#denzel strife

[poipoigurl]

Hoping 2025 is grand!

There is 30 characters in this. (not sure if the cat counts). The character count was a fun challenge. Some may confuse people.

Base: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1006484216725225071/

[rivkae-winters]

For the ask game 4, 8, 12, 18 and 25 for any fandom

This is part of this ask game :3 Mostly seven with some general and one intentionally unspecified fandom

4) What was the last straw for finally blocking that annoying person?

I’m very bad at actually blocking people, I tend to cause my own problems that way, but the last time I blocked someone it was because they sent me an unsolicited DM basically trying to guilt me into commissioning them right after an artist I’d just recently commissioned posted the piece. I love getting DM’s and interaction in general even if I’m not super active myself because of anxiety so I was really upset about it when I saw the message. 

On one hand I get it, I do- I’m also a commercial artist and I’m lucky enough to have a decently stable W2 Job right now. On the other hand though: maybe make your sales pitch at least more enticing than a Jehovah's Witness knocking on your door. 

8) Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about?

This one got WELL out of hand length wise so I'll be posting my full thoughts on why later today or tomorrow.

The apple game in CC (from the Silver Elite fan club letter) is bs, and it baffles me that people trust what Hojo says as much as they do. 

Honestly, most of the fan mail in the game is bs or has the truth heavily muddied but this example is especially egregious in my opinion. It's not an activity that Genesis, Angeal, or Sephiroth would actually enjoy much. Sephiroth himself would be bored to tears since he has such an unfair advantage since his sword is much slimmer than Rapier and Angeal's standard issue broadsword. There is also the issue of the fact that all of them likely have some element of food trauma (or in Angeal's case are confirmed as such) but the expanded post later today will expand on that.

Disclaimer that you can enjoy and write what you want or believe in the story of AGS playing with apples and swords. Make content you feel inspired to, consume content you enjoy, and don’t let me stop you from having fun. 

12) The unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I don’t know how unpopular he is anymore but Denzel is great- if you can find the ‘on the way to a smile’ anthology and read ‘episode Denzel’ or the OVA from 2010 his character gets a lot better. He’s a complex little guy with layers and plenty of regret already trying to go forward with life. Post AC he starts working with Reeve as a protege of sorts iirc after Reeve blocks him from joining the WRO’s militia. (Which would not have gone over well with anyone if it went through, Denzel is 10ish at that point.) 

He wants to save people like Cloud saved him, somewhat so he can feel worthy of having been saved. There is also still a lingering of the unintentional toxic positivity his mom instilled in him and it is delightful.

The book mentioned above was finally released in English around a decade after Japan got it but it was $35 USD last I checked. I think there are some readings of it on YouTube but I can’t vouch for the quality of any since I don’t do well with audio books. 

The OVA can be really hard to find because it was only on the AC complete Blu-Ray discs of a certain edition- I’m pretty sure it was the first run of them but I may be wrong. Because of this and the fact that I’ve seen take-downs happen continuously each time I went back to reference it last year it’s to the point where some people are incorrectly assuming it’s just totally lost media. Either way I have a so-so quality copy I saved, I won’t put it on the post directly just to be cautious but if you’re interested DM me or contact me through discord (rivkae) if you have that and I’ll shoot you the drive link. 

18) It’s absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on…

In og CC Gillian dies with a smile on her face. In reunion it’s blocked by a vignette.

I’ve never seen it mentioned in a fic dealing with her death yet, the few that there are, so eventually I’m just going to have to do it myself.

This answer is almost pathetically short because every time I start thinking about this I get the urge to write. Since I can't really sit down to write prose right now so I'm not going to get to into it.

25) Common fandom complaint that you’re sick of hearing? 

(Slightly dramatized for effect, I’m not saying the fandom because I’m mostly out of it writing wise right now but iykyk feel free to send me your guesses)

‘Ewww I hate y and z version of [media]!!! X version of [media] is the only good one- anyone who interacts with y and z supporting posts will be blocked!’

‘I hate this version of my favorite character from x in y and z [complaint that could be very easily interpreted as racism] anyone with art of this design will be blocked! DNI if you have [bastardized version of the characters name to show distaste] content!’

Except then they don’t block you after you DNI, they start following your blog posting stuff for y and z version of [media]

Now obviously blocking is a core part of the tumblr experience, really the entire social media experience but it’s taken more seriously other places. Here though? If they breathe annoyingly it is perfectly fine and normal to block them- encouraged even! I have no issues with a DNI, BYF, etc as concepts I just get a little irked when people don’t practice what they preach while still loudly complaining about [media]. 

Now obviously adaptations make a lot of people angry for good reasons sometimes, I understand that. I dislike many adaptations myself, but it’s the incessant complaining when you aren’t even following your own rules that it gets under my skin a bit. That’s not even mentioning the drama that happens in discord servers with areas about said alternate versions of [media] where most community spaces to discuss said versions die quickly due to the toxicity of comparison and the group norm to conform to being putting x version, the original version, over the other version. You can like y and z but you should like x more- you should agree that x is objectively better. Even if x is also offensive in several ways and dated in others and isn’t as easy to consume story wise- which is how y and z brought new fans to the fandom. 

I’m going to cut myself off there but… Yeah. I hate adaptations too sometimes but it shouldn’t be used to backhandedly bully others into silence. Let people enjoy what makes them happy.

[finalfivecarts]

Marlene and Denzel going through the universal experience of adults in your life dropping a part of their Doofenshmirtz backstory

[thirstywaffles]

Dad cloud

[seilidare]

I FORGOT TO POST CLOUD’S BIRTHDAY ART HERE

[priceofreedom]

More Dad!Cloud 🐤

[protemporescitor]

[little-black-dress-zack-fair]

Cloud: *out in the field making deliveries*

Cloud: *texting with Zack* Love, I'm working I can't talk

Zack: Sunshine, please I have a shadow

Cloud: What?

Zack: *sends several pictures of Denzel stalking him in the background*

Cloud: Oh he's revisiting his clingy era

Zack: I haven't known peace for the last two days please come home

Zack: *sends pictures of Marlene joining Denzel in stalking him*

Cloud: Adorable

Zack: NO PEACE

[wiavi]

[flummoxx]

bugenhagen….what a name

[poipoigurl]

Tender Winter Moments

Sweet moments using the side characters

A. Johnny

B. Marlene and Denzel

C. Mireille and Kyrie

D. Elmyra

Base: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1006484216712710886/

[theghostavocadoe]

FUCK YOU domestic Remnants of Sephiroth + AC fam headcanons

After being brought into the household by a very disgruntled Cloud and a Mom Instinct Tifa, the Remnants were quickly indoctrinated into their funky found family.

Their first few days were spent shopping for new clothes, accessories, furniture, and other various goodies for their room

Speaking of their room, they all share a single room, but with three separate beds. Cloud's policy is that if they're too pissed off with each other to sleep in the same room, they can sleep on the couch.

They each have their own coffee mug. Loz's has a cat face on it. Yazoo's is one of those mugs that changes colors when a hot liquid is poured into it that looks like a battery being charged. And Kadaj's just says FUCK OFF in sparkly cursive font.

Marlene is quick to forgive and even quicker to get along with the three of them. Denzel, not so much; he's still got a big grudge over being literally mind controlled, which is fair.

Loz is the quickest to befriend everybody because he's got a big heart and is just happy to have a roof over his head. He also feels a bit bad about beating up Tifa, so he jumps on any opportunity to help her with things like cooking or carrying an obscene amount of grocery bags.

Yazoo is second for everyone to warm up to because he's quiet and polite. He mostly just sits and reads during his free time. One time, when she felt confident enough, Marlene just walked up to him and climbed into his lap. He didn't mind at all and she ended up falling asleep there.

Kadaj, as expected, took the longest to adjust. He needed a lot of time to get over his grudges and realize everything about Mother and Sephiroth was pointless. Once he did warm up, though, it was like a flip switched.

His confidence skyrocketed. He made jokes. He laughed. He was happy. Loz and Yazoo were completely unbothered, as if this was normal, but everyone else was shocked. When he was asked about it, Kadaj just shrugged and said he didn't want to waste his time pretending to be negative anymore.

He definitely still has his moments and his mood swings. But otherwise, he was content.

Now for the more fun headcanons:

Yazoo is an absolute fiend for garlic bread. Or anything garlic in general. He could kill a vampire just by standing near it.

Loz assesses everything by sniffing it first.

When they start to get along, Kadaj and Denzel start an ongoing game of punchies.

Loz forces everyone in the family to play card games with him at least once.

Yazoo is overall great with children. Any time he goes out near the local orphanage, the children flock to him with average children questions while begging to touch his hair.

Tifa and Yazoo help brush each other's hair sometimes. Tifa even puts Yazoo's hair in a little braid from time to time.

During the holidays, putting up the tree is a collective effort. At one point Kadaj climbs on Loz's shoulder to try and put the star on the top, which almost pushes the tree over and gives Cloud a heart attack.

Kadaj hangs around Cloud when he's working on Fenrir and is often forced to fetch tools or hold flashlights for him.

The remnants all go with Cloud whenever he visits the church so that they can thank Aerith for giving them another chance.

When the rest of the gang visits, Loz has a blast with Cait Sith and Red XIII, Kadaj has a heated debate with Cid, and Yazoo and Vincent stand in the Antisocial Corner to quietly talk.

[rottenpumpkin13]

WHAT IF..... Their world gets hacked, and now everything CC!Cloud touches just gets deleted from the game? (Cloud obivously doesn't know this at first until he starts to make a dozen things disappear)

*Cloud touches his cup of coffee and it disappears*

Zack: I told you to stop doing that! You don't know where those things are going.

Cloud: Relax, I'm pretty sure they're disappearing for good. So far I've accidentally deleted the play station in the lounge, Sephiroth's sword, and that office plant Angeal has been taking care of.

Zack: They can't just disappear like that! I'm telling you, they're ending up somewhere.

*Sephiroth walks by*

Sephiroth: Has anyone seen my—

*Cloud touches him and he disappears*

Zack: !

Cloud: My intrusive thoughts won.

(In the post-canon future)

*Denzel is drinking a cup of coffee*

Cloud: Where did you get that?

Denzel: I'm making stuff appear just by wishing for them! Check it out, so far I've wished for a cup of coffee, a play station, a cool sword and this neat house plant I'm giving Tifa for Christmas.

Cloud: That can't possibly work.

Denzel: Try it out! Maybe it works for you too.

Cloud, sarcastically not taking it seriously at all: Alright. I wish for Sephiroth to come back.

*Crisis Core Sephiroth appears*

Sephiroth: Has anyone see my—screaming and throwing objects at me accomplishes nothing—has anyone seen my sword?

[videogamegeek12345]

thinking about final fantasy vii dads today...

cloud and tifa have a weird thing going with their parents, where cloud lost his dad very young/didn't grow up with his dad, only living with claudia, and tifa has the exact opposite, where her mom died when she was young (leading to the og nibelheim incident /hj) and she grew up mostly with brian, until both claudia and brian died in the (second) nibelheim incident.

brian lockhart was obviously very protective of tifa, not wanting her to go up mount nibel in the first place with sephiroth, zack, and cloud to check on the reactor. then he died in front of her up in the reactor a week later...

while barret doesn't talk about his parents, he is a dad, and he sure has complicated feelings about that!! what with dyne being his best friend, and myrna not being able to be there with him, caring for marlene through all that loss must be crazy.

aerith's dad literally helped create sephiroth. professor gast was a craaazy dude lowkey. and he's so irrelevant in her life it kills me a little. i hope we see gast in pt. 3. and tell him his daughter is fuckin' dead.

nanaki has a weird thing with seto, too, where he believed him to be a coward, just to learn that in all actuallity, seto sacrificed the life he could have had with his wife and nanaki to protect cosmo canyon, so nanaki wouldn't feel the need to make a similiar, self-sacrificing choice.

yuffie and godo... her anger at him in the remake trilogy has me hooked. sonon seemed to think he was a great guy, and yuffie adamantly argued the opposite. i cannot WAIT to see him in pt. 3. i cannot wait to find out what is going on. she hates him so much right now, for the sake of her country.

does cid have a dad thing? ...i don't think so. neither does reeve/cait sith... well. i didn't forget them. they're mentioned.

vincent and grimoire... another thing i hope they explore in pt. 3... or in a DoC remake (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REMAKE IT.) the literal 4 minutes of grimoire screentime that explains absolutely nothing about their relationship, or grimoire's research, or... ANYTHING. i'm so. curious. he came in, flirted with lucrecia, and died. ARGH TELL ME MORE!!!

also, not a party member, but the whole "president shinra having multiple illegitimate sons" thing always makes me hate that guy a little more. lazard and evan i love you guys. rufus i love you too but your daddy issues are a different flavor.

[final-smashey]

Yes

[secondarysefikura]

What was Aerith’s relationship with everyone?

Took me a brief second to realize you meant the sefikura child au lol. I was really confused for a moment. This one is a bit long so I'll put a split here.

Cloud: Growing up, she has a good, strong relationship with her 'dad.' While he can be a bit weird and distant at times, she loves spending time with him. He often teaches her life skills such as basic mechanics or how to control her strength.

When she gets older and finds out that her dad is really her mom, the relationship gets a bit strained. She holds some resentment towards him for lying but still loves him dearly. The two get into more arguments, although she's quick to drop things since Cloud is in a pretty bad state and Sephiroth has convinced her that Cloud doesn't really know what he's talking about. Eventually the relationship gets repaired and she understands why Cloud hid the truth from her, but, you know, classic teenage "ugh I hate my parents."

Tifa: Before Sephiroth shows up, Aerith is really close with her 'mom.' As a child she always wants to be with Tifa, clinging to her legs or playing nearby. As she gets older she likes to help Tifa in the kitchen, wanting to learn her 'mother's' recipes. Tifa also teaches her some self defense basics, although she makes Aerith promise to never strike first and to avoid fighting at all costs. Even if another kid tries to strike her, it's better that she dodges rather than hits back. Aerith has a lot of strength that she is still learning to control after all, so she needs to be absolutely certain she won't seriously harm someone before she properly fights back.

When Sephiroth shows up, her relationship with Tifa turns sour. She stops calling her mom and avoids her. She gets into all sorts of arguments with Tifa and yells at Tifa that she hates her. Poor Tifa is heartbroken, because even if she knew Aerith was getting to the age where she would start to push back, it seems like this personality shift happened over night.

When Aerith starts living with Sephiroth (and an unwilling Cloud), she grows even more resentful towards Tifa due to the things Sephiroth tells her. Tifa is the reason her real mom lied to her all these years, Sephiroth says. Tifa was the one who manipulated Cloud away from Sephiroth! She grows very resentful of Tifa.

Sephiroth: When Aerith meets Sephiroth/begins to hear his voice, she very quickly falls under his sway. He tells her the truth and supports her strength. He teaches her to fight not just to defend herself, but to strike fear and stop anyone from so much as looking at her wrong. She adores him and is quick to call him 'dad'. Even when she witnesses Sephiroth acting a bit weird towards Cloud, her blind hero worship of the man who 'fixed' her family makes her ignore the red flags.

Marleen: Marleen is like an older sister to Aerith. Even though Marleen is a lot older than her, the two often played together growing up. Marleen would give Aerith her old dolls and clothes too, just like a real big sister would! Also, when Marleen gets to the age that she starts to wear a bit of makeup, she practices her skills on Aerith. Which of course is the coolest thing ever when you're a little kid.

Denzel: Aerith has a similar relationship with Denzel as she does with Marleen. He's like an older brother to her and he teaches her how to play all sorts of card and board games. He can be a little bit weird though, randomly getting quiet or distant from her. Her 'dad' says it because Denzel has something called PTSD, just like him. Apparently before she was born, Denzel had an illness that could causes really intense visions. Although he's better now, the experience was difficult and left a lasting impact on him.

Her dad says he had it too, although he's pretty certain Aerith won't get it. At the very least, he explains, even if she does get it the cure has been found and she won't get sick like him and Denzel did.

Barret: Getting into her 'extended family', Barret is like an uncle to Aerith. Although he often goes away for work, he lives at the bar with her parents and 'siblings' anytime he isn't away. When he's home, he always makes sure to take the kids somewhere fun! Aerith really likes him.

Yuffie: Yuffie is like the cool, fun aunt. She doesn't visit a ton, but she does it's always chaos. Once, she took Aerith to the Golden Saucer and taught her how to pickpocket the distracted crowds. Cloud and Tifa were not amused and Aunt Yuffie got in a lot of trouble. Aerith did too, although not as much as Yuffie who "should have known better than to teach a kid to steal!"

Nanaki: When she was little, Aerith was actually scared of Nanaki. She's told it's because she burnt her hand on his tail when she was a baby. Now that she's older, Aerith isn't scared of him anymore. She likes to give him pats, whenever he's willing to receive them.

Vincent: Like Nanaki, Aerith was also scared of Vincent when she was little. She came around to him by the time she was a toddler, but the few times she saw him as a baby she would cry and cry. Aerith doesn't see him often, but she views him as a sort of distant relative that sometimes shows up and comments that you've gotten a lot taller. He has a hard time talking to her or forming a bond, although he does try to occasionally make awkward small talk.

Cid: Cid is funny, because he can't seem to stop himself from swearing around her. Then Tifa smacks Cid on the back of his head, rebuking him for using such langauge around the kids. It never fails to make Aerith laugh.

Cait: When Aerith was a baby, Cait was the frequent victim of her grabby baby hands. As a toddler, she loved to snuggle him like a stuffed toy. Although as a preteen she likes to claim she doesn't care for toys like Cait anymore (which always makes Cait snap he isn't a toy!) she always sneaks a quick snuggle with him.