#Cloud is having a bad time in this fic and Sephiroth just thinks he's being a silly little guy

[secondarysefikura]

I love writing sefikura where Sephiroth is so delusional about everything. Like yes Sephiroth, the reason Cloud has lost any and all ability to calm himself is because he trusts and loves you so much that he has given up the ability to calm down naturally and instead relies on your control to not freak out. It has nothing to do with everyone he knows and loves being dead, he's just very co-dependent for reasons that have nothing to do with the giant meteor you crashed into the earth.

Cloud in this fic I'm writing: *constantly cramming himself into small spaces and trying to hide, pacing in circles, grinding his teeth, and just generally displaying frantic behaviours.*

Sephiroth: Awww, he's playing!

[altocat]

all 50 of those Honest fave character prompts for Sephiroth

( @izunias-meme-hole )

........*cracks knuckles* OKAY.

1. Do you project onto this character?

All the time, every day. Like Sephiroth, I can often be avoidant, depressed, and overly attached to my loved ones. The struggle is real lmao

2. Did you always like this character?

Before falling into fandom hell, I didn't really notice him much other than Kingdom Hearts stuff. Or the occasional thirst post online.

3. What first drew you to this character?

Crisis Core making him a sad soft baby that everyone is mean to lmao

4. Did you initially dislike/hate this character?

No. I always thought he had a cool design and a badass voice.

5. If this character were a woman, would you honestly still like them? Or in reverse, what if they were a man?

Of course! Sephiroth is a fascinating character regardless. His backstory is very unique and I don't think that would change.

6. Do you have any nicknames or pet names you use for this character?

I mostly just call him Seph. Sometimes Kittyroth. Sometimes "Mr. Compassion" whenever I'm being sarcastic about him. And sometimes just SMUGFUCK because that's what he is.

7. Does the character’s age matter to you?

Nah. Like I said, he's a fascinating character regardless.

8. Does the character’s looks/design matter to you?

I feel like there are certain aspects of his character that you NEED to keep in--his catlike pupils, silver hair, etc. They are plot-related indicators of his heritage and genetics. Thirstposts aside, they are reminder that he is a lab-grown monster with alien blood running through his veins.

9. Does this character remind you of anyone you know? Does that affect how you see them?

Not really. Seph is pretty unique. And honestly I'd rather not know someone like him irl lolol

10. Do you see yourself in this character even without projecting?

Physically? Hell no. Emotionally? Sometimes. But that's on rare occasions where we can actually tell what he's thinking and feeling.

11. How did you “fall in love” with this character?

Watching Crisis Core cutscenes one rainy night in 2021.

12. If you could write effortlessly and as much as you wanted, what story (s) would you write for this character?

AU Redemption arc trilogy in which Zack and Aerith save Sephiroth from himself and he dismantles Shinra to become the planet's hero.

13. If you could draw effortlessly and as much as you wanted, what scene (s) would you draw for this character?

I'd really like to illustrate a lot of fic scenes. Especially the trippier Jenova-focused ones.

14. Are you physically attracted to this character?

...Yeah lmao But I don't ship myself or my self-insert with him because NO lolol I think he's aesthetically pleasing but I don't associate myself with him in any romantic sense. That's just weird to me.

15. Are your thoughts surrounding this character usually sexual, non-sexual, or a mix of both?

Non-sexual. I'm more interested in his character progression/fall into villainy. Like yeah he's attractive and there are some seductive aspects of his personality. But he's just more interesting to dissect as a villain.

16. Have you ever cried when thinking about this character? Genuinely?

Several times lolol usually after First Soldier updates.

17. Have you ever felt physical pain over this character? (ex: physical heartache).

Miiiight have happened once in dms with other fans (thanks @heraldofcrow)

18. Do you prefer to see this character suffer or know peace? Angst or comfort? Both?

SUFFER. SUFFERRRRRRR 😈NO COMFORT FOR YOU ALL IS PAIN AND ANGUISH.

19. Does this character serve as a stress ball/ security blanket for you? Something you run to after a bad day to feel safe or happier?

Oh totally. All the time. Imagine cute aggression but it's more angsty lol Angst aggression.

20. Do you feel affectionate towards this character?

For Sane!Sephiroth, yes. Very much so. Not so much after Nibelheim. Then he's just an evil little shit who needs to get clowned by Cloud again.

21. Are your feelings about this character platonic, romantic, or familial? All of these feelings at once maybe?

Platonic-familial. He's my precious baby boy. Who I have to hurt. LET ME HURT HIM.

22. Do you think you will always love this character?

I hope so! Assuming Square doesn't do something stupid.

23. Has this character permanently altered or impacted your psyche in a way you won’t forget?

I'm HERE. lmao There's your evidence.

24. Do you ever dream about this character? If so, describe a dream you once had about them.

I never have dreams about him and it makes me SO MAD SZDFGHFDSA EVERYONE ELSE GETS BLORBO DREAMS EXCEPT FOR ME.

25. What kind of fan-fiction do you read about this character? If you don’t read fan-fics about them, why not?

I mostly like character studies. Or slow-burn AU fics with him. I'm currently reading The Fear of Falling Stars and it's sooooo good.

26. If you look for this character’s name on AO3, what tags are you including or excluding?

It really depends on the fic tbh.

27. Do you like to ship this character with other characters or do you prefer not to?

I SHIP HIM WITH EVERYONE *feral noises*

28. Do you get defensive about this character? If yes, then why?

Only in select instances. I don't like the dudebro logic of "well Sephiroth was always arrogant/evil even before Nibelheim and he can't be vulnerable or sensitive because that's not badass" because those are fundamentally not true. And an extreme disservice to his writing.

29. Do you affectionately bully this character?

😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

30. Are you especially sensitive about this character?

He makes me sad. His story is heartbreaking.

31. Are you ashamed of liking this character?

Nope. Not at all.

32. If you could make this character a meal, what would you make them?

Pumpkin soup, of course!

33. Are you “blinded by love” for this character or do you accept any flaws they may have?

Oh not at all. I have said many many times and will keep saying that Sephiroth does not deserve a happy ending after everything he's done. He deserves to be destroyed for good. He's NOT a good guy, not any more at least. He's caused so much damage in so many horrible ways. There's no going back from that. I love the guy and I feel for him. But that's still no excuse for what he did.

34. Does this character inspire you with little things in your daily life?

Uhhhh no.

35. Has this character ever prevented you from sleeping because you can’t stop thinking about them?

@ me whenever First Soldier updates.

36. Do you feel a spiritual/soulmate connection with this character?

Idk. Probably not. He's my angsty trauma son. But I wouldn't go THAT far lol

37. Is your love for this character a secret from people you know in real life?

Nope. I will literally never shut up about Sephiroth to family or friends lololol

38. Do you tend to joke more about dying or killing for this character? Both? What causes the distinction?

NO because Sephiroth is a villain and the goal is to not become like him lolol

39. Do you feel lovesick over this character?

Nope. He just makes me casually distraught.

40. Are you very empathetic towards this character? When they feel a certain way in the story, do you feel those emotions too?

Very much so. Like I said before, his story is heartbreaking. I've ugly cried about him so many times in the past.

41. Do you prefer to interact with this character directly via self-insert/reader type content? Or do you enjoy seeing them mostly with other characters in the story and/or your OCs?

Other than background OCs, no. I prefer mostly just his relationship with canon characters.

42. If you could, would you write this character a song or poem?

It'd be cool to do something creepy with his relationship with Jenova...

43. What type of weather makes you think of this character?

Rainy days. Because he's depressing.

44. Which season makes you think of this character?

Fall.

45. Do you feel as if you are intimately familiar with this character?

At this point, I'd really like to hope so. They have certainly added a lot of new stuff that feels on point with my previous ideas for him. But I'm open to new stuff too!

46. How much do bad interpretations of this character upset you?

It really depends on how they characterize him as a person before Nibelheim. I don't really like how people sometimes equate his evil/smug/arrogant post-Nibelheim personality with his CC-era one. They're really completely different.

47. Does this character ever make you laugh sincerely?

He made some the FUNNIEST goddamn faces in Rebirth, just sayin'.

48. What’s your favorite physical/design feature for this character?

R trilogy has the best overall design. Hair, eyes, and the sheer SIZE of him. All perfect.

49. What’s your favorite personality trait in this character?

Sane!Seph: His love for his friends

Insane!Seph: Him being a huge petty dick just for the sake of it

50. Link your fav song, playlist, aesthetic board, fan-fiction, reference pile, personal artwork, analysis post, meme, headcanon, or quote for this character. Whichever one (s) you are most comfortable with!

UHHHHHHHHHHH I'm just going to cheat and say THIS ENTIRE COMMUNITY because Seph-fans are BEST fans and we get along and get shit done. Best content. Best fandom space. No in-fighting or drama on his character. We're ALL peak 😎

[lucky-ladybugs-lovelies]

Sephiroth Asks Done as Survey

Questions found at this reblogged post: https://www.tumblr.com/prismaticpichu/772976578058715136

Do you project onto this character? Yes. I feel like I project onto all of my most favorites, including him.

Did you always like this character? No, actually! I first met him in Advent Children and hated him until my friend Twirlquest introduced to me the concept of Sane Sephiroth. This was before Crisis Core and we had very little to go on, but her intriguing descriptions based on what we did know caused me to give him another chance. It wasn’t long and I just adored him and never looked back.

What first drew you to this character? My friend’s thoughts on what he was like when sane.

Did you initially dislike/hate this character? Yes.

If this character were a woman, would you honestly still like them? Or in reverse, what if they were a man? I would still like her, but I prefer him being what he was intended to be. ;) A gorgeous man with beautiful long hair (including eyelashes) and a very manly chest. Being physically attracted to him when he’s a man is part of the fun for me!

Do you have any nicknames or pet names you use for this character? Seph. It’s easier and quicker than typing his full name every time.

Does the character’s age matter to you? I prefer him as an adult, honestly.

Does the character’s looks/design matter to you? Very, very much. His hair length and color are so iconic, as is his open coat.

Does this character remind you of anyone you know? Does that affect how you see them? No and no.

Do you see yourself in this character even without projecting? In his introversion, being misunderstood, and longing for loved ones who stay, yes.

How did you “fall in love” with this character? As I came to get to know the true, sane him, it was impossible not to fall in love with him. It would be even harder not to now, as Square is pulling out all the stops to show how wonderful he is. The Rebirth Ultimania describes him as having a gentleness and being the perfect boss. Squeeee!

If you could write effortlessly and as much as you wanted, what story (s) would you write for this character? The ones I am writing, lol. And others I’m planning that I don’t want to reveal just yet!

If you could draw effortlessly and as much as you wanted, what scene (s) would you draw for this character? Probably more hurt/comfort scenes with him and Cloud, and also just some sweet, sweet comfort ones. Maybe them under the mistletoe, both FF and KH versions, from the respective fics where that happened.

Are you physically attracted to this character? Yes.

Are your thoughts surrounding this character usually sexual, non-sexual, or a mix of both? I’ve never admitted it before, but Sephiroth is honestly the only character ever who has affected me sexually in the least. That said, it’s generally non-sexual.

Have you ever cried when thinking about this character? Genuinely? Offhand I don’t remember doing so, at least not canon-wise, but the other day I was bawling over a sad ficlet I was doing with his Kingdom Hearts counterpart.

Have you ever felt physical pain over this character? (ex: physical heartache). Yes.

Do you prefer to see this character suffer or know peace? Angst or comfort? Both? While I love writing hurt/comfort fics with him as the victim, I really ultimately want him to be happy. I do not like seeing him be harmed in canon and it definitely hurt when I saw him killed about four or five times in one week. I did not like that even though he was doing horrible things while insane and had to be stopped.

Does this character serve as a stress ball/ security blanket for you? Something you run to after a bad day to feel safe or happier? Definitely.

Do you feel affectionate towards this character? Yes!

Are your feelings about this character platonic, romantic, or familial? All of these feelings at once maybe? It’s usually platonic, but occasionally romantic (even though I don’t self-insert to date him, heh).

Do you think you will always love this character? Pretty sure.

Has this character permanently altered or impacted your psyche in a way you won’t forget? I would say so.

Do you ever dream about this character? If so, describe a dream you once had about them. I do. One in particular with him and Aerith in the Old West became the basis for my fic To Blossom As the Rose.

What kind of fan-fiction do you read about this character? If you don’t read fan-fics about them, why not? I love to read sweet Seph & Zack and Seph & Cloud squee.

If you look for this character’s name on AO3, what tags are you including or excluding? Probably Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII), Sephiroth (Kingdom Hearts), and/or Zack Fair & Sephiroth, Sephiroth & Cloud Strife, and Sephiroth/Cloud Strife.

Do you like to ship this character with other characters or do you prefer not to? I platonically ship Seph and Zack and Seph and Cloud, and I can’t deny I do like Sefikura as long as Cloud wants to be with him. I do not care for any fics or art where Cloud is being forced against his will.

Do you get defensive about this character? If yes, then why? I try to be more chill these days than in the past about such things, but I could see myself still getting defensive of him if I felt someone just didn’t understand him/wasn’t being fair to him and they were pestering me about it. Either that or I’d feel more like Seph did when he met Genesis in chapter 3 of Crisis Core and was so weary of the jealousy and said, “How pointless.”

Do you affectionately bully this character? If by that you mean write and draw hurt/comfort with him as the victim, then yes. Although sometimes it seems more like I’m bullying Cloud when I do that, since he goes through the wringer because of it.

Are you especially sensitive about this character? Probably.

Are you ashamed of liking this character? No!

If you could make this character a meal, what would you make them? Pumpkin soup, thanks to Ever Crisis lore.

Are you “blinded by love” for this character or do you accept any flaws they may have? I hope I see his flaws. They’re rather glaring when he’s insane. Although I can’t deny he seems much less flawed when sane! :^)

Does this character inspire you with little things in your daily life? Honestly, he inspires me more with big things. Because of my love for him despite how badly he cracked up, I am trying very hard to be more patient with certain people in my life.

Has this character ever prevented you from sleeping because you can’t stop thinking about them? Yes, lol. Sometimes the plunnies are just too much!

Do you feel a spiritual/soulmate connection with this character? I think so.

Is your love for this character a secret from people you know in real life? From a lot of people, I suppose, who might not understand how different he is when sane and think I’m in love with an archvillain.

Do you tend to joke more about dying or killing for this character? Both? What causes the distinction? Not really into jokes like that.

Do you feel lovesick over this character? I don’t think so?

Are you very empathetic towards this character? When they feel a certain way in the story, do you feel those emotions too? Very much yes.

Do you prefer to interact with this character directly via self-insert/reader type content? Or do you enjoy seeing them mostly with other characters in the story and/or your Ocs? I want him to interact with Zack and Cloud.

If you could, would you write this character a song or poem? Probably, lol. I would still like to figure out lyrics for a heroic One-Winged Angel. (Yes, I know we have the beautiful Ever Crisis song, but I really want to hear the actual One-Winged Angel song with heroic lyrics!)

What type of weather makes you think of this character? Any kind, lol. Maybe snow, though. It was snowing when I ordered my first Seph figure years ago, the original Play Arts AC Seph, and I was worried the snowstorms would delay or prevent his arrival.

Which season makes you think of this character? Any season, lol. Maybe winter especially, though. It was also winter when I first became obsessed with FF7 and Seph.

Do you feel as if you are intimately familiar with this character? I definitely like to feel like I know him very well, but there are likely others who know him even more. Let’s say I am intimately familiar with the Sephs in my verses. :)

How much do bad interpretations of this character upset you? They rather frustrate and irritate and disappoint me, so I try to stay away from them.

Does this character ever make you laugh sincerely? I’m sure some of his sarcastic cracks have. This is more Cloud, but I keep getting the giggles over this one deleted scene from AC where after Seph says his classic line, “I’ve thought of a wonderful present for you. Shall I give you despair?” Cloud retorts, “Don’t be so generous!” ROTFLOL. I wish so much they had kept that!

What’s your favorite physical/design feature for this character? Long silver hair, incredible eyelashes, beautiful chest.

What’s your favorite personality trait in this character? His kindness and gentleness.

Link your fav song, playlist, aesthetic board, fan-fiction, reference pile, personal artwork, analysis post, meme, headcanon, or quote for this character. Whichever one (s) you are most comfortable with! I have so many, but here is a meme I created: https://www.deviantart.com/meromeroyui/art/Sephiroth-Motivational-Poster-1097293757

[bladesmercy]

001 for sfkr and clerith!

oomf u know me so well. thank you for letting me yap >:-)

001 | send me a ship and I will tell you:

sefikura 🐍♡☁️

when I started shipping it if I did:

there's actually a funny story to this one. > be me. > guilelessly playing kingdom hearts 2 in 2019. > "what the hell is these dudes' deal. i wonder if people ship them at all" > open ao3 thinking there might be a handful of fics > "oh there's a couple more than a few, huh" > life ruined.

my thoughts:

my favorite little guys in anything ever. they surgically removed my personality to make room for more sefikura. truly i have never loved a ship as much as this one. literal otp of all time.

What makes me happy about them:

everything? they're so funny and silly to me. extremely pathetic creatures. two absolute losers. i think of them and i always smile. i love the fact that each of them have independently made their personality revolve around each other at different points in time, it's so funny.

What makes me sad about them:

EVERYTHING. the fact they will never have a happy ending. the fact they will be enemies in every (canon) universe. the fact they are two extremely broken people who are uniquely equipped to understand each other and that won't be enough to save them.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

tbh i'm so picky with what i like and don't like about how both these guys often end up characterized, but i also think all interpretations are valuable in their own way. i can't think of any huge annoyances, except that i have very Specific feelings/headcanons about sephiroth in crisis core era, and usually won't read things that veer too far away from that.

things I look for in fanfic:

i love any and all fics where the author makes it obvious that sephiroth is just. completely besotted. and i think cloud feeds off of that, even if he won't admit it. i'll read just about anything with these two, but i especially love stories where authors can articulate the crux of their dysfunction really well. yes, these two have have immense amounts of hate, and blood, and pain between them, but (especially on sephiroth's end) there is also an Intense desire for intimacy, of any kind. these two things juxtaposed well is just magical to me.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

no one. i say that as a joke but it's pretty much true. for cloud i do also ship him hardcore with aerith (somewhat against my own will XD), but outside of that i don't really multiship these two anymore. i used to be a Hardcore multishipper, and while i still appreciate things like some polyshipping (other cleriseph enjoyers where are you, i need food of that ot3 so bad), i honestly can't enjoy the thought of them being with anyone else. i miss being a multishipper, because these days pretty much every single other ship with them (outside of clerith) has become a notp for me. ;w;

My happily ever after for them:

in canon? haha. the closest i could see them in canon ffvii (and the closest i think part 3 of remake would get to giving them a 'happy' ending) is having a moment of resolution similar to what kuja and zidane get in ffix. i would be satisfied with that for canon. BUT if we're taking all the stops off, i want to see the dramatic epic pining slowburn post-AC where they eventually figure out how to lead semi-normal lives alongside each other. this is making me want to write that now....maybe that will be my next fic project.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

there's an obvious answer here with consideration to builds and hair lengths, i think. i like to think cloud has accepted his fate to have this 7 foot tall piece of brick clinging to him like an octopus.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

this is another obvious one, and i'm tempted to say 'fighting', but i'm not sure that clears the bar of non-sexual for them. my second choice is that i think they would just genuinely enjoy being around each other in silence. they're both such introverts, and i like to think of them just recharging quietly with each other.

clerith ☁️♡🌎

when I started shipping it if I did:

let me preface this by saying that when remake came out in 2020, i had less than zero interest in vii's infamous love triangle. i wanted no piece of it in my heart or my home. then the game came out and cloud and aerith gripped me by the throat and violently dragged me into falling in love with them by being so damn charming and heartfelt and perfect for each other.

my thoughts:

i love these two so damn much. i really Really loved them in remake, and rebirth intensified this to a level i could Not have anticipated and is currently ruining my life. i love them. i love that they are soulmates, romantic, platonic, or something in-between. i love that their bond and chemistry is near-instantaneous, i love that cloud blooms into letting himself experience softness around her, i love that aerith finally has someone who cares about making her happy and standing by her so damn much.

What makes me happy about them:

so much. their love is so pure and tentative. their vibes to me run parallel to how i see and experience the early 20s as a queer person, essentially the second teenage-hood where you're still feeling yourself out as a person, and you have no idea what you're doing. you feel like you're missing out on a lot of the fundamental experiences that 'normal' people have already had, and i feel like both cloud and aerith mirror that emotion, thanks to the fucked up circumstances of both their lives. aerith is cloud's first real friend after nibelheim (and potentially ever, depending on how close you think he was with zack. to me, i hc cloud and zack were pretty friendly, but not especially close prior to the nibelheim incident.) and cloud is also one of aerith's first friends. they've both suffered such acute loneliness and isolation in their lives, and the fact they find healing for that in each other is so so special to me. the fact that aerith is the person most able to reach through to the person cloud Really is, even under everything he's got going on, makes me so deranged.

What makes me sad about them:

well. there is a very obvious answer. so there is definitely That. that's kind of a big deal.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

honestly i feel like i don't have many specific fanfic annoyances in general, because if a fic annoys me i just stop reading it, and then my adhd makes me forget i read it to begin with.

things I look for in fanfic:

i really love everything with these two, i love all the cute fluff happy ever afters they don't get to have in canon, but i also love the angst and the drama and the trauma. usually i just gravitate towards any fics that i feel understands the characters well or has interesting ideas, the exact plot or type of scenario is less important to me.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

in my heart, cloud's endgame ship is always sephiroth. as for aerith, i'm also a Huge zerith shipper (yes i am in constant emotional pain, how did you know), but aeriseph also firmly has a place in my heart.

My happily ever after for them:

any. any of them. i want the most tooth-rotting fluffy ending for these two. (admittedly, their iconic tragedy is a part of why i love them so bad. without it, my emotional investment would be Nowhere near as high.) i've been reading a lot of wedding/alternate future fics with these two lately and they all make me ;w;

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

i genuinely think it goes both ways, but if i had to say i think cloud is doomed to be a little spoon in any lifetime.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

oooh tough one!! i think aerith would love teaching cloud to garden....though i'm not sure he would be any good at it. but i have faith in him to learn.

[cwarscars]

🔥

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion.

i'ma shape this one around the final fantasy vii fandom and go off on my usual spiel ( or, old spiel? cause i haven't chatted it in a while lol ).

i honestly despise the lack of love that the side-characters get as a whole from the fandom. i really don't like what the remake did for the franchise ( i do love the remake, don't get me wrong, but i think it bought about some of the fandoms worst traits ), and i cannot stand the 'one rule for thee, another for me' mindset that fans have regarding characters.

let's start with numero uno - so, obviously i write heid. lol. he's not particularly liked & that's totally fine...but man. finding content for him is horrible. there's nothing. like, barely anything. the few fics that exist are either rape fics or are ( and i hate saying this ), sorely out of character. the art is few and far between and usually more bara-anime-oriented. overall, i feel like i'm drinking from a dried up well. actually, nah. there was no well in the first place.

i always understood that heid isn't exactly the character who would get much fanfare but it's so disheartening to shift through five million pics of 'x' character and find two of heid. i can't even draw ( or at least, im not at all confident in my art ) and yet i took to drawing heidegger all of the time because i had to start making content for him. and in doing so - my art gets no regonition and is totally ignored anywhere but here. i think if i drew a popular character, i'd maybe get more attention but...i can't bring myself to do so.

in general though; heid isn't the only one. even reeve is quite underrated and ignored by the fandom as a whole (or implied to be an owo cat boy which makes me cringe). even, dare i say, barret is often shoved aside in favour of the more 'popular' characters ( the whole tifa/cloud are now marlene's parents suggestion by some people enrages me, like, wtf? )

secondly, i don't like what the remake did for the fandom because i think it bought the worst out in the fans. it appealed to cloud/sephiroth shippers despite that ship making no sense. you could argue the sephiroth cloud sees is just an extension of himself. they're both essentially jenova. but the remake makes it overtly sexual / suggestive. even as i played, all i could think was 'yeah, this was done for fan service'. i don't even think sephiroth should have been seen in remake part 1. ( obviously that'd never happen ).

but whereas there are things i adore about the remake. i think that they dumbed down the story and by extension, made the worse aspects of fandom writers become apparent. like, by making AVALANCHE basically entirely innocent ( despite being literal terrorists ) - they make shinra ENTIRELY evil. in the og, shinra were weirdly nuanced. they were 'evil' sure, but then they were also genuinly trying to save the planet from sephiroth. as for AVALANCHE; yes, they were fighting on behalf of good. but they did murder people in their quest to shut down reactors. in the og, reeve even calls barret out on this. but...now we probably wont get that? like, way to go rid your main heroes of any nuance. god forbid a hero does something bad.

my final point cause goddamn is this getting long is - i despise the way that the fans talk about characters & the whole 'LOL i can ship this but if you ship that then lol stinky gross smelly ewww'.

i've always wanted to explore shinra/heid as a young men. like, really explore their relationship. potentially even one-sided ship them. i love the idea of it, it's interesting and i imagine their dynamic was similar to tseng/rufus. how many jokes have i seen about shipping them? tonnes. but it's not okay to diss any other ship. make a joke about tseng/rufus and ohhh noo, you fucked up, kiddo.

i've seen people imply heidegger is a pervert because he commented on sephiroth being good looking. literally suggesting he 'creeps' on sephiroth and people wholly agreeing like 'omG LoL YEs' - as if calling someone good looking is an alien thing to do or means immediately that you want to bang them (smh).

in general, i constantly see the fandom make jokes about certain characters & imply that if you ship them, like them etc - 'loool something wrong with uuu'. it's dumb as shit. don't be mean about other people's preferences when half of the fandom can't take being told that cloud shouldn't be shipped with whoever.

[silverflqmes]

NOT VERY OFTEN😭 or i’m just in so much shock that im like ARE YOU BEING FR?? ( coming from someone who wasn’t usually the funny or jokey one among friends.. )

YEAH MY GAMING BECAME MORE LIMITED AS I FURTHERED MY HS CAREER😭 i was rlly strict on myself during my final yr cuz i had to repeat it ( had a rlly bad year with covid and all cuz it fucked w my studies</3 ) soo i just limited myself to genshin impact and tekken- since i would play against my dad so i had an opponent LMAO that’s uh weirdly when my interest for ff started to brew bc noctis got added as a dlc for tekken 7 back in 2017 so i was like oooh!! however.. i did not act on said interest🥹 i was like nope!! cannot afford it with how bad i procrastinate.. but fr?? if you go for vet tech i hope it works out!! im going to a uni college, so it’ll be a bit of everything but i want to go into arts and humanities<3 its a three yr cram program but im excited for it!!

i heard that the remakes were pretty different from the og, but im excited to see in what direction it goes in because of that since it’s something the audience already knows and yet there is this suspense because there are bound to be unexpected changes and twists🥸 BUT IM LIVING FOR WHATEVER SEFIKURA STUFF THE DEVELOPERS DECIDED TO FEED THEIR AUDIENCE CUZ ITS JUST INSANE TO ME?? half the time i gotta ask myself if im IMAGINING IT?? the developers are fr SPOILING sefikura enjoyers let them get together and violently make out in the third installment. KIDDING🤠 most definitely kidding.. ( maybe. ) but im really loving cc even if it made me cry last night ( angeal sobs )😭 it’s just like — the ffvii version of revenge of the sith ( for reference this is my fav film of all time ) and im EATING it up🤭 even if it’s gonna tear me tf down at the end.. but it’s great, i just wish more details were added :’) it goes by really fast?? i think it would have been more suspenseful to build up more to lead up to sephiroth’s fall from grace, cuz then the audience gets like EVEN MORE ATTACHED and has even more to lose ahaha.. i’ve seen bits of rebirth and i wanna play so so bad but i gotta hold off on the ps5😔 ec is good but i feel you about the whole stuffing sephiroth lore into a mobile game.. it’s just😭 but yeah i decided to play, it’s grind heavy but i’m trying to get to sephi :’) its just taking some time to level up🙁

oneshots are smtn i do for friends too and just to experiment a little with my writing — or whenever i need a break from fics to just write small stuff and rebuild inspiration :’) headcanons are also fun to do just cuz i get to be unhinged LMAO all types of practices cashes out tho!! but yeah i used to gatekeep too, i was so embarrassed to have ppl read my stuff.. but i kinda just was like fuck it why not🫡 although i took down all my old stuff cuz.. cringe.

dialogue goes hard fr and when a line delivers SO perfectly i just gotta slam my phone or book down, pace about and then return to it.. BAHAHAHA FANTASY BOOKS DO THAT YEAH me personally i do like to be descriptive just cuz i like to set the scene so that my audience is able to see what i see and feel what’s happening outside of the dialogue but it depends what direction i took — if it’s something more imagery focused, dialogue is less emphasized on — if it’s more conversation focused, then dialogue takes the spotlight! i agree with what you mean with the fighting for sure too cuz they definitely need it to communicate since it’s kinda what they were molded into doing ( shinra i will have you by the throat one of these days. ) so i think it’s essential to their relationship LMAO especially for cloud since he has a harder time expressing himself.. sephiroth i mean, has a tough time with feelings too — but he’s a little better at them than cloud is😭 DUDE WHEN TIFA CAUGHT THEM I DEADASS THREW MY PHONE ACROSS THE BED AND SCREAMED INTO MY PILLOW I WAS LIKE NO NO NO😵‍💫 but im glad things at the end despite the conflict was sorted — even if tifa was like yeah uh saw my besti get his back blown out by his enemy, totally normal about this ( she was not ). FF7 RLLY IS A TRAGEDY ISTG I ALWAYS END UP LIKING THE ANGSTIEST SHIT😭 relived you do happy endings tho, it’s healing honestly. reading is about escaping fr so its best to escape to something guaranteed to end well despite hardship!

OOO A DRAGON?? im a monkey BAHAJAHS i think that pairs sillily with gemini, although a lot of my friends think i act like a taurus more😭 which makes sense since im on the cusp ( may 23rd is my birthday and gemini i believe begins the 21st )🐒 honestly never tried the question thing now that i think abt it.. well, somewhat.. usually i like doing au stuff so my questions are more like hahaha what if haikyuu was set in star wars or acotar or genshin — basically something like that and then i do a load of world building😭 which i love<3 but i get that! i mean you’ve been acquainted with them for this long so it eventually comes naturally yeah? BUT YOURE SO RIGHT, i have had moments where i was like SHIT i wish i added this and then i rework things to make my new editions possible LMAO

schedules and writers are like water and oil, kudos to the authors who can actually keep schedules😭 BUT SHIT YEAH I WOULD PASS OUT IF I HAD TO WRITE THAT MUCH IN ONE SITTING granted i have days where i pump out 2-3k words but then i have days where i put one sentence and im like okay thats enough😶 HAKAHWKWJSJ I WAS JUST SHOCKED SINCE WE GOT SO LENGTHY😭😭 but i do have discord!! i’ll dm you my user after i finish LMAOAOAOAOAISSKKS

DUDE I LOVE OLD FILMS SM AND WITH THE TECHNOLOGY THEY HAD ITS JUST SO??? i wish ppl would appreciate it more but i guess newer generations are spoiled now😭 I HEARD SOMETHING LIKE THAT ABOUT SEPH’S HAIR THATS HONESTLY SO INSANE TO ME they fr were like we cannot butcher homeboy he’s gotta eat up the audience, love them for that so much<3 BUT YEAH!! that’s honestly so crazy to think about, every time i look back on my interests and the source it came from or i guess the what initiated it — its just so crazy??? to weirdly think that i would not be doing any of this if it wasnt for my guy best friend — who i had a crush on for the longest time.. and wanted to get into his interests to become closer with him — which resulted in me discovering fanfic on my own, writing it and getting the courage to share my writing with others, as well as making cool friends😭 BAKAHSWKSJ YEAH I AM🫣 THATS SO CRAZY TO THINK ABOUT THOUGH??? no wonder you write so wonderfully, you really really honed your craft<33 AKAKAKS THAT SOUNDS FUN THO🥹 my old best friend at the time when i began writing would co-write with me and we would also draw scenes too- back then it was when we played wizard101 together, minecraft and sims — and just spawned all these handwritten and drawn stories😵‍💫😵‍💫 it was so much fun, i kept all of them<3 GEEZ DELETED??? that sounds like wattpad now, they rlly just kinda fucked up the whole site.. that’s why i keep nsfw content here :’) HELP THE LEMON AND LIME ERA AJAJAJSHS that is such a throwback oml, now its gone to smut and most recently- spice among book lovers😭😭

zakkura was doomed a bit yeah</3 im not sure how things turned out in rebirth since i hear he’s in it?? but im rooting for him and aerith more😭 they are just so cute in cc together🙁 BAKQSH yeah sefikura.. its a tough call🥹 but they both need each other — like one cannot be without the other no matter how many times cloud tries to reject him.. DUDE I LOVE OLD SCHOOL BL THO<3 maybe thats why i was so drawn to your fics cuz honestly i dont read ship stuff anymore since im a little more self indulgent ahahaha.. but sefikura snatched me up in such a stunning move🧎‍♀️

LMAOO YEAH HE IS he’s such a sweetheart<3 i love him being the mediator and comedic relief, the much needed extrovert among two emotionally constipated introverts BAHAHAHA but yeah.. i figured things might be a little rocky between cloud and seph after the ending of SI but zack will help, i believe in him!!! ESPECIALLY WITH THAT EXCERPT ABAHAHSSHKW i bet cloud would let sephiroth sit on his lap to prove a point tbh ( it probably fails and leads him to getting teased instead AHAHAHAHA )

HELP IM JUST NATURALLY NAIVE😭😭 might also be the cloud kinnie in me cuz i continuously stumbled into those thinking patterns of like okay theres a happy ending BUT IS SOMETHING GONNA HAPPEN TO SEPHIROTH BECAUSE THE POSSIBILITY OF DEATH KEEPS GETTING MENTIONED AND IDK WHAT TO THINK.. so you successfully got me to follow the cloud train of thoughts🤣 but yeah writing is about playing your audience a bit, even i do that especially with my constant need of leaving cliffhangers ahahahhaha… its rlly important to get them in touch with their emotions cuz it draws them in more — which is what happened to me ehe.. BRO YEAH IAYSKSJSKSKS in ID the whole time im like oh gosh what is he planning all we know is cloud’s pov so it leaves me wanting to know what sephiroth is gonna do yk?? so once again — you succeeded on that BAHAHAHAHA speaking of its almost 1am I HAVE GOT TO READ CH 15🫡 ao3 was down today and i almost combusted im so glad it repaired itself cuz i was like NO WAY NOT WHEN I WAITED ALL WEEK FOR THIS MOMENT😭 kinda worked out tho cuz i finished my motivation later yayayay~

aaaa i hope it’s gotten better, it’s tough to deal with that — i used to have really bad anxiety a couple years back due to school :’) but i’ve somewhat gotten better, my only issue is stress.. im glad sefikura has helped you though!! AND THAT LIFE GETS KINDER TO YOU BC YOU DESERVE IT FOR BEING SO SWEET🙁❤️

OMW TO THE REUNION AFTER I HYPE UP MY BESTI REAL QUICK🕺 EEEEEK SO EXCITED TO READ<33

hi hi not necessarily an ask but i wanted to tell you that your works are so good??? like i’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that your stories are not the canon plot of ff7 AND YET IT FEELS SO REALISTIC BECAUSE YOU PORTRAY THE CHARACTERS SO WELL??? i fr almost gaslighted myself for a second there BAHAHAHA ahem, anyway, really love your style of writing, it’s so refreshing to me<3 literally got me giddy and looking forward to fic updates for the first time in awhile?? i’ve been in a reading slump for a good minute and your sefikura fics dragged me out in the most emotional yet spicy way possible IDK HOW YOU DO IT WITH THE WAY TAG TEAMING SMUT AND ANGST SO LANGUIDLY, LITERALLY GOT ME UGLY CRYING ONE MINUTE AND THEN SCREAMING THE NEXT

the power you hold oml but anyway — all in all it’s immaculate, eating it up fr🧎‍♀️ can’t wait to read more!!

and ummmm.. my bad for the word vomit i fr had to simp on main and show my appreciation🫡 have a good rest of your day / night!!<33

Wow, thank you so much! 😱 It’s not everyday I get praised like that, and I’m so honored you like my work that much! 🥰 I love to write, and I have original work on the backburner indefinitely because sefikura has stolen my soul for all eternity, haha. And I know exactly what you mean, I was so disappointed that fics I liked a lot only updated once a year or were left unfinished and I just...got so fed up with it that I decided I’d rather just spend my time writing my own than keep trying to read them. That’s why I’ll never leave a story unfinished(though sequels may take a while to appear). My comments section on AO3 is open to both users and guests, so you are always free to scream about it there or here, I don’t mind in the slightest! It makes me excited to post when you’re excited for the update, too! 

Out of curiosity, which story got you hooked on my work? 👀 In Death is my current fic that has 5 chapters left, and I’ll post one every single Friday until it’s complete, with chapter 15 coming out in just a couple days~! Ahh, the reunion is almost at hand! I also made a special image for the final chapter, and I can’t wait to share it. :) Thank you for leaving me such a lovely comment, I’m truly honored to receive it! 💖💖

[holly-fixation]

I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while. You can call it a prompt or a summary for a fic idea, or as my personal prediction for Rebirth that I don't think I've seen anywhere else.

We know Aerith will die in Rebirth/Remake 3. Cloud has a vague idea something bad will happen to her. And the developers said they would keep all major story elements the same from the Original to Rebirth/R3.

That being said,

Zack's presence in the Remake trilogy has to impact something from the original. Something has to change other than "I'm a sad puppy" (he as been through a lot of stuff, poor boy). They wouldn't just bring him back to have him chilling on your team. At least that's what I believe.

We know in the original, Sephiroth tried to force Cloud to kill Aerith at the City of the Ancients, before Cloud broke free, so he did it himself (or Jenova clone but you get it). So if Zack's there, but Aerith's death is still set in stone, what can he do?

Well, Zack's entire character is tragedy, and every member of SOLDIER has Jenova cells for retaining Mako enhanced abilities. Zack was also experimented on like Cloud, and may not have as much, but definitely more than the usual SOLDIER Jenova cells in him.

Here's the idea:

Sephiroth knows that Cloud won't kill Aerith, from last time. Cloud has also been controlled by him before so Cloud knows (to an extent) what to expect.

What if Sephiroth makes Zack kill Aerith?

Again, he tried with Cloud. They both have Jenova cells. Zack doesn't have Cloud's fragile mind so I'm not entirely sure if this could work. But the absolute tragedy of finally returning to his girlfriend after 4 years of experimentation and 1 year on the run, only to have so little time together, attempting to be happy, re-learning everything about each other, perhaps even more, to be forced to kill her, and have her last memory on this planet be his sword through her body and the possessed look on his face?

Wouldn't that be one more perfect tragedy?

[freelanceexorcist]

FFVIIR theory time

Just one or two or five this time, but this one has been on my mind a bit lately, especially with the new Crisis Core footage. This will probably still be long as hell, though, so consider yourselves warned.

As always:

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Seriously, kids, you know the drill

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OK, you've officially given up your right to bitch about any spoilers in this post.

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To start, some of these theories will be pretty canon-divergent. The key word here is theories. If your eye is twitching right now, think of this as an AU fic except it's just the opinion of someone who can't write fiction for shit. And like it or not, big parts of the canon story HAVE changed and these theories might even fit into canon in some way. And yes, I know the dev team has said that all of the major story beats will remain the same, but they said a lot of things back then, yet exercised their right to change their minds, which I think gives me a little wiggle room.

Anyway.

I've had the origin of Ore!Sephiroth on my mind lately, and I've tenuously concluded that he is the only real version of Sephiroth in the game. I even have my doubts about his real body chilling out in the Northern Crater and rebuilding in this iteration of the story.

So who's the person creating illusions in Cloud's mind and warging into the black-cloaked zombie men? I think it's Jenova herself trying to utterly break Cloud.

"But Jenova is just a mindless, instinct-driven animal that Sephiroth uses as a meat suit throughout the game," you say.

Yes, that's basically what she was in the OG. So much so that a man whose mind was utterly broken could wrest control away and impose his will on her. But subsequent materials give her more and more agency and suggest that her influence on Sephiroth is stronger than originally thought. It follows that the Remake series, with all of it's changes, would make her sentient and malicious.

Having said this, if you have the ability to assume other forms based on someone's memories and you want to inflict maximum psychological damage on your prey, you don't appear as yourself. The only memory they have of you is your severed head. No, you appear as the man responsible for the worst day of their life, and you taunt the shit out of them about that. You throw their mother's dying words at them. You follow them around telling them how weak and worthless they are because you know that somewhere deep down, they believe that about themselves. You constantly remind them that anyone who looks to them for protection will end up dead and you show them glimpses of the future to prove it.

I don't get the sense that it's Sephiroth's thing-either in the Compilation or spin-offs-to do that. This is why it was kind of jarring to me to see Sephiroth behaving that way in the Remake. It seemed out of character. Sephiroth's usual attitude toward Cloud is one of indifference and control at worst and, at best, seeing him as a somewhat worthy opponent. Even in Advent Children, when he was basically a rage-fueled golem made of Jenova cells and spite whose white hot hatred of Cloud fueled his very existence he wasn't that verbally abusive toward him. That was, to me, a big clue that something was off.

So my lowly opinion is that OG Sephiroth's motives will be transferred to Jenova in future installments while she continues to look like him and we won't find out this is what's going on until the big reveal. That will be the mystery of Sephiroth this time around.

Jenova as the new Big Bad is even scarier than Sephiroth when you think about it, because her genetic material is the source of his superhuman strength. As strong as he is, that would make her even stronger. Imagine being at the mercy of a villain that is mentally breaking you down piece by piece and can then instantly squash you like a grape once she's gotten what she wants from you.

So from here on out, I'm assuming that each appearance of Sephiroth other than Edge of Creation or similar instances is actually Jenova assuming his form.

Then there's Ore!Sephiroth. During the boss fight at the end, it's heavily implied that he is at least partially controlled by The Whispers. That also implies that the final battle wasn't entirely his choice. By being defeated in that battle, he's able to break free from our friendly neighborhood Dementor wannabes. I also theorize that he wanted to see how strong the party had become.

Fast forward to the Edge of Creation sequence, and you know that this person is very different from the person we've encountered throughout the game. Jenova induces hallucinations, but Sephiroth helps snap Cloud out of them. In the Japanese version, he uses a first-person pronoun ("ore," hence the nickname) that is personal, casual and used amongst peers, while all others use "watashi," which is impersonal and very formal. This was important enough for the folks who put together the Ultimania for the Remake to point out about him.

What I'm getting at is that all sensors indicate that this guy is actually Sephiroth, and that he has managed to shake off Jenova's influence and regained full control over his own mind (something that-again, in theory-The Whispers were trying to prevent in order to keep events chugging along as they were meant to).

Now I've seen some really good theories in my travels that say this is either pre-Nibelheim Sephiroth or a version from the future, either of whom could have traveled through time. While I love the idea of the former, I tend to favor the latter. The reason for that is for drama's sake.

Pre-Nibelheim Sephiroth gaining knowledge of future events and enlisting Cloud's help to stop them is a good storyline, but not as powerful as the other scenario. In that one, Future Sephiroth has shaken off Jenova and his personality has been able to re-emerge, but now he's wracked with guilt and shame over the things he's done and knows exactly what will happen if Jenova wins. Sure, as of the end of Advent Children she had been beaten back once again, but as long as she persists in the Lifestream, she can try again and again.

Who is to say that Future Sephiroth doesn't come from a time when she finally succeeded? The landscape at the Edge of Creation looks a lot like a barren planet after all. This is the culmination of everything he helped her do for so many years, and he sees the chance to put an end to it. But he can't do it alone.

Also, personality-wise, the latter would be more entertaining. Pre-Nibelheim was dutiful, determined and a bundle of personal and emotional issues. Future Sephiroth would be all of those things and also a bit of a giant asshole, too. Any good he does won't erase or excuse the awful things he did in the past, he will have to come to terms with that, and one doesn't just find out they were born as the result of horrific human experimentation and come out the other side of that with a winning personality. Kinda like Negan after his heel-face turn on The Walking Dead.

Finally, this being pre-Nibelheim Sephiroth doesn't make sense when you figure that if he's here, that means the destruction of Nibelheim likely didn't happen, or at least didn't happen in the way we know. This would completely change the story from the ground up, and big changes aside, the major story beats seem to be chugging along as usual. There's always the issue of alternate timelines that the story wants to play with, but it'll take a lot more theorizing power than I have to figure out how pre-Nibelheim Sephiroth would figure into that.

That's about all I've got right now, so I'll wrap this up. If you're still reading, thank you for indulging me.

Until next time!

[marcirose]

Intro

Hi, I'm Marci! I make a lot of Kingdom Hearts edits, I do a bunch of writing on the side, and I have way too much to say about my interests.

While I mainly talk about Kingdom Hearts, I talk about other things such as Vocaloid, Final Fantasy, My Hero Academia, and other things. That's also 90% of my writing and brainrot.

Just to get it out of the way, my main ships are soriku, zakkura, and miritama, but I'll also talk about other ships I enjoy as well.

I'm also hoping to get back in the groove of doing MMD because it's been such a while. Hope y'all enjoy your stay!

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarcelinaRose

Fic Samples:

"His skateboard was tucked under his arm as Reki turned around to face the almost empty sidewalk behind him. There were a few people out and about, and none of them paid him any mind. No one gave him a passing glance as they stepped across the street or headed into a convenience store. It was quiet. Eerily quiet. But someone was watching him; Reki knew that for sure.

He thought it would be best to return home as soon as he could. Something told him to hurry, to not stop to get a snack for S, to not even think about going to S tonight. Something told him to go straight home and stay there."

-Loving Deception (Sk8 the Infinity)

"Izuku kept his head down as they danced across the floor with other couples and pairs surrounding them. Fortunately, Prince Shoto wasn’t going to force him to meet his gaze. It was already humiliating enough to be twirled around by the goddamn enemy of all people, in a room that used to have gold, white, and blue adorning the walls, now replaced with an ugly red and black color scheme in the few days after the fall of the castle. Izuku hated every second of it. He wished it was a bad dream that he wanted to wake up from.

“You’re quite good at this.”

Ah. The bastard was trying to make conversation."

-Surviving the Flames (My Hero Academia)

"Cloud was at the end of the hall, right past Denzel’s room. Zack had a hand on the doorknob and paused, dread settling in his gut once again. He knew Cloud was fine —hell he had to be after being stabbed a dozen times by Sephiroth in their final battle. He had seen Cloud earlier that day when he put the kids to bed, he saw Cloud off to bed when he was helping Tifa at the bar. Cloud was fine. Cloud was safe.

So why were his thoughts betraying him?"

-Unpleasantries in Dreams (Final Fantasy VII)

[wolf-pearl]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[im-totally-not-an-alien]

Final Fantasy 7 prompts #70

1. Time traveler au where everyone remembers, and I mean everyone!

Hojo? Incredibly curious about this new phenomenon and is hunting Cloud like a Zolom slithering up to a Chocobo

Sephiroth: Also hunting Cloud, although for entirely different reasons

Genesis full on tackle-hugged Angeal to the ground and not even a half hour later the scene repeats with the puppy

Random people on the streets scream and cry in delight at seeing thier loved ones for the first time since The Plate/Meteorfall/Geostigma took them from the world of the living.

Its a mess.

2. Cloud was never a selfish man. At least, he never considered himself to be. But standing here, aiming a gun at a sleeping man's head, he couldn't help to feel like he was.

3. Cloud sniffled, staring at his campfire as the wind blows at it. Its as if the wind god himself is trying to snuff out the only comfort he had left. He didn't mean to betray the group, he swears.

Not that it meant much.

(Au where Cloud never got mako poisoned after giving Sephiroth the black materia and swam away from Tifa, losing her in the lifestream)

4. After going through yet another tragic event, his mind shuts down. He fell into a coma (again) this time within the lifestream

Now its up to Zack and Aerith to save him from himself by entering Clouds dreamworld and spending time with him in hopes of convincing him to leave. They didn't count on Cloud not remembering what happened in the real world, nor for Cloud to have been given everything he had ever wanted.

Zack struggles with the morality of taking Cloud from a happy dream world and dumping him back into a bleak reality

5. Yuffie dumped a bucket of water onto Cloud, prompting the blond to grab a bucket of his own and chase the ninja through the jungles of Wutai.

Playtime was cut short however, when Yuffie fell into a hole in the ground. It was covered by large ferns and plant life, completely obscuring it from view. Still, she was a ninja! She should have seen this coming.

Cloud also feels a bit foolish for also falling in while looking for her.

They wake up and climb out of the hole, and head back to Godo, expecting nothing to have changed, only to find they-

A. Had been missing for 20 years

B. Are in an alternate reality

C. Have time traveled to the past

(Take your pick)

Cloud has no time to feel down, not with his precious annoying baby sister around. Someone has to keep the princess safe, and thats not easy when she's her own worst enemy.

(I intended this to be a fun sibling fic)

6. Before Crisis Shinra gets reports of a silver haired woman with reddish purple eyes dragging an unconscious blond man around like a stuffed animal.

Aka Jenova herself has come out to play

7. Sephiroth comes out of the labs much more woozy than normal. He doesn't think much of it at first, and by the time he realized he was in trouble, it was too late.

Genesis came into the Generals office to complain to the silverette about Shinra, only to find Sephiroth spacing out and acting rather...odd.

"Sephiroth," the redhead asked gently, "Are you...high?"

Sephiroth blinked slowly at him, and the commander couldn't help but to feel it was a greeting of some sort.

The silverette smiled before saying. "I am higher than you, yes."

"Thats not what i- Wait. Did you just make a joke?!"

Or

A certain blond trooper walks in holding paperwork for the general, who proceeds to pick up the smaller man and coo at him.

This somehow culminates into Sephiroth saying, "I know. I should adopt you!" Before spinning the young man around in the air like one wood a toddler.

Clouds confused shout was audible a whole two floors down, catching the attention of the honorable commander and his puppy, who went to investigate.

(Inspired by a dream I had of Sephiroth holding a struggling Cadet Cloud and saying "This is my son now." To Angeal)

8. Genesis munching on popcorn while watching Cloud beat up Sephiroth for the umpteenth time.

He even has the audacity to cheer for the blond

9. General Sephiroth encounters a child who is dressed up like him when out on a walk.

He talks to the child and leaves the situation feeling much better about himself.

(I need some wholesome Sephiroth fics)

10. Kadaj as a cat loaf

11. Sephiroth and Cloud have a shared dream about them being happily married and Cloud being pregnant.

The moment Cloud wakes up he barricades the doors and windows.

Sephiroth...well he doesn't know what to think about this situation. He's kinda just staring off in a daze.

He attributes it to trauma and neither ever bring it up.

12. Time traveler Cloud, but with all of Jenova-fied Sephiroths abilities. The problem is that Cloud has seemingly little control of these abilities, leading to Cloud being very tired and the writer being very amused.

13. Sephiroth rescues a blond fae from the rubble he was pinned under.

This was how he gained his silent stalker. The man never spoke. But his calming smile said enough.

14. When Lazard discovered there was two red clad men, who spoke in loveless quotes, he had to fight the urge to bang his head onto his desk and groan like a teenager. When he found out there were three of the man, he actually did just that.

Finding out there was only one Angeal was a bit concerning, especially since these other two worlds were supposed to be further along in the timeline. Thankfully, Zack hasn't seemed to change much in either. Then again, the one carrying the mako poisoned blond seemed wary of everything. Strange.

Strangest of all were the Sephiroths. One refused to come to this meeting, stating that it wouldn't be worth his time, which shocked the entire board of directors. Nothing they did or said seemed to faze the once dutifully obedient man. Luckily, Shinra still had thier own Sephiroth on thier side to protect itself if necessary...and the people too if they were lucky.

The third Sephiroth only commented something about searching for clouds or some such nonsense.

Lazard couldn't help but to feel disaster looming on the horizon.

15. "I'm pretty sure they would trade everyone here for a single corn chip if I got hungry." The blond deadpanned. "They're heartless."

Yes, food good. The voice interjected. Nutrition. Survival.

Cloud wanted to tell it that he didn't even like corn chips, but talking back to the voices in your head is usually considered to be a bad idea. Even if they're real.

Especially if they're real.

Aka the J and S cells mutate and begin communicating with thier host.

Cloud is not pleased.

Bonus: Sephiroth and Cloud reacting to your fanfiction.

[secret-engima]

Here's something that might come outta left field, what fics do you recommend in the FFXV fandom?

Oooooo okay hmmm. Lemme see what I have. I warn you now that most of these are either short, time-travel, or Prompto angst, but I’ll try to add a little summary to each so you can pick what interests you:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27588704 “Toward Daylight We Run” by SparkleMoose (here on Tumblr as @sparklecryptid) is a time-travel fixit involving Titus, who wakes up post being killed by Nyx with a case of confusion, anger, and le self-doubt, and a Glaive OC who died during the betrayal and who is very understandably angry at them. It’s gonna be a former-enemies-to-lovers thing eventually I think, and tho there’s only two chaps so far I recommend it (I recommend several of Moose’s actually, just watch the tags if you’re not into M-rated or have trigger warnings to look out for) This one does have trigger warning tags for suicidal thoughts and PTSD, so watch out for that.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27912505/chapters/68351254 “From Neath Dark Waters”, another one by SparkleMoose! This one is an FFXIV Warrior of Light reborn as a street rat in Insomnia and adopted by Clarus, again, just getting started, but very feelsy and I love it. Moose also has cool Galahdian worldbuilding stuff which is always fun.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23888788 “the Wound (A Place Where Light Enters)” Third one by SparkleMoose, featuring time-traveling Noctis and also a sort of time-traveling Warrior of Light named Azura who looks around, spots Noctis fighting someone and goes “welp time to go break someone’s face on behalf of a friend I guess” which is a great first impulse for a White Mage imho. These two are gonna be a ship and I love it. 

(honestly just go poke through SparkleMoose’s stuff on Ao3 and here on Tumblr, there’s quite a few FFXV fics and there’s bound to be at least a few you like. :D Just remember to read the tags first)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26644129 “The Great Livestream Debacle” by Choke-a-bro. This is just humor/crack oneshot but it makes me laugh on days that need a pick me up. Basically, Noctis runs a tiny twitch channel playing really old RPGs without telling Ignis or Regis and ONE DAY a stray new viewer happens to realize, “huh, this guy looks like the prince” and it spiral wonderfully from there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27468421 “A Present for a Father” by illusorygardens. This is actually a little gift oneshot thing inspired by one of my AUs here on Tumblr (Clouds and Moonlit Skies) where a bunch of FFVII characters are reborn as various OCs and canon characters in FFXV. Zack is Noctis, Cloud is Prompto, Aerith is Luna, Titus is Sephiroth, and Rufus and Yuffie are reborn as Imperial Royal Twins with the world’s most terrible dad aka Emperor Aldercapt. So naturally Noctis has to prank the Emperor of Niflheim on their behalf.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26667253/chapters/65038747 “Light in the Night Sky” by mokulule. If you’ve read my Deleantur and liked it, then absolutely 1000% give this a try. It’s inspired by Deleantur verse in the sense of “Noctis goes back to the time of Somnus and Ardyn” but it’s cheerfully wandering off in a very different direction and there is WORLDBUILDING and BACKSTORY and Ardyn and Aera being ADORABLE. Seriously it’s great. Again, it’s only got a few chaps on it, but I love it already and highly recommend.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27611195/chapters/67550303 “Holding Secrets Like a Crystal” by LadyHallen. An AU where Monica Elshett is a telepath and proceeds to unknowingly wreck canon in all the best ways. It’s a 5 chap short story and I love it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18114572/chapters/42823973 “First Lightning, Then Thunder” by Nervous Otaku. This is a RAVUS time-travel fixit, 87 chaps long (tho the chaps are short) and fully completed. Basically Ravus dies, the Astrals think “Free Real Estate” and proceed to dump him into the past in the body of a Coeurl. It’s angst and shenanigans and Ravus stubbornly refusing to admit that he is growing attached to these tiny child versions of people all while going through hell and high water to protect them from destiny. It’s a happy ending too!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21681499/chapters/51709084 “Victorious” by Kyirah. This one hasn’t updated in a while? But it’s got 14 stellar chapters of Noctis being gently plopped back into his child self with only vague memories of the future while the Lucii and the Astrals set about fixiting the world on his behalf. It also features adorable, slightly daemon-but-don’t-worry-he’s-fine Prompto and Dadcor. Also ghost Ardyn.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18116312/chapters/42828299 “cyan boys” by dreamtowns. 6 chap, slightly cracky time-travel, only instead of straight time-travel, Noctis and Prompto wake up in a parallel dimension where some stuff is ... different. Such as them being kids while Gladio and Ignis of that world are already adults. It’s just a nice, quirky, kinda angsty-in-places read and I really enjoyed it (despite the undertones of slash that crop up in some places but hey maybe that’s your cup of tea) but as always read the tags and decide for thineself.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15073931/chapters/34948019 “Nocturne” by nirejseki. The Taur AU that inspired Nox Taur, 11/10 do recommend (even though there are slash and femslash ships in there later on but HEY just because I skipped over those parts doesn’t mean this fic isn’t great). Features baby Noctis being adorable, some cool world-building, Regis being a Good Dad, DadCor, and just- a great fixit all around with some amazing AU take on the Astrals and the prophecy and all that stuff.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11648547/chapters/26204799 “Introductions” by doodly_squat. This is ... essentially a canon compliant look at Prompto first introducing himself to and getting to be friends with Noctis. Picks up that moment in the Brotherhood episode where he says hi on the first day of high school. It’s short, but it’s finished and it’s great, there’s some Prompto angst, and it has a sequel with even more Prompto angst! That is also finished!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10869282/chapters/24144864 “Running Behind” by Asidian. An MT!Prompto AU where Prompto is raised as an MT (which are cyborgs here rather than canon’s ... whole thing) and then runs away when he learns he’s going to be decommissioned. He’s found a year-ish later by the other Chocobros on their roadtrip and they, unaware he’s a runaway MT, take him along because he clearly needs help. There’s feels and bonding and brotherly feels and also angst and drama because MT!Prompto is terrified of many things. There’s also descriptions of the aftermath of torture, which I didn’t find too bad but as always check the tags and the rating against your own comfort level. It has a happy ending tho.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11725950/chapters/26417871 “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” by lithos_saeculum. The last fic I’m gonna rec for now and just- I CANNOT rec this one enough. I love it so much. 59 chap, ongoing MT!Prompto AU where Cor finds this teenage MT unit and takes him home. There’s DadCor and Prompto learning how to People and the Chocobros getting attached and major angst at various stages because of how Prompto is treated (he has MT modifications and some people looking at you Clarus need to take a chill pill about it). It’s told entirely from Prompto’s POV which is FASCINATING and the author does a stellar job of picking out stuff that Prompto just- wouldn’t know about or understand because he’s been raised in a lab all his life.

[scrawnytreedemon]

Ooh, how about Hojo for the ask meme?

OHOOOO, I HAVE A L O T TO SAY, BABY-- Especially after seeing that final showdown, oh boy.

(hfhdkjfhjkj sorry for this being late!! had many thinsg to do <33)

For context, I know jack-shit about Dirge of Cerbeus, and I’d rather it stay that way. Vee has scarred me enough with her recollections from the wiki alone, and unless we finally do that shit-movie night we’ve been meaning to for awhile, I’m not touching it with a ten foot pole.

First impression: Horrible rat man; nasty. Your run of the mill Mad Scientist except somehow Even Worse. Perhaps a little generic at times. Pervy fuck. Probably has a bunch of obscenely lewd magazines in his study. Fuck him for fucking over absolutely everyone that’s gotten within ten metres of him. This guy fucks, and that’s how we got Sephiroth. -1/10, Worst Scientist, Husband and Father of the Year.

Impression now: I... I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I like him now, unironically. You win, Hojo Fuckers. Seeing that scene at the control panel, I think that man’s genuinely depressed-- Like, ‘I’ve devoted my entire life to my work to numb the pain but now I’ve realised it’s all for nothing and it’s fucking useless and I’m fucking useless and there’s nothing for me to do other than sacrifice myself for my son, who fucking hates me.‘ Like... Jesus Christ, I did not expect him to be so self-aware. He’s still a downright horrendous person and many of the things he’s done, if I believed in such a mindset, are downright irredeemable. Basically, I actually like his character now-- full-on -- even if he’s still a right bell-end.

Favorite moment: The rooftop scene. Jesus Christ, man, that changed my whole view on him. The way he’s actually becoming aware of how wrong he was, and how it weighs on his mind-- How, almost absently, as if he’s saying it more to himself, he tells Cloud he should become a scientist. It’s a small thing... But it speaks to a level of respect I don’t think Hojo has had for anyone in a very long time. He’s been brought to his limit, willing to give anything and everything so that the one thing he’s done right, his son who he gave up to further his now-dead career, succeeds in world-annihilation. What really gets me is that moment in the fight, where you’ve ended the first phase, when he says, apathetically, how he hopes the Mako juice is going-- And then he turns into a monster. This horrendous, twisted thing that’s barely held together by skin and sinew-- Probably one of the most downright-horrifying things in this entire game --And it’s just... like... wow... he broke.

Idea for a story: A fic where him and Sephiroth actually try and make amends. I’ve seen this guy killed off-screen so many times, and everytime, I am deeply disappointed. I get it. Hojo’s probably the worst character in the game. He has no morals and no boundaries, and he’s irritating as fuck-- I get it --But he’s also the reason all of this shit has happened, and is such a vital character in the forming of the story, in Sephiroth’s specifically, that I want him to be done justice. I want to see one of them reach out to the other, and slowly, bit, by bit, by agonising bit piece together something vaguely resembling a foundation for their relationship. I want to see them reminisce over the few good times they had together, and address deeply the many, many bad ones. It’ll be painful, and there will be many bumps in the road where they’ll feel like there isn’t even a point to this shit, and yet push on despite that. Because despite everything, they are family-- And not because they are obligated to, but because they’re choosing to. I want to see that. I really do. I’ll probably write it myself.

Unpopular opinion: I think my newfound appreciation of him in general, lmao. I won’t get into the paternity debate, as I’ve addressed that in Vincent’s post and another one. Perhaps the fact that I think it’s stupid that the scientists in FFVII get referred to by their first names-- Like, who does this shit??? Who out here thinks Hojo sounds like a first name??? It’s just... Really unprofessional and I don’t think Hojo is comfortable enough with anyone to just have them call him by his first name. Also Dr. Faremis Gast sounds better than Dr. Gast Faremis. I know it’s a pun in Japanese but I don’t give a shit. Fight me.

Favorite relationship: Him and Sephiroth, because there’s just, alot of shit. I don’t think he was ever truly close enough to Lucrecia for me to get invested-- It’s clear the relationship, though while initially stable and they probably got along well, was one mostly of work --And I don’t think there’s anyone else close enough to Hojo’s character to serve as another option, either. Maybe Vincent, but again, that was through Lucrecia. Seph and Hojo have this dynamic where strained doesn’t even begin to describe it. Hojo thinks Seph doesn’t know and Seph thinks Hojo doesn’t know that he knows-- And it’s painfully clear that had it not been for Hojo, Sephiroth wouldn’t have been so unstable. There was alot of abuse, physical and psychological, that got framed as ‘work,’ and it’s undoubtebly fucked with Seph’s very concept of ownership, and who owns another. It’s clear that on some level, Hojo feels shame for what he’s done-- Not guilt, shame --And is unwilling to let the boy(and perhaps even himself) from knowing his true parentage. Part of it’s definitely spite for Lucrecia, but there’s more. I could go one for hours, honest to god, so like, feel free to tack on your own ideas, fellow trash conoisseurs.

Favorite headcanon: Him being Wutaian. Not sure if it’s entirely headcanon, but like, it really is ironic. I personally think his family moved to Midgar while he was still young-- Perhaps due to a faction split -- so he grew up on the Eastern Continent, so he was stuck in this weird middle space alot of immigrant or descended from immigrants children where on one hand, you’ve got your family’s legacy, and you probably, if not fluently, speak their native tongue and carry out their traditions, and on the other hand you’ve grown up with people who’ve been here for generations and inevitably get moulded by their ways and their customs, perhaps to the point you’re more culturally theirs than your native land’s. If we’re going with the faction split, I think Hojo leans hard into the latter, out of a deep-seated indignance. Maybe his family were fairly influential, before they had to move to what was, no doubt, a less than idyllic neighbourhood. I think part of what made him want to become a scientist was that need to regain that honour, that dignity-- It’s very self-centred, and clearly didn’t work out.

Thank you Vee as always-- You incredible bastard --For both asking and also rambling with me about this grease-weasel for like, a good long time.

Knowing my luck I just might’ve gotten another hyperfixation. A terrible one. Fuck.

And to anyone who’s read this far, thank you! As always, feel free to throw in your own thoughts, whether they be replies or reblogs. I’m curious to know what the general vibe is about him(other than Haha Stinky Goblin Rat), as I don’t think he’s talked about all that much? Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places.

Anyhow Hojo Fuckers, I owe you a beer. Not a good one, probably tastes of piss, but knowing you lot, that’s probably just fine, lmaooooooo. Keep up the ungodly work <3

[lucky-ladybugs-lovelies]

When All the Paths Are Overgrown, 2/?

@week-of-silver-winds For Sephiroth Week, Day 2: Youth.

I am going to try to do a segment of this fic for each of the seven days. I am especially looking forward to tomorrow's! I am utterly OBSESSED with this man's wings/feathers!

For anyone just tuning in, Sephiroth and Cloud are stranded in the middle of nowhere, don't remember what happened to them, and Cloud doesn't remember Sephiroth. Seph is sane again and before this happened, he and Cloud had finally become close friends.

Cloud had been silent now for some time, still badly shaken, still trying to process if it was really true that he had forgotten one person and one person alone. It didn’t seem to him that there were any gaps in his life, and yet . . . the more he thought about it, the more it did seem like something was missing.

He knew he’d wanted to go away from his small hometown and join the military as a kid, but . . . why? What had especially been the catalyst for that? Just to get away, since people didn’t like him? Adventure? It felt like it was something else, something he couldn’t quite grasp. He knew he’d wanted to impress Tifa, but what had he hoped to achieve in the military?

The gaps only became more noticeable the more he thought on his life. He had eventually joined AVALANCHE and they had been trying to topple Shinra, but . . . then there had been something else, a danger far greater than Shinra. A danger that had brought chaos and heartbreak and . . . why could he not remember?!

He frowned. Maybe he had forgotten more than just this person. If they were friends, he couldn’t have been that danger, could he?

Then again, he only had this man’s word that they were friends. What if he was in danger now?

Why were they even on this planet? He knew it wasn’t the planet he had originally come from, yet when he tried to remember what he was doing on this one, his mind was a blank.

A long piece of silver hair suddenly got in his face, snapping him back to the present. He thought he had never seen any guy wear his hair that long. It was hanging down to his chest! But when he looked over the man’s shoulder at how much longer the rest of his hair was, his jaw dropped in disbelief.

“. . . Have you always wore your hair this long?” he asked.

Sephiroth darkly smirked a bit at the sudden question. What a thing to ask in their current situation. “No,” he said. “As a boy my hair was short.”

Cloud brushed the piece of hair away as it got in his mouth. “Then why . . . ?!”

“I like it long,” Sephiroth said matter-of-factly.

“Funny,” Cloud grunted. “My hair was longer as a kid, but then I cut it.”

“You preferred it short?”

“Yeah. I thought I looked more grown-up that way, I guess.”

Still with the smirk. “Do you think I do not look grown-up?”

Cloud flushed. “No! I mean . . . the way you wear it suits you. I think. It’s just . . . weird.” He frowned a bit. “But . . . it’s weird picturing you wearing it some other way too.”

Sephiroth perked up a bit. “Are you remembering?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Cloud frowned. “But you know what else I’m remembering?” He rushed on. “There was some big danger I was fighting against with my friends. I can’t remember what that was, but I know it was bad. So either I really am forgetting more than just you, or . . .” He clenched a fist. “You’re that danger.”

He felt Sephiroth tense. “. . . And what can I say to that, Cloud?” he said at last, quietly, sorrowfully. “You’re right—the danger was me.”

Cloud really hadn’t expected such an admission. Now he wasn’t sure what to do with it. Freak out? Try to get away? Just . . . keep letting himself be carried by this complete stranger who had just admitted to being dangerous?

“It’s been a long time since then,” Sephiroth said, “but the scars of what happened still remain. I was out of my mind during that time, but I won’t excuse myself on that basis. It’s taken us a long time to be able to start moving past that pain into a bright future together. We finally made it, but there are those who want to hurt us and not allow us to be happy.” His voice darkened.

“Like whoever did this to me tonight?” Cloud frowned.

“Yes.”

“Why do they hate us so much? Is it really just about you?” Cloud asked. “Do they all want to wreck things for you because of what you did when you were nuts?”

Sephiroth sighed. “I don’t know. That would be understandable, but instead it seems like the enemies we’ve made usually hate me for bringing them to justice in the long ago past. I . . . used to be the General in the military organization of our original world.”

Cloud stiffened. “The General . . .” Had he wanted to join the military because of Sephiroth? Had he wanted to be like Sephiroth? It sounded like something an idolizing kid might think, especially one who wanted the attention of his crush so bad.

“Do you remember something else, Cloud?” Sephiroth sounded cautiously hopeful.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” He frowned, pondering. “Why were you in the military?”

A shrug. “It was what I was groomed for since childhood,” he said flatly. “I didn’t know anything else.”

Cloud frowned. “That sounds rough.”

“I only wanted to live a normal life.” The sadness behind those words was obvious, even though Sephiroth tried to keep his voice impassive.

Cloud considered that. “. . . And you still can’t,” he realized.

“I’ve had a taste of it when things are peaceful,” Sephiroth said. “But it usually doesn’t last for long.”

“Things like this kind of wreck it,” Cloud mumbled.

Sephiroth sighed tiredly. “It’s not your fault, Cloud.”

“I feel like it is,” Cloud said.

“That part of you certainly hasn’t changed,” Sephiroth said.

[rainbowcarousels]

I don't know how interesting this is going to be but I started to answer a comment on the latest JBSWM from @zanahoriabaila and realised I actually kind of want to talk more depth about the subject so I'm going to post it up here. Between talking a little about Genesis especially on twitter and briefly talking a couple of chapters ago about Sephiroth, it's kind of all been ruminating into something meta that borders on a directors commentary.

Again, how come your Genesis always spews all the stuff I think?

This is absolutely something I do with my version of Genesis on the regular and there's a few different reasons why he’s my character of choice for uncomfortable examinations of stuff.

 Cut for discussion of fic, canon, trauma and interrelationships with everyone!

The first reason is the Eve symbolism that comes with Genesis as a character. There's a decent bit of it with Genesis (much like Aerith) when you consider his name, his limit break, his carrying around of the forbidden fruit and the look of the Goddess statue and in CC canon, he is the first person to tell Sephiroth about what Jenova is. As such, giving a lot of the harder hitting commentary to Genesis feels natural because he is good at weaponising knowledge.

It also makes more sense out of AGS to give it to him because of each of their interactions with how knowledge effects them. The revelation of the Jenova Project in general (I hope!) illustrated this pretty well in that Angeal takes in knowledge and then thinks about what he should say or do or feel about it and it impacts it greatly. Sephiroth takes in the knowledge and tries to analyse and categorise because exploring how he feels emotionally about something is really difficult for him and unless it's pertinent, he just doesn't address it in terms of how to feel about it. Genesis in contrast to both goes instantly to what he is feeling in the moment and it fuels his decisions and choices.

Angeal's issue comes when what he should feel and what he does feel are so at odds that he can't reasonably justify how he feels and he's been going through a lot of that since he doesn't want to think ill of his mother, he does not want to consider that his father might have lied to him and he absolutely does not want to think about Hollander at all. His sense of honour is wrapped up in family, in the idea that he pulled himself up to get where he is with hard work and determination and that he does make a positive difference and he's just...completely lost right now emotionally because he can't reconcile his feelings with what he thinks he should feel.

Sephiroth's comes when something is emotive and he can't pick it apart and make sense of it through physical and observable changes. I think this probably comes from spending his childhood as a lab specimen so he knows how to report things that are observable and that emotions are too subjective so he doesn't include them. Then getting thrust into war, he also learns to describe himself by a physical status report. Zack gives him one based on how he is physically because he knows this is how Sephiroth is. The problem for him and the reason he is as noted by the same comment so detached is because he just doesn't really process anything emotional in any significant way, which is why as noted in one of my much earlier chapters, he struggles with saying 'I love you' because it's pure emotion and he tries to show it in his own way instead.  

Then you have Genesis who runs on his emotions and experiences like they're fuel. There's a throwaway line in Don't You Know My Name about how Genesis doesn't so much like or dislike things as he dismisses or obsesses over them and because of that, he has the nastiest tunnel vision and comes across as self centred. He likes to write his own narrative in a way that makes sense to him based on what information he has and how he feels about it. There's a line in the song from JBSWM's title song that says 'judgment made can never bend' and I think this is part of Genesis struggling more with Zack's inclusion into their relationship with Cloud because he formed his own opinions on Cloud and Zack is Angeal's little puppy he's been hearing about for years. It's hard to shift perspectives for him.

Zack and Cloud have their own relationships with truth and feelings but Gast is history for AGS. So onto Gast, because that the subject being discussed in the chapter. It's not something new, if I go by my own timeline, Genesis and Angeal have known since they were 15 about a decent chunk of what happened as Sephiroth's background and Angeal comes down hard on the 'respect what Sephiroth feels even if it's not entirely accurate because it's important to him' side and Genesis comes down on the 'This was bullshit and Sephiroth needs to know it was bullshit regardless of how attached he is to the memory of Gast because he needs to deal with it'.

Zack and Cloud are just forming their opinions and it'll happen over a few chapters, but Zack is far more emotion based but he also has rose coloured glasses and if there is an upside, he will find it. Cloud, growing up feeling angry and isolated and idolising Sephiroth, kind of has a similar way of coping as him in that he has this idea he can't be openly emotional or vulnerable because he'll get hurt but he also isn't about to pull any punches either. It should make for interesting interaction hopefully.

I think Sephiroth is more knowledgeable than he realises in that he quickly guesses from Genesis being willing to share that they are in the 'experimented on parents' club that this is colouring some of his interaction here. He backs down earlier when the subject comes up, not because he thinks he's wrong but he's not pushing that hard because as much as it comes from a place where he's sad and angry that this terrible thing happened to someone he loves, he can rationalise backing down because his feelings are second hand. Except now they're not. While Angeal and Sephiroth can look at their parents to some degree and assign some kind of blame (and Cloud can from being victimised), he can't because he doesn't know who his parents are or what the circumstances were but Gast was the head of the department when this crap went down so he is a prime target for someone to be furious at.  

These guys spent their teenage years building coping mechanisms based on battlefield experience, it's probably not a surprise Sephiroth is practical and tries to funnel it into something productive, Angeal tries to find the honourable method of dealing with it in the way he's supposed to and Genesis just wants someone, anyone appropriate to unleash all of that emotion on. I'd also argue that Zack tries to apply it to being the best hero he can be even though he was doing a lot of pretty unhero-like things and Cloud was cannon fodder, it's no surprise his sense of worth is in the toilet and he can't really grasp the idea of being special.

Someone described JBSWM as five broken people trying to make each other whole and I don't think it's exactly right, but it is close. It's five people trying to figure out a way to live with a shit ton of trauma and a lot of it is trauma they're complicit in which is really difficult to work through given all time and resources let alone trying to deal with Shinra at the same time. 

This kind of brings me back to why Genesis is often the pushing person in the relationship and why he's not always right to do it.

As horrible as the Project G revelations are, it's not the same as growing up in the way Sephiroth (and in some ways, Aerith) did and he has the coping mechanisms he has for good reasons. He needs to have this idea of Gast as this good person who tried to be good to him but died because the alternative is Gast wandered off the moment he wasn't as interesting anymore and left him (in JBSWM's timeline at around the age of 4) to try and survive it by himself. He's already lost this perfect idea of a mother by having the 'L' put there and all SOLDIERs having JENOVA on their files and he's kind of desperately clinging onto something good because he hasn't really thought about what a lot of it would look like to someone coming in now until Cloud started to ask about it and had enough first hand experience to know it was really messed up. He can justify it as Gast was the better scientist, the better man, the better influence for him but if you start taking that away, it puts him in the position of being victimised and abused and that's all there is and I don't think he knows how to even begin to process that. As @aimeelouart pointed out, if he thinks about it or talks about it with any perspective, he would have to acknowledge he is traumatised and a large part of his identity has been built on his own invincibility. How can he be traumatised if that’s so?

The flipside of it being that I don't think any of them understood fully in a conscious way what happened with Sephiroth’s childhood until they saw it up close and personal with Cloud and even if it's coming from Genesis (dude is loud), Angeal is also pissed off and furious that it's just as bad as they thought it might be but could never be sure because they've only ever seen the aftermath and he does not talk about it. Zack got it all in one, he heard about it and saw it and is trying to deal with that but for Genesis and Angeal, it's festered for a decade and since no one save for maybe Zack has ever met a single healthy coping mechanism, it goes out as Angeal being cautious and letting Sephiroth set his own pace and Genesis going no, this is important, you have to confront this because if it hurts them from just caring about him and realising how bad it was, if Sephiroth some day realises how awful it was, he's going to just...shatter or explode and they'll lose him and even if he struggles to express it sometimes, he does love him dearly and like with Cloud, he wants him to figure out what will make him happy and it doesn’t seem like he’ll feel happy until he can stop blocking out what he’s feeling on instinct as some leftover coping mechanism. Cloud having to deal with his own lab trauma just brings it to the forefront and Genesis is not wasting the opportunity.

The thing is I don't think he's wrong about it because I think Alien Demi-god Sephiroth and Sane Sephiroth are two sides of the exact same person. There's hints of it here and there, but I think one of the biggest ones is he's very possessive and it took Hojo crossing the line and almost killing Cloud when he was beginning to grow attached to him to get him to move out of his holding pattern. In a way, this can also be traced all the way back to Gast and the idea of his mother because it's this almost childlike view that when he's attached to someone, they leave and it hurts so the obvious answer is make it so they can't leave or in the case of canon, try to push them to come back. I genuinely do not think Jenova knew what they were getting themselves into with him because they were like 'hey I could be your mom' and got absolutely swallowed by someone who was hurting, desperate for connection and just So Fucking Done with all of it until his will overrode theirs and he was never, ever going to be alone again because the entire planet would be reborn as part of him. 

Not the direction I'm going with JBSWM, they have some things they need to work on with each other but they are together and leaving Shinra was as close to a statement of commitment as you can get. With Midgar behind them and a chunk of their identity and dreams left with it, trying to face those uncomfortable truths will be hard for everyone and as much as Genesis puts it out there, he’ll struggle with his own too because if they have to deal with their shit, so does he. 

[silly-bean]

2

You've stumbled upon yet another one of my versions of a dimension hopping C!Cloud au.

This doc is called TT Zack/Cloud + Alt Universe and it involves Zack from the bad end C!Cloud timeline and Cloud from a bad end timeline getting tossed into a third timeline (way closer to canon) during the pre-CC era.

The first section of the doc is:

Zack is from a timeline where Cloud became Calamity's Son and destroyed the world. (Same timeline as Phantom)

A note on this version of the universe:

- Tifa’s there because she survived! She got cut down but Zangan was able to drag her away and save her life, giving her a hell of a scar.

Cloud is from a timeline where Sephiroth just kept coming back and caused the lifestream to dwindle and the planet to die.

- Sephiroth’s physical form slowly starts to degrade over time, becoming less and less human-appearing because all that matters is trying to kill the planet and torturing Cloud. He doesn’t need to keep himself looking human because it’s impossible for Cloud to think he’s anyone else.

- As a result, when this Cloud ends up in the canon timeline, he’s not as bothered by seeing Sephiroth because, by the end, he knows there was nothing left of the man he once was.

The reason I mention Sephiroth's physical form in that blurb is because Strife went the opposite way. He was obsessed with getting credit for his actions to the point where he refused to manipulate Zack into doing things for him, because then it would be taken as Zack being the one doing them and not him. As such, as he continues to come back from the dead, he has this burning need to make sure he continues to be recognized every time, needs for Zack and everyone to be 100% completely sure that it's him doing all this shit, so he holds a human form (minus the 1 black wing coming from his left shoulder) all the way till the end.

But yes, Zack shows up just outside of Gongaga and is kinda aware of what's happening (his Aerith was rushed in explaining shit, so he doesn't have all the necessary details) and heads into town. He finds out it's '99 from a newspaper talking about the war, and is weirded out to see no reference to Strife, but dismisses it and decides to head to Wutai to try and find him to keep an eye on him.

Basically, this goes about as well as most tt!Cloud fics go that have him go to Wutai in that ShinRa sends all three of the trio and fights them (quite successfully, actually). In talking with them while he's fighting, he learns that Strife isn't actually a SOLDIER at all, and is delighted by that fact, but is still paranoid that his Strife followed him because his connection is still active.

He tries to leave to take care of things himself, but is taken in by the trio and brought back to ShinRa.

Meanwhile, Cloud drops in at the Forgotten Capital and actually knows what's up because his Aerith had more time. He heads to Nibelheim to take care of Jenova and the mansion and Vincent and decides against going to Wutai, deciding to make ShinRa lose focus on the war by providing a large enough domestic threat. He basically tells Vincent what he needs to know and lets him decide on what he wants to do (Vincent decides to head for Midgar to let Veld know he lives and to take out Hojo). Cloud, meanwhile, decides to head to Corel to disrupt the construction there since that’s the next biggest reactor threat.

So yeah, this one is basically Zack being trapped in ShinRa, hyper-paranoid and worried for the trio about the possible Strife going around wrecking reactors and their inevitable clash and Cloud going around getting shit done until they finally run into each other in the Midgar slums when Cloud decides to visit Aerith and Zack senses him coming and reacts accordingly to eliminate the "threat".

Let me know if anyone has more questions!!!