimes knee high socks. I HATE pajama pants. So if I’m cold I find alternatives. 

What song really gets you going?

Right now, Drinking Alone by Carrie Underwood. But usually Tranz by Gorillaz.

Where do you usually eat your meals?

At my dining table or in the family/living room with my mom.

Favorite meal: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

BRUNCH

Most embarrassing habit?

Sometimes I’ll pick my nose at the most inconvenient times like a child.

Chocolate or fruity candy?

Chocolate

Soft or hard tacos?

When I ate meat regularly, soft, with carne asada. 

Worst way to break up a fight?

Throwing a pan at them? Dude I don’t know. Wrestle them to the ground? I feel like either of those are terrible.

Best thing to say in an elevator of strangers?

“You’re all probably wondering why I gathered you all here today.”

What color/design are your bedsheets?

Teal. And my comforter is a black/white diamond pattern.

Any hidden talents?

I was a dancer for roughly nine years. So I’m pretty good at that.

Favorite thing to drink out of (mug, glass, etc.)?

My Star Wars Luke Skywalker lightsaber water bottle. 

Socks or bare feet around the house?

Bare feet man. Those who wear shoes in the house are weak and will not survive the winter.

 Favorite board game?

Clue!

Do you sleep with the fan on or off?

I don’t even own a fan.

Heat on or keep it cold with lots of layers?

Heat at 67.5 and a sweater. Perfection.

Do you sing in the shower?

Who doesn’t?

Favorite song to belt out at the top of your lungs when you’re alone?

Tranz by Gorillaz. All time favorite song EVER.

Last thing you cried about?

Watching Zack die YET AGAIN in Crisis Core. I don’t think I’ve ever watched that scene WITHOUT crying.

At what age did you first have alcohol?

15ish. Wine.

Relationship status?

Single

What’s the most amount of money you’ve spent on a single item of clothing?

249$ A Guess coat that I absolutely adore.

What do you typically wear to formal events?

A modest dress. Heels. And a Louis Vuitton bag to match.

Favorite memory?

Probably almost getting arrested with my friends back when I was 17. We were at a closed park, after hours, past curfew, and it was like 3 am. We bought 64 tacos from Jack in the Box and pigged out in the venue. Super rad.

Gum or breath mints?

Gum

Favorite shoes?

Probably my Guess sneakers. I don’t wear them often, but I love the design.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My chubbiness. I’m not fat per say. But I’m not skinny either, but I want to look more like a classic, 1950′s pinup model more than anything.

What is the natural state of your hair?

My hair has very soft curls. Naturally, there more like “beach waves”

Have you ever had braces?

YES. WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE

Most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?

Ghost hunting. I was illegally trespassing, and the building was real sketchy. 

Most embarrassing thing your parents have caught you doing?

I’m just an embarrassment through and through. What haven’t they caught me doing. But I guess writing porn is a close first.

Last time you had an orgasm?

I’m a virgin who has never experienced anything remotely sexual. 

Celebrity crush(es)?

Sebastian Stan, Bill Skarsgard, Sam Claflin, Karl Urban, Sebastian Stan

Windows or Mac?

I’ve never owned a Mac, so I’m biased when I say Windows.

How old were you when you learned to ride a bike?

Six, seven? I was still quite young.

Makeup or natural?

MAKEUP

What color do you wear the most?

I wear a lot of neutral colors like gray.

Favorite season?

Winter.

Umbrella or rain coat?

Umbrella.

Have you ever fallen out of a tree?

No

First car you ever owned?

A 2002 Toyota. Super old, and the chip was painting off. My trunk also broke. Oil leak. Y’know, a traditional first car.

What time do you usually go to bed?

Anytime between 11-1 am.

Are you a competitive person?

Yes.

Least favorite color?

Orange.

First pet you’ve ever owned?

A cat :)

Sweet or salty?

Sweet

Favorite pasta dish?

Ravioli 

Favorite kind of chips?

Cheetos

Talk about something you’re passionate about.

Writing. I love being able to put my ideas on paper, let my thoughts and emotions run free in a world where I have to act a certain way. I can be anyone while writing!

What are some of your hobbies?

Writing

Drawing

Watching too much television

puzzles

Caffeine? If so, what kind?

I’m a tea gal. But I LOVE coffee. Especially mochas and caramel. With extra pumps of espresso. Hell yeah.

Favorite kind of pizza?

Ranch and Chicken or just plain cheese.

Fast food or sit-down restaurant?

Sit-down

Lots of acquaintances or a handful of close friends?

I love having a large circle, but I choose my best friends wisely. I only have about two or three of those and they’re the one’s I keep close to my heart.

Something that ruins your appetite?

This is a bit more dark, but my dad and I don’t bond outside video games. And he’s the type that believes it’s his way or no way no matter what. So if you get him angry he acts like a two-year-old who just got a toy taken away, and will try to push your buttons until you’re the same way. I saw the signs years ago, but whenever his anger is targeted at me I just don’t want to eat. I write instead. 

Favorite labels about you?

As in names? It’s near 1 am while writing this so I might have just gone stupid. But I love it when my friends call me cutie. Or my good friend Charlie calls me Smarties. And he’ll pull out a smartie from his pocket when he does it. I also get called Reid, as in Spencer Reid, a lot.

Are you a religious person?

Yes. I try to be at least. I’m Christian.

Night out with a bunch of friends in public or night in with one friend having deep conversations?

Night out. I spend too much time indoors with one friend as is.

What size shoe do you wear?

9

Favorite thing about yourself?

My confidence, or my keen fashion sense. 

Have you ever told someone you loved them first?

No.

Have you ever had sex on the first date?

No.

Heroes or villains?

Villains. (Sephiroth, Bucky Barnes, Loki, etc.)

Favorite fruit?

Pomegranates. 

Least favorite fruit?

Bananas. I’ll eat them, but there are a lot better choices honestly. 

Favorite vegetable?

Broccoli

Least favorite vegetable?

Brussels sprouts

How many plates can you eat at a buffet?

About a good three. First is salad. Second is fruit. Third is desert. 

Favorite dessert?

Ice cream. Bubble gum flavor is my favorite!

Do you play any sports?

Nope.

Age you learned how to swim?

Seven or eight.

Tell a funny story.

Maybe this is just funny to me, but earlier today my cat was trying to lick her coat but she set her front paw on a piece of paper and anytime she bent over to lick herself she slid and she would have to readjust herself. She did this like four times before she decided to move.

What’s one interesting thing about your culture?

As someone who is a part of the Navajo tribe, something neat is the more fat you have on your bones the more people respect you because they believe you have money.

What’s one annoying thing about your culture?

We can’t touch cold-blooded animals. It’s said if you touch the scales of a snake, or even breath in the same air, you’ll get the same skin as them.

What job would you be terrible at?

Accounting. I can’t do math to save my freaking life.

Would you rather watch a TV show or a movie?

TV shows.

What’s your favorite compliment to give?

“Cute Outfit!” or “Love the Hair!” You have no idea how many people light up on either of these, male/female/nonbinary. Looking good is a happiness found across all the spectrums. 

What’s your favorite compliment to receive?

“Cute hair.” Or “Love your makeup/nails.” 

Has your opinion changed on something recently?

I can’t remember. Like I said, it’s close to bedtime where I’m at and boi, it’s hard to concentrate right now.

Do you always order the same thing at a restaurant or order something different each time?

I order the same. 

What’s something you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet?

This sounds awful, but I’ve always wanted to try ecstasy. I have buddies who’ve taken it and say, if you do it right, the first time is pretty bomb. 

If you could learn to do anything right now, what would it be?

Singing. I can’t carry a tune.

Favorite physical feature about yourself?

My eyes.

Least favorite physical feature about yourself?

My wide hip/waist ratio. If my waist was thinner I wouldn’t mind as much.

What’s one amazing thing you did that nobody was around to see?

OKAY. I scored a strike on Wii bowling while i was on the toilet one time. Two rooms away and not even looking at a screen. Just using my heart and determination and it was SUPER COOL AND I WISH PEOPLE COULD HAVE SEEN THOSE SKILLS.

If you could change your height, would you?

Yes. Everyone is a good foot taller than me. So I would most definitely want a few more inches.

What’s something you would rate 10/10?

Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s Character concept for Sephiroth. The eyes, the height, the hair. WOW. In love.

Heels or flats?

Heels

What’s something you wish you had more knowledge about?

Politics. I want to get more involved but every time I do I get so confused.

Would you want to be famous?

I wouldn’t mind. But I value my private life.

What’s something you would get arrested for?

Well I already almost got arrested for eating tacos in a closed park at 3 am. So maybe that.

What’s your spirit animal?

A cat. 

What’s the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to you?

The fact that I graduated high school. I was developing anxiety and literally had no idea what the frick was happening with me and no one told me what it was. So I ended up skipping loads of school for that reason. 

Are you the type to have an organized mess, or no mess at all?

Organized mess. Or just a mess. 

Do you tend to make decisions based on the past, present, or future?

The future.

Are you a planner or a more spontaneous person?

Planner. I hate when things are sprung on me last minute. I have to emotionally prep up before a social event so 5-10 business days are needed.

Thoughts on the oxford comma?

I was taught to use it, but it’s literally so useless? I found myself either not using it or just doing it on instinct. So in one story you could probably find multiple instances where I use it and where I don’t use it, maybe in the same paragraph. I just do whatever fits that moment I guess.

What do you hope never changes?

My squad. I love them to pieces and it would break my heart if at some point they’d want to split.

How would you celebrate your 100th birthday?

Something extremely dangerous like skydiving or zip lining across a canyon. 

[cultivatxr]

⇕ = holding their hand (for whichever setting you want!! ❤️)

send one for my muse’s reaction to your muse -- ⇕ = holding their hand

The reverence with which he took her hand was always surprising; no matter how familiar the action. It always felt wholly unique, like a measured discretion forged in the intimacy of intertwined digits. She knows she’s easily impressed; far too content to indulge in the warmth of his palm and the surprisingly soft skin stretched across nimble bones - but it was a simple pleasure and Aerith thrived upon it.

Fingers splayed against fingers, her knuckles bent, entombing Sephiroth’s with a humbled grace as she continued in her botanical pursuits; tugging him along the path without so much as a word. There was sanctity in her silence, in the wordless affection of a shared history now lain open to something she held so dear. Her garden was a lot of things; a home, a sanctuary - and yet she deigned to share it with him as a deviation from the hallowed ground of the church. To lay bare this one facet of her identity; wholly personal and forged from creativity and passion alike.

He was welcomed into her world with open arms, led along by the connection of his own making - much like her beloved flowers, straining and leaning, forever in awe of the sun. Or maybe he was more akin to Icarus, daring to dream and get too close to a dazzling light just beyond his reach. Aerith knew which parallel she preferred - and it wasn’t the one that involved wax wings melting into misguided oblivion. At the heart of her floral home, she settled into the grass, a flighty tug for one so petite, drawing him down in a silent demand.

“Welcome to my paradise.” The brunette uttered at last, the rich recipe of intermingled scents pleasantly accosting her nostrils, as her fingertips began their innocuous dance along the lines of his palm, memorising the intricate details as if they were some kind of divinely orchestrated treasure map - although where it lead was still up for debate. She was happy regardless, and it showed, light hearted reverie daubed across her skin and encapsulated fully in the geniality of a bright and pleasant smile. ���Feel free to call it home.”

[imagines-of-midgar]

Request: Congrats on starting the new blog! I love your writing a lot and I love that you started a Final Fantasy blog. For the fluff alphabet, may I request C, J, K, P, and X for Sephiroth? (If that isn't too many letters, sorry if it is.) Please and thank you so much for taking the time to do this!

—

First ask annnnddd it’s Sephiroth! Love this man to death. Also thank you so much, I’m glad my writing is fine! I hope I’ll be able to improve more by having this blog now as well. <3

━━┈┈┄┄┄┄┄┄ ⿻ ┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄━━

𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇

▻ Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

The Silver General certainly had his expertise in the ways of killing and being a sort of idol to the SOLDIERs and people around the planet. However, as popular as he is—his experience of anything involving talking or comforting is very minimal—nonexistent even. The only people he saw as his friends were Angeal and Genesis. Other than that he was quite isolated from normal life, so when his s/o first had a panic attack in front of him, he was scared, unsure and just didn’t know what to do. At first he thought they were dying since he barely ever got to see panic attacks in person. However, once he realized they weren’t injured whatsoever, he was conflicted. What should he do? Step in? Wait until it stops? He has fairly improved ever since then. He cares about his s/o immensely, so he made sure after the first time it happened to look up what to do in such situations. If his s/o is having a panic attack or feels down, he’ll quietly but effectively calm them down. He usually scoops them up in his strong arms and whispers encouraging words and strokes their hair. He’s very good at it and it works most of the time. If, however, his s/o needs their space. He’ll let them be, that doesn’t mean that he won’t check up on them every now and then, just do make sure they eat enough. He’s very supportive and will always find the time for them.

▻ Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

No, he doesn’t really get jealous. He’s happy for his s/o that they get along with so many people. There is that occasional nagging feeling — like someone trying to harshly pull out his heart, but he doesn’t act on it. He hasn’t experienced jealousy up until he met his s/o. He didn’t see it as jealousy at the start, more like the feeling of not being good enough. Why him? They could have easily chosen someone as poetic, open and relaxed as Genesis or someone as funny and optimistic as Zack Fair. Though, he does trust them. That’s why he never feels jealousy. Though sometimes he does think that some SOLDIERs should stop trying to touch you. If he does hear some stranger dropping a flirtatious comment and his s/o laughs along, then his mood will drop immediately. Still, this oblivious man doesn’t realize that he’s a teeny jealous.

▻ Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Oh well...at first his s/o thought he was a lost cause. His lips are very soft and velvety, but he just simply...pressed them against his s/o’s lips and didn’t move at all when they kissed at first. It was quite awkward and Sephiroth just knew that he didn’t get it right. Though, through the relationship he becomes better and better and now he can take their s/o’s breath away. He is gentle, but can sometimes be quite controlling, such as suddenly taking the lead. He puts all of his love into his kisses since he doesn’t know how else to appreciate his s/o and he feels bad for it. If he initiates kisses, he usually means it in an innocent, daily way of showing them how much he appreciates them. That doesn’t mean the kisses can’t turn steamy, tongues swirling with one another in a passionate dance.

▻ PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Heavy PDA is nonexistent in Sephiroth’s book. He really doesn’t mind the occasional hand holding, after all, he does want people to know who his s/o belonged to. But everything beyond that is a no-go. He thinks that affection is reserved in closed doors and that it isn’t a stranger’s business how his love life is going. He is also partially shy about it, believe it or not. If his s/o ever gives him a kiss on the cheek in public, his face will flare up. He doesn’t brag about his s/o, but sometimes mentiones them in an admirable kind of way. Most people think it’s cute how smitten he is. His eyes light up when something reminds him of his s/o and mentions them to close friends every now and then.

▻ XOXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

He can very well be if he does his best and jumps out of his shell. Not in public though, as mentioned above. He adores kisses and cuddles. Kisses are so soft and full of love, something he didn’t feel most of his life, so he does it every moment he can when he and his s/o are alone. Cuddles are also something Sephiroth just loves. His s/o is much smaller than him, so if they lay with their head against his chest or if he spoons them, he secretly swoons. Even better if they fall asleep. He’ll watch them for a while with a content smile on his face.

[theangelssecondwing]

Chapter 11

A/N: This chapter contains potentially very triggering content, including syringes, forced sedation, medical abuse and mentions of a forced medical examination. Reader discretion is advised.

The next day, Rufus called me into his office. Once the door was closed behind me, he motioned for me to sit down. I tried to read his expression, but it was completely neutral. „Any news?", he asked. „Sephiroth, Angeal and Zack are currently at the reactor in Sector 5 to investigate it. I stayed behind because Sephiroth feared that it could be too dangerous for a civilian. If Hollander did have a secret lab at the reactor, there‘s a high chance that it‘s infested with monsters after being abandoned for so long." „It's good to know that he takes your safety into consideration. But I didn't just call you here to ask for updates. I also meant to discuss your employment at the company with you." „Oh?" My stomach tensed up. „I plan to make some modifications to your contract. Namely that you become my direct subordinate." I let that information sink in for a moment. „And what exactly does that mean for me?" Rufus sat back. „It means that from this moment onward, you will only take orders from me. Nobody else. See it as a promotion to my personal assistant." That's where I got suspicious. „And what exactly did I do to deserve that promotion?" „You got involved with the search for Genesis. Some may see this as you sticking your nose in matters that don't concern you, but considering how little interest the people actually tasked with finding him have shown, your efforts are appreciated." Then he leaned over the table. „And I want to make sure that you're safe. Your relationship with Sephiroth has drawn some unwanted attention to you. Since the topic of our possible engagement is off the table, my father has little interest in keeping you safe, and Sephiroth can't always be by your side." Suddenly, I felt dizzy. „Unwanted attention?" Rufus nodded grimly. „A lot of it. From different people. Jealous fans are the least of your problems, though I assure you that I will take disciplinary action against anyone who harrasses you from now on. Some people believe that your relationship makes Sephiroth too soft, or distracts him from his work. Then there‘s a lot of people have a bone to pick with Sephiroth and will not hesitate to attack those close to him because of it. And of course, there‘s a certain scientist who has shown a very disconcerting degree of interest in you and the nature of your relationship to Sephiroth." I stared at my hands, curled into fists so tightly that I could see the white of my knuckles umderneath the skin. „...I see." Rufus sat back again. „So, as I said: you are my employee now. You will only follow my orders. If someone else tries to claim that they are a messenger from me, you are to contact me to confirm that. Here…" He slid a piece of paper over the table to me. „...my private cellphone number." I picked up the paper and stared at it for a moment. „...You do realize that our fathers will completely misinterpret this, right?“ Rufus nodded. „I‘m quite aware of that. But right now, your safety is more important than both our pride.“ He smiled, but it seemed strained. „We may have drifted apart with the years, but I never stopped caring about you.“ That caused my chest to grow warm with affection. And my eyes to sting with tears. „Thank you, Rufus. Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?“ „One more thing." He got up, walked around the table and pulled at my cheek, with a smile that bore a striking resemblance to the boy he had once been. "It's good to have you back."

To say that I was elated when I left Rufus‘ office would have been a massive understatement. I felt like I shouldn‘t trust this situation. Everything was just going so right. I was dating the man of my dreams, I got my best friend back, the only thing that still needed to be fixed was the issue with Genesis. My delight should be short-lived, however. Since Rufus hadn‘t given me a task yet, I wanted to get down to the archives again, hoping to find some more information on Hollander and his projects. However, on my way there, I ran into Hojo, now Shinra‘s top scientist. I had seen him before, but only from a distance. Hojo only rarely associated with people he deemed to be of inferior intellect, and if that was the case, I was quite grateful for that. This man just radiated a syrup-thick aura that screamed „RUN“. He was middle aged, maybe late forties to mid-fifties, and always hunched over, making him look much older. The first wrinkles showed on his face, and his long, greasy black hair was tied back into a ponytail. He was carrying a clipboard in one hand, a pen in his other, like he was in the middle of taking notes on something. But he wasn‘t looking at the board. His razor-sharp eyes focused on me through the thick lenses of his glasses. The first time he directly looked at me, and I felt the overwhelming urge to turn back and run. „Ms. Hunter, I presume?“, he asked, looking me over in a way that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. „That‘s me. Anything I can do for you?“, I asked, trying my very best to be polite. He didn‘t answer. He just mumbled something to himself and made a note on the clipboard. I could have sworn that he mentioned Sephiroth in his murmuring, but I bit my lip instead of asking. Then he walked a circle around me, as if to assess me from all sides, occasionally stopping to scribble something down. All while mumbling to himself. „Ex...cuse me, but what are you doing?“, I asked, still straining to stay calm. „You wouldn‘t understand it anyway. So there‘s no need for me to explain it to you.“ Then he reached to touch my hair. I twitched back and snapped:„Hands off!“ He looked at me as if I had two heads. Then he shook his head and mumbled:„I hate it when they‘re being so difficult.“ before making another note. „Well, Ms. Hunter, I must ask you to follow me to the laboratories. For the sake of… a routine examination.“ „Strange. There hasn‘t been any announcement of a ‚routine examination‘.“ I was shaking and just wanted to leave. How much of an idiot did this guy take me for? He wasn‘t a physician. Everyone knew he wasn‘t. Hojo‘s eyes flashed up again, and the predatory grin on his face really didn‘t help my state of mind. Did that guy even know how damn creepy he was? „You probably just missed it. Now come along.“ I shook my head and took a few more steps back. My entire system was in overdrive, and I felt almost dizzy from the adrenaline. Shit. Where to now? Back to Rufus? To my father? Before I could come to a decision, Hojo just grabbed my wrist. For someone so meager, he was surprisingly strong. And without paying any attention to my protests, he began dragging me down the hallway, to the laboratories.

„Sedate this one“, he ordered one of his assistants once the blurred glass doors of the lab closed behind us. To my great misfortune, we hadn‘t met anyone I could have asked for help on our way. The assistants stared at me. „Professor, she‘s the daughter of one of the president‘s wealthiest business partners. President Shinra will have our heads if he finds out we‘ve been conducting experiments on her.“ „Progress demands sacrifices. If you can‘t live with that, you‘re in the wrong profession.“ With that, he dragged me over to an operating table, while one of the assistants approached with a syringe. „Fuck this“, I hissed and tried to wiggle myself free, even tried to kick Hojo‘s shin but it was no use. The sharp pain of the needle shot through my arm, and then everything became hazy. „Put her on the table. We will begin-“ The door to the lab was kicked open with so much force that the glass shattered. Then there was yelling. Security storming in. That was the last thing I remembered.

When I woke up, I didn‘t know what had happened at first. I was dizzy, and there was this annoying humming in my head. I wanted to rub my eyes, to help me regain my vision faster, but my movements were painfully slow. But everything around me soon became much clearer, and I recognized Sephiroth‘s worried face just inches away from mine. „You‘re awake!“ He sounded so relieved. „When we came back and were told that Hojo dragged you off, we feared the worst.“ „Sephiroth.“ I reached up to touch his face, but my arm was shaking, as if the muscle couldn‘t carry its own weight anymore. He took my hand in his and kissed my knuckles. „Where‘s Hojo?“ Even though I was still sluggish and barely conscious from the after-effects of the sedative, I couldn‘t wait to get up and chocke this bastard with my own two hands... „He‘s been arrested.“ Sephiroth gently rubbed my temples. Another voice spoke, but I couldn‘t hear it properly. Sephiroth looked up and nodded, and then looked at me again. „Cora, your father is here, too. He came here as soon as he could.“ I turned my head and looked at my father. He was white as a sheet, holding my limp hand in his. And now I slowly realized that I was in a hospital bed. A third voice spoke, one that I was now awake enough to identify. Rufus. „I‘m terribly sorry that his happened“, he said. „It shouldn‘t have happened.“ „You‘re damn right it shouldn‘t!“, my father barked. „Your pet scientist could have killed my daughter! I want to see him bleed for that!“ „Unfortunately, it‘s not that easy“, Rufus replied. „Hojo is the top scientist of Shinra, and plays a leading role in many of our projects. My father won‘t just let him go like that.“ „Top scientist? Please, the man can‘t tell one mammal from another“, Sephiroth murmured, his hands tensing up. „I support Mr. Hunter‘s wish for justice. Who knows what would have happened to Cora if we hadn‘t found her in time.“ „You should keep your mouth shut, young man!“, my father snapped. „This is all your fault. Hojo was only interested in her because of you! We found his notes, and they were all about what could have possibly made her attractive to you, and how they could use that to… to...“ My father‘s face was red as a lobster at that point. „I told her it was a dumb idea to get involved with you!“ „Enough!“, I finally said somewhat clearly. „None of this is Sephiroth‘s fault. You‘re just looking for another excuse to try and break us up.“ The words didn‘t come out as sharply as I would have liked them to, but my father seemed to understand the tone anyway. He took a deep breath and left the room.

[stellalucem]

Five times + Waited (Tseng/Sephiroth)

meme.

five times drabbles

@bloodlot   //  selectively accepting !

__

He’s not used to the circuitous labyrinth of cubicles within the Department of Administrative Research. It’s been nearly a year, and still he finds himself incurably lost within the grey walls that all look the same, high enough to obscure any landmarks that might help orient himself. It doesn’t help that he’s half-panicked at his own tardiness, exacerbating his confusion.

And of all the sights he expects within the confines of his own cubicle, it is not the crumpled form of Sephiroth in unraveled repose upon a metal folding chair by his desk, hand on his temple to ward away the garish fluorescent light that assaults his eyes. 

“You’re late,” he points out without removing the shield of his eyes to look at him, and the young Turk flushes red-raw.

It isn’t the first impression he wants to make. 

__

His office is pristine. Everything in meticulous order. Even the mountain of paperwork is in neat, manageable piles. Not even a pen out of place.

For all his life’s work, there has never been a single thing Tseng has ever earned for himself. Every meal he put on his populous family’s table has been least of all his, every space permeated with relatives that can barely leave him a moment’s peace. His work with the infantry, in the Wutai conflict, and even his work with the Turks has been an exercise in coordination and collaboration, with little distinction of his own personal efforts. So when he’s granted an office of his own, it is a boon he doesn’t quite understand. 

And neither do some of the other Turks, who don’t understand how someone with such little seniority can deserve the attention of Veld, or the assignment of Sephiroth, both of whom were likely instrumental in securing the office and Tseng’s position. But their doubt only makes Tseng want to hold on to what he’s earned that much more, delight in it that much deeper. This space is a gift, for someone who has never known the recognition of his merits until now. Nothing has ever been solely his. Not his time, not his efforts. So he’ll treasure it. And show his appreciation where he can.

So when Sephiroth appears within the threshold of his door, there’s fresh-brewed coffee waiting for him within a cafetière à piston, cream and sugar beside it, and a new pillow set upon the wingback chair for his comfort when the general will inevitably fall asleep, and an extra chenille blanket stashed away in his closet.

“Welcome home,” he greets him, standing to receive him, and the rare smile he wears is warmer than the summer sun. 

__

His coffee’d gone cold an hour and a half  ago, but it sits untouched behind the collection of water glasses he’s already drained while he waits.

He’s half sure Sephiroth’s forgotten. After all, they’d made plans to meet on their one mutual day off this month, for a real cup of coffee and conversation that doesn’t involve debriefings or dossier recapitulations. Something that resembles real interaction. But that had been over three weeks ago, before he’d been deployed on his latest mission. Nearly an age. for how much had likely happened between then and now. 

And while he knew that the general had returned two days ago, he also knew that Sephiroth was likely to be recuperating still, likely distracted and tired. It’s a well-deserved respite, of course, but a poor consolation. But it’s a consolation nonetheless that he stubbornly ascribes to as he drinks his cold black coffee with a nebulous sort of defeat. 

He’s a little too used to being forgotten. 

__

They’d lost contact four hours and forty-two minutes ago. The last communication from the handler had been to relay the successful infiltration of the Crescent Stronghold, but nothing since to confirm the presence of the warlord they’d been keeping eyes on, or their success. Or failure. And while the absence of communication with the handler was disturbing, it was still in line with protocol. What wasn’t was the conspicuous absence of communications with the black hawks and their operators meant to provide both eyes and backup should anything go wrong. 

They were in complete dark about the mission. And subsequently, Sephiroth.

Tseng’s  knee bounces furiously under the table, a sure sign of his nervousness that everyone assumes is impatience. He taps at the receiver in his ear, rubs at his mouth to prevent the vicious chewing of his bottom lip, but he knows he looks a disaster, if the wary looks of the surrounding agents are anything to trust.

But the doors open and a bloodied Sephiroth emerges like a chthonic god, silver hair in disarray, a single glove lost, his scintillant eyes searching immediately for Tseng. The Turk lets out a strangled sigh and snatches him by the collar, pulling him closer than the two have ever been before. “Don’t you dare tell me to stand down again,” he hisses through the dam of his teeth. “If you go out there, I want to be by your side. I can’t … I can’t sit around here not knowing what’s happened to you.”

When Sephiroth smiles, he’s not quite sure why. 

__

Sephiroth isn’t quite asleep, in spite of the languid way he’s draped over the edge of Tseng’s desk. Tseng is sat opposite of him, writing something lengthy with a steady hand, and his face is serene as he methodically completes his task. Rapt enough that he doesn’t quite look up when Sephiroth rises to round the table and stand by his side, his fingers threading carefully through his heavy hair. 

“I’m almost done,” Tseng promises, and Sephiroth does not wait for that to be true for a second when he perches himself firmly upon his desk.

Tseng grins and flicks his gaze up to meet Seph’s mild, inquisitive expression. “I mean it. Almost done.” 

He scribbles something else in margin of a report, then shifts over to the sticky-note pad and scrawls “brat” on it with an even hand, and slaps it unceremoniously upon Seph’s thigh. 

Seph says nothing, doesn’t even bother moving the reports and papers out the way when he shifts over atop them, his thighs uncrossing, legs open, finding a toehold upon the edge of Tseng’s chair as his feet bracket his form. 

Tseng, for his part, ignores the distraction and manages to make a final mark in his report over Sephiroth’s thigh. “One last—” but Seph shoves him back smoothly with a firm hand, and pins him to the chair with a boot to his chest. 

His elbow propped upon the bend of his knee, his curling fingertips hiding the twitch of a grin upon his pale lips, Sephiroth continues to regard him with the circumspection of a cat. 

Tseng grins as he only can around Sephiroth, holds his hands up in surrender. “Alright. You win. Should we pick up takeout on the way home?”  He loosens the knot of his tie, and undoes the top button. “Unless you had something else in mind.”