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herperlo-d · 7 years

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How To Be A Saviour Without Trying

In which Tseng meets Cloud way before CC and as a result, saves the future

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Interlude 1] [Chapter 3]

Chapter 4: Start an Adventure

Weeks later

Tseng squinted at the papers in his hands, trying to concentrate on the tiny words scribbled across the page. Behind him, the clock struck two. Tick-tock tick-tock. The repetitive beats echoed in the empty office. Outside his windows, Midgar’s usual bustle had softened to a low murmur, most of the citizens safely asleep at home that late at night. The bright white lights of his office, mingling with the green glow of the reactors shining through his windows, reflected off the white walls, aggravating his already pulsing head.

Tseng gritted his teeth and made a few quick notes on the papers with a pen, sliding the stack into his OUT tray with a sullen plop. Massaging his temples, he drank another gulp of coffee that had long gone cold, the gross bitterness of the cheap office coffee searing an awful path down his throat. Tseng grimaced at the disgusting taste, but continued drinking. Right now, he would drink anything that contained caffeine- even if it reminded him of Zolom piss.

SOLDIER applications had just opened the previous weekend and the Turk offices were swamped with paperwork. Everyone was working overtime everyday the whole week- especially Tseng, what with Veld busy with a secret project from President Shinra. Tseng felt a curl of irritation well up in his gut, but he pushed it down in favour of picking up yet another stack of applications.

The stress of the massive influx of paperwork had gotten to him, making him uncharacteristically short tempered the entire week. Even Reno, who usually made as much of a nuisance of himself as possible, didn’t dare to breathe a word wrong in Tseng’s presence the past few days. If he had been in a better mood, Tseng would have appreciated the reprieve from Reno’s usual antics. Other Turk recruits, who were a little slower, fell victim to his sharp tongue and acerbic words.

For some reason, a few Turk recruits had dropped out throughout the week. Why? Tseng didn’t have the slightest clue.

Somehow, his reputation had grown more fearsome over the week.

Tseng sighed for the umpteenth time that night and slid another stack into his OUT tray. All applications had to be screened by the Turks in order to ensure that no anti-Shinra spy had attempted to infiltrate the company from the inside. Why they refused to have the applications digitalised was beyond Tseng. Now, he had to decipher thousands of different handwritings, comparing them and the information they displayed with past profiles of known anti-Shinra groups. If the forms had been scanned into the computer, Tseng could have completed the hundreds of forms within the afternoon, instead of staying in the office until wee hours in the morning, only to go home, shower, grab a bite and take short nap before coming back to the office. Tseng was so exhausted that he could feel the bags under his eyes grow with each passing day and the fuzziness in the corners of his mind rising.

It was dangerous and irresponsible of him, but Tseng really didn’t give a shit.

As he picked up a new stack of the accursed applications, Tseng spotted a splash of blue and yellow at the corner of the page. There, right on the first page of the forms just beside his hastily scrawled name, an older face of Cloud Strife stared back a Tseng, blue eyes and bright blond hair just as striking as he had remembered. The boy looked a bit tired in the photo, no doubt from the long journey from Nibelheim to Midgar. He had lost quite a bit of his baby fat from his face and his hair was somehow lighter and spikier than before.

A jumble of feelings swirled chaotically in his head. Surprise. Dread. Happiness. Tseng stared at the page in his hands, stunned for a second before the sound of his pen hitting the marble floor jolted him from his thoughts. Tseng stood up from his seat, quickly packing his things and strode out of the door, leaving his paperwork lying neatly on his table.

Work can wait till tomorrow- he had things to prepare. Cloud was in Midgar.

________

Cloud stepped off the train and meandered through the crowded platform, lightly jostling people out of his way. Overhead, a sign cheerfully welcomed him to Midgar Train Station, the largest train station in all of Gaia. A smaller sign below helpfully pointed out that Shinra Headquarters is five hundred metres away from Exit A. Shouldering his pack, Cloud chewed on some dragon jerky and made his way towards Exit A, eyes scanning the crowd leisurely. As he got closer to the building, it was easier to spot his fellow SOLDIER applicants among the stream of people- namely the ones who look much less put together than the formally dressed Shinra employees. It was the last day of registration and there was a large surge of last-minute applicant streaming into Midgar. Cloud, having arrived very early in the morning, was part of a smaller crowd. Thank Gaia for small mercies.

Cloud stopped at the base of the building and stared up at the sheer size of Shinra Headquarters. He had seen pictures in newspapers and heard people describe what it looked like, but nothing compared to seeing it in real life.

The building was a massive construct of steel and glass. It had gigantic tubes leading from the surrounding reactors to the base of the building. Rows of windows curved from end to end. It boasted a record-breaking seventy stories, the tallest ever building on Gaia with state of the art facilities and technology. The technologies in other non-Shinra buildings were at least two years behind those in the Headquarters because the company guarded its knowledge jealously.

Cloud tentatively entered the building only to be ushered into a whirlwind of admin matters. He was rushed through getting his picture taken and then a pen and application forms were pushed into his hands. The moment he wrote the last word, the papers were taken from him and he was whisked to another booth where he got his bunk number and quick directions to the SOLDIER hopeful barracks. Before he knew it, Cloud was standing back outside the Headquarters, staring rather blankly at the info sheet in his hands and wondering how he had appeared outside again. Shaking off the confusion, Cloud followed the directions to behind the headquarters where three rectangular five story concrete buildings stood dully, surrounding a large quadrangle.

Cloud eyed his new home, gripping the strap of his pack nervously. Now that he was finally here, Cloud felt the doubts start to creep up.

Is this worth it? Should he just have taken the job in Kalm instead?

Cloud shook those thoughts out of his head and steeled his resolve. He will finish what he started and fulfil his mother’s last wish. It was the least he could do to repay her kindness.

His room wasn’t that hard to find- it was in the middle building, on the second floor. Cloud was sharing a small room that barely fit the double-deckers of nine other applicants and their lockers. The beds were arranged in a U-shape with the headboards flushed against the walls and a pair of lockers stood beside each bunk.

Cloud was the second to arrive and he nodded at the other boy in the room, smiling slightly, as he claimed the bottom bunk of the second bed to the left of the door. The boy slipped off his own top bunk on the bed opposite and approached Cloud, shaking out his blond hair from his eyes and stuck out a hand, smiling brightly.

“My name’s Julius, but everyone calls me Lee.”

Cloud took his hand in a firm handshake. “Cloud.”

Lee raised an eyebrow at Cloud. “Not so talkative huh? But I guess if I had a name like that I wouldn’t be so eager to make friends either.”

Cloud grunted and shrugged in answer. It was sort of true after all. Once the village kids knew his name they made fun of him constantly. Surprisingly, Lee didn’t seem all that offended by Cloud’s gruff answer. Instead, he beamed at him, reaching out to punch Cloud’s shoulder lightly and gave him a one-arm hug.

“I can totally see it now. You and I are going to be such great friends.”

Cloud stared at him a little incredulously. They had just met literally five minutes ago, so how…? Meeting Lee’s bright grin with a shy one himself, Cloud decided that it didn’t really matter. He never was the one to look a gift horse in the mouth and having a friend to go through the coming weeks of hell with could only be blessing.

Lee cooed at Cloud’s small smile, pinching his cheeks. Cloud scowled at that. Now if only Lee would stop touching him so much the situation would have been perfect.

They spent the next few minutes getting to know each other. Turns out, Lee had just turned seventeen a month ago. He was from Icicle Inn and was delighted to find another ‘winter dweller in this sauna’. He had an older sister who co-owns a small inn in the mountain resort with his dad. His mom had left the family when he was only a baby. Cloud didn’t pry any further- it wasn’t for him to know. He had come to Midgar to try out for SOLDIER because ‘A SOLDIERS’ pay is the best and I gotta find a way to support my family. Heat doesn’t come cheap in the middle of an ice waste.’

Lee, in turn, learned that Cloud was a fifteen year old (though he looked a bit sceptical) from Nibelheim and he lives by himself in a place a bit away from the main village. Cloud didn’t notice when Lee’s beaming smile dimmed a little at that. He earns enough to tide him over by selling animal parts. Cloud also told him that he signed up for SOLDIER because it was his dream since he was a kid.

Lee’s smile became teasing and he nudged Cloud in the ribs, “A fan of Sephiroth huh?”

Cloud’s cheeks flushed a dark red and he spluttered indignantly, scrambling for a reply while Lee nearly cried with laughter. Thankfully, Cloud was saved from further embarrassment when the door slid open again and another group of boys entered the room.

The day passed by quickly after that as the boys got themselves situated in their bunks and trooped down to the quadrangle where they lined up in neat rows in front of a small podium. Cloud looked around and realised that there was about a hundred boys lining up with him, ages between fifteen (the minimum age requirement) and twenty-two (probably the exam retakers). The more he looked around, the more disgruntled he was to note that among all the boys, he still was the shortest one there. Lee seemed to have come to the same conclusion because he chuckled softly and ruffled Cloud’s hair. Cloud scowled at him and batted his hand away, turning back to the front where Heidegger stepped up to the podium, the medals on his breast glinting gold in the sunlight.

Cloud’s breath caught itself in his throat when General Sephiroth himself stepped up onto the platform behind Heidegger with the other two famous First Classes, Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos. Cloud could hear the people behind him whisper to each other in awe. The man looked even more beautiful and intimidating in real life, standing far taller than anyone else in the quadrangle, green cat-slit eyes scanning the crowd, assessing and cataloguing everyone’s threat levels.

Cloud gasped inaudibly when those captivating eyes caught his, hard emeralds catching sky blue in an intense gaze. Cloud automatically reacted like he would when facing down a dangerous opponent- he straightened his spine, drawing his shoulders back and stared back squarely into Sephiroth’s eyes, unblinking and fearless. Inside his head, his brain was screaming something akin to pure terror at him. Before he could look away, Sephiroth’s eyes shined at him with something like mild approval before the penetrating stare moved past him, onto their next victim.

The rest of Heidegger’s speech passed in a haze, Cloud barely noting the propaganda and praises he was spouting for the Shinra Company. Lee was shooting him concerned glances that he ignored, mind fixed on the fact that he had just stared down the General Sephiroth and the man himself had approved. Cloud felt a bit faint.

A Second Class SOLDIER took Heidegger’s place on the podium after the executive ended his speech with a loud Gya haa haa. He introduced himself as Lieutenant Hawk, the man in charge of this year’s SOLDIER exams. Lieutenant Hawk was brisk and honest, bluntly telling them that they will be going through hell for next months under his tender loving care and by the end of that, they either survive or they will be kicked out. SOLDIER does not accept the weak. He briefed them on the general outline of the training they will be going through and the skeleton structure of their days, as well as the consequences of any rule breaking. The sharp smile he made beneath his helmet made it clear that the punishments would not be fun at all.

Lieutenant Hawk informed them that they have been split into groups for the entire duration of the examinations- their roommates are to be their group mates. Faint murmurs rose around him, and Cloud noted that not everyone were as amiable with their roomies as he was with his own. Already there were displeased looks thrown between some boys grouped together and Cloud made a mental note to avoid the boys shooting the particularly dirty ones. He’d rather take the exams with as little drama as possible, thank you very much.

Lee nudged him and the two boys exchanged grins, happy that they would stay together.

As Cloud laid in his new bed that night, his things neatly put away and new uniform ready to be worn the next morning, he decided that maybe chasing his dreams wouldn’t be as hard as he thought.

Cloud should have known not to jinx himself like that.

#Fix-It #FFVII #cloud strife #tseng #how to be a saviour without trying #bamf #Dork!Tseng #My writing

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neurotic-nimrod · 5 years

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Quadrinity of Trinities (Israeli Wine, Part 2)

An imposing landscape, in most senses of the word

It’s in Israel‘s north, along the borders with Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, where you realize that you’re definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto, viticulturally-speaking. Actually, let’s correct that – it’s not just viticulturally-speaking, it’s just-about-everything-speaking.

Certainly the rocky hills in the Golan Heights and Galilee speak to Israel’s unique location as a transition zone between the Sahara and Europe, with the requisite variations in soils (from volcanic, to terra rossa, to chalk, to te dessert-like Les), climate, and elevation; you know, the standard grape-growing stuff.

But while that sort of geological and climatic scene is mirrored in many wine regions across the globe, there aren’t many that are surrounded by imposing barbed wire fencing, dotted with even more imposing signs warning of land mines, and sporting the occasional airfield patrolled by very imposing drones.

Welcome to wine-growing, northern Israeli-style. It wouldn’t be for the faint-hearted even without the explosives.

As a wrap-up finale on Israeli wine, here are highlights from my not-so-recent media tour there, which culminated in trips to some of the most promising producers in the Golan Heights and Lower Galilee…

Chateau Golan’s Uri Hetz

2015 Chateau Golan Syrah (Golan Heights, $NA)

At 8,000 cases a year, with a penchant for avoiding yeast additions, and privately-owned, Chateau Golan is a bit of an oddity in Israeli wine terms. They’re not kosher, a topic about which winemaker Uri Hetz has much to say. “It drives me nuts,” he told me; “a majority of Israelis are not practicing Jews.” It’s a decision that was, according to Hetz, partly philosophical (“why let a minority dictate to the whole?”) and partly practical (the wines are hand-crafted). In keeping with northern Israel’s imposing landscape, their cellar is a bit like a cross between a charming chai and a small reinforced bunker. Hetz’s take on the Israeli wine market is just as practical as his winemaking approach: “It’s understandable that there isn’t a widely known perception [of Israeli wine] in the world,” he noted; “Israel is a small country, and we’ve only been making wine seriously for thirty years, more or less.”

Chateau Golan’s Syrah mirrors their cellar – equal parts charming (herbal, peppery, juicy, and tinged with red fruits) and imposing (sporting serious freshness, leather, meat, and depth). It’s the kind of wine that, tasted blind, would put a sh*t-eating grin across your face to learn where it was made, as it would have kept you guessing. Tasting back to the 2013 of this was a treat, and suggests a nice, long life ahead for the `15.

2016 Chateau Golan Touriga Nacional (Golan Heights, $NA)

Yep, they’re doing Touriga; yep, they’re doing it well. Floral, meaty, fleshy, and smoky, this is what you’re looking for when you’re reaching for varietal Touriga. There’s nice roundness and completeness to the mouthfeel, too, which doesn’t fall hollow after coming on strong initially. You’ll want flank steak with this (trust me).

2015 Chateau Golan Eliad (Golan Heights, $NA)

This is Ch. Golan’s premium Cabernet (with “maybe four percent Merlot”), a new release with only about 1000 cases made from a two-parcel vineyard selection, seeing 30% new oak. Juicy, young, and very fresh, red fruits and currants dominate, with cassis, bramble, and tobacco playing supporting roles. Both subtlety and poise are on display here.

Golan Heights Winery’s Victor Shoenfeld

2009 Golan Heights Winery Yarden Blanc de Blancs Brut (Galilee, $30)

UC Davis-trained winemaker Victor Shoenfeld oversees one of Israel’s largest wine operations. Golan Heights Winery helped to bring modern winemaking tech to the Israeli wine scene, in an area that was once oak forests (mostly chopped own during Ottoman rule), and now boats grapes as its number two crop (behind apples). The winery oversees 1500 acres of vineyards, with six winemakers, a 5.5 million bottle production, and their own export company. They’re one of the first Israeli producers to be certified sustainable, and the first international producer to achieve the Lodi Rules certification.

GHW’s vines encompass five different types of volcanic soils (with the southern being older and deeper, and the northern being more acidic). Shoenfeld probably has 99 winemaking problems – from leaf-roll, to wild boar, to having to grow their most promising Cabernet grapes near former Syrian army bunkers, to Bedouins stealing their metal fencing – but a lack of diversity in what grapes can be produced is not one of them.Case in point – their Yarden brand Blanc de Blancs bubbles, a traditional, brut-style Chardonnay sparkler from the northern Golan. Full of peaches, brioche, yellow apple, it’s racy AF, combining lemony acidity with elegant creaminess.

2016 Golan Heights Winery Yarden Odem Vineyard Organic Chardonnay (Galilee, $28)

These Chard grapes come from a 1990s-planted, tuff soil vineyard in the northern Golan that is now low-yielding. White flowers, wood spices, pears, lemon, pie crust, toast – it’s all going on here, with an ample shot of vibrancy and excellent length and complexity. The finish is an interplay of jasmine and rich creaminess, and wraps up the whole sexy package.

2013 Golan Heights Winery Yarden Bar’on Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Galilee, $90)

A spicy, minty, herbaceous, premium single-vineyard CS release (because, hey, everybody’s gotta have one, right?) that’s dense, dark, smoky, and savory, but also lively, mineral, and plummy. While not lacking in power or structure, my main takeaway was that it was a lovely (though undoubtedly young) sipper.

Oren Kedem

2016 Assaf Winery Sauvignon Blanc (Golan Heights, $27)

With its inn-like feel, and lineup of concerts and wine/food events, and cozy cafe-and-cabins setup, the family estate Assaf Winery could have been transplanted right out of California wine country. Winemaker (and son of the winery’s owner and principal vintner) Oren Kedem technically was transplanted from California wine country, having previously worked at Michel-Schlumberger (he now lives on the family property). His sister, a trained chef, handles the restaurant side of their tourist-oriented Kedem Wine Village. The background of the main building on their property reads like a microcosm of the region’s recent history: 400 years ago, it belonged to the Turks, then was converted to a school, and did a short stint as a small Syrian army base.

Assaf’s wines have artisan written all over them, particularly this grassy, herbal, and yet also subtle Sauv Blanc. Melons, ripe pear, and tropical fruits get equal time with apples and citrus, with a textural, lovely mouthfeel throughout. The Kedems spent some time in South Africa, and that influence is noticeable here in the assertiveness of the herbal focus.

2014 Assaf Winery “Rujum 91” Cabernet Sauvignon (Golan Heights, $NA)

Three different volcanic soil plots are farmed for this CS, which spent 17 months in both French and American oak. There’s poise and loveliness to spare in this one; its highlights are tangy red fruits, dark plums, freshness, minerality, and a gentle sprinkling of fresh mint on the nose.

2013 Assaf Winery Moise Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve (Golan Heights, $NA)

Less than 2000 bottles of this reserve red were made, all of it aged for two years in French oak. Spicy, young, and brilliant in its clarity, this is tense, vibrant, and elegant stuff. Plummy and juicy, but also minty and tangy, it has a European heart and a Mediterranean body.

2016 Tabor Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (Galilee, $NA)

At two million bottles produced annually, Tabor Winery is one of the bigger things going in the Lower Galilee (and in the top five in volume of all Israeli producers), and were founded over 100 years ago (with assistance from Bordeaux’s Lafite Rothschild). Tabor have a bit of a secret weapon in their sharp-as-a-tack, dedicated viticulturist Michal Akerman, who told me “we’re not planting vines, we are planting wine; every week, I’m in every block.”

One such set of blocks, with 40+ year-old, low-yielding vines on chalky basalt soils, is used to create their tropical, fresh, and spicy single-vineyard SB. This is focused, intense stuff, moving from tropical to herbal to vegetal to creamy (the latter courtesy of some lees exposure and barrel fermentation). A serious SB, with serious texture (and ample body).

2014 Tabor Sufa (Galilee, $30)

Overachieving at $30? You’d better believe it. This Petite Sirah/Cabernet Sauvignon blend is named after a storm, and it’s a whirlwind of elements that exceed the sum of their parts. Smoke, violets, dried herbs, black fruits, leather, minerals, silk, sexiness, cigars, baking spices – the interplay is impressive, and clearly tailored to the fine dining scene. This one has the freshness and structure to age well, and the power and deliciousness to make waiting on that aging a difficult proposition.

2014 Tabor “Malkiya” Cabernet Sauvignon (Galilee, $60)

This was one of the best reds I tasted throughout Israel, and speaks to the particular, unique potential of the Malkia Mountain area, near the Lebanese border, which sits at over 725 meters in elevation (and a few mere kilometers from the celebrated Chateau Musar). The sils there are a complex mix of rare Eocene-era limestone, called “Bar-kochra.” The vines were planted in 2006, and, according to Akerman, are “very stressed; they need a lot of love,” and jokingly adding that “they were born to suffer – it’s a nice Jewish Cabernet Sauvignon!” The finished product is a minor marvel of texture and tension: ripe plummy fruits, dried herbs, mint, dark sour cherries, wet stones, cigar, black and red currants; it’s powerful, deep, concentrated, dark, structured, and yet not overbearing.

Cheers!

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Copyright © 2016. Originally at Quadrinity of Trinities (Israeli Wine, Part 2) from 1WineDude.com - for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers! Source: http://www.1winedude.com/quadrinity-of-trinities-israeli-wine-part-2/

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