#Imagine the drama of Tifa knowing the child is hers but the child not knowing and trying to kill their mother.

[secondarysefikura]

Pretty much a follow up on the ask about if Sephiroth had kids with Cloud and someone else. If Cloud had a child with someone else(especially Tifa) would Sephiroth accept the child, and plan to become their step dad and raise them along side the children he and Cloud will have together, or would he see them as an accident his puppet made that will be dealt with when he finally destroys the planet?

I think it depends heavily on who Cloud had the child with, which since you specifically mention Tifa, I'll answer what I think would happen in that case rather than if Cloud had a child with unnamed npc #43.

Sephiroth 100% would view it as his puppet making mistake that will be dealt with when he destroys the planet. There is not a doubt in my mind that he would do everything in his power to remove this link Cloud and Tifa share.

I also don't doubt that he would punish Cloud for the "mistake", since even if Sephiroth was dead when the child was conceived and born, how DARE Cloud basically cheat on him?

Although if the child didn't look too much like Tifa and was pretty young, I could see a world in which Sephiroth adopts the child as his own and raises it with Cloud. He'd lie and tell the child that he is their father and Cloud is their mother. Perhaps he'd even raise the child with the intent of the child killing Tifa! Again, however, this relies on the child being young enough they wouldn't know Tifa is their mother and looking enough like Cloud that Sephiroth doesn't instantly hate it for looking like it's true mother. This would also require Sephiroth to have enough control over Cloud that he could ensure Cloud doesn't remember the child is actually his and Tifa's. You wouldn't want Cloud thinking about his ex everytime he sees their child, afterall!

[holysmotez]

Jealous Tifa in AC

Please pardon my delay on this, RL work tied me up this afternoon a bit, but it did give me time to think on this question @magicalchemist asked me: 

"Why do you think the devs decided to point out so specifically in an Ultimania about Advent Children Tifa's jealousy of Aerith and have Cloud hiding that he went to the church from her. To push the LTD? Or to highlight communication issues? I would love your take on that"

My short answer is that I think it’s some of column A, and some of column B.  My full reply is under the cut due to length (I’m sorry) and for spoilers

The following is the section I believe you are referencing from the 10th Anniversary Ultimania (credit: https://thelifestream.net/lifestream-projects/translations/66/the-compilation-of-final-fantasy-vii-ultimania-translations/):

A close friend as well as rival? The complicated emotions she feels towards Aerith.

「Both of them share feelings for Cloud 」 — Tifa was close to Aerith, who can also be called a love rival. With that point in mind, they were also good friends. Nevertheless, it is not hard to imagine that she carries complex feelings as a woman toward Aerith, who had built up a special bond with Cloud that was different from Tifa’s.

Tifa’s complicated feelings continue even in AC, two years after Aerith had departed the world. This was due to the fact that Cloud, succumbing to the notion that Aerith’s death was his fault and condemning himself, construed that Denzel was “the child which Aerith brought here” and took care of him. In addition, Cloud had also gone away to the church that Aerith had been in. The thing which she is unable to hide in her irritation towards Cloud is the fact that he isn’t merely dragging the past around, but because that reason might perhaps be related to Aerith.

[FFVII] Seeing Cloud and Aerith developing their world together before her eyes, she inadvertently lets slip her peevish feelings. [AC] Upon knowing that Cloud had been residing in Aerith’s church after leaving the place they had been living in together, her expression becomes complex. 

From a marketing perspective, I do tend to think bringing up Tifa's jealousy is partly to ladle on some soap opera-inspired drama.  I think SE is well aware that the perception of there being a LTD, regardless of the reality, is one of FF7′s biggest hooks.  

However, I also don't think the jealousy angle is totally without basis, either, but I also tend to think that Cloud was actually the one more worried about her feelings of jealousy than Tifa herself was.  He was the one who acted like going to the church and finding Denzel was on the level of having an affair:

From Case of Tifa:

"Well..." Cloud looked like a kid that about to be scolded as usual. "Tell me. I'll decide whether I'm angry or not after I listen." Cloud nodded and continued. "Denzel had collapsed in front of the church where Aerith used to be. That's why I thought Aerith lead him to "my place"". Saying all that in one breathe, Cloud looked away. "You went to the church." "I wasn't planning to hide there." "You were hiding." "I'm sorry." "I didn't say you couldn't go. But next time, I'll go together with you."

Meanwhile, I get the impression at this point that Tifa’s just trying to understand what the hell is going on.  She wants him to feel comfortable being vulnerable with her, and where her anger comes out when he doesn’t seem to get that, culminating when she tells him earlier in the text, “Then drink in your room.”   I think she sincerely regrets doing that, and knows it’s not the right approach, and so her response to him above isn’t that of a jealous, forgotten wife who just found a different shade of lipstick on his shirt.  It’s a partner who wants to understand so that she can help.

But when you're scared for your partner and your relationship, rational thinking tends to go out the window.  The situation feels out of control, so you slip out of control.  You might question everything and blow stuff out of proportion that would otherwise be ridiculous to you in normal circumstances-- and I think in Tifa’s case, it's reasonable that some of her irrational thinking could also include dredged up memories of jealousy concerning Aerith.  After all, that also aligns with her biggest fear: losing Cloud.  It’s also understandable that she might feel jealous of the fact that the succor Cloud is looking for is something he thinks she can't help him with, but Aerith can.  But the problem is Tifa doesn’t know whether anything she is feeling is ridiculous or what’s on Cloud’s mind at all because Cloud’s not communicating well enough.  And at the end of CoT, Cloud’s just plain ol’ gone after she thought she made a breakthrough with him.

So then Tifa, when she finally has an opportunity in AC, lets him have it.  Whether her emotions are fueled partially by jealousy is debatable, but it’s definitely fueled by her very human feelings of hurt and insecurity.  Which, I might add, is not an ideal communication pattern...ideally, you shouldn't let your grievances build until you blow up, and neither should you avoid your partner until they feel they have no other recourse. 

BUT!   The good news, though, is that AC is meant to show Cloud & Tifa both demonstrating change as they come to understand and trust each other much better.  The experience reaffirms for both of them that they do cherish what they have together, and I think it nurtured a stronger faith in each other.  Yes, even Tifa changes, because despite her saying that Cloud needs to accept help and let others in, SHE is the one to identify that Kadaj is Cloud’s fight alone and holds back the cavalry.  She demonstrates an understanding that his decision to go without her isn’t him saying “I don’t care” or “Aerith is bae”, but rather it was a way of saying, really badly, “this is my fight.”

And at the end of the day, it works out because they do know they are each other's biggest supporters.  When both partners are committed - as I think Cloud & Tifa are - when the hurts heal, they tend to heal back stronger.

Lastly, before I exhaust you all completely, I think this caption to this pic from the quoted Ultimania should not go unmentioned:

Tifa, smiling towards Aerith’s presence. Cherishing Aerith is Tifa’s honest feeling.

Let's repeat that again.  Cherishing Aerith is Tifa’s honest feeling...not jealousy.  So yeah.  Despite the jealousy blurb, the Ultimania is also rather quick to set us straight on that.

Edit: my dumbass forgot to credit the Case of Tifa text, it’s from Final Fantasy Kingdom

[thezolblade]

Ship Meme! Tagged by @the-cryptographer​ ~

1) Ultimate Otps:

Which of them have ‘ultimate’ qualities...? GS Isaac/Alex would be kind of an ‘ultimate power’ ship, if they got a plot with twists and turns and character development and reasons to cooperate. I’d expect that more from fic than canon - so many other canons have lots of epic slow burn adventure fics for hero/villain-or-antivillain ships. But so far in GS, for those two, I’ve mostly found (good) crackfic, or non-shippy ‘they fight to the death and Isaac wins and marries Mia’  stuff that doesn’t treat them with even as much nuance as the canon.

Not that I mind mudshipping - my ultimate GS polyship would be something like Isaac/Mia/Felix/Alex(/Veriti/The Ice Queen), with interesting dynamics between every two characters in that set of four (and Mia/Veriti), even with some of the bonds possibly being platonic. Though when I’ve written long plotfic it’s very easily gotten platonic/ambivalent/angsty bc it tends so much towards drama, and conflict may drive plots (hence its abundance in plotbunnies), but I find it hard to headcanon characters getting past hurts and grudges very easily; I want to see them make the effort, but it feels like they’d need a lot of time and personal growth to get there, and I might not even figure how well they do until I’m almost 100K words in. And in some very angsty verses there’s no chance. I want to read other people’s adventure fic too, with fun ideas that manage heel-face turns or antihero plots in a slightly lighter way...

PMMM Madoka/Homura is another ‘ultimate power’ ship, if they can get to a point where Godoka and Homucifer can deal with each other as equals again, both with full knowledge of everything that’s happened and the resolve to truly save themselves, each other, and the rest of the universe. :o

Utena/Anthy is quite an ‘ultimate reality’ ship, when they find their revolution.

2) A ship you’ll always 💜??

The Harvest Moon fan in me is going ‘purple heart? that’s not a very high level of affection??’ ...but taking it as an emoji for ‘love’... without repeating anything above, pokemon Green/Red is always nostalgic (gameverse Ash/Gary, the names get a little confusing as there are localisation differences and I like the old manga and anime too but haven’t watched/read anything recent in those canons).

GS Imilshipping, too, in fic verses where they had a close bond. FE Lucia/Ilyana, I wish they had epilogue content after their support, still mean to write out a plotbunny for them sometime. Soren/Ike, of course, and Tibarn/Reyson.

ToS Lloyd/Colette/Sheena/Zelos, again with strong bonds between all of the pairs in that foursome. They did so much to help each other find hope by striving to save and trust each other, creating a new kind of salvation together.

Skies of Arcadia Fina/Aika/Vyse, Vyse/Ramirez, and Ramirez/Galcian. Never found much fanstuff for it, but it caught the imagination.

3) Current obsessions??

Lots of MadoHomu vibes after getting a oneshot written for them. Confident!Madoka makes both of them happy when they’re not dying; it’s a shame she doesn’t get much screentime as her confident and cheerful self, since so much of her time as a magical girl passes offscreen. Even while she was more unsure during the series, she demonstrated her desire to protect her friends, and Homura commented time and time again on her kindness - she loves her for it, and when she discourages it anyway, it’s because she’s come to believe that it’ll be the death of her. If they were truly safe, they could support each other so well - it could be a world away from the desperation that marked the end of Rebellion, when neither of them are at all okay. :s

Also getting quite into darkfic plotbunnies, and I know ‘darkship’ is a term in some cases for character dynamics fulfilling their worst potential, descending into violence and destruction that at least one character Does Not Want, but in the verses of those plotbunnies I guess they still fit the label of antiships better than ships.

4) A ship you never thought you’d like??

Uh, a lot of the stuff on the gs kink meme caught me by surprise, when rarepairs got suggested and the fills or plotbunnies got interesting - Alex/Ivan, Eoleo/Rief, Alex/Amiti (in a BAD IDEA way). And on lj/tumblr, Mia/Sheba was pleasant surprise too. Not that I ever had any preconceptions about disliking ships, they just hadn’t occurred to me.

In FF7, I don’t think I expected to see compelling Cloud/Seph or Zack/Seph at first, all those years ago, but I quickly found that there are a lot of good AUs and darkfic. Especially when they’re alongside other good ships like Cloud/Zack, Aerith/Zack, Aerith/Cloud, Aerith/Tifa, Tifa/Cloud etc.

5) A ship you used to like but don’t anymore:

Uh idk exactly. I used to read a lot of Buffy fic by ship to find characters whose dynamics were interesting in the show, but iirc I ended up skimming any content that was really ‘shippy’ to get to the plot and jokes and emotional bonding over real stuff, not random physical attraction, and nowadays I don’t think I’d bother skimming so much stuff just bc I hoped it’d be interesting and wanted to keep giving it a chance.

6) A ship that should be canon??

Well some that are very strongly implied but not explicitly stated feel like ‘yep that’s canon’ but could maybe use some more in-universe and author confirmation when not everyone seems to agree - Ike/Soren, Utena/Anthy in some versions of canon, etc.

7) A canon ship you hate???

I like to hate the way darkships go sometimes, but that’s what makes them an interesting story, going ‘noo’ about characters’ bad decisions, though that usually only works if they had better potential that they’re falling short of, not necessarily in a romantic sense... Can’t think of many cases where that happens in canon. Uh I think most explicitly canon relationships are either one option among many routes (and I get tired of support grinding), or I’m a bit indifferent, or if I dislike how it’s done I’d still start playing devil’s advocate and wondering how it could have been done differently if I spend any time considering it.

Oh in FE Awakening I kinda hated how Virion’s flirting in the main plot cutscenes was creepy and painted him as a bad joke, but his supports are much better and some of them are great - how do you explain liking his ships when he has such a bad start (and such bad English voice acting)? I also hated the way the player character’s support options didn’t all show up until endgame, so I missed them the first time and had to replay and wait until then to support grind, and then it all got repetitive grinding the same dlc maps so many times over just for such short supports, and the endgame marriage candidates that were most interesting (bc how the hell could the game make that work, with a head of state or a former enemy??) ended up with really rushed and unconvincing relationship development, and the child recruitment maps were hellishly difficult at that point in the endgame, and all in all it got a bit un-fun and not worth the effort. :/

8) A ship you shipped for years??

Most of the above. Also stuff like Saiyuki Sanzo/Goku, GS Alex/Felix or /Saturos, Jenna/Sheba, Karis/Sveta, Pokemon Misty/Erika, FE Florina/Lyndis, and, uh, probably stuff that I’m forgetting right now.

9) A ship everyone 😍 but you don’t care for?

...Was there anything? Some of the cliche stuff bugs me, but I’d usually think ‘what about writing the dynamic this way and maybe adding poly?’

10) Favorite rare pair???

Mm what's rare? Any gs Alex!ships at this point...

Edit: I forgot to tag anyone, so. If meme time sounds like fun, @sazandorable, @meganekkomeguca, @droory, or anyone who feels like it?