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[sakurarisen-a]

Decided to do what I should’ve done in the first place and make Sera a main blog instead of a side! <3 URL is the same; please follow over at @sakurarisen​ <3!

[sakurarisen-a]

[Zack]

❰ ◈;; Sera ❱

“And how do you know they’re not just making their way past town? Or following something else? It could be they don’t even know you’re here, and if you run out there like this, then…” They’ll capture you. Shinra would never be so kind as to let an ex-SOLDIER go, especially one like him. She still wasn’t sure just exactly what had gone on while he’d been missing, but she’d lived in Midgar’s slums long enough to know the second he stormed out the door, it was unlikely he’d come back without some kind of bounty on his head, at least, so… Why not be logical and keep herself firmly planted right where she was in front of him? “You and I both know it’s not that easy.”

It never was, unfortunately. In a perfect world, having to stop him from scaring away his former employer from their home would’ve been a nightmare at best, and for a moment, Sera let her gaze drift down to his chest. How had they ended up in this position…? “I can’t let you go out there until you’re thinking with a more level head, Puppy. You know if they get a hand on you they’re not going to let you go again, and if you can’t think straight…” She let her sentence drift off, head shaking in pure, stubborn defiance. She couldn’t let him go, not like this!

“Prove to me you’re thinking clearly, or I’m not moving. Even if they are up to no good, you’re going to get into trouble like this.”

“—I already told you! There’s no time for that! I shouldn’t have to prove to anyone why people like them shouldn’t be snooping around here!”

He was being impatient and Zack knew it, but he couldn’t help it either! Knowing that a unit from the Shinra infantry was this close without so much as a check point in between them was making him antsy. The least Sera could do was let him go out and survey just how close they were from the field!

So, he’d take a confident step forward. She couldn’t keep him here; not when he was this fired up!

“So, what? You’re saying you’d rather see them walk right into Gongaga like they own the place? You know people like them aren’t gonna be nice.” Especially if they knew he was here now.

“No. I don’t want them anywhere near Gongaga either. This is a place of peace, and especially with you and our son here...” For a moment, she couldn’t help but glance to a nearby door, tightly closed and hopefully far enough away to keep the mentioned child from being woken by their huffing. By all logical reasoning, Shayan shouldn’t have even been a part of their lives, but so long as he was... “I won’t let them near either of you or our home, either. But you and I both know that going out there as riled up as you are now means you won’t be thinking clearly. Clouded minds mean mistakes. Mistakes mean something bad happening. And if something happens to you...”

It was his step forward that prompted one back from the smaller, a hand drifting to the knife kept at her hip. As much as she disliked fighting, keeping a weapon on her had become nessecary when she’d fled Midgar years prior - Yet it wasn’t the blade she wanted from the sheath, fingers gently pressing against the materia set into the base of the leather-wrapped grip. Attacking him was out of the question, but stopping him? That she could do, a light huff leaving her lips in reply. “I know they won’t be nice. And you know they could easily have no idea you’re here. But if you’re not going to stop and listen, then you’re not giving me much of a choice here!”

The casting of blizzard was definitely slower than someone with official training in combat and materia usage, but it’d never bothered her any, and still wouldn’t. Her goal, after all, had been not to harm him, but simply to keep him in place, fingers curling around the materia to keep her focus as ice steadily crept up her fiance’s boots, starting from the soles and floor. If he’d thought she’d back down from a step, he had another thing coming! “No, Zack. We need you thinking with a level head if you’re going out there. This isn’t level.”

[sakurarisen-a]

[Zack]

❰ ◈;; Sera ❱

@honorisen​ from X

A light hum followed his explanation. Shinra sounded… Ridiculous, in her opinion; even if the objective hadn’t played out exactly like how they’d wanted it to, he’d still come back intact and with information they could use, hadn’t he? How was that a ‘failed’ anything? Perhaps it was best she didn’t understand, though, honey eyes glancing up to him before carefully examining his arm for any sign of a cut or scrape she still needed to clean. “I don’t think it was a bust. You came home safe and sound, and you alone have information they wouldn’t have normally. You saw everything yourself by being there - They wouldn’t know anything if you hadn’t been.”

Or maybe the would’ve? Sera couldn’t begin to say she understood - or even approved - of the company as a whole, but to her limited knowledge, nothing he’d done had been that much of a failure. “You just had to defend yourself, that’s all.It happens sometimes, but it doesn’t make it a failed objective like that.”

“Yeah, except ‘defending myself’ shouldn’t have even been in the tactics this time. They’d sent a B unit ahead of us to recon the area before we’d got there, so…screwing up so bad I’d let the target get away isn’t exactly a good mark on me.”

Not that Zack was concerned about getting demoted in rank. His spot as a 1st was still safe; but his ego had definitely taken a serious shot at the mission being declared a failure.

“It’s not like they won’t send me back out once the team regroups again, but-” he couldn’t hold back another annoyed sigh as Zack shifted his arm in Sera’s hold again.

“I don’t know! I just feel like once should’ve been enough, y’know?”

“And the world seldom acts as we wish for it to. Once should have been enough, but you can’t control other people’s thoughts and actions; if something happened to prevent that, that’s still not on you. You can’t see the future, or read your target’s thoughts. You just did the best you could with what you were given, and that’s never a failure.”

Yet despite her words, she could understand his frustration. Zack had never done well with things taking an unexpected turn quite like that; while she’d seen him bounce back from something small, like overestimating where he’d land from a jump and completely missing his target, something like being told he’d failed was a different story entirely, Sera gently pulling his arm back into place. She still... Couldn’t see how he’d failed, though; did Shinra not understand others could think and do things differently than they planned?

“If they’re sending you out a second time, it means they still trust you to finish the job, right? If things really went that badly, I don’t think they’d send you out again, personally. I also don’t see how you failed. It was just a setback - Like this bruise, it’ll fade and be forgotten in time. You just have to work around it until then.”

[sakurarisen-a]

リセ・へクスト

[sakurarisen-a]

Wake up, Al!…Al!!!… what should I do?

[sakurarisen-a]

[???]

@sakurarisen​ ★ cont!

“Guess that means you’re not from around here, huh? ‘Cause if you were, then you know this kind of crowd is definitely normal for a day like today.”

Takeru couldn’t help but meet the others’ confusion with a laugh. It’d almost brought him back to the first time he’d seen Den City going at full force during the afternoon rush. To someone not from the city, it’d looked less like the everyday flow and more like people were everywhere.

“Don’t worry. I promise you don’t look as out of place as you feel though, so you’re okay.”

“I try stay away from the plaza,” Sera admitted, though it did little for either her confusion or her flushed cheeks. She’d set herself up in the suburbs, and usually looked for routes around the city that would help avoid crowds, which meant the plaza wasn’t a place was used to; just what was going on that would make it so busy? Or was this normal? Just... What had she wandered into trying to find her away to a store, of all things?

“I’m sorry - I mean... Thank you-” A light laugh slipped free; did she sound as crazy as she felt? “Let me try that again- Thank you. I try to avoid the crowds around the city, so I’m... More than a bit lost here. I’ve never seen a crowd this big outside of the bus.” Which she also admittedly tried to avoid, but tha was neither here nor there, a slow turn of her head allowing for a glance around them. She wasn’t... Anywhere near the market, was she? “Ah... How far am I from downtown... If I might ask?”

[sakurarisen-a]

@honorisen​ from X

A light hum followed his explanation. Shinra sounded... Ridiculous, in her opinion; even if the objective hadn’t played out exactly like how they’d wanted it to, he’d still come back intact and with information they could use, hadn’t he? How was that a ‘failed’ anything? Perhaps it was best she didn’t understand, though, honey eyes glancing up to him before carefully examining his arm for any sign of a cut or scrape she still needed to clean. “I don’t think it was a bust. You came home safe and sound, and you alone have information they wouldn’t have normally. You saw everything yourself by being there - They wouldn’t know anything if you hadn’t been.”

Or maybe the would’ve? Sera couldn’t begin to say she understood - or even approved - of the company as a whole, but to her limited knowledge, nothing he’d done had been that much of a failure. “You just had to defend yourself, that’s all.It happens sometimes, but it doesn’t make it a failed objective like that.”

[sakurarisen-a]

[Zack]

❰ ◈;; Sera ❱

@honorisen​​

“No.”

There weren’t many who would dare put themselves between a former SOLDIER and the target of his anger, Sera knew. They were trained to be the final force on the battlefield, the ones who made conflict end as soon as they stepped into it, and were a force to be feared. Stepping in front of one, irritated or calm, was usually a death sentence without a reason.

And yet she’d still done so regardless, arms crossed over her chest as she stared up into the familiar, glowing blue eyes of her fiance. He was at least twice her size and could easily shove her aside if he wanted, but how could she stand back and let him run off in a fit of irritation when even she knew he could be running right into a trap? “No, Zack. You’re not running off to smash heads together, no matter how close they are to Gongaga. Not when you’re seeing red like this - Sit, Pup. Just for a few minutes.”

Or she’d have to make him.

“—Yeah, and says who!? If I don’t hurry up and get out there, then that just gives them that much more of a chance to get even closer!” 

They’d take it, too; Zack knew they would! Whatever force Shinra had sent to venture out this far definitely wouldn’t give up until they’d locked on and eliminated whatever target they’d been put into the field to pursue. 

And Zack could only guess that ‘target’ was still him. Earning his freedom from the company, even as an ex-SOLDIER member, definitely wasn’t proving to be easy by any means!

“Look! They’re up to no good being this close! And I can’t sit back and just wait when I know they’re gonna end up barging in and ransacking everything until they find what they’re looking for!” 

Shinra was relentless, but at least he could make them change their course—and even if he couldn’t, then at least trying to would make him feel better.

“Just let me go! I’ll take care of this.” 

“And how do you know they’re not just making their way past town? Or following something else? It could be they don’t even know you’re here, and if you run out there like this, then...” They’ll capture you. Shinra would never be so kind as to let an ex-SOLDIER go, especially one like him. She still wasn’t sure just exactly what had gone on while he’d been missing, but she’d lived in Midgar’s slums long enough to know the second he stormed out the door, it was unlikely he’d come back without some kind of bounty on his head, at least, so... Why not be logical and keep herself firmly planted right where she was in front of him? “You and I both know it’s not that easy.”

It never was, unfortunately. In a perfect world, having to stop him from scaring away his former employer from their home would’ve been a nightmare at best, and for a moment, Sera let her gaze drift down to his chest. How had they ended up in this position...? “I can’t let you go out there until you’re thinking with a more level head, Puppy. You know if they get a hand on you they’re not going to let you go again, and if you can’t think straight...” She let her sentence drift off, head shaking in pure, stubborn defiance. She couldn’t let him go, not like this!

“Prove to me you’re thinking clearly, or I’m not moving. Even if they are up to no good, you’re going to get into trouble like this.”

[sakurarisen-a]

“You look a little out of place.” // Vrains!verse Sera needs a Takeru to meet for sure

Meeting a Flower!

“I feel out of place.” The answer had been automatic enough that she’d not even realized it’d slipped free for several seconds - Though once it clicked she’d complained to a stranger over something as basic as being lost in Central Plaza’s crowd, she couldn’t help but offer a sheepish smile, cheeks darkening to a vibrant, deep shade of pink. She hadn’t meant that to be her first impression, let alone stumbling around like a lost bird fallen out of its nest! “I-I’m sorry - I am a bit out of place, actually. Did something happen for such a crowd to get together like this, or.. Is this just a normal friday for the plaza?”

She hadn’t missed some kind of city-wide announcement, had she?

[sakurarisen-a]

Miscellaneous Meeting Starters

“You look a little out of place.”

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“So you’re here too huh?”

“Thank god you’re also here.”

“We seem to be running into each other a lot.”

“Looks like I’m not the only one who looks bored out of their mind.”

“Forgive me, but you seem new around here… am I right?”

“We just keep happening to run into each other don’t we?”

“Why do I keep running into you?”

“This place is huge, it can’t be a coincidence anymore.”

“Are you following me?”

“I didn’t know you liked this place too.”

“Normally people arrange a time for these things, they don’t just show up.”

“Looks like I can leave now that you’ve shown up.”

“You look like you don’t want to be here as much as I do.”

“We could just leave… that’s also an option.”

“What brings you here?”

“I didn’t expect anyone I knew to show up in this out-of-the-way place.”

“Glad you finally decided to show up!”

“I’m not sure whether to stay or go…”

“Can I help you with something?”

“This isn’t exactly a public area.”

“Are you sure you’re supposed to be here?”

“You don’t look like someone I’ve seen before.”

“Who are you?”

“Are you lost? I can try and give you directions.”

“We should stop meeting like this.”

“I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Why are you here?”

[sakurarisen-a]

After doing a ton of plotting with @kaisertiger​, we’ve gone and done a swandive back into an older game (and fandom) we’ve both loved for a long time: Final Fantasy 7. And with the swandive came blogs to match, and the rehaul of the OC I usually had for FF-related things, Sera - Who now sports a new look for her Remake verse! <3  This isn’t the full outfit, she has a jacket that usually goes over it and there’s been some edits to her jewelry since I lined and colored this, but that just means I need to do a fullbody of this look, methinks~

At the point she’s switched this outfit, Sera, who was originally in Midgar to follow her hopes of changing the world and eliminating pain and suffering through kindness, has fled the city and moved to Gongaga with her son. It’s a long story I might elaborate on more when I eventually  do that fullbody, but for now… A flowerdork. <3

[sakurarisen-a]

I’ve gone and given Sera a third FC: Lyse from FF14. This’ll be an FC primaraly only for use only in FF related threads and verses and nowhere else, and will not be replacing her previous two FCs - Just suplementing the icons I have of them, so I’ll be using all three, but Lyse only in FF.

But lemme also take this chance to greet anyone who stumbles across my blog with a howdy! <3 I go by Lita and/or Pom, and I’ve kindda dipped my head in and out of S-E fandoms a fair bit here and there over the years, but never really stayed for long. This might be a sideblog, but I’m hoping to linger a bit longer this time, so always feel free to throw things at me, if you like! <3

~Pom

[sakurarisen-a]

[Zack]

❰ ◈;; Sera ❱

“I could, you know. Give you orders I mean.” Playful ones, of course, but that was a note she was sure he’d pick up on as Sera turned away for her long-since forgotten about box, left on the ground nearby. The knife tucked underneath one of its flaps, meant for peeling apples for the local kids who disliked the fruit’s skin, was the perfect size for cutting their ‘treat’, slipped out of its hiding spot with ease before she dared to let another laugh free. “They wouldn’t be much… Just… Exactly that - More time with Midgar’s sweetest puppy.”

A puppy who would get a teasing grin flashed his way; he didn’t think she could resist the urge to be playful when he’d started it, did he? “Which brings us to your first order,” Sera started, sinking to the ground and flipping her box over for a makeshift table, “come sit with me? Lunch is better enjoyed with company and sitting together, isn’t it?” An excuse, apple laid down and knife carefully pressed against it for the start of a gentle, cautious cut. All she wanted was to stay close to him while they had time for it, but that was his choice, always.

“Besides, it’s warmer when you’re nearby, and it’s always so cool down here….~” And that was definitely a lie she knew he’d catch!

“Really?” he’d be quick to counter, “I always thought it felt sort of stuffy down here. The air doesn’t really move around here like it does up there, after all.”

But Sera’s remarks would actually earn her a laugh as Zack picked a side of their makeshift table to settle down on. She was actually being serious about giving him ‘orders’, wasn’t she? Even if they were the most playful and light hearted orders he’d had all week.

“But okay then, Director-” he couldn’t help but tease right back, “Now that my first assignment’s complete, what’s my next order? I know me just sitting here isn’t what’s next on my plate, especially when that’s already looking great.”

Zack would make a small motion toward the apple. He’d brushed himself off as not being hungry, but the fruit was definitely looking better and better the more Sera prepared it.

“But anyway, things have been okay down here lately, haven’t they? I mean, besides all the construction crews, noise, and monster attacks?”

For a moment, all she could offer in reply was a light hum, lips curled into a smile barely holding back a laugh. Director... It was just a tease, but if he wanted to keep their little game going... There was no harm in continuing to play along with it, right? Especially when the careful saws of the knife through the apple gave her plenty of time to think of her next ‘order’, only daring to glance back up at him once she’d managed to slice the fruit in half. She’d have to sharpen that knife later before returning it, but for now...

“Your next order then, SOLDIER, is to enjoy your lunch and take a break for a bit. You’re not allowed to turn this one down.” She couldn’t hold a ‘strict’ tone for long, unfortunately, breaking down into giggles a moment later with a push pf the smaller apple half across the ‘table’, but it was more than worth it in her opinion! Especially it it made him smile in response, though she was still quick to shift gears for an answer to his question, giving a small shake of her head. “Nothing’s really been any different, lately. I’ve heard there’s been more sightings of danger but... Nothing’s come this deep into the sector yet.”

Not that she could really say they were any too deep into the sector’s slums, either. She’d taken to wandering further out towards the ends of her deliveries on the off chance someone had wandered out there and gotten lost, but even so, she’d never seen anything much; just what kind of danger could’ve been out there, then? “It’s been noisy, but I think everyone’s getting used to it. Even the kids’re ignoring it now and coming up with new games that don’t need them to talk over it.”

[sakurarisen-a]

@honorisen​

“No.”

There weren’t many who would dare put themselves between a former SOLDIER and the target of his anger, Sera knew. They were trained to be the final force on the battlefield, the ones who made conflict end as soon as they stepped into it, and were a force to be feared. Stepping in front of one, irritated or calm, was usually a death sentence without a reason.

And yet she’d still done so regardless, arms crossed over her chest as she stared up into the familiar, glowing blue eyes of her fiance.He was at least twice her size and could easily shove her aside if he wanted, but how could she stand back and let him run off in a fit of irritation when even she knew he could be running right into a trap? “No, Zack. You’re not running off to smash heads together, no matter how close they are to Gongaga. Not when you’re seeing red like this - Sit, Pup. Just for a few minutes.”

Or she’d have to make him.

[sakurarisen-a]

[sakurarisen-a]

[Zack]

❰ ◈;; Sera ❱

That was cheating, she wanted to tell him. He knew all too well how she couldn’t keep from smiling whenever he laughed, or from relaxing - The sound itself was magic, and she’d decided that long ago. It was always impossible to not feel better with it, and he’d soon get a light laugh of her own in reply as her shoulders drooped, head lowering once more for another gentle kiss of his forehead. “You know… I can’t frown when y-you do that, Zack. Even if I d-don’t think I could say you didn’t come out t-that bad.”

You shouldn’t be alive. Those words stuck in her throat; just what had he faced that it could’ve been worse? What had kept him away? She wasn’t sure she wanted to know just yet, letting the fingers of one hand brush over his cheek. They had forever to talk about that, so why not focus on something better to keep that smile on his lips? “It’s been four y-years, you know. A lot of things changed… A lot of p-people believed the a-announcement you were…” Gone, a single word joining the jumbled mess that remained stuck, her fingers briefly pausing against his skin the only note she didn’t want to say it again. He couldn’t… Blame her for that, right?

“Your family j-just thinks you’re missing,” Sera continued, form relaxing more above him. He at least deserved to know some of what changed, even if she’d not overwhelm him just yet with it all. “I don’t… Know a-about everyone in Midgar… I left three years ago, b-but I know… Word spread q-quick from your fan club. When I heard you’d been s-seen outside Midgar…” She hadn’t hesitated. Even if she’d been too late, it would’ve at least been a chance to say goodbye - though she’d never expected to find him alive and fighting to move on, either.

“It wasn’t your disappearing act, either. W-We all know you wouldn’t have l-left us for so long without a r-reason. But if you really want t-to make it right… When you’re on your feet again, come home…? If you want to-?”

“Yeah, of course I want to! But-” The retort would be the first bit of real energy Zack had shown in awhile, even if it was just to counter back at something she’d said. Of course Zack wanted to go home, almost as much as he was still set on heading back to Midgar, but even he knew-

“…I just don’t think me going home right now would be a smart move. Knowing them, they’d probably still be waiting.”

And until Zack was sure the fight he’d just battled his way through really had earned him his slice of freedom back, it was just too risky. Gongaga was off limits for now, especially if his parents were otherwise doing okay.

“But I guess it really was just a matter of time. Mom’s gotta be worried sick hearing news about me like that, but…I really owe someone one for keeping the whole ‘killed in action’ label away from her, too. She’d never really liked the idea of me joining SOLDIER-” 

And in some weird way, Zack almost wished she would’ve tried a little harder to keep him away from everything now, too-

“But I don’t want my parents to worry about me like that either. They’re good people. They don’t deserve the trouble.” 

For a moment, Sera let herself fall silent, straightening back up above him. This was where things got tricky... Things really had changed, and none of it was an easy explanation that wouldn’t overwhelm him if she gave it to him all at once. Yet even despite that, she deserved to know just what was going on, which meant starting with the gentlest topic possible: Home. “I take smiles as payment for t-that, then.”

She wasn’t sure just what had prompted that tease; familiarity, maybe? Comfort? Reassurance from the chance to hear his voice again? Whatever it was, she was more than thankful for the warmth it brought with it, washing over her along with a hard swallow to rid herself of her lingering stutter. She needed to check over his injuries, tugging at his shirt gently as a sign it had to go for a few minutes if he could move, and any focus on trying to keep her voice steady was a chance of missing something that needed patching up, still. “A few years ago, I had to get out of Midgar myself... You told me so much about Gongaga, I caught myself headed that way without even thinking twice about it.”

Slipping off the bed, Sera turned her attention to a first air kit set out on their room’s small table, beside the bowl of water she’d been using to keep him cool earlier on. “I wasn’t looking for them, but you... You know how fate works. I met your mother at the local market a few months after I settled in there. They’re.. Doing well, I promise - But I wouldn’t tell them Shinra claimed you were dead. I couldn’t when even I didn’t believe it. They knew you were missing, and I was looking for any information, or a sign of you... They are good people - Gave us a room when I told them I was your...”

Girlfriend. Could she still call herself that, now? Especially with how her own life had changed, and how it’d impact him? “Can you move? I need to check your bandages, under your shirt - Whatever you fought, it hit hard. They have to stay clean, Pup.”

[sakurarisen-a]

Zack, do you remember what I said? About our enemy being all that creates suffering?

Yeah… but you’re not one of them

But I created my own suffering. Zack, let me show you.