#angeal is here too and so is seph

[gomacave]

My first gens doodled while watching thru cc…. Problematic fav……

[kazumahashimoto]

ooo girl you're gonna be receiving one of his famous lectures after this one

[silverflqmes]

hi!! i hope this request finds you well, do you think you could write agszc with a s/o whos good with kids please 💕?

໒⦂ 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒.

notes. hi hi anon — i wasn’t sure how to go about this so i took a little inspiration from the interactions cloud and zack have with the sector five kids and applied them to everyone a bit! went for headcanons, i hope they are to your likings<3

genre. fluff + crack

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

gender neutral! reader.

➫ 𝓢𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗛 ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

⌗  i hate to break it to you anon but i gotta slap some angst in here — sephiroth finds himself a bit confused, yet curious watching you among kids. had he been raised as normal kids were, would he have received this sort of attention too..? this kindness that was given without effort or consequences?

⌗  in the beginning he just let you do your thing, hanging out with them as you did while he waited to walk you home later.. but then he was slowly urged to join- by the kids no less.

⌗  he felt awkward, out of place and unsure of how he should act — but everyone was patient with him and something oddly warm began to spread in his chest. you didn’t pressure him into anything either — which he was grateful for.

⌗  the girls would braid brush his hair, place flowers in, and when the boys marveled at his height and overall build, begging to be carried, sephiroth obliged and found himself feeling elated — at peace among them.

⌗  you always told them bedtime stories but over time, the kids began to whisper and ask you if sephiroth could because his voice was so smooth and lulled them to sleep effortlessly

⌗  one time the children found a gray, stray kitten — and didn’t want to give it away.. so it became a combined effort between you, the kids and sephiroth, too.. who felt a strange empathy for the feline. it became an everyday thing from then for all of you to take care of the cat and welcome it among your group<3

⌗  someone crying or hurt? masamune’s out and ready to take out the reason behind those tears and wails — which you have to stop seph from doing, but it’s cute how much he cares<3

➫ 𝓒𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗗 𝓢𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗘 ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

⌗  he’s um- cloud is uh.. he’s doing his best, remember?? ahem.. in other words, he is still trying to get accustomed to kids — it’s a work in progress, but you seem to be amazing with them??

⌗  bro is completely awestruck at how well you get along with them, how you have them following you around with such ease and looking all excited when you arrive. literally how is that possible?? it makes no sense..

⌗  but cloud, as stated before, is doing his best. during the times that you ask him to help out, he manages to provide a lending hand in busying them.

⌗  a lot of the kids are in awe with him and want a chance to ride on fenrir with him or learn how to wield such an impressive weapon like he does — so cloud does what he can to indulge in those requests..

⌗  not the best or worst with cooking but he does know some recipes from growing up with his mother and has shared them with you to cook together on occasion for the children<3

⌗  over time cloud does get better with them, becomes more natural and less stiff.. though he can’t help but stop at times and stare when he witnesses you with them — so serene and kind, delicate and careful. unknowingly, it brings a tint smile to his lips and thoughts of the future.

⌗  ..and then the kids call him out and he becomes a flustered, tsundere, mess — which has you stifling a laugh into your hand LMAO

➫ 𝓩𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝓕𝗔𝗜𝗥 ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

⌗  you’re good with kids?? him too!! zack is so so good with kids, they absolutely ADORE him ( can’t blame ‘em ) — he’s just so chill for an adult!

⌗  seeing you with kids literally clenches at his heart, your exchanges with them are just so so cute and you speak in such a sweet, gentle voice towards them. could honestly listen to you all day if he could😭

⌗  the kids always tease you guys about getting married and make kissy faces at you guys which has your face burning up with embarrassment meanwhile zack is like hell yeah!! ofc he’s gonna marry you, duh!!

⌗  the girls like to pick flowers for you both and do your hair all pretty<3 and zack’s too, cuz ofc he needs to look his best too!! he has little reluctance and is excited as a puppy✨

⌗  oh no a kid is crying?? zack is on the case.. had it not been for you comforting them already oops. but-! he’s on his way to find the culprit! even if it’s just a pebble or branch that happened to be in their path..

⌗  cooking? not his domain, but you seem to be good at it! especially making these cute bunny looking apple slices<3 he helps with cleaning instead ( sometimes )

⌗  now what he does do good in is bedtime stories! has the craziest things to tell and even some folklore from his hometown, gongaga! the kids eat up everything he tells them and are out cold within minutes🫡

➫ 𝓖𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝓡𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗦𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗦 ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

⌗  surprisingly, he’s very good with kids! more so the girls because they’re all heart eyes for genesis, thinking him to be some sort of a prince.. especially with the way he dresses, speaks and carries himself in general..

⌗  he often entertains their fantasies, going along with them and accepting the flowers they picked for him or the colorings they’d hand him — it was just so cute!

⌗  the boys enjoyed to see him in action more with combat, literally watching with stars in their eyes when he fights.. but they always seem to gravitate a little more towards you ahaha..

⌗  genesis has to pinch himself occasionally from staring at you, watching how loving and caring you were towards these random kids that attached themselves so easily to you because you had given them the time of day

⌗  as the kids are lining up for your cooking, so is your boyfriend — he is SO there for that food and is very much enjoying not only the meals you prepare but this overall side of you.. it’s refreshing, he feels special to see it🙁

⌗  organizes a little play for the kids to take part in — of course it’s loveless, it always has to be with him.. and the kids beg him to read it to them at night which brings tears to his eyes. finally some loveless enjoyers!! unlike his friends who make FUN of him..

⌗  always brings baskets of dumbapples to share a piece of home with the kids and even makes different deserts and pastries that he came up with personally! might not do much cooking but baking — and with his hometown’s fruit? yes he will!

➫ 𝓐𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝓗𝗘𝗪𝗟𝗘𝗬 ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

⌗  you would think he is another one of the awkward few ( seph and cloud, unfortunately im looking at you guys.. ) but he is not! angeal is really good at taking care of zack, almost as if he’s his own family.. so i believe he must be good with children too despite his stoic appearance

⌗  it was by chance one day during a mission that he had ended up helping you out with the kids you regularly took a detour to visit and hang out with, always bringing stuff from your missions — it was super cute honestly😭

⌗  he is a pretty family oriented guy tbh and totally seems like malewife material?? cooks for the kids, cleans up too, patches up them up if they get injured and tells stories to put them to sleep!! he’s doing it all, guys!

⌗  he wants to lessen your load as much as he can but you seem to have things pretty much under control and the kids are just so chill with you — it’s impressive honestly, he might need a tip or two for handling zack..

⌗  he was telling a story one time — about the buster sword, actually, and as attentive as the kids were, even you since it was your first time hearing, you’d ended up fast asleep along with the kids — it was the cutest sight seeing them curled up against you

⌗  games aside, you do try to teach the kids norms and values to keep with them and angeal also throws in a few words about dreams.. honor.. etcetera..

⌗  a few days later the kids ended up making cardboard and wooden cutouts of the buster sword and repeated his words along with the gesture — yourself included..🫣

notes. sorry for the wait, i hope these were okay and to your likings! i went in with no plan and this was the result basically.. i know it was meant to center around the reader but it shifted over to the boys ahaha.. my bad, hope you don’t mind :’)

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[wowa-bublord]

with AGS, what do you think they do when they're playing around with each other? like are they the types to be taking playful little digs at each other and horsing around during down times or do they keep most of their truer selves locked away from any public eyes? i'm also very curious how you think zack being angeals student and then making it to first affects the previous dynamics and how he ends up being taken into their little group- i don't think anyone is truly immune to zacks inherent whimsy and depth and most certainly not sephiroth or genesis (in a nothing bad happens timeline 🥲)

in public, they are much more respectful to each other. Any digs they make to each other are very subtle and passive aggressive because they don't want to get in trouble for making Shinra look bad LOL in private. they are exploding each other in the face and hitting each other with swords and BEATING EACH OTHER UPPPPP the training room scene is nothing. imagine you gave some college boys the ability to throw each other through buildings. HAVOC.

AND THE ZACK ONE... OUHHH I HAVE SUCH SPECIFIC IDEAS FOR ALL THEIR DYNAMICS WITH THEM SO I DREW A LOT OF EXAMPLES

I see his dynamic with genesis.. as mutual haters LMAO. Genesis isn't too interested in hanging out with some teenager and ESPECIALLY isn't interested in losing his already limited free time to spend with angeal to his new apprentice. He was also unhappy with Shinra putting someone so young at such a high rank in the first place since he knows how stressful it is first hand. though he is usually sweeter to new recruits, zacks place in SOLDIER frustrates and upsets him which made him act not at his kindest. Zack is very socially aware, recognizes his hostility, and matches it x300 LMAOOO

ANGEALLLLLLLLL RRRRHHHHHH. Angeal is very familial at heart and takes on a brotherly role pretty immediately, he wants to protect Zack, and becomes increasingly distressed as he realizes how impossible it is to do so in their environment. I feel like Angeal has the same desires Zack does- to save his friends, protect the world, be a hero, but through out his time in Shinra he is repeatedly crushed by the realization that he can't save anyone, in the same way Zack is later on.

he still tries.

ZACK AND SEPHIROTH. Idk how to explain them in my mind they are constantly rattling around in here. Zack knows how depressed Sephiroth is and tries to make his day a little brighter. Sephiroth has only met one other person who spoke to him so freely so immediately so it isn't a surprise when he hears Angeal is his mentor. HE IS SILLY. HE MAKES HIM LAUGH. They comfort each other but it's surface level only because talking about each others problems means addressing their own

and a bonus doodle cos i didn't draw as much for seph sorryyyy hehe

[altocat]

FIRST SOLDIER EPISODE 2 CHAPTER 2

Ready for tonight's recap? I gotcha covered! I'm VERY excited to see where the plot goes from here! Let's goooo!

So when we last left off, Seph, Angeal, and cameraman Bachman were in some Wutai ruins (Robio), where they met the mysterious swordsman Masamune and the even MORE mysterious Alissa Goldie. Miniroth has mommy issues. Angeal can't make friends with him because he's being edgy. Bachman wants a paycheck. Let's see how this unfolds...

We open on the gang in their camp. There's some other allied soldiers there as well. Guess everyone regrouped. Alissa (SUS) immediately wants to continue her investigation into Robio. Bachman remarks that Alissa seems to have immediately won Sephiroth over...WONDER WHY 💀

Sephiroth is trying out replacements for his damaged sword. Alissa approaches him and Sephiroth is rather nonchalant about having standard Shinra-issued swords. He just...had a feeling about Masamune though.

Alissa keeps praising Sephiroth as a legend and a hero. She's acting all upbeat about everything. It's coming off as genuinely unsettling. She keeps fawning over him.

The group catches eye of a PURPLE SUS orb and Angeal and Seph handle a monster. Alissa can't help because her arm is supposedly hurt. She says that Angeal must have a sixth sense for sensing fiends. EXCEPT NOT THE ONE THAT'S CLEARLY RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM.

Angeal and Seph are alone. Angeal asks why Sephiroth is acting differently around Alissa. Sephiroth is silent. When Angeal presses more, Sephiroth claims he's trying out the allies thing. Sorta. They take out another monster together as a team.

Bachman praises their efforts. Angeal still insists that he and Seph will come together in time. He's being his usual friendly self, but Seph STILL blows him off and walks off, noticeably when Bachman attempts to film him.

Bachman says that Alissa is more of an "Angeal type" because of her friendliness. He says that Sephiroth just ignores everyone and is solely focused on becoming a killing machine (OUCH).

Alissa gets attacked by another monster and Sephiroth protectively rushes over to help. I SEE WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THIS SQUARE ASDFGHGFDS

Bachman asks Alissa if she thinks a soldier should be a lone wolf like Seph or more friendly like Angeal. Alissa just shrugs. She says that she's here to provide support.

We finally set out again to investigate Robio. Entering the Igara Forbidden Zone. Angeal wants to take a break but Seph insists he doesn't need one. He takes the lead, albeit at a slower pace when he sees Alissa struggling.

They come across a weird rock formation. Powerful fire magic was used in the area. Alissa talks about how two thousand years ago, the Ancients arrived and named this area Igara. SUS SUS SUS. Igara was a paradise until a fearsome beast invaded the region. VERY SUSSSSSSSS. The land got scorched because a bunch of heroes showed up to defeat the foe, using fire magic to destroy it. Supposedly.

The survivors of the fire were the ones who went on to form the country of Wutai! Really cool lore shit!!!!

The group comes across a spooky trail with a LOT of fog. Alissa claims to have left markers on the ground. Sephiroth clears the fog with his sword.

Alissa asks Angeal about the sword on his back. Oh boy here we go...Angeal says it's his good luck charm but doesn't elaborate. Alissa tells Seph that HE needs an impressive sword too! After all, he's a hero! He needs something exceptional! Sephiroth remembers the Masamune and shows interest in claiming it for himself.

There's a bunch of weird purple shit on the ground. More fog too. Really digging the spooky background music. Sets the mood.

Sephiroth asks Alissa if she's an active model soldier. Alissa says that yes, she's modified with special cells! Bachman says that the cells were grown from something they scraped off a meteorite. Alissa says that's only a stupid rumor. Jenova bullet dodged for Seph.

We fight some weird owl-looking monsters native to the area. They've finally entered Robio in full. They start up the investigation. More lore dump time!

500 years ago, after the warriors killed the beast, Robio was a ghost town until settlers came to try their luck. They were also Ancients. Their numbers were smaller by then but they tried to revive the area like the did with Igara. It became a village, Robio. Alissa wants to know why someplace that was revived died again. They're going to inspect the ruins of the major buildings.

Big stones in the road. The people of Wutai placed them around Igara as a sort of barrier...to keep something from getting OUT.

PURPLE LIGHTS SUDDENLY! We see the ghosts of villagers. Illusions of the past. They disappear quickly. The group has no idea what to think about it. They just have to keep exploring.

Burn marks cover the whole village. Angeal wonders if something erupted nearby. More bright purple flashes. Most ghosts and ghost-flames. They see the figure of Masamune cutting villagers down! Sephiroth doesn't know why they sealed this place away. Are they trying to conceal an uncomfortable truth by erasing the past? He says he'd never let that happen to him (irony).

Bachman's camera has footage of the ghosts, where they see Masamune. They have to unravel this mystery.

A statue now. But they can't see what it is. Sephiroth remarks that there has to be an incredible power lurking here. More ghosts. Masamune cutting more villagers down, being called a fiend. Sephiroth says that this has to be the source of the destruction. Wutai sealed this village off because it was fucked and harboring a monster. But they were fucked up in turn for abandoning the villagers to their fate.

Sephiroth doing some more projecting. "Anything different isn't human". Which includes Soldiers. He's de-humanizing himself again. Angeal privately swears that the world isn't bad, people aren't bad. Someday, he'll make Sephiroth see that.

They enter the center of Robio where the villagers would gather to share stories and celebrations. More ghosts. Masamune again. Robio's tools and weapons were the responsibility of a single smith. One day, as if possessed, he took up his hammer and dumped everything into crafting a remarkable blade. AKA the Masamune sword. The villagers started fighting to claim the sword as their own, even trying to steal it. Masamune slaughtered them as a result and set the area aflame. He slayed every villager one by one. The villagers' greed prevented them from working together to take the sword from him. And thus, they each perished individually. And started killing even each other until there was nothing left.

Angeal wonders how the hell Alissa knows all this. Suddenly Masamune jumps down right in front of them! Another fight with the old man! He's got to be at least be hundreds of years old by now. He's very clearly some sort of cursed demon or something.

Alissa tells them that she gathered all that info because the scenes just CAME to her. Like they were her own memories...

Sephiroth says that the Masamune is calling to him. It yearns to become his own. A loud bell chimes somewhere and they race over to investigate.

The sound is coming from a biiiig ruined monument. It feels like something is calling to them. Sephiroth can sense the power. He insists that the sword is meant to be in his hands. Angeal thinks he's acting strange and says that they should leave--this is getting too fucking spooky. Sephiroth is going in. He WANTS that blade "back". Angeal doesn't know what he means by "back".

Angeal manages to talk him into camping out for the night and explore the building tomorrow.

CHAPTER FINISHED! But wait! There's some extra content like last time!

Back at camp, Angeal tells Bachman to rest. Early day tomorrow. But Bachman wants to check his footage. He recaps all the lore for us. He says that Sephiroth seems to have some kinship to the people who once lived here. The sword seems to have given him a new sense of purpose.

Next segment. Oh fuck. Sephiroth is dreaming about his mother again. He's with her in a flowery field. Lucrecia (still labeled "Jenova" is being all sugary sweet and loving towards her son. Lucrecia remarks about the sun and flowers. They've been travelling together in this dream. Sephiroth can't believe it. He rarely leaves headquarters. Lucrecia tells him they go on trips together all the time! Sephiroth wants so bad to spend more time with her. Lucrecia tells him he's a hero. He DESERVES this reward. She's so proud of him. I'M GONNA CRY AGAIN. Him having her by his side gives him strength. Another hug. FUCK.

Obviously I know what they're doing here. These "dreams" are officially a Jenova/other evil entity manipulation. Or SOME sort of shit designed to fuck with Sephiroth's head. This could explain his attachment to Alissa and why he's starting to act strange. These dreams are somehow playing with his mind and grooming him to come to some sort of conclusion, maybe directly tied to him wanting Masamune so much.

Angeal segment to cap us off! So I was wrong before. The last one wasn't a flashback. These are idealized dream sequences. My apologies! Angeal is dreaming about when he left his village for Midgar. Everyone is celebrating and supporting him before sending him off. Sephiroth desired his mother. Angeal desired a happy life where he's appreciated and respected. The entire dream is everyone fawning over him. He gets his uniform and the Buster Sword. His dad gives him the dreams and honor speech. So we know on some level that his oath came from his dad! That's neat! Angeal vows to fight for his parents and for people who are struggling.

And that's it! This was a BIG chapter lore-wise!

[ariseur]

My phone is on 2% so I'm gonna speed this ask but maybe some hcs about the cc trio (seph, gen and angeal) and a child!reader? Just some random kid somehow manages to find their way into shinra and now they have to babysit this kid until they find their parents? 🥹

Genesis probably just dresses them up in cute things and read them stories, Angeal is the only one actually babysitting them, and Sephiroth has absolutely no idea on how to care of a child, he just kind of, holds them awkwardly and asks them if they want a snack or something. Sephiroth would just sit besides them awkwardly silent without a clue on what to do 😭

✧˖° - KID IN A CANDY STORE !

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི₊ ⊹ - featuring ; ( platonic !! ) angeal hewley, genesis rhapsodos, sephiroth x reader

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི₊ ⊹ - synopsis ; the first class soldier trio will take anything that is thrown in their path with no problem!! .. until that thing so happens to be a child (,,꒪꒫꒪,,) . .

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི₊ ⊹ - word count ; 2.0k words, 10.5k characters

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི₊ ⊹ - cw ; platonic and friendly relationship with cc trio, sfw, gn!reader, ~7 headcanons for each SOLDIER, just them being awkward and slowly growing attached to you while trying their best to take care of you 😭

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི₊ ⊹ - notes ; patiently waiting for cxk to post ( patiently is a lie i am over here dying rewatching his old videos as i make this ples cory come back we miss u )

# now, when you think of SOLDIER — i’m sure you think of pretty [ tough ] guys with their bulky suits of armor heading off and working for shinra, either that or you think of a bunch of gays considering of how many ships there are between the organization 😭

# in terms of the spectrum of shock with these guys, i’d say ranging from most to least excited / surprised, it’d go: genesis, angeal, and sephiroth. seph being the lowest considering he wouldn’t really know how to act and would kind of just observe from afar. angeal being second because he’s pretty shocked but snaps out of it in search for your parents — and genesis being the highest because he just wants a little mini me lmfao.

# starting off with GENESIS, i can definitely see what this anon was going for considering how flamboyant and over the top genesis usually is, from his clothes to his speech. i think it’d also depend on what circumstances the trio had found you in. if it’s like how this ask described where you managed to wriggle your way into shinra then i think he might be a little more stressed considering even he knows that there’s things that mustn’t be touched by the chubby little fingers of a kid ( like control panels or weapons for instance ).

# but i do think that he’d be a little more lenient with you!! like, if you were to watch behind the glass and see the training simulation going on then he’d propose the idea of teaching you how to swing a sword . . to which he’d immediately get shot down by angeal, ( but i mean, he’d definitely seriously consider it for a bit before shaking his head and going back to his mundane duties, hearing your pitter patter meekly trail behind him ).

# god forbid that you have some sort of attachment to him, his ego will inflate tenfold if you decide to follow him around or peek around corners to see what he’s doing on. will definitely shove it in seph’s and angeal’s faces too, tilting his nose up at them when he walks by while his gloved hand rests on your hair who heels at his feet with a small smile.

# if you’re on the shyer end, he will revel in it even further. he’ll crouch down to pat your head, his eyes softening and UGHH i can just imagine you hiding behind him if you look at sephiroth ( who is intimidating no matter what considering he’s tall asf and brooding asf ) and he’ll just laugh and say, “ah, don’t worry about that scary, quiet man, he’s merely too foolish to speak.”

# however if you’re on the more brash end, he’ll admire your confident attitude which brings us back to his pleas to angeal to let him teach you how to use a sword considering how much you keep talking about how you’d totallyyyy beat him. if you were to ever pick up a sword ( or if you already knew how to use one ) then i feel like it’d be a hit or miss whether he’d let you win or beat you with ease just to prove a point.

# if you so happened to stay overnight or it got later and you needed a nap, you already know genesis is gonna bust out LOVELESS. i don’t see him being really touchy so i don’t think he’d have you lay on his lap ( maybe leaning on him at most ? ) but maybe he’ll scrounge up some blankets or rags to create some form of comfort for you as he sits by your side and picks out an epic to read. the poems may be a little weird to understand from the way they’re told but his voice is just so soothing?? you can’t help?? but shut your eyes?? and when he asks if you’re falling asleep you’ll be all, “no, i’m just resting my eyes” and then not even three minutes later you’ve passed out lol

# i don’t necessarily think he’d be super heartbroken when you left, especially if you were a handful. i think he’d just be a little sad that his twins gone off back home. he’ll give you one last pat on the head before walking back into the facility ( ? ) as you watch his cape flow behind him. if you were to cry at his exit, he would not know what to do — i’m pretty sure he’d just have angeal take care of it because when it comes to tantrums or tears, genesis and sephiroth have no clue on how to help

# with ANGEAL, i can definitely see him being the most responsible but more shocked. his face would soften, all stoicism melting away when he’d look at you — crouching down to meet your height as he questions you, although it might be a little intense, he’s just worried about who your parents are and where you came from. after all, it’s not everyday you find a little kid in shinra.

# unlike genesis, angeal is more of a worrier — he is well aware that there are things that are unsafe to touch / be exposed to, hence why he shoots down any bullshit from his friends. it might get a little frustrating how much he tries to control this little schedule the two ( or rather the four ) of you share, but it’s only because he wants to get you back to your family asap.

# if you grow an attachment to him, he won’t think much of it besides be a little surprised. it just makes him feel even more protective over you, especially if you’re super young. he understands feeling scared or homesick in a foreign area which make it all the more eager for angeal to find your home for you.

# in the meantime, he’d mainly keep to himself i think — not in the awkward sephiroth kind of way or in a way that he purposefully ignores you, i guess he’s just trying to make you feel more comfortable despite being in such an unfamiliar area. he’ll look for something for you to eat or try to find something for you to do, although it mainly keeps to nothing — shinra isn’t exactly a place for little kids to have fun.

# each member of the trio has their own little thing with you, genesis plays dress up and sephiroth will teach you about his stories and not to indulge in any of the paparazzi’s questions, but you’d find angeal in a little room polishing his buster sword — and it’d probably be scary asf because he just looks so ominous in a dark room with the tip of his weapon glinting in the light of the doorway but you’d just stand there and meekly ask if he could tell you a story and his whole heart just softened right there.

# regarding anon’s thoughts in request, i can def see genesis telling stories and reciting small epics he’s heard over the years but i can also see angeal sharing some with you too!! although, i feel like he’d tell you tales of his own life and use them as lessons that he’d only hope you’d use in your own life, as well. either that or he tells you his small share of lil fables he’s heard back in banora in his youth ^.^ ( i need him angeal pls i miss u come back )

# he’s relieved that you’ve been reunited with your parents although he is a little sad to have seen you go, i feel like angeal would’ve gotten more attached than you 😭 he sees childhood as such a precious time in someone’s life so he only hopes the best for you, and knows that it’s necessary for you to go back to your family so he bids you goodbye and watches you walk away, wishing your family well, too. ( genesis totes makes fun of him for getting a little teary as you give him a little wave before skipping along to hold your parent[s]’s hand ).

# and now for SEPHIROTH, poster child for shinra. i’d say he’s the least shocked — not because he doesn’t necessarily care? but mainly because he’s not quite sure how to take care of you so it kind of just slips his mind.

# he’d most likely be watching from afar or working on something else, but if you’re persistent enough then he’ll have no choice but to pay attention to you — especially if angeal and genesis aren’t around. i feel like it’d take some time at first though because you’d either be intrigued or scared considering this tall ass man with huge armor is just staring at you ( i feel like with kids it’s usually a mixture of both, though lol ). i’m sure at first he’d let you hang onto him while he tries to find the others but afterwards he just sighs and accepts that it’s his turn to take care of you.

# as per usual, his lips would curl into an amused smirk if he sees that, even with angeal and genesis around, you’d cling onto him more often. he really doesn’t mind hanging around you, he’s just quieter than the other two so it’s more like you’re just following him around. he won’t get mad at you if you start playing with his hair and sit on his lap and point at everything in the room asking what it is ( ugh i should write dad sephiroth i swearrr.. ) — and he’ll simply respond with a soft tone, eyes flickering to every which way that you look so that he can already prepare to respond.

# sephiroth isn’t really equipped with a mentality to treat kids.. like kids? i’m sure he’ll be much friendlier and he tries his best to come off as amiable as possible since he knows that he might look scary 😭 but i mean it in the sense that he won’t dumb anything down for you and will continue to talk formally, he’d probably treat you like an adult even if you babble about little kid stuff — either you’ll get curt answers or a really long, philosophical and formal answer.

# rather than genesis who is entertained by your challenge and asks angeal to pull out regular swords, sephiroth helps you make cardboard swords and helps teach you about basic stuff you should look out for in battle, even if you don’t plan on being out in the field.. until you accidentally swing too hard and faceplant into the floor. it’s like five seconds of pure silence as he just stares at your limp body on the floor before you start crying so he just walks out and looks until he finds angeal. once he does, he literally just monotonously says, “they’re crying” while angeals like “??? help them???”

# i feel like sephiroths the kind of guy where if you’d fall asleep on him he straight up wouldn’t breathe because he thinks it’ll feel more comfortable for you until he tries to quietly sneak a slow inhale but ends up choking on his own spit instead

# once it’s time for you to go home, he’ll feel a small emptiness for a bit — which he won’t understand because.. he’s just weird like that. but he will miss you, and i feel like he would keep the tiny cardboard sword and always think of you whenever he sees it. he, too, bids you goodbye along with angeal and genesis and wonders how you’re doing every so often; maybe even hoping for another sword battle one day ( ngl i can smell some angst with this idea but that’s for another time ). knowing the director though, he probably won’t let anymore children sneak into the organization anymore so that probably slims your chances of breaking into shinra 💔

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𐙚 requests are closed — july twenty first, 2024 ( 5:33 pm )

[the-music-maniac]

You know what confuses me about Crisis Core.

So, we learn when Zack is dispatched with Tseng to Banora that Genesis murdered most of the townfolk, his own parents, a bunch of Shinra soldiers, and then started bombing the place with the arsenal he took. I mean, he fails because of Zack and then Shinra like. Sends an airstrike anyways to destroy evidence of company involvement, rendering that attempt moot. Then he like. Sends another summon after Zack.

In the course of the entirety of Genesis' rampage, it's implied that he killed probably a shit ton more people in cold blood and for his own ends, he turns a bunch of them into Genesis copies for crying out loud, which is quite horrific.

When Genesis is doing his rambling thing in front of the damn statue at the end of the game, Zack tells him he's here to help Genesis. And when he goes to contact the statue, Zack yells, "Don't let it take over, you're not a monster, you're one of us." Keep in mind Zack is aware of the atrocities Genesis committed of his own volition, even if he wasn't necessarily sound of mind because of the degeneration.

In contrast, during the Nibelheim incident, after Sephiroth locked himself inside the library for like a week without eating or sleeping, joined Jenova and then burned down the village, Zack finds him and demands answers. Sephiroth is clearly...not himself. His speech patterns are entirely different (creepy), he can't take his eyes off the containment unit, he ignores Zack's demands. Zack realizes Sephiroth isn't being himself, I recognize that, but it confuses me, that he didn't attempt to get through to Sephiroth harder, when he at least showed signs of doing so with Genesis and Angeal. Angeal I get, that was his mentor. Genesis though? Like even while Zack and Sephiroth were fighting, I expected at least some dialogue of Zack attempting to reason with him.

We know as players that Sephiroth goes on to do more heinous shit, but until then, his crimes are about the same as all those that Genesis committed. Genesis destroyed an entire village. Sephiroth destroyed an entire village. Genesis destroyed more than a village, so I'd argue the shit (outside of Shinra's orders of course) he did was worse.

Was it because Zack was too angry at the time? Nibelheim was still burning, Tifa was hurt, while the atrocities Genesis committed were distanced - Zack didn't see a majority of them. Maybe the whole "take over the planet" thing? Was it because Sephiroth was attacking him, and so Zack had to concentrate on surviving? Why was Genesis given grace, when Sephiroth wasn't? Yes, I understand Cloud and Tifa watched their parents get murdered in cold blood, so they're understandably furious, but what of all those families Genesis had destroyed? Even while Zack was at Shinra, he still intended to get Genesis back alive.

The entire theme of the game had been posing a question - are the SOLDIERS monsters. Zack had been adamant that they aren't at the beginning, while the three that were affected, Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis hadn't been sure. Sephiroth was the only one who hadn't received any sort of contradiction to his own beliefs. Angeal did. Genesis did. And Zack fully WITNESSED the breakdown Sephiroth had in the reactor. I can't be certain if he witnessed the awful shit that Genesis had said to Seph, I know he was knocked down - but was he unconscious? Even if he didn't hear it all, he had to have heard the "no such luck, you are a monster." because Genesis said it BEFORE Zack was knocked over. Did he not see the pattern? I don't understand how it could be possible that he didn't see it.

And I get that Zack himself was starting to lose conviction on the idea that SOLDIERS aren't monsters, but if you knew what Angeal and Genesis had been feeling - their bitterness over being turned into monsters coinciding with Sephiroth's own breakdown and questioning of his humanity - then why did Zack let Sephiroth go through that mental breakdown on his own? Yeah, so he told him to leave him be - Zack thought Angeal had killed his own mother in cold blood and yet he still went after him. Zack said Sephiroth was like a man possessed, so he KNEW this was unusual behaviour too. Also, isn't it weird to just be stuck somewhere for seven days with no further orders? Did Zack try to get through to him repeatedly and fail? The game didn't show that to be the case, Sephiroth was alone the entire time he was reading in that library.

Or did he assume that the Silver General could've handled it on his own, once again holding Sephiroth to a different standard than everyone else?

I don't know, I just find it hypocritical. I know the Final Fantasy games are a series that only really shows you glimpses of the main villain, in an attempt to get a player to question what it means to be a hero - they did it well, the entire thing reaps of hypocrisy.

Shinra does what it wants, sends airstrikes to cover up their tracks, maintains the image it wants to via control of the news, holds a monopoly on everything, destroys a different lands for resources, and while Zack begins to question what he's doing because of Angeal and Genesis, the questioning has nothing to do with Shinra as an entity, only the soldiers within. Why didn't he question Shinra, for inflicting this onto Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth? Why didn't he question that apparently Shinra has fucking cloning technology that can be used on the SOLDIERS? He picks up Angeal's blade while he was talking to Cloud, and is reminded of his SOLDIER honour. What honour? How did Angeal and Zack go for so long in Shinra while being "good people" without being disillusioned sooner by everything else they were doing? I understand the general population being fooled, but Angeal was one of the freaking firsts. They didn't question anything until Angeal and Genesis began to degrade? They weren't quite like Sephiroth, I'm assuming they weren't physically unable to leave if they wanted to be discharged. None of them were raised in a place where this was all they've ever known. None of them were raised to be disillusioned with death, to believe any empathy and compassion was weakness. Unlike Sephiroth, they had options.

And Sephiroth STILL had the mind to not only be compassionate with his own soldiers, but to want to defect. Because that was the only way he could've ever left Shinra.

I'm more convinced now then ever that Sephiroth was done dirty.

[strayheartless]

Okay, I’m just sounding ideas here and don’t come at me from behind with a baseball bat or anything…

But do we maybe think that Angeal made the situation in the training room worse? Now I’m not saying Angeal’s to blame and I wanna caveat this entire ramble with the admission that I’m not even sure about this take. However, I was thinking about the actual situation like I was breaking down frames of a film (👋🏻 yoohoo! Film degree!) and when you look at it this:

(Credit for clip: Shirrako on YouTube)

It’s Angeal’s sword that breaks. Now, again, not blaming Angeal, Genesis was being Genesis and the whole thing wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t challenged sephiroth. But there is a line of thinking that suggests that it is Angeal’s lack of trust in his friends that exacerbates the situation.

Fanon aside, there is nothing actually in text that suggests that Genesis and Sephiroth have ever actually taken it too far. Actually apart from that one e-mail from Kunsel:

"It seems every SOLDIER 1st Class has a quirkor three, but I think Angeal has a lot ofcommon sense and is a trustworthy fellow.Let's face it: Genesis never found groupactivities appealing, so Angeal is, in fact,the spiritual leader of SOLDIER.I've got a lot of respect for him, too.And I envy you for getting to work with himso often."

(Source: Fandom Wiki, Final Fantasy Wiki: Mail (crisis Core))

there is nothing at all about Genesis' personality before the accident and degredation at all. We can make general guesses based on what we see of Genesis before that innitial wound, but over all, we do not know. So, why does Angeal stop them?

The obvious answer to this is because Genesis and Sephiroth are literally destroying the training room, he even says "You'll destroy this place," but they've done this before according to Sephiroth and theres no point at shich either of them actually manage to hurt the other. Even when Genesis encases Seph in a ball of fire, he doesn't hurt him, and their swords never aim for flesh.

it would be very easy for Sephiroth to exploit Genesis' weakness' and aim for his vulnrablites.

(credit for clip: Shirrako on YouTube)

As we can see in the above frame, Genesis leaves his left side virtually unguarded. His body is turned to favor his right side, he is quite clearly teligraphing a weakness that Sephiroth does not exploit once. Why? perhaps its hubris, perhaps its trust; who is to say, but what is clear is that, despite the destruction, neither are going to hurt each other.

The problem arises, then, when Genesis allows himself to grow overconfident. He legitimately blasts Angeal out of the fight and goes to defeat Sephiroth himself. Angeal is perhaps alerted to the fact that Genesis has lost some sort of control, but concidering there is not a scratch on either of them, he possibly didn't need to.

What I like about this line of thought is that it works hand in hand with the actual story itself. at the crux of everything it is not just Genesis and Sephiroth to blame for how events unfold, Angeals actions have a greater impact on everything.

When Angeal chooses to get in between the two he is the deciding blow that hurts Genesis, yet it is Sephiroth who is blamed for Genesis' sickness.

When Genesis storms the Shinra building it is Angeal who has left Sephiroth in the dark without answers; yet it is Sephiroth and Zack who have to pick up the pieces after it ends.

in Banora it is Angeals inaction that places Zack in danger and ends with the distruction of his home.

and the most obvious, Angeals death is not just defining for Zack but for Sephiroth too. While it is not talked about in text, Angeals death leaves Sephiroth vulnrable to Genesis' ire, and his own relationship to honour and monstrosity that affects Sephiroth's perseption of himself.

Angeal's decision to not allow Genesis and Sephiroth to come to their natural conclusion creates a consistant feeling of unfinished business. The ultimate question here is, would either Genesis or Sephiroth truly hurt each other. Had Angeal not intervened with his flimsy Shinra issue Claymore (possibly representative of his own morality and honour) Would Genesis have been wounded and would he have felt robbed of the title of hero?

This is all just conjecture and shaky soundboarding. If you have any opinions please feel free to share!

As always be kind and please don't yell or be mean (I am only a little critter I will cry!)

[silvergreenseraphim]

Angeal and Sephiroth (And Genesis?)—Dissidia Opera Omnia—Part Three

I AM ALIVE!!

Of course, a bunch of crazy real life things had to happen right as I was trying to translate this chapter, but I am back now and it’s time to get to work! So sorry for the wait, but I thank you all for your patience!

Also, Dissidia being literally cancelled while I was away was a very odd and unfortunately timed occurrence. I was upset to see the news, but I suppose that was a strong impetus to keep translating since we may never get official English translations now. Whew!

Well, let’s dive in!

—

So, after the last encounter with Sephiroth where Angeal had to accept that Sephiroth’s will was also influencing his choice to destroy the world, part of our team is gathered around Zack, resting and talking.

They express concern for Angeal, wondering if he is okay or if he is in shock after meeting his best friend who has changed so much. Tifa is prompted to then ask Zack what kind of person Sephiroth had been before the insanity.

Zack says,

“I didn’t really know him from the start. Only since I began working with Angeal, but I heard that they (Sephiroth and Angeal) were really close, as well as with their other best friend (Genesis). That one (Genesis) would play around with him (Sephiroth), and when things crossed a line, Angeal scolded them both. Sephiroth explained to me that Angeal gave him endless lectures about discipline, dreams, honor/hope, etc….”

A reference to this scene in Crisis Core:

This is so cute, but of course everyone else is bewildered! One of them says something like, “Wait, we are still talking about Sephiroth, right??” and Zack just laughs saying, “I don’t blame you for thinking that/wondering that.”

But Zack reassures them about how Seph used to be, saying,

“He was strong, he took good care of/helped people, and he cared about his juniors/younger colleagues. That was the Sephiroth I knew once.”

Cloud seems in awe over this. Zack goes onto explain,

“Then something went wrong with Genesis and Angeal’s bodies (reference to degradation), and they didn’t tell Sephiroth. That’s why everything got so tense. They probably didn’t want to involve him in all that, but I think Sephiroth felt alone/was lonely. I was also left behind by Angeal, so I shared the feeling.”

Cloud teases Zack, saying basically “Oh, so that’s why you acted like that when you met Angeal again,” and Zack laughs in embarrassment. Krile comments that Zack’s best quality is being always honest to himself, and Zack is grateful for the kindness. Then he goes back to talking about Sephiroth, saying,

“So back to Sephiroth. Later when Angeal and the other friend (Genesis) were gone, something went wrong with Sephiroth this time. It seemed like he uncovered the secrets about his birth/creation, but he didn’t tell me much about that. But what occurred made it clear to me….that wasn’t Sephiroth, I am certain. It’s why I want to help Angeal. I want to bring Sephiroth back to who he was.”

There is a sad moment here where the others understand Zack’s wishes, but Tifa and Cloud admit that they aren’t sure if they could ever forgive Sephiroth for destroying their village and killing their relatives even if he were to return to sanity. Cloud in particular admits that he feels anger and then sorrow, a pain in his chest, when he thinks of Sephiroth. Cloud is kind to Zack, saying that he owes him so much, but on this subject their wishes diverge. He says he is sorry for that, but Zack understands saying,

“No, it’s okay. I am sorry too, Cloud.”

They all accept the fact and agree that everyone has a different position, moving on. However, Cloud does briefly stop to wonder if it is indeed possible to bring Sephiroth back to his old self.

We cut away from this scene and go to Angeal, who is talking with some of the elder Final Fantasy characters. They ask him if he is calm now, wondering,

“So, he (the current Sephiroth) is indeed not your good friend?”

This statement sounds like a casual, “So, you aren’t friends anymore” type of observation, but it is actually in reference to the Jenova-Sephiroth dilemma. They are basically asking Angeal if the real Sephiroth is truly gone. Angeal confirms in a sense, saying that,

“That’s why I was so disturbed. It wasn’t just strictly a matter of “he has changed.”

The others remind Angeal that if Sephiroth is no longer human, then he doesn’t have to feel so weighed down by the whole thing, but Angeal says,

“No, even if that is true, even if he is physically Jenova, I can sense his will still inside.

The character Aaron says, “Then there is a strong chance Sephiroth wills himself into this state (being one with Jenova).”

Angeals says he knows and that Sephiroth does indeed not seem to be human anymore. He then confirms,

“This is why I should be the one to finish this…for the sake of my other friend that I failed to save (Genesis).”

Aw 🥲

There is a sequence here that follows where the elders talk to Angeal about his serious and responsible reputation, and how he trains his juniors like Zack. They offer Angeal some pleasant advice, saying not to worry so much about Zack anymore because the latter has truly grown. Angeal agrees, noting how much Zack matured and how he passed down his own little legacy to Cloud, who carries the buster sword. The elders encourage Angeal to realize that his strong and powerful words likely helped influence this and enliven others. They note Angeal’s persistent personality as well, but Angeal sadly says,

“Tifa told me that as well, but it wasn’t enough to get through to my friends (Gen and Seph). I was just too confident that we all understood each other. I should have been there for them more…”

Basch, one of the elders, encourages Angeal further, saying in regards to the situation with Sephiroth,

“Even though you are friends, don’t let this be such a burden to you. There were changes in his heart that you simply could not foresee, despite your regret.”

Furthermore he says, “Just because you two were close did not make it your duty (to fix everything). After all, a friend’s presence alone can be strengthening for another even when far away. But if you don’t want to regret, why don’t you try to come across him again now that you are both reunited here.”

Angeal, throughout this little pep talk, still feels badly and hangs his head, but he is surprised to hear the bit about a friend’s presence offering strength, and perks up when the others suggest he try to at least be there for Sephiroth this time around. He agrees, saying,

“You’re right. I will do what I could not do back then…but…”

Angeal pauses to speak one lament amidst his decision.

“…in this world…my other friend (Genesis) isn’t here….and I know he would have wanted to start over/have a second chance with Sephiroth as well…”

—

Small note section before we move to the final battle:

There is so much to unpack in these two scenes because of all the dialogue and all the things finally said about the issues we have been wondering about as fans.

For one, now we know how it would be if the idea of Sephiroth’s redemption were to be discussed among the Crisis Core characters like Zack and Angeal, and the OG characters like Cloud and Tifa.

Zack and Angeal fully want to bring Sephiroth back because he was their friend that they loved, but the perspective of Cloud and Tifa is completely different and understandably so. They never knew Sephiroth as a friend, but instead the great SOLDIER that simply snapped and ruined their lives.

However, they are kind and understanding towards Zack, empathizing with his wishes, as well as with Angeal. It was Tifa who encouraged Angeal earlier, saying that his heroic speeches about dreams and honor had helped her, and that maybe he could reach Sephiroth’s noble, good side with such appeals.

But at the same time, Tifa and Cloud do admit that Sephiroth has wounded them too deeply, and even if he were to come back to his old self, they are not sure if they would ever be able to forgive him for what he did.

Zack is very peaceful about this disagreement, knowing that Cloud in particular means to deal with Sephiroth and not let him go freely. He knows why and accepts it. It’s ultimately very tragic and heart-rending, but we understand why their viewpoints are so different.

As for the scene with Angeal and the elders, it was very endearing to see Angeal being the one getting a pep talk this time. He also speaks very politely and respectfully in Japanese, in contrast to his usual stern tone with Zack. We are reminded that Angeal himself is still just a young man, even though he comes off like a serious, older mentor. He is just as lost and confused as his friends and Zack.

He is very much still beating himself up over not having been there for Sephiroth and not having been able to save Genesis. What was said to him about “It was not your duty” initially caused him to protest and feel some kind of shock. He may have heard that the way anyone else struggling with regret would have. He may have thought, “No, it was my duty.”

In truth, what happened to his friends was not Angeal’s fault. He also quite literally died and couldn’t be there for everything, Yes, perhaps he is right in saying that assuming they all understood each other perfectly was a mistake, but the elders are also right—there were issues that he never could have foreseen. Angeal didn’t know how far Genesis would fall or how broken Sephiroth’s already-damaged psyche was without his friends.

Yet the one thing Angeal surely believes he could have done more was simply be by his friends’ sides when they were going down, which is fair and honorable. I think this is a reasonable conclusion, and so we now see Angeal’s resolve come into full view.

Even if Sephiroth cannot be brought back, Angeal intends to be there for him, to make up for his past mistakes, to make up for Genesis, and to find peace. He also knows and admits that Genesis would have wanted to do the same with Sephiroth if he were present.

The plot of this chapter became clear to me here.

This DOO story is about Angeal’s personal redemption within himself, and perhaps a bit of Genesis’ own as well. It is about closure with the Firsts’ trio, even if it doesn’t lead to Sephiroth’s own redemption. It is still about them 🥲

—

The final battle begins.

There are a few interludes with the Tsviets, Vincent, and Weiss that establish their inclusion in the final battle, and the plan to restore everyone’s memories within the world. The other FF characters also discuss a few things about Seymour’s loyalty, and the team comes up with a final plan to take down Sephiroth for good.

This leads to Sephiroth himself, who is once again worried about the memories Angeal has brought back and how that might interfere with Sephiroth’s anchor to Cloud. He needs Angeal gone in order to not be shaken and take over the world.

Right then, the others run up. Cloud calls Sephiroth’s name and Angeal says,

“I’ve come to stop you!”

Sephiroth announces that they are too late, and that he is ready to take control. The others claim they are stronger, but Sephiroth has the upper hand, of course. He uses a fake Tifa to trick Barret into giving up the power crystals that Sephiroth needs. When this succeeds, Sephiroth summons the great materia called Crystal that apparently holds the world together. He attempts to shatter it and the world starts to crumble. Aerith rushes in front of Crystal to defend it.

Barret and Cloud are struck with horrible memories and premonitions, seemingly about Aerith’s death when this happens. They call for her to get away, but are unable to stand with the weight of memory crashing down on them.

There is a moment of panic as Sephiroth gets ready to charge Aerith, but then Angeal and Weiss actually sweep in to block his path in the nick of time.

And so, the Crisis Core tribute battle formulates, a memorial to the spar that once occurred between three friends. It even plays the music from the CC scene.

Vincent and the Tsviets are shocked to see Weiss, who did not seem to be interested in the final battle before, but something seems to have possessed Weiss. He begins quoting Loveless once again. He says,

“Hm. “My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains. The arrow has left the bow of the goddess.” So, is that how you became a monster, Sephiroth, the “hero”?”

This is a strange moment of questioning from Weiss because it seems confusing with the English translation of Loveless, but he is essentially asking if Sephiroth lost his pride and honor due to a cruel cause or turn of fate. Angeal walks up and fondly reminisces, saying,

“Ah, Loveless…how nostalgic. Genesis quoted that tale until it wore me down.”

Sephiroth is oddly quiet.

Then, funnily enough, Weiss’s intentions are revealed to be about taking Sephiroth’s place. Weiss doesn’t care about what happens in the world, but believes he should be the one to reign over it instead of Sephiroth, making an amusing callback to Genesis wanting Sephiroth’s role as the hero. Angeal laughs and responds to this with,

“Oh pfftt, you two (Weiss and Genesis) are exactly alike in your competitive nature then. Do as you will.”

Essentially, Angeal accepts Weiss to fill the empty space left by Genesis in this particular world, calling back to Angeal’s earlier lament.

Weiss and Angeal prepare for the fight, but Cloud and Zack protest, telling Angeal that he doesn’t need to do this, and that they can help now that they are back to normal. But Angeal only says,

“I know you guys are reliable/strong, but I need to do this.”

Cloud understands and says,

“I see….you want to talk to him (Sephiroth) like a person…to the real Sephiroth buried behind Jenova.”

This seems to be a callback to Cloud and Angeal’s earlier discussion where Angeal told Cloud about how he treated Sephiroth like a human. Even now, Angeal wants to speak to his friend as though he were person, not a monster blended with Jenova. Angeal also jokingly adds,

“At the very least, let me show off a little bit as your senior soldier!”

The fight begins with Angeal saying to Sephiroth that he will speak to him in this way even if the latter tries to stop him. Sephiroth only dismisses this with his same, “There is nothing to talk about in this world. It will soon become an empty vessel” statement. Angeal teases a bit with,

“Come on, don’t hold back! Test your skill with us like you did that day…”

Sephiroth only says he doesn’t remember.

Their fight is familiar and striking, full of quick and clever movement. The others are thrilled watching, with Zack even recognizing some of the moves Sephiroth taught him back in the day.

The nostalgia hits Angeal in the midst of the spar and he calls out,

“Ah, I’ve missed you, Sephiroth!”

They continue, with Sephiroth still aiming for Aerith, but being pushed back by Weiss and Angeal. Angeal further recalls the memory, saying,

“Remember, we used to do this in the old training room at headquarters, playing around in there when the 2nds weren’t looking!”

Sephiroth can still only say he doesn’t remember. Angeal persists with,

“Alright then what about dumbapples? And your friend that was so eager to share one with you that he never gave up his research on them?”

Sephiroth becomes agitated at this and says,

“I told you, I don’t know/remember!”

Weiss laughs and says, “Well, you’re a sorry excuse for a Sephiroth!”

But Sephiroth only says he doesn’t need these memories, and that he erased them. Weiss says,

“Then let me remind you what our brother (Genesis) wanted. My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess!”

At this, Sephiroth finally snaps in anger and says,

“Shut up…! All I need is my pure will!”

With this, Sephiroth exerts an extreme amount of power and proceeds to attack the crystal with his raw strength and will, causing everything to tremble. The others begin to panic. Sephiroth viciously says,

“There is my response! My gift to you!”

So yeah, the spar was fun until Weiss and Angeal brought back that memory of Genesis. Unfortunately, it seemingly angered Sephiroth a little too much, and from this point on, things seem hopeless. Sephiroth’s will is too strong, and in the midst of the chaos, Seymour arrives at last, taking Sephiroth’s side and betraying the others.

They begin to destroy Crystal together, and this is when a certain scene occurs that I have translated here:

A very important moment with Vincent, who tries to intervene by telling Sephiroth that Jenova is not his mother, and that his real mother cried for him. Sephiroth, sadly, does not believe Vincent.

Sephiroth grows in his power, drunken on the feeling, and Cloud, Zack, and Angeal stand at the front, ready to take him on, Yes, even Angeal has found his resolve and admits that while things look hopeless, they have to face it. Cloud summons everyone, rallying them all to fight together.

That’s when Sephiroth ascends and takes on his Safer form. Upon seeing this, Zack grows angry and says,

“If this really is Jenova, don’t hold back. How dare she mask as Sephiroth!”

But Safer Sephiroth tells them that he has gathered all the energy of the world to himself, and that they have lost because they did not have the power and strength that comes with pure hatred of the world. Angeal says,

“So, that’s your will. To destroy the world with Jenova’s power. I suppose that’s why I still can’t turn away from you or my past mistakes…because I’m your best friend.”

Angeal is at full acceptance here, understanding that he can’t let Sephiroth do this because it’s his responsibility as Sephiroth’s best friend. It’s a very loving way to say,

“I have to put you down because it’s what’s best for you in this situation.”

So, the battle ends with Seymour and Safer Sephiroth defeated. There is a moment of uncertainty as the world hangs on the edge of collapse, but the team, mainly Angeal, are able to bring Seymour back to his senses in the aftermath. Seymour falls to the earth in regret, much to Sephiroth’s disgust, who would never have let go of his hatred so easily.

Sephiroth then vanishes, summoning Cloud to the final confrontation. Cloud rushes through a portal, into the void where Sephiroth is waiting. The fight is a direct callback to the OG scene.

Cloud beats Sephiroth at once like he did in the original game, everything ending with Sephiroth’s voice echoing through the void, promising that he will return one day with his mother as long as Cloud remembers him. Cloud reassures Sephiroth that he will fight him again and again if it means protecting the world.

When Cloud returns, Zack is overjoyed and Angeal solemnly thanks him for putting Sephiroth to rest. There is a brief intermission where the other FF characters work to bring the shattered world back into balance, but overall, the fight is over and everything is fine again.

Angeal looks to the sky, and is unable to keep from lamenting Sephiroth’s loss, saying that,

“I lost my best friend twice now…I must admit I am filled with regret, pathetic as that may seem…”

But Zack encourages Angeal, reminding him that he was there for Sephiroth this time, and Sephiroth even responded in small ways. Zack also is grateful that Angeal was by his side in battle, saying that he wouldn’t have been able to face everything alone. Angeal warmly says that Zack could have easily stood strong with the way he held onto his pride and honor. There is kind reconciliation here, and with the other characters as well. Small scenes of forgiveness and new promises made.

It was sad, and everybody was hoping that Seph could be brought back, but in the end it was more about Angeal finding peace with the loss of his friend and giving himself a second chance to be there with him until the bitter end. He full-filled this wish, whether Sephiroth knew it or not. For that, I am grateful to Dissidia. They gave Angeal the closure he longed for and that he never would have been able to gain in any other game because of his death. Now I can only hope similar opportunities are granted to the others.

Final Notes:

Thank you so much again for everyone’s patience with this! I can’t believe DOO actually ended as I was in the middle of translating, and all for the sake of Rebirth too! But it had a good run and this bit of closure we got with the CC and OG characters was a pretty decent way to end it. I would have loved to see Genesis involved, but I suspect they knew DOO was ending too soon and so they found a way to at least include his precense before actually adding him to the game.

I also have to wonder if this version of the OG’s story was so Angeal-focused because the Remake will include Genesis and how he will deal with the final battle against Sephiroth. Who can say?

Either way, it was sad and beautiful and it gave us Crisis Core fans a lot of satisfaction and understanding for these characters we loved but felt were a bit deprived by Crisis Core’s writing. It was lovely to have Angeal and Zack reaffirm over and over that the Firsts’ trio were such close friends that were ultimately torn apart by tragedy. They all loved each other dearly, and Sephiroth’s loss to darkness was a massive heartbreak for them. For Zack as well.

I found so many scenes interesting, but the spar tribute was my favorite. Originally, I thought it was Angeal’s attempt to bring Sephiroth back to himself, but I then realized it was Angeal having some fun with his old friend before the real battle began and it was time to end everything. It was like Angeal’s goodbye to Sephiroth ;-;

There are some scenes I may have to edit or retranslate again if anyone finds any mistakes, but hopefully most of it came out okay, and a big thanks to @ansfair on Twitter (please check out their translation as well!) for the extra help with certain scenes, as well as my Japanese-speaking friend! I want to eventually translate a bit more from Dissidia and the earlier scenes from when Angeal first showed up, but for now, I hope this is fun for you all to read!

Much love everyone! ❤️

[rottenpumpkin13]

Ok, one of those amazing prank shenanigans but it’s the Firsts and Zack, but they are all pulling an elaborate prank on Hojo for Seph’s birthday <3

The "Sephiroth's Wedding" Prank

Lazard is sitting at his desk while Sephiroth dials up Hojo's phone number for him. Angeal, Genesis and Zack are all standing around, watching as the phone starts ringing. Lazard presses it to his ear and waits for Hojo to pick up. On the fifth ring, the professor's grating voice answers.

Hojo: Professor Hojo speaking.

Lazard: Good evening, this is James from Bloomwood Event Planning. I'm calling on behalf of Sephiroth to confirm your presence at the wedding next weekend.

*There's a pause, Sephiroth has to slap his hand over his mouth to contain his snort*

Hojo: I beg your pardon? What are you on about, you imbecile? How dare you disturb me while I am working.

Lazard: You heard me correctly, sir. You were sent an invitation a month ago, and I'm calling to confirm your invite.

Hojo: My invite to what?

Lazard: Sephiroth's wedding, of course.

*There's another long pause. Zack has to leave Lazard's side so that he doesn't make any noise*

Hojo: Clearly there has been a mistake. There is no possibility that Sephiroth would ever waste his time on marriage, let alone copulate and breed with another being without my expressed approval.

Lazard: Am I to understand that you won't be in attendance? Is that what I should tell the couple?

Hojo: What couple?

Lazard: Ah, forgive me. The correct term is polycule.

Hojo:

*There's another incredibly long pause, Genesis is quietly laughing while Angeal shushes him*

Lazard: Sir? Sir, are you still there?

Hojo: Which individuals are involved in this⏤in this⏤filth?

Lazard: Why, Sephiroth is set to marry Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley, of course.

Hojo:

Lazard: They're a very happy trio⏤

Hojo: How could he do this to me?

Lazard: Sir⏤

Hojo: His apparent attraction towards the same sex is useless on its own, but Hollander's brats!?

Lazard: Professor⏤

Hojo: It was the visibly homosexual one with the red coat who coerced him, wasn't it?

*Genesis sinks and curls into a ball on the floor, Sephiroth is in tears as he covers his mouth, Angeal is in the corner laughing, and Zack is grinning as he listens intently*

Lazard: I can assure you that they are very much in love, Professor. I'm fortunate enough o have gained their trust, making me privy to the extent of their dynamic.

*Sephiroth is quickly writing it all down for Lazard to read*

Hojo: You don't say.

Lazard: Yes, Angeal claims that Sephiroth is a very obedient and perfectly submissive partner.

Hojo: WHAT?

Lazard: He and Genesis take very good care of him. The last time they swung by my office to discuss some last-minute details, Sephiroth was on a leash.

Hojo:

Lazard: Sir, are you there?

Hojo: I'M HAVING A HEART ATTACK.

*Genesis, still on the ground, grabs Sephiroth's leg and makes Sephiroth lose it. He crouches to the ground too, laughing under the desk*

Lazard: Do you need me to call for emergency services?

Hojo: THIS ISN'T HIM. SUCH A POSITION IS BENEATH HIM. I DID NOT MAKE HIM TO TAKE ON SUCH AN APPALLING ROLE.

Lazard: No, no, I'm positive that it was him. They were here with their son.

Hojo: THEIR WHAT? WHO? THEY HAVE A CHILD? HOW?

*Zack starts frantically pointing at himself*

Lazard: Oh, you haven't heard? They formally adopted Angeal's mentee, Zack, and are now his parents.

*There's a loud sound of something falling from the other end, along with a commotion as multiple voices of lab technicians start speaking at the same time*

Lazard: Professor? Professor Hojo?

*The line goes dead*

Sephiroth: I think we killed him.

[withgreatpowercomesmyfuckingdick]

Hi! Imma do something rare and actually make content, but its 11 at night and i just had a brain worm

for those of you that don’t know, i work at an accounting office. we do taxes. it is tax season. and now im thinking abt how AGSZC does taxes and what their papers are like and im inflicting it on the rest of you even if its gibberish

Angeal: A godsend. Keeps his forms in order and filed properly, calculates everything else himself like a good man. Papers honestly aren’t too bad, maybe 10-12 just because of his career/insurance plus his doubtless donations to charity, but aside from that. straightforward and done at his kitchen table

Genesis: A fucking NIGHTMARE. no doubt pays someone else to do it. and for fucks sake, i know he invests. constantly and consistently and probably in anything he thinks stands the slightest chance against shinra on the market. his 1099-B is a mess and definitely Not Totaled, so his is the bullshit you have to insert one. investment. at. a time. He’s the type that keeps fucking calling too, I can just tell. but, aside from the 1099-B, he’s probably got simple stuff as well. probably several 1099-INTs from several different bank accounts, maybe a couple 1098s floating around from vacation houses or some shit.

Sephiroth: Does his own. In ridiculously early. Makes almost no personal purchases so hardly has anything to pay. I can’t imagine not having a last name or not knowing his birthday doesn’t end up a legal problem somehow, so he likely has to walk directly into a damn tax office to say hey this is me and this is my shit no, someone isn’t stealing my identity. has one singular document and it’s his W-2. Which is. Fucking astronomical. Like, the number doesn’t even look right. His paycheck as a SOLDIER isn’t taxed, so he doesn’t really get much back on his refund. The only first without a healthcare /insurance form because why tf would Sephiroth have healthcare? What’s he gonna do, get sick?

not getting into how doing his own taxes was definitely a fight between him and Hojo at some point and ended up getting hashed out in a board room. Hojo didn’t like him having the autonomy of filing for himself instead of being claimed ad Hojo’s ‘dependent’. Sephiroth deadass threatened to go to court abt it. The President told Hojo to suck it up so they didn’t have to deal with scandal, Hojo wouldn’t tell Seph his birthday to be difficult, and here we are

Zack: Panicking. Late. Doesn’t know if his forms came in the mail, doesn’t know where he put them most of the time. Scrambles around for a fuck ton of receipts, ultimately has to request Shinra send him his shit again. DEFINITELY pays someone else to do it. W-2, 1095-A, 1099-C(s)(he has several debts i can feel it i love him but he screams bad financial decisions), probably some shit for his bike too. He customs it so I can see him listing some parts he buys for it as work expenses. Jokingly puts some money he gave aerith for flowers and what he spent to make her wagon as donations to charity and it actually goes through because the church is still considered a legal entity. Definitely has to pay late fees.

Cloud: Pays Tifa to do it. Filing for both of them is a nightmare cause all their shit burnt in Nibelheim, so once Edge gets right with the WRO they have to do all their paperwork from scratch and get reassigned SSNs. He genuinely has a fuckton of paperwork from doing the Strife Delivery Service. Luckily, only ‘employee’ he has is Tifa, and even then she doesn’t do things regularly aside from pick up the phone. Doesn’t make his business an LLC until he’s literally forced to due to his number of clients and someone trying to sue him for damages. 1099-NEC for TIfa for sure, then once he’s an LLC, some yearly maintenance to keep legal. Mileage and gas expenses go CRAZY on his self employment form, I fucking bet. I bet Cloud’s handwriting is shit tho. Tifa’s at her desk counting up his gains and losses for fucking ages because his fives look too similar to sixes. Eventually she wrangles him into installing some shit on his phone that counts it up, if only to cure her headache. Funnily enough, he does get veteran benefits from what’s left of Shinra’s shit, reparations of sorts, but he doesn’t keep it. All goes to charity, so that ends up in the books too.

alright, that was unnecessarily in depth and way longer than i planned. good night LMAO

[salternateunreality2]

Bodyguard AU, but it's Tifa for Cloud

Cloud is a quiet, grumpy, lanky organist with great talent and a deep obsession/love for his instrument.

Sephiroth is a former prodigy at the same instrument who went coocoo for Coco puffs due to his father/coach, the hooj, and has started to send Cloud creepy letters and flowers. He claims he was born from an organ (pun fully intended) named Jenova. Guy is cracked.

Cloud's good friend (and crush) Zack begs him to hire a bodyguard, and he digs his heels until Zack brings Tifa to meet him. She's a professional bodyguard with her girlfriend Aerith, and he reluctantly agrees because he knows her and she knows him and pushes all the right buttons to get him to agree.

Cloud: I'm just an organist, I don't need a bodyguard.

Tifa: the police have been helpful with your stalker?

Cloud: ...no, but-

Tifa: And the stalker would never escalate, I'm sure.

Cloud: ...

Zack: He started sending chocolates recently.

Tifa: So you and the people you love are gonna be totally fine, right?

Cloud: *squirm*

Tifa: And the walk from the church to your home is all on busy streets at the time you go?

Cloud: *SQUIRM*

Tifa: Maybe I can come over like just a sleepover. Catch up and be bros for a while, yeah? Or you can stay with me and Aerith for a bit, until this cools down. I'm sure Claudia would like that.

Cloud: ....Kay. But Zack needs protection too.

Tifa: Can do.

BEE-FA, BEE-FA, BEE-FA!

Buff Tifa.

Cloud is still stubborn and dumb, and finds himself rejecting her help one night and saying he's fine, then storming off to his apartment down some back alleys. Then he hears footsteps.

Cloud: *dials*

Tifa: Hello? Cloud?

Cloud, strained: Hey, uh, I, um, might have been wrong earlier. Sorry.

Tifa: Something's wrong. Can you talk?

Cloud: A little.

Tifa: I'm coming, are you about at Main and 5th?

Cloud: Close, yeah.

Tifa guides him over the phone to a well-lit area with cameras while she catches up, making a lot of noise to scare off Sephiroth. It works and she gets to Cloud.

Cloud, high-pitched: Hey!

Tifa: He's gone, I scared him off. It was him, he dropped a paper swan without a note on it. You ok? *Checks him over*

Cloud: Not hurt. Sorry. Sorry for yelling. I was wrong. Sorry.

Tifa: Shh, Cloud, you're in a bit of shock, you're shaking. Come on, let's get home. I texted the group, he'll be there, ok? Here, you left your jacket, put it on. You're ok, I'm ok, deep breaths.

Cloud shakily obeys and lets her take his arm, leaning on her a little and shaking while she makes it look like they're just walking normally.

The police (Turks?) finally take it seriously when one of the paper swan notes burns Cloud's hand before a big recital. Cloud performs anyway, but in agony, and Zack is so worried and is waiting in the wings to catch him when he stumbles, which he does.

Tifa's not amused by Cloud, but she respects his choices and hauls his butt to medical with Zack.

Eventually, they run into Angeal and Genesis, who are looking for their friend who they lost touch with when Genesis got cancer while Sephiroth was going through some shit. This escalates Seph again, and he breaks into Cloud's apartment while he's not there, leaving scary messages.

Next

[foreststarflaime]

Me and @stargazing-zani were bored so have this list of what partner pokemon the ff7 crew would have

The Banora boys get the Applin variants. Genesis gets a Flapple and Angeal has an Appletun

Genesis also tries to deflect attention onto his much flashier Ceruledge in public tho

Angeal was also given an Aegislash by his father which he nicknamed Buster. Buster has seen too much as it’s passed down to Zack and then Cloud in turn, watching its partners suffer but unable to form the words to comfort them

Hojo tries and tries to get Sephiroth something big, ultra-powerful and intimidating, but Seph is set on the adorable Mew which found him and refused to leave his side. Still a mythical so Hojo lets him keep it but is very miffed

Cloud was adopted by a Galarian Zapdos bc chocobo. I don’t make the rules. I do feel like the character arc the Sobble line goes through fits him really well tho

Zack has an unevolved Rockruff for quite a while. When it eventually does evolve, no matter what time of day it is, it will inevitably evolve into Midday Lycanroc because Zack’s sunny personality is overwhelming

Aerith has a Tinkaton. They’re perfect for each other

I don’t know how to explain it but Mudsdale gives me Tifa vibes, also it was a powerhouse when I had it on my team and I love it

Hojo created a Mewtwo bc all other pokemon rejected him, but it immediately turned on its creator and murders him violently, preventing all problems and fixing everything without the need for time travel

Insane Seph got a Deoxys bc creepy alien. Maybe it is Jenova in this universe and starts corrupting him as soon as he gets it driving him insane

Rufus gets a Houndoom bc that’s basically what Darkstar is anyways

Cait Sith is basically just Meowth already, I don’t need to do much here. Maybe Perrserker to be the version from the Scotland area Pokemon game

Alternatively for Reeve I feel like Duraludon works, bc urban development and it reminds me of the Neo Midgar concepts

Heidegger gets either a Skuntank or a Granbull, idk which but vibes

Hehehe Vincent has a Cofagrigus

I bestow upon Yuffie the honor of Thievul. Loved it on my team and they both have the little shit vibes. She would also be an evil team grunt stealing everyone else’s pokemon tho, and honestly good for her go crazy Yuffie

I know for Kunsel it’s always the hack-y technology vibes. But consider. Always hiding behind a mask, never see his face. Mimikyu

Barret? Absol. Avalanche, impending disaster, perfect

I feel like Rude would like Urshifu

It would be absolutely hilarious to me then if Reno just had an Emolga

Scarlet with a Metagross

Why is Tseng so hard. Inteleon perhaps for the spy-y stuff

For Veld maybe a Wishiwashi for the Turk’s whole stronger in numbers found family thing

Oh dear god while writing this I thought too much about the implications of SOLDIER still existing in a world where pokemon battles replaced normal fighting. Maybe it was an experiment to splice human dna with pokemon to get humans to be able to fight using pokemon moves too? So like you go up against a SOLDIER, faint all 6 of their pokemon and think yay I’ve won, and then the SOLDIER just starts going after your pokemon themselves. They are their own 7th pokemon

[luneandbarbecue]

How I imagine the Firsts as Cats (aesthetically)

Genesis:

I do see him as an orange cat, but most gingers tend to have a lighter coat which doesn't suit him in my mind. So I see him having a more rusted coat than a typical ginger. The black aspects also remind me of his wing and gives him a refined and elegant aspect, so yeah.

Angeal:

A chonk. A short-haired, cobby grey cat. Nuff said. A black coat seems too aesthetically mysterious for his personality, so a full grey coat represents his warmth more prominently. (The first image is a neighbourhood cat named Harry, his personality is more Sephiroth, but he looks like an Angeal to me).

Zack:

For some reason, a dark grey tabby with black stripes. Zack has black hair, yes, but tabbies just seem to exude a more playful, himbo energy which suits Zack. There's a grey tabby named Chippy in my dad's childhood house and I'd see him burst hyper-actively in a sprint, very Zack-coded.

Sephiroth:

He's a Maine Coon. Definitely a Maine Coon. A light grey-white coat with a beautifully long coat. The large triangle ears with its extra tufts feel very reminiscent of his bangs (especially the og style) and it gives a more wilder -yet regal appearance without feeling too feral. I mean, look at Gelicoon (couldn't find the best pictures to give my point, so I also linked videos), they're exactly how I picture Kittyroth.

Here are bonus drawings of Kittyroth in my files <3

The second drawing involves my Seph!daughter OC Wendy with her mom as a crow.

[prismaticpichu]

What would a Gold Saucer date be like with Seph and Zack? 👀👉👈

Taking in consideration that Seph can be a little awkward, but slowly open to Zack, and Zack feeling blessed to witness this side of him… 💭

Dhdhdhbdbdh!!! Only the CUTEST date lol!! ;-; ;-; Ty Anon for such a precious question!!!!

(Gonna make it CC era, but bump Zack’s age up to 18/19ish!!)

~

ZackSeph ~ Gold Saucer Date 💙💚

• The idea came a little out of the blue, yet not entirely without its roots or reason. Months had passed since the events of Modeoheim; Genesis was nowhere to be seen. Things at ShinRa have cooled to a moderate temperature, spattered with hints of conflict here and there, but not enough for it to take away the overall air of peace that had settled over the base.

• It was the perfect time for them to start exploring their relationship <3

• Zack had always wanted to take a vacation—a real vacation. Not some pitying trip to Costa Del Sol where he would have to fight Genesis copies with a sandy beach umbrella. He wanted a vacation where he could relax, be unchained from ShinRa, enjoy himself…

• And he wanted to be with one of his favorite people in the world.

• Seph had been there since the first sparks of the hellish fire were lit, shielding him from Ifrit’s vengeful fury when he’d been naive enough to turn his back in arrogance. Their bond traced all the way back to Wutai, the HQ ambush, Angeal… Everything that had imploded, they braced it together, and their relationship only flourished over the span of the storm. They bled together; they burned together; they grieved together; they healed together. Countless nights were spent at each other’s quarters, watching movies and fallen asleep in each other’s arms… An unbreakable friendship had formed, with also a spark of something more. Something beautiful. Something that burned just as bright as Ifrit, and a fire that Zack wanted to run into with all his blazing heart.

• All of which was how the question of a proper, fun Date was born.

• It was also first time Zack had ever seen Seph’s head snap up from his paperwork, be rendered speechless, and break an amusing swath of silence with “…I accept.”

• They walked through the gates of the Gold Saucer hand-in-hand, Zack feeling the anxious quivers as he clutches the smooth leather of his buddy’s glove. He gave him a little squeeze. I’m right here… he was saying, assuring. I’m here, pal…

• Sephiroth squeezed him in turn.

• Although a little overwhelmed, Zack doesn’t leave his partner’s side, the two SOLDIERs staying linked as their eyes darted from stand to stand. Zack wanted to chow down on some delicious greasy grub; Sephiroth wanted water. Result?? They ended up sharing an ice cream cone- vanilla with Oreo crumbs!! Zack got a little splotch on his nose, perfectly centered. Sephiroth dabbed the treat off with a napkin <3

• My… he chuckled, the first beautiful song of the night. You are too much…

• Zack bit the bottom of the ice cream cone, laughing playfully as cookie crumbs spilled onto his date’s hand.

• They shoot for some games, heading into the arcade, Zack taking the wheel as he smashes skeeball and basketball hoops. Sephiroth wondered why Zack seemed so… determined yo win, but ultimately chalked it up to Zack’s lovingly athletic nature. All his deductions are proven wrong when Zack raced up to the prize booth, 10000 game Gil earned, and exchanged the dough for their biggest prize: a JUMBO Zolom plushie!!

• Said Zolom was then draped around Sephiroth’s neck, emerald eyes blinking in surprise.

• For you, bud. And those beautiful eyes of yours.

• As the night deepened and the lights of the attractions blazed, Zack suggested they take a ride on the ferris wheel, knowing Sephiroth would enjoy the scenic views over any “nauseating” thrill ride. The man happily agreed! Some Would You Rather on the line later, and the two were climbing into a car, Zipper the Zolom still wrapped securely around Sephiroth’s shoulders—soon joined by Zack’s loving arm as the ride slowly ascended, carrying them up to the brilliant explosion of stars glimmering overhead.

• Sighing, Zack leaned against his bud as the their car came to a gentle stop, towering over the colorful beads and flares that had become of the park below. So cozy… the plushy combination of Zipper and the hoodie he had convinced Seph to wear, nestling deep into his beautiful shelter. Nowhere on the planet did he feel safer than he did then: soaring above the world, so free, light as a feather, no wings needed…

• He felt Seph lean against his hair only seconds later.

• Thank you…

• Heh… shucks. I’m so glad you had a good time.

• N-no… I mean… thank you. For everything.

• Aww, bud…

• I mean it. Your companionship, your ears, your trust, your love… He stopped, burying into the feathery spikes, the quills quivering as he let out a soft, tranquil sigh. My.. my life… it would never be the same without you. I don’t know where I would be. What I would be doing. How I would get up everyday without knowing you would be there. I…—

• And he paused again, swallowing, emerald eyes gleaming against the night as he let the truth break free in all its earnest, velvet honesty:

• Just three words, three simple syllables.

• Words he thought he knew once upon a time.

• Words that were lost.

• Words that, like their fragile weight, like a bond between a trio of glass statues, could be so easily shattered…

• And so very possible to be rebuilt again.

.

.

.

• I.. I love you.

[altocat]

FIRST SOLDIER EPISODE 2: CHAPTER 1

It's finally time! We were waiting FOREVER. I know you guys are very excited for Babygeal and Miniroth's first adventure together. So I'm recapping what you might have missed if you weren't able to see the chapter! Let's go!!!!

We open on the mysterious woods, a hooded figure staggering around wheezing and gasping. He's in some sort of ruins location. He drops a video camera cutting to images of sephiroth in fire and flashing forward to glimpses of scenes we'll see later in the story. We see Sephiroth, Angeal, and a Lucrecia-looking character named ALISSA. A new soldier ally? But she looks a LOT like Lucrecia so it's weird. A new friend? Or something...else?

Alissa is shown to be mentioning something about Sephiroth taking a magic sword (Masamune) and how it will empower him. Or, as she puts it, CHANGE THE WORLD. More clips from the trailer.

We cut to the present with Miniroth sleeping on the helicopter. Angeal disturbs his sleep like we saw before. It's still 1992 btw so not too much later than the Rhadore mission.

Miniroth is grumpy. Camera guy is here too--his name is Bachman.

Angeal is SIXTEEN also btw if you're wondering. Seph is prob 14 or 15.

Angeal keeps yapping and LMAO he's already talking about dumbapples. Miniroth is super annoyed and keeps blowing him off.

Angeal guesses that Seph has ever been lectured before and Miniroth FLASHES BACK TO GLENN. I'm already sad.

Bachman is reminiscing like this is a documentary he's looking back on. Angeal and Sephiroth land in September of 1992 into the ruins of Robio, on the southern tip of Wutai. Their objective is to find a bunch of missing soldiers.

Bachman is with the Shinra Records and Archives division. Sephiroth already hates being filmed. Bachman is basically there for propaganda reasons. Sephiroth WILL NOT humor his questions and is getting increasingly pissy.

Angeal is determined to find the missing soldiers no matter what. Four missing soldiers.

A monster appears! Sephiroth doesn't want to fight with the cameras rolling so Angeal steps in to fight for him. Angeal asks why Sephiroth didn't fight, Sephiroth says that Angeal had it handled. Bachman keeps hassling them for PR footage. Sephiroth was not informed about being filmed and is sulking. The guy is DONE.

They enter the Igara Forbidden Zone. It's a spooky place. Shinra thinks they're hiding something there. This is where the soldiers went missing. Angeal guesses there's some evil sort of entity in the area. Sephiroth is checked out.

Angeal tries to get Seph to cut loose. There's tension between them. Seph won't open up. The incident with Glenn really hurt him. He doesn't trust anyone.

Angeal spots something. It's a soldier and he's dead. Angeal is sad. He knew this guy and he was one of his friends. Angeal says they'll bring the body back later. They have to find the others.

They trek deeper into the Forbidden Zone. Angeal leads the way. ANOTHER body! That's 2/4 soldiers found.

Bachman brings up the Rhadore mission. Sephiroth flashes back again to the FS trio being kind to him. Sephiroth lies about how close he was to them, pretending he never got emotionally involved. But even then, Sephiroth is upset af when they are called traitors to Shinra. It's weighing on him.

Sephiroth tells Angeal that he's a special soldier. He's the only one who can speak freely to Professor Hojo. He warns Angeal THEY'LL NEVER BE FRIENDS (lol). Hojo must have done some shit to Seph before this mission, since he's so closed off. Angeal muses that being around Hojo must have fucked up Sephiroth's personality.

A third dead soldier found. Sephiroth still doesn't want to fight when monsters show up. Peak Grumpyroth. Only one more soldier left to find.

Sephiroth says that the wound on the body was made with a blade, the same as the other bodies. A PERSON killed the soldiers, not monsters. Angeal wants Seph to help him out and share intel. Sephiroth is not being agreeable.

They take a short break. Bachman brings up being friends with soldiers and says that Seph keeps to himself. Angeal lectures on TEAMWORK. Seph blows him off again. Sephiroth brute forces his way through without teamwork.

Angeal says he always wanted to work with Seph. He says if they can't be friends then at least comrades? Sephiroth keeps depersonalizing himself. He keeps calling himself just a "weapon" or a "machine". Angeal is DETERMINED to be his friend no matter what. They can get stronger through bonds. But Sephiroth is still depressed and checked out.

Lol they talk about ninjas. Angeal has fought them in simulations.

FUCKING HOJO JUMPSCARE. Seph flashback of fighting in simulations with Hojo overlooking his training. Angeal's data was included to test how Sephiroth operates with a team. Huh. Angeal was apparently partners with Seph in those simulations due to rankings. LOL GEN NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO PLACE I GUESS.

Angeal senses something's not right about this place (NO YOU THINK?). They talk about Soldier Intuition. Camera man is literally just there for Angeal to talk to since Seph won't talk to him lol.

Seph says they're being watched. Sephiroth just senses it while blowing off the whole intuition thing. We see a spooky purple presence tailing them.

Another body! The final one! And they're alive! But suddenly an old man with an INCREDIBLE AMAZING SWORD shows up. Sephiroth says that the geezer is unworthy to hold such a beautiful weapon. It's the Masamune btw. In case that isn't obvious. And the old man's name is Swordsmith Masamune.

NAMELESS (Sephiroth's old sword) breaks during the clash (rip). The old man says that he's the master swordsmith of Robio. He brags about how COOL AND AWESOME HIS SWORD IS. And how no matter how long he's waited, no one has come to claim the sword as their own (lol till now). He then runs off.

The injured soldier stirs and removes their helmet. It's that Lucrecia-looking chick Alissa. Sephiroth IMMEDIATELY panics because SHE LOOKS LIKE HIS MOTHER SADRFGHJGFD

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON ASEDRFGHFDS She asks if she looks like Sephiroth's sweetheart...or his MOTHER. AND THEN THE CHAPTER ENDS!!!!

But wait there's apparently extra content? Little glimpses. Hm...

Snippet 1: Angeal tells Bachman to take Alissa to safety while they gather their fallen allies. Sephiroth is still freaked out by Alissa. The mission wraps up. Bachman muses that there is no other soldier like Sephiroth. But the second he lost his sword...there were cracks in his psyche. Hm...

Snippet 2: Sephiroth is having a dream. It's his mother's voice and HOLY SHIT he's dreaming about seeing her im going to pass away. I'm going to die FUCK he's dreaming of having her with him and being in her life and hersdfdsdfs she makes him dinner and it's PUMPKIN SOUP AND I'M DYING HOLY SHIT HOLY FUCK ASEDRFGHJGFDSADFGHGFDSDSFGHFDS it's a fantasy in his head AND HE AND AND SHE ASDFGHFDSA I'm sobbing SHE HUGS HIM AND I'M ASDFGDSFD

Snippet 3: Angeal is thinking back to a memory with his father. It's Gillian's birthday. We see young Angeal with his dad and they're bringing out food for his mother enjoying a nice picnic. Angeal says he wants to do more cooking. Just some cute Banora lore mostly. Angeal is talking about enlisting. The extra wages will help his family. They toast in honor of sending him off. Angeal reflects on doing meaningful stuff with his life by joining SOLDIER.

END chapter. Whew. Holy cow. Super intriguing stuff. Who is Alissa? Why does she look like Sephiroth's mom? What's with the Masamune? Will Sephiroth EVER trust Angeal? ALSO HOLY SHIT WE GOT A CANON MOMMY ISSUES SCENE WITH Seph and Lucrecia I'm going to die.