#WHAT DO YOU MEAN... ARE YOU OR ARE YOU NOT GENESIS' BEST FRIEND?

[malevoreenthusiast]

Gulping on the Green

Hello! I apologize for being MIA for so long. I'm happy to report that midterm season went well though! I'm quite happy with this story, so I hope you enjoy it, too! As always, feedback, requests, ideas---anything is welcome! My DMs and ask box is always open

Clink! The driver sent the golf ball flying out across the open air like a cresting wave. The brilliant blue sky opened up to a golden, radiating sun. Out on the green, the wind was gentle and verdant, and the feeling was genial. The four guys stood together uniformly with hands shielding their eyes from sunlight like statues of Greek gods. The Sunday heat was only worsened by the cloudless sky, but the brothers had been itching to golf for the past several weeks after a tumultuous season of midterms and storms. Finally, on a day as tranquil as this one, they made the trip out to the green and have been matching par on each hole.

“Nice!” Kristian pumped his fist after glimpsing where his ball had landed. He was a pledge for the frat this spring semester (an odd occurrence, but, considering what had happened in the fall, Sigma Alpha Epsilon needed new pledges desperately) and his joyful exuberance was always great to have around. He turned to Griffin, the only other pledge in this group of four and high-fived him with a gleeful smile plastered on his face.

“Nice, nice,” Blake conceded, giving a faux golf-clap to his pledge, “but how about we make ourselves a little bet? Whoever has the best score at the end of the game needs to pay for the others’ lunch. Let’s do this in pairs. You two guys will be together,” Blake nodded at Kristian and Griffin, “and Josh and I will be the other set,” Blake wrenched his arm around Josh’s shoulder, who was basking in the sun with his eyes closed, listening in on the conversation.

“Ah, sweet!” Kristian, ever the optimist, cheered, “you’re on! Alright, Griffin, we got this bro!” Griffin and Kristian looked suitably fired up, and their eagerness spilled out and went right into Blake.

“But we should warn you two,” Blake smirked, “Josh and I are big eaters, especially Josh here. You should’ve seen him: last semester—”

Josh stamped his heel onto Blake’s toes with all of his force and cleared his throat. Blake was much more extroverted than Josh, and as such, he was willing to part with information that Josh preferred to keep close to his chest. “What Blake means to say,” Josh shot a warning glance at his brother and best friend, “is may the best men win.” The shorter frat bro smiled warmly and gestured for Griffin to make his tee shot while grinding his shoe into Blakes’, dyeing it green with the wet turf from the morning dew. Watching the two pledges turn around and make their shot, Josh whispered just below his breath, “Dude, don’t even joke about that. I’m not even allowed to be alone near pledges this semester after what happened in the fall. The only reason they’re allowing it now is that you’re here ‘supervising’ me,” Josh said in air quotes.

Blake giggled and brought Josh in closer to ruffle his hair. “You worry too much, bro. It’ll be fine! These guys are good, so we’ll probably owe them lunch anyway,” Blake snorted, letting Josh go.

Josh grumbled in agreement, hoping that Blake wasn’t planning anything serious. He thought back to the genesis of all of his nervousness–fall semester, Halloween night. He placed a hand on his flat six-pack, making sure he didn’t already make the same mistake again. Absentmindedly watching the golf game play out, Josh recalled the events of the previous holiday.

SAE was throwing on Halloween night, and, as one of the best party dorms on campus, all of the brothers and pledges alike were buzzing with excitement. At around six that night, Josh was pregaming alone in his room, getting the tiredness to flee from his eyes like a receding tide. As is typical for the average frat guy like Josh, he overdid it a little bit. The jock hadn’t eaten that day, and he was on his ninth beer. Belching lazily, Josh threw the can onto the floor after missing the recycling bin, and he looked up to see one of his favorite pledges, John, enter his room. John was a handsome guy, with broad shoulders and a big heart, which is why Josh wasn’t surprised when he drunkenly bent the pledge over his bathroom counter and pumped into him four big, steaming loads. What was surprising to Josh however, was how primally he wanted John. After bloating the pledge’s stomach out with an inordinate amount of cum, Josh began to eagerly and impenitently swallow John whole, feeling the blonde kid’s body bulge out his stomach excessively. Josh, with judgment impaired and wanting to relive that state of fulfillment, found Enrique. Just like with the previous pledge, Josh bent him over (crushing him with a very active and squirming belly), came in him several times, and swallowed the poor pledge whole, making his obscene, behemoth gut grow even larger. Beyond that, Josh started to drink even more, wanting to feel a deeper buzz with all the “food” he now had to soak up the alcohol.

The rest of the details are pretty hazy to Josh, but Blake told him that Josh woke up in the living room at around midnight to all of his brothers rubbing Josh’s engorged, massive, stretched gut to help him digest the evidence. Josh spent the night drunkenly moaning for his brothers to rub harder as he slowly belched up various skulls and discarded wallets and phones of all 16 pledges. Because of Josh, they had to cancel the biggest party of the year. Worse yet, they weren’t able to admit a single new pledge that semester because they had all been digested and processed by one insatiably greedy frat member. With an immense amount of guilt, Josh kept all of the wallets and IDs of the pledges he had gulped down that night in a drawer near his bed, as a sort of memento. He was proud of himself for certain, but he also felt quite guilty at what had happened that night. Lost in thought and hardly paying attention to the game, Josh’s tight abs growled loudly, making the turf vibrate beneath them. Thinking about that night always made him hungry. He was suddenly snapped back into reality when Blake punched his shoulder jokingly.

“And… looks like we won!”

Josh froze. Looking around at Kristian and Griffin, who now wore a doleful look on their handsome faces, Josh’s stomach growled again. He knew he wanted this, and he hated himself for wanting it so bad. Blake wore a knowing smirk, rubbing his own hungry stomach and nodding to Josh. He didn’t even realize he had played, much less finished the game. Wiping away a trail of drool that had formed as he was reminiscing, Josh asked to see the score sheet. Scanning it intently, Blake had scored under par almost every single hole, playing out of his mind. 

The much hungrier and handsomer Tiger Woods exclaimed to the pledges, “Alright! I am hungry. Griffin, you’re with me.”

Josh sighed audibly. This was Blake’s plan from the start: score a nice big lunch off of these two unassuming pledges and force Josh to participate. Josh couldn’t say he didn’t want this. In fact, his stomach was almost growling non-stop, begging, pleading for Kristian to dissolve within his slimy, digestive folds. Still though, Josh had self-imposed a rule (and he’d been threatened by the president) that if any more pledges went missing because of him, he’d leave the frat. 

Still though, it's not like Kristian would be okay with Blake unhinging his jaw and gulping down his buddy like a snake—and that’s what Josh was for: taking care of Kristian. Being his best friend, Blake knew Josh wouldn’t be able to stop himself once he got the thought in his mind, and the charmer was using that against him.

Before Blake even got up to Griffin, Josh approached Kristian with hunger and gluttony driving his every motion, “Hey, sorry man.”

“Aw, don’t worry bro!” Kristian beamed with his beautiful round eyes and pearly smile. “I’m happy to help my future brothers with a meal anytime!”

Josh silently corrected him: for the last time. But looking up at the 6 foot 3 muscle behemoth, Josh noted that, despite his hair being brown, Kristian looked an awful lot like John, his first prey on Halloween night. That connection unleashed his shackled gluttony, prompting the jock to open wide and pull Kristian’s head into his dark, moist cavern he called a mouth. His handsome face tasted like a steak cooked to perfection, and the prey’s sweat that beaded his forehead provided a delectable seasoning that orchestrated a symphony of flavor blooming throughout the predator’s taste buds.

“Josh? What the fu—” Griffin was shortly cut off as Blake followed Josh’s lead, stretching his pink lips around Griffin’s head. Taking a desire-soaked gulp almost instantly, Blake bunched the pledge’s shoulders into his mouth and allowed his throat to expand and contract as it coaxed in the smaller man.

Both frat boys sucked and drooled over their meals in the hot open course, which was thankfully empty that afternoon. Josh found little difficulty swallowing down Kristian’s massive biceps, which were about the size of his thighs. The poor soul was so shocked that he hardly even struggled within Josh’s experienced, mile-long throat. Sucking in a bunch of air all at once, Josh opened his throat and practically vacuumed Kristian’s entire upper half down in one fell swoop. What could he say? Kristian was delicious, and Josh was hungry. If you think about it, this was really Blake’s fault for spurring him on. 

Quickly, Josh’s six pack gave way to a round, curving belly that pressed on the fabric of his polo. Feeling the man get deposited into his stomach chamber was something akin to heaven for the frat boy, and he gave his belly a gentle, loving caress as it grew outward more and more. Glancing over to Blake, who was slobbering over Griffin’s ample pecs through his shirt, Josh wondered idly how Griffin would taste before suctioning down Kristian’s bubbly ass into his awaiting gullet…

Blake returned Josh’s gaze, staring at him with alarm. The pair had eaten guys together before, but he’d never seen Josh devour someone so big this quickly before. Clearly his priming had worked wonders. To rub it in his face, Blake took a deep, slow gulp, moaning at Griffin’s exquisite flavor, signaling to his partner that Griffin probably tasted better than Kristian even. Blake rubbed his growing belly, barely feeling the indentations of his fading six-pack.  He moaned and groaned for at least half a minute more, gloating over Josh his self control and ability to savor his meals. Just as Blake was about to swallow up Griffin’s waist and begin working on the pledge’s lower half, he felt a tugging sensation, as if something was yanking Griffin out of his stomach. Confused, Blake opened his eyes.

His greedy, pledge-devouring friend had positioned his lips around Griffin’s ankles, staring directly at  Blake as if to challenge him.

“Mmph–!” Blake grunted, astounded and incredulous at how far Josh would go to fill his belly.

“Mmph,” Josh responded, swallowing Griffin up to his knees. His dead-panned look gave the impression that no matter what Blake wanted, Josh was going to have both of these pledges stewing away inside of his belly by evening.

Blake, completely shocked by his best-bro’s audacity, tried to gulp more of Griffin down in defiance; however, Josh beat him to it, sucking out Griffin’s lower abdomen and gulping down his thighs. Griffin was stretched between the two predators like a laffy-taffy, entirely soaked in saliva and desperately being fought over on either end. Blake tried to get closer to forcefully pull more of Griffin in his maw, but Josh’s belly, outward and protruding like a giant exercise ball and full of Kristian, prevented him from getting closer, letting Josh sneak in another meaty gulp. His throat echoed the cacophonous noise, letting the sound of Griffin’s legs slide past his lips and begin engulfing the prey’s torso.

By now, Blake’s stomach was entirely empty, much to his disappointment. It seems that his plan had backfired, and now Josh had gotten two meals instead of just one, while Blake had gotten zero. He thought of protesting more or at least trying to make Josh work for his second helping of pledge, but he knew that contesting Josh in a battle of predation was a fruitless endeavor. He was the guy who cancelled Halloween, after all. Since knowing the guy, Josh had always been the number one predator, and he’s only widened that gap by devouring any potential second places, making Josh, in Blake’s eyes, the best predator he’s ever seen or heard of. To try and go against that would be ludicrous. 

Watching dejectedly, Blake slowly let Griffin out of his throat and get funneled directly into his best friends’. Josh looked happy as a clam, and Blake began to rub his friend’s belly as loud gulping and moaning erupted from the predator like it was his birthday. The jock’s stomach grew even bigger, surpassing behemoth proportions. Blake sighed sadly as Griffin’s feet slid past Josh’s lips. His friend groaned, patted his belly for a moment, then smiled.

“Dude!” Blake blurted, ready to scold his friend for that slight. “What the fuck?!”

BBBBBBBBBBBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

Josh’s low, deep belch ejected Kristian’s golfing gloves right onto Blake’s face, adding insult to injury. Patting his belly, Josh began, “Fuck,” wincing at the pleasure-soaked situation having a full belly gave him. “If you didn’t want that to happen, then why’d you make the—UUUURRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPP—make the bet in the first place?”

“Because I thought you could share, greedy ass!”

“How is it my fault that you didn’t plan properly? It’s your fault for making Griffin look so delicious, and God,” Josh patted his engorged stomach, “was he ever.”

“You’re irredeemable.”

BBBUUUUURRRRRRRPPPPPPPP — “Sorry bro, but if you wanna join them, they’re gonna be solid for at least a good long while. You could swallow them after I swallow you?”

“You’re still wanting more? How have we remained friends for this long?”

“Because you love meee,” Josh teased, bumping Blake with his writhing mass of a belly. “C’mon. I won’t digest you; I swear on our letters.”

That piqued Blake’s interest. He knew Josh was being serious when he said that. Blake looked down at his painfully-flat abdomen. He hadn’t eaten that morning because he had planned exclusively around getting Griffin to himself. This sudden prospect of getting both Kristian and Griffin was definitely worth considering… 

Josh's belly gurgled, letting out grotesquely loud squelching and bubbling noises as it got used to accommodating two living meals. Watching his gluttonous friend rub contentedly over his enormous gut, Blake nodded, acknowledging that he wanted that for himself.

“Alright bro, you’re on,” Blake paused as Josh pumped his fist, “but you swore on our letters. No going back.”

“Of course, Blake. You’re my best man. You’re not food to me.” As heartwarming as that was, Josh’s belly grumbled, politely asking Blake to crawl in.

Shaking his head and ready for a meal, Blake put both hands on Josh’s tummy and leaned forward, waiting for Josh to take him in. Josh followed suit, letting his hot, pledge-smelling breath encase Blake. With a quick, happy-sounding glomp, Blake began his descent into Josh’s awaiting belly.

Unlike the other two, Josh took his time with Blake, letting his best friend know how good he tasted. The brother’s arms were pinned to his side, and his broad shoulders got covered in a layer of saliva to help lubricate him on his way down. Blake shuddered, unaware how scary it was to get swallowed whole by a predator. He thought back to the plenty of times he and Josh had done this exact thing, except the prey knew they were never getting out. Josh’s throat hugged Blake’s muscular body with need. Josh’s brain knew Blake wasn’t food, but the rest of his body clearly didn’t and treated him as such.

On the outside, Josh’s tongue roamed over Blake’s torso, slowly lapping up all of the flavor he could siphon from his friend’s tanned skin. Josh had been thinking about this moment for years, and to think something like this would happen so suddenly was like a waking-dream. Widening his jaw around Blake’s hips, Josh let the rest of his friend slowly slide in his belly. The jock’s hands roamed the thrice-stretched skin with pleasure. He could already feel the frenetic squirming in his belly, telling him that Blake had already begun indulging in Josh’s prey. The greedy frat bro patted his gut as if to give his brother his blessing to devour the contents of his belly. Big, hefty sloshes echoed in the heated atmosphere as Josh finished off Blake happily. His titanic gut was always happiest when digesting extra-squirmy meals.

Gulping down Blake’s feet (and taking off his trampled gold-shoes), Josh finished off his third meal of the day and maneuvered himself into the golf cart to carry the four boys home. The ride was quite bumpy, causing Josh to belch time and time again as he got into Blake’s car and turned on the ignition. He had gotten a strange look from the valet when asking for his keys, but overall, he had little trouble getting back home. Since it was a sunday afternoon, most everyone was out studying or hanging out with friends, so the frat house was thankfully very empty.

Waddling up to his room whilst cradling his gurgling, noisy belly, Josh plopped himself onto Blake’s bed and let the food coma take him away into dreamland.

Blake woke up to a clattering sound coming from his bathroom and a darkness from everywhere except the doorway. He was on his bed, but his skin felt somewhat sticky. Looking down at his heavily bloated belly, which no longer showed any signs of movement or life, Blake licked his lips and remembered what happened with a fondness that rarely people get the pleasure of experiencing. Walking out from the bathroom, a naked Josh’s silhouette appeared like an angel.

“Hey there, stud,” Josh teased, glancing down at Blake’s morning wood.

“Shut up,” Blake retorted, belching lazily.

Josh walked up and positioned himself above Blake, with his head directly above the small dome of his friend’s belly. “God, I felt so empty when I let you out. You made quick work of these guys, you know? You’re so greedy,” Josh complained.

“You’re one to talk—mmph!” Blake was cut off as Josh put a hand over his mouth, silencing him with a smile.

Josh poked Blake’s belly, listening to the sloshes and gurgles it elicited. The two were definitely fully digested by now. The clock on Blake’s bedside table read 1:21 AM, but somewhere along the lines, Blake must’ve woken up and belched out the guys’ IDs and golf clothes, judging by the slew of items on the floor. His own polo and khaki shorts were laying out on his desk chair, albeit a bit wrinkled and wet looking. Josh caught him looking there and coughed awkwardly.

“I tried burping them out so you wouldn’t have to buy a new outfit. There’s only a few holes,” the brother blushed.

“Thanks bro,” Blake belched.

Josh huffed and pressed his face into the soft warm flesh of Blake’s belly, letting himself sink into the squishy gut that usually held a set of rigid abs. Bringing his hands up, Josh rubs Blake’s belly slowly and methodically, helping Blake’s morning wood rise even higher and leaking out several drops of precum. Josh raised an eyebrow and turned himself so he was resting parallel to Blake. 

With a hand caressing his brother’s belly, Josh mentioned, “Oh yeah, Michael came in here earlier.” Blake turned his head at the sudden mention of their frat’s president. “He told me to say that he’ll let this slide as I wasn’t the one who had the belly-full-of-pledge this time, but we seriously need to stop. And I’m a bad influence on you.”

Blake laughed and laced his fingers behind his head. Watching Josh rub his noisy belly process the last of its meal certainly was a bad influence. If he could stay like this forever, he would. Looking down, Blake noticed Josh’s cock also at full mast. Without a word, Blake leaned down and began to pump it slowly and methodically, hearing his best friend whimper and moan at his touch. Blake chuckled before moaning himself, feeling Josh grab hold of his own dick and begin stroking it slowly.

The two, after one of the most intense climaxes of their lives from just a handjob, fell asleep together, getting rest before planning out how to fit more delicious pledges—and maybe their president—into both of their greedy, noisy, hungry bellies.

[salmalin]

My sincerest apologies and warmest welcome to my rant about FF7: Crisis Core. Or, as I like to call it,

Propaganda: The Video Game

I say this with the utmost affection. Crisis Core ranks really high up there in my favorite Final Fantasy 7 installments. I played it when it first came out, borrowing it from a friend to play on a borrowed PSP. And, the more I learn about the game and the more I replay it, the more everything lines up.

This game is not about Zack Fair.

This game is about how Capitalistic Propaganda can sink into every aspect of life to the point where it is entirely indistinguishable from reality. And it’s very overt about it. So…

Here we go.

My treatise on Propaganda’s starring role in Crisis Core.

Part One: The Timeline

Something that a lot of people gloss over due to decades of Child Heroes in media—Japanese Shonen and Shoujo series in particular—is how young these protagonists are. We’ll hand-wave a lot of stuff in non-live-action series with just a little bit of suspension of disbelief. And that’s honestly just accepted these days. But here’s the thing about those hand-waves.

Final Fantasy 7 doesn’t do that.

Now, FF7 hand-waves a lot of stuff. For example, how far you can travel in a day by foot, the distance a man weighing approximately 165lbs can jump after being genetically fused with what might as well be a cocaine demon (Jenova), and how much hairspray one can reasonably carry on a cross-country journey while on the run from the feds.

Age is not one of them.

Exhibit A: Yuffie Kisaragi.

Do I really need to say more? She acts her age. So does Zack. And Aerith, even. Most of the characters in the original lineup were over twenty for a good reason. We see several kids in the series, and they all act their age, too—both the OG and the remake. Age is not a thing that FF7 really grapples with. It’s something they take relatively seriously.

Now, to the point.

Zack is 16 when Crisis Core starts…

… and he was 13 when he ran away from home without his parents’ knowledge to join the military.

Which accepted him.

At 13.

Without a parental permission slip.

Think about that for a second.

… Or for the next several parts of this breakdown.

Part Two: The Main Character

As I mentioned in the introduction, Zack is not the main character of the events of Crisis Core. Instead, he is the focal point of the second person POV. This is not the first time Square has done this. It was done most notably with FF9, FF10, and FF12. (I’m not going to go on an Akira Kurosawa rant right now, but please check out his film “The Hidden Fortress”. FF12 and Star Wars episodes 4-6 borrow heavily from this film.) The purpose and position of this character is such that they might best witness the effects the other characters make on the world as their stories unfold, usually in the role of a love interest. For Akira Kurosawa, it may have been told this way because these people are most effected by the decisions being made.

“Well, then, Sal,” you may be asking, “who would you say is the main character? Would that be Aerith, since she’s the love interest, like in the other games?”

No, actually.

It’s the antagonist.

And by that, I mean Genesis.

Hear me out. I used to hate Genesis, for I was once young, full of judgement for flamboyancy (thanks, internalized homophobia), and was led by the narrative to believe he was mean to his friends. Then I met my Lovely beta who loved him, so I wrote a fic for her as a gift. So for that I kinda just… read stuff. Because that’s the thing about Propaganda—you gotta read stuff to navigate it. I read the in-game emails. I re-watched all the scenes I could get my hands on with him. I read his wiki and tried to track down more information about him. Then I watched the scenes in Japanese and gained a better understanding of not just Genesis, but Sephiroth’s character. And I realized that Genesis was put on this road from the start. In fact, a big part of the fact that he’s seen the way he is in Canon—only at his most hostile and lowest points—is because the story is told through Zack’s point of view.

So before we get into the breakdown, here’s the hard facts about Genesis.

1. He was a test tube baby who may or may not technically be Angeal’s fraternal twin brother, which we are not going to unpack right now.

2. He was adopted by a relatively rich family.

3. He was a child genius (which requires not only resources, but drive to achieve), and at a tender young age of like… ten or something? He decided to mess around and literally invented pasteurization. Which is incredible, and really speaks to his knowledge of the world and ability to grasp complex concepts even at a young age. But, again, this is not the time or place to unpack that.

4. He was best friends with Angeal, who might as well have been the sweetest, kindest boy to ever walk the Planet. (I’m biased. I love him.)

5. As a teenager, he became fixated on Sephiroth, who had gained national acclaim as a SOLDIER despite them being the same age. (Please see part 1 and think about that for a second.) He then goes to join SOLDIER and brings Angeal with him. And Angeal brings his step-father’s puritanical “hard work is honorable” mindset with him. (On that note, Angeal and his father’s arc really are a wonderfully scathing letter to companies that overwork their employees and how toxic/unhealthy that line of thinking is. But. Again. We are not unpacking that right now.)

6. At one point he became consumed with LOVELESS, a series of poems with heavy prose and symbolism thicker than syrup. It got to the point where he was so well known for it that there was an entire fanclub dedicated to both him and analyzing the text.

7. While he was in SOLDIER, he repeatedly had his achievements publicly accredited… to Sephiroth.

Over and over and over again.

Everyone did, really. They mention it in the beginning of the game. Sephiroth even got public credit for Zack’s raid on the castle when he wasn’t even there. How much of his legacy is real? How much of it is made up? How much of it was faked? We don’t know. No one knows. But he keeps getting credit, anyways. And when Genesis confronts him about it, Sephiroth doesn’t care. In the Japanese version of their fight scene, you could even say he indirectly implies that he wants Genesis to take his place as the “hero”. In the English, Sephiroth’s line is, “Come and try.” But in the Japanese the line is closer to, “Wouldn’t that be nice?” Which, depending on how you take his tone, can mean wildly different things—from mocking, to earnest, or even admiration—which is especially to tell because he might be annoyed with Genesis at the moment.

Fun Fact: In Ever Crisis, Sephiroth explicitly says they are making up his achievements in the press to target boys his age for recruitment. (Thus why they accepted Zack at age 13.)

My theory on this line is that he is being cynical; that Genesis doesn't understand just how harrowing and even humiliating his experience has been. This only enforces my theory that the "come and try" translation in the English not only does a disservice to a line as wonderfully heavy as, "Wouldn't that be nice?", but fundamentally misunderstands Sephiroth as a character.

8. Genesis then took the fight to Shin-Ra. Inspiring a good chunk of their staff to leave the company, he then staged multiple attacks on facilities, staff, and the main building—which also spilled out into the city of Midgar. He murdered his parents, buried them, killed everyone in town, and… Yeah. It wasn’t pretty. A lot of innocent people died simply because they were vaguely associated with Shin-Ra. These are the actions of a villain. What’s more, this is clearly a sign that he has been acclimatized to death and violence by Shin-Ra to the point where he doesn’t even consider taking hostages.

Except.

Except the entire town was a Shin-Ra town.

Banora, canonically, was a Shin-Ra built town, which means everyone there was basically an employee of the company. No one was safe. Everyone was a threat. And that…

That was how he was raised. And he finally knew the truth—that every moment of his life was touched, controlled by Shin-Ra, all the way down to his very conception. He has never known freedom. He has never known his own identity. And now that very cage was killing him, slowly and painfully, and turning him into something that couldn’t even be recognized as human. He was watching himself rot in the mirror, and it was all because of Shin-Ra’s greed. And as he searched for salvation, he sunk into LOVELESS as he always had, hinging his entire life on Minerva’s Gift because he knew he was dying and that was all he had.

9. And then he died…

10. … but then it turned out LOVELESS was actually kind of a blueprint, and he did meet the Goddess, and he did get reborn without his degradation so he was rewarded for his journey in the end.

So why wasn’t Genesis the main character of the game?

Simple.

His actions challenge the status quo without being about the status quo. It’s a story about revenge. It’s a story about retribution. It’s a story about answering mass violence with mass violence and ultimately being rewarded by it. And while, yes, the series is an action-based violence simulator, the violence in the original FF7 was a guided, tactical effort. (For all that the characters aren’t the brightest bulbs in the sun lamps.) But the biggest, most obvious shift in the narrative happened when they realized their role as terrorists—bringing mass violence to the company via bombing and open aggression—was just resulting in increasing levels of retaliation against uninvolved people. They might as well have been a child beating the ankles of a giant. The goals and themes of the game fundamentally change when they realize that answering mass-scale societal violence with mass-scale physical violence was not only unsustainable, but also wasn’t going to solve their problem.

FF7 is about change and learning when violence—and what kind of violence—is appropriate in the face of different threats.

Genesis’ arc undermines all of that, and making him the main character would contradict the very heart of the OG game.

So, instead, we are positioned as Zack, connected to him through a mutual friend. From there we see all the damage and horror this vengeance brings to those living under the status quo.

But also, that plotline’s a major downer in a lot of ways, so they needed to lighten things up a bit to keep audience involved. And that’s why Zack is, well…

Part Three: Zack is a Himbo

Please, for the love of all that is holy, keep in mind that everything I say here is with the utmost affection.

Zack is dumb as a rock.

He is a charismatic, enthusiastic sixteen year old jock who ran away from home at thirteen years old to join the military. Which, please know, why I say “military” I mean “private security guard force with a standard-issue Death Baton and a license to kill”. The first scene in the game is him being excited that he gets to murder a bunch of people in a simulation, which he is immediately scolded for by his mentor. He is a glorified, souped up private security guard who is canonically only in it for the glory at first. He wants to be a “hero”, but doesn’t seem to fundamentally know what that means. And, over the course of the story, the definition of that clearly changes for him.

Which tracks, because the story takes place over a period of time with high stress.

Occasionally I see people saying they wish that Zack had more complexity to him, and honestly? The game. Would be. SO. BAD.

Full Disclosure: I am not the biggest fan of Zack specifically because he lacks a lot of nuance. I wish he was a bit more complex, too. But I also know that would break the game. What’s worse, if he was still on Shin-Ra’s side because he understood Shin-Ra’s mission… Well… That would make him a villain, or a cog at best. That’s not main character material. It would make the ending more messed up, though.

Anywho, Zack was thirteen when he left home. He had no formal education. He didn’t tell anyone what he was doing. He even joined without a permission slip from his parents. This means that Shin-Ra was accepting thirteen, possibly fourteen year olds into the military. (Some people will say this tracks because you can get a job at fourteen in many parts of Japan. But, and this is important, you aren’t allowed to be a security guard until you’re quite a bit older, and you need a specific license for it, much like in the US.) Clearly they didn’t teach this boy critical thinking skills. Not because he’s a himbo, but because having their Super-Powered Private Security Force With A License To Kill think independently would explicitly go against their interests. (EX: Genesis.)

Shin-Ra needs SOLDIERs to follow orders or the company would no longer be able to function. Seconds and Thirds aren’t even allowed to reject missions. (One could argue that sending certain someone on back-to-back missions would be a good way for them to eliminate undesirables within the ranks by sending them to their deaths, which… would make an incredible fic idea, actually.) We already know that First, Second, and Third Class rank assignments do not actually reflect the power of the SOLDIER. This is canon. I would instead argue that those who make the rank of First Class aren’t necessarily the most powerful, but are instead the most visible in the media, thus the easiest to market, and/or the easiest to manipulate and control. (For a great example of this, see The Umbrella Academy.)

The point is, Zack may have been elevated to his position as a first specifically because he is malleable and single-minded. Even after all he saw with Genesis, he stuck by the company to the very end, with the exception of the time Sephiroth was literally guiding him to fail a mission. Zack allowed himself to take Shin-Ra’s side every time, taking down their enemies and following their orders, preserving his “honor as SOLDIER” as he had been taught. The only thing that made him stop…

… was literally getting put in a jar.

It was when he was no longer a SOLDIER.

Part Four: Honor

There is no such thing as SOLDIER Honor.

I repeat: There is no such thing as SOLDIER Honor.

It is a fictional thing that is borne of an ideology based around hard work. It only has power because it is believed in. It is an intangible social construct similar to the law, mathematical order of operations, and gender roles. So why are Angeal and Zack obsessed with it?

Pretty simple.

Angeal’s step-father followed it.

Now, we know three things about Angeal’s step-father.

1. He was chill with the fact that Gillian was already pregnant when they started dating.

2. He was a very good father.

3. He worked himself to death trying to pay off the sword he bought Angeal.

This, of course, says a lot about Angeal considering he rarely uses the sword. He essentially sees that sword as the symbol of his step-father’s life. Everything he uses it for, he sees as more important than his step-father’s life. That thing is usually Zack.

Zack, who is the child who joined the military based on stories of heroes.

Zack, who rises against Angeal in the name of his own step-father’s ideology and tries to talk him down, even at the very end. But Zack fails because he fundamentally doesn’t understand what’s going on, partially because “Soldier Honor” is just one more aspect of this narrative he was given. It is a narrative that Angeal has had to step away from, even though he doesn’t want to leave the memory of his step-father behind. He was a good man. He was a good, hardworking man.

And that is why he died.

Corporations will use you up until there is nothing left, then honor your memory/sacrifice. Shin-Ra was doing the exact same thing the company his step-father worked for did; using up SOLDIERs until they outlived their usefulness. And Angeal was horrified to realize that his “SOLDIER Honor” wasn’t honor at all.

It was willingly submitting to control.

But, unlike Angeal, over time, this meaning changed for Zack. Partially because he didn't understand it fully in the first place. It became about acting with integrity. It became about helping people. It became about not lying down and watching the abuse Shin-Ra handed out in exchange for literal money; for maintaining the status quo.

At the very end, Zack understood what it meant to be a hero.

Part Five: The Conclusion

To sum up, Zack believed in and idolized the propaganda spread by Shin-Ra at such a young age, and was so convinced by it, that he ran away from home at thirteen to join the military.

He was their target demographic, so they happily took him into their ranks. What’s more, people think this is normal enough that we see no one opposing this, because the only people who oppose Shin-Ra are “extremists” or “violent terrorists”.

Zack then became their loyal puppy, groomed to fill his role as super-powered attack dog to sick on anyone they deemed appropriate, and he filled the role. He believed he was doing good. He didn’t think they were invading another country, because that’s not what he was told.

He went after Genesis, because that’s what he was told, and he wouldn’t let Genesis’ actions shake his faith in the company.

Then he went after Angeal, hoping to get answers, only to become more confused. Angeal taught him about SOLDIER honor. He taught him about a higher calling. He was the one who made Zack truly loyal to the company. This challenged everything Zack knew.

He went with Sephiroth, planning a small rebellion of their own (a white lie on paperwork) to get answers, only to find things he wasn’t ready for and couldn’t fully understand.

Zack is shaken by each of these events. Horribly. At times, we even watch him grieve. But time and time again, he doesn’t leave the company. He sees the damage they do first hand, and he doesn’t leave the company. The company isn’t the problem, to him. He reads their emails, does their dirty work, and “maintains his SOLDIER honor”.

Zack swallows what they give him right up until what they give him is torture.

Zack swallows what they give him until he becomes their victim.

Every step of the way, Zack is fed a story of how the world is. He was raised on it. He lived it. He became part of it. He was paid peanuts to enforce the status quo Shin-Ra installed in the world by force, and he was proud of it because it was, to him, something to be proud of.

Zack believes the propaganda whole-sale, and we get to watch, from the point of view of an outsider, as it slowly destroys his life before killing him.

Propaganda has the power to make suffering normal. Propaganda has the power to make murder righteous. Propaganda has the power to take a thirteen year old boy out of his home so they can give him a sword, and when they point him in the direction of their enemies he charges of his own volition, because they made him believe in their cause. And he believes in their cause because he believes that it makes life better for everyone.

But that’s not what’s actually happening.

That’s just what he was told.

Crisis Core is about propaganda, and the depths to which it can affect our lives. It changes our belief systems. It changes our perceptions of reality. And when it’s torn down around our eyes, it can make us go insane. It can make us violent and unreasonable as we realize just how much violence is being forced upon us—violence other people just plain do not see. It's just a a piece of paper. It's just a law. It's just a job.

It's just a war.

Final Fantasy 7 was about Fascism.

Crisis Core is about the propaganda that built it. It is told from the point of view of a boy, then a man, steeped in it. He watches until the people suffering around him—Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal—are twisted into villains by the truths and lies around them. Genesis and Angeal are tortured by truths, Sephiroth is transformed by lies, and Zack is subsequently hunted down to conceal them.

Crisis Core is Propaganda: The Video Game.

[uceyliyahh]

GUARDED

summary: Genesis has been protecting her heart ever since she filed for divorce and didn’t want to be in another relationship until he came around and changed her mind.

this fanfic is 18+ NO MINORS ALLOWED

warnings contain: emotional abuse, divorce, depression

word count: 5.7k

AWFUL GRAMMAR IM GETTING BETTER I SWEAR LOL.

smut warning: it’ll come in the story randomly so PLEASE PLEASE look out for it I’m not really good at writing ✍🏽 smuts but I am improving at the moment

Jimmy Uso x Genesis

comments, likes, repost are appreciated I would love the constructive feedback in what area I need to approve in. 🤍

ALSO! I don’t not want nobody stealing my fanfics or take it as theirs that will be an issue fasho so keep it cute respectfully.

I only own my OC along with the make up scenarios

again mdni you have been warned.

thanks to my friend @charmed-dreamssss for helping me with the title 🫶🏽

TAGS ⬇️ lmk if you wanna be tag 🏷️ @pinkwithhearts @420days @jstarr86 @empressdede @angiedawn02 @biancasreign @prettyfilmz @sharmelasworld @spiicii @formulafortyfour @theusotwinzcom @mingisfavgf @luvrsluxe

@bebesobrielo @skyesthebomb @aikosilo @papireigns-05 @punksyeet @paigereeder @magnificentbouquetmusic

@charmed-dreamssss @fearlesschimera @partypoison00 @mselenalovebug @bloodlinesbabe93 @justazzi @xbriexx @luvsluxe @celesteheartsjey @4milly @luuvprincess @yyaktayak @yana3sworld @shanthefemalerapper @bloodlineslut @bookuce @sheaabuttaababyy @li-da-savage

𝜣𝜼𝜺

jadecargill, americannightmarecody, jackieredmon, and others liked your post.

gigispovv: finally free ❤️‍🩹

jadecargill: I’m sooo happy for you bestie! 🥺

gigispovv: @ jadecargill thank you bestie now I can be happy 🥹

americannightmarecody: proud of you gigi 🫶🏼

jackieredmond: so proud of you gigi ❤️

samizayn: ❤️

yaonlylivonce: we love you gigi 🫶🏼❤️

WWEshaderoom: 👀👀

Read all comments

𝚯𝒎𝛈𝒊𝒔𝛓𝒊𝛆𝛈𝛕

Genesis met with her lawyers today to finalize her divorce settlement with her ex-husband Quincy. She aimed to reclaim the money he had taken from her and wanted to keep the house, as it was in her name. Quincy had not contributed to acquiring the house or its furniture, and she was determined not to let him take everything she had worked hard for.

After being married to him for more than five years—five years filled with his infidelity and emotional abuse—she finally realized she could no longer tolerate it. Acknowledging her self-worth and understanding that she deserved more, she decided to leave. She had even supported him in building his career from the ground up, as he lacked the means to do it himself, but now that career was on the verge of collapse.

She felt relieved that she chose to keep her own last name instead of taking his. The thought of being called Mrs. Parker didn't feel right to her.

She noticed his expression turning distressed as he realized she was taking away everything he believed he had earned through hard work.

“Are you sure about this Gigi? You want to take everything I worked so hard for?” Quincy asked.

She scoffed at him, crossing her arms. "You mean all the effort I put in? My hard-earned money to support your ridiculous business? Of course, it will succeed, I have no doubt about that," Genesis responded.

The judge signed the document, glancing at both of them before asking, “Mrs Porter, are you certain this is what you want?” Genesis nodded, her gaze fixed on Quincy.

"Mr. Parker, are you aware that Miss Porter is reclaiming everything, including the money you took from her for your business, as well as the house and furniture? You will need to figure out how to repay her in full. Are you alright with this?"

Quincy looked at Genesis and then at the judge, wearing a smile that was unfamiliar to her. This smile felt darker and more menacing than the usual one she was accustomed to.

"Certainly, your honor, I agree with all of this. She truly deserves the best, doesn’t she?" The judge nodded and brought the gavel down, its sound resonating throughout the courtroom.

"The divorce is complete. Miss Taylor will reclaim all the money you took from her. If you fail to return the full amount, you will be detained until you do. She will also retain ownership of the house and furniture in her name."

His face changed when he learned he would need to repay her.

“Wait, wait. I have to pay her back all of her money? The judge nodded his head.

“You can’t be serious right?”

“Indeed, this is serious Quincy. I told you not to play with me.” Quincy's expression shifted to anger, as if he wanted to rush over and slap her, but he managed to stay calm.

“How can I pay all of that off Gigi?”

Genesis chuckled at him, “you’ll find a way around that hopefully if not I just pray you’ll be behind bars but I’m glad that i'm not with you anymore.”

Genesis hugged her lawyers, smiling as she expressed her gratitude for their assistance, particularly in uncovering Quincy's theft of her money. She gathered her belongings and started to leave the courtroom when she suddenly heard him shouting from behind.

“Just you wait Gigi! No man will ever never want to marry a woman like you! You’ll be begging for forgiveness from me! You fucking bitch!” As Genesis exited the courtroom, she noticed her best friend Jade sitting nearby, absorbed in her phone, waiting for her to emerge.

Seeing her best friend's face full of emotion, she stood up from her chair and walked over, noticing tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Are you finally free from that man?” Jade asked as Genesis nodded her head.

Genesis and Jade embraced tightly, with tears streaming from Genesis's eyes and soaking Jade's shirt. Jade gently patted her back, reassuring her that everything would be alright and that she was finally free from Quincy. All the emotional pain and suffering she had endured was now behind her.

Jade gently held Genesis's shoulders as she wiped the tears from her eyes, and they slowly moved apart.

“You’re free, bestie, we have to celebrate.” She said

“Girl, we have to go to work.” Genesis responded with a chuckle.

“We will celebrate afterwards but I’m so proud of you for leaving him. He was starting to get on my nerves, Gigi.” 

Her and Jade left the courthouse together, chatting about going to the club tonight after work with the rest of the group.

Genesis preferred staying at home rather than going out in public. She found comfort in her own space and wasn't fond of being around others. Shy and quiet, she felt more at ease when she was alone.

She decided to go to the club tonight with her best friend to celebrate her divorce, just this once.

Genesis was busy reviewing the questions she planned to ask some wrestlers backstage today. While she was focused on that, she noticed Jackie approaching her with a big smile and then hugged her tightly.

“I heard the good news from Jade and you’re finally separated from Quincy?” Jackie said.

Genesis realized that Jade would definitely speak up about this situation; her best friend had been anticipating the moment when she would finally move on from that man, and now she had. Jade felt immense pride for Genesis for making this decision.

“Yes, I am legally separated from this man and here’s the kicker, he gotta pay me all of my money back that he had stolen from me.” She responded as Jackie Squeal from the top of her lungs as everyone around them was looking.

She had covered Jackie’s mouth, shushing her while chuckling at her. “Did she spill the beans to everyone or just you?”

“I believe she just told me and I think Cody too.” Cody became Genesis's closest friend when he joined the company, as he was the first to welcome her. He, along with Jackie and Kathy, assisted her with interviewing the wrestlers backstage.

“I just know he’s proud of me for doing this because this was very much needed.” Jackie had nodded her head in agreement. “Let’s pray she doesn't tell everyone else cause imma be tired of hugging folks all day today.”

She and Jackie shared a laugh while chatting, as Jimmy, his twin brother, and their cousin made their way backstage for an interview with Genesis. He had met her a few times at work, where their interactions were usually brief greetings or simple conversations. Nothing too exciting happened beyond that.

While walking toward Genesis and Jackie with the tag team titles slung over their shoulders, Jimmy glanced at her outfit and thought to himself, wow, she always looks amazing at work. He couldn't help but lick his lips as they got closer.

That’s when Jey had said something, “yooo, Gigi! I heard the great news from Jade.” Jimmy and Zilla looked at each other with confusion.

Genesis sighed deeply, “Jade told yall too huh? Look I’m not finna be giving out hugs all day now.” 

“I know, but I’m proud of you Uce! You are free from that lame ass dude now you can do whatever you want.” Jey said.

“Free? What do you mean by that?” Jimmy asked.

“Oh, I just finalized my divorce today and now I’m legally single.” Genesis replied as Jimmy nodded his head.

“And she’s making his pockets hurt even though he ain’t got no money.” They all laughed at what Jey had said about. 

“Please, I hope he gets sent to jail for it.” They all agreed with her as they continued to talk about it before they could start the interview segment backstage.

Jimmy found it hard not to admire Genesis' beauty. The way her chocolate brown skin glowed in the light affected him deeply, but he chose to keep his feelings to himself for the moment.

“You think shawty is going let me hit?” Zilla asked as Jimmy looked at him like he was crazy.

“Dawg, didn’t you just hear what she said? She's freshly divorced Zilla and all you can think about is getting some coochie.” He responded as Zilla shrugged his shoulders.

“I bet you I can get her phone number after this backstage segment.”

Jimmy chuckled at him, “A’ight dawg, when she rejected yo’ ass don’t be coming over here upset.”

Zilla had dismissed him with an eye roll, while he continued to gaze at Genesis as if she were his next target.

Genesis was packing her belongings after the backstage interview, ready to leave for a meal since she hadn't eaten since leaving the courthouse. Just as she was about to walk away, she heard someone calling her name.

She turned to see her cousin Zilla, Jimmy and Jey's brother, approaching her with a big smile. She had her purse slung over her shoulder and smiled back at him.

“Hey shawty, I heard yall heading to the club tonight after work.” Zilla said.

“Yeah, we are, they just wanted to celebrate me finally getting that divorce finalized pretty much.” Genesis said.

Jimmy and Jey were observing everything happening before them as Zilla attempted to charm Genesis. Jey then nudged him to get his attention.

“You see what he tryna do over there, he 's sweet talking to her.” Jey said.

“Yeah, I can tell. It looks like it’s working but I don’t want him to use her for his own sexual favors you know? That doesn’t seem right.”  Jimmy responded.

“I hear you twin, we are all heading to the club tonight to celebrate with her. I mean why would he want to fuck her she seems innocent.” Genesis has chosen to remain celibate for quite some time, particularly after her relationship with Quincy. She decided to stop being intimate and informed him of her decision to focus on celibacy. She wants to share herself with someone who will truly value and love her, rather than someone like Quincy, who only sought physical intimacy every day.

Only her closest friend, Jade, is aware of this and advised her to hold off on having sex again. Jimmy observed that Genesis tends to be reserved, rarely engaging with others, and focuses solely on her work.

He admires her for that.

She only spoke to her best friend Jade and Cody; other than that, she didn't really communicate with anyone else.

Zilla and Genesis had shared a hug just before she turned to leave him. Zilla approached them, holding his phone and smiling.

“I got her number yall.” Zilla announced, showing off his smirk on his face.

“So, what? You just gonna ask her to fuck and leave?” Jey asked.

“Nah, imma wait until we go to the club tonight. I heard they had private rooms up in there.” Jey nodded his head.

Jimmy remained silent, feeling uneasy about his cousin using Genesis for his own sexual desires, which troubled him.

“Shit, she probably won’t give it up to you so easily.” 

“Hell, she seems like the type to do so. We’ll see tonight.” 

“Don’t get yo’ hopes up.”

At the club, everyone was celebrating Genesis's divorce from Quincy. People were drinking and dancing to the lively music. Genesis sat on the couch, sipping her margarita and observing the fun around her. She noticed Jimmy walking towards her, a cold beer in hand and a smile on his face.

She looked at his outfit for the evening. He wore all black, paired with a SnapBack hat and a Cuban silver link chain around his neck, along with crisp white Air Force sneakers. The scent of his signature cologne, which he always wore, especially at work, filled the air and captivated her senses.

“What’s a beautiful woman like yourself doing sitting there by herself instead of having fun?” Jimmy begins to say.

Genesis chuckles at him while sipping on her margarita, “I’m not the type of person who likes to party. I only agreed to this because Jade wanted to celebrate my divorce that’s all I’m really an introvert.” Genesis said.

“I can tell, I understand though.” She nodded her head listening to him attentively until he held his hand out offering her to dance. “You wanna dance with me c'mon you gotta have fun tonight.” Genesis chucked at him as she took his hand into hers while he brought her to the dance floor as they both began dancing with each other.

The DJ played "Attention" by 451 in the background while she and Jimmy danced together, enjoying the music and having a great time like good friends do. He held her close, with her hand around his neck, both savoring the moment and each other's presence.

Zilla observed the two of them dancing together, feeling a pang of jealousy because it wasn't him dancing with her; instead, she was with Jimmy. He took a sip from his red cup filled with beer as he heard Jey's footsteps approaching from behind, having also noticed Jimmy and Genesis on the dance floor.

He noticed Zilla's expression shift to one of anger, which made him laugh.

“Seems like someone is jealous.” 

Zilla had clicked his teeth and shot Jey a glance while rolling his eyes.

“Mane, ain’t nobody jealous Jimmy just got lucky that’s all. Imma get with her tonight you feel me.” 

“Yeah, aight we will see because it seems like my brother got more game than you and he didn’t even ask for her number yet.” Zilla had playfully pushed his cousin as Jey chuckled at him while throwing his hands up. “Aye, man I’m just saying dawg.”

“Ain’t Jimmy dealing with that hoe Trinity? Why is he tryna take what’s mine when he's dealing with her?” Zilla said.

“I mean he’s technically single and he doesn't even pay attention to shawty. She's only with him for his money but Jimmy doesn’t claim her.” Jey responded as Zilla nodded his head.

“Well, he needs to move around on Genesis because she is mine for tonight.”

Jimmy and Genesis remained on the dance floor, sharing laughter and getting to know one another better as she felt his hands resting on her waist. "Are you enjoying yourself?" Jimmy inquired, gazing into her chocolate-colored eyes.

“Yeah, I am, it's been a while since I’ve done something like this, you know?” Genesis responded gazing into his chocolate brown eyes.

“I understand Gigi, you ain’t gotta tell me.” She smiled at him while swaying her hips to the music, surprising him. This made her laugh shortly after. "c’mon pretty boy you gotta catch up now.” Pretty Boy? That just made him chuckle at her keeping her close to him.

“Everyone! Gather around! We finna play a game.” At that moment, they noticed Jade tapping on her glass, drawing the attention of everyone around, including themselves, as they gathered together.

Genesis and Jimmy were seated side by side on the couch, listening to Jade. "We're playing truth or dare, and the rules are easy. If you refuse to answer a truth or complete a dare, you have to take a shot of Don Julio, okay?" Jade announced, and everyone around them nodded in agreement.

Everyone started playing the game, with many people taking shot after shot of Don Julio. Some attempted the dare, while others chose to back out and didn't drink at all.

“You guys are so lameee bro.” She said as she looked at Genesis and Jimmy talking to each other. “Gigi! My lovely best friend!”

Genesis gave her attention while nodding her head, “truth or dare?” She swallowed her margarita before speaking. “Dare.”

“I dare you to kiss someone that’s to your left.” Genesis's eyes widened in surprise when she noticed Jimmy sitting to her left, leading them to share a brief glance.

“Jade, ion think that’s a good idea girl like…” Genesis protested.

“Yeah, can’t she just choose someone else instead of me?” Jimmy chimed in.

Jade laughed softly, anticipating her best friend's hesitation. A playful smirk appeared on her face. "Are you two being scared? It's just a harmless kiss! I even dare you to sit on his lap while you do it." Genesis had decided not to drink any more that night since she needed to go home later. She glanced at Jimmy, studying his expression to ensure he was okay with the idea.

She got up and settled onto Jimmy's lap, feeling his hand on her waist to help her balance and prevent her from falling, with their faces just inches apart.

“It’s just an innocent kiss right?” She asked.

“Yeah, an innocent kiss wouldn't mean anything.” Jimmy said as Genesis nodded her head.

“C’mon yall kiss!” Jimmy gently held her chin, his thumb gliding over her lips before he pressed his lips against hers. Genesis froze, suddenly aware that it had been a long time since she had kissed anyone. The last person to kiss her was Quincy.

Her lips mirrored his actions while the crowd around them gasped in surprise. Genesis flashed them a middle finger, feeling Jimmy's tongue gently exploring her mouth, as if he understood exactly how to please her.

His lips brushed against her jawline, making her shiver at his daring move, while Jey and Jade looked on in surprise.

“Oh shit!” Jey said in excitement.

“Okay periodddd get into it!” Jade encouraged.

Jimmy pressed his lips against hers again, his hands gently cradling her cheeks as he deepened the kiss, aware that they only had a few seconds remaining.

Something inside them seemed to break as they got lost in the kiss, only to be interrupted by Jade's voice saying, "time's up!" Jimmy enjoyed the taste of Genesis's lips a moment longer before pulling back and noticing how flustered she looked.

They both breathed heavily, locking eyes for a moment as she smiled at him.

“You good gigi?” Jimmy asked.

“Y-yeah, I’m good. I’m good phew lord.” Genesis replied as she got off his lap fixing her dress in the process.

“Damn, yall were Into that kiss way too deep bestie.” Genesis gave Jade a glare while she chuckled at her picking the next person.

Zilla was seething with rage as he watched his cousin kiss Genesis. He had wanted to be the one to make the first move, but once again, Jimmy had to take the attention away from him, which really frustrated him. Genesis finished her drink and set it down on the table, leaning back on the couch as she observed the others playing Truth or Dare.

She brushed her lips, recalling the kiss she had just shared with Jimmy moments earlier. Turning her head, she noticed him chatting with his twin brother, who seemed to be playfully teasing him about the kiss.

The kiss was just a dare, right? It didn’t hold any significance. Yet, she couldn’t help but crave more of his lips.

His gentle touch as he cradled her chin and kissed her left her feeling overwhelmed, especially with how he held her like a true gentleman.

She realized she wasn't seeking a serious relationship; she was focused on safeguarding her heart. After Quincy, she didn't want to be with anyone else; it felt overwhelming for her.

As everyone was saying their goodbyes and congratulating Genesis on her divorce, she was just about to leave when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. Turning around, she saw Jimmy approaching her.

“What’s up Jimmy?” Genesis asked.

“You good? I’m sorry about the kiss, I just wanted to be sure that you were comfortable with it.” Jimmy said.

“It’s okay. I was comfortable with it, it just took me by surprise. That's all you’re fine.” She replied while giving him a reassuring smile Jimmy wipes the sweat from his forehead causing her to chuckle at him.

They remained quiet while he admired her outfit from head to toe. He appreciated how the dress accentuated her curves beautifully.

“You look good tonight though Gigi.” 

She looks down before looking back up at him.

“You did too Jimmy, I like the all black fit on you.” 

He flashed his bright white teeth, including the grills, which she noticed when he smiled at her.

“Can I get yo’ number so we can talk and get to know each other more? As friends.” Jimmy asked.

Genesis took his phone, added her number under the nickname 'Gigi🤍' in his contacts, and then handed the phone back to him.

“I’ll see you in the morning to catch our flight to the next city, yeah?” Genesis said as she was about to head out the door until he grabbed her waist.

“Yeah, hollon now. C’mere.” Jimmy wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a hug. She returned the gesture, inhaling his familiar scent of signature cologne.

She wasn't accustomed to sharing this kind of intimacy with anyone else, but for some strange reason, she felt secure in his embrace for a brief moment. As she lifted her head from his chest, she met his gaze while he looked down at her petite frame, captivated by her beautiful face. His eyes moved from her lips to her eyes, almost as if he were following a triangle pattern, completely entranced by her.

They separated, and she smiled at him before stepping out the door. Jimmy felt a tightness in his jeans, making him curse quietly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Genesis was just about to enter her car when she heard Jade's footsteps, prompting her to turn around.

“Girl, you and Jimmy would make a perfect couple.” Jade remarked while Genesis rolled her eyes, aware of how this conversation would unfold.

She climbed into the driver's seat of her car, closing the door while leaving the window slightly open to hear her best friend. As she fastened her seatbelt, she listened attentively.

“Jade, I told you I’m not looking for anything serious. And Jimmy he’s a fine man don’t get me wrong but I’m just not ready for all of that.” 

“I know, I won’t pressure you about it because I care about your wellbeing. But whenever you want to give it another shot you know the person you could hit up.”

“Me and Him are just friends, well starting to become friends—besides we both know that kiss didn’t mean anything.” Jade glanced at her, realizing that the kiss between Genesis and Jimmy held significance, evident in the way he was kissing her.

“Girl, whatever. The way that man was kissing on you, especially all the way down to your jawline? Oh girl you trippin but I digress. I'll let you go home. I'll see you in the morning.” Genesis rolled up her window and started the ignition of her car when she noticed Jimmy leaving with his twin brother and cousin.

She and Jimmy exchanged smiles as they made eye contact. She waved at him, and he waved back before she drove out of the parking lot, heading home for the night.

While driving home, she found herself reflecting on the kiss she and Jimmy had shared during their game of truth or dare. The way he caressed her and pressed his lips against her jawline left her spellbound. It felt as if they were kissing like long-lost soulmates.

She didn't share with anyone that she felt extremely wet under her dress—she wasn't wearing any underwear. Genesis had to step away to the bathroom to freshen up. It had been a long time since she felt that way, with her body responding to a man she hardly knew.

Genesis attempted to dismiss her emotions, reminding herself that she wasn't prepared for another serious relationship and needed to protect her heart.

After arriving home, she entered the house and headed upstairs to her bedroom. She changed into a comfy outfit consisting of a crop top and booty shorts. Having already removed her makeup, she jumped into bed and settled into the cool sheets.

After settling into a cozy position in her bed, she picked up her phone and noticed a message from Jimmy that unexpectedly brought a smile to her face.

Jimmy ❤️‍🩹: Hey Gigi did you make it home safely?

She began texting him back.

Gigi🤍: yeah I made it home safely I’m laying in my bed rn

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: that’s good you got everything packed for this long flight for tmr

Gigi🤍: mhm I made sure I grabbed everything I needed for the next city hbu?

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: yeah,  twin keeps bothering me about the kiss 

Gigi🤍: are you like used to him doing allat by now?

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: yeah but it can get annoying sometimes tho, I wanna cuss his ass out sometimes 😭

Gigi🤍: yall two are funny asf 

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: that’s The Uso’s for you but wyd rn?

Gigi🤍: I’m finna head to bed for tonight for this long as flight why?

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: tryna get to know you more Gigi

Gigi🤍: what is it that you want to know?

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: anything you feel comfortable sharing with me ❤️

That made her heart warm seeing that text from him.

Gigi🤍: well for starters I am Into like astrology and zodiac signs just to see if people are compatible with each other that’s how I got Jade and her man hooked up with each other 😭

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: oh fr? What’s yo’ zodiac sign?

Gigi🤍: I am a Capricorn ♑️ hbu?

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: a leo ♌️ 

Gigi🤍: I heard that Leos and Capricorns are compatible with each other what you think pretty boy?

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: pretty boy? Is that going to be my nickname for now on?

Gigi🤍: mhm sure is 

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: aight then lil mama I think we are compatible for each other 

lil mama? She never heard someone call her something new like that and deep down she liked it.

Gigi🤍: what do you like to do for fun? And are you competitive bc ik I am.

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: oh you the competitive type huh? I liked to play the game with the guys I could probably beat yo’ ass in COD

Gigi🤍: nigga I will fuck you up in COD don’t play you better ask someone about me pretty boy 

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: you wanna bet that up lil mama?

Gigi🤍: mhm I am confident that I can whoop yo’ ass in COD and Soul Caliber 5

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: bet that up then can’t wait to see the look on your face when you lose

Gigi🤍: nigga you gon be the one losing here not me pretty boy 🙂‍↕️

Jimmy❤️‍🩹: FaceTime me 

Gigi🤍: kk

Genesis called Jimmy on FaceTime, and he answered right away, his face illuminated in the dim light. She had set her phone down on a spare pillow as she settled into her bed.

She noticed that his hair was loose, and he wasn't wearing a shirt, which revealed his tribal tattoos. He also had a Cuban link chain around his neck.

“Someone looks comfortable, are you going to be ready for this beat down.” Genesis said, making Jimmy scoff at her.

“Little girl, you’re entering the penitentiary zone right now speaking to me like that.” Jimmy responded.

“Ouuu, the penitentiary zone I’m scared. Nigga just say you gonna get yo’ ass whooped.” 

They kept discussing who would lose the initial rounds, and the loser would have to kiss the winner—quite interesting. “You gon’ lose lil mama you gon have to kiss these pretty lips.”

“Un-Huh, I am not kissing you. You’re going to be the one that’s kissing me.”

“We’ll see.”

She covered her face with blankets to avoid the camera while they chatted and got to know each other better. It was then that he mentioned her face being hidden.

“Lemme’ see your pretty face lil mama hiding beneath that blanket.” Jimmy commented.

“Jimmy ion have no makeup on.” Genesis protested.

“So? Ion care you look pretty without it.” Genesis chose not to resist as she pulled the blanket away from her face, revealing it and noticing the smile on his face in response.

She noticed him settling into the bed, running his fingers through his hair and licking his lips. For a moment, she was surprised by the soft words he mumbled under his breath, but it quickly brought a smile to her face.

“Pretty ass.” 

“What was that Pretty boy?”

“You heard me with yo’ pretty ass don’t act like you didn’t.” Genesis had rolled her eyes at him while smiling.

She felt herself blush as he showered her with compliments, fanning her face in response.

Her and Jimmy kept chatting throughout the night, sharing stories about their past experiences and relationships. Jimmy particularly opened up about his current situation with Trinity, even though he doesn't really focus on her.

Genesis explained her reasons for divorcing Quincy, citing his infidelity and emotional abuse during their marriage. She noticed Jimmy listening closely, stroking his beard thoughtfully as she spoke.

She elaborated on her reasons for wanting everything in the divorce, stating that he didn't deserve it. She also mentioned how angry he was after the divorce was finalized because he had to return all the money he had taken from her.

“Damn, I’m sorry to hear that, Gigi.” 

“It’s okay, Jimmy I’m just glad that I’m away from him for good and now I can be happy.”

“Yeah, a pretty woman like you didn’t deserve all of that from him whatsoever.” Genesis smiled at him when he said that knowing that he was going to have her back within all of this.

Jimmy noticed that Genesis was getting sleepy, yawning repeatedly from side to side. This made him chuckle at her adorableness as he watched her snuggle under her blanket.

“We can hang up the phone if you wanna get some rest Gigi.” Jimmy said.

He could hear her whine through the phone, “nooo, I want to sleep on the phone together, your voice is very comforting.” Genesis said.

“A’ight then lil mama, we can stay on the phone tonight and get some sleep.” She nodded her head, fighting to keep her eyes open, but they quickly shut as she fell asleep in an instant, with Jimmy observing her drift off.

He snapped a few pictures of her sleeping on his phone, then set it down securely to avoid it falling while he settled into his bed, listening to her soft snores through the device.

He continued to admire her beauty seeing how pretty she slept through the phone before slowly falling asleep as well as they both fell asleep on the phone together.

GUARDED

a/n: hello so I am back with another Jimmy Uso fanfic I like how all of  my Jimmy Uso fanfics are going so far honestly lately just been having a lot of ideas honesty.

But this is only the beginning of Jimmy and Genesis' relationship, just a slow burn honestly. But hope y'all enjoy this chapter lmk in the comments below.

STAY UCEY.

Chapter two

Introductions

[melukonova]

LOVING SEPHIROTH, sephiroth x reader.

tw. mentions of his hurtful past, emotional abuse that miniroth didn't deserve :( this post can be seen as suggestive but it's left mostly to your interpretation

a/n. for @silverflqmes , my best friend who has inspired me to write yet again for something i love and for writing various requests for me, indulging me in my own happiness. you are never leaving this deep hole of ff7 that i dug for you AHAHAHAH! this is also for the many fans who have made fanfics and such that have shaped me now<3 much love to you all! (i will make more headcanons if this gets love) also sephiroth might be a little ooc since he's new territory of writing for me :,)

info. very lovable and soft sephiroth<3 very short blurbs! inspired by the song everything by lifehouse, i can see him relating about you, the reader, and how he feels for you. enjoy! pre-nibelheim!!!

𐚁. sephiroth's love language can be seen as quality time as seen with the time he spent with genesis and angeal, he grew very attached easily. i can see this in a similiar way since i'm sure once you've caught sephiroth's eye, you're happily in his heart. he enjoys just being together, perhaps he'll teach you how to use masamune (a toy version at least since he wants to protect you from injuries). don't get me wrong, every other love language applies for him too but i know he's happiest with the fact that you're there by his side.

𐚁. he is very awkward with affection so the first time you hold him, i think he wouldn't know what to do but he'll awkwardly pat your back while trying not to freak out a bit by being touched since he was experimented on as a child. please teach him how to love, he didn't get enough as kid... i think being patient with him would also warm his heart with you as well. he isn't the best with people, just in using his sword... which is why it's an anomaly to him if you stuck around for this long.

𐚁. indulging ellie on this one: sephiroth with a kitten. he probably is the one to adopt a kitten out of the two of you except what you didn't expect was him to basically mother the kitten. i think his wounds are still healing from the fact that the locket of his mother was torn away from him.. but you guys both loved that kitten very much, naming saikou which means radiance. it is the radiance of both of your lives and definitely a way to heal from your guys' pain, whatever it may be from your end but i know sephiroth suffers from loneliness and feeling not good enough. he feels this much less because of you though and of course, saikou. saikou is now your love rival... the kitty is his precious baby but you are his most prized treasure.

𐚁. while i said quality time is his favorite love language, i think that he likes physical affection as well since he never really knew what it's like to be loved. he wanted to learn though as well as learn to love you which led to teaching him how to cuddle. still very awkward, he's trying his very hardest as he pats your head and encases you into his body. eventually it led to couch cuddles every time he came home from work, he won't say it out loud but this is his favorite part of being able to be with you. he is so beyond smitten.

𐚁. as sephiroth had been in SOLDIER all of his life, he's not completely sure the best way to comfort you on many things but what he can do is to give you a better night! he'd come home with flowers since somehow zack had talked him into buying flowers from his girlfriend, what can i say? zack was a persuasive businessman and sephiroth had no clue how to be a good boyfriend. he'd probably panic if he couldn't make you feel better, he just wants you happy and would slay his enemies (those who wronged you). he'd indulge you in just about anything that you wanted to do between him trying on your favorite dress, self-care day with face masks, kisses all over to make you less insecure or just to feel more loved, an ice cream date, etc. you name it and it's done. he'd even sneak you into the training room on the SOLDIER floor to take you on a loving date with an even more beautiful sunset but all he could see was his sun, you.

𐚁. you already know his hair care routine since it was leaked from your mail, did i mention you were apart of sephiroth's fan club? he uses a WHOLE bottle of shampoo and conditioner. one day you had to braid his hair, adding in flowers to his hair as you braided it. he loved it since it kept his face clear for combat, meanwhile genesis and angeal snickered at him since his s/o made him look all pretty so none of his enemies would take him seriously. masamune said differently than his hair did. if somebody ruined the artwork of your braiding? they ALSO had a date with masamune.

𐚁. he doesn't like a lot of attention as many would say since he is so famous. this is the big question, how did you enter his life in comparison to the fangirls? you understood him. it was a new feeling for him and he didn't know how much he would end up loving it. no thirsting over how hot he was or saying how strong he had been. just a simple: "i know you've been working hard for so long, you deserve some rest," was enough to make him moved by you. nobody could compare to you in his innocent heart. he was so new to every experience, every hug, every kiss, and every touch you gave him. each time was something new that he had learned to love about you and eventually love about himself as well. you helped him to understand he was more than a monster, more than a soldier, more than just a test subject.

𐚁. what you hadn't expect is to find a loving sephiroth in the kitchen with you, holding you close to him as you listened to italian cooking music (the pasta addict in me thinks he'd want to learn more about pasta and its origin). his head was leaning down towards yours while staring down at your lips as you both had been swaying. his hand had been on your waist and the other had been moving up from your shoulder, over your neck slowly with care, to your soft cheek. capturing you in his lips, the water had boiled over but he didn't care at that moment. the thing he clung onto most was this moment because at this moment, sephiroth just knew. he was in love and he finally felt free as he deepened the kiss. he knew where home was and he was kissing his own home, taking in all of what makes you so lovable as well.

melukonova, 2024. 𐀔

[rottenpumpkin13]

Sephiroth, mommy issues, yada yada, yeah yeah yeah…

You know what is really surprising? That Zack calling Genesis “mom” or some variant thereof didn’t happen first. Because whether or not he’d do it as a joke is irrelevant. It’s near criminal to think this porcupine headed, adhd poster child of determined, whirlwind chaos didn’t utter those words first!

He may not be the child Genesis wanted, but he is the one that Genesis will have to be around forever because his best friend/partner already claimed him.

Good luck, Genemum.

Zack: Hey mom—I mean, Genesis—!

*Genesis immediately recoils like he's been personally insulted*

Genesis: How disgusting. Just because Angeal has adopted you like some stray mutt and you insist on seeing him as a father figure does not mean that, by proxy, as his best friend, I am your mother. Grow up, you absolute goblin.

Sephiroth: Hey Zack, stop loitering and go do something useful.

*Genesis grabs Zack and lifts him into his arms like a mother protecting her young*

Genesis: How dare you speak to my son that way. My sweet, beloved boy. Have you no heart, Sephiroth? You work him to the bone, you scold him without a shred of compassion, and for what? Have you even considered that he is but a child?

Zack: But you just said I'm not your son!

Genesis: Hush now, my dear. Mother's got you, and the cruel, unfeeling man in silver will never harm you again.

Zack: Okay! :)

Sephiroth: I yearn for early retirement.

[prismaticpichu]

What if Sephiroth came across one of the baby chocobos from Rebirth that really wants him to follow it to a rest stop???

Ehehehehehhdhdhdh *melts into marshmallow puddle at the sheer thought of it* ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ̀ˋ

~

At first, Sephiroth tries to brush the little fella off, trying his best to ignore the persistent chitters and squawks from the Chocobaby waddling behind him. He gave it one (1) crumb of his granola bar; it should be plenty satisfied, no? Plenty satiated? Or did just fall into the trap of naively thinking that an animal would stop after being relented to…?

Well, fine. Fair enough. He didn’t exactly “relent” as much as voluntarily offer a piece of his lunch upon catching sight of the Chocobaby, but… so what? That was just instinct, wasn’t it? Like he was simply supposed to ignore the little avian and its fluffy tuff of fluff upon its feathery head, to resist giving it a little ruffle? A little series of pats? A little piece of his lunch? He wasn’t a monster, for Gaia’s sake, but that still didn’t mean he had any intention of interacting with the Chocobaby any lo—

“Waaarrrrkkky!”

Sephiroth finally pauses, pinching the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath.

The Chocobaby continues to hop like a bouncy ball behind him.

“…You cannot come with me, little one.”

“Warrrkyyy-wark!”

“No, it is far too dangerous.”

“Warrrrk!”

“I slay monsters for a living.”

“Warrrrrrrky!”

“You’ll get yourself hurt.”

“Warrrrrrrk!”

“No.”

“Wark!”

“No.”

“Wark!”

“…”

“Wark! Wark! Wark! Wark!”

“…”

“Eh, what the heck?”

Sephiroth scoops up the dancing Chocobaby, letting the baby-blue shape nuzzle into his arms, finding shelter and solace in the warm nest of leather as he continues on through the meadow, eventually falling asleep in his embrace.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Sephiroth?” Genesis starts.

“Mmn?”

“Uhh… whatcha got there?”

“A milkshake.” He holds up the chocolate beverage he purchased on the way back to Midgar.

“I think he meant the tiny bird,” Angeal clarifies.

“Oh! Of course! How rude of me; this is Lapis.” Sephiroth cradles the Chocobaby, adjusting himself so his friends could see the precious shape in his arms. “He’s a Chocobaby.”

Angeal and Genesis exchange a look.

“I thought ShinRa doesn’t allow pets.”

“They do now,” Sephiroth says, and leaves no room for arguments as he started off towards his room, wheeling a gigantic wagon of birdfeed, blankets, and toys behind him.

[kyoshithewriter]

Level the Playing Field. (After, Part one).

Wc: 3.3k

Warnings: angst, mentions of smut.

A/n: So this was promised to a follower who loved the ‘Level the Playing Field’ series for a while now. Can be read as a stand alone I think but it would be better if you read the series first. I tried something different (no nasty nasty lol) but I might do another one shot from this series cause I love Sadé so much lol. Any who, enjoy?

Three years. It has been three years since she officially told Jude yes— three years of being his girlfriend. Time seems to move differently when you’re in love. In Sadé’s mind- as she’s sure it is with the average person- three years seems like a long long time. The three years she spent at Erlhedge felt like she lived different lives; freshman year was all about finding her footing, getting used to living in a different country, making friends, getting used to university life. Sophomore year, gosh, sophomore year felt the most overwhelming. It feels embarrassing to say, but that’s when she actually felt like she became a woman. Not just because she had sex for the first time either; but because she learned so many important lessons about friendships, about her relationship with her mother, about the man she considers as her soulmate and about herself. Senior year was when everything felt like it clicked into place. She doesn’t know how to explain it except she just started feeling more sure of herself. She gained a lot of confidence and started being unafraid of being seen. So yes, those three years felt like a journey. However, after that, Sadé blinked and she’s now 25 years old. She’s now 25 with a graduate degree and a much better job as a research scientist at a pharmaceutical company. Jude had flown to London to visit during a short break when she mentioned offhandedly that she wanted to get her master’s to elevate her career. He immediately told her to apply and he handled the tuition with no questions asked. Her man. Protector. Provider. Problem solver. Gosh she’s so in love with him. She loves him so much and sometimes, like now, it makes her so anxious. These past three years haven't been all smooth sailing in their relationship; of course they’d argue but it was over petty things: not calling enough, not responding to messages quickly enough— all the little things you expect with a long distance relationship. But Jude would fly to London or book her a flight to Spain when she had a few days off, take her on a nice date then fuck her deep and slow while whispering apologies to her or until apologies flew from her mouth. Then they would cuddle and Jude would make her laugh until she cried about random trivial things and all would be forgiven. But lately, their arguments haven’t been feeling as petty. Jude had expected that Sadé would’ve moved to Spain after completing her master’s. She had told him she’d think about it, but then she got a job offer from arguably the most popular pharmaceutical company in the country three months ago and she accepted. It has been a whirlwind since. She remembers the day she broke the news vividly.

“I got a job offer from Genesis. I think I’m going to take it.”

Jude’s face became tense on her phone screen the minute the words left her mouth.

“What do you mean? You said you’d be moving here.”

“No. I said I’d think about it. I just… this a huge company, Jude. Not only is it best for my career, the salary is gre-”

“Sadé… There are huge pharmaceuticals that are present in Spain too. You could’ve chosen anyone and don’t use salary as an excuse. You know that wouldn’t matter with me around.”

“Jude that’s your money! Yes you’re generous with it but it’s still yours. I want to make my own and make a lot of it, too. And you’re not being fair. I want to work at this specific one. Moving would mean taking months, maybe years to overcome language barriers-”

“Sadé, seriously?! I’ve been here for years and I didn’t speak a lick of Spanish when I just got here and I survived just fine, didn’t I?”

“Yes! But your job is playing football! Not working in a lab full of chemicals that coul-”

“You’re just making excuses!”

“No! You’re not being fair! Why don’t you sign to some club in London then, hm? There are plenty of gargantuan clubs here too. Or am I the only one expected to make that sacrifice?” Sadé swallowed around the lump forming in her throat.

“It’s different and you know it. We have contracts-”

“I know! And I know that it has always been your dream to play for that club so I’d never ask you to just… move. Why can’t you understand that?”

“So you expect this to work? You think a relationship with miles between us and seldom visits that lasts a few days to actually thrive? Because it won’t.” His tone was solemn.

Sadé immediately started crying. Tears streamed down her cheeks in rapid succession and a sob caught in her throat. “Jude, don’t say that.”

“I’m being honest, Sadé. And it’s so funny because I know the real reason you don’t want to move is because you’re scared. You have this fucked up idea that I’ll start loving you less if I have access to you all the time. I don’t know what else to do or say to prove to you that— good night, Sadé.”

Sadé immediately started heaving the second he hung up.

They haven’t broken up but the strain in their relationship is heavy and apparent. It’s in the way their messages have become almost formal; it’s in the way their FaceTime calls are now once a week instead of four or five; it’s in the way their conversations are cautious; it’s in the way he hasn’t made any effort to come see her. Jude has had a few breaks consisting of three or more days in the past three months and he hasn’t mentioned visiting once. This is definitely not like him. To make matters worse, she noticed he started going out more.

“I’m sure he’s just upset. Maybe you could try visiting him? Make it a surprise?”

Sadé eyes Mikayla’s gentle face that’s now a lot rounder because of her swollen belly. Sean and Mikayla are now engaged and she’s carrying their first child. She’s almost seven months along. Sean ended up being sold to an English club in London and their relationship is stronger than ever. Her friend has long since moved out of their shared apartment for obvious reasons, but visits so often her presence is hardly missed.

“Do you think I should? I don’t think this will ever be resolved unless I move in with him. I don’t want to lose him, Mikky. I’m scared.”

“Why don’t you want to move to Spain again?” Mikky eyes her cautiously.

“I… my job and…”

“You know, since you messaged me about what happened months ago I did some research. The pharmaceutical giants that also have a presence in Spain…” Mikky trails off with a whistle.

“Pfïzer, Novartïs… but I’m sure you know that because you would’ve done your research. I even compared the salaries too… Sadé, tell me the real reason you don’t want to move.” Mikky gently coaxes.

“I’m scared.” She swallows around the lump in her throat as she remembers Jude’s exact words months ago. ‘He’s right. I’m just a fucking coward.’

“I know this isn’t healthy but I can’t help the pessimism. What if spending more time with me makes him realize I’m a bit annoying or boring? What if it’s the distance that’s keeping it exciting? What if I can’t fall into his routines? What if I end up broken hearted miles away from what I now call home? Away from you, away from Celine… all alone and just…” She worries her lower lip between her teeth as tears trail from her eyes.

“Or… what if spending more time with you makes him notice little habits that make him feel deeper in love with you? What if the distance is actually keeping the best parts of the relationship hidden? What if you fall so seamlessly into his routines like you’ve known each other your entire lives? What if it all works out and you thrive in love together for many, many years? Stop denying yourself of beautiful possibilities because of imagined fears. Talk to him, preferably in person about how you really feel.”

Sadé takes a quivering breath and pulls her friend into a desperate hug.

“What would I do without you, Mikky?”

“Mhmm, yes I’m the best. Don’t ever forget that.”

The duo falls into a fit of watery giggles. Sniffling, Sadé pulls back to wipe the tears of her face with an open palm.

“So… what’s next?” Mikayla eyes her expectantly.

“I guess I’m going to Spain.”

*******

Jude’s villa never ceases to intimidate her no matter how many times she has seen it. The neighbourhood screams affluent and his home even more so. With floor to ceiling glass, an infinity pool, palm trees, the well manicured lawn and acres of space— the huge, modern house is every property lover’s wet dream. She almost wants to laugh at herself for wanting to stay in the bustling city of London with unpredictable weather than in this warm, sunny country in a house like this with the man she loves. Fear makes people stupid and irrational and she hates it. It’s just a little past 5, so she isn’t expecting Jude to be home but that’s no problem. She unlocks the gate with the spare remote she has and enters the code she knows by heart- the date she said yes to being his girlfriend- to unlock the door. Sadé breathes a sigh of relief at finally being out of the scorching sun and also being surrounded by his scent again. Three whole months since she has last seen him in person; smelt his scent or felt his touch. She misses him so much that her chest feels hollow. Hauling her suitcase inside, she ensures that the door is locked before walking down the hallway and into his bedroom. The bed is an unmade mess— typical Jude. The rest of the room is tidy though and his scent is much more potent here. Sadé breathes it in for a few seconds before moving to the ensuite bathroom for a well deserved shower.

******

Sadé decides to make him dinner. Not only as a nice gesture for him, but also to do something to keep her occupied. He has no idea she’s here and she can’t help but feel a bit nervous of what his reaction will be. She can’t spend the entire time pacing and wringing her hands uselessly so she busies herself with an elaborate meal of braised short ribs with mashed potatoes. Thankfully, his kitchen had most of what she needed since she taught him how to make a lot of meals over the years. He was not comfortable with a stranger being in his house and neither Sadé or his mother could be here with him all the time. She moves around the kitchen with familiarity like she has been living with him since day one. Sadé spends hours making the hearty, delicious meal. When 8:15 rolls around, her legs become restless as she lounges on his couch. Usually, he’s home from training around 8:30 or just a few minutes later. So Sadé waits. She waits until her anxiety turns into melancholy. At 9:45 she spoons some cold, clumpy potatoes onto her plate with a small piece of beef and forces it down her throat. At 11 pm, the exhaustion weighing down her bones is too much to ignore so goes into his bedroom to cry quietly in the cool cotton sheets before sleep creeps up and takes her.

A loud thud pulls her from sleep some time later. Sadé blinks her bleary eyes, trying to clear the haze of sleep from her mind. She sees him then; he’s standing by his bedroom door and her eyes drift to the floor briefly to his duffle bag by his feet. He dropped it intentionally. Sadé fingers the box braids that flow past her lower back out of nervous habit. His eyes are blank as he stares at her in his bed. Her heart plummets. Usually, they’d light up like a kid in an ice cream shop and he’d run over to kiss her until she’s breathless while lifting her in his arms.

“Um, hey?”

She now fingers the hem of her black crop top that shows off her stomach. She’s wearing nothing else but a black, lacy thong. Yes, she was intentional with dressing like this because she knows it drives him wild. She’s trying to win over her man again, sue her.

“Hi. You didn’t say you were coming.” He walks further into the room, completely ignoring her on his bed. He stops in front of his dresser to pull out some shorts and a wife beater.

“I wanted to surprise you.”

He just hums. Giving her his back, he strips from his tracksuit and heads into the bathroom. Jude stays in the shower for about fifteen minutes and Sadé feels like she doesn’t breathe all throughout.

“I um, I made you dinner.” She says hurriedly as soon as he exits the bathroom.

“I already ate, but thanks.”

Sadé’s breathing grows harsher as he sits on the chair by his walk-in closet with his phone in hand. He’s ignoring her. Just like her mother used to do when she was younger and she did something that disappointed her. He knows what that does to her and he’s doing it anyway. Sadé scoots off the bed with tears blurring her vision and moves toward her suitcase. She unzips it with jerky movements and pulls out a pair of jeans and a sweater.

“What are you doing?” He asks gruffly from his seated position.

“I’m sorry for showing up unannounced. I’ll leave.” Her voice is thick with emotion.

“It’s 1 am, Sadé. Get back in bed.”

“I-it’s fine. I’ll stay at a hotel until my flight.”

Pounding footsteps sound behind and then her jeans are yanked from her hands.

“You’re not going anywhere. Go back to bed.”

“I don’t want to stay if you’re going to treat me like this! You know what being ignored does to me, Jude. I c-can’t— just let me leave.” She avoids his angry eyes with her tear filled ones.

“I’m ignoring you because I’m pissed. You think showing up here for the weekend after that argument we had will fix anything?”

“No! But I wanted to talk. I wanted to see you because I missed you.” It’s a meek whisper from her lips as tears flow freely down her face.

“Don’t cry, Sadé. That’s not fair.”

He has always hated seeing her tears and she knows it.

“‘M sorry. I’m just… I’m scared, Jude. Not just about losing you but about everything. You were right. I’m a coward. I didn’t want to move here because I- I have this feeling you’ll grow tired or bored of me. I know it’s a childish way to think but.., you’re an actual celebrity, an athlete. You have the fame, the wealth, the love and I’m… I’m just Sadé. People like you date models and influencers not people like me who're afraid of the spotlight and who cowers from the cameras during your games.” She ducks her head after the pathetic confession. There’s a beat of silence then Jude breaks it with an almost bitter chuckle. Sadé stares as he moves across the room and into his closet. She doesn’t know what he’s doing. Is he just ignoring her again? Her brain is a mess of negative thoughts wanting to all surface at once that just become jumbled. So she stands, heart in her throat and palms sweaty, watching as he roots through something inside. Jude ambles over to her again, this time there’s something clenched tightly in his fist.

“Sadé…” he takes a deep breath with a contemplative look on his face. One that she recognizes as him trying to find the right words.

“Firstly, I’m sorry for ignoring you. I know what your mother did to you and that low of me.”

“It’s oka-”

“No it isn’t. It’s not okay and that’s why I’m apologizing. But Sadé, I understand you can be insecure, I have no idea why because you’re so fucking beautiful sometimes I can’t believe you’re real. You’re beautiful and you’re so smart that I fully expect you to wake me up one day and tell me you’ve found a cure for cancer and I wouldn’t blink. Your heart is so big I sometimes wonder how it fits inside your body. I can’t believe you still can’t see that I’m the lucky one.” He gives a little shake of his head with a small, sad smile on his face.

Sadé is rendered speechless. She can only stand, gaping at him.

“I just… you don’t even know that sometimes your insecurities sound a bit insulting, do you? Insinuating that ‘people like me’ are expected to be shallow. I understand what I might’ve looked like in university but people grow and change, Sadé. I don’t want models. I don’t want influencers. I want you. I’ve spent more than three years trying to prove that to you. I don’t know how many more times I can tell you that I love you for you to actually believe me. But…”

Sadé is trembling when he opens his palm to reveal the delicate little red, suede box resting in the middle of his open palm. When he slowly pops it open to reveal the most beautiful, delicate diamond ring, she starts hyperventilating.

“J-Jude? I—”

“I’ve had it for five months now. I was waiting for the perfect time to do some big reveal. But then we had that argument and I just… Look, this is just to prove to you what my intentions are— what they have been for the past three years. I want to fucking marry you, Sadé. Is that enough? Do you finally see it now? You’re not someone I look at and think of ever getting bored of. You’re not someone I need space or time away from. When you’re not around it kills me. I need you close all the time because I love you so fucking much. Do you understand that?” His eyes burn with sincerity.

Sadé chokes and then the waterworks start. Jude opens his arms readily for her to walk into. Loud, heaving sobs wrack her entire body as she buries her face in his chest.

Jude holds her until her sobs quiet into gentle hiccups. With his thumb under her chin, he tilts her head up. Sadé’s body buzzes in anticipation for his warm, plump lips and she almost starts crying again at the tender way he kisses her. Unhurried. Slow. Gentle. She feels all the longing. She feels all the love. She loves him so much it makes her dizzy. He pulls away from her lips to pin her with his soft brown eyes.

“I need an answer, baby.” He breathes the words tentatively. Doubtful. Nervous.

“Marrying you? Yes.”

He chuckles at her eager response.

“Slow down tiger. I didn’t ask just yet. I want to do it the proper way, you deserve that. I’m talking about moving. Move in with me, Sadé.”

She hesitates only for a second. “Are you going to make the bed in the mornings?”

Jude laughs airily. His expression relaxed. Happy.

“I’ll do my best. Will you?”

“I’ve already applied for job openings in Madrid.” She feigns nonchalance with a shrug while biting her lips to hide her smile.

Jude is quick to capture her lips in another kiss. This one is a lot more sensual. Heat travels the length of her spine because she knows what’s coming next— or rather who. Multiple times across the soft sheets. First from his warm, relentless mouth; then with him so deep inside her she doesn’t know where he ends and she begins. A slow, sensual tango with their limbs tangled— and with every shared breath a whispered ‘I love you.’ And in that moment, Sadé knows she made the right decision.

[altocat]

Ok I gotta rant. I’m proud of big Seph actually. (Before the horrors obvs)

In FS1 we met the Miniroth, who was naturally kinda open about his problems with his team?? He was socially awkward and looking for help, wanting to ask about his mother and everything. He even was against being seen as inhuman. It HURT HIS FEELINGS and he made that clear! Lil dude was trying.

But in episode 2, you can’t get this kid to even talk half the time. He’s like a machine, not admitting anything is wrong, steeling himself up, failing but trying to explain away his obvious mother issues, but he’s just cold and rigid to protect himself and avoid attachment. We know that’ll change but like…it feels wrong even for him because he’s actually more just like that trauma-dumping meme lmao. He DOES brush things off with smiles sure, but he still is trying to connect and be fucking human. You can see the effort being made.

FS2 Miniroth would NOT be this friendly, nor would he spend two hours searching for that lost trooper. He wouldn’t be chatty or probably even dare to mention home + his parents. He’d prioritize the mission first, keep dehumanizing himself, etc.

Honestly, I think CC/Rebirth Nibelheim Seph was doing his best before he walked into that damn reactor. He was just completely vulnerable and alone when the crisis hit him because of his friends being dead/gone/traitor. (I mean…he was probably holding out hope for Genesis before the reactor too!) But yeah. I’m sad. He was closer to his FS1 one self on Rhadore as an adult. Probably even a better version. Ugh.

All of Sephiroth's actions Pre-Nibelheim spell out that he really did want to be a good person. He was doing the best he could with the incredibly meager tools he'd been given. After decades of Shinra molding him, traumatizing him, exploiting him, and abusing him, he STILL managed to turn into a relatively kind and compassionate adult. He was naturally good. He WANTED to be good. Somewhere beneath the coldness, the aloofness, the killing on Shinra's orders, the REAL Sephiroth was gentle. Empathetic. They could not take that from him. They had to BREAK him first.

I'm extremely eager to see Sephiroth's transformation in EP 2, assuming that's where they're going with the plot. I want to see how this edgy, hostile version of Sephiroth eventually thaws into the person we saw in Crisis Core, and the protective, compassionate soldier we saw in the EP 1 flashforward. Does Angeal save him? Does he save himself? What pulls him from the brink? What brings him back from the edge, though the REAL edge is only another decade away? It's going to be sooo cathartic.

[takerfoxx]

A while back I said I was getting more into poly shipping, and now I'm kind of really into it, so here's a list of ones I really like.

Shinji, Asuka, and Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion, aka the Israfel Special.

I've already talked at length about them. Hell, I'm writing a whole fanfic series about them, so you know they're my fave. Once again, could not and should not work in canon, it would be a total disaster, but you can just barely glimpse the world where they could open up to one another and how good it would be for them, and man, I do wish we got to see that world.

Kyoko Sakura, Mami Tomoe, and Sayaka Miki from Madoka Magica.

KyoSaya is my number 1 ship of all time, but if they were to expand, bringing in the girl who's Kyoko's ex and Sayaka's idol is the way to go. Both girls looked up to Mami as a mentor, only for it to end badly in both cases. And Mami is desperately lonely. Having her two former proteges back in her life would be a Madokasend, while giving them some much needed grounding.

Also like the Kyoko/Sayaka/Madoka variation as well, because it's so damned cute.

David, Lucy, and Rebecca from Cyberpunk Edgerunners

(would you believe that this is the only official art of just the three of them that I could find?)

Man, Night City sucks, and they sure packed a whole lot of tragedy in a few episodes. But had things not gone down like they did, this is one that I actually see as being kind of probable. I mean, they're all traumatized outlaws used to living on the edge. Other than the whole Adam Smasher thing, the only roadblock is that Becca and Lucy didn't have much of a dynamic, but that could've easily changed had they all escaped together.

Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy 7.

So yeah. Guess what I've been playing lately?

Y'know, out of all the the throuples here, this one actually had the best chance of happening. Cloud had a real Betty and Veronica situation going with his tough childhood friend and the sweetheart flower girl, with there clearly being mutual attraction in both cases. However, Tifa and Aerith really don't display much jealousy and in fact become besties. Hell, if Aerith didn't go and get herself Sephirothed, this could really (and should have been) a possibility.

Alas, she did indeed get herself Sephirothed.

Hey, have they reached that point in the remakes yet? I heard there might be a chance of changing it.

Subaru Natsuki, Emilia, and Rem from Re: Zero

So, apparently this has actually been brought up as a possibility in the light novel or something? I certainly can see it, and it does probably have the best chance of actually becoming canon. I mean, I still kinda think that Subaru and Emilia are endgame, but let's face it, what he has going on with Rem is adorable, and while Emilia and Rem don't have much of a one-on-one thing, I don't really see either one really objecting.

Y'know what, let's put a pin in this and see what happens. Could come true.

Cocona, Papika, and Yayaka from Flip Flappers.

Look, Cocona and Papika were really cute and I'm glad they hooked up, but Yayaka was best girl and deserved love! Sure, she and Papika were kinda on the antagonistic side, but let's face it, Papika is like the last person to object to that kind of thing.

[theghostavocadoe]

Genesis Rhapsodos ADHD headcanons

From someone who's diagnosed with ADHD

His vocal stims usually range from humming to narrating/singing out what he's actively doing in that moment. Or mimicking the sounds of things. There's been multiple occasions where he goes "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" while the microwave is running

Constantly under the "I want to look good but all my fancy clothes are itchy" curse, resulting in him dressing up fancy for approximately 45 minutes before he has to take it all off

White noise. CONSTANT white noise. especially when he's trying to sleep. His desk fan and his air conditioner are his best friends. Same with his Bluetooth speaker. When he finally gets the motivation to clean/cook, it's David Bowie and Abba all the way babieeee

His executive dysfunction is so bad that sometimes he has to go to Angeal and Sephiroth and be like. "I need you to yell at me to do this thing." And they both immediately threaten him with tearing his book in half which motivates him to do the Thing

Must go through the embarrassment of ordering off the kids menu in restaurants because everything else would physically make him gag from food avoidance

If someone tells him to do something as he's actively doing it, the rest of his day is immediately ruined.

Gets two copies of every book; one to keep clean and pristine, one to annotate and take on missions.

His physical stims include but are not limited to; swaying back and forth on his feet, flicking his earring, picking his fingernails (he wears gloves to combat this), and the infamous bouncy leg.

When he gets overstimulated, he becomes easily irritable. He often has to come back and apologize to people for blowing up on them because he didn't actually mean it, he was just too stressed out to think before he spoke.

Angeal and Sephiroth are his saviors when it comes to getting out of overstimulating parties that he never wanted to attend in the first place. Angeal is the one that comes up with an excuse and Sephiroth is the one to escort Genesis out the door with a radiating aura of malice that keeps everyone 10 feet away.

he and Zack connect over having ADHD and they often trade tactics that help them, remind each other to finish their tasks, so on and so forth

[the6thpaladinofvoltron]

Sephiroth and Female Reader: A Short Excerpt-Crisis Core Era.

The moment Sephiroth himself brought you on board as a new recruit, a connection instantly tethered you two together. It was quite a mystery; because aside from Genesis, Angeal, and Zack, the silver soldier wasn't known to bond with others so quickly.

You rose through the ranks under Sephiroth's wing (no pun intended), spending hours training together, going on missions together, and chatting in your rare off time. So much so that fellow Soldiers started calling you Sephiroth's Girl.

"Hey there, fellow Cadet!" Zack, the Puppy Soldier, scampered up to you. "Hojo wants to see you in the lab."

You inwardly shiver hearing that name, but begrudgingly agree to see what that horrid scientist wants.

You despised Hojo. Mostly because you were able to see just how uncomfortable Sephiroth was in the doctor's presence, and you came to the conclusion that Hojo must've done some violating things to your friend. That and Sephiroth made sure that for any medical checkups, Hojo was allowed nowhere near you.

And the irony, on your way down, you passed by the silver soldier as he was headed in the same direction. And he immediately took notice of this.

"Don't tell me that Hojo requested your presence at the lab too?"

"...Yes." You slowly answer, suspicion creeping into your brain. "He has. What does he want you for?"

Alarm bells rang in Sephiroth's head. Hojo must've noticed how close he was getting with you. He grabbed your wrist rather hard and started leading you away from the elevator.

"Ouch! Sephiroth, hold your horses! What are you doing?"

He tugs you into a training room and taps in a code to lock the door before answering.

"Don't freak out, but there's only one reason why Hojo would call both of us into his office. That monster..."

You can see Sephiroth's body convulse as he struggles to get the words out. And it clicks. You start to feel rage simmer at the base of your gut.

"That lunatic wants to... breed us?! UGH! No, no, a million times no, I am not letting that quack use me to violate you!"

Sephiroth isn't surprised that you managed to piece it together, you were very clever when it came to figuring out problems.

"There you go again putting me first, Cadet. Your body matters too, you know, and I am not letting Hojo get his hands on you."

You notice something, something different, an intensity in those blue/green eyes that you've never seen before. Sephiroth was always protective of you, but now, of all times, you start to question why.

"Sephiroth? ...I have to ask, why me? I mean, I really appreciate everything you've done for me, but why? I'm just your average Soldier."

"...Cadet, you're more than that."

Sephiroth hesitated. He was scared. Scared that if he told you why he cared about you, that you would disappear just like Angeal and Genesis. But he had to, you wanted an answer.

"The day I selected you out of dozens of candidates for Shinra, I didn't know yet just how much you would mean to me. You treat me as a human, Cadet; not a hero to live up to, not a celebrity to admire, and not a test subject to poke and prod whenever you feel like it. I'm your equal, your friend... You help me feel normal."

You stare at your friend, unable to form words. But, your body moves on its own, your arms encircling Sephiroth and pulling him into a hug. And from the way you feel his arms grab onto you and his body relax, it seems he really needed this.

"Sephiroth... I promise... I'm gonna try my best to always be there for you. And if Hojo ever tries anything, can I borrow your sword to skewer him?"

The silver soldier chuckles softly.

"Sure you can. And... I promise to try to always be there for you in return. I won't let anything hurt you."

[silverflqmes]

agszc and the flowers they'd give as well as why they would give them?

໒⦂ 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐆𝐄.

notes. hey queen, my knowledge in flowers is baby level but!!! we’re gonna see which flowers the boys would give based on themselves and their love<3

genre. fluff

for @melukonova <3

ft. sephiroth, cloud strife, zack fair, genesis rhapsodos, angeal hewley

gender neutral! reader.

ะ ྂ ❤︎ . ˚˖ you selected.. orchid.

+ reasoning. orchids come in a variety of symbols next to the obvious luxury and beauty, such as strength, mystery — even charm and refinement. more importantly, they bring across how lucky you are to be able to love your special someone.

+ sephiroth had always thought himself to be deplorable for as long as he could remember. growing up, he had countless reminders of how unloveable he was even in spite of shinra’s hero treatment of him. when he met you, however, somehow you had brought this ray of light into his suffocating darkness and had loved him in spite of everything. he was just so lucky to have you in his life — it was imperative he showed you his gratitude. and so, from the many books he read in his days, he’d decided that gifting your orchids was the best way.

+ “it took awhile to find you these, given the state of midgar.. but the search was worth the while. as i recall.. lovers gift one another flowers as an expression of affection, do they not?”

ะ ྂ ❤︎ . ˚˖ you selected.. gardenia.

+ reasoning. gardenia is the type of flower you would use to confess when the words don’t quite reach your lips. basically, an unspoken confession to convey your love. furthermore, it represents purity and expresses beauty towards the receiver.

+ cloud strife.. was never really the best with words, feelings and emotional expression. he preferred to think of himself as an actions kind of guy, and his confession to you boiled down to exactly that. with all the worst behind him, and the whisper of advice from his parted friends, he would have set out one morning to sector five to purchase a few gardenias. flowers and their meanings didn’t come easy to him, but the words he’d received told him these were the ones. the blond’s only hope was that his message would be received and returned.

+ “here, got these for you on the way back from my delivery, they’re um.. gardenias. make sure to change their water every other day or so, if you want them to last, of course..”

ะ ྂ ❤︎ . ˚˖ you selected.. daisy.

+ reasoning. daisies represent an innocent, cheerful and pure form of love. the kind of flowers you would pick fresh from the garden or a patch of grass to bring to the person you cherish most. they can also express true love, beauty and simplicity.

+ zack fair was true to his nickname — a puppy. despite his want for leaving the countryside to join SOLDIER, the days he would spend back home were all filled with memories that he would forever carry with him. a few that stood out most were the times he’d race up to you with a handful of daisies. despite their messy condition, and the apology he would laugh out for tripping on his way to you, his actions are filled with sincerity and love.. even if zack might not know what he’s given to you. with time, however, he will have realized the depth of his gifts.

+ “ahaha, sorry y/n! i didn’t see this rock on my way over, and i might have ruined the flowers a bit.. but they still smell nice! and i tried to salvage the good ones, y’see! peak condition!”

ะ ྂ ❤︎ . ˚˖ you selected.. aster.

+ reasoning. asters, according to myth were associated with a goddess that wept because there weren’t enough stars. the tears that fell became the star shaped flowers we call asters. on the contrary, they symbolize love, charm and sensitivity.

+ genesis rhapsodos — born poet, forced to soldier. flowers and their meanings didn’t fall far from the tree for a man with vast knowledge of the arts, literature and beauty. as someone with a keen interest in loveless, having analyzed and noted it to memory, asters came to be his first choice in conveying his love for you. the gift of the goddess, he would have concluded, and a perfect fit for the one who has captured his heart — you. and so, on his way back from a mission, a singular aster would have occupied his red, gloved hand as he presented it to you.

+ “a gift from the goddess for my beloved.. as flowers have long since disappeared off the face of midgar, amidst the filth and industrialization. are you pleased with my findings?”

ะ ྂ ❤︎ . ˚˖ you selected.. alstroemeria.

+ reasoning. alstroemerias convey loyalty, devotion, support and.. honor. the type of flower you give to remind someone of their strength when they fall on hard times. but, it is also said that receiving an extra sweet one, meant you were beloved.

+ angeal hewley wasn’t exactly one for frivolous love, a stark contrast otherwise, to his friend. the romance department just never really called his attention.. well, at least until he met you. somehow you sparked feelings in him that he wasn’t sure he was even capable of feeling strongly towards another person. it was strange, different.. but a good kind of different. however there was a downside — that being his lack of experience. his familiarity with romance was minimal, but he was determined to provide! and with outside help, he was acquired flowers.

+ “these are alstroemerias.. a mouthful, i know. but they used to grow back where i grew up, in banora. they said the sweeter ones are best to gift to your beloved — so here you are.”

notes. several hours of research and inconsistent writing later, i was able to finish your request.. love how NOBODY had roses but like anyway, this is the end results for agszc with flowers woop

↳ return to main masterlist . request rules . send an ask

[rosy-crow]

.𖥔 ݁ Binary Stars .𖥔 ݁

A oneshot centered around Sephiroth and Genesis for @altocat as promised. Hope you enjoy, girl! And best of luck in Japan, okay? <3

A brief flash of sequential memories surrounding Genesis that Sephiroth experiences as he reflects on his life from the Edge of Creation. Suggested Song: “Under the Milky Way” - The Church

~

The swirling hues of the cosmos danced together to the everlasting hum of vast existence and the dreams of infinite worlds therein. Glistening stars of purest fire, shades of red, purple, blue, and green, distant bows of light falling through interstellar dust….all of these coalesced and unravelled again….permitting the flow of memories from the past and future to meet and divide again in sequential harmony.

These streams of life and time were as reflective as water in the heavens, thus granting the keen-eyed observer to see what was there to be seen within themselves.

Sephiroth discovered his own river of memory in the sky, marred as it was by discord, and from it, he saw many smaller brooks running down in trickles. The archives of his long lost life. The remnants of his past. The streams of his abandoned nostalgia. With a steady peer into the web of light, he found himself drawn to one singular strain of memory….

A soft red thread of dewey blood that ran straight back to the beginning of a forgotten heartache.

To Genesis.

~

“He’s….well….quite the character….”

”What do you mean?”

Angeal stopped with a sudden intake of breath and folded his sinewy arms to ponder the question as if it were philosophical in nature. His bangs fell like shadows brushing across his eyes before he flipped them aside and looked at Sephiroth, his recently-befriended colleague, with an expression that carried a rare, juvenile uncertainty that he was prone to keep subdued in any other realm of conversation.

”I guess….Genesis is what I would call a spitfire. He’s a bit brash…he kinda has a quick temper…um…” he answered the weary-eyed silver boy, the latter cocking his head and squinting as if confused. A rather quaint trait that was befitting of Sephiroth’s mild manner, Angeal thought.

“I mean, he’s great and he’s still my best friend, don’t get me wrong. He’s just…somehow exactly like you and nothing like you at all. The difference is like…fire and ice maybe?”

Sephiroth hummed to himself and dropped his eyes to the glossy tiles of the SOLDIER floor, spying his keen reflection in the dark surface. He waited, refusing to fidget or betray his impatience. Impatience could imply nervousness. Sephiroth was not nervous. He swore it to himself.

Angeal made a noise in the back of his throat as Genesis’ imminent arrival loomed in all its glory and growing anticipation.

”Uh…you’ll see. Oh and, he has this thing….this dream that’s really important to him…it’s….”

”Angeal!”

The hasty conversation died right then and there.

He was in front of them suddenly, the echo of his call commanding the room to be still.

The fabled “spitfire” was merely a scrawny teen with a fair face and flyaway auburn locks to frame it. A sharp, dandy boy with dancing fires in his eyes and red painting the sweater of his second-class uniform like carmine.

Genesis Rhapsodos was distinguished. Unique. Refreshing. He was a sparkling, crimson flare in a sea of greys and dull blues. A sense of novelty within a world of repetition.

He went on to greet Angeal with a familiar nod before standing in front of Sephiroth with an anxious gnawing on his lower lip and hands that were visibly shaking even as they folded together.

”Hello….” Genesis said. He spoke in a quiet voice that, for the time being, lacked any temperamental qualities.

Sephiroth remained expressionless save for an intrigued lift in his brow. He bowed respectfully, as he had been taught, acknowledging Genesis with the grace he afforded newly assigned teammates, yet also with the skittishness of any young man meeting the friend of a friend for the first time. No amount of formality could suppress the hero’s hemorrhaging humanity.

“I’m Sephiroth. You must be Genesis?” Sephiroth asked in a polite tone, holding back the nervous intrigue in his greeting. He swore to himself still that he was not truly nervous.

But it was undeniable. To Sephiroth, Genesis looked…

Well, he looked “cool.”

“That’s me, yeah,” Genesis cleared his throat and held out a book that he swiftly ripped from the inside of his jacket. The movement was so effortless and fluid that Sephiroth’s eyes grew round and he could have smiled had he not been so confused.

“Would you…be willing to sign this for me…?” Genesis asked, his question timid, the pen he had prepared shaking in his gloved grip. Amusingly, his confident uncloaking of the book had been followed by another shrink in self-assuredness.

“Genesis!!” Angeal glared. He was shaking his head in a scolding manner. “Come on, what did I say?”

Genesis ignored Angeal and bit harder on his lip. His eyes were locked on Sephiroth’s face with the oddest blend of determination and uncertainty that Sephiroth had ever observed. It was bewildering to watch someone temper their cold with heat so expertly, to see them wade through the clammy swamp of anxiety that encompassed the meeting of a famous hero with such fierce impetus. It was admirable, if anything.

Sephiroth silently took the book, which was sweet and brimming with stanzas of pretty words, and proceeded to sign it with his own attempt at resolve in spite of the pooling trepidation in his stomach. Genesis watched, arms folded behind his back, patient and studious. He was unlike any other fan Sephiroth had been made to engage with. One could have noted that Genesis seemed to be more than a fan and rather an individual with the makings of a peer, whether he knew it himself or not.

“I said no signings or stuff like that….,” Angeal said, exasperated. He watched them with repeated, awkward tugs at his hair. “Gen, he gets this all the time.”

“It’s just one book, Angeal. And besides, he did it. So…thank you, Sephiroth.” Genesis failed to hide his grin behind his rusty bangs when Sephiroth handed the book back with a satisfying scrunch of leather gloves. Genesis took one look at the signature and made a high “heh” sound that betrayed immediate amusement.

There was a pause. Sephiroth held his breath.

“Your signature needs work,” Genesis said suddenly and with no regret, studying the sharp pen work that marked the cream-colored page.

Angeal fought back an unexpected laugh.

“Come on!!” he scolded again and gave Genesis a swat on his arm. Genesis smirked, his devilish bravado rearing its head, and ducked away.

Sephiroth felt like someone had thrown a bucket of water at him. He was almost laughing at the comment himself. How peculiar.

“You think so, huh?” Sephiroth was admittedly bemused, and the faintest hint of a smile graced his lips, which in turn caused Angeal to calm down.

“It looks like a scientist’s writing. Too stiff. You need some flare, you know? Think rockstar! Rockstar style…..something that would fit on the face of an album cover,” Genesis explained, showing Sephiroth the book and writing his own name with a practiced, celebrity flourish. “Like that. You’re the hero after all….you have to have a good signature.”

Angeal watched, no words to spare, as Sephiroth considered the advice and rested his chin on a folded hand like an old academic before nodding with firm agreement. “Very well. I don’t know of any rockstars or how they write, so you will have to teach me then. I would rather not write like a scientist.”

That left both Banoran boys reeling.

“What? Really??” Genesis gasped with a quick flush of excitement warming his cheeks. “Did you seriously just say that?”

“Um….well, yes?”

Sephiroth wondered for a flicker of time if it had been the wrong thing to say. What was Genesis saying? Was he surprised at the comment on not knowing any rockstars? Oh dear.

But Genesis swiftly proved any such fears to be absurd. As it turned out, he was simply delighted that Sephiroth was seeking his help.

“Yes! I can teach you!”

The ecstatic thrill of Genesis’ reaction was nearly contagious as he broke into a roguish smile and folded his hands together like a child in eager prayer. Angeal sighed, knowing full well that his red-haired friend was fighting the urge to faint in front of his idol after earning such blatant approval.

Sephiroth only chuckled mildly, relieved, and inclined his head towards the training room to suggest a change of scenery.

“We should train first, but after that, I would like to learn…yes….” he said softly. There was a geniality in his expression that had overcome his nerves. Genesis pounced on it and heartily agreed.

“We…w-we should!! Yeah…uh….yes…..good idea….” he stammered, following along as Sephiroth started towards the entrance. Angeal huffed in blithe contentment and followed along, grateful that the meeting had gone well.

There was no jealousy, no mistrust, no imbalance.

There was only the clumsy innocence of boyish admiration and acceptance. The nervous exchange of youthful approval.

After all, they were only children in those days.

~

The memory was a bittersweet thing. A soft shade of rose in the midst of pooling, inflamed hues of vermillion nebulae. Sephiroth did not scoff at its innocence or naivety. He could not. But he did not linger.

The thread shifted forward through fingers of starlight….and the fraying began to show, but for the time being, it held strong, weaving through past passions and emotions.

Sweeter memories. Thrilling trains of thought.

Fleeting moments of joy….

The stars danced in Sephiroth’s eyes as he caught another glimpse.

~

Genesis was humming for his own ears, as he was wont to do on those clear and star-graced nights in Wutai when he magically refrained from quoting from his darling Loveless. If it was not poetry, it was song that left his lips. He would always find the time to serenade the beauty of life in some form or another.

But then, why was Genesis humming to himself?

Surely, he saw his own person as part of life’s majesty, of course. And who could deny the vanity? The bard with mako irises like robin’s eggs and hair that had darkened to auburn in the evening was, well, quite a vision under the moon’s faithful spotlight. The fragile glow carved out the marble in his pale visage and complimented the gleam of his smile like nothing else could. He was a sculpture most beloved by the goddess he worshipped.

But in that moment, Genesis’ near-perfect allure was faintly marred by a nasty gash across his right ear where a piece of shrapnel had nicked his flesh, tearing through cartilage, the hollow of his cheek, and part of his jawline.

Sephiroth was tending to the injury by hand. He had no more healing materia after the three day campaign that Angeal had led in Wutai’s densest jungles, during which the Emperor’s mightiest forces had been pushed back in fury particularly by the hero and his raging red partner.

Sephiroth, as usual, had emerged unscathed, but Genesis had not been so lucky. The humiliation over his misfortune was written on Genesis’ face, but Sephiroth said nothing as he quietly cleaned the blood from his friend’s jaw and began to stitch each thread of skin back into place.

“I could do this myself if we had a mirror….,”Genesis finally said with a bitter huff. The wind passed between them and drifted into the valley below, where the lights of their encampment glowed with gentle beacons of gold. “Or Angeal could….”

“Why do you assume I care?” Sephiroth asked quickly, his hands steady as a surgeon’s as he stitched.

“Ha. Rude.”

“I mean, why do you assume that I am reluctant to help you?”

Genesis, grasping the query, thought on it for a spell. His pursed his lips and squinted as he felt himself being repaired like a torn doll.

“I don’t want you of all people to need to help me. I don’t want your help,” Genesis finally answered, his response sounding colder than he intended in his embarrassment. He quickened to warm it ever so slightly. “You have enough to deal with.”

Sephiroth paused. He looked at his friend with a firm, pointed stare that made the latter want to shrink into naught but a single atom. The angel’s elysian gaze could have pierced through stone and steel.

“You and Angeal are my first priority on the battlefield. You are my immediate teammates. It’s my job to ensure you both survive and remain fit for combat. I must help if you require it,” Sephiroth said. He returned to his stitching and Genesis released his held breath. He could have laughed at the subtle twinge of indignation in the young hero’s tone.

Sephiroth. Always so serious. Justifying every display of care with duty.

Genesis almost wished he wouldn’t frame it so.

“I suppose….it’s a bit embarrassing….,” Genesis mumbled when he found the courage to do so. His hands shook faintly and he wrung them to conceal the tell. “To stumble…in front of the great hero like that….”

Sephiroth finished his work on Genesis’ wound and leant back, dissatisfied with his own first aid skills. He sighed and looked up again. He was flushed with a blend of vexation and bewilderment thanks to the comment. Genesis almost cackled at the irregular view, but then Sephiroth suddenly reached for Masamune, removed the leather glove from his right hand, and sliced the thick of his palm across the moonlit blade before another word could be spoken.

“What….why would you….?” Genesis sputtered and threw out his arm, astonished and dismayed, his mouth agape in his dramatics.

Sephiroth shook his head and sighed, holding his palm up to display the almost instant healing capabilities that his aberrant body possessed. Genesis observed with awe as the cells seemed to crawl back together, as if craving to be whole again, threading themselves into place, and repairing the pallid skin until Sephiroth’s hand was reconstructed. Perfect, once more. It had taken only five minutes or so.

“How….”

“I’ve been scraped in battle before. Bullets, debris, artillery blasts…..,” Sephiroth explained. He spoke mildly, but held his healed hand with a tentative look and vague tension in his shoulders. He appeared to be lost in distant thought. “My cells are abnormal, as if they have wills of their own…not wanting me to die….”

Sephiroth closed his eyes and smothered a bitter chuckle. There was something ironic in it all.

“But regardless, I’ve likely been wounded far more times than you have. In my early training, it was both common and inevitable with how clumsy I was at the start. Heh.”

Genesis nearly scoffed at the image of Sephiroth stumbling in combat, hardly believing it, but he held his tongue as his friend continued to speak.

“I suppose what I am saying is…,” Sephiroth went on. “I am not impenetrable either. I simply heal faster, so you never see me in the medical tent or asking for assistance. It causes everyone to presume that I’m perfect.”

“Well, you hardly ever put yourself in reckless spots where injury is common either. You follow the rules and only unleash when you know it will be precise,” Genesis retorted, tossing his head. He wasn’t certain of what Sephiroth was trying to say. “In a way that is perfection. Perfect discipline.”

“And you are a loose cannon that doesn’t hold back. It’s bold, but not without benefit. Even if it causes you to sustain these small injuries on occasion,” Sephiroth said. The shape of his breath arose in the cool midnight air as he sighed and lifted his face to the darkling sky overhead, studying the stars. “It’s a balance that is effective on our missions. So….I don’t consider the minuscule consequences to be worthy of humiliation.”

“Is that your way of saying I should stop fussing over this and grow up? Sounds like what Angeal would say” Genesis cackled. He lightly caressed the stitching on his jaw and hissed like an offended housecat when it stung.

“Angeal would want you to hold back to preserve yourself, but I prefer you remain as you are. Like I said, it’s effective,” Sephiroth responded, now smiling. “I don’t ever want you to hold back.”

“With anything” was what Sephiroth wanted to add to the mix of words, but he chose to stop himself. He was saying more than usual. Fortunately, Genesis seemed to be in higher spirits, if not vaguely amused by the effort Sephiroth was putting in to affirm him. It was a rare and relished thing for Genesis to hear Sephiroth praise his abilities at length.

Yet what Genesis would never understand was that Sephiroth wordlessly praised his every breath and proof of existence during all moments of their shared time, as he did Angeal’s. It was in the solitary warrior’s nature to cherish what he dared to allow near his heart. The choice to do so alone was a terrifying, dangerous, and delicate thing that Sephiroth knew could one day lead him down a road dead-ended in grief.

But in those midyears of youth’s passing, he was frequently blinded to such fears, clinging to his comrades as if they were the purest rarities of the earth. Nobody save Sephiroth himself knew of the clandestine depth of his attachment. He understood that it was unnatural, and kept the shame to himself.

“I will always help you, Genesis,” Sephiroth added. There was a tremor in his gentle utterance. “Just don’t hold back.”

There was silence for a minute longer before Genesis broke it.

“Thank you.”

It was all he said.

And it was enough.

Sephiroth bowed his head, saying all with the gesture alone. Genesis’ eyes flickered blue in the glimmer of starlight that waxed and waned with the passage of clouds. The young men sat in mutual serenity, their silhouettes in close proximity, their hearts beating wildly as they each overthought and processed the other’s words.

Time moved on. Moments with similar weight scattered themselves in between the years, but regretfully became few and far even between.

~

The ribbons of light pulsed and dispersed, the train of memory sinking into distorted nets of suffering and affliction. Infrared heat at the core of a violent rending of hearts. The stars clashed and collided, the torrents rushing out into a sea of bloodshed.

Sephiroth’s heart increased in its pace as he forced himself to look into the cosmic storm of ill-fated memories.

It all fell apart.

~

He should have known.

But that didn’t change how badly it hurt, how far into his heart the wound went. Searing, bleeding pain from a gaping hole in his chest that cauterized and throbbed, only to spill out with punishing vengeance all over again at the slightest touch of longing. Dusk till dawn. Every hour of every day.

Ring, ring

Sometimes the pain would numb out of sheer, desperate necessity. The fog would settle in like a sweet mercy. The ache dulled by empty, lifeless, distraction. A survival response. A way out.

A million questions that would be answered by silence. Always silence.

Perhaps the worst part was that there was no one to listen or hear.

Sephiroth was the hero. A savior of those who could never save him, even if they had wanted to.

There was no way to receive. No way to become one with their world.

They would be safe.

They would return to family and feel the warmth of their hearths and homes, welcomed by open hands and kisses, greeted by cherished souls; parents, friends, children, lovers, and even soft, doe-eyed creatures that curled beneath their chairs or in their laps.

Food would await them on aging tables, sweet hopes of changing seasons and holidays would course through their blood, rosy songs and the simple joys of life would grace their days.

And their lives…..their lives would go on.

Sephiroth’s would stay the same.

Ring, ring

All change was temporary for him. He was destined to the cold and sterile repetition of a war machine’s solitary existence. All that could shift was his utility and purpose once the dreamy, idealized Promised Land was dug up from the sleeping earth by Shinra’s mechanical hands. Once it was ripped from the womb of its mother and eaten alive; ravished, brutalized, taken, and used until it was another hollow husk of a blackened crater. Another discarded product of Shinra.

Then they’d come back to Sephiroth with frothing need on their lips. They’d dig his body up from the grave of wires and steel and mako, sending him back into the forests of the world to cut down the way to the next “Promised Land.”

Again and again and again.

There was no true death waiting for him, no true change in scenery once he was decommissioned. No, it would all be the same. A cycle never allowed to be broken.

Ring, ring

But he had wanted to hope….to hope that they could have broken it. That they could have been the ones to save him. Those familiar faces and kind eyes that once understood him.

The ones that bothered to pull him out of the dark when he felt like giving up. The ones that opened their arms as if welcoming him instead of possessing him.

There was no denying it. Sephiroth had hoped.

He had wanted. He had trusted.

And that was what hurt so much — all of it stinging and fresh, acidic poison gushing from the cut across his heart.

He should have known.

Hope was just another lie.

The ringing dragged on and faded.

It was the tenth time he had called Genesis that evening alone. The twentieth time that day. The fiftieth time that week. It must have looked pathetic to whomever it was among the Turks that kept track of his PHS activity.

But Sephiroth hadn’t cared. Every day he tried, and by now, he was convinced Genesis had left his damned PHS in a box somewhere. The rational thought should have stopped him, but it didn’t.

He let himself fall back onto the cold sofa in his private room, lying with his eyes locked on the grey tiles of the roof, fighting the ache by holding the phone close to his chest as if it were a temporary bandage. He listened for any buzz or beep for hours while forcing himself to stay awake. His lids were drooping. He had not slept in a week.

Please come back…

Genesis had gone. Angeal had followed soon after. Angeal’s phone went directly to voicemail when called, which likely meant it was dead or destroyed. There was no use trying it.

Please.

They are going to kill you.

But Genesis…his phone rang. His always rang.

Please.

Did that mean….?

It’s your fault.

Was there a chance that Genesis was ignoring every call with religious diligence?

You hurt him. That was all it took.

What was burning behind his eyes now? Why did everything smart and sting? The ceiling began to blur, and when it warped uneasily, Sephiroth bolted up and gasped with a wet, quivering exhale.

God, the feeling was physical.

It was all hanging by a thread. It always was.

The buttons clicked under Sephiroth’s cold gloves again and the ringing returned with zeal. He steadied his breathing and held a shaky hand just above his brow as if shielding his eyes in shame.

Shinra will kill them. You can’t save them.

Not that it mattered. There was no one there to see or hear.

Stop trying. They don’t care.

It rang for another several moments. His pulse was beating like a war drum inside his skull.

Genesis certainly never did.

Suddenly there was a click. Sephiroth’s heart leapt and he nearly forgot how to speak as he felt his body tense with a visceral intake of breath. He spoke in a stammering, soft plea, hope finding its way into his reddened eyes.

“….Gen……Genesis….?

Silence.

Weak, anxious breathing.

The moment lasted an eternity.

More silence.

“Hello?”

There was a strained, weary sigh on the other end of the call.

“Do not call me anymore.”

Sephiroth’s throat constricted. He could have sworn he choked on his own words as he scrambled to think of something he could say in time. Anything to make Genesis slow down.

Slow down and think. Talk.

Please.

“I’m sorry, Sephiroth.”

“Genesis wai—”

The line went dead with a static buzzing that muffled the sharp, small cry of protest that escaped Sephiroth’s lips.

Being pierced with a dagger to the lungs could not have shaken him so much. The brutal assault of mako in the veins couldn’t compare to the scalding ice that permeated the halls beneath his skin. A churning wave of nausea overcame him and Sephiroth slumped forward in defeat, the PHS falling from his hand. The battle was lost, and he had already predicted so just moments before.

He should have known.

You did this to yourself.

He did know.

To Genesis.

It was all over.

~

Sephiroth paused, glancing down at the starlit stone beneath his boots. He was detached from these memories. Whatever sorrow they carried seemed distant. Fading emotions that he had separated from himself.

But there was an inkling part of his soul that pondered their worth. He mulled it over, trying to understand why even now there was a faint touch of grief betrayed by his pursed lips and trembling fists. These were the memories of someone he used to be. They were inconsequential now.

And yet….

Sephiroth looked up one more time, following the last thread of light that dangled from the network of interlacing rivers, all overlapping and straining in their tension. The single and final stream of memory was crimson as a fresh apple.

Ripe. Raw. Poisoned.

~

“My friend, your desire….is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess!”

Once upon a memory, those words had warmed a frigid, neglected part of Sephiroth’s soul. He recalled standing in the tender sunlight, the wind caressing his skin with gentle whispers, and Genesis’ lilting voice rising through the air as he had shared with his comrades the passion of his cherished play.

Sephiroth found it ironic as he heard the lines of Loveless being directed at him once again.

That day, Genesis had quoted from Act I. They had been at the beginning of the story then. Young and innocent. Possibly even something like friends.

Loveless was a tragedy.

Genesis stood before him in the reactor, half ruined and mad, quoting from Act IV as if expecting Sephiroth’s awaited reply to magically provide the ending to the ancient poem. The red warrior held his head high and proud; smiling, demanding a piece of Sephiroth’s being as a whole. A part of his soul and body. A strip of his flesh. A taste of his perfect, monstrous existence.

A gift, a symbol of reunion after bitter, stark separation. Yes, Genesis wanted the hero to stitch him back together again, to freely provide him with the blood Sephiroth once offered without hesitation many moons before.

Distance had become rejection. Rejection had become betrayal. Betrayal had become violation.

Genesis craved Sephiroth’s soul and strength and fellowship. After everything the raving apostate had done. After everything he had said and left unsaid. After all of the comfortless, silent nights of fear and solitude that he had gifted Sephiroth in kind. After every knifelike word and mocking hiss he had thrown at his old friend with no regard for the hits their bond had already taken.

In Sephiroth’s eyes, Genesis had gleefully torn his old “friend” down to his level before laying the offer out with a sincerity ignorant of the damage it had done by its very suggestion after months and months of heartache.

How endearing. How naive.

Sephiroth winced and ground his jaw. He could feel the anger stirring at long last. He had tolerated enough.

My cells.

My body.

My blood.

Sephiroth looked at Genesis with cold and empty eyes, before looking on the apple in the rotting man’s outstretched hand.

It was dark, purple-poisoned, dying.

My trust.

My affection.

My heart.

He understood now.

That warmth he had seemingly felt in his chest on that day two years prior…..that lulling, sweet tone in Genesis’ voice….it had all been as false as the sunlight and wind in the now-abandoned room where everything first fell into ruin.

A simulation. An illusion.

You only ever wanted what I had.

Genesis had never been different from any of the others. A fan, a rival, a betrayer. His honeyed words coated the unctuous desire to use and to take for his own gain. It was always the same. They were all the same in the end.

What I could give you.

Genesis shouldn’t have dragged his mother into it.

“Whether your words, are lies created to deceive me….

You crossed the line.

“….or the truth I have sought all my life….”

You lied to me.

“It makes no difference….”

What’s done is done.

“You will rot.”

And it still hurts so much.

There was pain in Genesis’ eyes. His brow lifted. His horror surged like a tidal wave swallowing his haggard face. The apple fell to the floor, and Sephiroth turned his back, vanishing into the dark. Genesis would not see him again, and he gagged on the realization as the knife of rejection wedged itself into his broken chest.

Sephiroth did not look back.

Now Genesis knew what it felt like.

~

The memories reached their ruthless end after that. Sephiroth looked away and the chilled air of a sigh left his lungs beneath the galactic swirls.

He thought of the last memory from his far viewpoint, weighing the possibilities of its validity. Lingering. Reconsidering.

The memories preceding it had melded with some of Genesis’ own emotions. There had been glimpses into the other man’s mind. Could that have been a product of the empathy they once tried to harness for each other? Did those memories hold insight into Genesis’ true feelings because of the brief, mutual understanding that had blossomed in days past?

Had it all truly been a lie?

Or had the rift between them prevented Sephiroth from understanding Genesis in the reactor? After all, that memory had only revealed one perspective. A perspective marred and fogged over with bleak hurt. Genesis had no say in that memory. His side of the story was dead and lost.

Sephiroth grit his teeth. He wanted to know now. The truth. The reality.

He didn’t know why he felt the desire now. It was too late. The past was not his to change or understand any longer. Genesis was gone. Missing.

Always missing.

The stars moved on and the red rivers bled into blue, washed over with cool, arctic tears….the burns soothed with numbing, glistering ice. The glimpse had reached its end, taking Genesis away again.

And Sephiroth regretted everything.

~

[anonymousewrites]

Logos and Pathos (Book 4) Epilogue

TOS! Spock x Empath! Spouse! Reader

Epilogue: Space, the Final Frontier

Summary: The Enterprise is united.

Mouse Note: And with that, Logos and Pathos concludes! It's been such an honor to have so much support so far, and I'm so amazed by how many of you have enjoyed yourselves reading this. I never thought Stark trek would get this attention, and it's been so much fun sharing with you all. This series has meant so much to me, and I've loved writing for it. Perhaps someday we'll get a prologue to it with Strange New Worlds, but currently, I am considering this series finished. Gold and Spock will always mean a lot to me, and so will all of you! I hope to see you guys in my other stories, perhaps even the Supernatural fic releasing Wednesday. But, for now, goodbye!

            “Thank you for your hospitality,” said Saavik politely as she sat across from (Y/N) and Spock.

            “Of course,” said (Y/N), ladling plomeek soup into Saavik’s bowl.

            On another plate, a tiramisu-like dessert made from Celian plants sat ready to eat. They had small trees that grew “beans” that created bitter liquids, but the color…well, pink was a really pretty coffee color, wasn’t it?

            “How are you?” asked (Y/N).

            “My work with reassessing the Genesis project after its failure has been productive,” said Saavik. “I have trained other scientists with Dr. Marcus. It is classified, still, so I cannot discuss more.”

            (Y/N) smiled in amusement. They already knew too much about the Genesis project, so they didn’t mind Saavik not disclosing more. Plus, it was very Vulcan of her to keep to the rules. “Of course,” they said.

            “What is your current assignment?” said Spock.

            “Starfleet has not alerted me to a new assignment yet,” said Saavik. “Diplomatic negotiations with the Klingon Empire took precedence.”

            (Y/N) cleared their throat. “Yes, it did.” They and Spock had been forbidden to talk about anything from those incidents until the trials and negotiations were officially finished. They took a sip of soup and glanced at Spock. “We wanted to speak to you about that.”

            Saavik raised a brow and glanced at Spock inquisitively. “Oh?”

            “Indeed,” said Spock. He set down his spoon, and Saavik watched him as he prepared his words. “You have shown yourself to be an efficient, intelligent, productive officer.”

            Saavik nodded. It was a compliment, but Vulcans did not exaggerate. Saavik knew her capability.

            “Your career has potential,” said Spock. “And I—We—” he looked at (Y/N), who smiled “—want you to be in the best position for that potential.”

            “Your mentoring and advice—” Saavik had gotten both from Spock and (Y/N), who had taken the young Vulcan under her wing “—has been helpful.”

            “We’re glad,” said (Y/N). They grinned. “I hear you’ve started doing more than just working with coworkers. Helena told me she convinced you to go to a party with her. She had a lot of fun with you.”

            Saavik straightened. “I have been at headquarters for some time waiting for my new assignment, and people have…invited me to pass the time with them.”

            “Having friends is good,” said (Y/N), though they suspected a bit more than friendship was blossoming between Helena and Saavik. “A well-rounded officer can do their job and has time for their personal needs, too, and friendship is one of them.” It was an important lesson.

            “I have…friends,” said Saavik.

            The word implied emotion, which was odd for a Vulcan, but Saavik was honest. And she looked up to (Y/N), seeing the same wisdom Spock had long ago embraced. Emotions could be controlled, but they did not need to be an enemy to be beaten.

            “We’re happy for you, Saavik,” said (Y/N).

            “Yes,” said Spock. “And we want you to continue being…satisfied with your situation.” He wouldn’t use the word “happy.” It wasn’t a Vulcan word.

            “I hope to be content at my next assignment,” said Saavik, nodding.

            Spock laced his fingers. “That is what we wish to discuss. Saavik, we are retiring from the Enterprise in two months.”

            Saavik nodded.

            “And we want to make sure the right officers succeed us,” said Spock. “Saavik, I believe you would do well on the Enterprise.”

            “I am a command-track officer,” said Saavik. “I cannot take your position.”

            “You’d take mine,” said (Y/N). “Though a lieutenant.”

            “A Vulcan replacing a Celian empath?” said Saavik. She knew people would talk.

            “We care about people being in the right situation for themself and the right person being part of the crew,” said (Y/N) firmly. “You’re the right choice. Your race does not matter.” They smiled. “In fact, Spock and I are going to speak to Helena for a science position.”

            “Some people may judge a Celian on the science track, as they did when (Y/N) chose command instead of health, but that does not discount one’s ability,” said Spock.

            “So, Saavik, we’re not going to make you take any job,” said (Y/N). “But if you are interested, we want you to join the Enterprise crew.”

            Saavik looked between (Y/N) and Spock, the two people who had really taken care of her while she joined Starfleet. “…I am honored.”

            (Y/N) smiled, and Spock nodded. “We’re glad,” said (Y/N). “You’re going to do amazing things.”

            Spock and (Y/N) had served Starfleet for years. They’d built a life and strong reputation. They’d served an amazing ship with a crew that became family. Now it was nearly time to hand that down to deserving young officers. Like Saavik. Like Elpis. Like so many others. The future would be safe in their hands. Besides, Spock and (Y/N) weren’t gone. They were still there to do work. It would just be…different. Good, but different. New. Full of opportunity.

l

            “I’m glad Saavik accepted your offer,” said Spock while (Y/N) snacked some more on their delicious pink dessert.

            “She’s going to do great,” said (Y/N). “I know Vulcans don’t consider themselves ‘kind,’ just logical, but Saavik…her temperament is meant for command. She understands people more than she thinks.”

            Spock nodded. “Indeed. I’ve seen reports of her working on conflict resolution. She’s capable.”

            “And hopefully, Helena will take your offer for the science position,” said (Y/N). “She’s smart, analytical, and able to problem solve in new situations quickly.”

            “From evaluations, she also uses her empathy well when working with others,” said Spock. “She reads when they’re worried and gives them facts to calm anxiety before it harms a mission.”

            “She works hard,” said (Y/N). “Introverted but knows her strength is intelligence, so she uses it.” They smiled. “And, best of all, Saavik and Helena are friends. They’d made a good pair.”

            Spock raised a brow. “Of colleagues?” He knew his spouse’s thinking well.

            “If you call us colleagues when we worked together,” said (Y/N), smiling.

            “Ah, so this is matchmaking,” said Spock, a slight tease in his voice.

            “Mmmmmaybe,” said (Y/N). “But I wouldn’t put that over my job. I found out about their friendship after their skills.”

            Spock knew (Y/N) wouldn’t harm the future Enterprise crew for matchmaking. That was a happy side effect of their work.

            “I think we’ve got a good crew coming together,” said (Y/N). “Kirk, Bones, Scotty, Uhura, they’re all giving insight, finding people, talking to them. Chekov is going to be the captain. I think things are working out. All that work, all those years…it’s all going to mean something.” Spock walked to (Y/N), and they leaned against him with a soft smile. “We did a good job building a future.”

            “We did,” said Spock. “We served Starfleet as officers. We completed missions. We saved lives. And now we move on to another part of life and give the next generation their time.”

            “They’re going to do amazing,” said (Y/N), already proud. “And the Enterprise is going to be okay. The future is going to be okay.” They traced Spock’s fingers with theirs. “And we still have each other. Our family. Us.”

            “We always will,” said Spock softly, raising their hand to kiss the palm, an intimate, loving gesture. “And our lives are still continuing. It is simply a new phase. But this—” he kissed the back of their hand “—will not change.”

            “I know.” (Y/N) slid their hand so they could kiss his. Spock shivered slightly, and (Y/N) smiled. “And that’s how I know we’re going to be okay, no matter what. Because I love you. I always will.”

            “And I love you, T’hy’la,” said Spock. “Always. Across all time and all universes. I will always love you.”

            (Y/N) smiled, pulled him in, and kissed him. The future would be just fine. Starfleet had new officers. They could guide the next generations. They had logic and love. And they had one another.

l

            “You know, as reports come out, they’re saying we saved civilization as we know it,” said Kirk, leaning on the back of Spock and (Y/N)’s chairs.

            (Y/N) smiled at their friends—their family. This was their last voyage together. In space, that is. They had dinner plans to “mourn” their return already made (and they planned to make it into a party like the world hadn’t seen before).

            “Captain, that happened a month ago,” said Spock. “Must we harp on it?”

            “Hey, the headlines are coming out now. It’s fresh news,” said Bones, grinning proudly. “And the best news is that they’re not gonna prosecute us.”

            “You mean you don’t want to visit your friends in Rura Penthe?” said (Y/N) innocently.

            Kirk and Bones shuddered.

            “They might as well have prosecuted us. I felt like all those conspirators,” said Uhura. “I didn’t trust the Klingons.” She shook her head, ashamed of herself.

            “Well, they don’t arrest people for having feelings,” said Bones. He paused awkwardly and looked at (Y/N). “Do they?”

            (Y/N) laughed. “No, not at all.”

            “And it’s a good thing, too. If they did, we’d all have to turn ourselves in,” said Chekov, grimacing.

            “Aye,” agreed Scotty. “But I find a couple drinks of scotch alongside a Klingon cleared up my feelings on the matter.”

            “Mr. Scott, that is hardly protocol for diplomacy,” said Spock.

            “Nay, but it’s fun,” said Scotty.

            Kirk chuckled and looked at his beloved, loyal crew. “I think it’s time we got underway.” He sat down in his chair, and his friends smiled.

            “Captain, Starfleet wants to know our flight plans because we are scheduled to be decommissioned in the near future,” said Uhura, scoffing slightly.

            Bones rolled his eyes, and Scotty scowled. Chekov groaned. (Y/N) shook their head and laughed. There was no way they were following that instruction. This was their last adventure. They intended to have fun.

            “If I were human,” began Spock, and everyone looked at him. “I believe my response would be ‘Go to hell!’ ” He paused. “If I were human.”

            The entire bridge grinned and laughed. Spock smiled ever-so-slightly.

            “Course heading, Captain?” said Chekov, grinning widely.

            “Second star to the right, and straight on ‘til morning,” said Kirk, leaning back with a fond smile.

            (Y/N) reached out as the Enterprise flew forward. They brushed their first two fingers against Spock’s. “I love you, my dear,” they said.

            Spock looked back at them and pressed his fingers back in a Vulcan kiss. “I love you, too, T’hy’la.” That was the truest fact he knew.

Captain’s Log: This is the final cruise of the Starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man, where no one, ...has gone before.

l

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Taglist:

@a-ofzest

@grippleback-galaxy

@genderfluid-anime-goth

@groovy-lady

@im-making-an-effort

@unending-screaming

@h-l-vlovesvintage

@neenieweenie

@keylimeconstellation

@wormwig

@technikerin23

@ilyatan

@nthdarkqueen

@kyalov

@starlit-cass

@rookietrek

@gingertimelord

@snowy-violet

@jaguarthecat

@jac012

[rottenpumpkin13]

Would you say that toxic masculinity is a thing among the SOLDIERS?

( @izunias-meme-hole )

Toxic masculinity is absolutely a thing in SOLDIER. How could it not be? It's a hyper-militarized, elite fighting force where strength is the measure of a man, emotions are considered last—if even at all, and pushing yourself past every limit is considered honorable. This isn't even a side effect of being in the military, it's actively cultivated.

Look at Angeal. You can say he was the model SOLDIER, the mentor, the guy who preached about honor, discipline, duty. And yet, that very mindset is what led him to self-destruction. He internalized this idea that honor and self-worth was in his ability to be strong, unshakable, pure. The second he started degrading and becoming a "monster," he spiraled. Putting aside him learning that his entire childhood, hometown and family were a lie, in his mind, anything less than humanity meant he was no longer fit to exist as a SOLDIER, as a person.

And then there’s Zack. Zack, who from the outside, seems like the least affected by this. He's bubbly, friendly, affectionate, not afraid of emotions. But you can't convince me there isn't pressure he puts on himself to keep smiling, to be strong for others, and to be a hero worthy of "SOLDIER honor." He absorbs everyone else's burdens—Angeal's, Sephiroth's, Cloud's, even Genesis' at one point—because to him, being a SOLDIER First Class means being the guy who keeps it together, the storng one. He never lets himself rest, never acknowledges when he's also struggling. And because he's not openly angsty about it, people don't always notice just how much he's suffocating under the weight of expectations. That's a textbook byproduct of toxic masculinity IMO.

Genesis is a really interesting case because he rejects a lot of traditional masculinity, but even he gets tangled up in SOLDIER's brand of toxic expectations. He was dead-set on proving himself, of on being Sephiroth's equal, being worthy of Loveless, of the grand destiny he imagined for himself. And what does he do when he starts degrading? He doesn't tell his friends. He isolates himself. He lashes out. His entire existence and everything he ever knew is falling apart, and yet he refuses to let himself be seen as weak, because SOLDIER doesn't do weakness. And that ultimately pushes him into making worse and worse choices until he's too far gone.

And then we get to Sephiroth. The poster boy for the consequences of being raised in an environment that rewards strength and punishes vulnerability. He was conditioned from birth to be the best, to never fail, to never need support. He didn't even have the luxury of considering emotions, of questioning if he wanted to be what Shinra made him. And when he finally had a crisis of identity, there was no foundation for him to fall back on. No ability to process grief, betrayal, humanity. You could argue that it was a product of what he found out in the Shinra mansion basement and the overall context of what he was going through at the time, but you can't deny how that's also what happens when you build a person into a weapon and then expect them to function as anything else.

Even the whole concept of "SOLDIER honor," as noble as it might sound, is a trap. Putting SOLDIER on a pedestal convinces these men that their worth is tied to their ability to fight, to endure, to win. It tells them that taking a break is weakness, that needing help is failure, that if they aren't constantly proving themselves, they're nothing.

And the thing about toxic masculinity is that it rewards self-destruction. SOLDIERs who push themselves past their limits are praised. SOLDIERs who never show pain or fear are revered. If you aren't breaking yourself for the cause, are you even a real SOLDIER? And when you do break, when you do falter, the system spits you out. You either keep up, or you get left behind. There's no space for vulnerability, no allowance for being human. So these men suppress, repress, and bottle everything up until they implode.

[salternateunreality2]

After noticing some concerning changes, Sephiroth's brave and kind friends decide to un-doom him. After brainstorming ideas for a while, they realise the only way to fix him is genetic therapy.

Using the best technologies that ShinRa can provide, they succeed.

The treatment, however, has one side effect. With no Jenova cells to bind everything together, something strange happens. Unbeknownst to anyone, next ful moon Sephiroth transforms into a cat and stays one until dawn.

Is he a good or a naughty cat?

Thanks for the ask!

Everyone has different opinions about this.

Cloud:

The first time it happened, Sephiroth was alone, wandering the halls of Shinra. He transformed into a very hairy Maine Coon and after a moment of surprise, simply carried on with his late night prowling.

He trotted around, killing and eating mice, chasing shadows, and following his bliss until he ran into a little trooper barely staying awake at his post. This trooper smelled purrrrfect, like fresh snow and home.

Sephikitty immediately latched onto him, rubbing up against his legs, purring, and having a great time.

Cloud latched on as well; this random cat was the first person besides Zack to show him any kind of positive, non-creepy attention.

Over time, their bond grew, and every full moon, Cloud had a big silver shadow draped over his shoulders, rubbing his legs, stalking his shadow, cuddling with him, or just generally in his vicinity.

In Cloud's opinion, he was a very good cat.

Of course, to the people who harassed Cloud, being mauled made them erroneously think he was a very naughty cat indeed.

Mauled parties:

* Heidegger, who made a pass at Cloud. Required 97 stitches, 43 staples, and traction after he was tripped down the stairs.

* Genesis, who tried to tease, cajole, bother, and seduce Cloud into becoming his apprentice while Cloud was just trying to eat his sandwich. He refused medical treatment for the cuts on his exposed skin, insisting no one could heal them better than himself, and he did a great job. But you can still see a faint scar on his lip that didn't quite heal right.

* Zack, who surprise-hugged Cloud. He sustained bruised ribs (from Cloud reflexively elbowing him) and 5 stitches (cheek scar). Innumerable bandaids were required on his arms, and he insisted they all be extra fun, with rainbows or Stamp the dog patterns.

Cloud: it don't bite.

Everyone else: YES IT DO BITCH

Zack:

GOODEST KITTY, BEST KITTY, NICEST SWEETEST KITTY! (Said while trying to hug the muscular furball with razors on 5 of its ends)

Lazard:

When Sephiroth is sleeping on his lap or the desk: nice kitty

When Sephiroth is hurting board members: nice kitty

When Sephiroth is breathing: nice kitty

Genesis:

IT IS A FOUL DEMON CAT (secretly loves him to death and would commit atrocities in his name). DOESN'T DESERVE A SINGLE PIECE OF TUNA (said while opening his second can). RUDE, UNCOUTH, DISGUSTING ANIMAL (stroking his long fur).

Sephiroth prefers it when Genesis is declaring him to be awful, because that means Gen got a well-deserved beating, is opening tuna, or petting him.

Sephiroth does NOT prefer it when Genesis decides to be lovey-dovey and wax poetic. Then it's a game of cat and relentless loveless lover chasing cat around the city, reciting poetry.

Angeal:

Good kitty. He's just a calm, gentle giant who- WHAT THE FUCK?!

Angeal is fully on board until Seph finds his plants. Catnip and all its varieties, even anything minty, is now squashed and rolled on, and Sephiroth is splayed amongst the wreckage, having the time of his life.

NAUGHTY KITTY

Consensus: Nice kitty