#ff7 case of tifa

[toherrys]

I just think they'd take such good care of her...

[thissisatitle]

7R/BC rkgk

[sebritz]

every shot of tifa's boobs in costa pissed me off so i gave her top surgery. not sorry

[not-playable-character]

My post game AU

!Warning spoilers for Rebirth ahead!

Canon differences:

Aerith asked Tifa out on the Shinra 8 and their first date was in Costa

Cloud went on his "date" with Red while the girls had their own date

Tifa helped save Aerith by leveraging Cloud's sword to deflect Sephiroth's blade

Aerith was saved but has a scar on her back from where masamune grazed her

^approximate scar locations for the girls

Post game:

As a reward the Planet revives/heals several loved ones for the gang; Ifalna, Myrna, Seto, Brian Lockhart, the Avalanche trio, Zack, Sonon, & Claudia Strife

Aerith and Tifa live in the plains outside of Kalm where Aerith grows a variety of flowers and vegetables

Tifa works in Kalm as a bartender and eventually comes to own the bar

Cloud and Jessie reunited and finally have their date

They never truly settle, but Jessie picks up acting gigs at the Saucer while Zack and Cloud are traveling mercenaries (though Cloud tends to stay near Corel)

Barret and Myrna pick up where they left off and she helps him reintegrate into Corel's society where they both work to improve the town

Marlene is skeptical of Mryna at first but warms to her quickly, she has a brief depressive period when they have a son but Barret reassures her that she isn't a lesser member of the family

With Seto returned to flesh, he takes time to connect with his son and really teach him about their history and how proud he is.

They work together to find a cure for the Gi

Claudia settles down in Corel wanting to remain close to Cloud and also not wanting to return to Nibelheim

Brian and Ifalna settle near Kalm as well (separately they just live near each other)

Ifalna helps Aerith learn about her culture and helps out with the plant business

Brian works as a farm hand at Bill's

Tifa and Jessie were the ones to propose, Aerith said yes before Tifa finished and Cloud thought Jessie was joking (but said yes once it was cleared up)

The kids:

Rosalind Ifalna Gainsborough-Lockhart: goes by Rosie, the older of the twins, black hair and green eyes, she takes more after Aerith physically and in personality but has very little connection to the Planet and magic so she learned Zangan martial arts and the Bo staff, she was a very sick child her parents thought she wouldn't make it into adulthood, while very outgoing she suffers from self-confidence issues and often puts herself down, she is shorter than Lily and hates it (~5'4" while Lily is ~5'8") the twins have middle names because their moms couldn't decide what names they wanted so they gave them names to honor their mothers and flower like names at Aerith's request

Lillian Thea Gainsborough-Lockhart: goes by Lily to her friends and Lillian to everyone else, the younger twin, brown hair and red-brown eyes she takes more after Tifa, she is nearsighted and wears glasses, not as physical as her sister she gained a higher affinity with magic and their Cetra bloodline, she uses bracelets and finger claws just incase an enemy gets too close, she prefers tai chi since it is not combat focused but can perform some basic strikes, seeing the suffering her sister went through caused her to mature faster than her parents wanted from her but she never regrets helping take care of her sister, serious and quiet she often comes off as cold and emotionless but truly cares about all life and has a dry sense of humor, she is very sure of herself and her abilities so she tries her best to raise up her sister whenever possible, they developed a fighting style to synergize her magic with Rosie's physical abilities

Dyne Wallace: Born shortly after the events of the game making him the oldest of the kids, very much takes after his father in personality and physicality but decided to have long hair that his mother loves to style, around 6'4", he is more humble than his dad but still over the top and goofy, not a fighter at all he wants to become an ecological preservationist, becomes an older brother figure for the twins and Cloud's daughter, though he is easily convinced to make mischief

Claire Strife: Born the same year as the twins coincidentally, soft blond hair and brown eyes she looks like her dad but has her mother's personality, about 5'6", to Cloud's excitement she shows no interest in fighting and wants to become a performer like her mom though she is very skilled with the buster sword, she develops a crush on Lily (which is reciprocated) but neither of them are convinced the other likes them, she has a very close relationship with both of her grandmothers and loves to cook with them

Might add more later but add your own thoughts if you'd like!

[dangoulains-devotion]

thinking just a bit too hard about how the added depth given to tifa and aerith's friendship only increases the weight threatening to crush tifa after the forgotten capital, she already had so much to carry on her weary shoulders, she's going to have to carry even more when mideel happens, and it doesn't even stop after meteorfall, ohg od oh i love her so much i

[level99challenge]

he most certainly is not

--

Black trans lives matter

[pacixfrisky-reborn]

"She certainly wasn't lying..." Dark eyes flashing and her cheeks cherry pink, she glanced across Frisk's impressive length meaningfully. Yuffie's fingers work into his thick hair, massaging his scalp. "She also said you're the only one that's ever worn her out and could still keep going. I thought it's because she's old, you know? But she kept saying you're the best she ever had in bed." Peeking back toward the stall door, making sure no one was eavesdropping on them, the teen-ninja leans in close whispering; "And, at the last Inn, she had to pay double because she totally soaked the sheets and mattress--" beaming and locking eyes with him, she adds quickly "--but you didn't hear that from me." "Feels like a shower might be the perfect place to find out more. See if you can live up to your legend."

Frisk gave a soft 'Mmm' as he listened, as she was washing his hair, although he definitely was paying attention when she called Tifa 'old'.

"Oh, come on, Tifa isn't THAT much older than you!" He huffed, puffing out his cheeks indignantly. "And even if you did think she was, then surely her saying that I'm the best I've ever had would be quite an accomplishment." He was certainly feeling some pride over that.

His face certainly flushed when he heard about the result of their last meeting though, and he felt a little guilty. "I-I should probably give her some money for that, then... I mean, it was kind of my fault..." Although it would be odd to pay someone because you're TOO good at fucking them.

"A-and yeah, considering that, I suppose a shower would be the best place to find out, considering I've helped someone ruin a bed..." He looked at Yuffie over his shoulder. "Are you sure you'd be able to take it, though? You're a fair bit... slimmer than Tifa is."

[andrewwtca]

on Sephiroth's manipulation of Cloud (an analysis)

— Rebirth + OG FF7 spoilers

how Rebirth tackled puppet Cloud is so unique and so so good, and I just needed to talk about it. first things first, let’s talk about what Sephiroth means by ‘puppet.’

throughout the OG FF7 and Rebirth, Sephiroth refers to Cloud as a ‘puppet.’ it may seem strange at first glance, because it seems to imply that Sephiroth is manually taking control of Cloud, puppeteering him or that Cloud is inherently empty.

it also doesn’t fit with his encouragement of Cloud’s rage. if Cloud is a puppet, why doesn’t Sephiroth just give him rage?

because that’s not what he means. when Sephiroth calls Cloud a puppet, he means that Cloud’s mind can easily be shaped, similar to how a puppet’s identity is dependent on its master.

because that’s not what he means. when Sephiroth calls Cloud a puppet, he means that Cloud’s mind can easily be shaped, similar to how a puppet’s identity is dependent on its master. he says that what Cloud feels is fake because Cloud’s mind is a collage of identities, his own and Zack’s, all with Jenova’s and Sephiroth’s influence. Cloud’s feelings are just his master’s feelings.

Cloud’s mind is malleable. he is his own person, the real Cloud Strife is there, but due to the self-esteem issues he’s harbored since childhood and the trauma he’s endured for the past five years, the presenting Cloud Strife can greatly differ. Sephiroth is intensely aware of this, and takes advantage of it.

the persona we see of Cloud is his SOLDIER persona, the tough badass he always wanted to be, a mixture of his interpretation of Zack and his interpretation of being a hero. but the facade cracks quickly and frequently, in either direction. mostly, it cracks to let us see the real Cloud. there’s no one single moment where he shines through: Cloud taking on odd jobs with no real gain other than him helping someone, Cloud doing something stupid and silly, Cloud getting flustered. all the moments of him being kind and dorky is the real Cloud shining through. it’s impossible for Cloud to bury all of himself beneath his persona, so these cracks are only natural. however, the other cracks in his persona are due to Sephiroth’s manipulation.

in Rebirth, Cloud kills multiple people on multiple occasions—one can argue because they were Shinra, they deserved it, but that doesn’t change the fact that Cloud isn’t a killer. even his SOLDIER persona accommodates his desire to help people; so how does he kill people so easily? if you answered Sephiroth, you get a prize!

Sephiroth manipulates his SOLDIER persona in two ways: feeding into ideals and planting ideas. for the first, he (off-screen) encourages violent and/or anti-social behavior in Cloud. while we, the player, and everyone around him views this as strange, in Cloud’s mind, it all fits into what he’s supposed to be. he’s supposed to be a badass, and badasses kill people and dismiss their friends’ feelings, right?

when Cloud is in this mental state, it’s very hard to reason with him. in Chapter 13 (one of the greatest pieces of puppet Cloud literature), Cloud’s entire goal is to reach the center of the Temple in order to acquire the Black Materia. he doesn’t listen to any warnings that the Cetra give or his teammates, becoming wholly focused on retrieving it. but even then, even if Cloud’s behavior doesn’t seem strange to him, why does he want the Black Materia?

that’s due to Sephiroth’s other form of manipulation: planting ideas. it’s easy to force Cloud to become violent because it fits the narrative of badass SOLDIER, but lots of other ideas need time to nourish. case-in-point: Tifa isn’t the real one.

we are introduced to this idea at the very beginning of the game, Cloud walking through the inn at Kalm when he sees Sephiroth who tells him that this Tifa isn’t the real one. the conflict seems to become resolved when Cloud repeats the idea to Tifa who completely dismisses it, but they’re nowhere out of the woods.

next, Sephiroth in Chapter 5 instills the idea that Jenova is capable of impersonation. this doesn’t seem to go anywhere until Chapter 9.

first, Cloud enters that intensified SOLDIER state-of-mind, killing all the Shinra troopers around him. with his mind already fragile, Sephiroth repeating the idea to him now becomes fact: Tifa isn’t real. she is an imposter from Jenova. both the ideas Cloud’s been fed are twisted and he pushes Tifa off the edge.

Cloud snaps out of this state of mind right after, but it doesn’t change the fact that it happened. as long as Sephiroth plays his cards right, he can manipulate Cloud into doing nearly everything for him. hence, the ‘puppet’ label.

(that’s also why Cloud wants the Black Materia. Sephiroth tells Cloud to bring him the Black Materia—and even if Cloud doesn’t want to, the thought is engraved in his head that he should retrieve it for Sephiroth.)

but here’s what’s really special. as we’ve noted, the intensified SOLDIER persona is violent, anti-social, just an all around dick. he doesn’t care about his friends, doesn’t care about anything except getting what he wants (see: what Sephiroth wants.)

but we see something very different at the end of Chapter 13. Cloud isn’t rude and dismissive. he pushes Tifa, but he doesn't do it with the same malice as in Chapter 9. he does it in an attempt just to get her away, just to chase after the Black Materia.

in his pursuit of Aerith, the things he says are the farthest thing from rude. he’s not threatening or demanding her to stop. he’s asking her to talk, appealing to her desire to trust him and save the planet, even starts calling her name in a teasing way like he’s playing a game.

Aerith! Let's talk. I need it... Aerith... Give it to me. Please? You can trust me. Let's save the planet together. (playfully) Aerith.

when Aerith finally gives him the Black Materia, what does Cloud do? he could just walk away. he could just run straight to Sephiroth. but, no—he makes sure to say “thank you” first.

it’s pathetic (I type this in the most endearing way) the way Cloud acts. why is that? what is the difference between these types of manipulation? the answer is who Sephiroth manipulates. for the most part, Sephiroth manipulates SOLDIER Cloud. but here, Sephiroth breaks through Cloud’s SOLDIER persona to manipulate the real Cloud.

we know when we see the real Cloud: if you need a refresher, anytime Cloud is kind or acts like a dork is usually a tell-tale sign. here, Cloud is kind, saying please and thank you. and it’s almost cute, the way he playfully calls out to Aerith. this is the real Cloud, buried under piles of piles of trauma, self-hatred, and alternative personas.

and what is the real Cloud’s utmost desire? to love and be loved. he wants to be a hero, to be worthy of the ones he holds dear; no, to be worthy of anyone. this is a big factor into Cloud’s construction of his SOLDIER persona, he creates himself that hero mask that he thinks will lead to the love he craves.

Sephiroth knows this, and twists his desire to be a hero to a desire to please Sephiroth at all costs. Cloud is still himself, but he wants to make Sephiroth happy no matter what. Sephiroth wants the Black Materia? then Sephiroth will get the Black Materia.

that’s what’s so heartbreaking (and deliciously good) about Rebirth’s depiction of puppet Cloud. he’s not hollow and empty. he’s desperate. this is the most of the real Cloud we get to see. we see fragments of him, but here is the longest consecutive period. this is the realest he acts in the game, kind and silly and so fucking desperate for love, for Sephiroth’s approval.

in short, Sephiroth knows exactly how and when to break Cloud. he knows how and when to manipulate SOLDIER Cloud and he knows how and when to manipulate the real Cloud. this is why Sephiroth calls him a puppet: as long as he plays to Cloud’s desire for approval and love, he can puppeteer him in every direction.

thank you for reading! I hope you learned something new or just understand Cloud better. Cloud is such a fascinating character and Sephiroth really brings out the most pathetic parts of him ❤️ here's to hoping Cloud gets all the love he wants

[my-current-obsession]

Something I both love AND hate about FF7 (the original game and everything after, including the Remake trilogy) is that it is just ambiguous and/or player-driven enough that no matter which side of the love triangle you fall on (assuming you do in fact ship Cloud with one of the girls), the majority of fans for that ship are 100% CONVINCED it's the correct/canon option.

Like, certain scenes are definitely up to interpretation, and people are going to thus have varying reads on those scenes and the characters/relationships the scenes are about. It doesn't help that several scenes change depending on the player's choices, which acts as a confirmation bias as you naturally get more time and romantic moments with the girl of your preference. It really seems to me that MOST people who ship Cloud and Aerith have one solid interpretation (with a plethora of supporting evidence) of the series and the romance, while most people who ship Cloud and Tifa have their own solid interpretation with plenty of evidence that is VASTLY DIFFERENT from the Clerith reading of the game.

This is not a case of "one ship is clearly, explicitly canon and fans of the opposition just like their pick better and/or think it made more sense narratively and WISH it was canon" - for an example of that, look to the Avatar the Last Airbender shipping wars. This is a case where both sides literally interpret the story just differently enough that they come to entirely different conclusions about which girl is Cloud's true love. And if either side reaches out to try and explain their viewpoint to the other, they're just met with "uh, no. You're wrong." Try and explain what Cloud might be thinking in a given scene with one of the girls, why he acts a certain way... "That's not it at all, where are you getting this? Are you delusional?"

Like, I am a Clerith shipper. I have played all the games in the compilation and watched Advent Children. I tried to be as completionist as possible, even. And I came out on the other side of really digging into the story of this game loving Cloud and Aerith's dynamic and pretty firmly convinced they were canon. Or as canon as possible in the timeline where she died.

As any Clerith fan who participates in the fandom would know, if you try and explain your interpretation of these characters and the romance to a diehard Cloti supporter... you're met with a lot of "you're misinterpreting! Cloud and Aerith were just friends! She loved Zack to the end and Cloud loved Tifa since childhood and never stopped! Also Aerith is actually BAD for Cloud because she's too pushy/abrasive. She's not helping him open up, she's just forcing him to go along with her and making him uncomfortable!"

All of this is of course infuriating, but I'd like to think I'm self-aware enough to know we are kind of guilty of the same thing. The majority of Tifa fans are SO happy about the kiss in Rebirth, while we're over here dismissing it because, one it's optional, and two Cloud is "obviously" using Tifa as a rebound or settling for her since Aerith is seemingly unavailable. But that's not how Cloti fans see it at all.

We can talk until we're blue in the face about how TIFA deserves better than Cloud because she shouldn't be the second choice - the one he settles for. But I think most people who really love Cloti genuinely don't see it that way. In their eyes, she's NOT second-best. Cloud loved her all along and this kiss is finally confirming that. And nothing we say will dissuade them, just as nothing they say will actually change OUR minds about Clerith.

It is honestly really difficult for me to try and see the story and romance the way Cloti fans do, but I know the reverse is also true. Both groups of fans interpret the characters and relationships differently. The compilation ALLOWS us to interpret them differently. And this is why the ship war for a game from 1997 is still raging on.

Because both camps are certain they're right, they defend their position viciously. Sometimes that means invading the "other side" to tell them how wrong they are. This discussion/rant was prompted by a Cloti fan on a Clerith vid who wanted to debate MY comment about how wonderful the ship was and how good they were for each other. He was "confused" and "concerned" because Clerith fans were reading the story wrong or warping it to suit our ship.

I wanted to tell him, "buddy that's what YOU'RE doing". I wanted to write a goddamn essay explaining why Clerith is canon actually. But considering in my INITIAL comment that he first responded to I'd already brought up why I thought Clerith was great, and he was IGNORING that... I knew it would be pointless. There is nothing I could possibly say that would change his mind. There is nothing he could possibly say that would change my mind.

As long as both sides of this war are fully convinced they're right, this war is going to be endless and brutal. And that's why my absolute biggest fear for part 3 is an open, ambiguous ending regarding the ships. Maybe it will canonize nothing. Maybe it will canonize BOTH by having the actual ending change depending on which girl the player favors.

Either route will offer no relief to this eternal battle. I would honestly prefer for Cloti to explicitly and unambiguously win than an ending where neither girl does. Because I can accept a loss. I can accept being told that actually I WAS interpreting the story wrong, but I'll only accept it from the text itself. If anything, a Cloti ending might encourage me to go through the entire compilation again trying to view it with that canon couple in mind. I'm sure I'd see things differently, even if I'd always have a place in my heart for Clerith. And I sincerely hope that if Clerith were to win that Cloti fans could do the same.

All I know is that I'm sick and tired of this ship war. I personally have never gone after Cloti fans or engaged in Cloti content with the intent to debate or hate on the ship. But I don't speak for all Cleriths. I'm sure at least a few fans of my ship are guilty too. I have seen many obnoxious Cloti fans invading our spaces to disparage us - mostly on YouTube and Twitch, less here on Tumblr - but I KNOW there are plenty of kind Cloti fans who just happily enjoy their ship and leave us to ours as well.

At the end of the day, regardless of how part 3 ends things, I just wish we could live in peace. Please enjoy your ship. Your interpretation of the text and romance is valid. But so is mine. If neither side can agree, then the best thing to do is leave each other alone.

[rottenpumpkin13]

Sometimes I wonder. Of all the characters in FF7 that were ruined or violated by Shinra….like the OG main cast that were broken by Shinra in different ways…, the common people, the villagers, the SOLDIERs, the employees…all the people that were used and experimented on…the Turks, some of whom were likely orphans cruelly raised by Shinra, the powerful Tsviets and Deepground SOLDIERs, all humans that were tormented and brutally pushed to their mental and physical limits…, and all of Hojo’s broken specimens…

Angeal and Genesis…all of them…

Out of all of these people, many snapped or lost their minds or resisted or became cruel or lost themselves…

But none of them were like Sephiroth. None of them were the strongest warrior of mankind that nearly destroyed the planet out of hatred for everything humans stood for and were. None of them snapped on the level he did where they wanted to destroy the entire world. I had to sit and wonder why.

But then I thought, maybe what sets him apart from all of them is two simple things. His father was the worst of humanity and his partial “mother” was an alien creature set on destroying humanity.

When you think about it, Jenova and Hojo become like two extremes of opposing forces and Sephiroth is the offspring.

I might be too optimistic but something tells me that if he didn’t have these two simple connections, he would have stayed sane or else not lashed out in the most explosive way of all. He would have been more like the others. Maybe hateful of humans like Weiss but not determined to wipe them out.

Shinra ruined everyone, but I don’t think Shinra alone could not have ruined Sephiroth. Jenova and Hojo were the only beings strong enough to push him over the edge when you consider it.

If you think about it Sephiroth was bred from the beginning to inevitably break down.

In my opinion, this isn't the case for other characters. Although everyone had reasons to choose their paths, they didn’t succumb as Sephiroth did. What sets them apart is that everyone had seemingly normal lives until something Shinra-related ruined them. Even Aerith got to experience some semblance of normalcy in the slums with Elmyra, and even Yuffie, who grew up witnessing her country being massacred by Shinra, had the freedom to choose her own path. Vincent, Cloud, Barrett, Tifa, Cid—everyone was their own person with freedom and something that set them apart from Shinra before it ruined their lives in some way.

Sephiroth never had that.

He was raised in an environment that molded him, stripped away his humanity, and reduced him to an obedient killing machine. Despite having humanity and a good heart initially, it had to have been consistently suppressed by Hojo, who lied to him about his mother, the Jenova project, and the entirety of how he came to be.

It looks like Jenova emerged at the peak of Sephiroth's breakdown. Whether she controlled him to some extent or was simply there as he lost his grip on reality⏤serving as his final comfort in the form of "his mother," ⏤is up to you. He snaps either way, whether mind control was involved or not due to the stressors he was facing at the time.

It doesn't help that he's the most powerful being in his universe that was manipulated into compliancy through lies by Hojo from the very beginning. That was a disaster waiting to happen.

Another point is that other characters had time to absorb and reel from what happened to them, unlike Sephiroth. This is what sets him apart from Genesis and Angeal. Genesis had the time to orchestrate a plan, and Angeal had someone there, with events happening at spaced intervals—not all at once, like what happened in Nibelheim, where Sephiroth went from the reactor to discovering everything in the library in the same night.

The moment Sephiroth experienced a shock and broke down, Jenova was there. He had no room to escape, and the one thing he had sought his whole life—his mother—was there. Even if Sephiroth hadn’t burned down Nibelheim or chosen a non-violent path, his actions would still have been inevitably destructive at some point, whether self-destructive or his Jenova cells finally leading him down a path similar to "his mother’s". Hojo spat him out and Jenova lapped him up.

The factors that went into why Sephiroth ended up the way he is are complex as shit but you're onto something when you say Jenova and Hojo are the two catalysts. Without Hojo using Jenova, Sephiroth would've been a regular person.

[nothingtherefornow]

I'd like this theory to be true for FF7 Rebirth and FF7R Part 3

SPOLIER WARNING FOR THE END OF FF7 REBIRTH

Many fans are currently speculating that the Aerith Cloud interract with in the ending of Rebirth is nothing but a Jenova hallucination made up by his mind to not deal with the pain and trauma of Aerith's death. While I can believe that Cloud's memories about the death of Aerith that all his companions witnessed were tempered with by a combination of his trauma and Jenova cells, as it was the case with Zack's death, I don't believe that the Aerith we see alongside him and alongside the rest of our characters is just an invention of his mind. I'm sure it's either Aerith in Force Ghost mode who doesn't have the heart to tell Cloud the truth so that his mind remains relatively stable (the same mistake Tifa makes about the Zack subject) , or an Aerith present in an ephemeral world created by Cloud when he made the choice to save her, he is the only one who can interact with this world because he crossed the corridor of Gaia's reality and the ephemeral dream worlds in the river of life. And I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one to have these thoughts, as shown in the comment below from yet another video analyzing and explaining the ending of FF7 Rebirth :

Remember the rift we see in the sky during the ending ? Many consider Cloud's mind to be broken at the end of chapter 14, but maybe the Word is what was broken during the final bosses.

Or rather the world of Prime Gaïa is now cracked, cracked by the fusion of dream worlds within the lifestream, a fusion caused by Sephiroth, one which is not supposed to happen because the ephemeral worlds are supposed to reinvigorate Gaia, and not modify its main reality, a fusion at the origin of the cries of the planet that Cloud heard.

The problem is indeed now that what Cloud can see and hear, things that are real but on another level of reality, things that the others characters cannot see nor hear (unless they are part Cetra like Marlene is implied/theorised to be).

Being different is what made things complicated for a young Aerith to make friends with kids in the slums during her childhood, because she could perceive things the others couldn't. And now I'm afraid that Cloud being able to perceive what his companion cannot is gonna slowly isolate him from them, and you bet that Sephiroth is gonna jump on the opportunity to further torment Cloud and get him to become the hollow puppet he wants him to be.

[shooting-star-hearts]

♡•Glitter For Skin•♡

✰ • 𝓟𝓐𝓘𝓡𝓘𝓝𝓖 ⇢ Cloud Strife/OC(Astrid Lovelyn) ✰ • 𝓣𝓗𝓔𝓜𝓔𝓢 ⇢ Fluff/comfort, Angst ✰• 𝓝𝓞𝓣𝓔𝓢 ⇢ Considering that this is oc x canon there will be...some things I changed that differ from canon ff7, such as Highwind scene...yeah I was a bit scared to add that one in sooooo no hate please? Thank you. Also I have horrible writing so I apologize for having to go through this if you choose do so 🥲 Anyhow...I wrote up this fic because it's been three years I've had this lil ship so...Happy Anniversary Cloustrid 💖(I'll also tag as x reader for anyone that wants to use as inspiration I'll allow it) ✰ • 𝓦𝓐𝓡𝓝𝓘𝓝𝓖𝓢 ⇢ Heartaches, Mention of a cut/blood, Suggestive at some point(implied nsfw), no proofread(?), Cloud is a bit...ooc I think, he talks a little more than usual

Now playing - golden hour by JVKE

“Ouch!”

As a reflex, the paper flew from her grasp and was gently curled over the thin cut.  Her thumb soothed over the little red slit with her brows furrowing slightly; the cut was small but admittingly it did cause a bit of an annoyance to her finger. 

“Astrid~”

Tifa’s voice was followed by the jingling of the bells over the door, signaling someone’s entrance in the bakery. Astrid’s eyes left from her cut momentarily to flash a smile at her.

“Hey Ti! Closed up early?” 

“Mhm…You alright?” The dark-haired woman made her way around the counter, her eyes followed down at Astrid’s finger.

“A-ah- yeah! Just a paper cut! Hang on..” Astrid didn’t want to further concern Tifa. She opened up one of the cabinet doors under the counter, shuffling around items in search of band-aids. 

Tifa was already ahead of knowing what she needed.  “Need band-aids? I believe there’s some upstairs” “Actually that won’t be necessary, I’ll deal with it late-”

Before Astrid could reply, she heard the bells ring again and the door closing. Chuckling, she smiled at how sweet Tifa was being despite the case not being serious.

. . . . .

“How was business today? I’m guessing busy telling from how they were visiting my bakery immediately afterwards~”

“You bet!” Tifa wrapped a small, thin band-aid around Astrid’s ring finger. 

Evening on a weekend, perfect for when these two want to hang out after their shorter shifts. It had been two years and a half since Astrid’s official opening to her bakery, Promised Land, and since then she had been extremely happy over the fact that both her and Tifa’s business had brought them closer.

“You weren’t too overwhelmed I hope?”

“Tifa…you’re asking as if this is the first time I’ve dealt with a large crowd!” She laughed. 

“I know you’re capable but…being how you’re the only one working for yourself…you know you could always ask Fiona to help out, right?”

“I know! But you two seem s~o happy together even when you’re working! I can’t take that away~” The brunette shot a friendly tease at her.

Tifa simply averted her eyes and chuckled, a faint blush painted on her upper cheeks. “I don’t think one day of not being around me would kill her.”

“Oh c’mon, have you seen how clingy she is with you? I’m not lying when I say there isn’t one conversation I have had with her where she doesn’t mention your name~” Astrid’s teasing was full on Aerith-like at this point.

The more the brunette teased about Tifa’s love life, the more red on Tifa’s cheeks became visible from her smiling. 

“Alright, tough cookie…but seriously, I just wanna be sure you have the help you need, at least let me help out with tidying up some things around here?”

“Well, there isn’t much more to be done but…I know you won't say no either.” The girl titled her head.

Tifa pointed a finger gun at Astrid and clicked her tongue. “You know me~!” She went on to pick a broom and started sweeping away.

A new source of warmth entered the room as the sun set, pointing right at Astrid across the room as she stared at her band aid once more. Upon noticing the change in atmosphere, her green eyes softened at the new color that painted the walls of the bakery interior, her favorite color at that.

Gold.

The color of the sunset.

The color of their deal.

…And of course, the color of his hair.

Sunsets never failed to make her think of that one person during these times of the day. Ever since the first day of their budding friendship, a friendship that was sealed by their own hearts and a deal. Some may say childish for such a silly thing, but it wasn’t like anyone would understand how much that alone affected each other throughout their life. Even when starting out as outcasts, it didn’t take much for them to mean the world for one another. 

“Hey…did Cloud happen to text you?”

Tifa stopped in her tracks, a smile tugged her lips without facing the shorter lady.

“He…did say he’d come back early but…”

“Don’t worry.”

She turned around, flashing a reassuring grin, remembering the short conversation she had with Cloud earlier.

“...He’ll be here soon.���

. . . . .

Orange sunset: “Warmth and comfort”

“...You’re really good at that.”

Any kid—or adult for that matter—in this village would recognize that voice as the weird kid, or one of them at least. It was a strange interaction for the two children to face each other after all those times of visiting and having their moms bond since they were just babies, but now? It felt as though they had just met for the first time. Except by this point, they were longing for a friend to talk to, so one would say….it was only natural that they’d end up like this, somehow, someway.

The young brunette’s lips parted from the flute, cutting off the soft melodies that escaped from it. From the corner of her eyes, she saw him. His blue eyes—non-mako at the time—glistened widely in fascination with the girl’s talent. Then again, in all his years of knowing who Astrid Lovelyn was, he didn’t really know her.

“...Cloud?”

The same could be said for the brunette herself, or as 10 year old Cloud would know as the girl that feared him. He expected nothing more than seeing her run off to her room whenever she was aware of the boy’s presence.

…Or so he thought.

“...Thank you…!”

…So when he heard those two words ring in his ears, this took him by surprise. He’d ask her to repeat again but seeing he had gotten this far, he was pulled to talk further with her.

Except he couldn’t gather the words to create another sentence, he just…stood there, findling with his fingers.

♪Pink and orange skies, feelin' super childish♪

Cloud had only one plan: Ask her why she was being attacked by Tifa’s friends and go back to his lonesome self for the rest of his day, instead it felt like he was confronting a kitten that needed to be handled with extra care; one wrong move could cause some serious consequences.

Wait…why was this kid worried? I mean, he’s seen what this girl is capable of doing, she did scold the kids that lied about him convincing Tifa to endanger herself on Mt. Nibel. Albeit she isn’t violent as Cloud is but seeing her stand up for him deepened his curiosity of what else she was on about.

“Hey…are you okay?”

The tables had turned with who was the shy one in this case.

Cloud’s upper body moved back slowly at Astrid leaning forward to take a look at his expressions better. When the hell did she stand up? He hadn’t even been able to process the fact that he was standing the closest he’s ever been to her. The blonde was desperate to form words to tell, but nothing could rip from his throat to respond besides the common “uh..”

Oh shoot, is she smiling? Was it because he had just embarrassed himself in front of her by being such a dork? Or maybe the blonde just hadn’t considered how lovely he looked with tangerine hues glistening up his miniature spikes and blue eyes yet.

His eyes drifted from the young girl’s emerald orbs, finding himself staring at books leaning against each other. 

“What are…” His finger finished the rest of his question while pointing, intentionally diverting Astrid away from him before she could notice his blushing.

The brunette’s pigtails swayed in rhythm whilst turning her head, following the direction he was hinting at. “Oh..those? They're just…boring stuff.” 

She walked back over and picked up one of her books, showing off the cover to Cloud, “Growth in Gardening” it read.

“Stuff on gardening…stupid, I know.”

It was fast how Astrid instantly dissed her own interest. “...But you like it, right?” Was simply how he could respond. He wasn’t about to lie and pretend he knew anything about gardening, I mean, boy thinks flowers all look the same.

But, judging by how lush and flourishing the plantation had grew near Astrid’s house, this was definitely her biggest passion, or at least, one of possibly many others

“I do, but others think it’s weird for a girl to be working outside just to get all muddy and sweaty…” She sat down, flipping over a few pages to the section of yellow lilies. “So…I don’t really have anyone else to talk to about them besides my mom and…”

“…who?” Cloud tilted his head.

“...The plants that I grew.” She chuckled to herself. She must’ve felt like a freak in front of him. Guess all that outcasting really affected how she saw herself too.

“...Oh.” 

That was the only thing Cloud could murmur before letting the crickets fill in the rest of the silence. Astrid noticed his eyes averting from the corner of her eyes. By this point, the young blonde had completely forgotten the entire reason why he had come to visit her in the first place. He had considered leaving before things got more awkward–

“So…why did you come see me?”

Oh, that’s why he was there.

“Not that I don’t want you to be here but…you haven’t come to visit in so long…”

“...Why were those kids bugging you?”

“Oh…that…” She sighed, recalling how foolish she had put herself into trouble, only for Cloud to get pulled in just to defend her. “I overheard how they lied about you getting Tifa into danger, they were being jerks to you. It’s not fair how they’re doing this to you…I couldn’t just…stand there…”

“But you would’ve gotten yourself hurt.”

Astrid blinked at how Cloud saw it. ”I don’t….think they would’ve went that far-”

“Doesn’t matter. They shouldn’t have talked to you like that. They talk about you all the time and I just wanted them to shut up.” He blurted without thinking.

Okay now she was confused. “...Huh?”

“Yeah. They said some nasty stuff about you so many times. About how you’re weird and ugly and…all that.” 

Her eyes widened, the realization stunned her. Yeah she knew he was reckless and getting himself into trouble but…for her though…?

He fought them…because they were saying stuff about me…?

“Cloud…you shouldn’t have…why..?”

“Cuz….even if you hate me…they were still being mean about you.”

“Huh?!” Well that didn’t sound right. “Hate you?! What made you think I hate you Cloud??”

Cloud was just as surprised to figure out that he may have judged her wrongly. “...You always ran to your room each time I came to visit…”

…Oooh…

“C-Cloud I…I didn’t hide because I hated you, I did that with everyone! I was just…scared of people, but that didn’t mean I hated them!”

“I-”

Cloud choked up, both of them did. For a while Cloud had assumed that he was cursed with others taking a dislike to him but ... this was just a misunderstanding between these two kids all along?

One was overthinking on what to say and the other was underthinking, not the most ideal conversation if you can even call it that now. All in all, it was embarrassing, and it would’ve been rude if Cloud had just walked away without saying anything.

I guess the only thing left to do is…to apologize? For misunderstanding? For judging her past fears? Maybe?

“...Sor-”

“Ugh! I can’t take this!” 

Astrid stood up, stomping the ground in frustration. “This is dumb, we’re both being dumb!” Walking over back to the confused blonde, she had an idea in mind. “We can’t just keep beating around the bush like this! So if we don’t want that happening anymore, we’re gonna make a deal!”

“A-A deal…?”

“Yeah! A friendship deal!”

The little brunette extended her arm out, fingers widely open. “I can’t keep running away in fear and you can’t keep your own feelings hidden! So I’ll stick by you whenever you’re in a rough patch no matter how bad things get, but you have to be honest with me.”

“But…I-I don’t want you getting hurt because of me…”

“Well someone’s gotta be by your side! You can’t do everything on your own all your life, y’know?”

Yup, that sentence alone settled his decision. 

His eyes widened, he never really thought of himself as the type to be looked after. Again, lone wolf, lone life, it was what he was used to up until now. Spending way too much time trying to fit into a friends group didn’t even give him a chance to realize that there would be someone to genuinely be accepted by all along.

“...Deal.”

His hand glued onto hers, Astrid gave it a shake to seal the deal. He never saw her smile so brightly before either, it was a lovely complement to the orange glow on her face. Cloud’s lips tugged upwards into a half smile. The truth is, he would’ve been honest with her with or without this deal the moment he realized that he meant something to her.

This is childish….but she’s happy.

This wasn’t just a friend. This was the soul he vowed to stay close with and protect for the rest of his life.

Cloudy sunset: “Splitting relationship”

“Cloudy!!”

The brunette’s head turned over. Standing before her, his eyes stumbled upon the girl smiling up at him. For a moment, he had almost mistaken her for an angel, she never failed to look like one in these golden hours while the sun was setting. The sky was painted full of clouds, all surrendering the warmth of the sunlight that shone onto the kids’ faces.

The gentle zephyr breezed through the strands of her curly, long hair as he made his way to sit next to her on the dock. Both of their gazes fall upon the miniature wave of the water drifting into the light red thread in the sky.

♪Missed call from my mother, Like "Where you at tonight?" Got no alibi♪

“Are you okay? You seem like…”

The boy turned his head to face Astrid next to him. “Like what?”

Astrid tilted her head. “I dunno…you look like there’s a lot you wanna say…”

Her legs kicked back and forth, slightly hesitating to ask.

“What’s on your mind, Cloudy?”

There wasn’t an answer for several seconds, Cloud was equally hesitant, but after all, this was Astrid, a dear friend who’s been visibly obvious in her support for him. He sighed.

“...I wanna be a SOLDIER.”

“SOLDIER? Wouldn’t that mean you’d…have to leave off for Midgar…?”

The girl’s eyes softened, a hint of sadness hidden within her green eyes. She knew what that meant.

“..We won’t be seeing each other for a while.” Cloud’s head remained low, avoiding eye contact.

“..Yeah…” Astrid sighed. “Well…is it what you want to do? To become a hero?” 

“…It’s not just that.” The blonde picked up a knee and leaned against it. “I wanna impress someone.”

The girl’s head tilted to the side. “Hmm? I-Impress someone?”

“Yeah…I want to impress her. So I thought that becoming a hero as good as Sephiroth would finally make her notice me in…a new way.”

“R…really??” The smile widened on Astrid’s face. “May I ask…why?”

“..Because...” Cloud hesitated with a sigh, pink painted faintly on his cheeks. He was quite open with Astrid, so why not be honest with her? “..I like her.”

This was it.

Those three simple words made Astrid’s heart rush faster.

He didn’t even have to say that he felt the same for her. She just…knew it.

Was he finally going to confess? Was he finally going to tell his love for her? He’s always been so unusually affectionate to her even if it was just as a “friend”…she knew this was going to be it.

…This was it, wasn’t it?

She made up her mind: She’ll go in for the first move.

“You know, Cloudy…” Her legs swung in a light rhythm, the excitement within her heart felt like bursting out of its cage like a wild animal. Cloud turned his head to her as she spoke. 

“...You’re great with the way you are…you don’t need to prove or impress anything to anyone. I think you’re amazing and already a hero to me just by being an amazing friend but…I like you, for you and you only Cloudy~.” 

The smile remained brightly on her face, a warm glow of red flushed to Astrid’s cheeks. She could’ve sworn the blonde shot a momentarily smirk for a second.

But then…he turned back to face the sunset and…and then came back in silence.

…What went wrong? Did the words come out too weird and awkward? Was he trying to find his own words to express his feelings?

“Thanks Astrid, but…I don’t know if she’ll think the same as you.”

Wait…what?

“Wh…wh-what do you mean…?” Astrid’s smile slowly faded.

“I like Tifa but…I don’t think she’ll feel the same. That’s why I wanna impress her.”

[...]

Oh.

“I know it’s…surprising. Especially since Tifa and I aren’t the closest.”

Astrid didn’t even realize how widened her eyes were. Surely it wasn’t only surprising, but shocking. Her little heart remained at that same speeding pace, but this time, it was all for the wrong reasons. Had she misread his signals? Shouldn’t she be happy either way? Shouldn’t she have known this all along? Where was the part she had missed about Cloud’s feelings for Tifa?

…Does…Tifa like him as well…?

There were too many questions buzzing in the girl’s head. She couldn’t think straight.

“...That’s okay.”

Stupidly, those were the only words she could put together. Nothing more, nothing less.

The boy looked at her, he noticed how awfully quiet she’s been since he told her his crush.

“...The heart wants what it wants Cloudy…There’s…” She forced a soft smile. “...nothing…wrong with that.”

They both were one with the silence. The sun was slowly fading into the clouds, and so was Astrid’s fake smile; she badly wanted to cry her heart out but…this is her friend, her happiness, and if this was how he felt…then she knew well that she should be happy for him too.

“...When will you tell her?” The brunette spoke up, her green eyes glued on the sun’s disappearance.

“Hm?” Cloud’s turned to her.

“Your feelings for her…” Likewise, Astrid’s eyes met his blue ones. “When will you tell her?”

He looked away momentarily, this had him thinking of what time would be the perfect time to confess to Tifa. “I’ll be telling her about it tonight but...do you think it’d be best to confess when I come back?” He looked back at her. “Do you think…she’ll like me too…if I became a SOLDIER..?”

“I…I-I don’t know….” The tone was hinting at her breaking apart. Even she realized she couldn’t keep it together for long..

Cloud stuttered a bit on her response, he didn’t expect her to know but…it did in a way made him insecure about his idea.

It took all her strength and force to spark a small smile back onto the corner of Astrid’s lips.

“B-But….no matter what….”

Astrid faced Cloud with that radiant happiness she always carried around him, hoping that it wasn’t forced this time though.

“...I-I’ll be there for whatever happens between you too…just like what we shook on.”

“Thanks Astrid…and if I haven’t said it…” Cloud itched the back of his head shyly. “...You’re a great friend too.”

It never existed.

His feelings for her.

His protection for her.

His love for her.

…Only to realize they were merely just feelings for a very, dear friend.

And that those feelings…had been built off of imagination.

It got darker soon, as the sun sunsetted early behind more dense clouds that surrendered the remaining light left. The young blonde knew it was time to head back home. 

“Before I leave…I want to give you this back.”

As they stood facing each other, Cloud took off the gold necklace that hung from his neck from under his shirt, handing it in Astrid’s palms.

“You…don’t want it anymore?” She looked up at him with hurt hidden in her eyes.

Cloud shook his head. “I just…don’t want to lose it somewhere in Midgar. I think it’s safer with you.”

She looked down at the necklace. “D-Does it…still mean something to you…?”

“Of course it does.” Cloud responded softly. “That’s…why I’m scared to lose it.”

“...Yeah.” Her fingers curled on top of the jewel before looking back up to him. “...I’ll keep it safe…for us.”

Astrid could feel her eyes water up, and as a desperation attempt to hide her emotions, she hugged him suddenly. 

It took Cloud by surprise, not being used to affection that comes out of nowhere. “A-Astrid…?”

He could sense something was wrong, her grip refused to let him go. Eventually the young blonde relaxed. This was Astrid after all…a girl of nothing but love to give for others. His arms gently wrapped around her slowly. 

“Calm down...you’ll see me again.” Cloud awkwardly muttered.

Astrid was having a hard time focusing on what he said, being that she was in between keeping her breathing from becoming shaky and not letting him see the few tears that failed to stay behind eyelids. 

She was able to eventually clear her mind temporarily from his comforting touch, although she knew she had to let him go at some point, so she did.

“S-Sorry…I-I….I don’t know why I did that…” She looked down, a bit ashamed of herself.

“Hey….don’t worry ‘bout it, K?” Cloud reassured her before having to make his farewell to her. “Well…I gotta go now…”

Cloud began walking away from her.

“Cloudy..”

Until she called for him for one last time.

He turned over to look at her, standing under the spotted, clouded sky, her hands held closely to her heart. Her smile was as sweet as it could look.

“I….wish you nothing but the best for you.”

. . . . .

Her hand hurt so much when clutching hard on the jewel of the necklace.

Well….Astrid definitely knew what a heartbreak was now if she wasn’t gonna feel it later.

Describing her as a sobbing mess would be an understatement, it was hard to make less noise but she just had faith that no one would check on her. 

She felt ridiculous, crying over a boy after teaching herself not to care about what others think of her, and yet the thought of her own crush not feeling the same way she does for him bothered her?

Astrid, grow up…you’re better than this.

The young brunette sat up, caressing her cheek dry from the rest of her tears. Looking out from her window, the stars faced down on her brightly. She remembered how Cloud was supposed to meet up with Tifa tonight, just thinking about it made her hear their voices, but it was just difficult to imagine how they’d be together. Would they be happy? Would it work out? Would she….finally notice him like he had hoped for?

It was what he wanted, after all. And she knew.

That night before sleeping, Astrid had vowed never to fall for her friend like that again.

Pink sunset: "Budding romance"

“Cloud…I think you should talk to Astrid. I mean…really talk to her.”

“...You’re right, Tifa.”

. . . . .

The moment she felt fingers curl around her hand, all the thoughts and worries blurred the instant her gaze met with stunning, angelic blue eyes. She was so caught up in her own thoughts, Astrid hadn’t even noticed Cloud’s presence crawl up from behind whatsoever.

“Astrid…”

The blonde softly muttered from his lips, almost sounding like a whisper. Astrid struggled to talk, he could see how hard she was trying to either talk or not break down in front of him. She truly looked as if she knew that the world was gonna end that night.

Well.

That’s because the world is ending.

She was clearly scared as a result. A part of her was trying its best to be strong, something that her own cousin, Aerith, would do, but she felt as if she wasn’t brave enough, then she’d have to carry the burden of disappointment. Well, it wouldn’t have mattered anyways if the planet’s life was coming to an end, would it now?

Cloud softly sighed, he acknowledged her suffering and saved her from the trouble of responding to him. He got closer to her, his eyes looking down at her in empathy. He softly spoke in his lowest tone.

“..Let’s get off the Highwind for the night. Just…the two of us.”

He didn’t need to hear her say ‘yes.’

Her eyes said it all.

♪Can you even imagine fallin' like I did for the love of my life?♪

Their hands remained stuck together. Each moment that passed they held on slightly tighter, giving a few squeezes every now and as they walked onto the rocky mountain, decorated in patches of green here and there. They stopped at the top, their skin basking under the warm, pink-casted light of the sunset that they were both facing. They stood there, soft wisps of wind fluttering the tips of their hair gently. Their eyes locked gaze with the beautifully painted sky, the rosie scenery that resided in their nostalgic memories and hearts. 

It was exactly why the image of it being ripped and wrecked by the giant meteor beast scared them. They both flinched. It was clear that they were thinking of the exact same thought.

“I-It always felt like…the sunset either brings us closer or…drags us apart…each time we bask in its light…”

Cloud turned to her, watching her slowly walk away from him and creating more distance. It felt like a wave of relief washing over him upon hearing the brunette’s soft voice, but he can feel her worries and sadness louder than her own words.

“...But r-right now…I can’t tell what it feels like…” Her green eyes shift down to the ground. “...A part of me feels like….all of this…is my fault…”

Cloud mouth slightly parted, blinking in disbelief.

“The reason for how we got here and…why we’re here…you know well that I don’t deserve a moment like this Cloud…”

She sighed gently, then turned back to face Cloud with slightly watery eyes.

“...You didn’t just take us down here for the scenery…didn’t you?”

“...No.”

Cloud paused before continuing.

“...But you know well why I brought you here, and all I want…is to hear you say that reason.”

But here she was.

Eyes slightly widened at him, the state of shock was clear as crystal on her face. Her breath hitched as she immediately looked away, the red hotness creeping up her cheeks. She knew it’d only have been a matter of time until Cloud finally found what was in the depths of her heart, the feelings that she’d been trying her best to kill. The guilt was catching up, and the woman was at her limit of excuses to make.

She couldn’t tell if it would’ve been better for her to finally fess up to it, or if the world should’ve just ended right then and there.

She had been so lost in her doubtful thoughts she hadn’t realized Cloud standing right in front of her, her hands resting on his palms. She looked up through her lashes, and the blonde knew how fearful she was to tell him.

“Don’t be scared..” He gently gave her hands a few faint squeezes. “I’m not letting you do this alone. So…let’s both promise to be honest this time…deal?” Cloud tilted his head.

A deal huh.

If anything, maybe things would’ve been different had Astrid not come up with that similar scenario when they were younger. But even god knew they both needed it at some point in their lives.

Astrid seemed to calm down, nodding softly. Yet, the pit of anxiety in her stomach still rested comfortably, and it would only grow bigger the moment she opened her mouth. She’d have to, eventually.

“They all told me.” The blonde started.

“The lifestream….Tifa…Aerith…”

“They all wanted me to know about your feelings, Astrid.”

“In the lifestream…Tifa took me to you…during the time after I left…”

Astrid looked as if she had a million words to say, but she just couldn’t bring herself to even say a single word. She just looked away, the memories forcing her to relive the young pain she once swore to get over.

The blonde’s crystal eyes softened. “...I hurt you badly…didn’t I…” 

Astrid’s hand wrapped around her arm, her chest elevated and softly fell back down as she sighed through her nose.

“...I never blamed you, Cloudy.” She let out a sigh-chuckle while humming to herself. “If it was never meant to be then….”

Once again, she couldn’t find the words. Cloud blinked, finally hearing Astrid’s inner feelings, as if she had another hidden heart that she had just revealed to him. A heart that’s been hurting…and he blames himself for it all.

Astrid looked over to his guilty expression, one that can be rarely seen. And this…just devastated her more.

“C-Cloud…i-it’s not your fault..” She looked up at him with pleading eyes. “...I promise…i-it really isn’t..”

“If there’s one thing that can put me at ease right now…it’s to hear you talk to me, Astrid.” Every one of his words filled to the brim with sincerity. “You’ve always had an ear to everyone else…but there wasn’t once anyone’s returned the favor for you…I wanna change that, right here, right now.”

…He had a point.

“Please Astrid…you don’t have to hide your feelings anymore…especially not with…me.” His hand reached up to her cheek and lifted her head up to look at him. “...Please.” Cloud whispered gently.

…And he was right.

It had to be said at one point. All those feelings. Those memories. Those heartaches…

She took a deep breath, sighing away the small emotional rock that was stuck in her throat.

“...I-If anything…it’s my fault.” She looked off to the side, ashamed. “I should’ve never fallen for you in the first place…”

She shook her head.

“...but even so…it was like I was never allowed to get over it completely…even when I saw you again I…I wasn’t even sure how to be myself around you like I used to…” The brunette bit her lip.

The blonde started to realize. “...When I changed, so did you…”

She looked back at him to face him.

“But….no matter what…there were always those feelings we had for each other that stuck with us, huh…”

. . .

F…

Feelings…?

Our…feelings…?

Does he….also…?

“C-Cloud…”

Her body had a mind of its own.

Not realizing the closed-in space between herself and Cloud, her hands rested upon his chest, fingers curling into a hard grip at his shirt. Her form was kept still by the strength of Cloud's arms wrapped around her, hands resting up on her lower back. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the blonde’s crystal blue orbs. 

So full of emotion…

So full of feelings…feelings that can’t be put into simple, plain words…

It was a naturally magnetic feeling. Each second pulled each other closer, both having the strongest urge imaginable to get even more closer. It was like..they were both revealing their true selves to each other…

Oh…

How much she missed him…

How she missed his true self…

The Cloud she once knew and fell in love with all those years ago…

…

“I promise….never to fall for you again.”

The remembrance of that oath gave Astrid’s heart a sudden jolt. She snapped herself awake from the sweet dream that clouded her thoughts, finally gaining back control of her senses and only to realize that the real she knew Cloud didn’t feel like this for her.

He never did, never would either.

Those thoughts alone made her pull herself away from his arms. Tears overwhelmed her eyes, making them glossy and brighter to the reflection of the light. It was clear she wanted to cry, but something held her back, not allowing her to let the droplets escape from her eyes.

“I…I-I shouldn’t…I can’t…!”

Her hands formed into fists, a sign that she was still clenching hard on her remaining hidden feelings.

“...I can’t fall in love with the boy whose heart was never meant for me…a-again…”

She was scared, afraid to fall in love with him, only to have her heart crushed to pieces all over again with the unfortunate truth.

It was deja vu to the both of them.

But this time.

Cloud could see…her. 

His heart was at its fullest with his honest feelings for her.

And he wanted her to know.

Every. 

Single.

Bit of it.

“Astrid…”

Cloud’s eyes gave the softest look, he badly wanted to make amends with the fear he caused in Astrid’s heart. He wanted to prove his feelings innocent, that they were honest, from the bottom of his heart, and from his own real self, the same one who had been too blind to see how all of her past efforts were all out of nothing but the love she had for him. It was the same love for him that’s trapped in her but..

Only he had the key to unlock the trust of her love for him again.

“Whether this may be the last night we’re together like this…or we’ll have more nights to talk…just to get closer each time...it wouldn’t matter. I feel the closest to you at this moment, but if I’m never able to fix the trust of your feelings for me…then I’ll always be afraid…”

He drew closer.

“...Because I now know…I hurt the one girl that’s always understood me…”

His hand cupped her cheek once more. A single tear rolled softly down her cheek.

“...And it was the biggest mistake I could’ve ever made..”

“....C….Cloud…”

“...Is there any way I can fix this…?”

More tears started to spill, slowly. Cloud’s voice becomes a soft whisper. Astrid’s lips quivered, the more she looked into his eyes, the more she saw how serious he was about her.

“B-By knowing how I feel, Cloud…. th-that’s all I want…all I need..” Her voice was shaken up. “I-I never wanted to say a thing to you, I vowed not to…I-I knew I could never be the one for you…I kn-knew that there was always g-going to be someone else for you…. a-anyone but me…”

It was clear he was fighting for her trust again, and it was equally clear that it’s working. It was stinging Astrid’s heart in so many ways at the thought of this finally being her moment to finally accept her own feelings for him.

Their moment.

“No…you convinced yourself that Astrid.” Cloud brought himself closer to her slowly, trying to break her walls break by break at an unrushed pace. “...You were always there in my mind even when I didn’t realize it..”

“You understood my feelings for the longest time…but I hadn’t known about your broken heart that you were trying to fix by yourself..”

 He slowly leaned near her ear, blonde strands brushed against Astrid’s cheeks softly..

“You can’t do everything on your own all your life….y’know?”

He….remembered….

Finally, Astrid was speechless through tears, her arms thrown around Cloud’s form as she stuttered through her sobs. It was all going so fast yet time seemed to slow down to a halt.

Being in Cloud’s arms felt like a lifetime, despite all the times they lost together had she fessed up earlier…it didn’t matter now though. She felt like a huge weight was washed down even through the crying.

Soft lips were planted on her head…but Cloud knew they were far from being done.

. . . . .

♪She's got glow on her face, a glorious look in her eyes♪

By now the sky’s hues were radiating with magenta-purples, a sign of nighttime approaching. 

He held her close, laying on a soft patch of grass with his hands entangled in her reddish-brown waves of hair. To the sound of his gentle heartbeats, Astrid’s breathing did its best to regulate itself after crying.

Once she was ready…she spoke up.

“Cloud..I…I’m ready…”

The man’s arms loosened around her waist, facing the emerald eyes that reflected the remaining light of the sunset. Some hair rested upon her nose, to which he brushed off slowly and tucked it behind her ear.

“I never really cared about what others thought of me but…after that growing connection we had…it really stung upon realizing how I had conjured those memories as romantic when…it wasn’t true. After that I promised never to fall for you again but…” She chuckled. “...I guess fate didn’t like the idea of me truly giving those feelings up, when your true self was starting to melt from the ice…so did my feelings…and it hurt even more knowing how I knew I fell over again for someone who was….already in love…”

“Maybe I was, but…”Cloud’s hand rested still on her cheek. “...in the end, it all led me back to you.”

Seeing him move closer, she was at her last chance at resisting.

Instead however, as her mind reeled every memory.

Every memory of her heartaches…

Every memory of him…

Every memory of the times he’s spent with her…

Oh, Astrid…

You’re not just childly in love; you want to spend the rest of your days and nights with him, don’t you?

She wanted to spend her evenings with him outdoors and watching every glorious sunset with a feeling of reassurance, knowing that tomorrow she’ll wake up to see the same loving, blue eyes that glowed in her own times of darkness. To hold him gently through his pains, watch him smile when he knows that everything will be okay…

Yes…this was what she wanted to fight for….

The only sounds that they could hear were each other’s heartbeats as their lips interlocked.

♪My angel of light…♪

Red sunset: "Passionate love"

Soft glows of red streaks filled the bedroom across through the blinds. She closed the door, soaking up the serenity atmosphere as she faced her lover that she hadn’t seen for a week, an apologetic look at his face spoke for itself.

“Astrid…I-I’m sorry..”

“I know you are, Cloud..”

The brunette walked over to the bed, sitting next to him as he avoided eye contact. He felt ashamed abandoning her ever since geostigma had caught up to Denzel.

“I also didn’t know how to fight that battle…all those years of…mourning over her put me off from learning anything more of my heritage.” Astrid sighed, she too was in deep regret of how she had handled things. “...I’m glad to know that we’re getting stronger now…and to know that we have others that I can call…family…”

Family…

Oh how lovely that word sounded…something they both hadn’t heard since they were little, something they had longed for once more.

“....That includes you, Cloudy…” Astrid reached for his cheek, turning his head gently to face the loving look in her eyes. “...so we’re not letting you go off to face the impossible alone no matter what…got that?”

“Yeah…”

A faint tint of red appeared on his cheeks. He felt warm from her words and lingering touches, her thumb brushing some of his blonde spikes behind his ear. Cloud took his gloves off before removing her hand from his face, taking a good look at her palms whilst caressing its softness…

So soft…

“They wouldn’t have cured if it wasn’t for you…~”

The blonde smiled, his heartbeat steadied at a relaxed pace. She didn’t wince or feel any pain when he applied some pressure onto it with his thumbs, unlike when it was infected. The look of joy on his face was unforgettable upon washing away the geostigma from her hands, knowing that he’d be able to hold her hand again.

“This is a future that we fought for…” His hands held Astrid’s, looking into her eyes. “...so I won’t let it go to waste again. I promise.”

“Cloudy…you don’t have to promise…because you already know it’s what we want…” 

♪I was all alone with the love of my life♪

Astrid closed the leftover gap between them with a tender kiss. Saying that they missed the feeling of locking their soft lips with one another was an understatement, they practically yearned their touch after what they had been through. They couldn’t keep their hands to themselves no matter how hard they tried to resist. They separated in between kisses for air but they had no plans on stopping any time soon. 

Slowly, they ended up laying together. Cloud crawled on top of his petite girlfriend while cradling her legs up his thighs, his hand caressed up her waist tenderly under her shirt. 

At some point their loving stares locked with each other, Cloud’s thumb rubbed her bottom lip with a strip of red light streaking over it as well. It was obvious how much he wanted to take things a step further, telling by the look in his eyes that she knows all too well how to read. 

“I missed this…I missed you…” He absolutely longed to reveal his unconditional love to her. 

Sparks burned brighter with each kiss that led to a more passionate connection. Fire prickled at Cloud’s fingertips all the more as he stroked further up her form, craving to hold her smaller body into his loving embrace, it felt like his whole world was in his very arms…

It was a fresh breath of air to know he was in the same room as her, the same bed as her again…just like how it should be…

“...C-Cloudy…~” The pace of the girl’s heartbeat quickened from the euphoric state, she wanted him as much as he wanted her that moment. 

. . . . .

The warm lovers were tied up together in cuddles and kisses. Cloud’s mouth buried on Astrid’s head whilst tangling his fingers through her wavy hair. 

“Astrid..?”

♪She's got glitter for skin, my radiant beam in the night♪

He didn’t get a response from her, she must’ve been tired out. He smirked while giving a tender peck on her head. Just from that, she snuggled up closer to his chest which earned a chuckle from him. She was the absolute cutest in every way possible in his eyes, he could feel the fireworks in his chest go off with happiness to have her warm and safe in his arms again…

“I love you…~”

He slowly dozed off to the sound of a muttered "I love you too."

Golden sunset: “Long-living love”

Ding ding!

The bells rang in rhythm with sounds of footsteps that followed.

“Ah! Sorry but we’re closed..” Astrid’s eyes didn’t leave her focus on organizing the money in the cash register.

Tifa giggled in the back when she realized that her own friend hadn’t even noticed who just walked in. “Astrid…look up silly!”

“Huh?” She hadn’t even taken notice of the shadow approaching her until a familiar gloved hand was placed on the counter in front of her. “Cloudy~!!” The young brunette raced around the counter and threw her arms around her boyfriend gleefully, having him return the affection with his left arm while his right one was holding a small decorated box.

“For a moment I was worried that I wasn’t welcomed back~”

“Don’t worry I was just distracted…Tifa and I were just tidying up some things. I just need to bring the rest of the tools upsta-”

“Allow me!” Tifa hurried over to grab the rest of the stuff before Astrid could get to it. She giggled and winked at the two. “Gotta let the couple of the night have their deserved rest~” Tifa winked and walked out of the room before either two could reply.

“She seems…oddly chipper all of a sudden…” Astrid remarked, it confused her to how Tifa had just rushed out so fast. She looked back up to Cloud after hearing a soft chuckle escape from his throat, he had a smile that screamed he was hiding something as he averted his eyes. Astrid noticed and got even more confused. “Hey, why the mischievousness? Do you two…know something that I don’t?”

Astrid placed one hand on her hip and the other on the counter beside her, leaning towards Cloud with an eyebrow lifted to interrogate him. He didn’t reply, instead he simply placed the small box that was in his and pushed it towards her. The girl’s green eyes widened at the beautifully detailed box with a gold ribbon and a red rose attached to it. 

“...I think this package will answer your question~”

She let out a soft giggle and shook her head at his attempt at distracting her.

But as she carefully peeled at the wrapping, her heart slowly increased its pace. 

“C-Cloud…” 

“Open it Astrid…”

♪I don't need no light to see you shine♪

This girl could’ve been shaking from the excitement upon lifting the box open, facing a glittering golden ring, a mold of the yellow lily’s petals was circulated around a shining blue gem, reflecting the golden light off of its flat sides. 

“Oh my…C-Cloud…I-I..!” Her mind was still reeling at the fact that Cloud had just proposed to her and she didn’t even acknowledge how much she was crying her eyes out, not until her now-fiancé reached to caress the tears off of her cheek with his thumbs gently. 

“Astrid..?”

Through tears, Astrid lunged herself in a hug with him. “Yes Cloudy! I will marry you!! You mean the world to me!! I love you so so s~o much…!” Her arms tightened around him, it caused his heart to flutter with a loving smile that followed up.

Hearing a tap on the door window that Tifa had left from, Cloud could still see her presence whilst she raised two thumbs up and a wide grin plastered on the woman’s face for encouragement. The man smiled, he was the happiest in that moment. He wanted to see her excitement last for the rest of their days, to hold her like this forevermore…

That wasn’t the only thing that Cloud is giving however. 

“Ah right, I almost forgot…” He gently held Astrid’s arms for her to loosen her grip, allowing him to pull something else from his bag.

A pen and a marriage certificate.

“Just sign here…Astrid Strife~”

♪It’s your golden hour~♪

[undergoingcalibrations]

FF7: Ever Crisis New Lore Summary (For those who rightfully don't want to put up with gacha BS)

General Worldbuilding:

SOLDIERs, (as of The First Soldier campaign, which takes place 15 years before the start original game), are divided into two grades: Passive and Active. Passive grade SOLDIERs are only distinguished from common forces by their elite training and superior equipment. Active grade SOLDIERs have only appeared on the scene extremely recently as of FS, and have received 'enhancements' to improve their physical resilience and affinity for materia. Passive grade SOLDIERs, and the public for that matter, have no idea what those enhancements actually are, with one of the Passive grades, Glenn, assuming that they are cyborgs.

Passive grades are also called P0s, short for Project Zero, the VR fighting program used to filter out those eligible for SOLDIER training from other Shinra troopers. This is the source of rivalry between some passives and actives, as being selected for active grade is seen as more of a question of genetics than talent.

A new nation, Rhadore, appears in Ever Crisis. It's abundance of ruins, it's geography (a southern nation composed of several islands), and the presence of a vent where the Lifestream flows out into the ocean, suggest that this may be the name of the southern archipelago where Mideel and the Temple of the Ancients are located.

Rhadore's population was decimated by SOLDIER operations after it broke a treaty with Shinra a decade before the events of The First Soldier campaign (25 years before FF7), with one of the P0s, Matt, giving the current estimated survivors as between 500-1,000.

Based on the naming conventions of regions in Rhadore, and conversations with the one named Rhadoran character, Rosen, it appears to be based on Hawai'i (for instance, Rosen uses the Hawai'ian word for spiritual energy, mana, to refer to mako and the Lifestream).

Rosen refers to the deceased as 'being with the Planet', suggesting that Planetology may have been a common faith there before the Shinra genocide.

A respected occupation in Rhadore was to serve as an 'Eye of Rhadore', responsible for monitoring the flow of the Lifestream into Rhadore's seas and notifying settlements in case of danger, as surges of Lifestream not only cause tidal waves but render seawater temporarily toxic. Rosen states that only a rare few are eligible to become Eyes, as they "need to be able to hear the Planet, even when they're asleep", suggesting that Cetra outside of Aerith and Ifalna may have survived there in one form or another.

Cloud

In Ever Crisis's telling of the events of FF7, Jessie gives Cloud a copy of the Project Zero training program she found while hacking Shinra databases. Nothing's really come of it yet.

When Tifa asks Cloud what his go-to drink was in SOLDIER, Cloud mentions a cocktail called a Winter Salt, though cannot remember how to make it, besides, well...there's salt. One assumes it was a favourite of Zack's.

Cloud says that after Nibelheim, he found himself at the Sector 7 trainyard "as if I was guided there". Presumably, Sephiroth was doing the guiding, but to what end is unclear.

Tifa

Tifa worked at a steam bun shop in Sector 8 for at least three years before her gig at Seventh Heaven. Her steam buns were so good that Wedge would often force Avalanche to go out of their way to eat there, which is how she ended up becoming friends with the group in the first place.

Tifa regards Jessie as a big sister and mentor, even though they're almost the same age.

Apart from out of loyalty to her friends, Tifa joined Avalanche because the religious aspects of Planetology appeal to her- namely, the idea that her father and the rest of Nibelheim are with the Planet, so by caring for the Planet, she will always be connected to them in turn.

Aerith

Aerith loves picnics because as a child in the labs, she naturally wasn't allowed to eat outside.

Elmyra had hired a bodyguard to look after Aerith when she was little (Shinra's got great life insurance payouts, apparently), but Tseng...dealt with them.

On a related note, one of Aerith's lifelong ambitions, ever since she can remember, is to one day be stronger than Tseng. Not that she wants to hurt him, necessarily, just that she never wants to be afraid of him pushing her and her family around again.

Ifalna was able to visit Aerith in spirit at least once after her death, comforting her when she was afraid, and reassuring her that she was strong because her family was with the Planet, and the Planet was with her.

Sephiroth

Based on the timeline, Sephiroth is anywhere between 12-15 during The First Soldier campaign. I'm tempted to say he's on the older end of that spectrum, as the P0s are surprised but not appalled by his age, and Cloud applied for SOLDIER at 15, if that's anything to go by.

Sephiroth uses a katana in Ever Crisis, rather than an odachi like in his other appearances. He's not tall enough to pull that off yet.

At some point between The First Soldier and Crisis Core, Sephiroth's eyes changed from blue to green. Mako will do that, I guess.

Despite Shinra propaganda stating that Sephiroth was already a decorated SOLDIER by this point, the mission to secure a site for a new mako reactor in Rhadore that The First Soldier covers was his first field operation- Shinra was simply trying to boost support for active grade SOLDIERs by attributing the accolades of others to their prototype. Sephiroth is upfront and untroubled about this with the P0s that have been assigned to him.

Sephiroth appears to be a true patriot, having no remorse for the Rhadorans that would stand in the way of Shinra's mission. He has no compunction when it comes to killing even a group of young and elderly Rhadorans attempting to evacuate, a thoroughness that he attributes to Shinra's training- the young could be receiving military training, and the old could be seasoned veterans, so all must considered a threat and eliminated. The P0's, on the other hand, seem to be mostly in this for the money and find Sephiroth's actions disturbing, though hold that against whoever taught him he had to be this way, not Sephiroth himself.

...despite this, Sephiroth states multiple times that he did not ask to be what he is and doesn't want to be the false hero Shinra's propped him up as. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he thinks to himself that "I just want to live a normal life", but refuses to say it aloud.

Sephiroth keeps a picture of Lucrecia on him at all times, though Hojo told him it was a picture of Jenova. He asks everyone he meets if they've seen her or know anything about her, and appears to believe she's still alive.

[aerifth]

ff7 rebirth spoiler venting lol

kind of really really hate not like, the discourse, i mean i guess it is but just the complete 50/50 split on whether or not aerith is alive in some capacity especially considering if your answer is "no" you take collateral

if you think she lived everythings honky-dory. you just accept something weirds going on even if there is an aerith that died somewhere in this equation there is still another (at least one) that didn't and you're riding that high. if you think she's dead then you take the entire former half of the discussion with you as you boldly claim that cloud is completely fuck-ass delusional and the fact that he deflected the blade at all is totally made up and in his head, thus making the hope she could be saved by players also a delusion by proxy. bonus points if you go out of your way to state that you hope this to be the case and that the alternative would be bad writing lol

idk its very hard to have hope because its like... i like remake!! sue me!! i like it as an echo of the original game!! i dont like that rebirth flushes a lot of what was cool about remake down the toilet even if either way it probably wouldn't make a huge difference. i'd rather have a multi-part story with a consistent vision than one that pivots halfway through to appease the people who never liked it to begin with

its really weird how heavy duty remake treats its deconstruction of destiny just for rebirth to seemingly not follow up. i think its possible to still stay the course, like, for all intents and purposes what happens to aerith is still a twist, and regardless of that there's still An aerith who was not there before. but it feels like a plot thread just erased. it's a plot thread you can apparently entirely ignore by choosing to have a romantic preference of tifa over aerith (?!?!??! i dont even know how this ends up happening with so many people, the ignoring part not the preference part). it felt like, after remake, this entire project existed to have some kind of resolution with aerith, to save her or SOMETHING (and you'd have to be crazy to assume the direction was anything else after remake).

i guess i'm just shocked that like... rather than sit with the consequences of her living, they just kill her anyway? and the idea is that she could be revived later? which feels antithetical to me, but like, we are still talking about the reunion! there's at least one aerith who's alive and another whose circumstances we don't know of for sure! it just feels so strange. even if she's not -dead- she's still out of the story for at least a little while, and the intentional ambiguity doesn't leave me with intrigue for the next installment (not to mention all the interviews are oversharing. i'm at the point where i don't believe any of them considering how much "In my opinion" gets thrown around).

just feels bad. in a gross way. the way people talk about it is so gross. if you have any hope that aerith isn't dead there's always one freak waiting in the wings to jump down your throat about how it's your fault you thought she'd live. this doesn't feel like healthy (manufactured lol) discourse for your game, it feels like something's gone horribly wrong and now we have to wait 4 years to get an answer

[shuttershocky]

Hey shutters! While I overall enjoyed FF16, I agree that I wish Jill did more or spoke more. I feel like there was missed potential of having a relationship more like Saber and shirou, where they both have similar mindsets and trauma. Specifically, when it came to overusing their powers and having to face the crystals' curse being similar to how Shirou and Saber did not want the other to fight but how they both needed to.

I'm still in the middle of the game (after Titan's bossfight) but it feels like Jill was written by an Aerith fan that only knew the FF7 cast from fanworks, movies, and Kingdom Hearts rather than the actual FF7, so Tifa's the tough spunky girl and Aerith's the softie flower girl when their original personalities are actually switched lol

Out of all the characters in FF16 I've seen so far, Jill was written for a role the hardest. What I mean by that is that while someone like Benedikta's an extremely standard femme fatale villain type (the kind that Urobochi would strangle midway through the season to be replaced by the real, male villain), she at least gets to revel in it. She gets to kick dogs, lose her composure, she's got at least one loyal minion she's genuinely close to and trusts in when the archetype doesn't usually, all that stuff. She gets to have fun with the role.

Jill? Jill was written to be Clive's woman before she was written to be a character, and it feels so glaringly obvious from how she's treated. She almost never gets to talk to anyone else other than Clive despite having screentime second only to Clive, she doesn't challenge him in any way, all of the other people barely acknowledge she's even there!

Like half of the main quest dialogue is

Plot Person: Bugger me, these Imperials won't live and let live won't they Clive? Plot plot plot dialogue dialogue. We oughta plot plot plot plot and get 'em right in the arse!

Clive: Hmm. Agreed. Plot plot plot important characters plot. We'll ride at dawn.

Plot person: Righto! See you in hell then. *Nods* Lady Jill.

Jill: *smiles meekly*

And it's such a waste because when she's actually allowed to do anything she's fun! Her character design is my favorite in the game, she gets to swing a sword around, when Clive gets bowled over her AI often gets caught too so the two get thrown up into the air screaming and doing a quadruple flip and its funny as fuck, as soon as she's finally given time to express one damn wish she's like "Clive, this priest did unspeakable things to children. I call dibs on killing him." And Clive's all "Of course Jill you'll get to murder him as much as you want" and that's fun!

They're each other's enablers! That's supposed to be their dynamic. Clive was a rejected son and a failure of a bodyguard, Jill's entire life was spent being someone's hostage (of both Rosaria and the Iron Kingdom), so they're the only pillar of support the other has. You can see the intent of their dynamic plain as day when Cid's trying to talk them into joining his merry crew of outlaws and Clive and Jill subconsciously hold hands and squeeze when they're nervous.

But to DO that right Jill has to be allowed to be her own character. Even in the Iron Kingdom level where Clive and Jill go after the High Priest because killing him is what Jill wants, in the ensuing bossfight Jill primes as Shiva while Clive fails to prime, and then instead of Jill taking charge she protects Clive while he fights the boss.

Seriously? One of them is flying around with literal god powers and the other has a bad case of Eikonic Dysfunction and rather than crush the giant lava monster herself, Jill makes sure Clive still gets to fight it in his puny human form and be the big hero? Come on. I was surprised that Jill still ran the High Priest through with her sword, I genuinely expected the game to take that away from her too.

Anyway she's obviously my favorite part of 16 now. Somebody's gotta be in her corner.

[crisiscutie]

People just don't get that redemption isn't for everyone

Yes people can do it but sometimes it's best to say it's irredeemable

Sephiroth has been through so many tragedies to the point,it feels like redemption is one big joke to him,cuz he already reached the point of no return

Personally I feel like the trope of "everything is forgivable" is overused or overlooked way too often,there are things in the world that can't forgive and sometimes punishment is better than forgiveness

In Sephiroth's case, I don't think forgiveness will change anything,rather it's impossible,no one who knows him is willing to forgive him,hence some may say he has no faults at all like Hojo cuz that guy is messed up AF

Take it like this: If a guy who commits an unforgivable crime and someone says he should be forgiven based only on the fact that he was abused or insane or he went through some traumatic shit etc,it would not only feel ridiculous, it's outright selfish

Should Sephiroth be forgiven for the Nibelheim Incident just bcuz it was a crime of passion or he was mentally unstable and should get off free of guilt? No,cuz he did something terrible to others and that should be accepted

I've seen too many cases of normalisation or glorification or defence of characters' faults and apparently "you're a bitch for pointing out others' faults" these days and "it's not nice to have criticisms"

I saw some deep toxic shit about normalised toxicity in fiction lately

I mean I love Seph,but god I'm heavily aware he's evil as hell

-🌹

Yup. Sephiroth's path is set in his mind. For what reason would he deviate from his path? He decided to continue the cycle of pain. And Cloud could've continued that cycle after him if it wasn't for Tifa.

I want to state this: I'm against Sephiroth being redeemed. One reason is that no character ever deserves redemption. Redemption is a complex, grueling process that involves self-reflection, remorse, and a genuine desire to change. It requires a willingness to confront your actions and the consequences you inflicted upon others. Sephiroth, so far, has done none of this. He felt justified in his actions. And the few times when he does acknowledge what he has done? He rubs it in Cloud's face, for goodness' sake. He did this in Advent Children, 7R and even the original FF7, especially during that one iconic scene that shall not be named. Sephiroth has displayed constant cruelty to Cloud, his party and the planet. What on earth justifies him deserving redemption? Because of his awful and traumatic past?

Let me say this: the events leading up to and following Sephiroth's birth and childhood were undeniably tragic, and he cannot be blamed for them in any way. However, as an adult with the ability to choose his own path, he made the decision to inflict harm upon others, especially those who had no involvement in his suffering. As I mentioned in another post, introducing a potential redemption arc for Sephiroth would actually undermine Cloud's own arc and diminish its impact. Sephiroth serves as a warning to Cloud, acting as his dark mirror and representing the dark side of what a "hero" could become.

I would also like to mention Aerith, who, like Cloud, serves as another mirror to Sephiroth and had a deeply traumatic past. However, instead of succumbing to darkness like Sephiroth, she remained kind and hopeful. Sephiroth's redemption may also conflict with her story and role as well.

To sum it up, Redemption would require Sephiroth to question his beliefs and recognize the pain and suffering he has caused. He's not going to do that. He believes himself to be in the right, and the pain he caused to be "justice" in his mind.

And as you mentioned, it's clear that forgiveness is out of the question for him now. Cloud and Tifa, in particular, hold a deep hatred towards him and are determined to put an end to him. Tifa's grudge with Sephiroth has been largely overlooked, both by the fandom and CANON (seriously, what were the writers thinking...). But let's not forget the sheer terror poor Tifa had in 7R when she saw Sephiroth in front of Jenova's pod.

Both she and Cloud had been scarred (literally and figuratively) by this man for the rest of their LIVES. They deserve every blow they can get on Sephiroth...

Anyways, rant over. Please stop trying to make Sephiroth "work". He was a sweet baby that became an evil bastard. Let's appreciate the good and bad of the Crisis Cutie!