#angeal and genesis are still alive at this point

[citrusici]

ngl I think it would be cool to read a Remnants fic where the premise is that something goes wrong and Sephiroth gets split into the Remnants pre-Nibelheim

[salternateunreality2]

AGSZC when their SO/roommate/friend is sick with a stomach bug:

Angeal:

Hon? Can I get you anything? I have leftover bones to make stock, it may be a bit (24 hours minimum), but that's the best thing for you. Here, have some vaporub. No, I don't care that you don't have clogged sinuses. Rub it on your elbow to stimulate the healing nerve. Yes, it makes perfect sense.

You don't need fancy drugs, chew on this ginger root. Have some tea. My mother swears by these potato skins, put them in your socks. No, not my biological mother, she was a scientist; the mother in my soul. No, not like Sephiroth's, she recommends bloodshed.

No, it's not my fault I save any and all food scraps; you know your stomach is more delicate than mine. If you're concerned, leave it for me and I will eat it.

Sephiroth:

Loyally hangs around looking like a sad wet kitten on your behalf. He doesn't know what to do, because no one mothered him as a child. He won't get sick, he's certain, so he WOULD be happy to sit there and rub your back while you throw up and cry, but somehow he always gets an important call as soon as the horrible retching noises start.

He does come back in, calls Angeal, and follows only his most sensible directions. He's happy to get whatever you need, put a wet cloth on your forehead, and SIT THERE STARING AT YOU UNBLINKINGLY BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU BUT HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DOOOOO.

Cloud:

Uh, sorry you're feeling bad, um...*dumps a huge pile of as many snacks and drinks as he can afford outside your door* Let me know if you, uh, need anything.

*Hangs around, but not very close, checking every now and then to make sure you're still alive*

Zack:

If he's not also violently ill because he ate more of whatever it was or got more up close and personal with whoever was sick...

He's popping in every 5 seconds until you beg him to stop, at which point he calls Angeal for recipes, makes EVERY SINGLE THING recommended, then offers them all to you. You will be eating soup and ginger root for weeks.

He's also surprisingly patient and tender, once he gets past that first round of excitement. He cleans your bucket, bathes your face, feeds you crackers, and inevitably comes down with it because he can't stop cuddling you to make you feel better.

Genesis:

*screeching sounds of his boots burning rubber as he flees at the first retching noise*

He calls you on the phone, asks if you're ok, talks you through things, reads you bedtime stories, sings to you, orders a special medical basket from the most expensive boutique nursing center, hires a nurse for you, and STAYS THE HELL AWAY.

If you cry and say you miss him so much, he might (might) show up like this:

and hold your hand. Because he's a sweetheart like that.

[invinciblevalentine]

okay concept. gaia is FCUKED from the Everything that’s happened and all life is dying. cloud eventually dies and aerith+zack meet up with him, going “ya so. unfortunately,,,,, this is still an us problem. we’re time traveling and this is the pla—“

cloud, used to being the planets hammer for a very Calamity’s-son-shaped nail: kill sephiroth, on it

zack reaching into thin air: SPIKE WAIT SEPH WASN’T—

but it’s TOO LATE. through the power of shear hatred and a desire to be DONE with this bitch, cloud has hurled himself directly into the lifestream that’s in the middle of reversing its flow, sending himself back in time before they finished explaining the plan.

aerith intended to rewind to before the jenova project, possibly before shinra even started on the mako reactor grind. but thanks to cloud not letting her finish the process, cloud drops into reality somewhere after both angeal and genesis defected but before zack had to kill angeal.

he wakes up in a pool of mako, his sword in hand and still in his haggard, apocalypse wracked form. cloud doesn’t know the plan, because cloud doesn’t CARE. He marches his ass down to midgar to kill sephiroth or die trying, and gets all the way to sephiroth’s apartment undetected.

this is in part thanks to the fact his normally distinct SOLDIER eyes are dull enough to pass for a trick of the light, which in turn can be credited to the aforementioned apocalypse wracked body and general malnutrition. all his enhancements are currently dedicated to the losing effort of keeping cloud’s bitchass alive, an effort the man himself is completely unconcerned with.

anyways, sephiroth’s quarters. Cloud’s holed up there, waiting, when he hears sephiroth approach and has a second to prepare himself before the door gets kicked in.

while fighting and trashing the apartment, sephiroth probes for information, which cloud is obviously not giving, until sephiroth manages to sus out that clouds not just a random type of trained or enhanced— he’s SOLDIER enhanced. More than that, while Cloud’s fighting style is a mish mosh of a lot of factors, the most prominent style Sephiroth can identify is a weird form of Angeal’s own style. With that conclusion drawn, Sephiroth quickly draws several follow-up conclusions:

1. This stranger is injured or sick to the point where the mako in his system is completely occupied with keeping him alive

2. the stranger doesn’t care about dying

3. He isn’t part of SOLDIER, not any that Sephiroth’s ever seen.

4. He knew Angeal.

Sephiroth, right now, is fresh off losing his two best and only friends. Genesis defected rather loudly, convincing a good deal of SOLDIERS and scientists to follow him while he was at it. Angeal defected much more quietly, but defected all the same. Something was off about both of them before they left, and he’s still got hope he can bring them back.

The strange attacker that moves like Angeal HAS to be related to the issue, and that’s a resource Sephiroth can’t afford to lose. So he fucking hits the stranger with chair and Cloud goes DOWN.

- seph keeps cloud “prisoner” in his rooms as cloud heals from the concussion and apocalypses damage on him and cloud goes from belligerent to suspicious to getting the dawning feeling that zack might’ve been trying to tell him something important.

- sephiroth is just proving to be a wet and pathetic human experiment missing his friends and like all basic forms of socialization, and is desperately alone. like CLOUD is his only constant friend at this point. the guy he’s practically holding HOSTAGE.

- (btw zack comes back during this time and is frantically looking for cloud. zack’s younger self is sharing a body with zack, and there’s a period of time Zee (Little Zack) is convinced he’s like, possessed. which he is technically but only by His Future Self. it’s making zack’s life heinously difficult bc zee WILL NOT LET HIM DITCH SOLDIER TO HUNT DOWN A BLOND TWINK.)

- also at some point modeoheim happens and zee is sent there, angeal is like Kill Me and Zack shoves his way into control, casts the strongest sleepel he can and goes AWOL to grab aerith and waterboard his once-mentor into mental+physical stability. Zee is horrified by everything happening. btw every problem that comes with ANOTHER soldier first going AWOL and carrying around the unconscious body of ANOTHER defected soldier first and HIS FORMER MENTOR AT THAT, is happening rn. good luck babe.

- Aerith’s busy haunting genesis bc she’s incorporal and with her limited power/control, she can do BARE minimum life stream shit and ghost shit, which, out of all the enhanced people still kicking, only genesis is alone enough and uh fanciful enough to believe that he’s being communicated with by a divine being to listen to her in the first place.

- Aerith is trying her best to be understanding of Genesis’s circumstances but she draws the line at turning people into genesis clones and literally rains on genesis’s parade with her magic gaia girl rain which does cure genesis of degradation! However it has the unintended side of effect of genesis seeing Aerith’s ghost as, like, Gaia jesus which creates numerous problems on its own.

- all culminates in The Nibelheim Incident (SOLDIER Firsts No Longer Required) where cloud zack and aerith combine their incredible avoidance powers to result in… something really scuffed regarding jenova and sephs origins. i’ll figure it out Later.

- cloud and zack and aerith are in their Darkest Hour of personal development when sephiroth stumbles in and on his hands and knees begs them not to leave him. zack tries to be like, ehhhhh we don’t belong here or something and aeriths like look at what you still have, what you won’t lose anymore, you’ll be okay, and when sephiroth grasps the leg of clouds pants, cloud jerks away and is like you can’t force me to do anything w a whole tirade and sephiroth raises his head and cloud is taken aback to see sephiroth’s CRYING, as the general chokes out “i know”

- they do stay. aerith realizes she’s grown so distant from the world that she doesn’t recognize her own personal importance or impact on it and that, Zack realizes that it’s not selfish to want something more than what you’re given, and cloud realizes that circumstances can make you a monster as easily as choice can.

[altocat]

Sephiroth passes out dramatically and pathetically from exhaustion and stress in front of post-desertion Genesis and/or Angeal. The only reason they know he’s still alive is because he still has a pulse. What happens? Does this finally make them come to their senses at least the tiniest bit (😭😭😭PLEASE PLEASE PLEAS PL <-haha point and laugh this user is reading angst and going through it)

Angeal might break a bit and tend to him for a little bit. Genesis, however, is too corrupted to budge. His sickened mind sees almost everything as an enemy, Sephiroth included. And both are under the impression that Sephiroth shouldn't leave Shinra, lest his life be put in danger as a result. The best Sephiroth could hope for is Angeal nursing him before getting dumped back off at Shinra HQ. Neither of his friends are willing to bring them into their battles.

[peony-pearl]

So what are your thoughts on Genesis being Hollander's son? 👀

OK SO

There's something so mirror-image about Hollander and Genesis that just makes me want to chew gravel (in a good way). Yes, obviously Angeal is meant to be Hollander's son, to say that there's a resemblance is like saying water is wet.

But there's something more intrinsically similar with Hollander and Genesis.

They are two failures who want to be seen.

"You glory should have been mine." - Genesis Rhapsodos.

Where else do we see this quote mirrored? In Hollander, about Hojo.

Ironically, Genesis is speaking to Hojo's own son, Sephiroth.

Imagine, Hollander wishing that Angeal was his son. Not only for the fact that he's the 'better' of his creations, but perhaps for Gillian, the woman he remembers working with; a woman he adored. After so many years, his memory becomes hazy, but he still yearns for her.

Like a goddess.

And her son, a perfect creation monster ange(a)l.

While Hollander gushes about Angeal, he ignores Genesis because of his failures.

Hollander, who remains stagnant in Shinra. Hollander, who hates the hand given to him. Hollander, who wants nothing more than to see Shinra burn.

"My soul, corrupted by vengeance."

Hollander does unto Genesis, his own son, what has been happening to him for some two decades. He is shown lack of interest, and is cast aside for a more favorable option... despite their similarities.

Hollander created the first specimens of the Jenova Project and paved the way for Project S.

With Genesis. And Angeal.

Hollander was the first failure of the Jenova Project. Genesis was the first success AND failure of Project G.

Leading to Angeal's success.

Leading to Sephiroth's even more desirable success. And yet Hollander is forgotten and left.

Left to rot.

But he is anything but quiet about it. His disdain for the job he is stuck in is a constant cycle in his mind. It's met with the same eyeroll as Genesis gets when he talks about LOVELESS. It's constant, never ending, dramatic.

Ironically, Genesis' greatest achievement before coming to Midgar?

Creating pasteurization for the Banora White.

Science.

And he's CELEBRATED for it.

Hollander even WEARS A SHIRT for it, but... it's only used as a visual clue, and you cannot convince me he didn't wear it because he enjoyed the drink, or for Genesis, but to strike up conversation with Angeal so he may get insight into how Gillian is.

And then, everything happens. Hollander gets his chance to escape his prison of working for Shinra - with Genesis' Degradation.

The cycle of their relationship is always teetering on life and death, with Hollander promising to cure him, to Genesis threatening Hollander, to saving him in Junon, and then even apparently injuring Hollander to the point that Hollander had to 'borrow' cells from Genesis...

Hollander relied on Genesis' very own cells to survive, and thus, became a failure twice over. The cells of his own son, who he deemed lesser than, just barely keeping him alive, until Zack cuts him down.

"Genesis was a failure..."

And yet Genesis is the last one standing years later.

[wowa-bublord]

Who out of AGSZC likes unicorns the most? Who do unicorns like the most out of them? Since you have the last unicorn on your page, I figured you might know <3

HI. I DO KNOW!!! Sephiroth, 6.5/10 I think Sephiroth would relate to the last unicorn, actually haha, the feelings of isolation and her struggles with being unable to relate to the others around her, and the search for her family/the rest of her people. HE GETS HER!!!

unicorns in general, I think he would like the idea of them and feel a connection to them but he probably wouldn't have much exposure to their stories like a normal kid was, with Hojos whole... everything. I think he would want to watch MLP but he'd feel a lot of shame for liking anything seen as childish even on his own. In a happier world he's unicorns #1 fan, but I don't see them occupying a lot of his thoughts Angeal, 4/10 He would think the last unicorn; the movie was weird haha but I don't think he'd hate it, more just confused on why everything in it has boobs. Why does the bird have titties. Why does the tree have masive honkers. Zack you said this was PG. DID THAT BIRD JUST RIP A WOMAN APART WHILE SHE WAS STILL ALIVE. I don't think he'd dislike unicorns in any way but he also wouldn't find much appeal in them. Genesis. 8/10 He would love more.. like classic, refined imagery of them? Unicorns have a lot of roots in religious imagery which I think would connect with him. Particularly he'd like the last unicorn book, and not as much the movie, he wouldn't hate the movie but he'd be annoyed with how it doesn't incorporate everything from the novel 100% correctly LOL (he's pretentious.) 2 points knocked off because he would tease someone for liking more childish versions of unicorns like MLP LOL (he makes a distinction between his own tastes and 'simpler' ones out of insecurity. 'Yes I like unicorns but I'm not CHILDISH about it I'm REFINED and FANCY'. He doesn't want to be made fun of himself lolol) Zack, 5/10 Like Angeal, he doesn't have a dislike for unicorns, but he wouldn't feel too connected to their imagery or visuals. However, unlike Angeal, he would think the movies were AWESOME for giving so many things titties. Hell yeah bird lady, rip that creep apart! Cloud, 6/10 He would like unicorns as a kid, pre-Shinra. But he wouldn't want to ever show it, since he wouldn't want to be made fun of. I think he'd have a positive association with them because he'd play with Tifa and her toys as a little kid. However, at some point as a pre-teen he tries to separate himself from any interest that isn't cool, wanting to streamline himself into a version he thinks people would like more. It doesn't really work. (without realizing it, though, its very similar to his hero.) Post-nibelheim, he doesn't remember he ever had an interest in them. AS FOR WHICH OF THEM THE UNICORNS WOULD LIKE MORE... If we're going for the pure of heart myth, Zack and Cloud would get highest points- just since they're 16 and 14/15? And they've been to the least war. If we're going for the 'virgin woman' myth. Sephiroth.

[pine-needle-shuffle]

HI :3 does angeal die in riptide what's the situation there

at this point in planning, no, he does not die. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows either.

After what would have been his and Zack's last altercation in Crisis Core, Angeal survives. Zack couldn't finish him off, Angeal wasn't so desperate as to force Zack to kill him. Even if Angeal hoped he would have.

He flees in an effort to find Genesis again, who had been evading most contact the whole time. They both needed answers now, Angeal's condition was getting worse, like Genesis before.

During the 5 years between Nibelhiem and current day in the story, he's barely been living. Most of the time was spent in hiding, they didn't have anywhere safe to go. Once, maybe a year or two after his fight with Zack, he journeys out. He felt he needed to apologize, make ends meet, something. But he doesn't find Zack. So he goes back to rot.

I'm not sure if it will be in the scope of A Pulling of Tides, but in the future he and Zack do meet up. It's...bittersweet. Angeal has so much regret, and Zack, while glad to know he's alive, is still kinda pissed at him under it all.

[rottenpumpkin13]

Yeah, wouldn’t that be nice.

All the things that could’ve gone differently if Sephiroth had had just one friend. I’m still of the mind that if he’d had just ONE person who genuinely cared about him and hadn’t deserted him he wouldn’t have snapped. Yes he would’ve still been shocked and destroyed, but there would be someone to put him back together. He still would’ve have one person left to live for who he knows cared about him. Literally the whole source of his misery was his loneliness, and if he’d had a connection with someone it wouldn’t have been nearly as severe.

This issue was not helped by his former perceived best friend calling him a monster and deserting him, on top of having been nothing but angry and jealous towards Sephiroth of superficial things he had no control over nor desire to have.

I guess you could argue that he did have Zack by his side in the end, who was someone who genuinely cared for him. They were developing a bond as Sephiroth took over from Angeal, and vice versa for Sephiroth. The source of his misery was an aggregate of many things that exploded when he found out it was all rooted in the Jenova Project and realized he had been lied to his entire life. Even if Zack had entered Sephiroth's life earlier, and they had a pre-established friendship when Angeal was alive, it wouldn't have been enough to lessen the blow of the revelation, but Sephiroth might have let Zack in, but even that's a huge maybe given how Sephiroth was when Zack found him in the library. When Zack reached him—referencing the Nibelheim scene from Rebirth—Sephiroth was past the breaking point. You could see how hurt and angry he was, his mind completely shattered, and he had lost his sense of self.

But if he had someone else there for him all along, he would have likely processed everything differently from the very beginning, starting with Genesis and Angeal's desertion all the way to the reveal at the reactor. It's a significant "what if," and I tend to lean towards the idea that an extra friend (or a deeper relationship with Zack) would have been enough to lessen the incident (or avert the fire and murder), although not enough to prevent something bad from happening, because he would've released his anger, sadness and emotion out either way.

[s-ephiroth]

ranting on here for once instead of twt (which is back for me!) because i'm too lazy for the thread format and i must yell A LOT

it's about cid, and angeal deniers in ec...

like, i'm absolutely hating the lengths some people have to go just to be all "cid will come first" or "i would prefer if cid came out first"

you can just say you prefer a character over another without dissing one of the characters, saying shit like "oh but he's just a bad zack clone/bootleg so he's not important the way cid is", "you're doing selective reading on the interview", "i'll quit the game if angeal comes first", "what's there to explore anyway," etc.

like excuse me if maybe i'm biased towards the guy, but being someone who does have some impact in sephiroth's life, i think angeal is much more important than "guy who has a beef with shinra over the space program and drives our airship"

sephiroth is a driving force of the main ff7 plot

if not for cloud chasing after sephiroth around the world, cid would stay in his near backwater rocket centered town yelling at shera and not going anywhere (aside from maybe driving the bronco around, if you consider rebirth additions and the implications of him owning the bronco in og)

sephiroth, cloud and aerith are the driving forces of the ff7 story and anything directly relating to them in any way will be always more important

angeal is sephiroth's friend (and if you read into it, sephiroth's anchor). sephiroth's behavior through cc is impacted by his friendship with him and genesis both; showcasing that sephiroth's loyalty is not fully shinra's, that he's willing to ignore orders, dump missions on others and make his own rules if that means possibly helping both angeal/genesis survive

hell, after angeal dies, before nibelheim and with genesis possibly still alive, sephiroth has enough of a wake up call and decides he'll abandon shinra depending on the circumstances

cloud's sword was angeal's before it was zack's, and aerith was there when zack mourned the loss of the guy by his own hands

cid's character arc is mostly done in og; he goes through the domestic violence arc and "i'll join you because that's dumb as fuck, i like that plan" to "oops, the woman i yelled at and scared and blamed all these years for something that i chose to do was actually right". he gets a few extra tidbits in the extended compilation (i.e: marrying shera, naming an airship after her, working for wro now, having met ifalna in the past) but they're afterthoughts. the character was already explored

all of this to say that people saying angeal has no/lesser importance to the narrative than cid is fucking insane shit

i get people not liking him (it's not easy to because we're given crumbs of character exploration and also the way people behave towards mentally ill characters not acting 100% as they claim their moral code to be), i get people not wanting to play as him for the possibility of Yet Another Sword User™, i get people liking cid for whatever reason

but the fact that they feel they're obliged to jump into the discussion whenever someone shows the slightest amount of angeal hype in the chat to go "but naaah, cid is in the data, so cid gotta be first uwu" or "cid superior" or some other crap? it's driving me nuts

like imagine being so against the exploration of a character who needs it because he got crumbs in canon that need expanding to also further the main antagonist's tale, to the point you have to use other character already being in the data as justification

just say you're an og purist and go at that point, smh

"oh, i'll quit if angeal is first"

it'll be fucking hilarious if that happens, would love seeing that kind of person quit so much

[lunarianebula872]

so who wants to learn how @aimeelouart 's Calamity Zack and Cursed Cloud met this little Cloud? Well it was because that little Cloud's Sephiroth was angry and seeking aid because he didn't want kids to go through what he, Angeal, and Genesis went through and when Calamity Zack and Cursed Cloud were in his world he asked for their help to see if there were any kids Hojo kidnapped to use as experiments and it turns out there was

Sephiroth is angry about that and instead of marching off to behead Hojo he looks straight at Cursed and asks "would you like to do the honors?" As he wonders if maybe killing Hojo could aid Cursed of any Hojo related trauma by letting Cuesed kill the scientist however he makes sure to figure out if the kids were even alive however only finding out that two kids were still alive [Cloud and Zack]

Sephiroth quickly escorts Zack to a doctor who won't go to science and goes back to Cloud where he overhears Cloud talking to Calamity Zack about how they're so cool and such and that Cursed Cloud is to cool to be called a curse [bless your heart little chocobo], if wondering where Angeal and Genesis are is they made a distraction via letting the specimens out to cover Sephiroth and Cursed Cloud's tracks as that world's Kunsel fucks up the cams

Sephiroth after the events takes Cuesed Cloud and Calamity Zack up with little Cloud to the room where Little Zack is so they both can be updated on the situation this is where Sephiroth steps up and mentions he'll take two little ones in and looks at Cursed Cloud and Calamity Zack for some parental advice if they have any [unaware he's speaking to dads here lol] Angeal, Genesis, and Kunsel come in and state they will aid Sephiroth with the kids when Sephiroth is on mission and if needed they will take turns [Kunsel here ends up becoming Uncle Kuns]

[Sephiroth and his partners and friend suddenly getting bombarded by tons of dad info would be straight up funny] Sephiroth showing he does care for those around him but is still his awkward self as well however he gets called 'the protective silver dragon' at this point as he basically does his damn hardest to care for his adopted two sons

Calamity Zack at some point in time will notice that Sephiroth ain't resting much as he works a whole lot but also spends most if not all his free time with his partners, kids, and friend to the point he needs a break [the silver dragon needs a good nap lol] so Calamity Zack asks Angeal, Genesis, and Kunsel when they have their days off so Sephiroth would get some sleep but also help with a schedule

Sephiroth out of the blue since Calamity Zack is trusting would ask when Calamity Zack isn't busy to watch the two only when he isn't busy and if he wants to and that he's even willing to pay Calamity Zack and even make sure Calamity Zack even has lunch himself while babysitting [geez Sephiroth going to town on the dad instincts but also the abilities of cooking that Angeal bestows apon him so the kids are fed and even the babysitter]

Sephiroth at random does mention that he doesn't know if he's doing to much or to little so he might need more tips but even some tricks if needed.

I think Cursed Cloud is proud of the two little ones for making Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis become dads [who take their parental tasks very seriously just like their jobs since they love their kids dearly and Kunsel is being a great uncle to them] though one thing's for sure is that he probably didn't expect the firsts to go head first into but they did anyway [Cursed Cloud got like eight to go boxes full of food Angeal and Sephiroth made as a thank you for the help on top of that even let Cursed Cloud nap on the comfy reclining couch]

alright so it's 7:10am and I'm going to sleep because I haven't went to bed [I really need to fix my sleep schedule I swear, anyways enjoy this concept]

[withgreatpowercomesmyfuckingdick]

GENESIS CHAPTER!!! YESSSSSSS MY BOYY

Genesis is a hate-reader 🍷 Canon to me. I'm also glad you give him time to shine as a strategist, like, he IS a caster and one of the most proficient SOLDIERs in existence 💅stands to reason he does have to think things through on the battlefield and this isn't addressed nearly enough imo.

Zack "I'm not traumatized 😀" Fair is breaking my heart here. Both Cloud and Zack get to miraculously be together after losing the other, but the fear is fresh in Zack's mind. And unfortunately due to the rapidly developing situation (SCREAMS) he doesn't really have time to process and address it, and that's assuming he isn't avoiding doing so like the plague because Cloud's alive so everything's fine now right? 😀 Except it's super not and now Zack is the only one who really knows how not fine it is 💔

Speaking of not addressing emotions lol Angeal is in full repression mode and Sephiroth is isolatinggg 😬 I know how easy it is to withdraw when you're used to not having anyone there for you, when you have to figure out and manage everything yourself regardless of how unequipped you are for the task, but I also feel for Genesis here because it really does take a lot of work to gently coax people out of that over and over again. I like how you're addressing this in general, but especially from this pov! I really feel Genesis' frustration here. He knows it would get better if Seph just came home 😥

I really enjoyed the intel gathering scene with Bolin 👌👌👌 You're really serving up top shelf Genesis in this chapter and it's delightful to watch! But Camp 28 is stressing me tf out agagshshshshs Zack is somewhat reassured for now but even Kenny is worried about Cloud's lack of self preservation (physically and emotionally damn) and he doesn't even know how bad of a situation they're walking into! Though no one really knows and that's kind of the problem, but I love Kenny and I want him to survive this 😭 He needs to survive so he can be brave and trust Juvie with the kids!

Speaking of kids, CLAUDIA IS SO PRECIOUS I CANT 💕 I'm as bad as Vincent at this point. Claudia deserves the world (and she doesn't even exist anymore.. I will never be ok again 🫠)

I'm a little worried about whatever Genesis has planned to address the Camp 28 situation, because, well, it's Genesis lol but at the same time I love his constant rebellion against being told "no" 💅

Thanks for the amazing chapter!!!! Time to reread the whole thing again to distract myself from the incredible suspense of what's to come 😁🍿

HI HI HI THANKS FOR LEAVING ME THIS TO WAKE UP TO!!!

Genesis being a strategist just makes sense to me. Like. The man led a rebellion against Shinra that turned into a straight up war, waged it for a decent amount of time, and managed to not immediately get eradicated. That in itself says the man’s got SOME brains on him lol

Yeahhh Zack’s still in the “just happy Spike’s here” stage and honestly doesn’t even realize what he’s doing. The weight of carrying Cloud’s secret is kinda trumping his own emotions in importance, which miiiiiight not be good :/

It’s kind of sad when, to an extent, Genesis is being the most emotionally intelligent among them. I mean. Seriously. Genesis? Same guy that thought talking Sephiroth into insanity would make the dude help heal him? Yeah if he’s the smartest emotionally everyone needs some DIRE help.

But also guess what conflict is going to be resolved next chapter because I like making Seph suffer but not THAT damn much? Angeal’s repression might take a bit longer but gimme a second there’s five character arcs going on at once 😂

Camp 28 is, if you guys didn’t notice, another parade situation, except I’m dragging it out for effect LMAO. It obviously isn’t exactly the same but…well, you’ll see ;) Kenny’s just trying to look out for a buddy :( Cloud’s doing the same thing, just like…way more risky and possibly self destructive. Immortality went RIGHT to his head IMMEDIATELY

Cloud says it’s his daughter but that’s OUR DAUGHTER!!!

And like you said lmao—

Sephiroth: Genesis, no

Genesis: is that a fucking challenge

Nah seriously like, Genesis and ‘letting that slide’ don’t go in a sentence together. it’s just

Genesis, squinting at Camp 28: I don’t know what the fuck’s going on but TRUST you will be dealt with

Feel AWFUL for leaving this answer to you in my drafts for like…for fucking ever 😭 But thanks for leaving me this lovely!!! Always encouraging to read a lil smth from you 🖤🖤🖤

[rivkae-winters]

A snippet out of something I'm writing in post canon that I started on a whim.

Nothing like coming back wrong, less human than the monster you'd been before, and meeting an old friend on the other side. The living side.

He was not one to take things laid out and waiting to die. No, like many times prior he had chosen to be here. Unlike those same prior times he was happy with that choice. Genesis had things now he never could have dreamed of before. The chair made of wood older than the village he spent his childhood felt alive under him as he nodded and commented at the appropriate times to words that washed over him like water. The previously upbeat, if off tune, humming was absent from the steady percussive instrument being worked greatly beyond what it had cost them at the counter. He was here because he wanted to be. He was here because he chose to give love and people and being alive awake another shot. Genesis wishes this choice was fully independent of the fact that the familiarity was comforting as much as it was his own perfect punishment. Like the long added lengths that now weighed on his scalp, choppy and rough in a way that would have once given him tremendous pause.  He catches the tail end of loose black hair flowing out the door to follow Cloud somewhere Genesis was probably just told about.  It was too short. It was too thin. Where the body flowing like water the same as the other the illusion vanished the moment red eyes locked on to his own. A patchwork of familiarity and novelty broke out before him and the familiar top lip curved just a little too far and a little too wide in a motion Genesis returned. There is the pressure of observation building in dark blue eyes that seem to be cataloging Genesis’s very soul as they practically meld into his own. Angeal’s eyes hum with a light more intense than they had prior to the world cleaving itself in two. What had been a mostly unobtrusive basking glow that painted the high points of his face was now molten and violent. Were he a weaker man his eyes might be watering for that reason instead. Then again if his oldest companion was a kettle then Genesis was the soot covered cauldron. They both were brighter in the eyes now, too intense to look at directly or too monstrous to try. They had been changed and it seemed even though the mortal coils wove them apart they were still at the end of it all chained in a way.  They are both performing the same act of self flagellation after all.

[crisiscutie]

I would love to see more of petit darling, I feel like she would have a playful behavior towards Sephiroth like Zack, she would love playing tag with him and hide&seek, she would cling onto his legs when she wants something, or throw a tantrum like a child, she would be like child for him to take care off, since I imagined a darling that didn’t know a thing about ShinRa, she would get lost or interrupt him during meetings if she needs something, but Im not sure?! i need to know more about this!!

I'm captivated by the contrast between tall and short duos, especially when the shorter one is feisty and convinced they know everything. Gonna make this a soft continuation to a previous series of headcanons I did about a petite darling.

You're now more open to expressing your emotions with Sephiroth, in public and private, since the PDA rule was relaxed.

From getting angry with his subtle teases to playing (good natured) pranks on him and Genesis with Zack, you've never felt so alive.

You've been holding back your emotions until now. You're going mask off by fully expressing yourself. To hell with what anyone thinks.

You've inspired Sephiroth to become more with his emotions as well. You bring out his mischievous side a lot more especially so.

He would remain composed and aloof in public, his smirk barely visible as he calmly handled you like a pro whenever you started getting emotional, leaving you feeling frustrated even more afterwards. Ok, yes maybe you shouldn't try to fight that annoying secretary but still...

But in private? He'd even the playing ground.

When he comes home, you would joyfully holler his name from behind, although he would purposely choose to ignore you.

Despite your petite size, you will tackle him with joy, as his tall and powerful body is not easily moved, especially by someone like you.

But normally, that would still produce a response from him.

You would get nervous, tapping him gently on the shoulder when he wasn't responding.

You called Angeal in a state of panic, your voice ringing with urgency as you shouted Sephiroth's name.

...Only to have him point the obvious: Sephiroth is just ignoring you.

You were so mad after that. How dare he make you look like a fool in front of your mutual friend? Well, yes, it was obvious, but still!

So you come up with a plan to get back at him. Give him the cold shoulder later that night in bed

...But you didn't last long with that. Sephiroth knows how to use his authoritative presence to get you to respond. He can read your body language and understand you without you having to say a word.

When he asked you about your day, the lack of response told him all he needed to know. He would ask you again, his voice deepening to a low, authoritative rumble.

Your body shivered as a chill ran down your spine, but you stayed firm in your defiance, continuing to read your book while rocking your legs in the air.

You tensed, and a quiet whimper escaped as you felt the gentle caress of his fingertips from the small of your back to your delicate neck.

His hot breath hit your ear, and you could feel each strand of his silver hair tickling your skin.

He asked the same question once more, this time with an unmistakable purr in his voice, and then sealed his words with a kiss on your neck.

"I-It was good.." You blurted out. His smirk was like a fire on your neck and your face burned as you quickly moved away from him.

"...Until *YOU* started acting immature!" You shouted at him.

He would chuckle and tilt his head, assuming his position next to you on the bed.

"I'm not the antsy girl who interrupts meetings, can't stay still, or clings to someone when she doesn't get her way."

You reminded him that if you didn't do those things, he would eventually start doing them and hounding YOU for not giving him enough attention.

He would stay silent, only shrugging his shoulders and narrowing his catlike eyes, as if to question the credibility of your statement with a sly smirk.

You pouted at him, quickly shutting off the bedroom light and launching your petite, delicate body into his powerful and muscular one.

"Just hold me already!"

Even in the darkness, you could feel the warmth of his smile radiating off his face as he wrapped his arms around you and embraced you tightly.

I've always imagined a darling in general to have a similar temperament to Zack (He and Seph have a beautiful relationship, okay?). Great prompt!

[unknown-lifeform]

5. What's a piece of lore you haven't shown in your fic or don't think you'll be able to add in?

I have so much Rectify lore always ready to go-

I think one thing I have never shown and don't plan on writing any side story on is probably the Tsviets in this universe, you only have Nero and Weiss and it's just in the big party side story. There is other stuff I haven't shown which I may or may not eventually add something about but I have no idea how to write the Tsviets honestly

But anyways the Tsviets as is said in the fic are Genesis's kids that he had in the good ol days when he was going around banging random people and Angeal hadn't put him on a leash yet. He had a lot of kids actually, but many of them were either not "godly" enough to be immortal or ended up dying in some way through the centuries. The one still alive are:

Weiss and Nero are twins and the oldest ones and the only two who managed to snag their own godly domain. Their mother was human, which is often seen as a disadvantage for demigods in this universe, but they didn't let that stop them. They're... kind of unpleasant, and extremely codependent, and have a very strained relationship with Genesis partially because Genesis didn't even know the meaning of "stepping up" back when they were born

Azul is next oldest, his mother wasn't human and honestly what Genesis managed to bang to make him is a mystery most people don't want an answer to. Azul looks kind of monstrous and he's not overall a good person. His main hobbies are violence and destruction. He gets along well with Weiss and Nero, and he's convinced Genesis should appreciate all the chaos Azul does. Genesis personally feels Azul is way too out of control even for his own standards. In fact, Azul has at some points almost been so destructive other gods considered killing him

Rosso is also not human at all, her mother was a lesser spirit. Like Azul her main source of fun is unbridled violence, which means they are actually pretty good at keeping each other in check by sparring together. Rosso also gets along with Weiss and Nero, and she is fundamentally indifferent towards Genesis

Shelke is significantly younger than the rest of them and also half human. When she was born Genesis was less of a deadbeat and most importantly Angeal said abandoning his kids wasn't an option anymore, so Genesis was actually kind of involved in Shelke's childhood. If he hadn't Shelke would have likely died as a mortal, but his presence helped making her develop her powers. They're not super close, but they have a relatively good relationship. Shelke somehow also gets along with her older siblings, which is a shock considering she's a lot less violent than them, and also that her siblings then to have a very "only the strongest get to survive" attitude to life. Her siblings all feel very strongly about family, and so they welcome her even if she's quite weak by their standards (even if Nero was very jealous she actually got to have a father. But that's fine, Nero is extremely jealous very often)

So yeah this is the local little hell family. Many gods are grateful to Genesis for taking one for the team and showing the rest of them what kind of absolute headache having kids can be

[altocat]

I know there's a lot of talk of genesis attitude pre and post degradation, but what are the main differences in your opinion? How much does his attitude actually change?

I definitely think his degradation warped him, or at least took the more negative aspects of his personality and increased them tenfold, or influenced him into doing things he normally would have never done, whether out of desperation or the fact that he's actually receiving literal brain damage from his sickness.

Before his degradation, I think Genesis was definitely arrogant, hotheaded, and occasionally kind of rough around the edges towards strangers. He certainly had a lot of messy aspects to his personality, whether that was his jealousy for Sephiroth or his occasionally spicy attitude towards other people. This was mostly born from a sense of insecurity, wanting to impress people, to be recognized and valued. More than anything, Genesis wanted people to acknowledge him, to see him as someone whose existence mattered. He was terrified of being alone, or being seen as a burden.

For all his negative traits pre-degradation, Genesis had twice as many positives. Genesis could be kind, even sweet, especially towards the younger soldiers who had yet to prove themselves (Genesis heavily related to the feeling). When he wasn't focused on his rivalry with Sephiroth, he was a loyal comrade and a courageous fighter. He could be teasing and mischievous, but never to the point where he'd take things too far, at least not intentionally. He loved pranks and contests, still viewed the world with some lingering sense of innocence. He believed in storybook heroes and fables. He wanted to BECOME one someday. He could be practical, borderline chivalrous when it suited him. He could even be ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of his friends. Genesis had many flaws, but beneath his fiery exterior, there was a good-natured person who wanted to connect with others, wanted to be the hero they deserved.

After his sickness, Genesis throws a lot of his better traits away. He becomes overly spiteful, openly provocative, completely willing to hit someone where it hurts. His feelings towards Sephiroth warp from a competitive friendship to genuine malice, wanting revenge. He still never meant for Sephiroth to DIE (or Angeal for that matter), but he DID want to show him up somehow. And no longer had the restraint to care about the methods used to do it. Genesis also became hyper aggressive, his temper explosive, his thoughts constantly clouded. He acted on impulse even worse than he ever had before. He just did what FELT good in the moment and didn't think about the consequences....

....Until he was cured. After being healed by Minerva, the full weight of Genesis' actions falls upon him all at once, reliving every ugly moment, every thoughtless, cruel, violent action. SEVEN YEARS' worth of sins to atone for. Seven years' worth of brutality and loss. Genesis is crippled, body and soul. He seals himself in his watery tomb not just for the sake of the planet, but out of regret. He remembers his friends, the things he said and did to them. He remembers everything. He loved them. He never wished to harm them. WHY did he do it? Was it the sickness? Or was it really him this whole time? He can't bear to live with those thoughts. It's eating him alive. He grants himself the mercy of sleep as a means of temporarily escaping them, letting them haunt his dreams as he surrenders himself to oblivion.

The Genesis that emerges years later is cynical, jaded, world-weary, but ultimately wiser and more subdued. He still has his sharp wit and poetic personality, but it's a lot more muted now. Mostly, he's just tired, going through the motions. He seems a lot quieter, gentler around people. Through his altered genetics, he will live an exceedingly long extended life, surviving long after all the others (except for Vincent) are gone. In that time, Genesis travels the planet alone, doing good where he can, but never forgetting what was lost.

[hoshinierabareshimono]

[I'm not exactly making it a secret that I adore Hyde's work beyond words, but this song? Those lyrics?

So close to the vibes I envision for post-CC Genesis, especially before he learns that Sephiroth is still alive somewhere, as he ponders his existence post-degradation and has to come to terms with all those irreversible changes in his life and environment he had been disregarding via deliberately-induced tunnel vision that helped him survive and find a cure.

I think it's actually quite common for struggles of that sort to really mess with a person's sense of time, to the point a harsh awakening is pretty much guaranteed once they exist survival mode and it truly sinks in that several years have passed, and seemingly 'without them'.

"Once I've secured my survival, I can fix this."

"Once I've found a cure, I can focus on everything else that has been going wrong again."

"Once I've made it to the other side of this, I can pick up all those other ambitions I haven't been able to pursue for the time being."

I think Genesis' thoughts especially pertaining to Sephiroth as he was in survival mode encompassed those sentiments, making it especially painful for him to realize that with Sephiroth (and Angeal) both being dead, none of this is possible anymore.

Still, it is not like Genesis to give up on himself. He may seal himself away for a bit and do some serious soul-searching, but he will always get back on his feet.

Edit: Here's a link to the written lyrics.]