#anyways shinra is 18

[aurorasgate]

LUNAAAAA ily 🤭 anyway i've read a bunch of your fics and i never thought i would like sephiroth until i read what you write so pls pls pls if you can write smth smutty and sweet of seph it would kill me (p.s. preferably after him and reader have their first baby and they've been so pent up after almost 2 years of not being able to do it)

hi babes!! ily too!🥰🩷 im so glad i could help bring you over to loving sephiroth heheh🤭 i did take this idea but i did change it a bit and then kinda ran away with it? i still hope you like it! thank you so much for reading and requesting something!

the sweetest of dark dreams

sephiroth x fem!reader | 6.3k + words

warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, porn with plot, un named daughter, hurt/comfort, post ffvii story, violence and drugging (not by seph), he's not pre-nibelheim sane but not crazy seph either?, possessiveness, explicit sexual content, mating press, cream pie, implied multiple rounds, i think that it but please let me know i missed anything!

synopsis: the first thing you saw upon opening your eyes is sephiroth with your daughter smiling at his side and tugging at his sleeve but you’d be lying if you said you hadn’t considered that maybe you never woke up in the first place and you’re still dreaming. is it a nightmare or a sweet dream? you wonder again and again as two days pass, questioning if any of this is even real because how could it possibly be real when your husband who should be dead is suddenly.. here, alive and breathing and making your daughter smile. you don’t know what to believe but all of this feels so unbelievably real it’s hard to tell your brain and your heart otherwise and he doesn't wait long to show you just how real this is.

you’ve yet to decide if this is a dream or a nightmare or which you would even want it to be if you knew.

it started off as a nightmare. no it was so much more than that when you lost sephiroth after the nibelheim mission and somehow even worse than that when you found out you were pregnant. pregnant and utterly alone. on the run from shinra, desperate to ensure your baby would never be known by them, would never have to come close to one of their labs or needles.

then your daughter was born. a mix of you and your soulmate and beyond perfect. the rays of light in her eyes, his eyes, helping guide you through the darkness that had clouded the path in front of you for those first nine months without him and thus nightmare began to turn into a bittersweet dream.

the sweetness of it was easier to take in the more she grew, with each successful day that you’re both free of shinra, but a day never passed that you didn’t think of sephiroth or feel the permanent ache in your chest that had been present since you were parted. and you were never blind to the threats that still lingered. the truth that your daughter shares sephiroths jenova cells and if shinra ever found her.. well you would be sure they never got to her so you would not have to find out and she would never have to know any of the pain her father was put through.

it's what sephiroth would have wanted too. 

nearly six years of you and her, safe and sound, six years of giggles and smiles and you doing everything you can to protect her, a dream you live out for both you and your beloved and when you heard of the explosion of shinra, what sephiroth had done, you had hoped maybe the running could finally be over, but it only took one moment for it to turn into a horror you didn’t dare dream of, that you could hardly take and have relived every night since in your dreams.

“mommy?”

“yes baby?” you replied as calmly as you could and prayed that your daughter couldn’t feel the rapidness of your heart beat under her hands that cling around your neck but you couldn't suppress it no matter how hard you tried.

“is something wrong?”

she’s always been more aware than you know how to handle at times but how could you lie when at this moment everything seemed wrong, so very fucking wrong, like everything you did to try to keep her safe wasn’t enough and never would have been. you remembered crying about how you couldn’t do this without sephiroth during her birth and maybe you were right all along..

you heard he died along with many others that fateful day but there was no mistaking hojo when you spotted him in the city you visited for supplies near the place you had called home for the last half year and the devilish expression on his face when your eyes met let you know he had not mistaken you either.

that sickening smile had only grown when his gaze came to the small child holding your hand, her silver hair so similar to her fathers if her slitted pupils weren’t enough to give her away to him. though you honestly don’t know how much of a look he got of her because so quick you had your daughter in your arms and slipped back into the crowd that frequents this market street.

you didn’t look back but you felt him and others following you.

“whatever happens, just don’t let go of me, okay?” you asked of your daughter, hugging her closer to your body. you had dropped your groceries somewhere on the side of the road to help lighten the load and get you moving faster as she wordlessly buried herself into your chest, holding on like her life depended on it.

she held on just as tightly when she was ripped from your hold by a man dressed in a shinra infantry uniform only minutes outside of the city. like they had been waiting for you, they cornered you against an abandoned building and before you realized it, hojo was behind you and you felt the prick of a thick needle sinking into your side. 

there were a dozen others that surrounded you, some pulling your weakening body away from your daughter as others tried to make her let go of you. you’ve never felt so helpless, so scared and even though you know it’s only a dream this time around, the emotions flood back like they had then. 

“what did you do to me?!” you screamed at hojo in your fight to reach for her but no matter how much you tried to move you couldn’t get your body to do anything and the place where hojo had injected you burned like the heat of it was draining every ounce of your strength and consciousness. 

you hardly heard his answer over the cries of your daughter and the adrenaline pumping through your veins with no way to release after whatever the hell hojo put inside of you. you screamed, unable to hold it back when your mouth felt like it's the only thing that could move or do anything at all. it made your lungs burn with dry heat, you thought they may even burst with how it rages inside of your chest but you could only hope in the explosion it would take hojo and these ass holes with you.

by some miracle it ignited your muscles and you tugged at the hands that held onto you, your strength surprising them and their hold slipped, allowing you a moment to tumble away towards your daughter, reaching out for her with bruised arms just as gunshots echo all around you. 

a gust of wind, like the beat of a giant wing, swirled around you, sending hojos lackeys flying in every direction but you and your daughter remained steady, not a hair flying in the wind. before your hands can connect with her she’s being lifted into the air by gloved hands and when you follow them to the person picking her up, feeling your body succumbing to the serum hojo injected you with, you see sephiroth holding her on his hip, reaching down for you with his other arm, a dark black wing surrounding you like a shield before the entire world faded away.

you awake with the same jolt you had once the serum had run its course, body jolting and gasping for air but unlike then, you’re quick to realize where you are and that things are okay. a weird, uneasy definition of the word but your daughter is safe and hojo is dead and that is enough for you. at least that’s what you keep telling yourself.

it had to be enough because right now nothing else aside from those two things make any sense to you and even the latter you’re only taking at the word of the familiar stranger currently asleep with your daughter in his arms on the plush chair in her bedroom. 

it’s only been a few days since you woke up after being asleep for two weeks thanks to hojos concoction and the first thing you saw upon opening your eyes was sephiroth with your daughter smiling at his side and tugging at his sleeve but you’d be lying if you said you hadn’t considered that maybe you never woke up in the first place and you’re still dreaming. is it a nightmare or a sweet dream? you wonder again and again as two days pass, questioning if any of this is even real. 

how could it possibly be real when your husband who should be dead is suddenly.. here, alive and breathing and making your daughter smile and claiming hojo is no longer a threat because he personally saw to it and you’ll all be safe now. he’ll be sure of it. you honestly don’t know what to believe but all of this feels so unbelievably real it’s hard to tell your brain and your heart otherwise and regardless of whether it is or not, you need to continue to protect your daughter. so even in this foggy state between reality and a fucked up beautiful dream, you do what you’ve always done to keep her safe.

she may be a heavy sleeper but sephiroth never has been himself and you doubt that’s change in the years you’ve been apart so when you sneak out of the house, you hold your boots against your chest as you tiptoe out of the front door and hold your breath with every step until you’re on the edge of the small garden you keep, sitting on the wood plank of the garden box and lace up your boots before making your way back towards the city.

two weeks you’d been asleep. two weeks of not earning any gil and you don’t even know how sephiroth has paid for or gotten the food currently in your pantry. it’s just another worry on your shoulders that makes it hard to breath or think straight but it’s one you can do something about at least. you’d have made better care taking plans for your daughter in your absence had you not been asleep all this time and the fights you planned to join in the undercity for gil being only tonight until next month. you couldn’t wait that long and having joined them before, you know you’ll be fine. thank the goddess there were no lingering effects of the serum as far as you could tell.

that doesn’t stop how sickly on edge you feel the entire walk, like hojo or sephiroth might pop up from the shadows, like you’ve done a terrible thing by leaving your daughter with a man you aren’t sure is real. a stranger, you had called him earlier but you’re just as much of a stranger to him now too. so long without him, your only focus being keeping your daughter alive and safe at any cost and despite your heart with a wound that not even time could heal. you’re not the same person and if he really is the man you once called your husband, the same one who had tried to destroy the planet, he isn’t the same either. 

he had been gentle with your daughter over the past two days of you carefully watching his every move though. she had hardly wanted to be away from him since you’ve awoken and he had seen to her care during the time you were drugged to sleep without as much as a scratch on her little body. she trusted him and though you aren’t sure that you did, you didn’t think he’d hurt her and you’d do your best to get back before either of them noticed you were gone.

your dream replays in your mind as you walk past the place where sephiroth had reappeared before you, right when you needed him. in the moonlight you’d never guess it was the place of a slaughter or the return of someone you never thought you’d see again. it looks almost peaceful in your slowed steps taking in the blades of grass that flatten under your footsteps but it does anything but bring you calmness. 

on the brink of losing it, your mind running a million miles an hour with how to wake up from this dream, how to discern what’s real and what isn’t, you’re thankful the undercity is filled with more life than the actual city is thanks to more than just the townsfolk being here to watch the fights happening in an arena that sits in the center of it all. no one pays you any mind and the endless chatter along with the announcers echoing in the background nearly drowns out your anxious thoughts.

you’d need to figure them out at some point. you know you can’t avoid it forever but it would have to wait for tonight, until you could control just one thing and be sure there was enough gil for whatever your family might need in the coming weeks, until you could feel something that was undoubtedly real to knock you out of this sorry state if for no other reason but your daughter.

like always, you would need to push through for her even when you’re breaking in ways you don’t know where to begin to cover up or fix. then again, maybe you’re just unfixable to begin with. 

having made your way through most of the crowd, you’re nearly at the carved out side entrance of the arena to look over the fight lists and sign up for one’s you know you’ll be able to win against other people and monsters but like he had been waiting for you to arrive, you see sephiroth leaning against the wall with his arms folded and his head down, silver locks covering most of his face just a curtain of starlight. he no longer wears his normal armor but there's no denying it’s him. in the busyness no one seems to notice him either but he’s all you can see.

in a blink, his attention is on you, as if he felt your presence, and you’re frozen in the street, unsure what it is that’s gluing your feet to the ground. fear? guilt? worry? you can’t begin to describe the feeling properly but it's like black tendrils root you in place and make your heart beat uncontrollably, uncomfortably.

unfolding his arms, he takes long strides towards you, his eyes never leaving yours, the expression on his face completely unreadable and as composed as ever. every conscious part of your body tells you to run as fast as you can in the opposite direction, all the while your heart whispers that he would never hurt you. run towards him. you push the urge down, remind yourself he isn’t your sephiroth, and when the nerves in your feet finally get the message and move, it’s away from him that they choose. he’s so close to you by then though and you know you only get away because he’s letting you.

you can’t get out the ‘excuse me’s and ‘i’m sorry’s that sit on the tip of your tongue as you hurry away from the arena and back towards the entrance you came from, accidentally knocking into patrons without looking back. you don’t even know why you’re running when you know there was no getting away from him. even if he’s letting you go now, he was faster. stronger. dangerous. and worst of all and more likely than anything else, maybe you’ll realize he’s just some twisted joke conjured by your subconscious or shinra in order to get whatever they want from you.

it’s just outside the dimly lit entrance to the undercity that sephiroth has had enough of chasing after you and before you can stop in your tracks, he’s standing in front of you, the lights of the undercity reflecting back on his handsome features, and he’s quickly changing your direction and backing you into metal wall of the normally closed off entrance with his steps only inches from yours. it’s only the two of you around with the arena growing louder, telling you the event is about to begin. 

he doesn’t touch you, there’s not a place your bodies connect, no where you’ve dared to reach for in the two days you’ve been awake but you can feel the warmth of him at this distance, smell his familiar leather and flora scent, and it wraps around you like a blanket you had nearly forgotten the touch of but you hesitate to melt into its comfort. his strong arms cage you in, not letting you escape his intense gaze and towering height, and on bated breath you wait for him to make the first move, to say something, anything because for two days you’ve hardly had any words between you but it seems he was not going to let that continue any longer.

“what are you doing here?” he asks and you feel your heart skip a beat at the sound of his voice that wavers with what you swear is worry.

but it couldn’t have been, you tell yourself.  he’s not real. this isn’t real. wake up - wake up!

“it looks to me like you already know,” your words are like venom on your own tongue. you hate the taste but you can’t stop it with the overwhelming feelings currently consuming you, that you don’t know where to begin to process. before he can say anything you continue, finally finding the strength to move and using it to shove him away from you with your hands planted firmly on his chest. it’s the first time you’ve touched him since waking up and you’re almost surprised that he feels solid. it steals the poison behind your words, makes you falter and they’re only defeated now. “you don’t get to judge my choices. i do what i have to for her. i always have and i always will.”

free from his caging, you don’t try to go back to the undercity. you know he wouldn’t let you and gods dammit your daughter is alone right now - your feet start to head back towards home at a quick pace, not waiting up for him or looking back to see if he is following you.

“that’s not the issue here,” his voice is close when he speaks again, as though he’s right on your heels.

you stop in your tracks, turning on the balls of your feet to meet his gaze. goddess how is he even before you.. 

“not the issue?” you can’t help but laugh. it feels horrible though, bitter and heavy and brings tears to your eyes. “then tell me, what exactly is the problem because i can think of so many bigger issues than earning gil to keep my daughter safe!” so quickly you’ve lost your cool, every word you speak brings you closer and closer to bursting into tears.

“you’ve done so much for her,” he says and despite the flinch of the words you used to claim your daughter without him, there’s a soft adoration in his tone that makes you think this really must be some kind of mirage meant to torture you further, to break you, and it’s working. he takes a step closer to you, reaching for you with his gloveless hand but his touch never connects. “but putting yourself in danger is no way of protecting her.”

your tears begin to shed without your permission, letting go with them the floodgates of your emotions. this was too much to take, too much to process when you don’t know what to believe or do when years of longing pain crashes to the surface in a suffocating wave. “what would you even know about it when you’ve been goddess knows where - what - trying to destory the fucking planet - while ive been in agony without you?! trying to get through every day-”

you take a step away from him, thankful there seems to be no one else around you to hear your loss of control, to see the way you run your hands over your face and hair and take in breaths that only seem to fuel the heat inside you that is cracking you with ever added degree.

“did you even come back for me after nibelheim? did you know i was pregnant or about our daughter?!” you’re sobbing uncontrollably, unsure if he can understand your words but you couldn’t stop them just as much as you couldn’t control your weeping eyes. you can’t meet his either when you continue, “i - i don’t even know if you’re real sephiroth! the only thing i know that's real is her and even if this, right now, is some kind of messed up dream hojo’s put me in, i have to take care of her in the chance it’s not and if it is then- then i have to wake up so i can save her. i have to do something! - anything - i -”

the touch of his hands on your face, cradling your jaw with gentle strength, stops you in your tracks before you can fully succumb to fear and grief and every little emotion firing off inside of you, before you drown in your own tears. 

sephiroth says your name and though you can’t tell if it’s helping or making your tears worse, you don’t fight him. “you don’t think i’m real?” he asks, his voice deep and eerily tranquil but before you can protest or reply, his lips are on yours, pressing together in a deep, claiming kiss. one of his hands carding into your hair while the other grabs your trembling hands and brings them up to his chest. 

you can feel his steady heartbeat under your palms, taste him on your lips with each kiss you return that’s coated in your tears and the way he handles you feels like a distant memory. you want to melt into it, let yourself be weak and handled by him like you had years ago but you can’t bring yourself to give in. it’s not real and it hurts that much worse because of it. 

with unreserved strength, he presses you against him with a hand now at your back, splayed across you in a possessive grip, keeping you completely flush against his larger body, your feet nearly off the ground in your reach for him. you gasp against his lips at the sudden contact and when he takes in a deep breath, he affirms you as though he had read your mind, “this is real,” you feel the pressure of his forehead on yours and hiccup in your sobbing at the contact. “and you will never be without me again.”

“sephiroth..” you hold onto the shirt he wears, the fabric bunching in your fists as if he might disappear in the wind if you did not hold onto him. in this state you don’t know if you can believe him but so badly do you want it to be true and you think maybe for a moment you can give in, let yourself believe it for the sake of your heart that’s filled with a hope you worry might break you like you never before if it turns out to not be true.

you couldn’t bear to lose him again. even if neither of you are the same as before, there is no doubt in your mind that he is a part of your soul and heart just as you are a part of his. that you will always be tied to one another in a bond you can’t explain in words but that you’re certain transcends lifetimes and universes.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

the front door to the house creaks open slowly and for the first time since you gave in, you break from sephiroths lips, trying to catch your breath in quiet gasps thanks to the tears still flowing from your eyes. he’s carried you the entire way home, with your legs wrapped around his thin waist and his ever present strength helping him support you with minimal effort. he isn’t keen on letting you go now that you’re home either. 

the house is quiet and in his walk to your bedroom at the end of the hallway, you both peek into your daughter's room to see her sleeping peacefully where sephiroth had tucked her in before following after you. you reach down and shut the door and in his next step, he captures your lips once more in a kiss that makes you light headed and dizzy.

he’s quick to press you against your bedroom door as the click of the lock fills the room and is quickly replaced by your whimpers. aside from when you slept here for those two long weeks, unmoving but with your heart still beating, he hasn’t stepped foot back in your room despite the fact it was torture to be so close and yet so far from you. he had wanted to devour you from the moment you first woke up and looked at him with those eyes that were so closed off but still so full of the love that changed him, that made him realize there was something he could not live without.  

he wasn’t well without you by his side either and regardless of whether you believed him or not, he hadn’t known of your daughter but when he found out, all he had done was search for you until he heard the planet vibrate with your scream that shook his soul and brought him to you, never to be parted again.

“have you remained only mine angel?” he asks low against your lips, with an urgency that tells you he needs you to tell him. he gives you the chance, lifting up further up on his waist and stepping away from the door, latching his lips on the base of your neck, nibbling and sucking on your supple skin.

you’re quick to nod, your words following after he has you on the bed and is on top of you, not letting an inch between your bodies. “only ever yours,” you promise and you mean it whole heartily. there could never be anyone but him in your bed or in your heart.

“only mine,” he echoes, the words vibrating through his chest and then his teeth are sinking deeper into your flesh. you hold back a cry, feeling your body break out in goosebumps as you writhe underneath his broad frame, trying to keep quiet. he shifts and presses his hard, clothed cock over your sex, rolling his hips with a soothing lick over the marks of his teeth on your flesh. “all mine.”

the way he strips you of your clothes is such a stark contrast to how he handles your body. the fabric is carelessly ripped and torn in a ravenous fashion, the fibers easily giving way to his strength but when his fingers touch your skin that lay beneath, they’re acutely aware to your fragility compared to what had become of his own body and maps out every change in your own since sephiroth last saw you like this.

he remains completely clothed above you, his pupils the thinnest of slits underneath thick dark lashes that grow heavier with aching hunger the longer he stares at you. a piercing gaze that makes your entire body tremble and burn with heat. a predator gaze. the eyes of your other half that you only saw in your dreams for so long. but your dreams had never been this real. your heart had not beat like this in six years, not even your endless tears could begin to replicate the feelings coursing through you right now and you couldn’t control a single one of them but you didn’t need to when you surrender all of yourself to him.

the pressure of his body against yours once more grounds you, the warmth of his breath and lips on the skin below your ear, his hand that travels down your inner thigh towards where you want him the most making you whimper in a plea for more. at this point you aren’t sure you’ll be able to stop crying but your tears are slower now, your hands tugging at his clothes for purchase or to get them off of him or some mix of them both.

“i’ll show you how real i am darling,” he whispers against you, placing a kiss to the space below the lobe of your ear right as you feel his fingers on your cunt, slowly parting your folds from your entrance to your clit, groaning at the soft and wet feeling of you. “be a good girl for me.”

in all the time you’ve been apart you’ve never forgotten the feeling of him but have never been able to mimic it with your own hands and could not even dream of it with another, let alone follow through with it just to sate your needs. there’s nothing compared to the way he knows your body better than yourself, the intense adoration he shows it and how easily he finds the perfect pressure against your clit that has you clenching around nothing, arching into his chest, and soaking his fingers.

and when he finally sinks two of his digits into you, you have to bite your bottom lip to keep from screaming out. it feels so good, so right, so real. his body lifts from yours, spreading his legs and yours thighs on top of his follow, giving him the perfect view of your glistening cunt. 

“‘s real,” you don’t mean for the words to be spoken out loud despite the fact they echo over and over again in your mind and you say them so quietly he might not have heard you had he not been so keenly aware of every inch of you.

his other hand comes up to your face, the pads of his thumb soothing below your bottom lip in a gentle caress that coaxes your jaw to slacken and hear the your sweet noises as he thrusts his fingers in and out of your tight hole, curling them when they’re buried knuckles deep inside of you.

“i’m real,” he confirms, running his thumb along your bottom lip.

your hands hold onto his muscular arms, your nails leaving crescent shapes in his skin with every lewd squelch from between your legs each time he pulls his fingers away and pushes back into you with skilled movements until you’re coming so quick, so hard, around his fingers. he massages that perfect spot inside of you that has you seeing stars behind your closed eyes, his thumb pressing against you clit in time with his movements and your orgasm rocks your body, adding to your tears that he begins wipes with his hand on your face as he watches you break around him, feeling himself growing impossibly harder behind the confines of his pants at how beautiful you are. 

his chest is full of the anguish and relief of all these years without you, what he thought he had lost that only drove him to further madness but that was here before him now, that he would never be let out of his grasp again. 

a whimper escapes your lips when he leaves you so very empty with the withdrawal of his fingers but you can’t bear to take your hands off of him. you need to feel more of him, all of him, and don’t stop your pitiful movements that pull at his clothes, shaking and needy. you can’t hold onto him tight enough but it doesn’t bother him, he doesn’t make you stop, and his much steadier hands help you take off all of his clothes, revealing every last bit of porcelain skin that you thought you would never see or touch again and the silken strands of hair that tickle your skin nearly everywhere your hands roam.

settling between your legs, he helps you stroke his cock in languid movements, his larger hand enveloping your own, mako filled eyes entirely focused on you, slitted pupils blown wide taking in the sweet divine bliss on the beautiful features of your face, the delicate curve of your breasts with every deep breath you try to take, the sticky slickness of your pussy that makes his hands on you tremble in held back strength and makes his mouth water. 

“spread your legs for me,” he instructs, his free hand supporting your leg helping you move as he wishes. “spread them wider,” his voice falls deeper, your legs shake but not from the stretch. you do as he says and you let go of his big cock to reach your hands up around his neck to bring him down to your lips. his hair falls around you like streaks of moonlight, bringing you back to the place you always belonged and the softness of his lips on yours, the pressure of his leaking tip at your entrance, all reminding you how real this is. “just like that sweet girl.”

the thickness of him stretches you in a lovely ache that you only want more of and he takes it slow sinking into your tight walls until he’s buried to the hilt, all while kissing so passionately to muffle your shared moans, to feel and claim all of you that he could. his strong grip keeps you still, at the mercy of his movements. even when his hands travel from your hips to your legs while he begins to pull out of you just to sink back in with a powerful thrust, they have you at sephiroths will and you easily give it to him.

grabbing onto the fat of your thighs, relishing in the feeling of you in his hands once more, so pliant and desperate, he pushes your legs to your chest, spreading them wide, and sets a deep and brutal pace when he gives into everything he’s feeling that's only amplified by taking you like this. 

at this angle he’s so deep, fucking you into the matress, and with how unchecked his power is, you don’t doubt you’ll have bruises where his hands hold you open for him but you want the proof that he’s yours again. that you won’t wake up to and he’ll be gone. you hold onto him with just as much fervor, your grip moves from his arms and bury in the thickness of his hair, tugging at the roots with every time you feel so full of him, so close to your release again already, and it only seems to spur him on more.

the bed posts move along the ground in time with his thrusts and when it’s somehow still not enough of you, his chest meets yours, his arms barely holding the majority of his weight over you that has you folded in half, whimpering underneath him with every jolt of his hips inside of you, the slap of his heavy balls against your ass joining your quieted cries of his name and his heavy breaths, his sweet praises. 

“you’re taking me so well - ngh, fuck,” you clench around him, greedily sucking him back in when he’s pulling away from you. “my good girl.”

“‘m so close,” the words are breathless, barely there when they escape past your lips and the heat of them soaks into his own that can’t stop kissing you, delving his tongue into your mouth and tasting you again and again.

“i know,” his voice is octaves deeper, sensual in a way that only brings you that much closer. “don’t hold back. cum for me angel,” it feels like a gentle command, even with all the desperation and love behind his words. “need to feel you cum on my cock.”

“ah! s - seph-!” you can’t get out his name before the pressure between your legs bursts like it never has before and when you feel him throbbing inside of you, painting your walls with his seed, it only adds to the ethereal heat that washes over you and leaves you trembling in the drugging, hypnotizing atmosphere of him still hard inside of you, the feel of his body against you, the numbing tingle of your legs as he helps them unfold and settle comfortable around his hips.

he doesn’t stop there. your heart skips far too many beats at the loss of his chest on yours, not knowing where you began and he ended and your hands that try to pull him back to you are too weak to do anything but follow the way he moves you but he soothed you with his lithe fingers caressing your skin as they help you move onto your stomach.

you mewl at the sensation of his cock moving inside of you while he shifts you into this new position. the sticky mess between your legs drips onto the sheets below you but makes it easy to sheathe himself fully inside you with a gentle and small pull of your hips upwards.

most others would be terrified to be in such a vulnerable position with sephiroth but you’re nothing if not pliant and perfect when he plants his hands beside you, leaning down to kiss your neck as he bucks his hips into your sensitive pussy and whispers against your skin before sinking his teeth into your tender flesh again.

“i’m not done with you yet.”

bonus!!!

in the morning you wake up alone but the noise that erupted from somewhere else in the house and caused you to stir eases your heart before your mess of thoughts begins to come back to you. your daughter's giggles and though quiet compared to her own unrestrained shriek of laughter, you could still make out the deep chuckle of sephiroth.

slipping out of bed, you move slowly thanks to the ache in your muscles and between your legs, your steps a bit wobbly with each one you take to dress in something more decent and walk to the door. the more you move, the steadier you become and by the time you make it to the living area, stopping in your tracks to watch your beloved peel an orange for your daughter who talks to him animatedly, it’s a pleasurable hum throughout your body with every movement reminding you of the words he told you last night.

there’s still a lot to consider. a lot of questions to be answered. a lot of healing to be done. maybe you’ll never be back to normal or you'll be stronger than ever. you don’t have any answers, not for yourself or from him but for this morning, you can let yourself hope this will be the start of the dreams you shared with sephiroth since his days in soldier, whatever version of a normal life might be left for your little family.

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comments & reblogs would be so greatly appreciated!<3 thank you for reading ♡

[vincentvalenfine]

Intruder

There’s an intruder in the Shinra Manor. The guard dog awakens to deal with them as he’s supposed to, but instead finds himself intrigued… and with some pent-up frustration to relieve.

vincent valentine/afab!reader MDNI, 18+, nsfw word count: 8222 warnings: explicit piv intercourse, clothed sex (ok well... vincent is clothed at least) read also on ao3!

The muffled sound of the alarm buzzed in such a grating way that even Vincent Valentine couldn’t ignore it, especially considering it was designed specifically to make him get up. Brow wrinkling with displeasure, he feigned deafness for a few moments more before heaving an aggravated sigh, opening his eyes to the welcoming darkness within his coffin. It didn’t last as he pushed the lid up and off, but at least the yellowed lights were easy on his eyes while he sat up and looked to the monitors off in the corner where the obnoxious alarm sounded from. Looked like someone just coming down from the upper level into the basement, a single intruder. That should be simple enough to head off at the pass and he might not even have to fire a single shot if he played up his flair for looming and looking foreboding.

With a weary sigh he rose from the coffin and left the lid leaning against it, easily reachable once he could return to his slumber.

Knowing exactly where to place himself to catch them off-guard, he paced silently from his room and across the open expanse of what used to be a more useful space. These days it served best as a cage for when the Beast grew too restless.

To the elevator door he stalked, placing himself in front of it and crossing his arms as he waited for it to come to a halt. Whoever the intruder was wouldn’t be able to take more than a single step out before he confronted them, and if they sought a conflict, well… taking care of them would be a simple matter. He probably wouldn’t even have to get violent. Which was good, because sleep still hung over his shoulders just as his cloak did, wanting nothing more than to let oblivion pull him back under.

The door opened.

-

Nibelheim was buried in snow, and you were half-frozen to death looking for any kind of shelter to escape your icy fate. With the wind rushing all around you and flurries of snowflakes blocking your vision further than a few yards, you’d begun to lose hope of surviving when out of the endless white rose a mansion. Decrepit, looming, an unwelcoming visage… but your best hope of hunkering down until the storm passed. There was a wrought iron gate standing in your way, but luckily it didn’t appear to be locked and you managed to shove it open just enough to slip past its bars.

It really would’ve paid to be better prepared for your trip, but then you hadn’t really bothered to check the weather forecast for the Nibel region before planning your great expedition. You were paying for it now of course, trudging through the snow in thin pants that had done nothing aside from collect ice that would melt and soak them through as soon as you were warm enough. Your shirt wasn’t much better, nor was the light jacket. Really, it was a miracle you were able to make the final few steps up to the front door and throw all your weight into getting inside.

As the heavy door creaked open on rusty hinges, you stumbled forward and took a deep breath of moderately warmer air in relief, then fell into a fit of sneezing at all the dust that assailed you. This place reeked of stagnation and decay… but the interior was still strangely beautiful. The design spoke of opulence and old money: hardwood flooring and a high ceiling well-decorated with wood carving and chandeliers, not to mention the second floor balcony there to greet you with an angelic statue perched front and center, though the stairs were blocked with debris. You didn’t exactly want to go up there anyway - what you needed was to find somewhere warm enough that the threat of hypothermia would go away, you could strip your miserable outfit off, and maybe if you were lucky would have clothing or a bed for you to rest on until the weather got itself back in check.

A moment spent closing the door firmly behind you, and then you wandered carefully, taking in the air of abandoned elegance as you went. Piles of books, a dining table halfway dressed but with only a few cups long since emptied of any contents other than dust - it was all left to rot or gather that dust, and as you began to warm up your weariness was lifted somewhat by a sense of curiosity. What sort of mystery was behind a place like this? Why had it been abandoned for what had to be decades at this point, if the thick veneer of dust all over was any indication?

Your curiosity was further piqued when you spotted something out of place: an elevator door, hidden near the back, and a glowing red panel that indicated there was power. Approaching cautiously, you hesitated before giving it a push. It beeped, and the door slid open.

A working elevator in an otherwise abandoned mansion? Oh, this was getting more and more insane, but the irresistible pull of curiosity was too much to resist; you stepped into the elevator, contemplated the two buttons, then pressed the down button with a shrug. All the dirty dark secrets would probably be hidden in the basement, or else you’d find a dingy little wine cellar. Some alcohol would make you feel warmer, at least.

The ride was smooth, but your clothes were soggy by now and you couldn’t help shivering, arms clasped tight around you to try and retain a bit of heat. Maybe prioritizing a bedroom would’ve been a better idea, but too late: the doors opened, and you took a single step out before coming face to face with a man.

Oh… pretty.

He stared at you, looking perplexed, as if he’d just been about to take the elevator himself and was surprised to find another human being here in his way. You blinked a few times, opened your mouth, then closed it. What were you even going to say? ‘Sorry for wandering into your basement in the middle of a snowstorm?’ That would totally go over well.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said. His voice was smooth and deep, and the implication that you needed to turn around and get back on the elevator flew right over your head as you shivered violently instead. He was probably right and you were likely breaking and entering, but your body was no longer listening to you, and your shivers continued right up into the teetering little step you took that had you crumpling to the floor, only to be caught by a gloved hand on your shoulder, a tempered measure of strength in the grip that now kept you upright for the moment.

“S-s-s-s-sorry,” was the only word you could push through chattering teeth, and then your chilled body gave out entirely, leaving the stranger to catch you with his other hand as well.

-

That didn’t even go a little bit according to plan. Vincent found himself first surprised, then confused, then annoyed in rapid succession at how the interaction had played out, and now the only semi-conscious intruder practically dangled from his grasp, a cold even he could feel seeping through his gloves that spoke of the weather outside likely being dreadful as it always was this time of year. A snowstorm would drive a person to seek shelter in the most rundown of buildings, but it didn’t explain why the intruder had used the elevator and chosen to come to the basement of all places. Curiosity, probably…

His lip wrinkled just a little at how thin the clothes before him seemed to be. Certainly not the kind of clothing that would help someone stay warm and dry - they looked sodden to him, and he had no doubt hypothermia would claim them if action wasn’t taken. Therein lay the crux of the matter.

Stop intruders, by force if necessary, and protect Shinra property. Those were his orders, generally speaking. In theory he had already stopped this intruder, or at least the weather had done most of the work for him. But… stop didn’t imply he had to kill, or let someone die for that matter. And someone so underprepared for something as easy to check as the weather probably wasn’t looking for data or valuables to steal. Probably just a very lost traveler.

His eyes roved again, the thin clothing before him doing little to hide the intruder’s figure. In the back of his mind an old drive stirred, forcing him to hastily cast his gaze away - without thinking about it, he turned with the intruder still in hand and started back towards his room. He would have to look and see if he had anything remotely suitable to replace such a sad outfit.

-

Dazed from the cold, just staying awake at the moment was a struggle, so you didn’t even have the energy to protest as you were suddenly carried off by the man - further into the basement? But he’d just said you should leave? Maybe he changed his mind.

The open space he carried you across was poorly lit and made you want to close your eyes all the way, but you forced yourself to keep them halfway open so you could at least figure out if he was taking you somewhere like a pit of spikes to toss you into. That would be a pretty ignominious end, and you’d like to at least be prepared to try and make a break for it if that was the case.

But instead it was into a room with warm, yellow light suffusing its interior, the doors hissing shut behind the man as he continued walking. Finally, he sat you on a hard surface of some kind, a table you thought as your legs were still dangling off the ground, and swept his eyes over you briefly before glancing away as if embarrassed. Right… your clothes were pretty wretched: soaking wet, icy cold, and plastered to your body like an attempt to win a wet T-shirt contest. His hands were still at your shoulders, and were definitely the only thing keeping you from falling over right now.

“You need to remove those clothes,” he spoke with that low velvet voice of his again, a brief clearing of his throat as if he wasn’t used to talking. “You will die of hypothermia otherwise.”

Right, that was a real risk. You managed a weak nod of your head, and thoughtlessly began trying to unbutton your shirt, though your numb, fumbling fingers could barely even hang onto the buttons to begin with. The man looked disgruntled as he glanced back to see your attempt, and then in one swift motion he batted your hands aside with his own, leaving the… was that a gauntlet? You hadn’t even noticed the golden armor clasped around his left hand before. It remained on your shoulder to keep you from falling while his right hand in a much simpler black glove deftly unbuttoned the shirt one-handed almost too briskly, like he was worried about the connotations of undressing a stranger out of the blue.

“Th-th-thanks,” you mumbled as coherently as you could muster.

Was it just you, or did he seem to hesitate just a second or two? The moment passed by too swiftly before he slid your shirt and jacket both off your shoulders, then stared at the bra before him in seeming consternation. It was definitely soggy and cold as well, but he appeared to be having a crisis of modesty at the moment.

“Just t-t-take it off.”

He started slightly at the words you managed to force out, and for a second you thought he might’ve started blushing before his hand slipped around behind and smoothly unhooked the back as if he’d done it a dozen times before. Maybe he had. Maybe this was his secret dungeon for luring in unlucky ghost hunters and lost travelers to seduce and ravish before killing them and eating the bodies for dinner.

Or maybe your cold-addled brain was just being absurd. Very high possibility.

His hand slipped the bra off your shoulders with carefully averted eyes and next dropped to your pants. While the button and fly were easy for his obvious dexterity, pulling off pants was clearly a two-handed job and he was hesitating again as if trying to determine the best course of action. You decided to try helping by prying your stiff arms from around your shoulders and grabbing the waistband, easy enough even with numb fingers. The man seemed briefly alarmed, the gauntleted hand gripping harder on your shoulder as if you might tip over at any moment, but then he seemed to change his mind suddenly and both of his hands fell to your waist, lifting you just enough to make the task of stripping that much quicker.

That was most of your clothes, pants pooling at your ankles; the man had mostly averted his gaze out of a clear sense of modesty, but he was kneeling now to deal with your equally crummy shoes, swiftly removing them and slipping your pants the rest of the way off before standing back up. You sat there shivering still, looking at him: he appeared to be desperately looking for what he ought to do next that didn’t involve looking at you. It would’ve been funny if you weren’t half-frozen and doing your best to stay conscious while naked in front of a stranger.

It seemed to click in his head then what he could do, right hand lifting to start undoing the buckles holding his worn red cloak in place, head still turned away from you. In just a few moments he had it off and was draping it over your shoulders, using his right hand to coax your own hands up in order to grab at the much warmer fabric. It wasn’t particularly soft, but compared to your clothes it was delightfully dry, warm and thick, and you immediately drew it in around you. There was a vague scent of dust to it, but also gunpowder, gun oil… something warm and musky, a heady kind of fragrance that you couldn’t resist as you buried your face against the tall collar encircling your head.

You glanced up at him - he was staring, and you finally noticed his eyes. Deep red, with a yellow ring around the left eye that seemed to glow, pulsing softly. Pretty…

-

Vincent realized it had been more than two decades since his last meaningful interaction with another person. And longer than that since he’d last seen so much bare skin that wasn’t his own (not that he could bear to look at himself for more than a few seconds, anyway). He wanted to tear his gaze away, think about anything other than how well his cloak fit over the body in front of him that continued shivering anyway, the eyes that were locked on his like they enjoyed the sight, weren’t even a little repulsed by the strangeness of him-

He turned away abruptly, unable to suppress the sudden heat and tightness in his guts. Too long since it wasn't a scientist's cold and calculating stare, or another experiment's fearful eyes on him. Too long since his dalliances among the Turks and later the long nights of pining for her, wishing it was her hands on him instead of his own.

Far too long. And the bestial side that he kept subdued with frequent sleep was rousing at his frustration, further fuel to his fire that he wished desperately to smother. He couldn’t do this right now, refused to think about indulging an appetite he'd quashed years ago under a mountain of guilt and self-loathing. He hadn’t thought himself capable of such a reaction anymore, but it wasn’t the first time he was wrong about something.

And the physical response remained, almost painful under tight leathers.

The intruder was half out of it from the cold anyway, a person like that wasn’t in their right mind, and he didn't need anything, didn't deserve it… even as his body was growing to want for it desperately. And that frustrated him more.

He needed a distraction, badly.

-

You watched the stranger turn away as if you had tried to bite him. It was kind of odd, the mixed actions from him like he couldn’t decide whether to help you or run away. But at least his cloak was holding in what body heat you had left, and the intensity of your shivering was slowly beginning to ease up.

He took a few steps away and your eyes focused on the rest of his body for the first time. Completely clad in black leather and golden metal, with a wild mane of black hair cascading down his back. Long, lanky, broad in the shoulders but thin everywhere else. Not a standard figure to cut, but it was easy on the eyes still. Every step he took further away clanked with the metal on his shoes, and the sway of his hips as he moved so effortlessly… wow, the cold really was getting to you, wasn’t it? Just because a stranger in a basement was kind of attractive.

Wait, was he just leaving you here? Oh, no, he was going over to a chest of some kind, opening it and rustling through the contents with a disgruntled sort of noise. Maybe looking for clothes? Or the torture implements, if he was actually secretly a serial killer cannibal. The idea was just as absurd as finding him attractive, anyway. Either way, he clearly couldn’t find what he was looking for, movements laced with agitation as he kept digging about before giving up with a sigh and closing the chest with a solid thunk. Either you were in luck, or out of it.

He turned back towards you, crimson eyes flickering over you for just a moment before he glanced aside - not much for eye contact, it seemed. “... You are still cold.”

Well. Duh. You limited your amusement to a forceful huff, and then found further amusement in the slight pout that tugged on his lips. Probably not a serial killer considering his lack of social skills, since they were supposed to be more charming on purpose. His charm seemed to be completely by accident instead, a slight hunch in his shoulders as he folded his arms over his chest.

“You may rest here until the weather calms. But you may not wander from this room.”

You nodded, deciding to take a chance on trying to stand up now that you felt marginally warmer with the man’s cloak draped around you. Your legs weren’t having it though - they gave out as soon as you started to put weight on them, and your arms refused to even try to catch yourself against the table.

But in an instant he was right in front of you, almost unnaturally fast in his reaction as he caught you by the waist with both hands. The claws of his gauntlet pricked at your skin, his hold just firm enough to keep you from falling but gentle enough to prevent injury. You blinked a few times, his face much closer to yours now, and felt your cheeks flushing almost painfully warm compared to how cold they’d been before. And even with leather gloves covering his hands, they still felt warmer than you were right now. Body heat was a good solution for warming up, wasn’t it? He didn’t seem like a terrible person thus far, all things considered, so the idea of cuddling up with him wasn’t offputting.

“I c-could use some help, with warming up,” you murmured into the space between you and him. He stiffened slightly in response, fingers tense on your sides. Your eyes on his face, his gaze kept avoiding you as if it might burn him to look.

“I could not find any spare clothes,” he admitted.

“D-don’t you have a bed, or s-something?” At least your teeth were slowly easing up on the chattering, though it still kept you stuttering over your words.

The man glanced at you for a moment, his face steadily growing pinker by the second - he really didn’t know what to do with a naked stranger, huh. Finally he straightened up, taking you right up with him effortlessly. All you could do was tighten your grip on the cloak so it wouldn’t fall off, a faint squeak as he began to walk like he was carrying a vase: light, but fragile. He was definitely much stronger than he looked.

You looked over your shoulder to see where he was taking you this time and found yourself staring in disbelief. Was that a coffin? And he was carrying you towards it like that was where he slept… oh no, it really was, wasn’t it? He came to a stop beside it, and in spite of your sudden look of alarm began lowering you down into the coffin, pausing only when you managed to pull a hand free of its clutch on his cloak to grab at his leather-clad arm instead. “W-w-wait, y-you don’t really sleep in this, do you?”

His head tilted, expression faintly curious. “I do.”

Probably not a serial killer… but the weirdness just kept coming, didn’t it? You glanced down at the coffin, unnerved by the idea of resting inside it.“Y-you’re not uh, gonna put the lid on it?”

“You would warm up faster with the lid in place,” he stated. You looked down again, then back at his face with clear disbelief.

“Body heat would probably be more effective.”

He quickly turned pink again, fingers digging into your sides for a moment before his grip eased; it only took a few seconds before he went right back to lowering you into the coffin, faster this time. You yelped as your legs met the red velvet cushioning at the bottom, still refusing to hold any weight the traitors that they were, and found yourself reclining onto your back until your head found the somewhat thin head pillow. Yeah, this was a real coffin for those instances when a body didn’t join the Lifestream quickly enough to avoid rotting, and apparently he slept in it. It smelled like dust, leather, gunpowder… but not death. Thank Bahamut for that.

You had yet to let go of his arm though, and as his hands began to withdraw you tightened your grasp, causing a furrow in his brow as he halted once more. “What now?”

“I don’t know what to call you…”

His brow furrowed as if he didn’t understand the question, though he sighed after a moment.

“Vincent Valentine… you may call me Vincent.”

-

He came to a compromise with the intruder and only partly closed the lid to avoid feeling trapped, but to still hold in more heat than the coffin would without its lid. It was also a relief to know that he would be able to hear the lid moving should his surprise guest try to get up at any point, though it didn’t alleviate his other issue.

That one being that he couldn’t get the thought of the naked form in his coffin, in his cloak, out of his head.

The want had yet to recede, restrained as it was by his waning self-control, and he did his best to ignore it next by taking apart his gun to clean it. All the intricate parts that fit together to make a weapon needed to come apart in just the right order, laid out precisely and methodically, and given careful attention to remove any dust or dirt that found its way inside. Oil was needed to lubricate the moving parts to avoid damage… uncharacteristic heat rose in his face as a wholly different set of moving parts and lubricant came to mind.

The barrel needed to be brushed out, but he only got a few strokes in before the action turned too sensual in his hands, too much of a reminder of what he wanted - maybe needed at this point, but certainly didn’t deserve. He had to set it aside, fists clenched as he glanced around for a less… accidentally erotic distraction. Nothing caught his eye.

So he stood up and began to pace instead, arms folded over his chest tightly as if it could help him bring mind and body both under control. But the comforting cover of his cloak wasn’t there to reassure him, nor could he retreat to slumber. It was just him, his thoughts, and a body that was betraying him with an unrelenting urge.

The faint scraping of wood informed him that his coffin was being opened, distracting him momentarily - it had only been a few minutes, certainly not enough time to warm up by any appreciable amount.

Forcing himself to unfold his arms and keep them loose at his side instead, he turned and felt the eyes on him too keenly, lust sharp and tight in his guts like razor wire. The collar of his cloak curled around the intruder’s head, the lip of the coffin obscuring what he knew was behind it below the exposed neck… knowing but not seeing was somehow more than he knew how to bear.

He began to approach.

-

You peered awkwardly from the coffin as the man - Vincent - walked towards you. Those eyes practically glowed as they stared at you, and the intensity of them pinned you in place like he was a predator stalking you. Which was ridiculous, really, if he had wanted to hurt you he would’ve done it already, rather than trying to prevent you from succumbing to hypothermia.

He stopped beside the coffin, looming. You craned your neck up, forgetting for a moment your lack of actual clothing before realizing he had a clear line of sight of your chest downwards from his position, which made you quickly draw his cloak closed around you. The warm, heady scent of him tickled your nose again, and if you were warmer you’d probably be blushing. As it was, you tried not to look too pathetic peering up at him from his unorthodox bed.

“I’m getting colder I think,” you admitted with a faint voice. The shivering had stopped, yes, but you still felt undeniably cold and the mostly closed coffin could only do so much when it wasn’t very warm to begin with.

Vincent continued staring, then tore his gaze away abruptly. You finally noticed the warm red creeping over his cheeks - a very modest person apparently. But you were well past your own modesty at this point, not having to make much of an effort to actually look more pathetic as you looked up at him.

It took a minute, but he finally exhaled a deep breath through his nose and took a final, reticent step closer before leaning down to push the coffin lid back a little further. You quickly scooted up against the far side of the coffin to give him room. The way he stepped in and sat himself down was… undeniably awkward, and he avoided looking directly at you aside from a few cautious glances to ensure he wasn’t laying himself down atop the cloak and denying you any of the fabric’s coverage.

Slowly, his shoulders and head came to rest on the velvet cushioning, and seemingly out of habit he drew his arms up to cross over his chest. He even rested like a dead person would in a coffin… stiff and almost entirely motionless save for the faintest shift of his chest like he hardly needed to breathe.

After a beat of silence, you tentatively shifted closer. He had closed his eyes, yet somehow you still felt his attention on you, intensely so. It was as if every sound and movement was honed in on, and the feeling made you nervous about closing the distance to at least try and absorb whatever warmth this man gave off. Thin as he was it probably wasn’t much, but it would beat dying of the cold.

He opened one eye to look directly at you, and in response you fell still, trying to understand why your heart was beginning to pound in your chest. It helped you feel a bit warmer at least…

-

He couldn’t get his mind off the body beside him, and the aching, painful desire taking its toll on his innards. Setting himself with his right side closer to the intruder made it less likely he’d cause any accidental scratches with his gauntlet, but that that also meant one less layer of protection between him and his guest. Not that he needed the protection really, but… he was struggling all the more without some way of maintaining personal space.

After staring for a moment that had to be uncomfortable, he sighed and uncrossed his arms, lifting the right up enough to make room at his side for a body to fit.

The intruder’s body was a bit cooler than his own but already he felt the tension in his guts spike, too keenly aware of the minimal barrier that his cloak provided between his leathers and the otherwise naked form. The leather itself dulled things, but even then - the last time he’d purposely allowed someone in his personal space like this… was something he shouldn’t be thinking about with a stranger, no matter how well they fit up against his lanky, uncomfortable body like they belonged there. Like they wanted to be there, even if it was just because of the chill wracking them and not because of him.

Better to be used for this than pushed away with horror and fear.

He slowly brought his arm down around their shoulders. That there was a lack of shivering was concerning, a sign that their core temperature was dropping dangerously. He wasn’t a particularly warm person, but he could assist in sharing what he had, and using friction to create some warmth as well. His hand started to rub over their upper arm, slow at first as not to startle them, then briskly to generate heat with the gesture.

The pleased sigh they heaved was more than enough to remind his body of its wants.

He slowed, then halted the movement of his hand, uncomfortably stiff now, but he seemed to have given them some sort of reassurance with the small gesture. Their head came to rest just below his shoulder, and though he remained still as a statue, they seemed unbothered and even shivered some. Good, their temperature was coming back up, then. As long as he didn’t have to do anything else… he could tolerate this. He could ignore his body, close his eyes, and let sleep creep over him again, as it always did.

-

Slowly, you felt warmth returning to you. Sure, Vincent wasn’t a very warm person, but anything was better than nothing. The shivers coming back helped too, until finally they eased up again and you could begin to feel your fingers and toes tingling painfully. Ouch, frostnip… but better that than the bite and losing them. You found yourself following his example after a while, dozing lightly to the relatively slow rise and fall of his chest.

At some point you shifted yourself up on top of him to better pillow your head on his chest, and sleepily realized there was no heartbeat - just a soft, steady hum from within that still comforted you somehow. Another weird thing about a basement dwelling man who already seemed pretty weird.

His arm had shifted too, from your shoulders down to your waist - underneath the cloak. It brought a warmth to your face that you couldn’t suppress, a blush that only worsened as you gained further awareness of your position on him and how your legs had settled: one drooping down beside his hip, and the other nestled between his. And that left your thigh pressed down against the unmistakable bulge in his pants, leather tight across in what had to be a painful amount of pressure. Was he awake yet? It didn't seem like it, but you didn't have a heartbeat to guess with and his breathing was abnormally slow.

You tried to sit up, and the motion caused your thigh to press down harder. In response, a deep, quiet groan slid from him as his arm tightened its grasp on you, and a thrill rushed through you in spite of your returning common sense. He was strange… but undeniably handsome, and probably pent-up if he never left this basement most of the time. And maybe you were a little lonely yourself.

There were better options out there, but none of them were lying beneath you and holding you tightly. Nor were they peering down at you with crimson eyes, one of them glowing and pinning you in place with a near predatory stare.Shiva help you, lying in a coffin on a stranger, in the basement of an apparently abandoned mansion. This just might turn out to be one of the strangest encounters you've ever had.

The tension built under the silence, rising heat trapped beneath the cool barrier of unfamiliarity.

You opened your mouth to say something, anything to break the silence - and found yourself pulled up roughly to meet his mouth instead, lips and teeth a discordant clash at first that drew a muffled yelp from you before his tongue dipped inside. His arm squeezed you closer, almost squeezed the breath out of you before his grasp loosened and his hand slid down from waist to hip and from there to your ass for a firm grope. Despite still floundering for a proper reaction you couldn’t help moaning into his mouth, hands fumbling to grab onto some part of him to either anchor yourself or maybe push back and try to untangle from this new complication.

But you didn’t get the chance, as the arm he’d kept out of play until now rose and snagged first one wrist and then the other faster than most people would be able to react to, surprisingly delicate in spite of the sharp tips of the gauntlet he was wearing. He drew them up over your head smoothly, the stretch in your shoulders prompting a whine that went unheeded. Instead he was busy still devouring you, while one of his legs nudged between yours to press his thigh up against you. That drew another moan as the leather rubbed along your slit enticingly. Fuck, this was definitely spiraling out of your control.

In a smooth movement his leg hooked around one of yours and used the leverage to roll both of you over - it reminded you very abruptly that you were in fact lying in a coffin as your shoulder brushed along the velvet trimmed side and your back met the barely cushioned bottom, his cloak crumpling off beside you in the process. Before you’d been too cold to have any qualms about being naked in front of a stranger, but now you were warm again and naked underneath a stranger whose mouth was still hungry on yours like he hadn’t had contact like this in literal years… shit, you’d be frustrated too in that position. It’s not like you’re fighting him anyway.

He still had your hands trapped over your head, giving you no chance to touch him in return as his right hand gave your ass one more squeeze before roaming upward, dragging over your side and up onto a breast to massage it beneath his palm. His fingers were elegantly long and seemed to know exactly what they were doing, evoking a muffled whimper as they worked over the soft tissue.

Finally Vincent broke away from the kiss, watching as you heaved for breath beneath him, face flushed and lips tender from his hunger. The yellow ring in his left eye was glowing brightly and the way his hair fell left most of his face in shadow, expression hard to read. Maybe he was having second thoughts now.

You had made up your mind at this point, though - you kept the momentum of the moment by arching your body up against him, heedless of the belt buckles and buttons that pressed into your skin in order to meet hips with him. There was that tight bulge again, and rubbing up into him rewarded you with a quiet groan from those plush lips that had proven to be very kissable. It made him drop down against you for more friction, hips rolling into you needily while his head lowered itself to your neck.It took a moment but his mouth pressed over your pulse, fluttering wildly for him to feel, and a low hum vibrated against your skin. You let out a soft whine in response and tilted your head back for him. He took the gesture for the invitation it was and set to drawing lips and teeth along your throat, kissing and nipping sharply enough to make you gasp, hands flexing uselessly where they remain trapped in his hold.

His tongue darted across your skin next, cool and teasing against warm skin. You couldn’t help wondering what that would feel like further down your body, tracing over your chest or down your stomach, slipping between your lips… the scrape of his teeth brought you back to the moment and drew a breathy moan from you.

Again, his movements were faster than you could track and with a few deft motions you were flipped over onto your stomach. You squirmed but your wrists remained pinned, though his body rested atop yours surprisingly lightly - either he was holding up some of his weight, or he just didn’t weigh that much. His hips still rocked down against you, bulge working against your ass with slow, heavy strokes that made you press up against him with another whine, missing the friction you’d been enjoying just moments ago.

“Be patient.” His voice was ragged with need but held a commanding measure to it that you decided not to test, dropping back down against the thin velvet beneath you. Right, still in a coffin. Bahamut help you since Shiva hadn’t done a thing so far.

His right hand drew down your side again, lingered on your hip briefly while he rutted against you, then slid further down and over the back of your thigh in a near caress that made you shiver before his fingers dipped between your legs and brushed the leather-clad tips along your damp slit. Just that little touch made you want to feel those fingers pressed deep inside you, breath hitching as he rubbed them there briefly before his hand abruptly withdrew. His chest rested against your back a little more firmly now, a shift of his head sending his messy hair cascading down beside your head, and then his voice was right there in your ear, deep and rich and sending another shudder through you.

“You’re truly aroused by this?”

Though he seemed to be trying for sultry, it mostly came out disbelieving - not that you could blame him for being confused by a stranger being turned on by all of this. Maybe the cold was still affecting you?

It didn’t matter, you decided, your response coming out as a single breathless, “Yeah…”

He paused in his grinding, as if trying to absorb that one word. You probably would’ve done the same in his position, but being on the other side just made you wish he’d get back to the action.

You decided to bring him back to the moment this time by lifting your hips to grind up against his crotch and tugging at your wrists as if to pull free of his grasp. That seemed to do the trick, provoking a groan that was half growl - the sound was deep enough to vibrate in your chest and made the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, as if hearing a predator rather than a man. But it was undeniably hot too, even more so as he pressed his mouth to the side of your neck with teeth already nipping at you again as if to scold you for trying to free your hands. You gave him a little whine in response and settled back down, moaning as his hand found its way back between your legs and began rubbing firmly this time; he seemed to have found some confidence in your reactions to him, as now his fingers slid between your folds and pulled a gasp from you next when they pressed on either side of your clit with a slight pinch.

“Fuck-!” You muffled your curse in the thin pillow beneath you, and he huffed his amusement out in a cool breath along your neck that made your skin prickle.

“Not quite,” he responded, and you started to groan only to yelp as his fingers deftly circled your clit. The sudden jolt of pleasure had your legs twitching and hips jerking at his touch, shoulders pressing up into his chest and finding him unmoving. In spite of his thin frame he seemed to be surprisingly strong, keeping you pinned rather effortlessly with just one hand and the length of his body over yours while his hand began working along your now aching cunt. The leather of his glove was slick with your juices and slipped back and forth with little resistance, and the texture gave just enough extra stimulation that you were already squirming under him, whimpers collecting in your throat before he teased them out of you with his mouth on your skin.

And then just as quickly as he’d started he stopped, pulling his hand away once more. This time you reacted with a petulant whine, but another quiet growl of his kept you from any further brattiness, just impatiently shifting your hips beneath him. His hips lifted up enough that you could just feel the back of his hand brushing over your ass while he fumbled with his belt - it was his turn to curse quietly now, and you couldn’t help the little snicker that escaped you, even as it got him to nip you in retort.

In short order though he made it past his belt, the button and fly of his pants, and lastly the comparatively thin fabric of his underwear to free himself from such painfully tight confines. That had to be a massive relief, if the sigh that rushed out by your ear was anything to go by; his cock came to rest against your ass, warm and twitching with obvious need.Your own sudden need to have it buried inside you was already flooding your face with embarrassed heat.

Thankfully he didn’t seem to be paying much attention to that at the moment, his hand brushing your skin again as he rubbed the slick-covered leather along his shaft with just a few strokes. Not much for prep, apparently, or he really was just that pent-up - he shifted enough to slip his dick off the curve of your ass and between your legs, only sliding himself along the wet mess of your folds a few times with a low groan before angling his hips and using his fingers to line himself up with your opening.

“C’mon,” you whined. His only response was a grunt that sounded vaguely annoyed, and then he began to push inside.

Without any stretching out beforehand the blunt press of his head into you came with a stinging that made you gasp, but fuck if it didn’t feel good too, the needy throb of your cunt easing a little as he stretched it open steadily. His body was tense on top of you like all of his concentration was on going slowly right now, but you didn’t want slow - you needed him to start fucking you like he meant it.

You pressed your knees and chest down against the velvet padding and pushed yourself up onto his cock as quickly as you could manage, a pleased cry falling from your mouth. At the same time he gasped against your neck and bit down hard enough for just a moment that you thought it felt like he had fangs before he abruptly let go, a louder growl from him making you shudder. You didn’t want to hear anything he might have to say though, clenching down on him and drawing a moan from his throat that only made you feel all the more desperate to get fucked senseless.

“You-” His voice was choked, torn between irritation and pure lust.

“Fuck me already,” you huffed, bucking your hips sharply.

That seemed to kill any hesitation left in him. He gave one more growl, but his hand latched onto your hip to hold you still while his hips began to snap into you needily. What else was this if not an outlet for two pent-up strangers in unusual circumstances? It didn’t need to be tender and you didn’t want him to go slow, writhing in his grasp to try and meet the demanding thrusts with equal fervor, feeling a sweat start to build up where his leathers rested against you. There was something absurd about being utterly naked while he was fully clothed save for his cock burying itself in your pussy, the way leather slapped against bare skin and the buttons of his shirt pressed down against your back. All of the control was really his, but you’d allowed him to take it without a fight even after common sense returned. You’d have to unpack all of that later.

(Bahamut hadn’t helped either by now. Ifrit, maybe? You only had so many choices to ask.)

He clearly wasn’t going to let you spend much time thinking about it right now, spending a brief moment shifting up and bringing your hips along until your knees could support you, then resuming his brutal pace. Somewhere along the way his left hand slipped off your wrists and found its way to your hip as well, sharp tips pricking your skin while his forehead came to rest on the pillow beside your head. You kept your arms stretched out simply because they felt locked in place right now, daring a glance at his face. Eyes screwed shut tightly, breaths huffing through those pretty lips, cheeks flushed from exertion, hair sprawling everywhere - he was fucking gorgeous.

His right hand fumbled off its perch as his thrusts began to grow even more frantic, slipping by your thigh to drag his palm over your clit. The friction was just what you needed, crying out again and jerking into his hand as best you could between the sharp thrusts that soon stuttered to a halt. A deep, satisfied groan rolled from his throat and made you all the more desperate to join him, rutting against damp leather a few more times before your own climax crashed through you. The feeling of your walls clenching down on his cock drew another moan from him, his hips twitching downward to ensure he was as deep in your cunt as he could get with each gush of cum.

That was something else you’d have to unpack later, but for now it was just a primal bliss to feel full with his weight draped along your back and dick throbbing inside you, the heat of the moment starting to fade as you both relaxed. You could feel him growing soft and after a few moments he pulled out of you with a quiet grunt, arching himself up off your body so he could go to the effort of tucking himself away before drooping right back down on top of you.

In response you let yourself slide off your knees to stretch back out on your stomach, hissing softly as your clit came into contact with the velvet padding. That seemed to rouse him a little from his afterglow, slipping off beside you and using his right hand to roll you onto your side with your back to his chest again, a position that made it only slightly less painful to bring your arms down to your sides finally, cringing with pain all the while. He - Vincent, seemed to realize what the issue was, hesitating a few moments before his hand came up to rub along your shoulder carefully, like he was apologizing. The leather of his glove was sticky with your drying slick by now, but it was still nice in a way.

“The storm will clear off by the morning,” he murmured, startling you for a moment before you nodded a little. “Go back to sleep.”

His hand left its self-appointed job for a moment, then returned with the draping of fabric over your bodies; his cloak was just as pleasant to be covered by as last time, though this time it also carried the unmistakable musky scent of exertion and sex. It certainly warmed you up again.

“Good night,” you whispered tentatively.

He just hummed. You closed your eyes, pretending not to notice the way his arm curled around your waist, and let yourself doze off again. Thinking could wait until the morning.

[getvalentined]

I love people going "Elena can't be 18 because she's at the bar in Junon," as if:

A fictional sci-fantasy world from a Japanese game must follow the same laws about drinking age as the United States, and

The Turks, who are literally the black ops team for the most powerful governing body in the world, who kidnap and kill people on the reg and literally flattened 12.5% of the largest city on the planet with no risk of legal repercussions, would not be essentially exempt from the majority of laws anyway.

Sephiroth was dispatched to take command in Rhadore at 14. Cloud left home to enlist in the military at 13. Cissnei was scouted to be a Turk around the same age from a Shinra-controlled orphanage where she was brought up to be a child soldier. Zack was deployed to run a portion of a war-ending assault on his own when he was 16.

Why is drinking at 18, something that is legal and normal in the vast majority of the real world, the thing that breaks anyone's suspension of disbelief on character ages here?

[wawawawawawawawawawawawawa]

the amount of times i Do This must be a joke at this point but here i am. doing it once more. izaya's highschool videogame SCREAMS "i just found out i have aspd and i am NOT taking it well." and i shall explain how

a preface: wrt "how did he know in high school, don't you have to be 18?" you do.... with the dsm guidelines. japan, iirc, uses a conbination of the dsm and icd to diagnose mental illnesses, and the age stipulation isn't in the icd. also, shinra could have told him, and lbr shinra wouldnt care about strictly adhering to the age thing

anyway i went thru and highlighted different parts of the videogame's text, so i can easier explain which part means what. i'll primarily be focusing on the chronic boredom associated with aspd- since izaya's game deals with patience, most musings in it will be related to that boredom. but the boredom, especially izaya's, IS important, as its the boredom that drives him to do what he does. to be what he is.

(shoutout to miyukiwinter for the scan)

so... the red bit. this relates to izaya's worldview of the need to keep evolving to escape the mundane, and it not mattering if you aim high or low. now at this point, izaya was solidly in some shady shit and clearly on the path of the low aim. but the thing is, about aspd... the boredom is all consuming. you'll do ANYTHING to not be bored. i've seen people say they developed substance abuse problems to escape the boredom, and i confess... i've done it too. it truly is THAT bad

i say all this because... izaya will never be able to stop going lower, and lower, and lower. he's fated to fall forever. maybe he wouldve been able to brush his behavior off as teenage craziness, but with a diagnosis like aspd it becomes increadingly obvious that there is no "oh, i'll mellow out once i reach my 20s." it's not going to happen, at least, not without great effort. and lets be real, nobody has any faith in aspd's recovery rates, less so in the early 2010s, so izaya upon diagnosis would see NO FUTURE for himself. no escape from the cycle. he's trapped.

the blue bits are a bit more vauge, but the undertainty turning to loss evokes the next stage after the initial shock of diagnosis: grief. and make no mistake, there IS a grieving process with mental health diagnoses. you go from being shocked and scared, to being depressed and numb.

but there's... another layer to this, with aspd. you see it with cluster b disorders in general, but aspd is HUGE in the pop culture zeitgeist

the layer is, the idea that People Like That don't feel emotions. that any emotional display is false and an explicit ploy to mainpulate someone

and when this inevitably ends up untrue, you might start to feel... odd... about feeling those emotions people say you can't feel. and one of the biggest emotions aspd gets that with, is fear and by extension, anxiety.

some aspd people genuinely do feel reduced fear! but it's far from being a diagnostic criteria, and aspd can actually be comorbid with anxiety disorders. but scientific facts and wider culture rarely match up, so the idea persists

so izaya might have started to think.... was he ever truly anxious? or worried? was he really more rotten than people thought; was he just mainpulating people the whole time? does he really not feel anxiety? was his nervousness over things like shinra leaving him or hell, this diagnosis, rendered null and void?

and then we reach the teal portion.... despair

(just a sidenote, tumblr has no teal color option so it'll just be blue)

in this sense, "the hole" refers to the endless downward spiral, and his diagnosis- but not just having it. no, "the hole" most likely refers to the moment izaya developed it in the first place.

who are you, if you thought you were in control your whole life, but you found out that the reason you do the things you do were because of foeces beyond your control? who are you now, having a label you know will cause everyone to see you as nothing but a stereotype?

why was he still alive, suffering like this? what point is it to be alive, controlled by something you can't fight, forced to make your life worse and worse and worse, until you die young?

so now what? who did this to him?

in the game, the hatred is towards "the player." and honestly this could have multiple different meanings when applied to izaya's own life

does he hate god? was he raised religious, his father being a christian, and was this what made him lose faith? what loving god would condemn someone to suffer like this?

does he hate his parents? after all, it was their genetics that passed this down, their upbringing that nurtured it, their neglect that made him the way he was. is it their fault?

or... does he hate himself, for being the way that he is? for having it in the first place, for not being able to overcome it, for having such a bad reaction to it?

for being too cowardly to kill himself?

which brings us to the final segment. awareness.

he says outright, the game is depicting the player's life. in the game itself, this ties into his mockery of players, but in a meta sense, it could be a hidden admission that it's depicting his life

especially the talk of meaningless games- fooling around with nakura creating small gangs, betting pools, and his eventual adult pastimes of messing with people. is his life enriched? no, it's merely occupied, and he knows it. he might have repressed it as an adult, but here, in high school, at this moment, he knows.

and if he can never truly alleviate his boredom, never truly be fufilled, then he can act like he's in control all he wants, but he's no better than a man falling in a hole.

[rottenpumpkin13]

Went to a casino recently soooo

What do the Firsts do at the casino + cloud?

The Casino Trip From Hell

• A huge Shinra-funded casino opens up in the slums. Genesis, being the patron saint of hedonism he is, drags Sephiroth and Angeal along with him.

• Angeal isn't into the whole gambling scene, so he's more than apprehensive about being in that environment. Sephiroth thinks casino's are a gross display of greed, but he goes anyway.

• They arrive at the entrance and who do they see? Zack and Cloud, both bearing fake IDs and ridiculous fake mustaches. (They're 19 and 18 respectively but in Midgar you have to be 21).

• After Angeal rips them a new one, Genesis gets tired of waiting and convinces Angeal to just let the boys be boys and commit a little crime for once, as a treat.

• Angeal caves, but only because Zack is begging on his knees and people are staring.

• He appoints Sephiroth as the responsible adult in charge of babysitting Zack and Cloud.

• His logic is "What trouble could Sephiroth, Zack and Cloud get up to? Besides, I'm babysitting Genesis."

• He would come to regret that decision.

• Genesis drags Angeal over to the roulette tables declaring himself a master at gambling, having seen his parents dabble in it since he was a child.

• Meanwhile Zack is buzzing with excitement! After touring the casino with Cloud and Sephiroth, they finally settled down at the slot machines.

• Sephiroth is curious to know how the machines work, and after much deliberation (and being egged on by Zack and Cloud), decides to try it out for himself.

• Sephiroth hits the jackpot the first try.

• Back at the Roulette table, Angeal and Genesis run into none other than *drumroll* Rufus ShinRa.

• Genesis and Rufus make eye contact. Angeal's internal dialogue is a series of oh no's.

• They make some trash small talk before the game starts. Angeal orders a drink and decides to sit this one out.

• Back at the slot machines, Sephiroth somehow hits the jackpot again. Zack and Cloud are causing a ruckus and they whoop and cheer. A small crowd starts to form around Sephiroth, who's extremely confused.

• Back at the roulette table, they're about 20 minutes into it. Genesis is losing pathetically. Rufus is smug about it, stating that luck must me on his side if the undefeatable Genesis Rhapsodos is completely devoid of it.

• Genesis then declares that Rufus is cheating.

• This starts an argument, with Genesis demanding that Rufus forfeit, and questioning his morals "as a man."

• Angeal is drinking faster.

• Back at the slot machines, Sephiroth is on his fourth jackpot.

• Zack has never been more excited in his life. He's jumping up and down, declaring Sephiroth as the slot machine demons. Cloud is growing weary of the crowd watching them, especially the angry onlookers.

• Sephiroth is confused because "Is this not normal?"

Cloud: NOT IT'S NOT NORMAL. HOW THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THAT?

• Sephiroth proceeds to hit the jackpot for a fifth time.

Cloud: Sephiroth stop playing.

Sephiroth: But I'm winning?

Cloud: Yes but there's clearly something wrong with the machine and we're going to be arrested if you don't stop now.

Zack: Let him play! He's just lucky! Look, will it make you feel better if we switch machines?

• They move onto another machine. The crowd takes over the previous one like vultures, but no one hits the jackpot.

• Meanwhile Sephiroth hits the jackpot again on the new machine.

Cloud: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Zack: M O N E Y

Sephiroth: ???????

• Back at the roulette table, Genesis and Rufus's argument has escalated into full blown trash talk.

Rufus: Oh I'm sorry, Commander, does my mere existence bruise your ego?

Genesis: Let me tell you what I'm gonna bruise, pal—

Angeal (drunk): Genesis please don't threaten our boss's son.

Rufus: No, no, it's fine, Commander Hewley. I'm unbothered by threats from a man who wears mascara.

Genesis: YOU'RE WEARING A FUCKING SKIRT.

• Back at the slot machine, Sephiroth has hit the jackpot for the 10th time. People are rioting around them and screaming for security.

• Zack is cussing out the indignant onlookers and defending Sephiroth. Cloud is begging Sephiroth to stop playing. Sephiroth casually hits the jackpot for the 11th time.

• Back at the roulette table, Genesis and Rufus are on the floor fist-fighting. Angeal isn't even making an effort to intervene. He's so tired, he's just cheering them on.

Angeal: YEAH, RUFUS PULL HIS HAIR. CALL HIM GENEVIEVE. HE HATES IT WHEN—OOH, RIGHT IN THE SPLEEN! GET HIS ASS, GENESIS! SIT ON HIM!

• Back at the slot machines, security has shown up. They think Sephiroth is cheating, therefore stealing. Cloud is desperately trying to reason with them, explaining that Sephiroth is just naturally lucky and would never dream of stealing anything.

• Meanwhile Zack is arguing with the crowd and Sephiroth, bored, turns around and hits the jackpot again.

• Back at the roulette table, security has shown up with Tseng to separate the two. Tseng demands to know what happened, and after Angeal explains the whole thing to him, he proceeds to go on a rant about how Genesis is an irresponsible, petulant man who shouldn't be allowed within 3 feet of other people.

• This angers a drunk Angeal, who then declares that "NO ONE TALKS ABOUT MY BEST FRIEND LIKE THAT" and punches Tseng in the face.

• Angeal and Tseng are now on the floor fighting.

• Back at the slot machines, the police show up and arrest Sephiroth, Zack and Cloud. Sephiroth is unbothered by this because he knows this is all a misunderstanding. Cloud is panicking, trying to tell the cops that he's not, in fact, the mastermind behind the whole operation, as Sephiroth jokingly declared.

• The cops are trying to catch Zack, who broke free from his restraints and is running around the slot machines screaming "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE."

• Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis, Zack and Cloud are all sitting in Director Lazard's office. Lazard is so angry, he's mute—red in the face with a vein popping on his forehead, but mute.

• One by one, Lazard fills the uncomfortable silence with angry thwacks of newspaper against the desk.

• Each newspaper has some variation of the same headlines.

• SHINRA VS RHAPSODOS: WHO WON?

• SEPHIROTH INVOLVED IN GAMBLING SCANDAL (STOLE THOUSANDS)

• WILD NIGHT OUT FOR SOLDIER'S 1ST CLASS TRIO.

Lazard: I have had it up to here with the five of you. What do you have to say for yourselves?

Angeal:

Genesis:

Zack:

Cloud:

Sephiroth: And I'll do it again.

Lazard: GET OUT!

[sephirthoughts]

for char/hc ask game. providing a couple options, feel free to just pick your favorite!

Vincent Valentine - 8, 16

Nero the Sable - 18, 21

yayyy thank you for the ask, i love doing these!! i pick all of them they're all my favorite

Vincent Valentine

-8- smell/personal scent:

i have very specific and detailed headcanons about the way that Vincent smells (gasp). i don't think we have reason to believe he sweats or produces much personal body odor, since he's an indestructible undead shapeshifting monster —however— his hair grows. so maybe some of his body functions are normal. who knows. also, his training as a turk likely taught him some scent masking, so he might not have any particular smell, but that was a long time ago and he really has no reason to practice that now. anyway i like to think he does have a distinctive personal scent

Mahogany. This just plain has to be an element of his scent profile. He spent decades sleeping in a coffin, of which one of the most common materials is mahogany. Also, the coffin Vincent uses in the Shinra Manor basement just looks like mahogany. Mahogany has a deep, woodsy, slightly spicy scent. Kind of perfect for Vincent.

Leather: He is covered head to toe in armor constructed of several different kinds of leathers there is no way he doesn't smell like it. That also happens to be a very sexy scent, so good job Vincent.

Old books: He's been holed up in the Shinra basement for decades, and there is a lot of evidence he's been actually living down there, not just comatose in the coffin. There is literally nothing else but a huge library, packed with old books. Don't tell me he hasn't wandered in there and whiled away countless hours reading them.

Pipe tobacco: Unexplained. We have never seen him smoke a pipe but no one can prove he doesn't. Also before you say yuck, pipe tobacco is an ENTIRELY different scent from cigarettes and even cigars. it's very aromatic and mellow and sweet. A highly attractive masculine scent.

Petrichor: He lives in a basement full of wet rocks.

Blood: Dependent upon how recently he's been in battle.

Gunpowder: Same as above.

Bourbon and cigarette smoke: Dependent on whether or not he's been hanging around with Cid.

Conclusion: Vincent possesses the sexiest personal scent imaginable.

Vincent's coffin for reference

-16- home/place that they live:

You're never going to believe this, I have a bunch of headcanons about this, too.

We all know about the Shinra Manor basement, but he wasn't born there and stops living there when he gets picked up by Cloud's crew. In Dirge of Cerberus, we see him in a room, in Kalm, that looks very lived in (bottles of wine, etc.), so it's clear he's staying there. I prefer to think this is some sort of inn or extended stay situation. Vincent doesn't actually strike me as the kind of person who maintains a fixed abode, long-term. if he had someone important enough to him, however, he'd be perfectly happy to make a home with that person/people. It's just not something he seeks out for himself

Now, hear me out, I HC that Vincent's vampirey habits and aesthetic have nothing to do with him having become a monster. He already had pale skin and red eyes, before he was undead—he just looks like that. Lucrecia even mentions how much he resembles his father GRIMOIRE who also dressed and looked just like a vampire, for no explainable reason except that he wants to and no one can stop him. I believe this is just the Valentine family aesthetic. They're weird people. Vincent only wore a suit in the Turks because that was required dress code. Red capes, pointy armor and black leather are his comfy clothes. What does this have to do with home/place of residence? The Valentine family home. I very strongly HC the Valentine family as being from Old Money. Like, the old-world, 1200 years of ancestors buried in catacombs on the premises, kind of Old Money. And by premises, I mean the sprawling grounds of the massive, gothic-horror style mansion that is the Valentine ancestral castle. Do I think Vincent lives there currently? Almost certainly not, and he probably avoids visiting, too, because of painful memories. If one knows anything about the way hereditary lands and estates (in Europe) traditionally work, though, they are a business unto themselves, and such a property would have many dedicated caretakers and staff, usually offer tours of the property as a historical site, and generate its own income, without much interference from the owners. Thus the Valentine family home, huge and dark and creepy and amazing and perfect as it is, would be respectfully maintained by the loyal staff, in the event that the Valentine heir shows up any time and wants to skulk around like Dracula frightening away tourists. This is very likely the reason Vincent chose a coffin in a creepy basement for his self imposed exile, and also why he really seems to like the haunted hotel. It's just like home!

the Valentine family castle probably

Onward!

Nero the Sable

-18- beloved or important items or property:

This is a tough one, because Nero was born and raised in Deepground, and likely had very few pieces of personal property. He probably learned very early to never become attached to things, because they could and would be taken away at the whims of the people in charge. However, he keeps one thing that is deeply important to him, and if anyone dared to touch it they'd never even know how they died.

This precious item is a picture Weiss drew of them together, on the back of a pilfered prescription slip from the medical ward, when Weiss was eight and Nero was six. They weren't allowed art supplies or other such frivolous items as children, so that's the closest they got. the lines are wobbly and childish and the heads are a bit wonky and out of proportion, but to Nero, it is the greatest work of art the world has ever produced. He treasures this above all things and always has it with him, tucked safely away in a little pocket of darkness.

-21- fears:

Nero is a scary motherfucker. He commands people-eating darkness tentacles, he can suck out your soul and make your corpse into a puppet to fight for him, and he has huge metal wings with knives on the ends. Nero hates human beings for their cruelty and cares for nothing but his brother, who he calls the only person who loves him and the only one he'll ever love, so it stands to reason that his greatest fear would be losing him or harm coming to him. This is evidenced by...literally every word out of his mouth. I think that deep down, Nero fears being alone. Not that he likes being around people (he literally hates it) it's that there is a bone-deep sense of loss and emptiness in him, that he was born with and he can never seem to escape, and when his darkness voraciously consumes souls, it's an unconscious to attempt to fill that emptiness. But when he's with his brother, the emptiness goes away. They seem to share a psychic bond, too, so even when they're not physically in the same location, the two are 'together'. The only way Nero could truly be alone would be if Weiss were to be taken from him. So it's no wonder he mobilized all of Deepground to try and revive him, when he was in that deathlike state. Only to be betrayed by Hojo of course, who tricked him by saying he could revive Weiss because he wanted to steal Weiss' body. Hojo you stupid bastard I just got fuckin mad at you all over again.

Here's a picture of Weiss smiling probably about something evil to cheer us back up.

[stairway-to-camaraderie]

(okay duh I copied this because my memory is bad and I would forget what I wrote)

Before Lazard got appointed to director of SOLDIER, both Heidegger and President Shinra were running it.

It wasn't until Ryan was 14 that Lazard even got to Shinra and was "immediately appointed because someone wrote a forged letter" and that letter being a very messily hand written letter by Rufus because in my story those two actually knew eachother because Veld got them in contact.

•Lazard was about 19 when he became Director of SOLDIER, Rufus being 18 when becoming VP and helping Lazard get appointed.

I like making Shinra lore darker don't mind me.

•Veld more or less acted as a “parental” figure for Lazard as long as he could.

•President Shinra hates the fact Rufus isn't disgusted about Lazard.

•Lazard actually acts as a cool older brother to Rufus (as best as he could because of how Veld had the two in contact as kids and President Shinra had no idea)

•Veld and the rest of the at the time Turks were babysitting Rufus because President Shinra was too busy. So that's how they got time to get the siblings together.

•Veld thought President Shinra was a piece of shit for outcasting Lazard that way, so therefore he just took matters in his own hands as said above.

•Lazard only hates President Shinra.

•Power Sibling Duo and they can and will accidentally giggle during a meeting

•Veld is the real dad/j

•Rufus thinks Lazard is very cool, just too serious and strict sometimes when it isn't needed.

•they both think Veld is their dad because he spent more time with them than president shinra

•Rufus can and will spread rumors about his dad

^-Presdient Shinra has no idea where Scarlet got the idea where he was hit by a truck as a toddler which caused him to be this stupid

•Lazard definitely doesn't know who Rufus is when they both get called to President Shinra's office for “giggling during a board meeting” but who couldn't when the fan blew off President Shinra's toupee right as he was being serious?

•Rufus already has a spreadsheet on how his dad's funeral will be arranged but it changes ALOT.

ANYWAYS uh, I hope you enjoyed my yap

[holyguardian]

Ifalna strikes me as the type of person who befriends others very easily. Before tragedy so violently entered her life, she was kind and thoughtful, the type who would do something good even to the detriment of herself. Her altruism is ultimately her ruin. She should have been angry at Gast for his role in unsealing the calamity, and yet she fell in love with him, a human who admitted to making an unfathomable mistake, the very man who unravelled the valiant efforts of cetran warriors and scholars to protect the world from a parasitic being.

He did the worst thing that a human could do to a cetra, and she fell in love with him anyway, because she could see he was a better man than his actions. She was also quite young and foolish — he was studying her people, seeking knowledge about who she was, which could certainly make an 18 year old feel seen. (Working with FFVII's own timeline and lore, I have cut down their age gap more than it likely is, so at their first meeting Ifalna would be 18 and Gast would be 31, which is important to note because an imbalance of maturity and general worldly knowledge is at play on their quick road between meeting, marriage and starting a family. Had she met Gast when she had more experience of the world as an adult their story would have been different).

Gast's history with Shinra led the company to their doorstep. He died urging Ifalna to take their newborn daughter and run, and she was escorted by faceless men in body armour and helmets to an imprisonment which is worse than nightmares. She was 22 years old when she was kidnapped, which marks a perfect mirror image to Aerith in Remake when she's sitting in Professor Hojo's laboratory. There aren't specifics about what happened to Ifalna, but there are hints, that once Aerith demonstrated she had cetran power within her too (which apparently happened in 1992, the same year that they escape), Professor Hojo increased Ifalna's 'working hours' and began crueller treatments knowing that he had a 'back up'. Remember the meeting between board directors in Remake?

Given this is how Professor Hojo speaks about Aerith after his actions led to her mother's death within less than a year of his 'testing' and he has had 15 years to do any type of reflecting, it's fair game to assume that what Ifalna lives through is on the extreme end of torture. By the time Aerith is 7 years old, Ifalna has deteriorated so much that she cannot cope without secret pain medication being smuggled in for her and by the time we see her escaping, she cannot even stand on her own two feet.

And yet throughout all of this she retains who she is at her core. She is a kind person. Someone who is so frustratingly goodhearted that she can survive everything that happened to her and still care about others. Cid Highwind met her one time and still remembers her almost two decades later. Faz Hicks plotted her escape because he had fallen so in love with his 'dear Ifalna' that he wanted to play happy family with her. Tseng, who had been assigned to monitor the missing cetran child following the mother and daughter's escape and Ifalna's body retrieval, "was cautious based on the unfortunate circumstances surrounding her mother's death" and "refused to take Aerith back to Shinra by force".

Ifalna is only 29 years old when she escaped trying to give her daughter a future outside of Shinra. Even when she realised she didn't have much longer left, she spent her last hours trying to take care of her daughter, reassuring her that everything was going to be alright. These are all things within her canon, and when I expand on that, when I explore who Ifalna might be if she survived being a tragic plot point, she's still so full of love despite everything. She feels terrible guilt knowing that she played on Faz's emotions to be free, it's something that eats away at her. She would mourn the losses of anyone she crossed paths with inside Shinra, people who were employed by her kidnappers and complicit in her imprisonment with the deflection they were just doing their jobs, because she still sees them as people worthy of love. The only ones she holds hatred for are Professor Hojo, and President Shinra, in her eyes those are the men that directly wronged her.

ANYWAY. IFALNA IS NICE, I GUESS.

[thestraydogsarehere]

Introduction!

prologue: where does it begin?

Hello there~ this is going to be my system blog! I am a professionally diagnosed C-DID system! I have a lot of alters, however, i have integrated several over the years as i strive for recovery. my goal is to eventually get down to less than 15 alters. i have a good amount now, some that i dont even know about. i am FICTIVE HEAVY! i will be using this account to spread as much knowledge as possible about the disorder, as well as answering questions, and giving a free space for the sillies in my head to post random shit. i do not allow littles to post or interact with randoms on the the internet. only trusted friends are permitted to talk to our littles under supervision of one of our caregivers in our brain. anyways, here's Wonderwall!

chapter one: who am i?

System Name: The Stray Dogs

System Type: C-DID (Polyfragmented)

Current Host: Wanderer 🤯

Collective Name: Clown 🤡 (internet only!)

Collective Identity: FtM! 🏳️‍⚧️

Collective Pronouns: he/it/cir/ser

Age: 25 😎

Relationship Status: Single :(

Relationship Type: ambiamorous!!!

Zodiac: ♏️☀️♑️🌙♋️↗️

MBTI: ENTP 😔😔😔

Other: I am Autistic!

chapter two: who are they?

here is a list of my current known Alters! organized by subsystems, the last group is of alters not otherwise in a subsystem. each alter will have their emoji(s) next to them, littles and alters that are not permitted to post will not have emojis. the rest will tag their posts with these emojis.

Overall Host:

Wanderer 🌪️

Genshin Galore Subsystem:

Host: Kaeya ❄️

Aether 💫

Albedo 🖌️

Alhaitham 🗂️

Arataki Itto 🪲

Arlecchino 🥀

Ayato ⚜️

Chongyun 🍦

Columbina 💠

Gorou 🐶

Heizou 🔎

Kaveh 📐

Lumine 🌙

Ningguang 💸

Pantalone 💳

Tartaglia 💰

Thoma 🐕

Venti 🍾

Xiao 🍲

Murder House Subsystem:

Host: Violet Harmon 🪻

Azusa Mukami 🩸

Juuzou Suzuya ⛓️‍💥

Yui 💝

Zack 🔪

Red Flag Subsystem:

Host: Dazai 💉

Akechi Goro 🦹🏻

Ciel 🎩

Daz 🧣

Hakuryuu 🌖

Kururi 👯‍♀️

Nikolai 🤡

Signora 🔥

Sirius ✝️

Malice Subsystem:

Host: Izyrim 🧿

Klaus 💀

Rika

Shiro ❤️‍🩹

Toto Sakigami 🐍

Touya Todoroki 🦋

The rest:

707 💾

Aki Karito 🕷️

Aleksei ☦️

Alyx 🩹

Aru Akise 🪓

Autumn

Baizhu 🦠

Bakugou 💥

Billie 🪷

Blade 🗡️

Bruno 🪬

Camilo 🎭

Castiel 🧥

Celty Sturluson 🏍️

Chalistice ⚱️

Cherie 🍒

Chrissy 💞

Chuuya 🍷

Chloe 💋

Corpse ⛓️

Cyno 😭

Damian Desmond

Daniel 📺

Dave 😎

Dazz 🏳️‍🌈

Death the Kid ⚖️

Edgar 🦝

Ei 🎆

Erza 🐦‍🔥

Ezra 🏳️‍⚧️

Ezrael 👼🏼

Freminet🪝

Fyodor ♟️

Galo 👨🏻‍🚒

Gojo Satoru 👁️

Grell ♥️

Haitham ♦️

Hajime 👎🏻

Hideyoshi Nagachika ☕️

Himeko 🎴

Himiko Toga 🩻

Hinami 📚

Ivan 🖋️

Izuku 📔

Jōno Saigiku 🦇

Judal 🦂

Junko 🚫

Kagome 🏹

Kagura 🪞

Karkat 👽

Klee

Kunikuzushi 🧱

Loid Forger 🔑

Lyney 🃏

Macalo 🔇

Masaomi 🟨

Matt 🕹️

Mavis Vermillion 🌸

MC 📱

MC (Dangerous Fellows) 🧟‍♂️

Mika 🧛🏻

Mikey 🍔

Moomin 🛤️

Mymble 🤰🏼

Nagisa 🕸️

Near 🎲

Noriko Sonozaki 🧬

Number Five 🕳️

Ochako 🆙

Osamu Dazai ⚰️

Pepa ⛈️

Rachel 🪡

Ranpo 👓

Rantaro 🗾

Ruri 🎤

Saeran 💽

Saibyr/Glitch-606 💻

Sal Fisher 🎸

Sawyer Quinn 🧪

Scaramouche ⏳

Shiemi 🪴

Shinra Kishitani 🥼

Shinsou Hitoshi 😵‍💫

Shizuo 🚏

Shoto Todoroki 🌦️

Shuichi ⁉️

Sigma 🎰

Smiley/Nahoya 😁

Sophie 👒

Strawberry Shortcake 🍓

Takemichi Hanagaki 🕝

Vanitas ♣️

Veronica Sawyer 💣

Vriska 🎱

Yato 🪙

Yoosung 👾

Zelda 🔆

chapter three: what are my limits?

BYF:

i am sensitive to vomit and eye injuries! i also do not honor requests to speak to specific alters. i dont like purposefully forcing myself to switch. i love making friends! be over 18 though! i block freely. if i share a post from a problematic account, lmk. if i interact with a bad person (abuser, pedo, etc), lmk. i will handle it.

DNI:

fakeclaimers, anti self diagnosis, proship, endosystems and anyone who believes you can be a system without trauma, and Minors!!! id prefer NSFW stay off this page as well. also basic DNI applies.

Epilogue: This is not goodbye.

Hope you all enjoy this page! i hope to interact with some of you! loooove and peaaccee on planet earth <3

[ghostofnibelheim]

[Four Seasons] Secrets

Closed Starter for the “Four Seasons” Divergent Megaverse!

Of how Nanaki and Fuhito first learned about ShinRa’s ties with Cosmo Canyon.

Involved Characters: Nanaki, 18yo  ( @nanakithewarrior​ )  Fuhito Fushimi, 11yo ( @fuhitoofavalanche ), Vincent Valentine, 27yo ( @peccatum-aeternum )

References: Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

Settings: Cosmo Canyon, Late October εγλ 1977

Note: This thread is a rewrite of the verse, some parts have been heavily edited.

Scary…

It was a word Nanaki hated; and one he’d rather not use at all if he could help it. At 18 years of age, boys shouldn’t be scared. His grandfather could remind him every day that he shouldn’t make the mistake of counting his own age in the same way the other young ones did in the Valley of the Fallen Star. A year for Nanaki took three years for the other kids to come. But regardless of his words, people celebrated his birthday every human year. Boys who had seen eighteen birthdays did not know fear.

Animals, however, they did. Fear was one of the few primal emotions man and beast shared, and one that he felt heavily swung the pendulum to which he was chained to his wild roots rather than the role his kind was supposed to represent here.

It was also the grim reminder of the coward he descended from. His mother would be ashamed, if she knew he was afraid.

But on the inside, where Nanaki's thoughts belonged to him alone, he couldn’t deny it.

Fuhito, that young boy, he was scary.

He’d been living in the village for about a year now - human year, that is - and from the very start, something about him had never sat right with Nanaki. He thought it was the foreign scent at first; or his accent. Everything about him simply screamed “different”, and still even now, when the rest had accepted his presence amongst the other scholars who had come to stay in Cosmo Canyon, Nanaki had not. Not quite…

Not that Nanaki would do anything about it. But he did scoot to sit a bit further when the boy joined the others around the fire for Grandpa’s teachings. And he’d avoided the study rooms carefully when he caught his scent lingering by. These days more often than others.

It was a shame, because the pillows there were particularly comfortable.

If only he could put his finger on just what exactly unsettled him so, maybe he could make peace with this feeling. The few times his eyes had met the other’s, Nanaki had felt the fur at the spine of his back stand on end. It felt like staring into the glassy eyes of a bird of prey. A big one, like those who’d try to snatch him when he was a much smaller pup and made him rush inside, tail tucked between his hinds, flame threatening to singe his toes.

Fuhito was passionate about his studies, maybe more than most in the village. But the way he went through each and every book in the study room had something predatory-like. Obsessive. It was not right.

With a small sigh, Nanaki shuddered to let his bristled fur settle back down in place. He shouldn’t be thinking about him anymore. It made his stomach churn. Huffing, he rolled to the other side where he was laying, on a flat rock by the edge of the cliff that marked the village’s borders, staring off into the far away, dangerous wild plains.

Another tome closed; more of the same. Behind crystal clear lenses, Fuhito’s eyes closed to suppress his growing frustration.

Had he really hit a dead end? It couldn’t be. There had to be more.. more he could learn, to understand, to act.

Even though acting seemed the last thing anybody in this place could do. Was this place just the same as his home village, after all? Was everybody on Gaia just a cowardly, lazy bunch of sheep?

The last of his readings was put back into place; another book about the Study of the Planet as a lifeform; the last he’d managed to find on the subject, anyway. There were other books to be read, surely, but the titles seemed all highly unrelated. Maybe he’d have to commission some delivered from the outside soon.. if not leave entirely.

Just like Wutai, Cosmo Canyon was bringing back that feeling onto him. Suffocating and narrow. Even though his mind had opened so much since coming here. It hadn't taken long at all.

Back when he was home, he couldn’t have ever fathomed the possibility. The Planet itself, a whole living being. With animals and people festering its surface, thriving like mold and bacteria. Providing it with fuel to keep on thriving… the cycle of the Lifestream.

A fascinating subject that most would focus on. But he had eyes on a much more specific aspect now….

The threat to the Planet itself… ShinRa, and mako energy. With his newly harnessed knowledge, Fuhito’s understanding had reached greater answers. The bleeding crystals in the Wutai mountains were natural springs of mako, where the Lifestream had erupted to the surface to spill out. That same mako energy also drew creatures to it, and turned them into monsters. Monsters, in turn, are addicted to mako, and thus prowl and linger in its proximity, making natural mako springs true cradles of hell spawns. No wonder the ridges had become forbidden to venture into for him and the other children.

And the people in blue… the visitors who had been crawling in those mountains, and who shot the swordsmith’s wife…

ShinRa.

So little here spoke of ShinRa, yet the company’s name was like an interwoven thread with his studies. ShinRa and its greed for mako. Turning it into energy to work at the service of man. Sucking it out of the Planet, through technology he could barely begin to understand, and from it, bring new light, a majestic city of gargantuan proportions risen from the ground in a mere seven years. An epic tale of technological advancement… but at a cost mankind couldn’t afford.

How could something so dangerous be so severely overlooked? Why was there so little about this process to be found here? No, moreover… how had this connection even originated? Why did nobody seem to pursue this curiosity? Surely, someone had to know more. And there was only one man in this whole place, whose wisdom and knowledge reached far out of Fuhito’s own greedy grasp.

Stepping out to an open balcony carved into the rock that composed the main building of the village, the young boy looked up to the ever-burning fire. The Cosmo Candle, a symbol of enlightenment and understanding, shone bright already in those afternoon hours.

Bugenhagen, the mysterious wise chief of Cosmo Canyon. What was he not telling him?

[tactical-mode]

Back in syndicated TV days, the third episode had to be good, and it had to also catch new viewers up - you had to account for people not hearing about your show for the first few weeks. To that end, this was my favorite episode to make so far. 

I’m using the EC version of the score here. It’s 87 bpm, so while editing I grooved out to the likes of Coincidence by Sabrina Carpenter, La Bamba by Los Lobos, and Better Than by Lake Street Dive.

[Chapter 01] Scene 18:  Into the Mako Reactor

The biggest scene of the episode - a monologue with 6 cuts becomes a short dialogue with 18. In both this and the other big scene Barret is fully mo-capped, while only Cloud’s head is tracked, his body moves in a stilted way and at several point he’s, like, T-posing just below the frame haha. It presented an unexpected obstacle to filming, but luckily my storyboards are rough doodles easily scrapped, and I managed to get some good shots in and masked a lot of dialogue that wasn’t actually there. 

As for the scene’s script, here are the lines of interest:

Barret: Yo! This your first time in a reactor? (PS1/PC)

Barret: Yo. You’ve been in a reactor before, right? (Beacause/EC)

Barret: Hey. This your first time in a reactor? (Rogers A)

Barret: Here we are in a reactor, which I'm sure is a familiar sight to you. (Rogers B)

and

Barret: It's the life blood of this planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these weird machines. (PS1/PC)

Barret: All right, I’ll tell ya… Mako’s the lifeblood of our planet, but Shin-Ra’s usin’ all this weird crap around here to suck it dry! (Beacause)

Barret: They're bleedin' the planet dry! Shinra'd take every last drop of mako from the planet if they could. And this pile o' scrap they call a mako reactor is what let's 'em. (EC)

Scene 19-25: Codes and Doors

Multiple sequences were merged as I decided against including the combat in this room. First of all, I ONLY want to put combats at the end of episodes, so that viewers who don’t like it can just skip ahead once the slow-mo Matrix crap starts lol.

Anyway, I took some footage of Biggs and Jessie running from door to door. Getting these shots without boxes or bodies strewn all over the floor was actually pretty tough! Ha ha ha! I implemented a cross-fade sequence here to imply time passing. Not my favorite cinematic trick, but we got through it, and I even managed to include Biggs’ optional dialogue here.

Scene 23 was cut entirely, it’s a flashback FMV. Sc. 25 also jumps away, this time to our villains cackling in a tower. Snip snip. I transported a clip of Barret from a later scene and color corrected it to match, and boom! We’re in the elevator without the random encounter, or opening that chest. Just like my first playthrough!

Scene 26: The Elevator

I wanted a more muted score here so I changed from the EC track to 7R’s more orchestral arrangement by Shima. I had to speed it up and change its pitch in order for it to match Uematsu’s track.

Cloud: It's not my problem. (PS1/PC)

Cloud: Sorry, but I’m not interested. (Beacause/Rogers)

Cloud: Why should I care? (EC)

I went with Rogers here.

Scene 27-29: Mako Reactor Dungeon and Encounters

All right, the Matrix shit has kicked off, so give your brain a break and enjoy the fireworks. After some scenery porn (god this game is beautiful) we introduce Barret to battle!

Here we have the first proper 7R score variation: Shotaro Shima’s Mako Reactor - Battle Edit. Purists be damned! Additionally, Barret is outfitted with a Restore materia, when in the OG you don't find it until the next screen and can't use it until the next dungeon. This is one of only a few slight alterations made to adapt to the medium, and it has the upside of Barret not sounding like a moron later during the materia tutorial.

Folks who stick through to the end of the fight get a treat.

Final Thoughts

So I’m hoping fans of the OG are liking the vids, but they’re not my primary audience. I’m making this for people who have no idea what Final Fantasy is. I want to invite them through the story in a way that looks and sounds better than on PS1. How am I doing in that regard? In a way, this entire series could serve as a prologue to Remake, so I’m hoping 7R fans can also see this series’ value.

[takenbynumbers]

tseng for the ask meme!

sexuality hc: irrelevant but mostly queer. he's been with women, but has found he prefers men as he gets older.

gender hc: he is gender envy to literally everyone around him.

a ship that i have: tseeve (they are soulmates). HOWEVER, it may surprise you to know that my first ff7 ship ever was tseng/vincent, affectionately known as the verboten otp. why? spicy reasons (they are still so spicy but i don't write it much anymore). another pairing i quite like is cloud/tseng but only post-canon, and i have been known to ship tsengru under very specific conditions.

a brotp: tseng/zack. they're such BROS. also, seph/tseng!

a notp: tseng/aerith (i like the idea of him teaching her how to protect herself, but they have more of an estranged siblings vibe) and tseng/elena (she's 18, he's at least 30, not to mention there's a HUGE power imbalance and again, i can see him mentoring her but romantically? huge no).

random hc: okay so, tseng's family clan back in wutai used to serve as priests at one of the temples of leviathan, but going back even further, they are descendants from spira (specifically, moonflow region when there had been a city there). due to the folly of his ancestors, they became scattered across spira, but ended up being between djose temple and macalania temple.

fast forward back to gaia, and as a result, he learnt quite a few ways of the temple of leviathan. when tseng was (forcibly) moved to midgar, he tried to put it in the past, preferring to move on, however at some point, he lost a tiny statue he had of leviathan (his mother gifted it to him) and as a result, he ends up getting leviathan tattooed across his back so he could still carry her with him wherever he went.

(my other random hc is that post-fight/torture at the hands of the Remnants, he ends up not recovering fully and tends to wear an eyepatch.)

...i actually have a lot of headcanons but i'll stop here.

general opinion: tseng has been my main blorbo for so many years, alongside cait sith and mog. he's such an interesting character, who truly proves that not everything is so black and white within the compilation, and that is no more evident than in his actions. a lot of people tend to lump him in with the rest of the turks or completely ignore his characterisation in favour for louder characters (like reno and rude), only seeing him in a pairing (tsengru) or apparently hunting down zack for shinra (that's not what he was doing oh my god please stop).

anyway, i could talk about him all day.

[cacneo]

I’m gonna throw all my initial thoughts about rebirth here while the ending is fresh:

1) Myrna is adorable, 10/10 no notes

2) I literally gasped aloud when Zack touched Cloud and ended up fighting along side him

3) I feel like square is fucking with us at this point with all the stamp variations

4) I’m still very hopeful for an ending where Zack is fully back. It’s interesting that they are using the white room again like in AC, I’m wondering what connection that has to the livestream and who ends up rejoining vs being in the room and what that means

5) I really need a list of everything that was changed or expanded upon vs the original

6) I’m a little conflicted with the styling of the Gi and the sort of characterization of them as a group of people. I’d be less conflicted if square hadn’t royally made asses of themselves in FF16, but they lost a lot of benefit of the doubt there recently. But having a group that is styled to look like (to my eyes anyway) African tribesmen, positioning them as outside invaders, and having them say that the cetra’s exclusion of them is why they poured all their hate into a world-ending material is uh…….not great, and it’s even worse when positioned in a narrative about the corrupting power of anger and the need for letting things go. It comes off as a “oh but slavery/colonization/etc. was so long ago, why are you still hung up on it, you’re being divisive by not just moving on.” Left a really bad taste in my mouth after that section, hopefully they just leave it there instead of digging a bigger hole in pt 3

7) I’m putting my money on part 3 coming out in 2027 for the 30th anniversary

8) after them bringing Weiss and Nero back in intergrade, and after reminding myself of them showing up at the end of crisis core, I’m guessing they will show up again when the party goes to midgar in pt 3

9) I’m going to have to find a way to replay dirge of Cerberus

10) still not sure what’s going on with them trying to say that cloud thought Zack drowned??? Presumably it’s sephiroth fuckery

11) I really need context for a) why they added roche as a character and b) why he would have volunteered for a hojo experiment

12) maybe ever crisis has / will do some of this, but I really want some context for like, what fuckery happens in SOLDIER post crisis core and pre main game with their whole chain of command fucked

13) the level design and environment people did a phenomenal job

14) Zack’s new voice actor did waaaayy better this time, whether through practice or better voice direction or both. It actually sounded more like him

15) sad to see the banora posters around but no mention of angeal and genesis (unless you count the loveless production being version G as a genesis mention)

16) square really decided to punish me for not using magic most of the game with that elemental barrier at the end

17) I ship clerith way more than I used to. Remake/rebirth have given her so much more character

18) same for yuffie, I’m glad she got intergrade and with the wutai war being a bigger deal I’m looking forward to better characterization for her too

19) curious what the plan is for cid since they’ve brought him in differently

20) and still a little heartbroken that cid/vincent aren’t full party members

21) I guess wedge appearing in the loveless scene with Jesse/biggs means he did die at the shinra building when the whispers pushed him

22) it’s neat that your weapon changes in scenes based on what you have equipped, but it does really ruin a lot of the cinematic parallels with Zack if you don’t keep the buster sword equipped all game

[getvalentined]

Hi Nashi! For the Ship It/Don't Ship It ask game, I'd like to know your thoughts on (of course) Vin/Veld for the Ship It portion, and Valenwind for the Don't Ship It portion. :)

VinVeld: I ship it

1. What made you ship it?

I'mma be real, VinVeld was initially a crackship within the fandom when I was 18-19, when BC first dropped, based strictly on the fact that Veld had been stated to have known Vincent before his death. It's easy to ship Turks with Turks, but there was no support for it at the time, so I was just kinda like "sure y'all do that."

Then they actually met up in-game and that basically made me go "oh. oh." because Veld recognizes Vincent instantly even when Lucrecia didn't. Vincent recognizes Veld after thirty years. They refer to each other with no honorifics at all. Vincent then doesn't hesitate to get up and fight to make sure that Veld and his attending Turk are safe, and immediately gives him the information he needs to get closer to his goal. Whatever they were to each other before Project S, they were close, and learning that completely changed my brain chemistry.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

It's actual Old Man Yaoi. They have a history, they have an extant character dynamic that literally doesn't exist for Vincent with anyone else. They know each other, but they don't know each other anymore—and them getting to know each other again in the little time Veld has left is just one of the most beautiful concepts.

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Uhhhh is VinVeld popular enough to have unpopular opinions? I dunno. Apparently shipping it at all is a problem to a lot of people, so there's that.

—

Val*nwind: I don't ship it

Censored to keep it out of the search. I don't care if you ship it it's just not for me.

1. Why don’t you ship it?

Cɪd abused Shera for five years straight and she stayed with him anyway. They are married postcanon. Vincent knows better than to be homewrecker to another Fucked Up Shinra Scientist Couple, even if they're in aeronautics rather than biology and regardless of whether or not Cɪd is his type.

2. What would have made you like it?

If Cɪd were not in a long-term relationship with someone he abused for half a decade who stuck with him anyway and married him after Meteorfall, then I'd probably be down. Cɪd is my Vincent's type 100 percent—and so is Shera, actually! So if they wanted to bring Vincent in as a third that would be super cool to me, but nobody does that. Also if everyone stopped calling it "Old Man Yaoi" when Cɪd is thirty-two years old I'd have less of a kneejerk reaction, I think.

(It also would be cool if the people who ship it would tag things properly, not tag every reblog they make that features Vincent with this ship, not pretend Shera doesn't exist, and/or not literally say that she deserved to be abused because nobody likes her or that what Cɪd did to her doesn't count as abuse because she never left him. I know this is not everyone, most people who ship this are very normal for the most part, but I've seen this discussion many times over the years and it has soured the ship for me forever. Do better, y'all.)

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

There is some really good fanart out there. My favorite FF7 doujin artist actually does Val*nwind, I have a lot of their stuff because the way they portray it is actually really solid. It can absolutely be done well. This is one of my biggest NOTPs almost entirely because of the fandom around it, but there are plenty of good renditions out there.

[ to ship or not to ship ask game ]

[maguro13-2]

Legacy of Shinra ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Chapter 1 Pt.11

Ashley : According to my records, it states that the device you created will help us tracking down any criminal threats. The renegading witches must be around here somewhere.

Penny Crygor : There! What's that in the sky? Isn't that...(the Halberd is shown flying over San Francisco) Isn't that one of the Smashers' aircraft?

Ashley : I wonder what they're up to anyway?

Penny Crygor : No clue. But I believe that they're heading to the state of Nevada to have their selves to get into serious action. Hmm? What's that unidentified person they're chasing after? Are they chasing...(Next to the Halberd is a female humanoid Phanto that is shown flying, holding a scythe)

[SKY TO THE OCEAN - Akira Yamaoka]

Ashley : Wait a sec, that's Phanto! the Mask Enemy! She's flying over from where's it going! But, it's a female one! We better go check out if they had some problems!

Penny Crygor : Roger! Quickly and grab onto one of those Warp Stars! [the two grabs onto the Warp Stars and flies off to the Halberd, cuts to Meta Knight battling against Phanto]

Meta Knight : In despicable! I can never imagine a masked enemy had this much strength! How is she so strong to wield a scythe against my attack!?

Female Phanto : [chuckles] Simple, Meta Dork! Master Phanto has given the opportunity to wield a scythe for me! This let me handle to my own attacks and as it looks good on both ways, I can cut you into two or make you into bite-size pieces!

Meta Knight : Remarkable, you may have the skills of a scythe wielder like Mrs. Albarn's daughter, but you're no match for the skills of a true warrior! Come! I will make you to know my power!

[Weapons clashing]

Meta Knight : I know lot of your scythe wielding techniques, but you can never handle this! Taste the power of my Mach Tornado! [does a Tornado Attack to go against Phanto]

Female Phanto : Hmph! Too slow! [teleports to dodge to Meta Knight's attack]

Meta Knight : Tch! I missed! [Phanto surrounds him with the scythe, gasped in shocked] Uwah!?

Female Phanto : Hahaha, going somewhere!? Looks like you're the one that is out of luck for you. But your luck just might be the nick of time. Once this blade will go straight ahead and take off that mask of yours. You will definitely never be the face of a true warrior that you're already understanding the question! Are you ready to give up so easily and reveal your face to the whole world?

Meta Knight : No! I would never take my mask off! It is important when I only use it in combat! This mask holds the will of a warrior and never takes his mask off! No one tells me what to do! [Backs off Phanto and goes behind] Now it should be you that will take off the mask! And show me your true face!

Female Phanto : Is that the nerve you ever had to ask nicely? Why don't you ask that to yourself!? [the two continues clashing]

Meta Knight : What is it that you're looking after?

Female Phanto : I'm looking for my daughter, Maka. I haven't seen her around in 18 years, and it's going to be around 19 years to see her again. I wish I could reunite with her after being held in the sanctuary for so long.

Meta Knight : "Sanctuary"?, around 18 years ago? and now you're saying it's going to be around 19 years ago? What do you mean if you're willing to see your daughter Maka again? Do you have some kind of connection with the characters from Square Enix?

Female Phanto : That's what you think in the past years. But I don't feel like that I'm having a reunion with those Final Fantasy Chumps, or those JRPG Legends from Dragon Quest. But all I need to do for you is to get your head sliced up! It's only a matter of time before I am ready to see my daughter Maka smile again and let her know that I'm coming back. So die now, Meta Twit!

[BOOM!]

Ashley : Hold it right there, you mask freak!

Meta Knight : You girls from Warioware!

Female Phanto : Oh great! More company I have to attend! It's the scientist and that Majo Dectective. It's one of the employees of the Garlic-eating plumber's company. I haven't seen you in a while since your boss Wario was defeated by his rival Mario.

Ashley : How did you know about Mario and Wario, and what are you talking about? You got something to say about your "Daughter", that Maka Kid?

Female Phanto : Could be. But right now, I hope your boss is doing a good job taking care of your wealth and he is a money lover to all his employees, but get's greedy all the time when it comes to money in his pockets. But it ain't just about the money, it's about the taste of sweet reunion and of course, a pretty sweet revenge for letting my husband Spirit Albarn abandoned me for a long time! And this is only just the beginning of my revenge! You maybe able to seek into the eyes of "Truth", but it's not like it's going to last forever to keep up with the Devil's lies. But don't believe in the Devil's eyes, cause those are the lies in his eyes. Now this battle's over, I gotta meet someone who forgets my baby shower for around 18 years! [before teleporting away] See ya around, detective!

Penny Crygor : H-hey! Wait a minute! There's something we need to tell you about Maka! Darn! She run off! Just what was that all about? Hmm? [sees the Heavy Lobster that is completely destroyed after it was defeated by Phanto] Incredible, just look at the poor lobster, I can't believe that this Heavy Lobster machine was the ship's guard robot. I never thought it would be heavily defeated by Phanto for the first time since Kirby destroyed it twice in both the ship and the Machinery planet in Kirby's universe.

Ashley : Indeed. Well, Heavy Lobster's cooked and it was destroyed by Phanto after it detected that she was attacking Meta Knight's ship, before we got on aboard! And there on the second hand, I just got a little information that this Phanto person might be involved of the Kusakabe Legacy. Right now, the less problems there is, the more trouble is that this planet will be destroyed for the likes of that renegading Medusa! What's her angle about Maka? Seems like a pretty deal to me.

Meta Knight : Hmmm...You were one of them "Assist" Trophies that we foreshadowed you. I mean "Detective" from one of them agencies I heard before. You a crime-fighting mystery solver and legend that might be willing to witness the eyes of truth. Listen carefully, your old partner is waiting for you. We will make a few adjustments to concerns on the whereabouts of that Maka Kid. Come, I'll show you where the guys at. [the three walks to the bridge]

~ Twelth Scene : Shell of a Masked Warrior ~

[queernoctis]

is...... is asking for all of them to be answered for sephiroth on the ask game indulgence in babygirl or babygirl overload

it is definitely indulgence bUT I'LL DO IT ANYWAY

do you project onto this character?

adfbfgd at least a little tbh.... she;s not my Most projecting character but it is there. projecitng Undiagnosed but Im Pretty Sure onto her

2. did you always like this character?

ive always been fascinated by her tbh. my first exposure to her was in kingdom hearts, and years before playing ff7 i'd go on wikis and read the lyrics for one winged angel lol

3. what first drew you to this character?

i mean. look at her. i also knew her reputation for being the obsessive yaoi seme to cloud and that's how i went into ff7. now look at me. baby girl.

4. did you initially dislike/hate this character?

NOPE. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.

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

very funny question to answer for sephi specifically hldghuoijbtdbf i love her either way. tho ive made my thoughts on her gender clear.

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

BABY GIRL. SEPH. SEPHI. I LOVE HER.

7. does the character's age matter to you?

i love thinking of her at different stages in her life... miniroth, medium sephi [between ec and cc], big sephi... theyre all so interesting in their own right.

8. does this cahracter's looks/design matter to you?

of course, she has one of my fav designs ever. im sure her story would still feel effective if she looked different but oh my god so much of her design appeals to me specifically

9. does this character remind you of anyone you know?

no not really.

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

i relate to her wanting to do the right thing, and how socially awkward she is.

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

i saw this

and it was all down hill from there lOOK AT THIS PATHETIC LITTLE THING

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

i'd write all of me and danny's domestic au, for one thing. i'd write all my headcanons for her life growing up at shinra, i'd write post-ac sefistrifesodos where they all figure out how to be people again, a ton of ags/genseph/glennseph..... god there'd be so much

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

same as the above tbh hgyhbdg id also draw lots of scenes of her being pampered and cuddled like she deserves

14. Are you physically attracted to this character?

im ace so my interest in sephi porn is more rooted in her as a character, but her design does help

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

yes

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

not yet.... i dont cry at media a lot tbh [not since i switched birth control anyway lol]

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

does the autism feeling of [waving hands around wildly while thinking THE!!!!] count

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

YES TO BOTH. she has to earn her comfort. i have to make her go through it a little bit.

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

if i couldnt put sephi in little situations in my head while im working i would not survive retail

20. Do you feel affectionate towards this character?

BITES HER

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

see above

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

yes....... once i sink my teeth in a character i do not let go. the only kind of exception [gladio from xv] has to do with irl stuff that was going on at the same time, so.

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

she ruined my life. and i made a new bestie through sephicanons so :3

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

NO i just dream weird life shit. it sucks.

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

im ngl i mostly read porn lhdibguhnhdfg but i have dabbled in some general angst or hurt/comfort fic for her too. shout out to NightOfTeeth on ao3 for writing kinky dom/sub genseph that also works as very good character studies

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

+bottom sephiroth, +omega sephiroth, +alpha/beta/omega dynamics, sometimes stuff like incest or sexual abuse if im feeling particularly spicy

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

ask my just under 30k word ags omegaverse series jsbflhgbtdh

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

yes....... ppl that think she's a bad villain or she just "went insane" meet me outside the dennys i just wanna talk

29. Do you affectionately bully this character?

yes....... it's enrichment...

30. Are you especially sensitive about this character?

i dont think so.... i am very particular about her writing but thats just because i like her character so much. but its not different form any other character that's had a turn in the special interest centrifuge.

31. Are you ashamed of liking this character?

no im not catholic

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

im not making her anything im taking her out for texas barbecue. rip sephiroth you would have loved brisket

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

i accept sephiroth's flaws [she has none]

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

she inspires me to be a weird little freak. as we all should strive to be.

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

ye a fdgthyrdbf it's the adhd

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

nah

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

my fiance was so excited to give me my sephiroth plush for valentine's day 2023 that he gave it to me at midnight. so no jbsfuigbf [it's this little guy from the square store!] many of my gifts since have been sephiroth related

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

i would die for her.... as post-nibel sephi would expect me too jbddyfg

39. Do you feel lovesick over this character?

no just the previously mentioned BITES HER

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

SHE MAKES ME. SO SAD. shes def one of those characters where im like "i totally see where youre coming from queen, go off. get that twink."

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

ive never been into self insert or reader stuff j;lbgdrfg no shade to anyone that likes that its just not for me. im more interested in treating characters like barbie dolls and just putting them in weird situations. as for OCs they tend to be like, fankids jbgrtd. lucia and ifalna lodbrok i love you so much.

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

i would write her a song... i actually really like singing but i have no idea how to make music sfdbdfg

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

cool, rainy weather

44. Which season makes you think of this character?

winter

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

to paraphrase bdg, i am the master chief of sephiroth

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

not significantly. like i'll go off on discord over it for a bit but i wont fixate on it. this is how you survive in fandom.

47. Does this character ever make you laugh sincerely?

absolutely dsbdg at the end of the nibel protorelics questline where shes there and gilgamesh just Shows Up.... i could practically feel her being like "wtf is this."

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

it's between her hair and her eyes... i love her kitty eyes, and i have a well documented Thing for characters with white/silver hair.

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

SHE'S SO COMPASSIONATE... SHE TRIES SO HARD TO BE A GOOD PERSON EVEN IN HER CIRCUMSTANCES.... SHE WANTED TO BE AN ACTUAL HERO....

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

MY SEPHI PINTERST BOARD and honestly just go to my art tag or my ao3 and most of it is sephi. she took over my brain