#Cloud asked him to watch Zack for a bit while he tried to find the Remnants AGAIN

[tyrantchimera]

I completely agree. This oversight is a tragedy! Especially considering;

The Remnants being little shits and crawling into all sorts of pipes and crevices Cloud can't easily get into.

Including some Deepground vents.

The Remnants are in Deepground. Oh shit.

Any and all plans Cloud might have had are derailed by trying to rescue the Remnants from Deepground.

Deepground does not know the Remnants are in Deepground. The Remnants do not know they are in Deepground. They don't even know what Deepground is.

Cloud is stressed.

Weiss is amused that someone else has hair as crazy as him, but blonde, and hears through the grapevine that the 'blonde Weiss' is tearing a path through Deepground while simultaneously driving himself up the wall stressing about something. He does nothing to stop this.

Nero is amused that he keeps hearing three childish voices in the vents and/or hallways having the time of their lives causing chaos, while simultaneously (quietly) screeching their heads off that "Big Brother is here!" "Crud! He's almost found us!" "Scramble!!" He does nothing to stop this.

Upstairs Shinra is under intense scrutiny from Sephiroth and the other heavy-hitting Firsts due to their suspicious activity surrounding Fair, why they were so concerned with what Fair was writing, and Chadley, who is programmed to be unable to say anything directly (fuck you Hojo), still managing to indicate that Shinra is definitely hiding something and that the Firsts need to pay attention.

After hearing rumours of a mysterious fighter in the slums, the Firsts choose to investigate. Instead of coming across rumours of the swordsman, they instead come across rumours of an underground lab facility due to disappearances of some slum citizens.

Uh oh.

Shinra is in deep Uh Oh mode.

What do we do. Fuck.

Upstairs Shinra lies through their teeth. Deepground does not exist. Deepground is just a silly story. How on Gaia would they even pull off a thing like Deepground anyways.

Upstairs Shinra tells downstairs Shinra to keep it down. Literally. Shut up, stay quiet, okay uh fuck what do you mean there's an intruder down there, crap, well no we can't sent the Tsviets to deal with it their fights might make a shit-tonne of noise. Uh. Well. As long as the intruder keeps quiet, we can do damage control later.

Okay, so.

Cloud is still in Deepground. He does not want Deepground to know he is there, so he stays as quiet as he can (Deepground definitely knows he is there). The Remnants are still in Deepground. They don't care if Deepground knows they are there, because they still do not know what Deepground is. But Nero is babysitting because he is having the time of his life watching their shenanigans, and somehow he keeps the noise down for them so the Restrictors never clue in that there is more than one intruder. Weiss is watching this all go down with thinly veiled amusement. Cloud has probably stumbled across every single Tsviet by this point and is absolutely confused why he's gotten away without conflict every time. No one tell him. This shit is hilarious.

Somehow, Deepground is keeping it down. The Firsts have no reason to act up yet. The runours were just rumours, right? There is not yet evidence of foul play. No weird noises from below. But Shinra is still shifty as shit, so... stalemate. Absolute stalemate.

Nothing is happening. The Firsts are losing the trail. Life is great for Shinra! Chadley is going bonkers because he doesnt know how to prove they're bullshitting. Yay asshole programming. Shinra is happy, all is going to plan, they just gotta keep things quiet a little longer...

Yuffie Kisaragi does what Yuffie Kisaragi does best.

Yuffie and Sonon decide the infiltrate Shinra, find the Remnants, decide saving the kids is better than staying and fighting, Nero takes offense at this, the Remnants also take offense at this, Cloud is even more confused as fuck because When The Fuck did Yuffie get here and WHY THE FUCK IS NERO AFTER HER, Weiss realizes his brother is maaaaaybe a little bit in trouble and steps in, Sonon is literally juggling the Remnants with Yuffie's help as they try and escape the shitshow Yuffie just started, and, uh, well...

On one hand, it's next to impossible to stop a pair of well trained ninjas when they're mostly just trying to get out of dodge. On the other hand, those ninjas are only trying to get 'out', and aren't exactly paying attention where they're gonna end up so long as it's away from the crazy shadow bastard, the crazy half-naked dude with the poofy hair, and the other (also-crazy) dude with the same poofy hair as Mr. half-naked, but blonde.

Suffice to say, shit hits the fan for Shinra.

Poor Reeve. He just wanted to know wherw all that noise in the ventilation system was coming from...

There is not nearly enough fanfiction about Weiss the Immaculate and/or Chadly being Sephiroths little brothers, and I think we should change that.

Zack fair takes to writing fanfiction to amuse his friends' but somehow all his wacky off the wall comedy stories are eerily similar to the horrors Shinra is hiding behind the scenes and the president wants it to be dealt with...permanently. Unfortunately for him, a series of loony toons shenanigans keeps preventing anything bad from happening to Zack or his friends

Meanwhile, time traveler child Cloud and toddler remnants are wandering around the slums trying to plot their next move. Well, Cloud is trying to plot, but the remnants remember everything too, and they're not exactly cooperative.

Meanwhile, Chadley just bypasses all Shinra security and knocks on Sephiroths apartment door and doesn't waste any time before calmly explaining he's his little brother from the future where Professor Hojo convinced him his mother was an alien parasite called Jenova that manipulated him into merging with her causing him to lose his mind and attempt to destroy the world.

Sephiroth invites him in for tea and questions.

Lots of questions.

[rottenpumpkin13]

How would Sephiroth feel if Cloud was related to him?

Assuming this is an AU scenario where Hojo is Cloud's biological father. He found Claudia "attractive enough to birth a hero," but it never went anywhere because Cloud was a weak, sickly baby.

Sephiroth found out about Cloud's parentage when he came across a file on him in Hojo's archives.

Sephiroth can't leave Cloud alone now. He has a brother.

He's always lurking now when the troopers have their training sessions with Angeal, or looking just a bit too long whenever they happen to be on the same assignment.

He's always watching, letting the curiosity slowly consume him. He wants to know what Cloud's life was like growing up in the mountains, far away from Hojo and Shinra, with a mother who loves him. He's envious, wondering if his own life would've been any different if Hojo rejected him at birth. Cloud wasn't subjected to the same things he was, and Sephiroth is both grateful and bitter.

As envious as he is, he's also enraged. How dare Hojo rob him of his brother? His own family? They were supposed to grow up together, to be by each other's side through everything. They were This isn't fair. And now here Cloud is, working for Shinra too. Yet they're still apart.

So he makes the impulse decision to corner Cloud one morning and show him everything that he found. Imagine his shock when Cloud reveals he knew Professor Hojo was his biological father, but his mother warned him of how he was, making Cloud never want anything to do with him.

Sephiroth asks him if he's aware that Hojo is his biological father.

To say Cloud is shocked is putting it lightly. He's floored, but not because Sephiroth is Hojo's son, but because he's related to Sephiroth.

After a long talk where they both get to know each other better and establish that they're brothers no matter what, Cloud insists that Sephiroth come back to Nibelheim and meet Claudia.

Lucky for them, there's a certain mission to Nibelheim that makes for a perfect opportunity.

While Cloud is usually prone to motion-sickness, be barely feels it on the ride to Nibelheim. He's too busy talking and laughing with Sephiroth to notice the bumps and turns on the road that would usually make his stomach churn.

Zack is happy for both of them—Cloud, for having a brother, and Sephiroth for having any family at all. They've been inseparable since finding out they're related, with Sephiroth going as far as inviting Cloud to stay over at his place and giving Cloud expressed permission to stay in his apartment.

Claudia and Sephiroth meet as soon as they arrive. Sephiroth grows to like her immediately. She's warm, nurturing, and quick to treat Sephiroth with the care he was denied as a child.

He asks Claudia if there's any chance that she knew his mother, Jenova. Claudia mentions how she remembers seeing a woman that matched her description around the village a few times years ago.

Now that Sephiroth knows he wasn't crazy when he found Nibelheim familiar, he needs to know more.

She explains how Hojo and the entirety of Shinra's research team stayed at the old Shinra Mansion right outside the village. She directs him there if he wants to find more information.

Sephiroth neglects sleep that evening in favor of exploring the Shinra mansion in search of clues. Cloud insists on coming with him, but Sephiroth is adamant that he stay and prepare for their mission the next day.

Sephiroth heads for the Shinra mansion, where he finds the library.

In the end, not even Cloud can stop the inevitable. No matter how much he screams and begs and tries to reason with his justifiably enraged brother.

But brotherhood matters little when you're the holy son, the chosen one set to inherit the planet alongside your loving mother.

[nothing-but-dreamy]

BONDING

Pairing: Vincent Valentine x GENDER NEUTRAL!READER

Words: 1.422

Warnings: a bit of dark;

Summary: Tifa and her friends are trying to take down Shinra and need your help. You have some kind of past with this business. Your past is the reason why you're struggling with your answer if you are helping or not.

"We need your help, YN."

It was the sentence that had changed your normal life back to the chaotic, troubled one you had tried to forget. Even if you hadn't made a decision yet what your answer might be - deep inside of you, you knew you would give in if Tifa was asking for your help.

That she, and her friends, wanted to bring down Shinra had brought back all the baddest memories you had tried to forget. So, as everyone was asleep, you had sneaked away to find a quiet moment for yourself to find the answer to your problem.

Sleep avoided you like always anyway and so, you tried to walk down the hallway on your tiptoes to climb up the ladder to the rooftop where you could look over the slums.

*

But not everyone was asleep. In fact, none of the party members had stayed in bed. One by one, they had sneaked to Cloud and Tifa's room. In the end, the small room was slightly crowded. Vincent stood in a far corner in a shadow with his arms crossed over his chest while Barrett paced up and down. Aerith and Zack sat on the ground.

"So, you really think your friend will help us? They need very long for their answer. And we're running out of time.", Barrett argued, annoyed.

"I know. Give them some time, please. Their past is... Their father beat them before they were able to escape-"

"Aerith? What is it?", Zack asked concerned as he saw the girl's eyes getting bigger suddenly.

"YN's father... He didn't just beat them. He... He also forced himself on them.", she breathed, tears were shooting into her eyes..

"You mean he ra-", Barrett asked, shocked, getting silent before he could end his question.

"Yeah...", Aerith breathed with a soft nod.

"Hey, where's Vincent?", Cloud asked surprised as the spot in the shadows was empty.

*

As you heard unknown steps behind you, you turned your head. To your surprise, the handsome, black-haired man with the red cape appeared on the rooftop. Tifa had told you his name was Vincent. Vincent Valentine who also had some kind of past with Shinra. Tifa hadn't told you much, just enough for you to understand what kind of man he was, "Oh, hey... I... I'm sorry if I had woken you up.", you said softly.

"No, you didn't. I was already awake.", Vincent said, sitting down next to you, joining you on the rim of the roof.

"Couldn't you sleep either?", you asked, looking at Vincent's profile.

"I slept for twenty-five years. I guess that's enough.", he said and waited for your reaction about this fact.

"Shinra, huh?"

"Yeah...", he said, surprised.

Slowly, you turned your head, meeting Vincent's watchful glance, "I know Tifa told you about me. How we met. That I ran away from my... All of you came to me for help because my father was a scientist of Shrina.", you said, looking down on your hands, "My father blamed me that my mother died during labor and so, I needed 'punishment' in his eyes. He did it in the name of science and for Shinra.", you explained before meeting his glance again. As you saw Vincent's eyes, you knew what he thought.

As Vincent saw your sad expression, he knew it was a reaction of him just staring at you, "YN, I-"

"No, it's okay. Don't worry. I know this type of glance just too well. Even people who don't know me look at me as if I was something broken and fucked up. And guess what, they're right.", you said with a sigh before you got up on your feet to go back inside.

Vincent shot up and in front of you within seconds to stop you, "Please, don't leave. Whatever you saw, it's not what you think it was. But after everything, you're so strong and still so kind and friendly to all of us. You...surprise and amaze me. You're the living proof that even nightmares can create something beautiful."

"Beautiful? I don't think so. You don't even have to try. I know what I am.", you said, trying to pass the tall man but Vincent was persistent.

"And I know how you feel.", as you stopped, Vincent stepped closer but still kept his distance, "I'm sure Tifa told you about us. Even about me. I know how it feels to be alone. I know how it feels to lose someone you love. You just don't lose them, rather even the trust in everything and yourself. I know how it feels to lose yourself in this world and in your own mind."

"And now, what? You wanna save me? Because I doubt that would be even possible.", you said bitterly, looking away from Vincent's intense red eyes. A breeze of fresh night air let you shiver so you rubbed your arms with your hands.

With a swift move, Vincent undressed his cape and flung it around your shoulders, wrapping you into it protectively. The coat was far too big and you sank into it in an adorable way that melted Vincent's heart. He smiled softly as you looked at him astonished, "I'm not the right person to heal you but we can keep each other company when the world becomes too dark."

The warmth and alluring scent of Vincent's coat enclosed you. It comforted you in a pleasant way and a part of your brain screamed to leave and to run away because you would lose this again like everything else before, "Tifa said you're a loner. That you're not fond of being close to someone. You keep your distance from everyone regarding your past.", you whispered.

Vincent saw the struggle of your mind in your eyes. He knew the feeling all too well to let someone closer than necessary. He had found friends who had accepted that. Instead to change him, they had started to support him with the option to be there when he wanted to alter his habit. With you it seemed to be the same just with the difference that Vincent felt attracted to you. It wasn't just your appearance, rather it was the fact that your hearts seemed to beat in sync, "You know, Tifa said the same about you. That's the reason why she suggested I should talk to you. Obviously, she thinks we would get along pretty well because we're much alike."

You chuckled softly, "Tifa loves to matchmake.", you said low, watching how Vincent came even closer. The colorful lights of the nearest neon signs gave Vincent's pale skin a pink taint and let his eyes glow even more mysteriously.

"I can't speak for you but I... I'm not complaining about her idea. Which is new for me. It's been a long time since I got this feeling.", Vincent admitted low and was really surprised about himself.

You gnawed on your lower lip. You saw the honesty but could you allow it to yourself to feel like this? As if you got wanted by someone? Maybe because he knew your pain, Vincent would understand more than others when you wanted to be alone or when you were trapped in your mind. And still, there was the other voice, "I can't promise you anything-"

"You don't have to. I'm not expecting anything. You see, now, I'm already talking more to someone than usual. I guess the others would see that as a huge progress.", Vincent said and smiled encouragingly as he saw your own smile spreading on your lips.

"So, you wanna ask me to join you, right? Because you need my help..."

But Vincent shook his head softly, "No, I ask you to come with us to fight against your past. Against your demons. With me by your side. Always. If you come with us, I will watch over you. Helping you to find peace."

You considered his words, snuggling stronger into his cape, "Okay, here's the deal: we fight together for both our pasts. I will help you as well. We're in this together."

Vincent felt touched by you and the will to help him, "Alright, deal. We do this together."

"Okay, I will help you infiltrate Shinra. Let us make them pay for what they have done to us.", you said with a grin, feeling new energy flooding your veins.

Your grin was something that let Vincent's heart skip a beat and somehow, he was looking forward to spending more time with you and your light attitude.

[scrawnytreedemon]

Neurodivergency, and Sephiroth

Right, I’m going to see if I can try and explain why this reading appeals to me.

For some background, I’ve watched a full silent LP of the OG, watched Advent Children, and am largely familiar with his characterisation in Crisis Core(though it gets a bit patchy in some areas). I am not familiar with his characterisation in KH, Dissida, or any other spinoff appearances.

I’m going to be looking at this with an autistic lens, as, hey, I’m autistic, however much of these patterns aren’t exclusive to autistic people by any means and thus are fairly applicable to other labels.

This is an explanaition on why I find this element worth considering, and while I hope that others can relate or take away something from this, in many ways it is highly personal and not intended to be a decleration on Sephiroth’s ‘true nature,’ as it were. I’m not claiming that this was intended by the writers-- Infact, I’d be very surprised if they considered it, at all --As many of the traits he exhibits could be brushed aside as due to his upbringing.

That being said, let’s get into it!

1. Alienation

A common thread in neurodivergency, autism in particular, is some form of alienation. This doesn’t necessarily mean being outcast-- I, for one, have been largely accepted by those around me, and yet there is still that sense of being ‘other‘ that’s always been there, long before I even had a word for it.

Now, of course, in Sephiroth this is more related to his lineage, and how it’s expressed in... well, everything. Even still, I find value in expanding that, and considering just how getting the sense you’re implicitly divided from your peers.

There is, of course, the matter of Sephiroth’s literal isolation-- However, as fun as those scenarios are to play around with, I don’t think Sephiroth was raised wholly, or even mostly in the labs. The reason being that it would be nigh impossible to have hid just what made Sephiroth different, especially knowing how observant he is. It’s clear that Sephiroth had had extensive contact with other children, as epitomised by the line:

“I knew ever since I was a child, I was not like the others. I knew mine was a special existence. But this is not what I meant!” 

Sephiroth was painfully aware that he is different, even if he didn’t know exactly how. It is at once an oddly thrilling, and lonely sensation. Thrilling, because-- Hey! --You can do and see things others can’t and/or wouldn’t; and lonely, because it makes it hard to relate to others or have them relate to you.

2. Socialisation

I would like to start off by saying that, while I find it a tad more faithful and endlessly less grating than Sex God Sephiroth, Sephiroth is not a complete and utter social failure. While it’s clear he has difficulty articulating emotions and understanding others, it’s very clear even still that he knows how the game works, and knows how to play it.

This is going to dip far more into speculation territory, so buckle up.

A thing that, perhaps, I don’t see talked about often enough online when it comes to neurodivergent experiences, is that many things that are considered ‘normal‘ get experienced as systems that we need to actively learn and maneuver-- Socialisation especially!

Now, of course there is always some degree of social interaction being a give and take, a step forth and step back, regardless of neurotype, but it’s dialed up far more when you deviate from ‘the norm.‘

If I can give my own example, a thing I struggled with when I was little was humour! Not because I didn’t find things funny, or didn’t know what it was, but because I had issues grasping at the machinations of what made something funny. This lead to alot of nonsensical jokes that left my siblings confounded, until I picked up a joke-book, and started analysing from there. It was mostly alot of puns, which! Due to their simple structure, are a great way to learn the basics! I didn’t even know this was unusual, until my mother pointed it out to me years later.

And that method goes for alot of things.

Sephiroth, above all else, is observant. He makes efforts multiple times throughout the OG and Crisis Core to check up on others and ask how they’re doing. He asks Cloud how he feels returning to his hometown, and about seeing his mother, and urges Zack to check up on Aerith in Crisis Core, to name some notable examples. Even if you get the sense that his attempts are, perhaps, a little ungainly, it makes it clear more than anything that Sephiroth tries.

I think the reason that people have leaned alot more into the overly-awkward perception of Sephiroth in recent times, is because it humanises him. I feel there’s been far more of a shift within fandom to focus on the mundane, on relatability, on humanity. A veneer of endless, effortless confidence really isn’t that sexy anymore-- When sexual-appeal even comes into the matter, at all.

That being said, this section more than anything, I think, is very easy to brush aside due to his... interesting upbringing. Depending on how you construe the timeline, Sephiroth got sent to war as early as twelve, and wouldn’t have had much of an oppurtnity to develop these skills in a healthy and timely manner.

Even without that, a degree of social awkwardness is far from exclusive to any particular neurotype-- It’s the way it arises in him, though, that piques my interest.

3. Analysis and Obsession

This... I think, is the one where I’ll be grasping at straws the most.

While, yes, the obsessive research demonstrated in the OG during the Nibelheim incident and even before that to a lesser extent in Crisis Core could be some indication of a degree to absolutely immerse yourself in a subject in that Very Autistic WayTM, more than anything these are brought on by dire circumstance(the former especially by the question of his very humanity), and as we don’t see Sephiroth as a child, it’s uncertain as to whether he displayed these behaviours as such and to this degree under ‘normal‘ circumstances.

Even so, I get the feeling that Sephiroth is very analytically-minded, in a very Stranger In A Strange World sort of way(not in any way referring to the 1961 novel by a similar name, lmao). I get the feeling he’s the type of person to pick up some highly-esoteric text just for fun and come away with a menagerie of strange and unusual and obscenely specific factoids that he’ll remember for the rest of his life.

Like, someone might mention a topic offhandedly, and though he’d keep his mouth shut because He’s Like ThatTM, a slew of all the little bits and pieces he’s seen or read on the matter over the years would just jump to mind.

What I’m trying to say is, I think Sephiroth would take joy in painstakingly pouring and mulling over topics that not many people would have the consideration nor the mind to hold any long-term, inimate interest in.

If the last point was easily brushed aside, then this one you’d merely have to breathe and it’d fall apart. Nonetheless, I feel that within fandom’s current common framework with how we perceive Sephiroth, this wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.

I, however, want to make it clear that I can see the issue with labelling Sephiroth as neurodivergent. He could all too easily fall into the cliché of cold, emotionally and socially-inept, often rather callous depictions we see all too often in the heavily-neurotypical media that sees us as Missing Something; less than. Things have gotten better, but even still, there’s such a tendency to flatten us down to the things we can’t do, or lawd as us Potential Einsteins in spite of it-- Which, just, while it happens, on the whole it isn’t very helpful or realistic to expect this from us.

We are by no means a monolith, and while I take comfort in the idea of a neurodivergent Sephiroth, I understand that for some, it can feel like taking on a label to a character that vaguely fits the stereotype, and thus, perhaps, insinuating that to be autistic you have to look Like That-- And when it comes to villains in particular, it’s all too easy to dip into demonisation.

This isn’t even getting onto some of the issues that’d have this fall apart, were we to look at other symptoms. The first that comes to mind, and one that even I, as innocuous as I am, experience: sensory overload.

While it is entirely possible that Sephiroth learned to deal with it accordingly in life, or was forced to surpress it, because Shinra’s Science Department(cough cough Hojo) has been shown time and time again to force its subjects into little boxes and blame them for any failures expressed, the fact is that such a symptom could make fighting on the battlefield downright impossible.

Again, this is something that could’ve been given a ‘solution‘(as much as you can or even should think about long-term surpressing your basic thresholds), it nonetheless remains an issue.

I just hope that, on the whole, this served as some food for thought.

TL;DR: Sephiroth is autistic because I Vibe With It.

Also, happy Disability Pride!

[iaintyourbro]

The Unknown Journey Continues

Part 1

I know it's been a while... but I've been going down a rabbit hole with @starlight-samurai regarding time loops, Jenova, Minerva, and more fun. So I figured I'd try to put it into one post to get the insanity out of my head. Everything in here is based on things we've found by either going through more obscure Ultimanias, learning more about Dirge of Cerberus and trying to decipher what the hell Jenova is by putting together various sources - including other Square Enix games - and how they handled freakishly similar scenarios.

Did you know there is a companion mobile game for it that was out on the good old flip phones? Did you know there was an online mode in Dirge of Cerberus only available in Japan, but had story elements that were not in the main game?

The sad part is, there's still so much to go through...

(I've also had various discussions with @ourfinalheaven, Manu, who doesn't have Tumblr, so here is her Twitter. and Somebody's Nightmare (here is her Twitter). So I wanted to tag them here, as it's much more fun to discuss these ideas as a group, since it'll only help you build on and strengthen your own ideas.)

Please be aware, there will be Spoilers for FFVII - Almost all Compilation titles, Xenogears, and NieR Automata throughout this.

So let's go on a journey where we explore what actually already exists in the compilation - including the idea of the whispers and timeloops - how Minerva may play into everything, and what exactly Jenova is capable of doing.

I asked Sesi if he'd ever played any of the NieR games, because he'd said something that made me wonder if they were going to take a similar approach. As a very, very quick high level summary: NieR Automata deals with a time loop type of idea. The androids will be rebooted and repeat the same things over and over again. This is broken when 2B is killed by A2 because she becomes infected with a virus. That being said, you have the option after Ending E to either erase all of your data and end the cycle OR you can try again. The Pods have a discussion, and one asks, "But won't they just do the same thing again?" and the other replies with "Maybe. But it could also be different this time."

Here's Sesi's message back to me when I asked him about this (cleaned up a bit since we were having a casual conversation over Discord):

Maybe I could just guess based comparatively on the Dirge storyline, because that was sort of SE's first flirtation with “robots and androids” since they’re all programmed and locked behind like task managers and shit that can shut them down. The story of the online mode for DoC that came out in Japan, we never got to see it, you’re basically an Android OC and you have to get to “the end of the level” and then essentially die, and a new one takes its place. This keeps happening until Weiss is essentially freed from being able to be task managed by the guys who are suppose to be able to control them and I know from tons of years with Square games that they’re verrrrry bad at differentiating their narratives they tend to just keep “ripping themselves off” so is it anything close to that?

Cuz if so I think I kinda know what you’re saying and yeah, I agree, I think with CC bringing in its poetic symbolism and LOVELESS, and DoC bringing back the cyclic nature of the lore, whispers, premonitions and future visions, proto-Materia and the perversion of this next cycle since the planet can no longer cleanse and protect itself and its will is weakening lesser and lesser to the point where it’s fate is “in a true sense of jeopardy This time essentially it’s all tied in together and sort of played as though it's a fated track; a cycle of events and something has hitched it, thus the whispers manifesting and Sephiroth's higher implied control over his destiny. Of course, even all that is just their new red herring game, but it’s definitely a part of the lore they want to play with, in order to go back and reMAKE the OG with the comp inserted from inception. Also gut punch a lot.

Time Loops

I was somewhat surprised to find out that this concept is NOT new to FFVII's universe. It's discussed in Dirge of Cerberus... probably one of the least played and least understood of the compilation. (Trying to sell a third person shooter with terrible controls to a market of mostly people used to turn-based combat wasn't going to go well.)

On top of it, we didn't even get all of it, since online mode was never released outside of Japan, and the Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode was on Amp'd Mobile and Verizon flip phones back in 2006. Were you around for the cell phones in 2006? I had the ones on the list, and how somebody could play a game on those blows my mind.

Square has a tendency to reuse themes from their other titles. Probably one of the most blatant is the similarities between Xenogears and Final Fantasy VII. They were both being developed at the same time and a lot of ideas that didn't make it into FFVII ended up in Xenogears.

NieR

So how does this work? In NieR (both Replicant and Automata), you play the same path multiple times. Each time, it's slightly different depending on what side quests you did your first and second playthrough, but there's also other subtle differences throughout the story. In Automata, you get to play as 2B your first playthrough and 9S for your second. They follow the same path, but you get it from his perspective the second time and it reveals a bit more of what is going on. However, even with some slight differences, the main plot points stay the same and the ending result it also the same.

Then on your third playthrough, you wake up in the Bunker, and you're getting ready to go on a new mission. This time, though, 2B is killed and shit hits the fan. Things get crazy, you play as a new character: A2. In the end, pretty much everyone "dies", but you can choose to "reboot" and try again. You also can say you are done and let them all rest and delete your save data (the game gives you the option for both Automata and Replicant, and with Replicant, it actually leads to a new ending).

The striking thing for me is... There are certain events that will always happen, no matter what.

Fixed Points in Time

It's been years since I've watched Doctor Who, but there was something that stuck with me, and that was the fixed points in time. You can read about all of them here, but here's the basics:

Now, of course Doctor Who goes into this with much more detail and it's a recurring theme. However, as you read through that page, you'll probably find many aspects that have been used in various JRPGs that you've played. And Doctor Who most likely pulled some of the idea from classic Science Fiction novels. Each story puts its own spin on it.

How does this relate to FFVII Remake? Well, when they say that the major plot points will stay the same, it reminds me of this. No matter what, Cloud must fall into the Sector 5 Church, the Sector 7 Plate must be dropped, Aerith and Zack both must die, and Meteor has to be summoned, to name a few. So, with a time loop, those things would still have to take place in order to prevent a complete collapse of reality (at least in how Doctor Who uses it).

Therefore, the Whispers are ensuring that the Will of the Planet is followed.

One of the major themes in FFVII is that of loss. People die and they do not come back. Yes, other FF games do allow this to happen (FFX, FFXIII, FFXV), but VII is not those games. It was written with that idea in mind, that once a person dies, they, just like in real life, are dead and cannot be brought back.

I've previously written that I think they'll make us believe we are able to change fate, but we will eventually be slammed with the reality that we can't. That is because the planet has determined that certain events are fixed points.

Xenogears

Xenogears takes a bit of a different approach to the loop idea. Instead of repeating the same time period over and over, it has the characters reincarnated, and the same outcome happens each time: Elly dies. However, each time it's different. After all, they're in various time periods, in some cases thousands of years apart.

In all of the lives of Fei (who will have a different name in each time period) and Elly (who is always Elly/Elhaym), Elly will end up dying trying to protect Fei and the others. In one life, she is a religious figure at a totally not Catholic church, in another she's the wife of a scientist who was working to create children from nanomachines due to mass infertility issues. But she is ALWAYS with Fei, even if his name changes.

In her Mother Elhaym time, this is when Lacan (Fei) finally snaps. Though he's not fully aware of his past lives, he becomes aware, the anger consumes him, and he becomes Grahf. Fei is then reborn into the time period you play the game in.

There's a lot to unpack with this, so I won't go into it. Grahf wants to destroy God (Deus) because he thinks if he does, then it'll stop the suffering (his suffering).

If you do want to read more about Grahf, you can do so here, but it probably won't make much sense unless you've played Xenogears up to that point... Since it's much later in the game that this is all explained.

Lacan's desire was to stop the cycle of Elly always sacrificing herself for his sake. Though Grahf is not a perfect existence - he's not fully "The Contact", he sacrifices himself in order to let Fei move forward, and hopefully stop the cycle, by destroying the Deus system. (Elly also tries to sacrifice herself here, but Fei goes after her and stops her.)

Now, some people may think I'm saying that Cloud or somebody is going to do this in order to save Aerith or Zack (or his village or mom), but in FFVII if they do the loop method, I don't think Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and the others are aware of it. Most likely, it's only 'Sephiroth' and Aerith who are aware of it.

How this Could Be used for Final Fantasy VII

I'm stressing could because there's so many different possibilities on how they use this (if they are using this), so please, don't take this as fact. This is based on speculation based on what we know.

A time loop is a great way to explain away the differences in the story that we've seen: Biggs being alive, Wedge living for longer than he should have, etc. Since these are not major plot changes, they can simply say that this time it'll be slightly different... but your fixed points (major plot points) will remain the same.

It's a way to pull in some of the more obscure themes from Dirge of Cerberus and also play with the LOVELESS lore.

It could all simply be a big red herring and it's really just a remake of OG, but with the compilation tied together nicely... since it works much better when it's combined and not in 50 different games, books, movies, etc.

I don't think it's a "sequel" per say, not in the way I generally perceive a sequel. It's more of a loop of the same thing. The question is, when is the loop started and what will cause it to end? When will the planet (if it even is the planet) determine that it's good enough to begin moving forward?

JENOVA, Sephiroth, Genesis, and Minerva - Oh My!

Let's be real... Genesis isn't exactly the most popular character in the FFVII Compilation... but what if they make him one of the most important to the story? //Ducks as various fruits and vegetable are thrown in my direction//

I think what Genesis is probably most known for is his love of LOVELESS. He has the entire thing memorized and randomly says lines from it throughout Crisis Core. LOVELESS lore is still something I'm trying to grasp, so I am not going to comment much on it. Once I understand it more, I'll update this.

...And then this happens. The secret ending for Dirge of Cerberus, where Genesis picks up Weiss. Weiss, who has now been introduced along with Nero in FFVII INTERmission and is an optional ridiculously hard boss in the Shinra battle simulator in chapter 17 of the main story. There is some lore associated with the battle sim - so if you don't plan on beating it or you just can't, you can look up the pre-battle and post-battle cut scenes on YouTube. They're very short, but interesting. (I beat this asshole last night - it's a hell of a fight.)

....To Be Continued because apparently Tumblr won't allow more than 10 images per post now.... Next will be more on JENOVA and Sephiroth along with Minerva.

[basicbatboys]

Drain-O

Part 2

WARNINGS: Abusive ex, descriptions of abuse, violence, death, angst, language

A lil vent writing :) This is the first thing I’ve written in a very long time and a topic close to my heart! The title is irrelevant to the fic, it was just my own personal Drain-O 

1914 words 

Jason finds out you’ve been talking to an abusive ex who you’re convinced has changed. You go out with the ex and chaos ensues. There’s nice fluff at the end with Jason consoling and talking with you. This is not a light fic.

 If you or someone you know is struggling with domestic abuse, it is not a situation that you can handle alone. Please reach out to someone and find help. You deserve better. 

800.799.SAFE (7233)                                                 

https://www.thehotline.org/

I stood in front of my full length mirror, smoothing down the slight creases in the dress I’d grabbed out of the closet. I smiled softly at my reflection. It had been a while since I’d felt this nice- since I’d had something to feel nice for. I gave myself a final once over, and when I was content I turned to head toward my desk to finish the final touches on my hair and makeup. When I turned, I was a little too unsurprised to see a dark figure crouched on my windowsill. I sighed and walked toward it, undoing the latch. 

“Jaybird, you find the worst times to pester me.”

The figure slid through my now opened window with a grace that someone of his size shouldn’t be able to muster. His feet hit the ground with a soft pat and he shut my shade to give himself the privacy required to pull off his helmet. He flashed me a cocky smile and ran a hand through his hair. “It’d hardly be pestering if it was a good time for me to show up.” He pointed out, walking toward my bed and taking a comfortable seat. 

I rolled my eyes and retreated to my desk, flipping my hair into a simple messy bun. “I’m leaving soon. And you know, if you keep showing up here, someone is bound to think you live here and break in.” I gave him a pointed look and he responded with a nonchalant eye roll. 

“Fun surprise when they stumble on a woman getting ready for a-” he looked me up and down, “date?” He tried. 

I nodded. “Yeah, a date.” 

He frowned softly and stood up, walking to stand behind me and look at me through the desk mirror. “With whom?” He demanded lowly. 

It was my turn to roll my eyes. I turned around in my chair and folded my hands together, begging. “Please, papa! Please, I love him! You can’t forbid me from going out any longer!” I chided, my voice high and my lashes batting. 

He sighed. “You know why I’m asking, batbreath.” 

I sighed too and turned back around, my attention returning to my makeup. Jason had a reason to be hesitant about my going out. He’d recently discovered that my ex had been talking to me again, and foolishly, I’d let him talk me into taking me out tonight. Of course, Jay didn’t know that last bit. If he did, there’s no way he’d let me leave. My ex had been… Impolite, to say the least. Before I had been introduced to the vigilante family he’d been really good at knocking me around. Most days I’d spend my time covering black eyes and downing countless painkillers. Now was the hard question. Why was I going out with him again? 

Well, it had been a year now. I knew how to handle myself, if he thought to try something. And really, I missed him. The memories  we had together were clouded by pain, but he was the first man to love me. He held me at night. He kissed me under the stars and in the rain, he bought me flowers and bracelets, and he held my hand on the subway. I missed the way I felt carefree when he laughed. I missed the happy times. I thought, hoped, that things could change. That things would be different now. 

“Hey.” Jason nearly yelled, snapping me out of my train of thought. I nearly pierced my nose with my mascara wand. 

“What?” I snapped, turning to look up at him again. 

“I don’t want the trademark attitude right now. You don’t get to have an attitude. Who are you going out with, this is serious.”  

I sighed, defeated. “His name is Zack.” I said, sliding him a fake name. “He’s a nice guy, really!” I lied, forcing a smile. “A really good guy.” 

Jason didn’t seem convinced, but he nodded and backed away from my chair. “Okay.” He said, grabbing his helmet. “I won’t pester you anymore.” He said, spitting my earlier words back at me. He headed toward the window, slid on his helmet, and opened the shade. “You look nice, batbrain.” He finished before exiting through my window and into the darkness again. 

“Thank you.” I said to no one. 

---

“Dylan, don’t fucking touch me.” I growled, wiping the blood from my nose. I was backed into an alleyway. My blood felt like it was 90% alcohol at this point. He’d been feeding me drinks all night for this planned outburst. I’d never felt stupider in my life. 

“God, how many times have I heard you say that? At least a thousand, at this point.” Dylan laughed, stalking toward me. I realized now that I never watched him drink anything but water. Stupid. 

“You deserve this, sweetheart, after the hell you’ve put me through. It’s been impossible to bang anyone with all the bullshit you’ve spread about me.” 

I could hardly hear him. There was so much fog in my head and the pain from the blows he’d already delivered were clouding any sort of brain function I could have been riding on. Any of the training Batman had given me was out the window. 

“It wasn’t bullshit.” I slurred. I wiped my still-dripping nose again. “See?” I said, holding up blood stained fingers. “Not bullshit. You’re a psychopath.” 

He laughed again. “Oh, the attitude. How I missed the fucking attitude!” He reached into his pocket and pulled out something I couldn’t distinguish. Then, I saw the glint under the little light that the alley offered. A knife.

I backed up until I hit the wall. Was this really how I was going to die? Stupid. Stupid, stupid. 

“I’m going to really enjoy silencing that fucking attitude.” 

He walked toward me, slowly. I felt like I was suffocating. There was no way out. No one here to save me. I looked right at him. 

He didn’t seem off put. He didn’t stop, he just maintained his pace. He was about a foot away from me when a shot rang out. I watched his body soundlessly fall to the ground. My ears were ringing. I stared, open mouthed, at the pool of blood that slid out from under his head, black and thick. 

I looked up. A red helmet stared blankly at me from the rooftop. It was only then, really, that I realized I was crying. My knees gave out and I fell to the ground, my palm landing in the puddle of blood. 

Jason landed on the ground beside me moments later. He knelt down and took my hand, helping me back to my feet. “Let’s get you home.” He muttered, his tone unreadable. 

----

The sun beaming through my window woke me up gradually. My head was killing me and my pillow had small dots of blood decorating it from the times when my nose had continued bleeding throughout the night. I sat up slowly and the memories of the night before came flooding back. Jason.

I reached for my phone, but I couldn’t find it. I stood up and walked cautiously out to the living room. He was here and had presumably spent the night. He was already awake and sitting on my couch. 

“Hi.” I breathed, unable to say more than that. 

He looked up at me with dark, angry eyes. Then, surprisingly, his gaze softened. “Come sit down?” He asked. 

I nodded and sat across from him. He didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t need to. I knew what he wanted from me was an explanation. 

“I-” I started, then stopped. I was already crying again. Embarrassment was the best word for what I was feeling. “I lied to you. I don’t need to tell you that, you already know. I lied to you because… Because I knew you wouldn’t let me go. And I should’ve told you. I shouldn’t have trusted him again, Jay. I know. But… I…” I couldn’t fully articulate the way I felt. I knew that I needed to try but between the throbbing pain and the hangover burning a hole in my brain it was damn near impossible to get anything coherent out. 

Jason didn’t say anything. He wanted to let me finish, I assumed. 

“He was… I loved him. I thought that maybe he had changed because he apologized and explained things. He said he was seeing a therapist now. That he had figured out ways to help himself cope with his problems, and Jay, I mean, he was my first real love. He made me feel so carefree and so happy. The times that he hit me were… I mean they were terrible but he always worked so hard to make up for it. I thought that there was good in him. I thought that maybe we would go back to just being happy together. And with everything I learned in training I knew I could protect myself. And then he got me drinking and I thought he was drinking too but he just kept ordering me drinks and you know how I am with alcohol, I didn’t think twice about what he might have been doing to me. Jason, please-”

He held up a hand. “Don’t.” He said softly. He put his face in his hands and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I… I’m disappointed.” He said finally. The words struck me deep in a core part of myself. “I thought you knew better.” 

I didn’t know what to say. I looked down and watched the tears from my eyes turn into dark spots on my shorts. 

“But-” he continued, “That’s how you’ve always been. Always wanting to see the best in people. Always wanting to fix what just can’t be fixed. You were clearly manipulated. He clearly fucked you so badly in the head that you really thought he loved you.” He looked up at me. 

I can’t imagine what he must see. Some dumb child sitting in front of him, crying like everything wasn’t her fault. I would have been safe if I hadn’t just walked right into his trap. I could have saved everyone the headache. I must have looked so pathetic. 

“You don’t need a lecture. You need help. You need-” I let out the sob that I’d been holding in and he sighed. “You need a friend.” He stood up and walked toward me, pulling me into his arms. “I am so sorry that you have never known real love. I’m sorry that that is what love is to you because it is so much more beautiful than kissing bruises.” 

I looked up at him and he carefully tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and wiped away a tear that had tracked a glistening trail down my cheek. “It is so much gentler.” He whispered. I couldn’t hold his gaze so I looked back down. 

He didn’t force me to look at him. He didn’t say anything after that. I wanted to believe him, but the love he described sounded too fairytale-like to be real. Love is damaged. I wanted to argue but I knew there was no point. He saw me as damaged, and hell, maybe I was. All I could offer him was the same hollow “Thank you.” that I spoke to no one the night before.

[yyxy-seph]

Post Insane! Sephiroth X Black girl! Reader

𝒪𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓈𝒾𝓁𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓁𝑜𝒸𝓀𝓈 pt.1

Part 2

Part 3

Warning: SUPER fucking cheesy! And I’m a relatively new FFVII fan so some of my wordings might be kind of weird. But if you want more content like this from me, just hit the heart!

Also, I’ve changed some of the events in the storyline. Avalanche hasn’t attacked Shinra just yet! But Sephiroth has already had his insane streak.

Context: Zack & Cloud set Y/N up on a blind date w/ Seph! Here, we will discover an interesting history between Seph and the reader as well as witness their adorable date!

————-

“Y/N, come here.” Zack ordered once more. I let out another sigh of frustration at how he had set me up on a blind date with no warning.

He said that he was tired of watching me worry over the thought of not being able to find a fine man, get married, and have kids as a SOLDIER.

So he set me up on a blind date with a tiny bit of input from Cloud. I know right? As if he really cares about stuff like this. But Cloud has been acting really strange about it and it kinda upsets me how they’re making plans without my input.

Before I left the SOLDIER territory, Cloud showed up just to tease me. On my way out he said “He’ll never be just a memory to you, you love him too much.”

What does that even mean? He also said that this guy I’d be meeting is a pretty, popular ex- SOLDIER.

Zack told me not to lift one finger in preparation for the date since he was planning it all. He even picked my outfit.

A little black dress with a turtleneck, low slit in the front, and cinched waist. It also had silver buttons and bows along the back. The heels were probably the most interesting part though.

They were gladiator-style, thigh-high sandals with a chunky heel. But, they weren’t just ordinary heels. They had a shuriken intruding in the back that could also be used during battle. How stylish!

I gotta give it to Zack. He could be a part-time stylist. He even called the shoes “cute and dangerous”.

He entered my view with his regular gleam in his eyes.

“I think you’ll really like this guy. He’s just your type-badass, first-class...well, former SOLDIER, long hair, certainly committed, and kinda fucking crazy-“

“I’m not sure if that description helped much for my worries.” I cut him off.

He laughed nervously but continued, reassuring me it’d be ok.

“But no really, you’re just his type too! Pretty, curvy, great fighter, determined. He really likes bad girls, and to me, you’re pretty damn bad on the field. You can fight your ass off! Proves why you’re first-class!”

A smile spread across my face.

“That’s very sweet of you, Zack. That’s why you’re my best friend!”

He beamed in return. “No problem. But one more thing before you go in.” He said more seriously.

“Okay...”

“If he goes bat-shit crazy again and tries to hurt you, yell for me as loud as you can. Promise me.”

“Again?? And I can handle myself, Zack.”

“I know you can! Just promise me.” He said, holding my hands and tightening his grip.

“Fine. I promise.”

“Now go blow his mind with those mako-infused eyes!”

I chuckled at his words and went into the room, one step at a time in my heels.

It was a restaurant. The walls were painted the vermillion shade of red. Black stripes were also painted in certain spots, accentuating a romantic vibe.

“Where is he, where is he?” I asked myself with each step. I was starting to get nervous. All those years of fighting off countless enemies and this is what has me the most anxious and uncomfortable.

Just then, I spotted a man sitting by himself as if he was waiting on someone to join. He had silver locks from what I could see but his head was turned to the kitchen of the restaurant so his face remained mysterious.

I sat down on the empty seat in front of him, curious to meet this man.

He turned his head swiftly, to the sound of me placing my hands on the glass table.

“Hey- SEPHIROTH??”

His cutely shaped lips rose in attraction.

“Hello, princess.” He responded.

I was completely and utterly shocked. Sephiroth, the best warrior in Shinra. The guy who lost his mind and caused the Nibelheim incident. The guy who is somehow still good looking to me even after all the fucked up shit he did. The silver haired man of my dreams who broke my heart when I was younger.

Even though we’ve had little to do with each other in the past, he still meant a lot to me until he faded from my mind. That is, after he went insane.

He liked me, I liked him. It was evident. We were young and in the SOLDIER program. He took up my mental space rather than training. I liked him that much. But he was more focused on his training and never considered dating. He just thought I was a pretty face and that we’d be nothing more.

He worked his way up to first class through his amazing fighting ability while I stayed behind due to my lack of interest. Fighting was just a thing to do. It was never too important to me.

The night before the Nibelheim incident, we shared a kiss. He snuck to my dorm out of curiosity (and desperation due to his previous conversation with Genesis), it seemed. He said, “ if we were to have a relationship, I need to have a good fighter and a good kisser. If you fail at one thing, you must perfect the other. Otherwise, we never know what could be.”

I sat up on my bed and pressed my lips against his. He leaned in more, deepening it. Soon, we were making out. Until, we weren’t.

He just left after that. No words were spoken. He just slid on his coat and left.

The next night, he’d lost his mind. And once the word had spread that this happened, my heart was instantly broken.

I thought things like, ‘Why would he do such a thing?’, ‘He didn’t love me.’, ‘I would’ve been there for him through all this chaos’, ‘He just played with my emotions and used me’, ‘He didn’t like the kiss’, and so on.

With my new wound, I decided to nurture it by taking my frustrations out during training. I trained as hard as I could, making my way up to first class. Everyone was shocked, especially Cloud. He thought he’d never see the day that I took training seriously.

But here I am. And now I’m in front of my past love, Sephiroth, who never seemed to care about me and... now does? Why did Zack set me up like this?

“I-I can’t believe I’m on this date with you right now.” I admitted with crossed arms and growing hatred.

His green cat-like eyes sparkled under the florescent lights. “Sure, you can’t. But you are. And there’s no turning back now.”

“Oh, yes there is.” I shot back while getting up.

He leaned forward over the table and laid his hand on top of mine, grasping it in his clutch. “I left you...and I’m sorry for that, but I’m not letting you leave.”

He flashed another attractive glare while more of his long hair fell over his shoulder, revealing once more that it was him.

Uh, I hate myself for still thinking he’s handsome.

“Why should I stay?” I asked, half-way giving in already.

“Because I won’t hurt you like I did before.”

I sighed, still being disappointed.

“Tuh, it’s only a matter of time before you’re blowing my head off or impaling me with your masamune.”

“Baby, I would never, never you.” He stated with promising eyes.

The nickname caught me off guard, making me fall a bit more for him.

“Just sit down and I’ll tell you everything. I swear. The truth and nothing but.”

I gazed down at his hand, still caressing mine, and back up at his green eyes.

I can’t believe I’m giving into this.

“Start talking.”

He began while I sat back down.

“I never meant to hurt you, really. I just didn’t intend to be in a relationship at that time or do the things I did the next night.”

“Why did you get my hopes up that night then?” I questioned, still being defensive.

“I-I just c-couldn’t control myself. I didn’t know how I felt about you. But now I do.”

“And now I’m supposed to sit here and take you back just like that? What about how I feel?” I replied and continued.

“Will you be able to control yourself if I piss you off one day, or is that the old Seph?” How do I know you’re telling me the truth and not just using me again?”

“Y/N, I don’t expect you to believe me or take me back but just hear me out.”

“I’m waiting...”

“The night I found out the entirety of my origins, I just couldn’t deal. I’d been lied to my whole life so far and had a deep feel for anger and assassination. I hated Shinra, I hated everything. My mind had gone elsewhere and that wasn’t me. I’ve calmed down and found the real reason for my existence. And that’s being a great SOLDIER, saving the planet, being the fine man you wanted, and giving you the world.”

Not gonna lie, his words were really touching. I could see the sincerity in him. But I still wasn’t ready to give in just yet.

“It’s that easy?” I asked.

“It’s only that easy if you show me the way. I need you. I want you.”

More silence and confliction rolled through me as I started realizing he might be telling the truth.

[silver-wield]

Hi! Can you do an analysis where after you do all the sidequests in chapter 3 and Tifa asks Cloud which outfit to wear? Thank you!

You're talking about the alone at last discovery, but you want all the dress options? I mean, the mature one is canon for her even if you don't do alone at last, so the other choices are optional within an optional scene – and the only reason it's optional is because you get the mature dress anyway.

Basically I'm just gonna do the mature dress lol

Ok, spoiler warning for ppl who haven’t played – do I still need to do this? Eh ok, (I tag FF7R spoilers as final fantasy 7 remake spoilers) and it’s gonna be medium.

Also, this is one person’s interpretation of the scene, so if you disagree that’s cool and we’ll agree to disagree.

You’re also gonna have to excuse the janky quality on some of the screens, I’m grabbing them from Youtube and it’s frustrating af trying to get the exact moment I want.

Please check my master post to see if I've already covered your question, thanx

Recap time!

A pouting Cloud – who will always be my favourite Cloud cause adorable af – has been convinced by Tifa to help collect money for water filters to cover his pay for the reactor job. While they're making their rounds he gets stopped by Marle for a little heart to heart and a very important life lesson that he takes with him through the rest of the game.

Once that's over and he's changed the filter in his room, he pops next door to see Tifa.

AGH SHE'S SO CUTE! She's totally being cute on purpose too! Big eyes, hands behind her back, leaning forward, she's doing everything she can to put Cloud at ease because she's about to be nosy and we know Tifa doesn't push people.

The wide eyes, surprised “hmm?” and unguarded expression show he thought she had something else in mind besides this question lol

This isn't real!Cloud btw, it's just surprised Cloud lol

This is real!Cloud. After some back and forth between them, where Cloud seems to have a small deliberation with himself what he's ok to reveal while Tifa wears an earnest and hopeful look of expectation he'll share with her, Cloud turns away and gives some basic info that's emotionless and has very little attachment to his SOLDIER persona. A part of him seems to realise that and we see a flicker of grief cross his face. His mouth downturns and his brows pull together for a brief moment. He may well be getting a reminder of Zack's death, but it's so detached at this point he can't recall it or feel anything besides the slightest flicker. He grows confused and tries to muddle it through, but there's no conclusion. It's yet another odd feeling he has that comes with no reason why.

Tifa senses Cloud's upset and apologises for pushing him. She's very aware of his feelings and the distance between them from the long years apart.

We get a wide shot of them, showing the physical distance, which highlights their emotional distance. However, between them on the rug is the pattern of the reunion flower. This imagery has likely been placed there as a metaphor for them reuniting.

Cloud gives Tifa his profile as she talks about them maybe never meeting again and it being a strange coincidence they did. Since part of him assumed she was dead the entire time, it's likely a painful association to him and that's why he can't face her when she says it. With his head down and eyes obscured we can't really read his face very well, but from the glimpse we get, he looks hurt.

The distance between them closes when Tifa takes steps towards Cloud and he turns to her. She suggests they celebrate and Cloud looks surprised. Since he's probably wanted to ask her out since forever, the ease in which she does it makes him doubt she's sincere.

Tifa clearly becomes defensive here. The potential rejection from Cloud's “really?” has made her cross her arms over herself in a protective gesture. Her expression is hiding the hurt that Cloud might not want to go out with her. She tried to close the distance between them, but then took a small step back, indicating they're not quite comfortable with each other still. They're both wary and tip-toeing around each other, being careful. In Tifa's case, it's likely so Cloud won't up and leave all of a sudden. And for Cloud, we can guess it's because as much as he wants to be with Tifa, he feels like he always fails her and has no right to be around her.  

Cloud, you're a goddamn troll and I hate you lol

Caught the smile the third time I watched this bit back. I knew he was teasing her anyway, but his micro-expressions give me life and I need to find the exact moment they appear. He wants to see her dressed up. Just the idea of her dressing up for him is making him want to smile. Cloud joking around is adorable and I wanna see more of it. This is hints of real!Cloud teasing his crush because he thinks she’s cute.

Remember during their promise scene when Cloud would try and bait a reaction out of Tifa and she'd one up him and he'd end up being the one who got stuck in his feels? Yeah, this is that.

You'd think by now Cloud would've learned not to tease Tifa if he can't handle the come back. I mean, this is a clear, check me out, pose.

When Cloud says, “Something refined,” Tifa smiles and replies “we're not kids anymore” which is definitely suggestive of her. The look on her face hints that she's got plans already and she's pleased that it seems Cloud doesn't think of her as just his childhood friend anymore. Which is why she draws attention to them not being kids any longer. She wants Cloud to think of her as a woman.

And Cloud likes the idea of them matching. It's suggestive of a couple, which he'd like to be with her, so the fact she's asked him to match her is a huge hint that she still has a crush, although Tifa's so reserved her hints are very small and take a keen eye to spot. That Cloud smiles at the thought shows how much he's looking forward to going out with her, he does this tiny little shy glance away then back to her – we were robbed of a cute date up on the plate #cries#

More Cloud smiling. He's looking forward to it, even if he replies “maybe” to Tifa saying how much fun they'll have. He was asked out and agreed. That's how dates work. We were robbed #cries even more#

It's an introspective moment for him. He's likely wanted to ask her out for years and this is how easy it was the entire time lol

Conclusion

Get married, make babies, we're getting old here!

Cloud isn't pressured into going out with Tifa, the amount he smiles during this exchange shows he's excited to have a date with her – even if they're not calling it a date. Tifa got Cloud to open up a little and they closed some of the emotional and physical distance between them. It's a step on the path to them becoming a couple.

I say a lot that they have good eye contact and this is where they begin. Before this moment, Cloud looked at her, but didn't hold her gaze as much. After Marle telling him to try more, he's putting himself out there for her and making that emotional connection. Their eye contact in this scene isn't there at the start, because of the seriousness of the conversation at times, but Tifa's very sympathetic to Cloud's needs and does her best to cheer him up. It works because he teases her and by the end, they're on their way to that moment in the corkscrew tunnel when neither of them broke eye contact even after getting up.

[rainbowcarousels]

You can blame @aimeelouart for asking about my keeping track of how each relationship between AGSZC progresses for the fact this meta now exists. It was somewhat hastily written in the back of my maths textbook so please excuse the lack of polish and put it down to the fact I couldn’t take another 2 hours of algebra.

Fives Company, not a Crowd

Relationships with Love

(or how AGSZC functions in the JBSWM universe*)

Cloud

Love is something that is given without expectation of return. This is applicable both platonically and romantically, he's willing to put everything on the line for the people he loves but he doesn't really expect them to do the same for him. Some of that comes from the fallout from his and Tifa's trip up the mountains and the subsequent responsibility placed on him for that but other parts stem from wanting to feel included but not being able to put himself out there so it's a lot easier to  be prickly and pretend you don't care when in reality, I think Cloud loves incredibly deeply and it's why he's easily hurt by it no matter how strong a front he puts up. At eighteen, he's still trying to find a balance between keeping everyone at bay so he doesn't get hurt and letting himself figure things out and take those risks. There's a fun parallel to Sephiroth there in that neither cut themselves any slack for mistakes so it's hard to get out there when you might make one when making a mistake – especially in his first real adult relationship –  feels like the end of the world. His only really obvious love up till that point is his mother and I do think he misses her a lot, but is also deathly afraid of letting her down and that weighs on their relationship.

The rest under the cut!

Zack

Loves to love (and he loves to dance, kudos to anyone who got that reference). The walking embodiment of a carebear, loves quickly, easily and casually. The more affection and love you throw at him, you'll get it back tenfold. The trick with Zack is that he lives his life with his heart so open that he has a natural connection with most people but it does make it more difficult to spot the differences between puppy love and intense, romantic love. This is one of the reasons he and Gen clash so much, Gen is 10000% passion and intensity and Zack always seems casual even when he's not. Ultimately, Zack is only 20 and still has a lot of trouble balancing his life between love, friendship and work. Since he's a social creature by nature compared with Cloud's more introverted nature, he's pretty decent at reading people and what they're feeling and absolutely wants to listen to them and hear about what they're feeling instead of having to guess. Compared with any of the other four really, he grew up with a strong sense of his social community and it helped instil a lot of compassion and resilience in his ability to love.

Sephiroth

Big yikes on this front. A walking talking advertisement for dysfunctional attachment and it would not surprise me in the least if he has some kind of attachment disorder as a leftover from a childhood which has probably left it's fair share of emotional scars. If I consult my Master timeline (and my attempts to make sense of Gast's timeline since he appears to have left Shinra on a fact finding mission around the time Sephiroth was born and left again for real this time two years before Aerith was born taking Ifalna with him), his first experiences of emotional connection are Hojo (yikes), Gast (who must come back sporadically from his fact finding between 1979 and 1983 so even before he dies when Sephiroth is four it's probably difficult to pinpoint as a positive attachment), Ifalna (here is where I get a little creative with canon but I do quite like the idea that if she did end up at Shinra before Gast left that he would have wanted to be like LOOK AN ANCIENT BABY and have her be like um no no that is not but also he was probably a toddler at the time and has no real strong recollection of her) and then SOLDIER. We know he served with adult SOLDIERs so I really doubt he connected in any strong way with them having had an extremely sheltered upbringing and oh yeah HE'S TWELVE. Man this one needs splitting up because it's Sephiroth.

So Enter Gen & Angeal when he's around 13, maybe closer to 14. What we know from Zack!Cloud and see from some of Zack's memories in CC, Sephiroth is not cruel but he is a hell a taskmaster and I think there's two big reasons why I put his connection with Angeal first. One, Angeal is a hard worker, he tries to do as much as he can and get himself out there and Sephiroth can respect that.Genesis on the other hand is talented, which...means he actually has to work hard at the things that don't come naturally to him for the first time and since he had the hero worship thing going on and Sephiroth was not social, they did not get along easily until they had a better understanding of each other. This is the same understanding that Gen gradually loses through degradation in canon, whereas Angeal and Sephiroth remain close-ish. Two, Angeal doesn't take anything personally and remains at a respectful distance, even when trying to connect. Sephiroth for his part was perplexed by his continual attention and has no idea what to make of it. It's only when Angeal is still doing it a few months down the line, when Gen has calmed down a little from his perceived slight, that they're able to forge stronger connections and I think there's a tandem effect with those two where Angeal is emotionally open and unobtrusive and Gen is not about to talk about anything emotional but he's physically affectionate. Most importantly of all, they aren't afraid of him, even the parts that a lot of other SOLDIERs may find disturbing, Angeal wants to just check in on and Genesis is mostly thinking 'meh, I could do that'. So ultimately, what would end up being his relationship with love is largely impacted by people who keep him at a distance or leave for a long time and then it's like a bus, you wait for one friend and two come along at once.

So then we have his concept of love being defined largely by friendship because his concept of it is so heavily defined by two people who were friends with each other and him first. The potential problem being that his world gets very wrapped up in only two people and as such, he's obsessive and possessive of them because it's all he has. Then Zack comes along and he's hyper affectionate, social, loving basically in a way he hasn't really had thrown at him and he doesn't fully know what to do with. To a degree, Cloud is easier – he's independent, prickly and does not get on with people which for him is relatable. Zack comes in like nothing he's ever experienced and the way he loves is so different that it's left him trying to figure out how he feels about this new kind of love coming into his life.

Angeal

Hands down a nurturer. It's all about putting his time and energy and heart into a relationship and letting whatever kind of love blooms happen naturally. While I don't think he forms connections easily, he tries to keep himself open and supportive of people around him and that lends itself to connecting with people. I do think he had a strong, loving role model in his parents (well, mother and stepfather, fuck you Hollander) and he had good relationships with them so he has some model by which to judge what love looks like. I also think canonly this is the thing he never really gets over losing, his mother and his connection to his parents.

I think Genesis has always been his great love story. They were, when they were a couple, one that would tell the story of how they met bit by bit until Angeal let Genesis take over telling it because he knows Gen never ever stops talking. I think it's one of the reasons they work well together – Angeal has the calm, quiet and cosy sort of love compared with Genesis who is passion and intensity 24/7. They balance each other out because Angeal does also try to push at his partners to behave, he will be passive aggressive or take small measures to try and correct things (a good example in 7s9s is that he will lock the liquor up knowing Genesis can break it but it's the fact he at least tried to get him to behave that helps him sleep at night) but ultimately, he is more passive as a person. When it was just the trio, Sephiroth added to some of the calm from Angeal but also more than matches Gen for obsessiveness. As things progress, Zack's casual nature adds to the calm but his excitement adds to the intensity and Cloud's introversion adds to the quiet but he's also a mouthy little shit.

One of the major things Angeal brings to the table is that his default setting is to care, same as Zack and that everyone at this table needs taking care of in some way. Cloud is obvious, he's struggling the most but he also feels that way with Zack because he can't completely separate the mentor-ship role even he tries to respect Zack as a First Class in his own right, Sephiroth has so few connections that being able to read him and react in a way as needed is extremely valuable and Genesis is just extremely responsive to the first instance of a seemingly unconditional love in his life and even if he would hate to admit it, loves that Angeal tries to take care of him. I think he's happiest when he can express how he feels to each person in turn in their own language and watch them respond.

Genesis

I think with Genesis there's a very large difference between his relationship with love and his relationship with romance. Romance is easy, he can be lyrical and affectionate and flirtatious at the drop of a hat but the emotion behind it being love is tricky at best. For some reason, I've always viewed him as someone who was a very clingy kid, who wanted parental attention constantly, was constantly seeking reassurance and often didn't get it. We know that Gen at that point was confined to Banora so I do think his parents would leave a decent amount when he was young and it's one of the reasons he latches on so hard when he meets Angeal. Angeal is not only present all the time but wants his attention and doesn't seem to mind that he chatters on and on. It's probably something to do with the idea if he keeps talking, he'll stay longer or trying to just fill silence because I think quiet disturbs him on some level because he's actually terrified of loneliness.

As he's gotten older and he turned out to be good at a few things, he got some of the loving responses he'd wanted but I also think as much as this reinforced the idea love is earned and you have to pay for it, a part of him from Angeal, from seeing his parents relationship with him covetously, knows that love can be unconditional but fears it's not so for him and probably spent a great deal of their early romantic relationship waiting for Angeal to realise and leave.

It's why his relationship with Sephiroth when they make the decision to expand the relationship to include him is initially categorised as casual, he can walk away any time and so can they, it's super casual, okay? Except I don't really think it was, it was just an out and then with Zack, he has no out. Zack is happening and it's love or bust. There's no out and then Zack does not seem that into making an effort and he is Not Happy about that. If you then contrast that to Cloud, who is incredibly responsive to his attentions but without demanding it. There's a lot of control on his end when it comes to his relationship with Cloud so it felt a lot less high stakes. Then Hojo happened and all of that went out the window because it was obvious how deep in he was at that point, he was willing to try and comfort Zack and keep him out of trouble, he was willing to care for Cloud in a way that isn't totally to his nature (if Angeal is the gardener, he's a very finicky plant – needs much attention and the right amount of everything to grow properly and will pretend to be dying if you miss a day) and show concern where he would usually rather jump off the plate headfirst than show emotions that vulnerable.

*This is your standard disclaimer that this only applies to how I see them in this verse, it's not applicable elsewhere but I might use examples from elsewhere to back up the point.

[secret-engima]

Cloud Strife reborn as Prompto argentum???

*ancient plunny revives with a scream* *I slam the lid back down on it with a surprised screech*

WHY YOU DO THIS TO ME. BUCKLE UP WE’RE GETTING A FREAKING FICLET.

-Cloud Strife dies, old and ... contented for the most part. He’s lived a good life. Not an easy one, or even a kind one, but ... good. He dies and he slides into the Lifestream, and Zack and Aerith welcome him with open arms.

-And for a very, very long time, he drifts. He is ... partially aware of the world beyond the Lifestream, but he mostly doesn’t care. He did his part, saved it more than a few times, he’s earned his rest.

-Zack and Aerith like to keep an eye on the world though, partly out of curiosity and partly out of care, and they keep him apprised of certain things. Of Minerva raising new Guardians of the world via the Summons, assigning some to guard the Star from threats from beyond, some as Messengers who function much like old Summons. They tell him about the rise and fall of a civilization called Solheim and Cloud mourns a little at the rush of new residents in the Lifestream that follows Ifrit’s wrath.

-Then Aerith comes to him and tells him-

-That Ifrit went too far. His anger runs too deep. It’s ... done something. Jenova is dead and gone, but some of her taint lingered in the scars of the world and Ifrit’s anger FUSED with those old wisps to birth something new. Something terrible. Something called the Starscourge.

-And Cloud gets a nasty feeling that his time of rest is coming to an end.

-Still, he doesn’t leave. He doesn’t want to. But now he takes to watching occasionally with Zack and Aerith as the Astrals struggle to stop what one of their own created, as Bahamut crafts a mighty Crystal, a direct conduit to the power of the Lifestream and all the old magics that used to be found freely in Materia but that Gaia had long ago pulled back for fear of humanity’s abuse. Bahamut tracks down two families, one descended of Tifa’s children, blue eyed and black haired and Stubborn, another descended of Genesis of all people, skilled in magic and poets at heart. Bahamut blesses them with magic and tells them they will save the world.

-Cloud watches in spurts and flickers, dropping into awareness every century or so. The two family lines have no yet cured the Scourge, the taint still spreads, inch by inch and victim by victim.

-Aerith cries her heart out when Ardyn is born, and rises, and falls. It’s not fair. It’s not FAIR for another to suffer like this. Ardyn was as close to an Ancient as could ever be and he tried so HARD, but he was too immature in his magic, he didn’t have the same knowledge that Aerith or even Zack and Cloud had about magic and so he was infected. But his magic was too strong to let him die from it.

-Cloud goes and yells at Minerva with Zack a little bit, and she looks at them wearily and explains she CAN’T do anything. Gaia has given the world of the living to the Astrals. Minerva can no longer directly interfere and Bahamut refuses to listen.

-And time continues to unspool. Bahamut has bound Gaia (now called Eos) to a Prophecy and all they can do is watch it play out.

-Unless...

-Titan comes to them in secret, without Bahamut’s knowledge or permission. Titan is of Earth and the Earth is of the Lifestream, he is the closest still to being the Titan of old, the closest to memories of when Eos was Gaia and Gaia had Champions. Titan is a patience creature, but not unkind. He, unlike the others, has remained awake and part of the world after catching the great Meteor, has seen humans struggle and live and love and die. He remembers the old Champions... and so he asks.

-One more time?

-Cloud is tired just thinking about it. He is not a hero, not in his own eyes, he is just a screwup, an experiment gone wrong and broken free of its strings. But he loves his friends, and the people who are descended of Tifa and Genesis and all his old companions. He loves the world still and most of all ... he loves Aerith and Zack. His brother and sister of heart. So when Aerith and Zack step forward to accept Titan’s plan, what can Cloud do but quietly step forward as well and offer to fight one more time?

-Titan thanks them, and he and Minerva make a plan. Already time is drawing short. They cannot simply DO THIS and hope for the best, they must place them where they have the most chance of changing things. Titan and Minerva settle on an idea and Minerva apologizes to Cloud, specifically.

-Cloud is pulled under before he can ask why. And for a long time that is the last he knows.

-Awareness comes back in flickers and spurts and the feel of bubbling green liquid on his skin. Sight comes diluted by the water of a tank.

-Cloud emerges from his tank screaming and thrashing, and the men in white coats take note of his unusual energy and reactions to the first of the Scourge treatments.

-Cloud feels the Scourge slide into his veins like an old, hated friend and screams louder, but magic is soul and soul is magic and Cloud’s soul has already battled something far worse than this diluted, spiteful plague. It consumes the Scourge in his veins, twists it into familiar channels and patterns that will someday make Cloud unnaturally strong and fast and keen of senses despite his scrawny frame and normal appearance.

-For now though, Cloud shivers in his sparks of fragile awareness and hates that he ever agreed to this.

-Of course he was reborn in a FREAKING LABORATORY.

-Cloud isn’t sure how long he stays in the lab, fading from awareness only to launch back to the forefront of the infantile mind this body has in fits and spurts. Just that it’s too long. Long enough for the men to mark him like a candy bar, long enough for them to pump gallon after gallon of Scourge in his veins and take confused notes when his body absorbs it and twists it into something different out of self-defense.

-He wakes up at one point to hear someone shuffling around the lab they moved him into. Someone with a different tread from the guards and the scientists. Cloud whines despite himself, flails with frustrating tiny limbs as a strange face appears above his sealed not-crib. Ice blue eyes look into Cloud’s, and Cloud knows in an instant this man is not of the lab. This man is dressed wrong, moves wrong, FEELS like he doesn’t belong, like there is a star pulsing softly under his skin.

-Cloud reaches for the man with another whine he can’t help and starts crying silently because Stupid Baby Instincts.

-He’s honestly surprised when the man blinks twice, sighs at the ceiling and mutters over his own idiocy, and then breaks open Cloud’s not-crib container. Alarms screech in his overly sensitive ears as the man clumsily hefts Cloud’s tiny infant self into his arms and RUNS. Cloud has never been so grateful for another person’s recklessness in his entire life.

-The man runs and hides and carts him what feels like halfway across the world, bumbling through childcare in a way that Cloud is pretty sure a normal baby wouldn’t have survived. Cloud is probably JUST shy of a year old when the man stumbles into a city that is coated with magic and makes his way to a huge building that practically THROBS with magic in a way that makes Cloud’s baby skin crawl and the not-Scourge in his blood shiver.

-The man is apparently named Cor, at least according to the other two men who yell that name as he stumbles into a private study with Cloud wrapped in his tattered jacket. Cloud can’t stop his tiny baby body from bursting into tears at the yelling (sound was too-loud-TOOLOUDMAKEITSTOP) and the dead, stunned silence is almost gratifying.

-“I couldn’t leave him,” Cor rasps to the other two men as they tentatively inspect Cloud, “I just- the things they were DOING to him, Regis. The things in the reports- I couldn’t leave him.”

-“Well you can’t keep him,” protests one of the men as the other holds out a finger for Cloud to hold and coos, “Niflheim will become suspicious. Especially since the boy looks nothing like you.”

-“I’m not killing him,” Cor SNARLS, holding Cloud too tightly to be comfortable. Both men raise their hands placatingly and promise that was NOT what they were implying.

-They end up giving Cloud away after having their doctors poke and prod and confirm he’s not infected with anything (how they miss the not-Scourge in his veins Cloud will never know). Cloud can’t stop himself from clinging to Cor when the man gives him away, because Cor might not have a clue how to raise a kid, but Cor was kind and SAFE and Cloud didn’t want to him to leave.

-But leave the man does. And the couple takes him home. They name him Prompto Argentum.

-And for a long time after that, Cloud is all alone.

-Oh they take care of his physical needs, and they are affectionate for a while, but they are busy people, and Cloud is too mature and strange, and so they slowly drift away.

-Cloud tells himself it’s fine. He can use the alone time to study at his true mental level rather than baby books and he can train his body to keep up with the burning, roiling power in his veins from the Not-Scourge that has given him skills and abilities dangerously similar to what he had post-Hojo. He tells himself that it’s fine as he looks for Zack and Aerith in the faces of every child and adult he meets and finds nothing. He tells himself it’s fine.

-The part of him that remembers raising Denzel, the part that held Tifa close when her beau left her after she refused to get rid of the child growing insider her and then helped her raise that child as if he was the father even when he wasn’t, knows it’s not.

-Cloud watches the news for word of Cor and wonders if the man knows (or would care) that the baby he saved is growing up raising HIMSELF rather than being loved and doted on as the couple promised.

-He avoids the children at school. One because he is mentally much older, and two because he can feel his SOLDIER strength coming back to him every passing year, fed to him through the gate opened by the Not-Scourge in his blood and the dreams Minerva sends him, promising that he will not be alone forever.

-He avoids the children for their own safety in case he has a panic attack about the labs of either lifetime and the things that were done to him.

-He avoids.

-Until one day, when Cloud is seven years old and has hidden himself in the farthest corner of the playground possible to get away from the too-loud noise of gossiping children on his too-sensitive ears, the new student the teachers mentioned (that Cloud hadn’t paid attention to) tromps up, squats down next to him and holds out a hand, “Hey,” he whispers as if he knows that Cloud is having a sensory overload day, “My name’s Noctis. Wanna be friends?”

-Cloud stares at blue, blue eyes the color of the sky, feels magic already wrapping around him in a boisterous sort of invisible hug and feels tears well up, “P-prompto.”

-The boy grins at him, bright as the sun in a way that almost hides the age in his eyes, “Hmmm, that’s a cool name and all, but I’m gonna give you a nickname. How about ... Cloud?”

-And Cloud knows.

-“Zack!” He wheezes as he lunges forward to catch his friend in a hug that is returned with equal desperation.

-“I’m here, buddy. I’m here. Sorry I took so long to find you.”

-Noctis (Zack) and Prompto (Cloud) are inseparable from that point on. Zack drags Cloud to his limo after school and Cloud has no issues coming over for a sleepover that he knows is probably not going to end until they hit their age of majority. The other boy in the back seat (Ignis) eyes Cloud warily, but then smiles and welcomes him.

-Once at Zack’s house (the freaking Citadel, so much for being a simple country boy), Zack and Cloud cry their eyes out and plan and acknowledge that Minerva and Titan needed kicks in the teeth for making Zack be reborn as the CHOSEN KING. Now they just need to find Aerith.

-“Betcha she’s the Oracle” Cloud says as he sprawls on the sinfully fluffy carpet and glares at the ceiling.

-Zack whines because his wife is so far away!!

-Cloud thinks Regis chokes on his wine a little bit when Zack drags Cloud to dinner and introduces him by his “official” name. Cloud wonders if Regis remembers the tiny infant he made Cor give away.

-(Regis looks at the new friend his son has made, with blue eyes that seem to glow when in shadows and who wears a leather armband over one wrist at all times, and oh, OH he remembers. He remembers and he wonders with a swoop of dread if this friendship is really just coincidence).

-SO. Some other thoughts on this monster AU plunny: Aerith is Luna (obviously) and writes to the boys the moment Pryna and Umbra are old enough to use as messengers. Noctis is known for being a hyper, cheerful oddball while Prompto is his quiet, melancholy and too-serious friend that can bench press a suit of armor despite looking like a shrimp.

-Cor has a minor heart attack upon meeting Cloud, who instantly gloms onto him as if he remembers Cor (but that’s impossible, kids don’t remember things before the age of three right? RIGHT?).

-Prompto is not the sharpshooter in this verse. Sorry he isn’t. Cloud hates guns for Reasons (coughZack’s deathcough) and he is unnaturally strong. Of COURSE he’s going to take to swords at an early age. He designs his Fusion sword when he’s fourteen and Noctis/Zack splurges his entire royal allowance to get it forged by the royal weapons makers just for Cloud.

-Cloud is there when the Marilith thing happens, it was a road trip playdate that Regis grudgingly allowed.

-Regis shows up in time to see two tiny 7-8 year old children fighting off a Marilith with magic sparking off their bodies like supernovas, Prompto’s eyes glowing an eerie blue as he picks up a dead Crownsguard’s sword and wields it like its a paperweight and Noctis’s eyes burn blood red as he spams lightning spells and whoops like its all a game.

-Regis is Very Sure that neither of these boys are entirely normal. Or sane. But he’s just so glad they’re alive.

-Tenebrae invasion happens without Noctis being there, Luna/Aerith meets Ardyn and promptly begins working her Flower Girl magic.

-Ardyn may or may not show up at the Citadel two years later with Oracle kids in tow, looking to defect and feeling 120% more sane since taking to wearing Luna’s flower crowns and walking in the garden in the rain with her (hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge).

-Noctis spots Luna, hurtles up at top speed, and announces to all and sundry that HI. HE’S NOCTIS. HE’S GOING TO MARRY YOU.

-While Regis tries to explain art you can’t just SAY THAT, Luna kneels down to be eye level with the now younger love of her life and tells him that if he still wants to marry her when he turns 19, then she will gladly oblige.

-Cloud and Ardyn hold a staring contest during which Ardyn rapidly puts together some pieces about the Chosen King child, the Oracle, and this little escaped Lab Boy and starts cackling like a lunatic.

-BAHAMUT YOU’RE IN FOR A WAKEUP CALL.

-Also at one point Titus and Prompto are alone in the same room for like- twenty minutes because Prompto is hiding in Titus’s office. Titus and him hold a staring contest before Titus’s lips twitch and his eyes flicker an eerie green.

-“Hello Cloud,” he purrs, “You aren’t angry I’m here?”

-Cloud crosses his arms and huffs goodnaturedly, “Who do you think talked Minerva into kicking your moping butt out for a second chance, Sephiroth? Also, if you’re using that creepy armor under your skin as an excuse to hurt Zack and his family-.”

-“Never,” Sephiroth says firmly, “I have been the slave of my experimenters before. I have no desire to be so again. I currently feed Regis information gleaned from General Glauca and only give the Empire non-information cleared ahead of time by the king.”

-“Okay then.”

-“Indeed.”

-And that is the start of the Glaives living confusion fever dream where they keep walking in on their Captain holding the WEIRDEST conversations with a Smol Child (or Children, Noctis gets in on it too) that range from insult contests and mockery of each other’s sword techniques to deep, soul-searching questions of existence and magic and how it relates to the soul.

-Nyx would really like it if life could start making sense again pls. These never happened before Prompto Argentum came along.

[rainbowwing251]

An Unexpected Change in Routine (Super Smash Bros. Tickle Fic)

A/N: I suddenly have the urge to write more ler!Shulk fics. And you know what? I’m going to do it!

So who’s getting the lee treatment this time? Why, it’s none other than Cloud!

But before we get to that, I must give all of you some obligatory warnings:

No romance or NSFW. Considering some of the sentences in this fic, there is heavy emphasis on the no NSFW part.

There might be spoilers for Final Fantasy VII in this fic. If you haven’t beaten the game yet, take caution.

And I guess that’s it for the warnings. I hope you’ll enjoy the second instance of a ler!Shulk fic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cloud felt the sleepiness in his brain as he woke from a deep sleep. He didn’t dream of Zack, Aerith, or Sephiroth, which was a bit odd to him, but he didn’t feel like questioning it.

Sadly, he had gotten used to seeing those three faces in his dreams, despite all of his prayers for a peaceful sleep. However, for some unknown reason, his prayers were answered at some point during the previous night.

Why now? Why did it take so long for him to not have a nightmare about the carnage that had occured in the fight against Shinra and Sephiroth? Why did he have to suffer for so long? Who or what was responsible for the nightmare-free night that just happened? Those questions would come to his mind sometime later in the day, but right now, his mind was incapable of thinking about anything.

Well, anything that wasn’t Shulk. Cloud quickly noticed that he wasn’t lying next to him, and he nearly shot up out of the bed in fear. “Where is he?”

Normally, Shulk would sleep with him and cling onto him like a child. If it was anyone else, Cloud would have shoved them off of him in a heartbeat, but Shulk? He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t bear the thought of a sad visionary.

Not only that, but he found it to be quite cute. Shulk was surprisingly affectionate once he got to know someone, but he would be too shy to show it during the day. When the sun goes down, however, the restraint is gone, and he will shower his loved ones with physical affection (though none of the affection was romantic or questionable in nature). Cloud experienced this for the first time when his room and the Hom’s room got merged into one by Master and Crazy Hand.

He didn’t know why the two hands had given them a single bed instead of two separate ones, but oddly enough, he wasn’t mad at them. Shulk was one of the more “calm” fighters in the roster (likely due to his shyness and his tendency to get lost in his work), so despite the awkwardness, he didn’t see anything wrong with them sharing a bed. If anything, Shulk was the one who felt a bit uncomfortable with it at first.

As the two of them grew closer and began to see each other as brothers, the younger blonde warmed up to the idea. He told the mercenary that he wasn’t used to being in close proximity with another person (even though his friends would cuddle with him on a regular basis), but after a few nights, he grew to love the feeling of being physically close to someone that he cared for.

One day, he timidly asked Cloud if they could cuddle. The latter was shocked by the request for two reasons: One, no one had ever asked him if he could cuddle with them, not even Tifa or Aerith, and two, Shulk had found the courage to ask him this. No longer abashed by the idea of sleeping beside him, Cloud responded with a “yes”. Ever since then, the scientist would huddle up to him every time they went to sleep, and Cloud’s heart would melt every single time without fail.

They would hold each other until they woke up in the morning. Usually, the merc would wake up first, and he would either sit there and watch the younger blonde sleep, or try to wake him up.

At first, when he chose the latter option, it was difficult for him to get the other’s eyes to open up, but after Shulk taught him about tickling, it became significantly easier for him to wake him up.

Ah yes, that was another benefit of sleeping next to your “brother”. Ever since he learned about lees, lers, switches, and how he could effectively tickle another human being (or at least any sort of humanoid being), it became a morning routine for Cloud to tickle the younger blonde until he was wide awake and begging for mercy.

Clearly, he wouldn’t have to do that this morning, since Shulk was already awake and nowhere to be found. He wanted to get up and find him, but fatigue had a strong grip on his consciousness, and he was slowly succumbing to sleep once more. He nearly missed the sound of someone turning the door knob ever so slowly.

“Hm? Who could that be?” He thought as he watched the door open.

At first, he didn’t see anyone, and it nearly made him jump out of the bed to grab the Buster Sword off of the wall. Looking down didn’t help matters, as he saw an unrecognizable hand come out from behind the door. It pressed the button that activated the room’s sound-proofing barriers, and the merc let out a small yelp in response. At this point, Cloud was trying to calm himself down as he began to shake in fear. He had dealt with the supernatural before, so he should collect himself and get ready for battle.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar titter from behind the door. Even though the sound-proof barriers were on, they didn’t work that well if a door or window was open.

“That little shit!” Cloud facepalmed at himself as the door opened to reveal a very giggly Shulk on the other side. He should have known better than to think that there was a ghost in the Smash Colosseum.

“Mohohorning Cloud!” The Hom was still laughing as he closed the door behind him and greeted his “brother”.

“You’re such a jerk…” Cloud mumbled, trying not to smile at the younger boy’s giddiness.

“Eh?” The giggling stopped, and the happiness began to fade from his face. “Are you mad at me?”

“No, but you didn’t have to scare me like that. I thought there was a ghost hiding right outside of our room.”

“Oh, I’m really sorry. I thought you were still asleep, so I tried to be as quiet as possible. I didn’t know you were awake…” Shulk apologized as he sat down on the opposite side of the bed.

“No worries, but can I ask you something?”

“Sure!” Cloud could hear the happiness return to Shulk’s voice. “What’s up with that?” he wondered.

“Why did you turn the sound-proof barrier on?”

“Oh, um, about that…” The younger blonde started, but suddenly went silent. A five second long silence fell between them, and during that time, Cloud noticed that something was off with that statement. While Shulk sounded a bit embarrassed about… whatever it was that encouraged him to turn on the sound-proof barriers, it didn’t sound genuine at all. Cloud was about to ask him about this, but before he could say anything, he was pushed onto his back by the younger blonde.

“I was thinking about a change in our morning routine.”

It didn’t take long for the mercenary to put the pieces together after hearing that statement.

“Don’t you even darEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!” In an instant, Cloud’s body was hit with a barrage of tickles from all directions and spots. Shulk would switch spots every second, clearly intending to weaken him before he got the chance to fight back.

“GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! SHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHULK, STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!”

“Sorry, not interested.” The heir taunted him with his own catchphrase as he continued to torture him. Hearing this, Cloud nearly fell into hysterics, laughing even harder than before.

He had never suffered like this before, and Shulk had only been tickling him for a whole minute. Even when Tifa and Aerith teamed up to tickle him in between missions during their days in AVALANCHE, they were never this merciless. Sure, Aerith’s teasing was a bit cruel, and Tifa was a surprisingly evil tickler, but they had never studied the art of tickling like Shulk did. When it came to tickling, Tifa didn’t think too much about techniques or worst spots, she just went all in. Aerith was afraid of hurting Cloud back then, and looking back, he wished she’d felt the opposite. Who knows what she could have done to him if she hadn’t restrained herself?

For now, he couldn’t think about the “what ifs”. Actually, he couldn’t think about anything that wasn’t related to the tingling sensations that were shooting through his body at lightning speed. Shulk was being way too cruel to him right now.

“BROHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOTHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHR! IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI WIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHILL GEHEHEHET YOHOHOHOU BAHAHAHAHAHAHACK FOHOHOHOHOHOHOR THIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIS!”

Shulk let out an unnerving chuckle that reminded the older blonde of Zack when he got into a ler mood. “Are you sure about that? Do you think that you will have the energy to move when I’m done?” He leaned in a little bit closer to his “brother’s” face and spoke in one of the most terrifying voices known Cloud, “I don’t think you will. Not when I’m through with you~”

“Where the hell did that voice come from?” Cloud somehow managed to ask himself as he fell deeper and deeper into insanity. “Since when could he pull this off?”

“I WOHOHOHOHOHOHOHON’T SUREHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHENDEHEHEHEHEHER!”

“Surrender? Oh no, I’m not forcing you to do anything for me, brother.” A light giggle fell from Shulk’s lips as he leaned down to whisper into Cloud’s ear, “I just want to make you laugh.”

And with that, Shulk moved his hands to the merc’s underarms and scribbled his fingers all over them. At the same time, he began to blow small raspberries into his neck.

“SHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIT NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! GEHEHEHEHEHEHEHT OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOUT OHOHOHOHOHOHOF THEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHRE!”

The visionary spoke between each raspberry he blew, “‘Get out of there’? Get out of where?” Suddenly, a second raspberry was blown. When it was done, Shulk continued, “I’m tickling two spots at once right now! You’ve got to be more specific if you want me to stop~!”

“YOHOHOHOHOHOU KNOHOHOHOHOHOW WHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHERE!”

“I do?” A third raspberry sent Cloud’s nervous system into overdrive. “Are you sure? Like I said, I’m tickling two different spots right now. You need to be specific!”

Noticing that his “brother” wasn’t thrashing as much as he was before, Shulk pulled his head away from Cloud’s neck and slowed the ticking down until he was lightly tracing the outer edge of his underarms. Cloud’s laughter died down, but it didn’t stop completely.

“Thahahahahahanks, buhuhuhuhuhuhuhut yohohohohou’re stihihihihihihihi thehehehehehere…”

“Am I?” Shulk said as his voice returned to the teasing tone from earlier. He looked down at his hands and feigned surprise. “Ohhhh, so that’s the spot you were talking about!”

Cloud bit his lip, determined to hold back his laughter. The action came from a feeling of frustration that rose within him once he realized that Shulk’s teasing was that effective on him. Unfortunately for him, he caved under the gentle tickles that plagued his underarms.

“Yohohohohohou knehehehehehew thahahahahat, yohohohohohou jahahahahahckahahahahahahahass!”

“Jackass?” The heir stopped his tickling, slightly surprised at the sudden insult. “And to think that I was being nice and merciful!”

Cloud took this opportunity to catch his breath and plan an attack. “I didn’t mean it, brother…”

“Oh, don’t worry, I know you didn’t mean it.” Shulk said, allowing a smirk to grow on his face. “But I think that warrants a punishment. Don’t you agree?”

“Dear Gods that smirk!” Cloud was almost shaking again, but this time, it wasn’t due to the possibility of the Smash Colosseum being haunted. It was due to his “brother’s” behavior. His smirk was hauntingly similar to Sephiroth’s smirks, the kind that he wore when he and Cloud would clash with one another.

Sephiroth had tickled him once before, but did Shulk see that? He had to have seen it! Why else would he be able to mirror his smirk?

Shulk’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, “Alright, since you were showing signs of exhaustion earlier, I’m going to make this the grand finale before I take my leave. Are you ready for this…” he leaned in towards his face once more, “…Cloud?”

The only response he got was an arm reaching out for his stomach. Fortunately, he predicted this (not through a vision, but by reading Cloud’s face) and swiftly dodged it.

“Nope, not happening.” He taunted the other before he went in for the kill. His left hand skittered over Cloud’s knee, and his right hand drilled into the center of his underarm.

The last thing the merc thought before he exploded with laughter was “What the actual fuck is this?!”

“AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH-NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” He practically screamed at the sudden feeling of his worst spots getting the most brutal torture from the gentle hands of the younger male.

“Dear Bionis! I didn’t know you could scream like that!” For the first time in this entire tickle session, Shulk was genuinely surprised. “Good thing I turned on the sound-proof barrier, huh?” He knew he wasn’t going to get a response out of Cloud, since he was unable to say anything coherent though his laughter, but he figured that it was worth a try.

“Maybe I should be a bit more merciful…” he pondered out loud, “…but I promised a grand finale, so I guess I’ll ignore that for now!”

Knowing that any further teasing would likely break him, Shulk remained silent for the rest of the time that he spent tickling Cloud. He would occasionally move his right hand down to his knee and his left hand to his underarm, but other than that, the visionary stayed in one spot (or rather, two spots).

As soon as the older blonde’s laughter went silent, Shulk stopped, this time for good. He sat in front of him as he recovered, making sure that he wasn’t in pain or feeling any sort of lightheadedness. When it became apparent that he was feeling fine, the Hom jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, leaving Cloud to lie on the bed. Once he regained his breath, he thought about everything that just transpired.

“That was cruel… When did he get so good at being the ler?” He knew that he read up on tickling on a regular basis, but there was no way that he could get that good at it without practice, right?

As much as he wanted to know about Shulk’s research, he was too busy thinking about revenge to care. Slowly getting up off of the bed, he immediately conjured up a brutal tickle attack of his own. As he turned off the sound-proof barrier, he quietly chuckled to himself as he thought of a possible location that the heir could be hiding in.

“Brother… you better be prepared for my sweet revenge.”

Their morning routine may have been a little bit different today, but nonetheless, it came full circle.

[mrstifastrife]

Why I Shipped CloTi Based Off of Advent Children

Before I start, I figure that I should add some background to explain why I chose ACC in the first place and not any other installation. I don’t know if the “Keep Reading” will show up, but know that my reasons start after the 5th paragraph and the line break.

So I was born in 1999, 3 years after the release of the original Final Fantasy 7 game. I didn’t really grow up on video games. I had a PS2, a PSP, and a Nintendo, but I normally played the games that were popular for younger children at the time. My only source of Final Fantasy was through Advent Children due to exposure from my sister. Based solely off of that, I was under the impression that Final Fantasy was a series of movies following different story arcs. Final Fantasy 7 was the only one that really stuck out to me story-wise. 

I should add that I am caught up on the story of Final Fantasy 7 by watching gameplays, of which include FF7 OG, Crisis Core, and Dirge of Cerberus. I have also finished playing the first installation of the Remake, with full intention of completing it throughout. 

Let it be known that much like many others, I was a very impressionable child and most of what I loved back then still carries on to this day. CloTi, or as I see people calling their ship now “The Stargazers” (which I love), was probably one of the first, if not the first, ship that I had ever become obsessed with, as I’m sure many of you have as well with any of the FF7 ships (which I fully support despite not being an avid fan). Perhaps some of my statements may be biased, so if you do not agree with what has been said, that is okay. We are all entitled to our own opinions. Also, most of what I say has most likely not been proven, but it is a post about my personal opinion and experience with FF7: ACC. 

Without further ado, here is why I shipped Cloud and Tifa together based off of Advent Children. Remember that these are my personal opinions and that this is my personal interpretation of the movie. There will be pictures as well because I will never get over it!

1.) Cloud and Tifa have their own little family together.  

When I first watched the movie with my sister, I actually thought Cloud and Tifa were a couple that was struggling to make amends, not only with each other, but with the past. While my perspective of this movie may not be accurate, this was what my mind interpreted back then. 

Even if Tifa and Cloud weren’t married, even if Marlene and Denzel weren’t related to each other or the latter two biologically, they were still a family. They were all each other’s home. Did Cloud find solace in Aerith’s church while he suffered with geostigma? Yes, he did. She was a big part in his life, just as much as she was a big part in everyone else’s lives. Does that mean Cloud doesn’t value Tifa, Marlene, or Denzel? Absolutely not, and that will be explained in another point I will make. 

Tifa and Cloud may not have been together in ACC, but you have to admit that their relationship was fairly close to domestic if they were living under the same roof providing for each other and two children. Even if they were just two friends, they essentially carried the responsibilities of a married couple. 

Also, might I add that every couple runs through problems, so the idea that they couldn’t be together for having disputes is invalid. Not to bring up personal experience, but my boyfriend and I are in a very loving, supportive, and healthy relationship. Despite that, we still have arguments and moments of vulnerability. 

BONUS: 

(Peep the picture of the four of them + the flowers for Aerith and Zack I’m assuming!!)

2.) The little ways Cloud cares for Tifa and Tifa cares for Cloud. 

A lot of people liked to believe that Cloud didn’t care about Tifa, or anyone else, in favor of Aerith because he stayed at her church while he had geostigma. I have to admit that my first time watching, I was under the impression that Aerith and Cloud were in a relationship before she passed away and that he was trying to move on from her with his new family. (Disclaimer: The first time I watched the movie, it was out of context and I had no idea it was a continuation of a game until after I researched it). 

HOWEVER, upon watching it over and over (as it was my favorite movie back then), I started to see that he may have had feelings for Aerith or a special connection to her, like he did with Zack, that made it hard for him to move on because he personally felt responsible for their deaths. I will not dismiss that Cloud most likely had feelings for Aerith, but that does not mean he cannot move on with Tifa or be with Tifa otherwise. Same way that people like to argue that Aerith could move on from Zack with Cloud, right? Do we see how it can be contradictory to say that but not allow it for Cloud with Tifa?

Anyway, I digress. 

If Cloud didn’t care for Tifa, or anyone else for that matter, why would he bother listening to voicemails? The excuse that he only does for delivery jobs seems a bit dismissive of Cloud’s character. Yes, he seems cold and distant, but he cares for people, even if he doesn’t say it out loud. You’re purposely ignoring his character development if you choose to use his aloofness for the sake of your ship. 

Think about it this way: there’s a voicemail to Cloud from Barrett that’s basically updating Cloud on how he’s doing. Cloud wouldn’t have bothered to listen to it if he didn’t care. Which brings me to the point that he wouldn’t have listened to both of Tifa’s voicemails all the way through if it was just for the job either.

I know this post is meant to talk about how I ship Cloud and Tifa, but I have to add in the fact that Cloud does care for her despite what others may think. Just because he ran away and just because he doesn’t call her back, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care for her. Have you ever felt so guilty about something that you felt like you didn’t deserve anyone’s company? In Cloud’s case, he shut people out because he cared so much for them that he didn’t want them to get hurt by him or be burdened by his guilt or his geostigma. 

ALSO, the CloTi church scene??? I’m talking about that in the next point, but that’s a major giveaway of Cloud’s feelings for Tifa and in this case, how much he cares for her. 

As for Tifa, her way of caring for Cloud is more obvious because her personality is more transparent. I’m not saying Tifa is known for being completely forthright, but in comparison to Cloud, she is more direct. For example, the voicemails I mentioned earlier: she asks him how he’s doing and she tells him to be careful. 

(Voicemail #1: “You got a call from Reno. He’s in Healen. Says he’s got work for you. Cloud, how have you been?”)

(Voicemail #2: “Reno called again. He says to hurry, and he sounded kind of strange...Be careful, okay?”)

She may be upset with him for running away from his problems but she’s not heartless and she still cares. 

I want to add as well that she adds each line almost like she’s expecting a response. Yes, she sounds defeated in the beginning when she mumbles, “He’s not here anymore” BUT the way she leaves voicemails makes it seem hopeful that one day he will answer her phone call back. I know, I know, it’s a little heartbreaking, but it’s evident that she’s not going to give up on him even though he’s been running away from her and their family. 

Also can we talk about her and Marlene in the church when she replies to Marlene’s “We can’t [go home]! Cloud’s not here yet!” with “I know, sweetie. I miss him too.” THIS MOMENT just screamed family to me. (I do have to admit though, I wish Denzel wasn’t left alone, but his story arc was well worth it.)

Last but not least, I know Tifa’s lecture ends in her getting upset with him (which I get into later), but at the very beginning, before Cloud tries to pass off the children to Reno and Rude, she’s very gentle and hopeful. She wants to fight with him but becomes doubtful that they’re a real family after a lack of response. HOWEVER, Cloud still admits to them being family after, although, it’s included with him admitting his shortcomings.

(Tifa: “We can help each other, I know we can. [No response from Cloud] I guess that only works for real families.” Cloud: “Tifa...I’m not fit to help anyone. Not my family, not my friends. Nobody.”)

If you’re upset with Tifa over how she responded to Cloud later on in this scene, you need to look at it deeper in context and take into account their conversation when they first wake up (the one I mentioned above), where she’s concerned for him and trying to help him. 

I know there’s more scenes where they show that they care for each other, but please bear with me because this part was just their little moments and I’m getting to specific scenes where they express their feelings for each other in grander, more obvious gestures.

3.) THE CHURCH SCENE. 

THIS SCENE IS SO IMPORTANT FOR CLOTI SHIPPERS. I really don’t think I have to explain its significance, but I’ll just dig a little deeper since I’m sure this is one of the biggest scenes for CloTi in ACC. 

If you don’t think that he cares for Tifa, you missed the entire part of the movie where he sees her at the church and runs to her. I thought that was a really pivotal moment because it was ONE of the first times in the movie where he expresses any other emotion besides indifference. (I’m emphasizing “one of the first times” because 1.) his face changes when Rufus references Marlene and Denzel and 2.) right before Tifa fights Loz, he has a flashback of Zack and feels anguish/regret)

When I was younger, and of course now, this scene was so important to me. From the beginning of the movie (at least out of context when you watch just the movie like I did), you're given the impression that Cloud doesn’t care much for anyone on the surface of the planet with how indifferent he is. When he sees Tifa semi-conscious on the floor, however, he’s straight up terrified that he may have lost someone precious to him like he had countless times before. The look on his face says it all. 

If Tifa wasn’t at all important to Cloud, he wouldn’t have had such an emotional reaction to seeing her unconscious. He’s quick to call her name, run to her, and pick her up. This is the woman he wanted to be a hero for and this is a woman he swore he would protect, but when it came time for it, he came late. Imagine the feelings he has swirling inside of him at this point. 

I am by no means romanticizing the anguish that Cloud is feeling at the sight of Tifa hurt, I just think that this scene is very telling of their relationship at the current time. He took so long to get to her that he was almost too late. Unfortunately, I think that this scene made him feel like he was even more of a burden, which was why he was so willing to run away before going to the Forgotten City for Marlene and Denzel.

Also, we know now that the flowers shown in this scene are a symbol of reunion, as explained in the Remake. It’s unfortunate that the first time they are reunited in the movie, Tifa is injured and Cloud suffers a geostigma attack, but given their situation, this scene is just a perfect representation of the hurt they’re feeling at seeing each other.

(CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW THEY’RE FACING EACH OTHER BY THE WAY?)

4.) After Cloud gets a “lecture” from Tifa, he starts to understand the error of his ways and it becomes a stepping stone for him to confront his feelings. 

Let me start off by saying that Cloud waited for Tifa to wake up, instead of leaving her while she was unconscious. Does that seem like something he would do if he didn’t care for her?

Tifa’s words mean more to him than one can comprehend. If you think that she too harsh during the scene where she’s telling him not to live in the past, you have to realize that when she was hurt immensely by Cloud leaving, so she shouldn’t be expected to act like nothing happened at all. I don’t know how long Cloud had been gone for (because the timing was not specified), but it was long enough to leave an impact not only on Tifa, but Denzel and Marlene. She’s not only speaking for herself, she’s speaking on behalf of the others in their family that were hurt by his actions. You can’t blame her for being upset either because Cloud was telling Reno and Rude to save Denzel and Marlene instead of stepping up himself. 

I hope you realize that Aerith and Zack didn’t want Cloud to keep feeling guilty over their deaths. If they were able to, they would be having this same conversation with him (which they did, might I add!!! Aerith quoted “Dilly dally, shilly shally” herself!!!) Yes, he is allowed to grieve for as long as he wants. Feelings are complex when you lose people close to you, but does that mean he can abandon his family at a time when they need him too? I know he also left because he felt he would be a burden because of his geostigma, but the conversation I’m focusing on is “Which is it? A memory or us?” 

With all my rambling, you’re probably wondering “Why is Tifa getting upset with Cloud one of the defining moments of CloTi for her?” Well, my answer is that this whole conversation is just so raw and real. I’ve always been a sucker for domestic and realistic couples, where either character isn’t afraid to be honest with their partner. (SEE: Jackie Burkhart and Steven Hyde, Amy Santiago and Jake Peralta, Crowley and Aziraphale, Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt, and SO many more) It cannot be said that Cloud wasn’t being honest with Tifa because she was the first one he admitted all of his thoughts to. He opened up to her first, which helped him later on to confront his inner demons. Notice how he was able to talk to Aerith after he talked to Tifa. 

Before you decide that Tifa is insignificant to the plot of both OG and ACC, remember that she is the reason that Cloud retained all his memories through the Lifestream and for ACC, as I mentioned before, she was the reason he was able to be honest about his thoughts, which helped him slowly come to terms with Aerith and Zack’s deaths, along with the insecurities about himself. She’s making him admit it and put it out there, so that it isn’t stuck inside himself. 

A lot of you may have seen this as another reason to hate Tifa, for putting Cloud in his place, but this made me love her even more. Instead of allowing him to continue moping, she reminded him that he can’t be stuck in the past. Cloud needed that wake-up call more than anything.

Imagine if his geostigma hadn’t been cured. His last moments would be of him wallowing in his guilt instead of living life to the fullest with the people that were trying to be there for him. 

That’s why I thought this scene was so important for CloTi. It was eye-opening and real and it reminded Cloud that there was more to life than himself. 

5.) The fight with Bahamut Sin where Cloud acknowledges Tifa’s “dilly dally shilly shally” shows that he really took her words to heart and actually used it to confront his inner demons. 

I know that the two scenes mentioned above were probably the most notable CloTi scenes in ACC, but let me bring this one up. In terms of favorites, this by far surpasses any other scene in the movie. Not just because of the CloTi content but because it’s when the group comes back together to defeat Bahamut Sin (and yes, I’m including how Aerith was there to give Cloud a boost as well!!)

Why is it my favorite? Let me break it down for you. 

So Cloud comes at the last second to rescue both Tifa and Denzel. As Tifa hops onto the back of Cloud’s bike, he responds, “Sorry that it took me so long.”

Why is this important? Because it’s in response to Tifa saying, “You’re late” when he found her at the church. He never got to say that to her with everything going on, but during one of the most important battles they had and after forgiving himself, he immediately references it without a second thought. This scene just shows that he’s starting to take every lesson thrown at him to heart. Not just Tifa’s, but Aerith’s, Vincent’s, Marlene’s, and even Reno and Rude. He’s starting to acknowledge his mistakes and take responsibility for them, and most importantly, he’s not running away anymore. 

Cloud: “Marlene will be safe. I took her home.”

Again, another reference to the church scene. Whether it was intentional or not, his first words to Tifa were a reply to her when she calls for Marlene. 

THEN, it ends unprompted with Cloud saying, “I feel lighter. Maybe I lost some weight. All that dilly-dallying.” 

I feel like I don’t have to explain that one. Who’s the one who told him that in the first place? Of course, he would bring that up to Tifa because she was the one who said it and believed in him all along. 

I know, I’m probably overreacting from this scene, but I think it’s just powerful to have heavy references to the church scene because there were so many unspoken words between them at the church scene. So many missed moments and unfulfilled promises that were lost after Cloud ran away. He may not have made up for it, but by acknowledging her pain, he’s actively trying now. Even though things aren’t perfect, progress is just as important.

I always thought the message of this movie was moving forward, and forgive me if I’m reading too much into this, but I always interpreted geostigma as trauma. 

How is everyone able to move on from all the repercussions that came from fighting on the planet? How is EVERYONE able to move on healthily from Aerith’s death? How can Cloud cope with Zack’s death? What happened to Sephiroth, Loz, Kadaj, and Yazoo when they failed to move on from the bitter feelings they felt? How is anything going to be solved if you aren’t able to move on and forgive yourself? 

I personally think that even in the OG FF7, I had the belief that Tifa and Cloud had strong feelings for each other (that surpassed Cloud’s feelings for Aerith), but that’s my opinion of course. Even so, if the argument is that Aerith was meant to be the love interest for Cloud in OG FF7, I don’t see why ACC couldn’t be him moving on with his family after everything that’s happened. I keep hearing that “Aerith is allowed to move on from Zack because he died and she needs someone too,” but does that mean Cloud is forced to live in perpetual guilt, sorrow, and longing for her? I personally think that’s a major reason why ACC was created: because Cloud has every right to move forward in his life without feeling guilty and that’s okay (and I’m not just speaking in a romantic sense either). It’s obviously not confirmed that Cloud and Tifa are together in ACC because Square likes to keep it ambiguous, but the numerous times I’ve watched it, I’ve always just been under the impression that they were. 

However, romance aside, I really think this movie is a great addition to the FF7 compilation. It deals with acceptance, forgiveness, coping, and moving on. 

Anyway, I don’t know if any of this post makes sense, but I wanted my first post to be an explanation on my CloTi stance, especially based on one source that I consistently go back to. Please hop in my ask box with your thoughts on ACC, CloTi, the Seventh Heaven family, etc. 

Any hateful comments will be addressed with accordingly, and may be deleted. 

I don’t remember if Tumblr is anything like Twitter, where the names show up despite not being tagged, but please let me know! I’ll censor names that don’t have to do with CloTi if it’s clogging up posts for other ships or people. 

Let it be known that I am NOT an anti for any character in the FF7 compilation other than Hojo. 

All love is welcome!

[rottenpumpkin13]

The SOLDIERs at a Carnival

this is inspired by/answering an ask sent by @decadentblazewolf, who asked what each 1st's favorite amusement park ride would be.

★ The Gold Saucer's traveling carnival has reached Midgar! It's a glimmering mass of hair-raising rides, mouthwatering food, and guaranteed to thrill even the coldest of hearts!

★ Sephiroth refuses to go.

★ Flat out refuses. They try in vain to placate him, telling him about the Saucer's fighting simulator, the cheesy-zolom pasta vendors, but nothing works. In his mind this is childish, immature, and there are much better ways to spend his off-day rather than milling about some mind-numbing park with too many crowds.

★ Zack won't go if Sephiroth doesn't go, and Angeal won't go if Zack doesn't go. Genesis has been looking forward to this all month and refuses to have his plans changed.

★ So he does was feisty redhead with pyromania does best and casts sleep on Sephiroth. After a lot of screaming and scolding on Angeal's part, they decide to just take the unconscious Sephiroth and deal with the fallout later.

★ The fallout in question comes halfway through the car ride⏤Angeal is driving⏤when Sephiroth wakes up angry and tries to commit Gen-icide then and there.

★ Anyway, they get there, Sephiroth begrudgingly has to stay, and they immediately decide to get on the swing carousel just as the sun is setting. This ends up being Angeal's favorite ride, just because of the cinematic air of it all. He sneaks his camera onto the ride and takes many pictures of the sun setting over Midgar in the distance.

★ Next up is the bumper cars! Zack adores them. The bumper car experience ends up being 1) Zack trying to be a show-off and pulling cool stunts; 2) Sephiroth misunderstanding the concept of the bumper cars and maneuvering his as neatly as he would a real car (he's very weary of the civillians around him); 3) Genesis shouting "STOP BEING SUCH A STICK IN THE MUD!" before ramming his bumper car at Sephiroth's, purposefully inciting a bumper car fight; 4) Angeal speeding after Genesis and Sephiroth before they kill each other.

★ Then comes what Genesis had been pining over for weeks, the Meteor Coaster, an imposing roller coaster standing at a whopping 200m, rivaling the infamous shooting coaster itself.

★ Something about being plunged into the ground, then up in loops through the air, then tossed around like a rag doll while shooting at targets thrills Sephiroth. He got a proper hit of adrenaline and now wants to check out all the gruesome rides.

★ Since Angeal now can't feel his legs, he's definitely had enough of joy rides for a while. Zack, being the good pupper he is decides to go check out the food with Angeal, meanwhile Angeal and Sephiroth ride the roller coaster again before moving onto the other rides.

★ Angeal is frankly appalled by all the greasy and utterly unhealthy food being sold. He watches in horror as Zack downs three churros, two pretzels, a corn dog and a bucket of fried chocobo in record time.

★ After this they check out the haunted house, where Angeal convinces Zack the ghosts and chainsaw-wielding maniacs are totally real.

★ Sephiroth and Genesis find the battle arena, then are promptly kicked out after Genesis blows a hole through one of the walls when he loses to Sephiroth.

★ The group meets back at the ferris wheel. Zack shows off all the cool stuffed animals he won and plans to gift Aerith and Cloud. Angeal caved and bought the sugary kettle corn, and spends the entire ride throwing bits of it at Genesis, all while Genesis fights back using his candy dumbapple as a shield.

★ Sephiroth ends up sitting back, watching the sky and tracing the faint constellations with his eyes. He Laughs when Zack joins the kettle corn fight and throws a fistful at Genesis's face. Genesis proceeds to use Sephiroth's arm as a shield. Sephiroth lets him.

★ He's glad he came. He would've missed small moments like these, when he realizes how lucky he is to have people in his life who care about him, and who he cares for. More than they will ever know.

★ It turns out the ferris wheel is Sephiroth's favorite ride.

[s-ephiroth]

Sephiroth Week 2020 ( @week-of-silver-winds )

Day 7 - Re:birthday [Rebirth]

(Also available on AO3!)

Whew! It’s a wrap! A happy one at that :D Hoping everyone else had a good week!

-

"What…?" Genesis asked, caught off guard enough that he was actually flustered himself, to add to their happy little pile of cherry faced men. "I thought you liked Cloud?"

"I… I do. Very much, so," He said that after pulling back a little to stare at Cloud and caress his cheek, just to make sure the sentiment behind the words came across properly. And he accused Genesis of being a cheesy romantic. Unbelievable. "That, however, doesn't mean I'm incapable of… hn. Loving you."

Before that, Cloud had thought he would die from the sight of Sephiroth and from the feeling of being right in the middle of such an odd sandwich. But after what Sephiroth said, and the way his gaze went from him to Genesis… Cloud was almost sure he would perish from a lack of air, due to the arms around his waist tightening.

"I… c-can't breathe…" He warned.

"Oh! Sorry, darling, I didn't notice—"

"You… called me darling," Cloud cut in, now that he could breathe again. Turned just a bit to avoid looking much at Sephiroth, since that fondness on his face was doing things to him.

"But I do that all the time!"

"It sounds different when it's right after Sephiroth here chooses to… uh, distribute kisses."

Despite how entertaining to watch their bickering was, Sephiroth had to interrupt them.

“So, is this acceptable?” They looked back at him, waiting for further elaboration. More Cloud than Genesis, who had been confused and surprised but not so lost in the feeling of it. “An arrangement between the three of us?”

“I… Goddess. Yes, it’s okay in my books. I just need to know if Cloud would be okay with—”

With me being present in this, he wanted to say, but was cut by Cloud taking action against his lips. Which, despite his apparent lack of experience, wasn’t a bad thing. But Genesis had to wonder why Cloud would do something in this case and not back when he was sighing dramatically, not to beg him to just go to Sephiroth already.

Alas, Cloud didn’t say anything after that. He just turned to Sephiroth with the color of a tomato and nodded quietly. Even with his boldness and the way he almost scared Sephiroth out of his skin, he still managed to simply be cute. It was impressive that the things that happened in his world, which he mentioned from time to time, didn’t manage to steal that from him.

“Can we… Can we have a toast to that?” Genesis offered.

“Of course,” said Sephiroth, almost purring out the words in teasing, “after I indulge in both of you a little more.”

At that, Cloud let out a little noise before being silenced again between giggles.

-

Sephiroth didn’t know when his birthday was.

He never did in his first life and had even less chance of knowing during his time of blind alliance with Jenova. Genesis never bothered him much with it during the time they knew each other out of a silent respect. Sephiroth just found many of the birthday party rites to be odd; didn’t know what one was supposed to do while they stood there and others sang them “happy birthday”. Didn’t quite understand why he should celebrate when he was who he was; expected to do things because it was his place to do them and never really rewarded or pampered for his feats. Those were just his obligations, after all.

He didn’t get balloons at all.

They were too noisy when they popped and very unkind on his enhancements.

The only thing he got was the cake. But even then, he didn’t quite understand why limit oneself to have such a sugary treat on only that one occasion.

He remembered that Angeal found his lack of interest in celebrating his existence a bit revolting. However, he didn’t force a party at the time. He made Sephiroth a little cake and gave him a pot of strawberries, to make his far too practical apartment a little more lively.

It had died a little after Zack came back from Modeoheim, regardless of how much Sephiroth tried to save it. A bit of cruel irony.

He didn’t know when his birthday was, but Cloud still remembered his own. And he celebrated it with them in a way that was comfortable. Genesis got Sephiroth to help him cook Cloud’s favorite things for lunch and dinner and they treated him to breakfast in bed.

They shared a cake with strawberries on top.

Sephiroth wanted to say he missed Angeal and his opinion on things like that. But he wouldn’t dare to ruin the moment with his nostalgic sadness.

But oh, well. Cloud had been as much revolted with his lack of birthday celebrations as Angeal had, when he finally found out. Which had been bound to happen.

“But we have to do something,” he was saying, “at least to celebrate you being alive and not stabbing innocent people. When is it?”

“I don’t have a date.”

“Godsdamn,” Cloud muttered under his breath, “Then we have to pick one.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works, Cloud—”

“But he’s right,” Genesis offered, “if you don’t have a date and you want to have one, then we should pick one.”

Sephiroth looked at them and sighed.

He never had been good at choosing days to do mundane things. He usually did them as necessity arose. Or when he had orders to do things. So bad at choosing for himself between things and people that even when it came down to dating, he ended up choosing the two people who were most important to him at the present moment instead of picking one and watching the other suffer. Which, in all honesty, had been important for him to realize that he loved both of them in his own ways instead of one more than the other. And Gaia, he had been very relieved that they easily agreed with that one choice of his. Even more relieved that they ended up being into one another as much as was into them.

It was Cloud who picked up the little furrowing of his brows and came up with an idea.

“What about the day of your… uh. Rebirth? You know, when you came back to the living.”

“I don’t know for certain when that was.”

Genesis chimed in.

“When I found you… it was late October. I think the 23rd?”

Cloud gave out a frustrated sigh, sinking a little more against Sephiroth’s shoulder in an attempt to find comfort for that ordeal.

“That was almost a week ago…”

“And?” Genesis didn’t seem to be challenged by that at all. “At least it wasn’t a month ago or something. We can still do something special. I can… prepare the bathtub,” he drawled, “and I can bake a cake… while using only an apron and nothing else.”

Cloud turned around so fast that it surprised Sephiroth a little. His cheeks were the kind of red that Sephiroth really liked to see on him.

“I thought it was to celebrate his birthday and not just an excuse for you to be a horny bastard?”

“It’s a way to celebrate it!” Genesis countered.

At that, Sephiroth started chuckling.

“I’m fine with it. As long as it’s as comfortable as Cloud’s birthday was. I don’t mind that it’s a week later.” He hummed a little. “I’m just glad to have the two of you worrying about my sake.”

Sephiroth still felt troubled by a lot, and didn't get a lot of other things as well. Still barely held himself up, much like the ruins of Midgar, when it came to past traumas. Still wondered sometimes how to best handle the parts of his past which overlapped with what Cloud had gone through.

But at the very least, he wasn’t alone.

Not anymore.

[flowersoldier]

Hollow

Songfic, using the official Clerith Song 'Hollow' by Yosh. (Rock)Band/partially Modern AU

AO3  ff.net

Cloud stood at the altar. Never has he been this nervous in his life before. His hands were sweaty and his whole body was trembling. And then she came in. The woman he loved more than his own life. She looked so beautiful in that dress. Pure white, reaching to her feet. It hugged her curves perfectly, and became puffy from the waist down. The blonde swallowed a big lump in his throat, his mouth going dry. When their eyes met and she gave him one of her radiant smiles, he felt his knees buckle and go weak. But he couldn't faint right now. No, this was too important for everyone.

He swallowed again, as he watched her walking down the aisle. His hands clenched into fists, as she took the hand of another man. That's when he had to look away. It was too painful...seeing her ready to marry his best friend. The longer he had to stay there, playing Zack's best man, he felt more and more needles stabbing his heart. Then came his last chance to say anything. To say that these two really shouldn't get married, because he loved her, too. But he kept silent. No matter how much it hurt him to see the love of his life with someone else, he couldn't do this to them. They were happy. Zack could do a better job at making her happy than he. No, he shouldn't be so selfish.

And then the ceremony was finally over. Maybe the party won't be as bad. After taking a few photos of the whole gang they parted ways to get to the location the party will take place. Only when Aerith and Zack got into their car and were out of sight, did Cloud let part of his emotions go. At least the tears he fought back for hours quickly gathered in his eyes, blurring his vision. He tried to look for a corner to hide himself away, but couldn't find one. At least not one that wasn't away from people. “Cloud.“

The blonde turned around to see his childhood friend. She was smiling at him sympathetically. Tifa knew all to well how much he loved Aerith and how much it hurt to see her belonging to someone else. “Come.“ She said, leading him to her car. Now he was grateful that she talked him out of driving himself. He might cause an accident. Whether it would be accidental or intentional, he didn't know but both were very much possible. As soon as he got into the car and closed the door, he couldn't stop the tears anymore. They were flowing down uncontrollably. His left hand came up to hide his face. To be honest, he forgot about Tifa until she put a hand on his shoulder. She didn't say anything as Cloud tried —but failed— to hold in the sobs.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, till Clouds sobs died down eventually. “You could've said something.“ Said Tifa then with a soft voice. “Before all this. You could've confessed to her before...“ She stopped when he shook his head, his face still hidden behind his hand.

“No. No, Tifa, I couldn't...I couldn't have done anything. Aerith is happy with him. And...if that's what she wants I'll support her as best as I can. And what kind of person would I be if I pinched my best friend's girlfriend?“ He chuckled drily. “No. It's better for everyone if I stay away...and let them have their happiness.“

Tifa squeezed his shoulder gently. “And what about you? What about your happiness?“

“That doesn't matter.“ Shaking his head again, he finally looked up. His eyes were red and puffy and the tears still haven't stopped. “I'll just...keep supporting them. Aerith ruined me for any other woman, Tifa. She's the only one for me.“ Cloud felt another squeeze on his shoulder.

“I know...“ Then she let go of him and gripped the steering wheel. “Ready to go?“

Cloud needed to take a few deep breaths, before he could talk again. “I guess. Maybe I can get drunk there and forget everything.“ Leaning back in his seat, he saw another sad smile from Tifa, before they began to drive to the party.

“Where are the others? I thought they'll drive with us?“ Asked Cloud then, having completely, forgotten about their friends till now.

“Don't worry. Barret and Cid will bring them. We thought you might break down after this and need a minute for yourself.“

The blonde couldn't help but smile just a tiny bit. “Thanks.“

--------------

Tifa has offered Aerith and Zack to celebrate in the 7th Heaven, but the brunette didn't want her friend to work at her wedding, so they got to another nice bar/restaurant where they had a big room for themselves.

His group of friends were waiting outside for them. Well except Zack and Aerith, of course. They had to take care of the other guests. There were actually quite a lot of people there. “How ya doin', kid?“ Asked Cid, as he and Tifa approached them.

“Fine.“ He mumbled, but they all knew it's a lie. Then everyone came around him and began touching him and trying to encourage him. And for once he let them.

“Let's go inside, before they're wondering where we are.“ Reeve suggested. Everyone agreed and went inside, Cloud followed a few steps behind them.

Unfortunately, they were their crazy family —of course with Zack and Aeriths real family— were seated on one big table. And as the best man he happened to sit next to Zack. Well, not that it'll make any difference after they've eaten. Lots of people would dance and he could get himself another seat. Before they ate, the couple held a speech how happy they were that everyone's here and to celebrate with everyone. In this time Cloud had to look away from them. He just couldn't bear looking at them without feeling like he should be the one standing by Aerith's side.

The next few hours were pretty unspectacular, it was still early and people usually went crazy at dawn. Cloud should be happy for his best friends, but he just couldn't bring himself to be happy. He should be the one to marry Aerith, no one else. He couldn't even look when they had their first dance together. It was actually the perfect time to get drunk.

“Cloud.“ Said blonde didn't look at Tifa, as he downed another shot. “Cloud, you should stop that. Do you have an idea how miserable you look? At least try to be happy for them.“

“I tried the whole day, Tifa. Just leave me alone.“ He mumbled, as he continued to write something on a napkin. After his first drinks he had an idea for a song. Oh, didn't he mention that he, Tifa, Jessie, Biggs and Wedge were a hobby band? There you know.

“What are you doing there?“ She asked curiously and took the napkin to read what he wrote in a messy and drunken handwriting. “Gosh, Cloud...Aerith's married, not dead.“

“All the same.“ He grumbled, before taking his napkin back, because he had more ideas. Just then did a flash of white appear in his peripheral vision.

“Cloud!“ Said a happy voice and even with his bad mood, he couldn't help but look up and give the woman he loved a little smile. “Come, dance with me. You promised, remember?“ The blonde really tried to remember if such a promise really existed, but he was too drunk for that already.

“Guess I did, huh?“ Her bright smile was blinding him and as she took his hand it felt like burning.

“You don't mind me stealing him away for a moment?“ Asked Aerith her best friend, as if they had an important conversation going. Which they didn't.

“No, no. Go on. Have fun.“ Said Tifa and before his light could drag him to the dance floor, he quickly pocketed the napkin he's been writing on the whole time. No one else should see that. Especially not Zack or Aerith.

It was just his luck that a slow song played the moment they entered the dance floor. And to be honest, even if Cloud could dance, he had no idea what to do with his hands. With the kind of thoughts and feelings he had of Aerith he really shouldn't touch her. At all. But Aerith just giggled at his awkwardness and guided his hands around her waist, while hers wrapped around his neck.

Too often did he dream about this. Of him being able to hold her and not think about if it's appropriate, because she had a boyfriend. And then a fiance. “Cloud, did you drink too much there? You know you can't take so much.“ She asked him worried, as they began to dance. Sweet, little Aerith...

“I'm fine. I didn't have that much.“ He half lied. It wasn't much for him, if anything he only felt a little tipsy. He definitely needed more.

“Okay.“ Cloud knew Aerith didn't believe him there. She surely saw right through him, as she always did. But he didn't care. He only wished they could talk more, because now he was focusing way too much on the feel of her waist in his hands. Her arms around him. Their bodies so close together. Their faces so close...And now it wasn't the alcohol in his system that made his face flush. “You and Tifa arrived really late.“ Aerith said then, thankfully taking his focus away from her body and to his words instead.

“Uh, we did? Sorry, uh...Only red lights for us. Tifa made a wrong turn, too.“

“Oh, I see. I almost thought you guys were leaving.“

“Never.“ He said a bit too fast. “It's your big day. Of course we wouldn't leave you.“ Aerith's big smile made him melt. And his knees were going weak. It became only worse, when she pressed their bodies together to hug him tightly. Cloud only hesitantly pulled her closer.

“You're the best.“ She whispered in his ear, but loud enough for him to hear over the music. Her breath tickled his ear and made him shiver. He'd give up everything to just have her here with him forever. To be able to kiss her...to hold her...

The song was over way too soon and Zack was there to take her away from him again. “May I?“ He asked, and Cloud already had a harsh 'no' on his tongue and the urge to pull her away from him. But he lost that right long ago. If he even had it in the first place. Cloud didn't say anything and just let the woman he loved go. Again. He was really pathetic. Maybe he should've been a bit more selfish back then...Maybe then she'd be his. The blonde gave his friends a small, fake smile before going back to his seat to order 2 more shots.

Barret and Cid where there to drink with him this time. But he was sure Tifa wanted them to have an eye on him. Yuffie bothered them sometimes that she wanted to try this, but Cid kicked the sixteen year old away from any alcohol. Even Reeve's weird cat plushy Cait Sith hang out with him. Surely another one who Tifa ordered to watch out for him. He had no idea how Reeve did it, but he could somehow control this robot plushy and do entirely different things at the same time. Maybe some weird Shinra technology.

Even Jessie, Biggs and Wedge sat at their table to lighten his mood. Not that it worked, though. But it was nice for a change to have people around him. Especially when one particular person was now completely unavailable for him forever. And of course they all saw the song he wrote for Aerith, as he got more and more ideas. They even wanted him to sing it to them once he was sober again.

-----------------

Cloud drank even more that night and was glad his friends were there to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. But the alcohol didn't make his heartbreak go away. If anything, it made it worse.

As he checked his phone the morning after he read the messages Tifa left him, knowing he won't remember anything from that night. She told him that Cid and Barret brought him home, as soon as he began to cry. And that he apparently sobbed loudly all the way to his home.

Cloud cringed at that. Yep, he was glad he couldn't remember that at all. Groaning, he let his head fall back into his pillow. The guys put a pill for hangovers and a glass of water on his nightstand before they left. And it was great, because he felt too groggy to move. He was happy that he could at least take the pill and check his phone, even if the lights from outside and from his phone were too bright and burned his eyes. And this headache must be the worst he's ever experienced. After all, it wasn't the first time he got himself drunk because of Aerith.

After having slept the whole day, he noticed he got a at least 2 messages from all of his friends, asking him if he's alright. Even Zack and Aerith texted him, because he apparently was crying so much that he had to leave very soon. He told everyone he's fine and then got from every single one an offer to come over and bring another kind of fast-food with them. Whatever he said about these guys, he took it all back. Of course he told Aerith and Zack not to worry about him, but told everyone else to better bring something good. And around an hour later his apartment was full with people and food.

And during their hangover party, Cloud read over the things he wrote on the napkin. It was...very embarrassing to say the least. But his drunken words hit the point. They just needed some adjustment. “What's that?“ Asked Yuffie and took away his napkin.

“Hey!“ This little brat ran behind Barret and Vincent and read it. But her reaction wasn't what he expected. “Aww, Cloud! I had no idea you could be so cute!“ It was worse than being laughed at.

“I think you should make a real song out of it.“ Said Tifa, who gave him back his precious napkin. “I can help you, if you want.“

Cloud looked around, everyone seemed to agree with that. “I think I can do that myself. But Zack and Aerith are never supposed to hear it!“ That song would surely be anything but subtle and if anyone of them heard it, they'll realize what he's talking about. It was practically a love letter. Everyone nodded, of course knowing why these two should be excluded. They all knew how much Cloud loved Aerith, they realized it sooner than he himself. The only ones who didn't know were Aerith and Zack. And he back then. If he just realized it sooner, he might've had a chance...

-------------

It took Cloud a while to finish his song. Only a few days actually. He wasn't really the songwriting kind of guy, but he managed to do it. And the whole group still wanted to hear it, so one day they all came together, except two obvious people of course.

He tried getting away with it by saying the song wasn't that great anyway, but they all pushed him till he gave up. The guys were already at their places before he even said yes. For this part Cloud had to use an acoustic guitar and so did Tifa, even if she was usually the drummer. But no one else but Jessie could play it, so now it was Wedge on the drums. Jessie had an electric guitar and Biggs played keyboard/piano for this particular song. Tifa even got him a holder for the harmonica parts, so we was able to play both instruments. They really did want him to give them the full potential of this song...

I would be lost

Drifting along

Floating up high

Time after time

And there you'd be

Shining brightly

Your smiling face

To guide my way

Bloody and bruised

Brought to my knees

When beaten down

When broken up

You would appear,

Reach out to me,

Heal every wound,

And make me whole

Was it all a dream?

Will I never know?

Foolish and blind

To everything

Had I realized,

Had I thought it through,

Would you be here

in my embrace?

Shine bright

Once more

Guide me

To you

Smile bright

Once more

This time

I will never let you go

With your every smile

Hiding something more:

Dark mysteries

Lurking beneath

But I was consumed

With this emptiness,

This selfishness,

This void to fill

Hear me

Once more

Show me

Your smile

This time

For sure

I'll see

The truth hidden inside your tears!

But I

I know

That you're

Long gone

But I

I will

Go on

Howling and hollow

Till now

Once the song ended their friends, even Reeves plush cat that he brought along for some reason, were applauding like there's no tomorrow. It...actually gave him a real good feeling. But it vanished as soon as it appeared. He could already feel the blood draining from his face, becoming as white as a ghost. Because a certain someone stood at his doorway. “A-Aer...“ He stammered like an idiot and then everyone else noticed her standing there. And for a long moment everything was quiet.

“Aerith! What are you doing here?“ Asked Tifa eventually.

“Uh...Yuffie said you're all here. I just...wanted to see what you're up to.“ The flower girl explained and in an instant everyone shot death glares at the little brat.

“What? I said she shouldn't come!“ The whole group face-palmed in unison. Before there's going to be an embarrassing scene, Cloud quickly put the guitar away and went to Aerith, gently pushing her out of his apartment to talk with her in private.

“Why didn't you want me there? Because I'm married now? I still wanna hang out with you guys!“ Asked Aerith, before he could even try to explain himself.

“It's not that...“ He mumbled.

“What is it then? Was I not allowed to hear your song?“ Well, this was hitting the point. But he couldn't just say yes to that...“Is the song about Tifa?“ Now where did she get this idea? Wait, did she actually think he had feelings for Tifa instead for her?

“Uh...no. No, it's not about Tifa.“ Maybe he should've just said yes, and let her think what she wanted because his answer made her think. And before he could change his mind again, she looked at him with a certain realization on her face that he never wanted to see since she was engaged.

“Cloud...is the song about...me?“ He quickly looked away, trying to lie his way out of it.

“No...“ Cloud mumbled, but of course she saw right through him. She had this talent. Aerith's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hands in realization. The blonde looked away from her. He couldn't look at her. Writing this stupid song was a mistake. She'd be clueless without it.

“Cloud...why didn't you say anything?“ She asked, making him snap unexpectedly.

“How could I?!“ He yelled at her, making her flinch. An apology was already on his tongue but his anger pushed through. “You're with Zack, do you really think I could say things like 'I love you to hell and back'? That you're the most important person in my life and I'd rather die than losing you? That you're my light, pulling me out of the dark? That I love you more than anything in the world, even my own life? No, it would've ruined everything, like it does now.“

Aerith reached out to touch him, her eyes were filled with sympathy and sadness. But he backed away from her touch. “I don't need your sympathy!“ Cloud turned away from and took a few steps to ensure their distance. He really, really didn't want to say it, but he had no choice anymore. “I'm sorry, but...we can't be friends anymore.“

“Cloud...“

“I love you too much to just be friends. I can't do this anymore.“ With every word he spoke, he felt his heart being squeezed more and more. And it was better that he didn't look at her. If he'd look into her face right now, he'd surely break down. Maybe this is another good day to get drunk. “It's better that we don't see each other anymore. Before I'll do anything I'll regret. And...I could never do this to you and Zack. You deserve better than this.“

To his shock, Aerith wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him tightly. He could feel his body growing hot, his heart pounding so fast it might jump out of his chest any second. Maybe she could even hear or feel his foolish heart. This hug was so bittersweet. He really did enjoy it —maybe too much even— but it just reminded him that he could never have her. She belonged to someone else. He already felt bad for having lewd thoughts and dreams of Aerith, so maybe cutting things off would be better for her. And it might help him stay sane, too.

“Cloud...I'm sorry, I never saw your feelings. I...I always thought you and Tifa...“ To that he only shook his head. Of course he loved Tifa, but more like a sister. He was only romantically interested in Aerith and no one else. “I'm sorry, Cloud. Can I do anything to make it up to you?“

Get a divorce, leave Zack and marry him. That's what the selfish side in him wanted. But he shouldn't be that selfish. It's about what Aerith wanted and not what he wanted. And she wanted to be with Zack. “Go.“ He said with a broken voice and felt her flinch. “Just...leave. Please...“

At first Aerith didn't let him go, she only hugged him tighter. “Please...Aerith...“ He mumbled and at his pleading she let him go. As soon as her warmth left him, he missed it already. He never wanted it to come to this. But now that she knew about his feelings...nothing would be the same anymore. Things would be awkward and who knew how Zack would react to this? No, it's better if they stayed apart, maybe he could move on. Although that's what he tried for years, ever since Aerith and Zack were a couple. It looked more like she permanently ruined him for any other woman.

Cloud thought she'll do as he said and leave, but instead she just went around him to look at his face. Though, he was still unable to look at her, as it would make things only more difficult, but her hands cupped his face and turned it towards her. Looking into these sad, green eyes he grew to love hurt more than anything he's ever been though in his life. “I'm sorry, Cloud.“

The blonde tore his eyes away from hers. “You don't have to apologize for anything...“ He barely finished his sentence, when she felt her hands pulling his head down. And before he realized what's going on, she's kissed his cheek. After giving him a sad look again, Aerith finally left. His face burnt like fire and as her hands let go of his face he had to fight the urge to grab her wrists and hold them in place. He waited until Aerith was gone and everything became silent around him.

And then a few minutes later, he went back into his apartment, where everyone looked at him in complete silence. There was no doubt that he heard them outside, so there was nothing to say, really. “Party's over.“ He mumbled. “Please leave.“ Cloud slumped on his bed, arms resting on his lap, eyes staring at the ground. He heart the others slowly getting up from their sitting positions and quietly left his little apartment. Tifa, squeezed his shoulder, before being the last to leave. Once the door closed, he buried his face in his hands and let the tears go that he fought against till now.

[imaginative-spirit]

hii! i found your twitter acc when i was searching for sefikura meta/analysis, and i found your tweet! i wanted to ask if you know some blog posts (or any posts) of their relationship analysis, as i am quite new to the whole ffvii series and i am intrigued by their relationship. i wanted to ask through cc but i noticed you dont have curiouscat so i’m asking through tumblr, sorry ;;

I didn’t mean to put all of this under a readmore but tumblr is being an ass so that’s what we’re doing now, I guess...

Hello!! Unfortunately I can’t really come up with anything on the spot, because despite seeing posts like that around before, I’m very unorganized and bad at keeping track of posts... so I decided to write you one on the spot instead, lmao!! I’ve been planning to write a more coherent, longer analysis for a while but still haven’t gotten around to it, but I’ll share some of my condensed thoughts here. The sefikura relationship is what intrigues me most about FFVII after all, and I usually yell quite a lot about them on twitter!

You say you’re new to FFVII, which means that I should definitely give a spoiler warning here. I’m going to address spoilery stuff from the OG, Remake and also some of the compilation material, because it’s hard to talk about their relationship without doing so. (I’ll also assume you’re familiar enough with the world of FFVII to know what I mean when I talk about stuff like SOLDIER, Shinra, Jenova, the Lifestream and such... this would get too long if I explained all of that here, lol)

Okay, so. Cloud and Sephiroth are narrative foils, which means their stories and arcs parallel each other in many ways. The most central themes surrounding them are their loneliness, sadness and how they cope with trauma.

Sephiroth was most likely raised by Hojo in a Shinra lab, and if you know Hojo, you know that there’s no way Sephiroth was treated as anything but an experiment. He never knew his mother, and the only person he had any respect for - Professor Gast - vanished when he was young and this seems to have given him abandonment issues. Cloud, on the other hand, had a mother but not much else. He felt alienated by the other children growing up in Nibelheim and seems to have been generally disliked by the adults as well, due to them blaming him for the time Tifa got hurt. In other words, they were both very lonely as children.

Shinra sent Sephiroth to war when he was very young (people disagree quite a lot on how old Sephiroth actually is but it’s assumed that he was around 12), and as the years went by, Sephiroth became the poster child of SOLDIER. We know that Cloud grew to idolize Sephiroth for how strong and brave the media made him out to be (A.K.A. had a celebrity crush on him), and that was what inspired Cloud to leave town and try to join SOLDIER.

As we see in the prequel game Crisis Core, Sephiroth at this point is well-respected by his peers after his efforts in conquering Wutai. His two only friends are Genesis and Angeal, who are also SOLDIER 1st Class, but they end up leaving SOLDIER, which means Sephiroth gets left behind. Considering that he already had abandonment issues to begin with, being abandoned by his only friends must’ve hit hard. I’d say this sets the foundation for Sephiroth’s downward spiral. However, at this point, I would argue that Sephiroth is still a good person at heart, despite all the trauma he has endured. He persists, refusing to hunt down his deserter friends, and even begins a hesitant friendship with Zack, who was Angeal’s apprentice.

Cloud befriends Zack as well, but doesn’t make it into SOLDIER and instead remains in the ordinary Shinra infantry, which is a crushing loss for him because he can’t achieve his dream. It’s at this point I like to imagine that if Zack had introduced Sephiroth and Cloud to one another, things could’ve gone better. Sephiroth is older than Cloud and outranks him, but with how isolated Sephiroth has been for his entire life I think there’s potential for a meaningful friendship here. They’re both very lonely and neither of them is really a people-person, so I think they’d get along well once Cloud gets over his hero-worship and Sephiroth manages to open up a bit. I would say that sefikura, if Nibelheim didn’t happen, has the potential to be a healthy relationship.

But of course, that’s not how canon goes. The Nibelheim mission happens, Sephiroth finds out that he’s not human and finally snaps after years of mistreatment, burning the town to the ground. Cloud manages to kill Sephiroth, ends up spending several years as an experiment, gets injected with Jenova cells, goes into a coma, wakes up just in time to watch Zack die, and ends up so traumatized that he creates a false identity for himself as a former SOLDIER 1st Class.

We’ve now reached OG FFVII. At this point, Sephiroth, while technically dead and chilling in the Lifestream, uses Jenova as a vessel to move around and takes advantage of Cloud, using him as a puppet for his own gains. He constantly dehumanizes Cloud and generally doesn’t give a damn about him as a person, while Cloud resents Sephiroth but can’t resist his manipulations. In a lot of ways, I think Sephiroth projects his own trauma onto Cloud here, because if Sephiroth had to suffer as Shinra’s puppet for his entire life, then Cloud should suffer as Sephiroth’s puppet as well. As a victim of horrific abuse, Sephiroth has a lot of justified anger, but he takes it out on the wrong person entirely. It’s definitely a very unhealthy situation.

But of course, unlike Sephiroth, Cloud doesn’t let his trauma define him. He reaches his breaking point and falls apart completely, but he gets back up, because unlike Sephiroth, he has a support system of friends who stand by his side and work together with him to defeat Sephiroth at the end of the game. For most of his life, Cloud has been chasing Sephiroth. This is where he finally catches up and surpasses him.

And here, the tables turn. Cloud kills Sephiroth but that’s never stopped Sephiroth before. This is where Sephiroth first develops his Cloud-obsession. He fixates on Cloud so hard that his hatred keeps him from completely fading away into the Lifestream. Cloud is literally his lifeline. (Isn’t it romantic? lol) He returns in the sequel movie Advent Children, where he fights Cloud one-on-one and basically just taunts him for 10 minutes before Cloud kills him again.  It’s implied that Sephiroth can keep coming back as long as Cloud exists as well.

Canon beyond this has, for a long time, been unknown territory. There’s a sequel game called Dirge of Cerberus that the fandom at large pretends doesn’t exist because it’s... kinda weird to say the least, lol. And it doesn’t really have anything to do with sefikura anyway. People have written post-canon sefikura as something that continues to be toxic, but there’s also fic that offers redemption and forgiveness for Sephiroth, acknowledging that he was a victim too. It’s left very open-ended.

All of this basically explains how I see sefikura. They’re two people who were alike in many ways, who could have been friends before everything fell apart around them, if things had been different. But they never did meet, before it was too late. Instead, they keep chasing each other, full of hate even though they’re probably the only people in the world who could truly understand each other’s trauma. The only real difference is that Cloud had friends to back him up while Sephiroth was abandoned, and I really, truly wish they could get an opportunity to reach some sort of understanding. And that would basically be it...

...but then the Remake happened. Diving into speculation territory here. I firmly believe that the Sephiroth we see in the Remake is a time traveller, or is at least aware of the future to some degree, and that the remake is actually a sequel where Sephiroth is quite literally remaking OG ffvii. He’s completely obsessed with Cloud to a degree that he never was in the OG, and considering how loyal the developers stayed to the characterization of basically every other OG character this immediately stuck out to me like a sore thumb even though it took me until the end of the game to piece it together.

I’m not kidding here. Sephiroth is desperate for Cloud’s attention in the Remake. He's constantly trying to touch Cloud, everything he says to Cloud makes him sound like a pining ex-husband, and he generally doesn’t do anything to harm Cloud except scaring him shitless simply by showing up. He actually has quite a few moments when he’s very gentle with Cloud. At the end of the game he basically even proposes to Cloud by asking Cloud to join him and genuinely seems upset when Cloud rejects him. And even then, he claims he doesn’t want Cloud (nor himself) to die.

For the life of me, I can’t wrap my head around what Sephiroth’s goal is in the Remake and I have no idea what they’re planning to do with his character in future parts, but I’m very excited to find out. The sefikura content in the Remake was very delicious and at this point the only thing they could do to surpass it in the future would be to have them actually make out on screen, lmao.

I hope this is coherent enough to read, I basically just tried to condense everything I could into a neat little essay and there’s definitely things I didn’t mention here, lol. I’ll write a proper, more well-thought out analysis another time!

Also, if you want to ask me anything else or talk to me about sefikura in general, my DMs are always open, both here and on twitter ;D