#happy mothers day Sephiroth

[holly-fixation]

On a beautiful spring day, Sephiroth builds up the courage to defy Hojo, explain his boundaries and attempt to maintain them.

Hojo is having none of that, slaps him across the face and screams "You are the reason your mother killed herself!"

A Saturday. Of course Hojo scheduled a sudden lab visit on a Saturday an hour before he had to attend. Sephiroth and the other Firsts planned on visiting the parks in the city. It may not be anything extreme or exciting, but threatening to take that day away from him was the straw that broke the camel's back.

He didn't show up. He didn't notify anyone. He didn't let word spread until it was far too late. Until the little red circle next to his profile picture read "not attending" just before he should have left. He had a wonderful, relaxing day with his comrades, laughing and sharing stories and ducking paparazzi in the most elaborate ways possible. He returned to his First Class apartment with a smile on his face, until the sinking feeling in his chest told him he was not alone.

Three bangs struck his door. Once opened, Hojo stood in its wake.

"How dare you."

It was a lecture he was sure he had until Monday to avoid. Responsibility. Soldier readiness. Respect. His loyalty to Shinra. His strength. His intelligence. Surely he was intelligent enough to know what happens when he blatantly skipped an appointment.

"And surely you're intelligent enough to know not to schedule anything on a blatant day off. No matter how many times we have this conversation, you ignore my requests, so I enacted them myself. This was not an urgent appointment, and my schedule says I am out of the office. All I ask is to respect my time."

"After all the disrespect you've shown me since the day you were born?"

"Then you shouldn't have chosen to raise a child..." Sephiroth didn't believe the words left his mouth until Hojo's slapped him.

"And what were your other options, Sephiroth? An orphanage? Where your abilities would wither and die before ever reaching the potential we granted you here at Shinra? A foster home where you're kept for a paycheck, malnurished, and ignored every single day without the attention of anyone? Or were you hoping for a relative? Someone connected by blood to take you in as your own? Pershaps on your maternal side? Even if that was an option, which it never was, they would never welcome you into their home. You're the reason your mother killed herself!"

Sephiroth silenced, a phantom taste of blood settling from his cheek. He couldn't even look at the man scientist before him.

"Now you will get it together. I expect you in the lab first thing tomorrow morning without delay. You already disappointed your mother. Do not disappoint the living too." The man in white left.

Sephiroth moved slowly, achingly. He dug to the furthest corner of his dresser drawer, pulling out a golden locket. An empty locket, its shine the only thing it physically provided. But the pattern and shape were one rebuilt from memory, though the heart of it remained missing forever. He held it close to his chest, taking strained breaths.

I'm sorry, Mother... I'm so sorry...

The next day he stood in the labs. Just another Sunday in May.

Mother's day.

[friends-w-ghosts]

I didn’t have anything planned for Mother’s Day but I saw the giant Mother’s Day card section while shopping and this idea popped into my head.

And when I saw THAT card (or the text, at least, I made the card so much worse)…. It wasn’t just an idea anymore I HAD to draw Sephiroth with it. It was a must.

[tyetknot]

[artsykidwolf-2000]

Hello I would like to request something. How eould Sephiroth act when he has a crush on someone? Idc if it's post-Nibelheim or while he's still a Soldier. I leave that up to you. Thank you so much if you do this and have a wonderful day :3

Great question Le Anonymous! This is similar to what I thought for my Ravenroth ship (maybe?) BUT this topic is cute nonetheless. I might just do both ideas! Hope you like these headcanons!

SEPHIROTH CRUSH HEADCANONS

PRE-NIBELHEIM

Sephiroth as a SOLDIER he never really had romantic feelings, even as a teenager. Once he became more of an adult that's when his tables turned.

He would get flustered when Genesis or Angeal made a joke about the person Sephiroth liked. But he hid it well but you could see pink dust on his cheeks. He'd get confused about butterflies in his stomach and why they were there.

As he explores his feelings more, he tries to be braver around his special someone. When he eventually asked them on a date on his free time he was happy. He shined that shy smile of his. He took them to a fancy restaurant and bought them flowers or a little gift for a start. He's a good listener and would mostly let his date take charge of small talk if they were brave, if not he would.

He might take them on a walk or shopping on the next few dates. He has a lot of money to burn! As the relationship progressed he'd eventually confess his attraction. He's still new to all this lovey dovey crap so it'll be a slow start but with the help of his partner he would be just fine and even start to be very romantic on occasion.

Genesis and Angeal would absolutely still tease him about his romantic efforts and Genesis would try and coach him to the behest of Sephiroth's will. Angeal would just tell Sephiroth to be himself and be more gentleman-like and uphold honor in his word. He loves his friends' efforts but he's already had Genesis talk his ear off about Loveless references...Angeal is more tolerable.

Yes Zack would absolutely have his jaw hit the dang floor about hearing about ALL of this and how Sephiroth has a partner. Zack just can't help not hiding his puppy-like wonder.

Sephiroth talks about his mother a lot with their partner. If his partner was willing to research more about if his mother was truly dead or not AND found the truth then you bet your bottom gil he would try and find his real mother and bring justice to Hojo.

POST-NIBELHEIM

Good lawd where to start....

Ok! With Sephiroth off his rocker bc of everything that's happened. Things would be different and difficult to comprehend.

If Sephiroth still had his partner before he went bonkers he would ABSOLUTELY try and keep them with him at all costs. He still loves them but it's slowly creeping into bad territory. If he did not have a partner beforehand he would kinda stalk them like he does Cloud. Leave flowers and candy and whatever else on their doorstep. Then it turns into jewelry or expensive items. Then himself out of the blue.

It creeps the partner out but the love is still there. His good looks and charm works wonders. They try and figure out what went wrong with him. Maybe they try and reverse what happened if they're more than just a normal person. Magic can only go so far.

If their efforts are fruitful then he slowly reverses back to his old self just a bit but can't quite shake off Jenova unless someone destroys her. He also finds out about his real mother. He would search for her with them.

If it was in vain then he would be angered fairly easily. Trying to turn them into more like him or be more loyal or obey him. Regardless if he still had love in his heart.

Sometimes at night, you can hear cries...but from who is up to the mind's desire...

[rottenpumpkin13]

Cloud's small hand wrapped around his mother's finger as he babbled. Claudia laughed, burying her nose in his soft blond hair and nuzzling him gently. "Happy first birthday," she whispered.

-

Cloud’s second birthday was marked by excited squeals when he saw the brightly colored toy train his mother presented him. “Tain!” he exclaimed as Claudia set it in his lap, laughing as she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “Happy birthday, my darling.”

-

“Cloud!” Claudia laughed on the afternoon of Cloud's third birthday, watching the excited toddler dig his fist into his chocolate birthday cake and happily grab the candle between his messy fingers. “You're not supposed to do that!”

-

“Why is it raining today?” four-year-old Cloud huffed, upset as he sat by the window and watched the early August rain hammer against the glass. “I wanna go outside!”

“Think of the rain as a birthday gift!” his mother called back from the kitchen. “Now you can go out and play in the mud!”

Cloud grinned, lighting up as he leapt off the chair and bolted outside. It was going to be a good birthday indeed.

-

Claudia gifted him a small, blue backpack for his fifth birthday, perfect for his first day at the schoolhouse the following week. “I like it!” Cloud declared, slipping the backpack on.

-

“Woah!” Cloud mused as he ran into the kitchen on the morning of his sixth birthday. There, a wooden sword with a red bow tied around its hilt sat waiting for him. “It's exactly like a SOLDIER’s, right mom?”

-

Cloud's seventh birthday was somber as he sat alone with a small cake his mother made. None of the village kids showed up for his party.

-

“I wonder what Sephiroth did on his eighth birthday,” Cloud wondered aloud as he hung the poster his mother had gifted him on his bedroom wall.

-

“Hey!” Tifa waved to him as he was going back into the house after playing. Cloud blushed, self-consciously wiping away the dirt from his clothes. “H-Hey!” he called back.

Tifa smiled. “Happy birthday!” she said. “Nine is a big age!” And then she dipped back into her own house. Cloud sighed. Not big enough to join SOLDIER.

-

“Maybe everyone's just late,” his mother, ever the optimist, suggested on the evening of his tenth birthday. It was nine. Everyone was supposed to be there at six. Cloud shook his head, ripping off his party hat and looking at the cake his mother had baked with a mix of guilt and nausea.

“No, mom. They're just not coming.”

-

Cloud started his eleventh birthday by measuring himself on the door frame. “Aw, man” he groaned, stepping back to see that his height had not changed from the previous year.

-

Cloud spent the evening of his twelfth birthday on the water tower, looking up at the stars, wondering what it would be like to touch them, hearing the soft sounds of the piano drifting from Tifa’s room. It was the birthday he decided to stop trying to make birthdays special.

-

On his thirteenth birthday, Cloud's mother gave him a suitcase. “Woah,” Cloud mused, impressed as he picked it up, weighing it for size. “Mom, are you serious?”

Claudia smiled softly. "For the journey ahead," she said, pulling him into a hug.

-

Fourteen was the age Cloud stopped wishing for material possessions for his birthdays. He wanted only three things: to finally join SOLDIER, a friend, and to take care of his mother.

-

Cloud's fifteenth birthday gift was given to him early that morning, with chaos and laughter giving way into the moment his squad mates woke him up. They grabbed him out of his bed and dragged him into a cold shower. He pretended to laugh, to enjoy the seemingly harmless prank, but inside he was mortified. And now very cold.

-

On his sixteenth birthday, Zack handed Cloud a cupcake with a single, flickering candle. Cloud hadn't been expecting it, but he should've figured something was up the minute Zack walked up to him with his arms behind his back, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"What did you wish for?" Zack asked the minute Cloud blew out the flame.

Cloud huffed. “As if I'd tell you.”

“Hey!” Zack laughed, punching him playfully. “Don't forget, you can't talk to me like that anymore. I'm the adult here—eighteen trumps your sixteen!”

Cloud laughed with him, staring down at his cupcake. He wished all birthdays would be like this.

-

Cloud wasn't awake for his seventeenth birthday. Hojo's calculating gaze scrutinized him through the glass of the mako tank.

-

Eighteen came with a metaphorical slap to the face. "Subject approximately eighteen,” Hojo muttered, observing Cloud in his cell. Cloud's sense of time was warped. Zack was eighteen too, wasn't he?

-

Cloud was strapped to a table on his nineteenth birthday. The lab was filled with the sound of his screams.

-

On his twentieth birthday, Cloud watched through the mako tank as Zack was subjected to a torment familiar to him—strapped to the table, enduring agony under a knife, his screams piercing the air. Cloud couldn't do anything.

-

Cloud's twenty-first birthday passed in a haze as he lay comatose. But Zack was determined. He pulled him closer in the back of the truck they had hitched a ride in. "Happy birthday, buddy,” Zack whispered, placing a soft kiss on his forehead.

-

On his twenty-second birthday, Cloud stood motionless as Tifa hugged him tightly. "Happy birthday!” she said, holding enough excitement within her to last him a lifetime. Twenty-two, he kept repeating in his mind. Was he really twenty-two already?

-

Cloud spent the early hours of the morning on his twenty-third birthday staring into a bathroom mirror. He traced his fingers over his face, looking at every line, every scar, his hair, his nose, everything. It was so strange. This was the age Zack was when he died.

-

On his twenty-fourth birthday, Cloud sat beside the Buster Sword, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry," he sobbed quietly. He was now older than Zack would ever be.

[melukonova]

LOVING SEPHIROTH, sephiroth x reader.

tw. mentions of his hurtful past, emotional abuse that miniroth didn't deserve :( this post can be seen as suggestive but it's left mostly to your interpretation

a/n. for @silverflqmes , my best friend who has inspired me to write yet again for something i love and for writing various requests for me, indulging me in my own happiness. you are never leaving this deep hole of ff7 that i dug for you AHAHAHAH! this is also for the many fans who have made fanfics and such that have shaped me now<3 much love to you all! (i will make more headcanons if this gets love) also sephiroth might be a little ooc since he's new territory of writing for me :,)

info. very lovable and soft sephiroth<3 very short blurbs! inspired by the song everything by lifehouse, i can see him relating about you, the reader, and how he feels for you. enjoy! pre-nibelheim!!!

𐚁. sephiroth's love language can be seen as quality time as seen with the time he spent with genesis and angeal, he grew very attached easily. i can see this in a similiar way since i'm sure once you've caught sephiroth's eye, you're happily in his heart. he enjoys just being together, perhaps he'll teach you how to use masamune (a toy version at least since he wants to protect you from injuries). don't get me wrong, every other love language applies for him too but i know he's happiest with the fact that you're there by his side.

𐚁. he is very awkward with affection so the first time you hold him, i think he wouldn't know what to do but he'll awkwardly pat your back while trying not to freak out a bit by being touched since he was experimented on as a child. please teach him how to love, he didn't get enough as kid... i think being patient with him would also warm his heart with you as well. he isn't the best with people, just in using his sword... which is why it's an anomaly to him if you stuck around for this long.

𐚁. indulging ellie on this one: sephiroth with a kitten. he probably is the one to adopt a kitten out of the two of you except what you didn't expect was him to basically mother the kitten. i think his wounds are still healing from the fact that the locket of his mother was torn away from him.. but you guys both loved that kitten very much, naming saikou which means radiance. it is the radiance of both of your lives and definitely a way to heal from your guys' pain, whatever it may be from your end but i know sephiroth suffers from loneliness and feeling not good enough. he feels this much less because of you though and of course, saikou. saikou is now your love rival... the kitty is his precious baby but you are his most prized treasure.

𐚁. while i said quality time is his favorite love language, i think that he likes physical affection as well since he never really knew what it's like to be loved. he wanted to learn though as well as learn to love you which led to teaching him how to cuddle. still very awkward, he's trying his very hardest as he pats your head and encases you into his body. eventually it led to couch cuddles every time he came home from work, he won't say it out loud but this is his favorite part of being able to be with you. he is so beyond smitten.

𐚁. as sephiroth had been in SOLDIER all of his life, he's not completely sure the best way to comfort you on many things but what he can do is to give you a better night! he'd come home with flowers since somehow zack had talked him into buying flowers from his girlfriend, what can i say? zack was a persuasive businessman and sephiroth had no clue how to be a good boyfriend. he'd probably panic if he couldn't make you feel better, he just wants you happy and would slay his enemies (those who wronged you). he'd indulge you in just about anything that you wanted to do between him trying on your favorite dress, self-care day with face masks, kisses all over to make you less insecure or just to feel more loved, an ice cream date, etc. you name it and it's done. he'd even sneak you into the training room on the SOLDIER floor to take you on a loving date with an even more beautiful sunset but all he could see was his sun, you.

𐚁. you already know his hair care routine since it was leaked from your mail, did i mention you were apart of sephiroth's fan club? he uses a WHOLE bottle of shampoo and conditioner. one day you had to braid his hair, adding in flowers to his hair as you braided it. he loved it since it kept his face clear for combat, meanwhile genesis and angeal snickered at him since his s/o made him look all pretty so none of his enemies would take him seriously. masamune said differently than his hair did. if somebody ruined the artwork of your braiding? they ALSO had a date with masamune.

𐚁. he doesn't like a lot of attention as many would say since he is so famous. this is the big question, how did you enter his life in comparison to the fangirls? you understood him. it was a new feeling for him and he didn't know how much he would end up loving it. no thirsting over how hot he was or saying how strong he had been. just a simple: "i know you've been working hard for so long, you deserve some rest," was enough to make him moved by you. nobody could compare to you in his innocent heart. he was so new to every experience, every hug, every kiss, and every touch you gave him. each time was something new that he had learned to love about you and eventually love about himself as well. you helped him to understand he was more than a monster, more than a soldier, more than just a test subject.

𐚁. what you hadn't expect is to find a loving sephiroth in the kitchen with you, holding you close to him as you listened to italian cooking music (the pasta addict in me thinks he'd want to learn more about pasta and its origin). his head was leaning down towards yours while staring down at your lips as you both had been swaying. his hand had been on your waist and the other had been moving up from your shoulder, over your neck slowly with care, to your soft cheek. capturing you in his lips, the water had boiled over but he didn't care at that moment. the thing he clung onto most was this moment because at this moment, sephiroth just knew. he was in love and he finally felt free as he deepened the kiss. he knew where home was and he was kissing his own home, taking in all of what makes you so lovable as well.

melukonova, 2024. 𐀔

[cloudluvrrr]

give some fluffy sephiroth headcanons and my life is yours (i’m not sure where to put requests so i’ll just do it through inbox)

notes - YAYAYAY ofcc mathing userrs 😍 💗💗

-- ♡

sweet- lana del rey

-- crisis core

- He’d be very gentle, since he has a lot of strength and is fucking huge

- He’d be very gentle hugging and cuddling you (he thinks he’ll crush you like a bug)

- From all his missions he’d bring you a small souvenir

- I also feel like he wouldn’t be much for pda, but he does lead you places. and sometimes holds your hand and kisses the back of it.

- On his days off he’d spent the entire day with you. Either shopping or in your shared apartment.

- He’s very cuddly

- He’s a little dumb about simple things since he spent a lot of his childhood in a lab so it’s bound to happen

-he'll read lifestyle books with reading glasses

- Whenever he has the chance he talks about retiring, living in a small town and living a domestic life (and potentially finding his mother)

- He’ll get into whatever your interests are even teach you new things about them

- He lets you play with his hair while he looks through paper work or if he’s in a really good mood do his makeup

-he'll let you brush it, braid it, put it into bows.

- I also feel like he’d fall in love with Someone from a small town rather than someone from midgar

-potentially bringing them from there to midgar.

- He likes animals, I feel like he’d be very happy if his s/o had a cat (bonus if it looks like him 🤓☝️)

- I feel like he lives in a big fucking apartment with no furniture cause he sees no point, but eventually when he started to court you he’ll slowly add more furniture. (His hearts flutters when you compliment it)

- I feel like he can cook nibelheim doesn’t count) he’ll often cook, it’s simple but they’re yummy (like him)

-He'll do most of the chores, since he's always does them anyways.

-He wears a pink cat apron

-hes so cute i wish he wasn't fucking insane

-

he sat in bed reading one of his cook books, as the bathroom light was on. Meaning you were of course getting ready for bed, eventually getting into bed with him. You read along with him making a few comments at the dishes that were pictured

Till he put it away and got comfortable with you.

"I think I'll retire after this mission" he began burying his nose into your freshly washed hair.

"oh? so soon" you asked playing with a few strands of his hair

"yes.. perhaps it can help me find my mother.. nibelheim has intersting history i hear"

"oh.. when do you leave?"

"ah, tomorrow afternoon, this will be our last night together for now"

he adds with a small chuckle. and a sigh.

"goodnight my love" he said softly kissing your hair and turning off the lamp

---

this was short but hopeu liked 💞

im tryingto be serious but i fear im too funny

NY STUPUD ASS SAVED AS A DRAFT INSTEAD LF POSTD IT 😭😭

Also when u make first class u can choose ur uniform WHO MADE HIS SLUTTY OIFIT

im so nor mal about this game

feel free to request more for ff7 😈😈😈

[foreststarflaime]

Brainrotting about the nuance of the Am I a Monster dilemma in Crisis Core again (sorry if any of this is rambling I have been awake for over 20 hours on 4 hours of sleep bc my brain is stupid and refuses to let me get adequate sleep)

I find it’s somewhat easy to forget about the literal definition of the word in this context, at least for me because I want these idiots to stop self-destructing and live happy lives—but in older cultures especially (and here I’ll talk from the Ancient Greek side of things bc it’s what I’m most familiar with) the definition of monster is very literally just something that goes against the natural order of things, usually hybrids of different animals smashed together, like a chimera being a lion, goat, and snake in one body or a sphynx being a winged lion-woman. And in that sense, it’s unavoidable that they are right in calling themselves monsters.

But when the word monster gets brought up in a moral sense, in the context of what it means to be human, as we see so often these days (not saying no ancient authors ever did this or vice versa, it’s just more prevalent in more modern times from what comes to mind immediately for me), it’s not about the literal, it’s about the metaphorical, about the choices you make and how you choose to live your life. And in this sense (at least before their respective insanity arcs) they aren’t really monsters, they’re just people trying their best.

And I love how this duality plays out when each of them find out about the horrific experiments that have been done on them and the crisis starts.

Starting with Genesis—his is a character very connected to the first definition of monster, considering his love of Loveless, which seems to be an ancient epic of the cultural kind of the Iliad or the Odyssey (plus, as I’ve mentioned before, his last name in Greek literally means singer of epic poetry). So, if the Greek definition is foremost in his mind, it does make sense that he can’t shake the thought that he is a monster and have a mental breakdown as such. It makes sense that he fell first.

Then we have Angeal, also more closely tied to the first definition of monster, if we look at it in the older vs newer way—he’s a character very tied to tradition and honor, so it would make sense. Plus if you don’t buy that, then there’s the fact that he’s known Genesis all his life, so at least some of his thinking had to have worn off on him at some point. He also wouldn’t be able to shake the thought that he isn’t really entirely human, and of course he’d be bothered by it, having tied his worldview so tightly to upholding human morals and values—it makes sense he fell as hard as he did.

Now, saving Sephiroth for a bit longer, let’s look at Zack’s reaction to all of this. He definitely sees this dilemma from the point of view of the second definition of monster, as we see blatantly in the writing—see “SOLDIER doesn’t mean monster”, etc. He’s the youngest, the puppy, the idealist loyal to his friends until the end. He tries to impart this onto his friends, and although they do understand this on some level, it’s not enough to overpower the other definition of a monster in their minds, and therein lies the tragedy.

And then with Sephiroth, to exacerbate the tragedy of what he could have become even further, he’s pretty evenly tied to both definitions. He has distinctly inhuman features, which would bring the literal definition of monster to his mind, and his ‘mother’ is a 2000 year old alien. So no, he’s not entirely human, not literally anyways. But he’s also so, so human in all the ways that matter, at least before he went insane, and I think he’s aware of this too, at least enough to hold on to the desperate hope that this is true, and that having just a little bit of compassion makes the difference. But in Nibelheim, the weights keep dropping in the literally-a-monster side of the scale, and he judges himself unworthy, and the rest is history.

[crisiscutie]

It's does remind me this one song, Christmas Kids. Yandere Sephiroth tried babytrap his s/o for not leaving him. Christmas kids represent the triplets. Which is Yan!Sephiroth tried to make his s/o pregnant. They tried best to escape hell away from their own prison house. Even, they're change their name and move other country, Sephiroth will find them no matter what.

Yandere domestic Sephiroth AU? Yes, please. I've listened to the song, I really like it. Something about sad songs with happy beats always gets to me. I may have heard it before in some YT shorts... Anyways, it fits a domestic Yandere Sephiroth and a Pregnant!Darling very well. Just imagine the darling coming back to her new home and finding Sephiroth waiting...

Companion fic here.

Content Warnings: Slight NSFW, Emotional abuse, Pregnant Darling. Long headcanons under the cut.

Grocery shopping for the week wasn't easy, but it had to be done. The boys won't be happy that their mother went shopping without them, but school must come first.

Plus, the darling wasn't in the mood to hear Loz and Kadaj arguing and begging for certain foods that week. But regardless of their squabbles, they are her precious gifts. Her Christmas kids, as they were born on that day. The happiest day of her life.

The darling opened the door to her new home, taking a deep breath and feeling the exhaustion from the errand. The ache in her swollen feet, aching back and sensitive milk-filled breasts was overwhelming.

But the pain and discomfort she felt in her pregnant body was a small price to pay for the freedom she and her boys gained.

The young, naïve triplet boys were confused of why their mother wanted to move suddenly, but they obeyed her with little hesitation, anyway.

The darling didn't want them to turn out like Sephiroth. His possessiveness and control were too much to bear. When he took to killing innocent people in the misguided attempt to "protect" her and the boys, that was the last straw. She knew she had to leave that fucked up place called "home" behind...

She grabbed her young boys and left their prison house when the stars aligned...

Despite her unexpected pregnancy by Sephiroth, her journey brought her here. She kept pushing forward, and the reward was a peaceful, cozy home for her and her children. Until today.

As the darling placed items on the shelves, she felt a cold, eerie sensation, as if something was watching her from the darkness.

She forced herself to ignore the eerie chill, opening the window blinds slightly as she resumed her normal stocking pace.

Even though the sun was shining brightly on this beautiful day, the eerie chill still lingered in their new home.

But it has nothing to do with what happened in their past. Definitely not. It's probably just a cold flash from her pregnancy getting so close to the end.

As she tippytoes, she strained her body to place the last few items.

As a response, the backache from her pregnant belly intensified. She could feel her baby's sporadic movements, ranging from gentle kicks to violent jolts. Maybe the darling should've invested in a step stool...

A wave of heat washed over her, a heat that was neither comforting nor from the sun, but a heat that was harsh and oppressive.

Now she's having hot flashes? Oh, the perils of pregnancy. At least this little one inside her should be much easier to have than the triplet boys.

The darling softly smiled as she recalled the adventurous banter among the triplets during their journey to a new home. They were debating the sex of their new sibling.

Loz longed for a younger brother to wrestle and play games with, knowing that he would have a better shot at winning against him, unlike his other brothers.

Yazoo, with his level-headed and composed outlook, predicted it would be a girl, welcoming the possibility of her tempering the wildness of his brothers (what a hypocrite).

Kadaj didn't care either way, as long as they didn't challenge his position as the leader and his status as his mother's (self-proclaimed) favorite.

The darling let out a deep groan as she paused her stocking. Her unborn child ended the sporadic fetal movements with the hardest kick yet. Something just isn't right... Perhaps she will see someone later this week after she and the boys finish moving in.

Suddenly, the dark, icy chill behind her shifted to a menacing heat, like a furnace blazing from the shadows. It felt so familiar, like… No! It's impossible! That chapter was a distant memory.

The darling is just imagining things. It should be no surprise that the human brain likes to play cruel tricks like this.

Like how Loz kept running to his mother, crying about seeing mysterious dark feathers around his school, the grocery store and other places their family would visit. He would complain that Sephiroth was too good at hide and seek.

The darling figured the strange dark feathers were simply a product of his mind, missing his father in his own way...

But it became alarming when Yazoo began to murmur and point out the smallest details of every single dark feather as he brought them to her.

Kadaj was getting frustrated, beginning to wonder why their father wouldn't help them finish moving in.

The darling refused to believe the boys. It could just be the ravens shredding their feathers, right?

With trembling hands, the darling slowly reached out for the final item. When she completes this simple task, she can lie down and relax. All of her stress, and the aching in her back especially, would soon be gone.

Just before she could grasp it, a large, gloved hand appeared and delicately placed the last item on the top shelf.

The darling felt a strange, unwanted sense of relief as she felt the slow and gentle strokes of another hand on her back.

...His presence could not be denied any longer. She felt his chest expanding and contracting against her head, and heard the gentle thump of his heart.

Sephiroth… No matter how many miles they traveled or how many times they changed their names and minds, he still had the determination to find them. He'll always know.

His silver tresses brushed against her skin as he hummed his sinister lullaby, pressing his lips to her ear.

His free hand grazed one of her sensitive, milk-filled teats. His hand then slowly descended, aiming for the treasure below.

His darling's swollen belly, where the new life within her stirred and grew.

He rested his hand on the center of her large belly. Warm, twisted happiness now radiated from him. His plan worked.

His darling refused to turn around. Struggling to contain her sobs, His darling averted her head from him and wept in silence.

His fingers glided over the stretched skin of her stomach, while his other hand moved lower to caress the small of her back.

As he opened his mouth, his warm breath tickled her ear.

"A touching reunion."

I wasn't sure if the prompt ask had the darling pregnant with triplets or already had them and was pregnant with a spare child, so I just combined a little of both concepts, but regardless, thanks for the great inspiration.

Yandere Domestic AU chronology: Christmas Kids | The Reunion is Nothing to Fear | Wait for me | Homecoming | The Crowning Moment

[altocat]

happy dad’s day to sephiroth’s real father…vincent valentine 🤭

Vincent scoops up a giggling Miniroth, propping him up on his shoulders as he treks farther and farther ahead, far away from Midgar. He tells Sephiroth stories about his mother, gently cradling the boy when his little body begins to slump against him, sound asleep.

Happy Father's Day indeed.

[hello-galad]

For your favourite FFVII character

1. Canon you outright reject

2. A canon or headcanon hill you will die on

50. A memory they’ve blocked out

HIIII! Thank you so much for the ask!

Ohi have so many favorites but my obvious top 1 is Vincent Valentine so here we go:

Canon you outright reject.

I have picked Dirge of Cerberus apart so many times because there's so many things I disagree with, specifically I think Vincent's crush on Lucretia derived from a promise he made to his dad about protecting her before Grimoire died. Lucretia never reciprocated but had a certain obsession with Vincent because he reminded him so much of Grimoire and in her head, she was responsible for Grimoire's death.

On that note, let Lucretia be unhinged. I refuse to accept she was this submissive, shy woman. She was one of the lead scientists of the Genova project! Let her be brilliant and have a fucked up sense of morality! Let her revive Vincent out of guilt but also because she wanted to see if the research Grimoire and her spend so much time on worked, and it did! Let her experiment on Vincent for the sake of science and her need to prove Grimoire's death was not in vain. Let Vincent's fucked up mind create a strange and not quite right version of her in his head that he faces and has to admit was wrong when he decides to let go. Let Lucretia be a human with objectives and goals that made her do things by herself beyond what the men in her life told her to! AHHHHHH!

Also I hc Vincent never slept with Lucretia, but there's a chance Sephiroth, Weiss and even Nero are his biological kids because Hojo (non-consensually) took his genetic material and threw it around like confetti because Vincent was the first experiment to be successful in 1) processing Jenova cells correctly and 2) Not dying. Although he could never figure out exactly what Lucretia did to achieve that (*cough* Chaos and company *cough*).

2. A canon or headcanon hill you will die on.

Chaos doesn't return to the planet after the events of DoC, but this time they have a better relationship with their host. Same goes with the others. Maybe Vincent is immortal and stays 27 forever and maybe he can or not decide when to die...

50. A memory they’ve blocked out

I think there's a lot of fucked up shit Hojo did to Vincent that his brain blocked out to preserve his psyche. I think Hojo treated him as an object, a test subject, that was his property before he was Shinra's, specially after Lucretia's "death".

For a while he blocked a lot of the things that Lucretia did to him as a test subject, too.

Do I think he remembers those things at some point with AVALANCHE? Yes, and its terrible for him so he sorts of puts it in the "not opening this now or ever" box in the back of his brain for a while but he eventually has to face it when recovering.

I think Cid helps him a lot with that. Sometimes Vincent can't even say out loud what happened to him in that basement but Cid makes sure to reassure him nothing Hojo did to him will make Cid leave or categorize Vincent as less than a human being deserving of happiness and respect.

I think that while Vincent has an almost Eidetic memory, there's a lot of things from his past when he was just Grimoire's son and then when he was Vincent of the Turks that he forgot about because of what he went through. But then one day AVALANCHE finds an antiques shop and Vincent sees a console phonograph and he remembers his mother (I hc she was a geologist) playing her favorite song and picking Vincent up to dance around the living room.

One day Cid gifts Vincent a polaroid camera and Vincent remembers when he would use Shinra equipment to take silly pictures of the other Turks instead of using them for surveillance.

Another day, when visiting the 7th Heaven for a reunion party, he walks to the old piano no-one knows how to play but Tifa used to dream about learning to play and just...starts playing. He plays the equivalent of Beethoven's Moonlight sonata's 3rd movement out of nowhere, claw and all, because he had forgotten besides learning how to shoot, his father was adamant Vincent had to learn to play an instrument perfectly to help his memory and coordination.

How about that time Vincent suddenly remembers his family was kinda nobility and super loaded and he's like "uh I think we used to have a mansion in Junon maybe we can find weapons and amunition in there?". And that is how Vincent finds Cerberus.

[talonabraxas]

Galactic Tree of Life Talon Abraxas

The Four Worlds

But what is to be understood, or what is the world of Atziluth? The world of Atziluth is the world of the splendors, the world of the sephirotic crown, the world of great happiness.

What is the world of Briah? It is the world of the Spirit. There we find Atman-Buddhi-Manas of eastern theosophy, namely, Chesed, Geburah and Tiphereth of the Hebrew Kabbalah.

What is the world of Yetzirah? In Yetzirah we find the mental world and the astral world.

And finally we find the world of Assiah, which is this physical world with its submerged regions or the abodes of Klipoth.

four worlds of kabbalah

So these four worlds: Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah and Assiah, are intelligently processed.

What is the greatest world? It is, I repeat, the world of Atziluth.

In the beginning all these emanations are within the Ancient of Days, in the goodness of goodness; from him all sephiroth become. The Logos directly handles all the sephiroth (I repeat, directly), because already in the next world, in the world of Briah, he manifests himself through the divine hierarchies; likewise in the world of Yetzirah, as well as in the world of Assiah, which is this physical world, he manifests through the chakras of the planet Earth, through the zodiacal signs, the planets of the solar system and even through the tattvas or vibrations. He can only act directly, without intermediaries, we might say, in the world of Atman [Chesed]...

It is intriguing to know that Malkuth, this physical world in which we live (which is a fallen sephirah), was, one day, precisely within the Ancient of Days. Malkuth became from him as an emanation until taking the form that it has in these moments (this is wonderful!) thus, finally, the day will come when Malkuth will undergo successive transformations until returning again into its source of origin, into Kether, the region or the Ancient of Days.

Thus, the ten sephiroth involve and evolve; however, the most interesting of the sephiroth are not their involutions nor their evolutions, but their revolutions. One can make the revolution of the sephiroth in oneself, here and now, by treading the path of the razor's edge, the path that leads us to the inner self-realization of our Being.

Do not forget, to that end, that the inner realization of the Being becomes something extraordinary and is achieve through the great union of Shiva and Shakti, that is to say, through the union of our Father who is in secret with of our Divine Mother in the cubic stone of Yesod. I am addressing now the sephirah Daath, which is nothing but tantric knowledge.

We need to handle that tantric knowledge, we need to realize that knowledge within us, because it is through tantra how we will achieve the ascension of the sacred fire through up our dorsal spine. It is through the tantric knowledge, that is, through the sephirah Daath, how we can one day return transformed into the Ancient of Days, to become an Ancient of Days ourselves.

In one word, we need to integrate the ten sephiroth within ourselves, here and now. The sephiroth are within us, but we must integrate them in order to become gods.

When that is achieved, we will have the right to knock at the eleventh door, but before knocking at that door, we must have the ten sephiroth absolutely integrated within ourselves. Thus, already integrated and perfect, we can knock at that door of wonders and it will open (within it is the Ain Soph Aur, the third aspect of the great Absolute).

Following these cosmic developments, we can knock one day on the twelve door, which is the Ain Soph; And finally, blessed be the one who knocks at the thirteenth door, the door of the Ain, because that one will become a sat-guru, that is, a living manifestation of the Absolute, here and now, that one will become a seity beyond good and evil.

Remember, my dear brothers and sisters, that the number thirteen is holy. Jesus and his twelve disciples formed thirteen people, a group of thirteen people. Thirteen were also that council of elders who ruled the holy land of Anahuac. The Aztec calendar is based on the thirteen.

We have been told in the secret doctrine of Anahuac that there are thirteen heavens, and this invites us to reflect. There are thirteen worlds that are combined with the thirteen sephiroth, because the Ancient of Days, the Goodness of Goodness," [Kether] the tenth of the Sephiroth, is not everything: he "becomes" from a superior sephirah, who is the eleventh [Ain Soph Aur]; and the eleventh in turn "becomes" from the twelfth [Ain Soph], and the twelfth from the thirteenth [Ain].

In the beginning, everything is within the Logos, within the Ancient of Days. In the world of Atziluth, the Logos handles everything directly, but when the Logos turns asunder in all those sephiroth, when all of these sephiroth emanate, everything changes, they fall into the world of manifestation until finally reaching, falling into the physical world.

Thus, there are thirteen heavens, thirteen worlds. Our solar system has thirteen planets; let us enumerate them:

1.Earth 2.Mercury 3.Venus 4.Sun 5.Mars 6.Jupiter 7.Saturn 8.Uranus 9.Neptune 10.Pluto 11.Vulcan 12.Persephone 13,Clarion

These thirteen planets typify the thirteen sephiroth that make up the thirteen heavens of the nahuatl wisdom.

So, therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, if we want to become gods, it is vital to self-actualize all the sephiroth of the Kabbalah within ourselves. The entire doctrine that we are teaching here leads to that.

[salternateunreality2]

Sephiroth, but instead of eldrich-horror-from-outer-space, Gast, Hojo and Lucrecia didn't mess up and injected him with actual cetran cells, so he's way less dark, mysterious and depressed and way more of a hippy goofball. They send him to a battle and he wanders off to smell some flowers

Hojo: KILL THE BUNNY, SEPHIROTH.

Sephiroth: BUNNY!!! *picks up bun, snuggles, listens to bun* Hmm, ok, I'll tell him. The bunny says you're a monster. And that her name is Fluffaggedon, Empress of Darkness, and you're going to die. *whispers with the bun*

Hojo: ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST KILL IT!!!!

Lucrecia: He can talk to animals?! I only went to get cigarettes 3 years ago and he's already developed this much?!?!

Hojo: YES THAT IS HOW BABIES WORK.

Lucrecia: Neato mosquito. Any eldritch horrors we have yet to unearth? Maybe he can befriend them!

Hojo: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Fluffaggedon: *twitches her nose*

Sephiroth: Awesome! Let's go! *escapes the labs for the 47th time that day, finds a herd of chocobos, becomes weirdly obsessed with the baby chicks*

---------------------------

A few years later...

Sephiroth: I'm going to get cigarettes!

Hojo: STOP SAYING THAT EVERY TIME YOU TRY TO ESCAPE! I am at my wit's end with you, you worthless-

Sephiroth: Maybe I'll run into my egg donor while I'm out!

Hojo: *finds the nearest paper bag to hyperventilate into*

Sephiroth, when he gets to newborn!Cloud's crib: Look, Fluffaggedon, there he is!

Cloud: 🐣

Fluffaggedon: *waggles tail*

Claudia: Um, hello?

Sephiroth: We love your child. He is the one. We will adopt him and be his friend and follow him to the ends of the earth.

Cloud: BUH 🐣

Claudia: Uhhh...would you like a snack? While I call your parents?

Sephiroth: No thank you, my parents are pretty evil and neglectful, and I would prefer to spend my time staring at your baby in wonder.

Claudia: ...

Sephiroth: 😍

Fluffaggedon: *cleans ear*

Claudia: ...okey-dokey, artichokey.

--------------------------

A few months later....

Claudia: Sephiroth, kiddo, please don't bring animals that will poop on the floor inside the house anymore, Cloud is teething and will try to eat anything.

Sephiroth: 😍 You are a wise and kind mother. Will you be mine?

Claudia: Yeah, sure, works for me. Grilled cheese or pasta for l-

Sephiroth: PASTA! 😍😍😍

Fluffaggedon: *happy butt wiggles*

--------------------------

A few years later...

Sephiroth: Mother, I need to go get cigarettes in Midgar, there is a child who needs me.

Claudia: Well, we need to start packing then. You get yourself ready and when you're done, come help me with Cloud's stuff.

Cloud: 🐣NO I HELP SEPH. AND I DO IT MYSELF.

Claudia: Whatever gets the boat afloat.

Fluffaggedon: *wise whisker twitches*

Hojo: *knocks on the door*

Sephiroth: *opens the door* Hello, asshole. Mother, this is my sperm donor. Sperm donor, this is my mother. We're going out to get cigarettes together.

Hojo: WHAT THE FUCK, YOU WERE HERE THE WHOLE TIME!?!?!?

Sephiroth: Yep. Leave now. *slams the door*

Fluffaggedon: *pushes a plant out of the window above the front door, almost kills Hojo, who leaves*

---------------------

In Midgar...

Jailbreak for Ifalna, Aerith, and Nanaki, but Sephiroth's primary goal is in the slums.

--

Sephiroth: Hello, soulmate. You may share my mother now that yours is dead. Come along.

Lazard: What the actual fuck.

Sephiroth: This is my Cloud. Say hello, Cloud!

Cloud: If you huwt Sephy, I kiww you.

Lazard: What the actual fuck.

Claudia: I mean same, he's my kid, but if you need a place to stay, I'm collecting children. Apparently.

Lazard: Well ok then.

Sephiroth: *happiest kitten*

----------

Hojo dies of an aneurysm when he finds the note Sephiroth left behind.

"Ugly Sperm Donor,

Fluffaggedon says it is time. Goodbye, and good riddance.

Sincerely,

Sephiroth Strife 🌸🦋"

[silverflqmes]

໒⦂ 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐘 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄.

synopsis. the fates were cruel. peace was restored to the planet, the incurable illness had at last been quelled, but was all that awaited the hero a somber morrow?

genre. angst + eventual fluff

tw. gore, detailed descriptions of blood, self resentment, descriptions and implications of death, abandonment issues, ac cloud being ac cloud ( that should explain enough ), tiny bit suggestive.

notes. this has been rotting in my drafts for almost three months and taylor swift makes me absolutely disgusting, so enjoy this word vomit and lowkey character study. lyrics are in smaller fonts and italics! my tears ricochet is the song if anyone is curious</3

sephiroth x cloud strife.

we gather here, we line up, weepin’ in a sunlit room.

a frigid breeze swept through blond, unruly bangs, mako tinted sapphires dulling as they flickered to the dented metal surface.

blotches of scarlet still remained, now a shade of burgundy from age, like the finest of wines, pressed of the sweetest grapes. only, it wasn’t wine at all. but under certain circumstances.. what made blood any different from wine, when spilled from someone who dubbed himself to be the planet’s heir?

perhaps, that had been the reason the stains remained. a sign that the fallen angel would rise once more, and claw his way back to the surface. even if it meant swimming through burning waves of mako — the river of jades that rejected his being for his desires to seize what rightfully belonged to him; his birthright.

and.. if i’m on fire,

except, the personified calamity had yet to make his move. the game of back and forth that had been at play for the last eight years was left at complete standstill — unyielding, pieces covered in a sheen of dust and ivy. untouched. unmoving.

at this rate, the board may very well have been abandoned with no choice but to erode until another act would be made.

but having it abandoned was a good thing, right? it was meant to be.. at least.

cloud should be happy — relieved that the fight was over and that all was well again on the planet he’d fought to save all these years. and yet, he found himself feeling empty again, the hollowed sensation having occupied his chest almost ten times worse than the time before.

the blond feared whatever purpose he had was all but lost in his mundane lifestyle of playing delivery boy and house. dulled like the great sword resting a little more heavily than usual on his back.

he was honed and molded to become a soldier.. but what good was a soldier with no battle left to fight? no people left to save? no sephiroth left to-

abruptly, cloud peeled his gaze away from the damage, closing his eyes to calm himself. to breathe.

but even that was no good.

flashes of the battle came back in blurs to him, a broken mirror of memoirs with sharp-edged shards hailing down upon him. in his mind, protection was nonexistent — only a fool would bring an umbrella unless they wanted its fabric shred to pieces.

and so, cloud just let it happen as it always did. he stood and allowed the slices to wash over him. each one splintering impossibly deeper than the last — the more intense memories. otherwise, open wounds left unhealed with ichor left to spill.

cuts adorned his lightly tanned skin the more he stood, watched and endured, rouge pouring from the cracks as they met with lucid streaks that tumbled from his lashes.

was this.. punishment?

you’ll be made of ashes too.

but what for? had he not suffered a sufficient amount of it already? was there no end that finally meant ‘enough’?

even on my worst day,

for whatever reason, his father left his mother to fend for herself and play both roles to cloud, only for her life to be claimed soon after during his untimely return to a place that once was his hometown. a horror scene forever imprinted in his mind of his childhood hero’s slow descent to madness while his dying mother cried out final words for him to run away from it all.

however, cloud did not heed her warning — he did anything but. in fact, he went straight into the core of the flame, uncaring of how it decorated his once unblemished skin with puffy pink welts and smudges of dusty onyx. all insignificant pain when it boiled down to that which his heart had felt- witnessing his safe space crumble before his eyes into the ash that painted his lightly freckled cheeks.

did i deserve, babe.. all the hell you gave me?

it hadn’t stopped there. of course it hadn’t, as there was much to be added to his anguish. the sight of his collapsed friend — another to the list of people he could not face upon his return to nibelheim. his new friend, battered and bruised on the steps, pleading for him to finish off the man he once idolized. the figure in the posters he’d begged his mother to help him hang up on his walls — a pile of ash now, dead at her side. for a monster had killed the hero and taken up residence in his body once his mind had been at its weakest.

without a choice, cloud ignored his broken heart to lunge, cleave and toss aside the man that had once filled him with ambition — with dreams of purpose, and a desire to one day fight alongside him, even.. if fate was to be kind for a change.

it wasn’t, but cloud knew that, despite his aching wish to be proven wrong — to have his delusional, hopeless wants fed into.

'cause i loved you, i swear i loved you..

as if things couldn’t get any worse than killing someone he’d once called his hero, an entirely different form of agony filled his chest later down the line. one that erupted into screams of sorrow on the bloodied precipice outside of their journey’s final destination. almost there, yet so far away.

repetition came to haunt him, attachments stupidly created for cloud to wound up getting broken all over again by the narrative. by the man who repainted a fate that should have belonged to another. someone that slotted perfectly into the role of a hero.. only for it to get handed down to the understudy without a clue and a worn down heart forced to go on despite himself. despite the chipping away at his most vital organ, loss after loss.

and somehow, the greatest one of them all.. had been the very person that brought said losses. a person he should resent, and feel relief to not have walking the earth.

instead, cloud felt as empty as the billowing gray wisps in the sky that would not weep, and stood atop shinra ruins. head hung low, eyes sunken from the lack of rest and shivering skin that he’d refused to cover.

what did it matter, anyway? there was no such thing as a SOLDIER getting sick. death was so out of reach.

yet the greatest SOLDIER to have lived met his end. several times.

'til my dying day.

a strained breath left the former infantryman’s lips as he gazed up at the sullied welkin, puffs of fluff obscuring the usual azure tint that reflected the ocean. it was the same sky as that day, and many encounters before the most recent one.. only, today’s sky was just filled with rain. it thankfully or sadly, had nothing to do with.. him.

part of him wish it had.

what were the last words that had been uttered- vowed to him? that he would never be a memory. that was the response that had been made to cloud’s demanding of him to stay in his memories, where he belongs. it was a promise, to remain. to persist. to defy his nemesis.

but he didn’t.

i didn't have it in myself to go with grace.

sephiroth had gone against his own final monologue and heeded his instead.

the self proclaimed ex-SOLDIER should feel content that for once in the years of their feud, his enemy had finally listened. he went quietly with some petty last words and the peace was restored.

everything on gaia was great, life was carefree and edge was slowly being rebuilt. tifa, denzel and marlene were fine too, his old friends were doing great as well, even if they had their own lives now — ones they had fought to have.

even cloud had made a life for himself, a small business to pair. arguably, he should be at ease, finally retired from having to play the hero for everybody. happy, for a change.

and you're the hero flying around, saving face.

only, there was no feeling of contentment.

how could there be when the one persistent thing in his life — the single stagnant fragment of it throughout all the changes, was gone in spite of the amount of times he’d escaped his demise?

leather scrunched when his gloved hands clenched at his side.

had the possibility existed of taking his words back?

“no.” cloud immediately reprimanded himself, tearing his mako orbiting sapphires away from the last place the late general had been as he forced his legs to take him away. “don’t be stupid.”

but he was very stupid. someone who was smart would not cast aside happiness to go straight to reason behind his grief.

and if i’m dead to you, why are you at the wake?

someone in their right mind wouldn’t be standing there like a fool, risking their very life atop an unstable building, wishing for the source of their anguish to return. to come back and breathe life into them as their foe had on advent day.

“you swore you would never be a memory, but here we are.” cloud whispered the words into existence, hanging his head low. “it’s been so quiet.” he followed somberly, sucking in a breath.

cursing my name,

there was no humming in his head, no excruciating migraines that froze him in his tracks at every corner. hallucinations no longer frequented him, either, but nightmares haunted him till dawn, per norm.

for once, he hated the silence. loathed the tranquility that he nearly destroyed himself to provide.

wishing i stayed,

at least he felt alive when he had purpose, even if it was because his nemesis came back to provide him with one each time he lost his way.

so why.. why not now?

was it the final straw, or something? had sephiroth dubbed that enough was enough? that their endless fight was officially.. over?

cloud gritted his teeth to stop his lips from quivering. “you’re a liar..” he let out brokenly, shaking his head when his vision began to blur over. “you’re such a fucking liar!”

look at how my tears ricochet.

in the end, just like any other relationship, be it a friend, relative, beloved, or in this case, an archnemesis, cloud was left all alone on the planet to mourn those that have gone.

unable to hold himself up any longer, the blond sunk to his knees, clutching at the harness strapped across his chest.

we gather stones,

it was wrong, he knew it was wrong. tears should not be spent crying for his enemy. they should not flow so carelessly as hostility pours from his lips, when really..

he was just pleading to have him back.

he had meant to say.. something else.

never knowing what they'll mean.

sloppily, the former mercenary rubbed at his eyes, tasting the blood on his tongue after biting his lower appendage to still his cries.

sephiroth wasn’t coming back, and cloud.. should not want him back. even at the chance of feeling alive again, instead of the husk of a man that he now was. a boring, fruitless life would have to do. it was safer for everyone.

his choice did not matter, it never did.

a shaky breath spilled from his lips as he removed his hand from his eyes, but kept his head low for measures. not that anyone would be as idiotic as him to scale the shinra remains.

some to throw,

“he’s gone.” he muttered to no one in particular, an affirmation mainly to himself while he cleared the phlegm out of his throat when he swallowed. “you’re gone.”

no response came, of course. except for the light drizzle that finally began to spill over. impeccable timing.

dots littered the scuffed tiles, painting them a shade darker while once eccentric chocobo styled bedhead.. now resembled a rather deflated, depressed looking bird.

it probably suited him better.

some to make a diamond ring.

the wails of the heavens only made his own tears fall freely down his cheeks, gathering into a tiny puddle beneath him. perhaps he should have chosen another, more even spot to drop in, but there was little left to care about.

“you could get sick, kneeling in the rain as you are.” a voice echoed back in a low purr, but cloud kept his eyes snapped shut. of course he was imaging his voice now, that was the only thing that was missing.

delusions that belonged in his dreams to haunt him because his nightmare no longer existed.

you know i didn't want to, have to haunt you..

even still. “SOLDIERs don’t get sick.” he fired back with a sniffle rather than any bite, feeling his messy bangs cling to his forehead.

“interesting. i thought you were ex-SOLDIER. so perhaps,” the voice stilled, a noise akin to a snort following. “there still is a possibility of getting sick.”

cloud clicked his tongue, furrowing his brows. “once a SOLDIER, always a SOLDIER. now would you stop already? i-i shouldn’t even be answering my own delusions in the first place, so quit stoking them.” he mumbled, opening his eyes to glare down at the ground. “i sound desperate enough as is, i don’t need to be having conversations with myself..”

but what a ghostly scene.

“oh, cloud.. even after pleading for me to manifest once more, you still wish to neglect my existence and insist on your being alone.” the voice despaired, a soft sigh expelling from their lips, which this time.. sounded a little too real.

too real to have come from the mess that was his mind.

if only to quell his curiosity and just get his hope shattered already, strife lifted his head slowly, turning after a deep breath toward the direction of the source.

and there he stood, in all his horrific beauty.

clad in leather that shone from the rain, liquid moonlight dampened- darkened a little from the rainfall with an abundance of belts that glimmered against onyx.

you wear the same jewels, that i gave you..

only he could appear this mystifying in the pouring rain.

even on the last day that he’d seen him, oozing smoke after unleashing his omnislash upon him before dissolving into a flurry of charcoal feathers.

as you bury me.

even then, he had been beautiful.

“you- you’re not..” cloud paused, swallowing the lump lodged in his throat as he staggered to his feet. “you’re not real.”

a silver brow raised before a soft hum fell from the mirage’s lips, one that again, sounded too real to be imagined. “haven’t we been through this once before, cloud?” he spoke a little more solidly this time, less echoed, but there a hint of exasperation. “is it so difficult to accept that i am here? you wished for my return, did you not?”

i didn't have it in myself to go with grace.

the blond had, that much was true — but he was so ready to accept the male across from him wasn’t coming back.. he hadn’t accounted for the surprise he would feel upon seeing him.

it was just.. completely surreal. “i did,” he began a little hastily, blinking a few times before looking downward. “but i.. you didn’t come back, even after what you said.. and after all that i’ve done — that we’ve been through.. i was starting to think that you wouldn’t be coming back this time..” he finished in a small voice, praying it wouldn’t waver.

he wasn’t sure why he was being so honest, so.. vulnerable. there was usually a bite to his words, certainly whenever the other party was sephiroth.. but there was no hostility, just.. raw emotion.

maybe the man across from him wasn’t real after all, if he was allowing himself to be this honest.

“just as it isn’t simple for you to kill me, it isn’t so easy for me to come back either, cloud.” sephiroth lilted, ripples forming beneath the strides he took to reach the other. “but your memories of me suffice enough to return me to you.” he smiled back, not as cruelly as he normally would. “it just takes time, and perhaps,” he paused, slipping two fingers beneath his chin to gently lift it. “i may have wanted to prolong our reunion to hear your true feelings.”

'cause when i’d fight, you used to tell me i was brave.

cloud shuddered at the phantom contact, it felt all too real.. maybe, just maybe.. it had been.

but could he trust it?

mako-azure glistened as he gazed up into those familiar slitted jades. once upon a time he felt instant fear looking into them, wonder at an even earlier point in his life, but now.. he felt both, all at the same time, with an overwhelming feeling of familiarity.

relief.

he wanted to trust it.

“so you’re not mad at me?” cloud dared to ask, so quietly, it may very well have been a whisper in the wind. he’d allowed zack to die, aerith, his own mother, and sephiroth. even if they had never explicitly expressed disappointment or resentment for his incompetence.. he still couldn’t help but ask, if only to ease his intrusive train of thoughts.

something sephiroth knew all too well.

a chuckle sounded from above the blond, an indicator that his assumption might have been incorrect. well, he hoped so, at least. or that his inquiry had somehow been comical.

“should i be?” his adversary asked, sliding the hand on his chin to hold his cheek. “to further add to your guilt?”

it nearly had cloud flinching at the shift in touch, but he remained in his place, despite the blood that rushed to his ears. “no.” he mumbled back, averting his eyes. “just checking, that’s all.” half true.

sephiroth traced his thumb over his skin, smile stretching. “i see. well, i felt the need to ask, myself. given your history of self torture.” he answered bemusedly, reaching up to catch what might have been a fallen tear.

“i don’t-” the latter swallowed, searching for the words. “i don’t know what you’re talking about..” he grumbled finally, withdrawing himself from his enemy’s touch to turn away. “none of that.. is intentional.”

the silver haired swordsman lowered his hand, surveying his body behavior — the evident self denial.

while he could correct him, humoring his game had more appeal. “truly? perhaps i must be mistaken on my interpretation of you leaving to mourn for a year or two until my return.” sephiroth mused, approaching the other once more to place a hand on his bare shoulder. “why else would you be here, rather than amongst your found family?”

and if i’m dead to you, why are you at the wake?

cloud parted his lips to protest, only to end up flattening them instead. “because i can’t look at them. i don’t.. i don’t belong there.”

when the one winged angel received no reply, he took it as a sign to continue, fluttering his eyes shut. “you would prefer the company of the dead?”

“they don’t judge me, usually.” he returned in a murmur, hyper aware of the leather fingers on his skin, but he couldn’t bring himself to move away. it felt.. oddly comforting. grounding.

sephiroth looked up at the sky, weighing the words expressed to him. “is that why you wished me back?”

cursing my name, wishing i stayed,

was it? no, there was another reason. “i just..” cloud paused, feeling his heart in his throat. “wanted to feel whole again.. alive. and with you gone, i just don’t..”

“know what to do with yourself?” the self proclaimed heir of the planet tested, tilting his head towards him. “or was there another reason?”

there was. it just, wasn’t easy to convey, let alone put into words. so cloud shook his head. “it’s complicated.”

“i have all the time in the world, cloud.”

a sigh left said male’s lips. “i’m sure you do.” he rolled his eyes, folding his arms. where would he begin to explain himself? feelings weren’t his best conversation topic — he sucked at understanding them, let alone expressing them.

but one look at sephiroth’s patient visage told him he wasn’t going anywhere without an explanation.

which left him with little choice. “i guess i just, always expect you to be the one stagnant aspect of my life.. that you would be there, even when everything else changes, or when the planet decides it’s time to take someone else away.” he tried elaborating, shutting his eyes. “so when you didn’t come back, like you said you would have.. i thought that i.. had really done it this time.”

look at how my tears ricochet.

slowly he turned to look up at his nemesis, knitting his brows together glumly. “i thought that you were finally done with all of this- that the planet took you, too.. and that scared me.”

and i can go anywhere i want..

sephiroth was silent as he listened to his killer speak, noting the fear that flashed in his eyes, the instability.

he’d anticipated to hear something along the lines of what cloud had said, but nothing at all like this. nothing as raw as this.

“as much as i hate you, for everything that you’ve done to me.. i feel so incomplete..” he took in a sharp breath, lowering his head into his open palms. “when you’re not with me.”

anywhere i want.. just not home.

was he seriously crying now, in front of sephiroth? he could only imagine what was going through his head now. probably how pathetic he sounded.

“it’s stupid and weak, i know it is. you don’t need to remind me over it.” cloud continued when he received no answer, wanting to just brush over the topic already to avoid any further humiliation. “anyway, there’s your reason. satisfied?” he exhaled, wiping at his eyes.

it wasn’t often that he cried, least of all in front of sephiroth, but his tears seemed to have no end to them. if anything, the rain had been some kind of sick encouragement for more.

although there had been no judgment. silence, yes. but no judgment was expressed.

cloud seemed to be looking for it as he lifted his head up after a few beats of silence to find whatever face his nemesis had been making- to get an idea of what he might have been thinking, but as always.. his countenance said nothing. a plaster of indifference, perfected throughout the years.

the urge to interrogate him was strong, but he chose not to.

instead, he turned his body away, scoffing. “well geez, if i had known that would shut you up, maybe i should have said so back when- mmph!”

and you can aim for my heart, go for blood.

all at once, rose, vanilla and some other, less prominent fragrances overtook his senses, the realization slowly settling about the newfound contact pressing into him.

otherwise, the bare, soaked chest his face was smushed against, paired with the strong arms that encircled his body.

he might just be hallucinating, but sephiroth- sephiroth.. was hugging him.

and no, not an embrace paired with stabbing. just.. a normal, well needed hug.

his cheeks dusted with pink before he could think to fight the color off, not quite used to the proximity, let alone the addition of wetness due to the rain. but he couldn’t find it in him to shove the other away. not when deep down, it was.. something he had wanted all his life.

cloud found himself unable to stop his next act, which was wrapping his own arms around the taller man, even going as far as to shut his eyes and just.. slip.

but you would still miss me in your bones.

no judgment, after all. and the touch felt real.

sephiroth was real.

he wasn’t a fragment of his mind or a lingering memory. no mirage or shadow that followed him at every twist and turn. and definitely not the flurry of feathers that scattered across the parting clouds.

and i still talk to you..

maybe it wasn’t the man from the poster that was now the ashes of a village erased, replaced and deserted.. but neither was cloud.

the hero had died alongside the nobody, and in their places stood the remains of those men. two hollow souls, lost without their other halves, now reunited, and made whole.

for the first time in a long time, cloud felt he could breathe again as he let out an exhale, unknowingly clinging tighter to his the man he dubbed his nemesis. as though he might slip away from him again and leave him screaming at the sky as he once had on the outskirts of midgar for another that was taken from him.

when i’m screaming at the sky.

but sephiroth had no intentions of leaving, he never had. for as long as his other half persisted, he would continue to return.

“your reasoning is neither stupid nor weak, cloud.” he finally filled their silence, gazing up at the cracks in the sky — the shade of blue bleeding through puffs of gray. reminiscent of the sapphire irises obscured by the mako tint on the eyes of the male in his arms. “our lives are forever intertwined. to be apart from one another is.. death in itself. be it in reality for me, or a feeling as it has been for you.”

tenderly, sephiroth then brought his hand to cloud’s freckled, flushed cheek, meeting his gaze with a small smile. “why else would i have continued to defy my demise?”

and when you can't sleep at night..

the blond pursed his lips, growing slightly embarrassed the more those jade orbs bore into his. was he really being asked this right now? “world domination, i dunno.” he tried, rolling his eyes. “planet being your birthright and all — whatever shit you normally spew during your monologues.”

that made sephiroth laugh, a smirk coming to his lips. “perhaps,” he answered at length, moving a dampened lock behind the other’s ear. “but i always had you in mind, cloud.”

said male rose a brow before letting out a humorless laugh. “yeah, okay. i was a ‘puppet’ in those plans. you would choose your goals in a heartbeat over me, don’t even.” meteor was proof enough of that.

you hear my stolen lullabies.

or was it?

“would i?” sephiroth questioned, still adjusting his bangs. “if it was between the planet and you.. hard decision, but i know my answer. sadly, it does not align with your own.” he chuckled, leaning in closer. “i’ve said once before that i would be loathe to live in such a world without you in it.. and that statement still holds, cloud.”

a fuzzy memory filled cloud’s mind before he felt his breath hitch at the one spilling over his lips- a warmth amidst the chilling rain. “not a dream, real.” he chanted in his head, willing himself to remain calm through the blend of rose and vanilla that hit his senses. “so then,” he began, feeling the hand pause on his cheek, “you’ll stay.. for good this time? no more taking over the planet or trying to destroy it..?” asking the question aloud felt awkward, as though he had been that eager teenage boy once more, with silly dreams and high hopes of meeting his hero.

and maybe, to some extent, he was. despite everything.

i didn't have it in myself to go with grace..

“if it means this,” the former first class SOLDIER stopped, resting his forehead against the other’s, “then i suppose there is no planet to be had that i don’t already have.”

cloud blinked up at him, furrowing his brows together in confusion. “no planet to be had..? what do you mean by.. oh.”

oh.

sephiroth tilted his head, innocently. “without my assistance, you seemed to have pieced the answer quite well.” he commented, eyes half lidded. “but.. perhaps you will tell me, for certainty.”

and so the battleships will sink beneath the waves.

for certainty. yeah, right.

cloud tugged at a handful of platinum, an unspoken warning, only to receive a rather pleasant suggestive noise in return. don’t think about it. “asshole.. if you know already, then i don’t have to tell you.”

“you don’t, no. but i wish to hear it from you, anyway.” the silver haired swordsman insisted, smirking like a cat. his default. “go on.”

the ex-SOLDIER let out a frustrated huff, burying his face in his foe’s shoulder. “i’ll die of embarrassment, do you really want that? for me to die?”

a shrug was the response he received, along with a quiet laugh. “of course not, but as if i would allow you to do so. now come on, cloud.” sephiroth pressed, leaning closer to whisper in his ear. “won’t you do me the pleasure of hearing your response?”

the blond was almost tempted to bite his shoulder right then and there if it weren’t for the massive silver pauldron blocking his way. even for something like this, his foe was always one step ahead.

he wasn’t going to give this up, was he?

a sigh left his lips at the realization. for as stubborn as he was, his old idol was just as bad, if not, worse. and cloud was willing to bet that they wouldn’t be leaving shinra’s rundown building anytime soon if he withheld his response.

of course he gets stuck with the most meddlesome guy ever by the planet’s sick idea of fun, but it didn’t matter.

you had to kill me, but it killed you just the same.

at sephiroth’s, dare he say, eager expression, cloud flattened his lips, annoyed at how much he seemed to be enjoying himself ( at his own expense ). meddlesome, indeed.

though the spiky haired male wouldn’t go down so easily. “your metaphor, and don’t even bother correcting me on poetics, was referring to me, i guess. now can we move on from this topic?” he grumbled back, trailing his gaze away. “..please?”

silence enveloped them once more, save for another soft hum that drew from his enemy’s rosewood appendages- a thoughtful one. as though he had been weighing his plea- or, at least, that was it seemed like on the surface.

in reality, the ex-general had just wanted to leave him in suspense for a moment longer. “so soon? i rather enjoyed your reactions.” he finally relented, releasing a soft exhale. “but i suppose, since you asked so nicely. i do expect something in return, however.”

cursing my name, wishing i stayed,

relief flooded cloud, though it had been short lived. because who was he kidding, it was sephiroth. there was almost always a catch when it came down to him. “something.. in return? like what?” dare he assume a kiss?

yeah, sure. in his head, maybe.

“something heartfelt, perhaps.” he mused, curling his lips just slightly. “or will that cost me?”

cloud nearly spluttered. something.. heartfelt? was sephiroth aware of who he was speaking to? he was the least heartfelt person on the planet, he was no poet!

but at the mention of a price, he found himself unable to suppress his snort. “oh ha, ha, very funny. i’ll charge you double for mentioning that.” he rolled his eyes, but failed to hide the smile that reached his face. “you’re lucky i just have the delivery service now.” a mercenary drove a higher price, after all.

yet sephiroth could only chuckle. “what an intriguing pricing system you have. does the same apply for your courier services, then?”

“depends.” cloud began, eyeing the billowing masses that scattered to at last reveal the sun. “distance, weight and size has to be taken into consideration for a fair price to be made.” he continued absentmindedly, trailing his eyes back to his enemy’s cat-like ones.

he’d seen them so many times before, be it on paper, gleaming on his blade or directly in front of him. he thought little of them before, but right now, in this instance.. they felt like everything to him.

you turned into your worst fears.

it was strange how time away from continuous battling with his enemy had turned him into.. whatever he was now. feeling something he knew he shouldn’t, but could not help.

for whatever reason, fate wanted to entangle their lives in the cruelest way imaginable, dooming them with the weight of the world to save, and an intrusive alien entity that wished to see it destroyed. each of them played their parts, whether they’d desired those roles or not.

now, however..

the curtains had come down on the stage, encores ringing on deaf ears as they were faced with a new route to their intertwined lives. the ones they should have had.

“and for something heartfelt?” sephiroth inquired softly, hovering over his lips. “how would you calculate that, exactly?”

cloud felt the hairs stand on his neck as though they hadn’t just been soaked from the downpour, swallowing thickly. “that’ll.. be an additional fee..” he wasn’t even sure himself what that entailed, but the words left his lips before he could think.

his client, needless to say, seemed to face no qualms with his answer. in fact, it encouraged him more. “will this do?”

and you're tossing out blame, drunk on this pain,

the question of whatever ‘this’ had identified as fell silent on the blond’s tongue at the soft pressure that brushed against his baby pink lips. he’d carelessly thrown around the idea of sephiroth wanting a kiss, thinking the odds were too low of it happening.. and yet, here they were.

once again, cloud was reminded of how real sephiroth felt as he slowly reciprocated the act, wrapping a gloved hand around one of his suspenders to pull him down closer. if only to feel more of that electricity that transferred through to him.

it was most certainly the last thing he’d expected to be doing today, atop the war zone they had made out of the company that once doomed them. the agenda he had in mind was an abandoned spot to think and mourn, which happened, yea.. even if it was cut short.

but it was for the better, perhaps. it was.

bitter endings to drown away in the rain while new beginnings blossom as a phoenix would from its ashes to the light of the sun.

crossing out the good years.

an exchange of delightful sounds left the two before they broke from one another, having remembered the existence of air. a tedious necessity, but it was well needed ( much to somebody’s dismay — who was eager to prolong the kiss ).

when cloud recovered his breath, enough to speak at least, he dropped his head against sephiroth’s chest, closing his eyes. “it will,” he answered in reference to the inquiry the other had made, smiling tiredly. “for now, at least.”

the latter shifted his hand to the small of his back, letting out a contemplative noise. “i see more convincing is needed.” he hypothesized, leaning in again for what could be a second round. “shall i kiss you again?”

and you're cursing my name, wishing i stayed,

securing his arms around sephiroth’s neck, cloud brought him down closer, leaning up to his ear this time before whispering, “only one way to find out, right?”

look at how my tears ricochet.

notes. oh goodness this might very well be 6k words and a hot mess but i needed this to gtfo of my drafts😭 originally it was purely planned as angst.. but i caved because these two deserve happiness🥺 anyway, i’m still working on the sfkr fic i planned, not sure when i’ll be dropping it.. but if anyone is interested in joining the taglist, let me know via ask / comments!

↳ return to main masterlist . request rules . send an ask

[rivkae-winters]

Subterranean Sepulcher

Summary:

Sephiroth survives the Nibelheim incident only to be taken to the labs again. He is once again at Hojo's mercy with no end in sight this time. Then someone leaves the door to his holding cell open. When Sephiroth cannot escape upwards he goes down following a strange twinge in his chest deep below Midgar.

Fun fact that's also in the fic notes: I remember writing the outline and thinking this was nowhere near gay enough for a ship event... Then I re-read my draft and realized it sounded like some high concept film a man who thinks he's straight would make and claim represents 'human connection' or something like that.

Needless to say it came out plenty gay enough.

Also on Ao3

Sephiroth had been more elsewhere than in his own body since Hojo had fished him up from the bottom of the Nibelheim Mako reactor. The days flowed into weeks and the weeks flowed into months and months into years.

His Father had been upset at first, that much Sephiroth could vaguely remember. He'd been more... short of his faculties than in possession of them in the early days he spent in the new lab. 

The visit to the town of Nibelheim was a blur in his memory.

Almost none of the blur that he could recall was pleasant. There were some middlingly pleasant fantasies his mind inserted here and there though. He'd dreamed he'd found his mother. Her face from his photograph had been animated and smiling in his dreams. He'd also had a nightmare that he'd been led to her in the waking world only to find her mangled corpse in a mako tank.

Sephiroth would only accept that as a nightmare and nothing else. He saw it again every other night it felt like but still that's all it was. That needed to be all it was. He held the false pleasant dreams of her russet hair and pale skin closer all the more for it.

He also dreamed of Genesis. Really, he should consider it a nightmare considering they fought and while he couldn't quite hear the words they said he knew they were heavy and awful. The air bleeding betrayal into his mind. But it was Genesis- Angeal was dead and Zack was nowhere to be found so maybe Genesis really was the only one of them left truly alive.

Especially the only one of them with any semblance of freedom.

Genesis could fly himself away from the awful world to one that abhors them less. Sephiroth found himself clinging to the idea as one of the Professor’s technicians played with his nerve capabilities one day, the ulnar nerve exposed to open air. 

It felt nonsensical because he was still angry and hurt and bleeding from the hole their leaving had left in him. He felt like he was a child again, listening to Professor Gast's tapes over and over. Just like that man was no longer here and Sephiroth had even had his death confirmed: Genesis was never guaranteed any happiness. He was dying after all.

Sephiroth tried not to think about that too hard.

The isolation and the constant brain fog were easy to blame for imagining the subject of a very awkward and very unreciprocated 'teenage' crush happy. It was logical even, as much as Sephiroth could focus his mind in the present to think of what was logical these days.

The Professor had him again, only now Sephiroth wasn't an appreciated company asset. No, Sephiroth was an old shoe discarded far more quickly than he'd thought he'd be. He'd been declared killed in action in the Nibelheim mission- that much he was able to glean sometime after the one year mark.

He'd also dreamed of that town too. One second it was crisp cool mountain air and overly nosy townsfolk the next he was watching himself strike down civilians and set the town ablaze. That much Sephiroth knew wasn't a dream.

One of the lab technicians, a woman with a familiar accent, had asked him about it. Her friend was from Nibelheim apparently. Sephiroth had a hunch at that time, as their brief interactions continued, that she was her own 'friend'.

She never said a name and Sephiroth was too busy trying to not be aware of what she was doing to ask. Her presence hurt as he was forced into awareness when she was handling his maintenance and tests the Profesor considered beneath him by her constant address and acknowledgement of his presence. Her announcement of the days especially made it hard to drift- to lose his mind somewhere far away from his body among repeating dreams and nightmares far more pleasant than reality. 

She was gone after two weeks. 

Sephiroth had been fine with that as much as he allowed himself to feel anything. The blatant disgust that then morphed to pity when she interacted with him made him feel like he existed in all the wrong ways. When he existed his skin always felt too small and his metaphorical fangs too large and ready to bite something even though any ‘teeth’ he’d been able to sharpen had long been filed down upon his return. Sephiroth was only a decommissioned weapon here, kept around for further research and troubleshooting. The less he was aware of his state the easier it was to continue to draw breaths each day knowing he wouldn’t be allowed to stop. 

The woman who looked at him with fury that melted into gut-turning pity, had given him an unwanted gift: Nibelheim had burned four years before her coming. It was an anchor laid in his mind, an unwanted point of grounding that disrupted him even further. He tried to push himself to forget as much as he could but he never fully pushed knowledge from his mind.So he let other parts of himself slip a little bit further and a little more out of reach to compensate for it. Eventually ‘four years’ sounded less and less in his mind as the days flowed flowed flowed together again into a meaningless slurry of time passing him by and never taking him with it. 

He continued like that, drifting in and out of awareness and letting time bleed together as much as it desired to so he wouldn’t need to be there for it all. Safely away from the poking and prodding and even the gaps of nothingness in the dark that ate at what was left of his mind. Sequestered in the dark recesses of his mind, as much peace as he’d probably get the rest of his life. 

Then one day, with the faint swirling blare of alarms in the hazy background of his non-existence, Sephiroth’s cell door is left open. 

Something wicked and wild sweeps his awareness so carefully discarded back into his being in an instant.

He only has his enhancements and the fact that his cells do not die easily to thank for his legs not falling out from under him as he skitters to his feet. He has the fact that he was born a monster and will die one to thank for allowing him to break into a run as soon as the possibility of no more has pressed against the walls of his lungs. 

It’s not freedom, he has distanced himself so far from purpose and dreams and honor that he can’t remember the sensation at all, but the animalistic desire to not be beaten any longer. Sephiroth had been taught long ago that freedom is not just being out of the labs but living . Even as he runs, tasting a possible end to his misery, he can't find in himself the will to live again. He does not have wings to fly away from this world in search of another.

He doesn’t try to go up and out, his returned presence of mind prevents that disaster. That is where the scientists have fled and the one thing Sephiroth has known his entire life with the exception of one man is that wherever the scientists are is the opposite of where he wants to be. 

He initially plans to find one of the many holes ShinRa was always plagued with in their security. A place too large for its own good constantly springing new leaks as soon as the old ones were patched. Sephiroth would know. What feels like a lifetime ago he’d been one to potentially help patch them up. He skids to a stop as he reaches the end of the hall just before he hits a wall, the tile floor grating his bare feet from friction. The only thing other than the dead end is a locked door to his left. 

It feels promising and there is a small intoxicating twinge in the back of his mind that raises its hands to reach for him. 

He approaches a door at the far side of the room with a clean handle but dust in all the right places pointing to little use at all. The air behind it smells the freshest of the entire room though. Far too fresh a supply closet or something else stale and small so he rips it off its hinges rather than bothering with a keypad pristine from lack of use. The offensively bright screen flickers out, the taunting date of December 11th 0007 fades from existence just as he had five years and two months prior. 

A passage downwards meets his gaze as he peers into the darkness and the bits of Sephiroth returned to his mind knows he’s found something more extensive than a pigeon hole for a smoke break. 

The empty halls echo and his over sensitive ears let him know scientists are coming back to work. Sephiroth can hear the Professor’s voice above them all on the horizon.

He goes down, down, down- plunging into the unknown. It distantly occurs to him ironically that humans are meant to be scared of the unknown but all Sephiroth can feel is the blood pumping through his veins and his body moving like it was made to. He descends into the abyss as far as it will take him, an endless system of doors and corridors and broken electronic locks until he enters the bowels of hell he hadn’t even known existed. 

Sephiroth is not surprised he was unaware, his information on the science department’s many playgrounds were limited to only the ones he spent time in. He had never been permitted to know much more unless the Professor was feeling superior and gloating about something or another. Sephiroth had heard many of those as a child and he’s sure have been in proximity to many ostensibly spoken at him recently. The professor never cared for listening or attentiveness, he only wanted someone who would nod and make the right noises to make him feel good about his progress and Sephiroth had that down to an art through pain or misery or leaving his body to drift since he was a child . 

Then he feels it. He barely dodges a patrol of masked SOLDIERs with an insignia he’s never seen before, the first signs of life down in this place, as the yearn of going somewhere enters his blood. 

He tosses any notions of discretion to the wind, a purpose solid in his mind. He has to get there, he yearns for nothing more in his turning gut and underfed bones to get there. The adrenaline revitalizes his mind in a flurry of fluttering wings and fire closing in behind him and Sephiroth knows with a surety he’s not felt in years that he has to get to the source.

There are more SOLDIERs in his way, some of whom recognize him and others who don't. He feels the monster he was born to be as the sing-song familiar comfort of something wonderful pulls him downwards more and more. Avoiding them and outrunning them is a simple enough matter and when that fails he snaps one of their necks and pushes his will and energy into the Thundaga the SOLDIER had been carrying to great effect. Masamune is pushing in on the corners of his soul, she is faint yet there and ready but he needs distance and as much as he can get.

Sephiroth grips the materia close, artificial and middling quality but a weapon none the less, and continues running. The world fades by him with nothing else drawing him then the promise of something cooing and calling and so unlike that Nightmare that called itself his 'Mother' in its draw.

He continues downwards, downwards, downwards-

Sephiroth comes to a place where the floor has been smashed away from the wall and where the underworld he finds himself in opens up to the promise of something greater than purgatory. He jumps without a second thought and falls free through the air. Even if whatever is beckoning him will not welcome him, the water below him will. 

Sephiroth will not be taken back to the labs again today or ever. 

His side hits the water with a great crash although he feels only a small twinge of pain from breaking through the surface tension. The pool is deep and he considers letting himself drift downwards for only a split second. Because the call is there again and it is near and sweet and feels like home in a way Sephiroth used to dream of having every night. He kicks to the side of the pool and heaves himself up onto the side of the cave. The surgical gown barely clings to his form amidst the motion, adhering to him once above water.He walks the narrow line out of the water.  

His hair weighs down his neck and scalp tugging in a way that would have made the living Sephiroth wince. He is not alive though he is a wandering demon looking for salvation, deliverance, an end to suffering and would travel the world over. Besides he feels he exists in his body for the first time in over five years in a way that doesn't make him want to puke. His skin feels the right size for his muscle, bones, and sinew and after the slaughter up in the subterranean hell his fangs are sharp again and at home in his mouth.

He comes to the end of the line, a large cavern opens in front of him with a dull blue glow in the center and he is drawn deeper. 

Sephiroth wades through the still water towards the source of light in the darkness. He continues deeper, uncaring the jagged rocks at the bottom that teeter the edge of breaking skin. The water reaches his hips at the deepest point before he steps onto the raised mound of rock, eroded by water for countless years. The great source of light that sits before him holds someone in it and upon recognizing him Sephiroth wonders if there were any alarms or open doors at all. 

He wades back down into shallow water that only brushes the tops of his feet before he reaches a second rocky plateau. Sephiroth stands before the still peaceful body of what appears to be Genesis. He is different yet much the same with red and black and only missing the blue hidden behind closed lids. His face is a little older but he is vibrant and colorful even through the strange magic in a way that he isn’t in the nightmares. 

That he hasn’t been since he was at Sephiroth’s side.

Sephiroth follows the pull once more and reaches out to touch the strange spell suspended in a crown of stalagmites. The beguiling thing in the back of his mind that has been pulling him closer intensifies. Sephiroth’s heart sings in happiness when his hand connects with cool magic that has the unmistakable hallmarks of someone he lost too soon.

Before him Genesis- and this is Genesis not some rogue copy he is sure of that now- twitches. Blue eyes that once captivated his entire mind open and meet his own green through the magical looking glass. A look of alarm passes through Genesis’s face and Sephiroth is sure he must make quite the unpleasant sight, sopping wet in a bloody surgical gown, but all he can think of is the man before him. 

There is a twist of magic in the air and Sephiroth can only look up in awe as Genesis’s concern is consumed by fire inside the spell before dying down again to a blue. Immediately afterwards the spell glows the brilliant green of pure mako and expands slightly as if it will start to dissipate through the air or explode violently. He doesn’t move away though, even in the feeling of raw magic and mako taint this feels right and he does not wish to leave the cave for what awaits him in the waking world. Through the glow Sephiroth can see Genesis sink down, his eyes closed in concentration, and the old-old reminder to never touch a mage mid-cast is the only thing that keeps him from pulling the other man out and into his arms. 

As leather boots touch the ground just before his own bare feet, supple gloved fingers pass through the spell and lace with his own where he is still touching it. Genesis’s blue eyes open again and meet his own without a hint of disgust for their strange appearance after a non-existence of that being the only response. Genesis is here and he is whole and Sephiroth is not as sad as he should be that the other man clearly hasn’t flown to the freedom he so yearned for. 

“You look very unwell dear one,” Genesis’s voice is slightly hoarse from disuse but symphonic on Sephiroth’s ears all the same. The concern and care rest heavy in those eyes and pour forth from his mouth. There is a warmth Sephiroth’s never been able to quite place there too that fills his chest with a resonance. It’s something he hasn’t seen since well before Genesis had flown away from him and Angeal the first time. There is no malice or desperation or wanting something of him and his body like so many others before this time, there is only a slightly darker shadowed man he’d held dear but not dear enough.

“Last time,” Sephiroth barely manages to croak out, not even having the foresight to clear his throat, his days or weeks or months unused voice is like rocks dragged across each other. “That might have been my line,” Genesis gives him a small, tight smile full of attempted mirth as see through as the wind and brings their hands down to rest at their sides, still linked. Sephiroth’s mind scrambles through the fog for words thrown in anger in Nibelheim at the obvious gap in understanding there but Genesis and beats him to it.

“That is one way to look at praying for a death,” Genesis’s face twists over the words as they pass through his lips, regretting his own attempt at making light of heavy things before he can even finish it. Sephiroth’s mind is suddenly filled with clouded nightmares and visions of monsters in tubes and a name he’d been told was his mother’s over a door in the main chamber. 

There is Genesis too, graying hair before he’s even thirty and vibrant blue eyes depleted of saturation. He wants something of Sephiroth’s body just like so many before him even though he’s the one person still alive, un-skewered by a sword he trained, who had promised to never ask such a thing. Who had promised that Subject S would always be safe around him, clandestine but ultimately meaningless words whispered after a night terror. Sorrow and Rage and most of all a deeper Betrayal than Sephiroth had ever felt take over his mind humming in symphony with the buzz in the back of his head. He wishes death upon one of the people he had once defined his world by and walks away. Someone he loved .

“I am glad you did not rot.” Sephiroth shoves the croaked words through his lips with far more effort than he’s ever had to put into speech. Then again he’s not spoken more than needed by the technicians and the Professor for at least a year now. Genesis looks at him, that warmth- a type of adoration- in his eyes married with shame and regret and precisely pointed lips turn ruefully. The leather gloved hand not currently holding his reaches up to wrap around Sephiroth’s jaw, a dexterous thumb resting in the hollow of his cheek. 

“I do appreciate the sentiment,” His voice is as rich in adoration as his eyes and that is what Sephiroth’s mind clings onto to further leave fog filled phantom memories behind. “Still I could likely not have been more insensitive if I tried,” Genesis’s voice is quiet when he speaks again full of remorse and apology and resignation as it echoes off the water and the walls until they have both been washed clean by the sound waves. He is about to respond to accept the unsaid apology when chapped lips part again. “I am sorry.” Genesis’s eyes are bright and vulnerable and Sephiroth brings his hand up to mirror Genesis’s painfully gentle hold on him. His skin is warm and alive and sings underneath Sephiroth’s hold, his eyes glow blue even in the green mist of the strange suspended magic.

“I accept your apology,” The emotions he was feeling finally started to bleed into his voice as the jagged scrape on his throat faded to a slighter ease. He did not feel right forgiving something he could barely remember, but that was not the conflict at hand. The matter of Genesis’s initial leaving still hung in his stomach like a stone, the abandonment fresh in his throat even though now he was 

“Thank you, Sephiroth.” Genesis whispered, the quiet words surrounded them though once more. Blue eyes were looking at him with so much wonder as if he wasn’t really there, the thought of this being a flitting place his mind escaped too passed through again. Perhaps Genesis thought Sephiroth was as well a vision from being suspended in whatever he’d sealed himself in…

The silence hung between them for a small eternity. Genesis continued to stare in wonder and adoration with a biting notion of guilt or perhaps even insecurity that Sephiroth could see creeping across the man’s expression. Sephiroth internally balked at the idea of Genesis and insecurity in the same thought before pushing it away since the tower of cards in his mind would crumble if he thought over it more. 

“I’d thought,” Sephiroth broke the paper-thin piece and Genesis’s eyes were attentive and present once more. He wonders again even as Genesis is warm and hale and whole under his hand if this man is truly solid and real. “I’d thought you would have been able to fly away free.”

“A lovely thought,” Is all Genesis says at first, his lips becoming something far more morose and his eyes fading to some imminent distance again. “Though some things cannot be outrun.” Sephiroth watched as Genesis opened his mouth to say more before snapping it shut as he ruminated over what he wanted to say. “The price of being made whole was steep.” Eventually is what leaves his lips in a tone that is perfectly neutral in a way that is antithetical to every bit of Genesis’s authentic personality Sephiroth had ever seen. 

He desperately wants to ask though if it was worth it. That part of him still abandoned and betrayed by the two people he’d built his world of actually living around wants to know more than anything. The more rational part of him feels selfish for being offended still because this is not a situation that has left Genesis able to be alive any more than Sephiroth has been capable of such. Still though it smarts because there is no whole-ness that can fix him and freedom is a thing he’ll never know again to the point where he’d projected fantasies onto Genesis in his mind the same way he did his birth mother as a child. Genesis flying away to freedom, abandoning everything to be whole and free. His mother wanting nothing more than breaking him out from the labs, someone who is not just willing but will rescue him. Sephiroth had always run on hope when under stress it seemed, projecting onto others what he wishes he could do himself. 

He looks at Genesis’s eyes still far away and wants real hope that he can touch and hold and not just dream away about others living what he wants. The thought of this being a fiction presses again even as Sephiroth drags his thumb across Genesis’s proud cheekbone returning the ginger’s eyes to his. The intrusive thought is scrambling for attention as it threatens to escape the box he’d put it in. 

“Prove to me you are real Genesis,” Sephiroth lets out finally, trying to push as much of the torrent inside his mind into his words. Because his skin and sinew and bones feel right inside his body and that was the most unnerving thing about it all: feeling right . “Prove to me that I exist.” Genesis’s eyes are alight with that adoration and wonder again. He takes a small step closer so that he’s pressed up against Sephiroth and their breaths pull from the same source. 

Genesis’s eyes flash with the determination that had attracted Sephiroth to him in the first place, twin blue flames trapped inside a man. He breaks their hands apart and pulls Sephiroth down slightly, waiting to see if he wants to escape to flee somewhere or somehow. 

He doesn’t.

Genesis presses their lips together and Sephiroth lets his eyes slip shut to mirror the man pressed against him. He mirrors Genesis once again and pulls him closer into their embrace. Sephiroth feels alive, and here, and real . His blood is pumping through his veins and his chest is singing in a most delightful way. Genesis breaks them apart and Sephiroth feels like he might devour him with the way blue eyes are boring into his soul. 

He feels like he might not mind.

“So,” Sephiroth lets out, the thought that was meant to follow fleeing his mind in the rush of vigor. He feels more properly reanimated than the shadow of a dead man he’s been in the labs.

“So?” Genesis practically purrs back, the determination flashing and something approaching contentment in eyes that still hold a good deal of weariness. 

“What are you doing here Genesis?” Sephiroth says, because he is here and Sephiroth is here and they both exist so why-

“I’ve a duty to fulfill,” Genesis starts his mouth taking a cryptic tilt. “I must wait for it,” Sephiroth was about to press further when Genesis reached the question at last. “This cave is simply a regrettable incidental.” Sephiroth can tell by the way his mouth tilts and his brows come together just a little that it is a longer story than that.

He is no mystery, he knows. Genesis knew when he saw him from whence he came. Some small childlike part of him that fears the color white still appreciates it not being voiced. He will not pry into something that seems to distress Genesis in turn. 

They stay like that for another blur of past time, half in and half out of an embrace. The sparkling green light above them still suspended, whatever process still paused. Genesis’s hand falls to his shoulder after a time and Sephiroth cannot bring himself to mirror it. 

The pounding of feet echoes from the far mouth of the cavern. 

Sephiroth pulls himself further out of Genesis’s arms, blood rushing and his fangs ready to bite. Masamune is there pressing against his soul- she sings for him to call her as-

Genesis’s hand lands on his shoulder, firm and steady but not a grip. Sephiroth could pull away and face the approaching threat like his instincts are begging him too still, Genesis is not keeping him here. He turns to face the other instead. 

“Will you wait with me?” Genesis says with a voice that is both confident and determined yet also soft and warm. Sephiroth knows he is missing something, some hidden message he had not gleaned but in that moment even the pounding footsteps of those who would take him back up to death and ruin fade away. 

“Yes.” Falls from his lips, the simplest choice he’s ever made. 

Genesis’s gloved hand casts off the beyond soiled surgical gown as a single black wing erupts from his right shoulder in a flurry of feathers. Perfectly coordinated, ever the showman when he wanted to be. He holds out a hand for Sephiroth to take and when he does he pulls the other closer to him as if they were dancing. Genesis’s feathers are surprisingly soft as his wing wraps around Sephiroth’s back, connecting them even further. 

When chapped lips he’d fantasized about for so long as a living man connected with his once more it feels like he’s finally found home that mythical place he’s always been denied. 

When they break apart, eyes meet once more before shutting together.

They will wait.

[rottenpumpkin13]

Let’s reverse the question, AGSZC get stuck in a timeloop COLLECTIVELY, what’s the first thing they do?

The Nibelheim Time Loop (from hell)

Nibelheim Loop #1

Cloud: Man, I had the weirdest dream last night.

Zack: One where Sephiroth burns your village down?

Cloud: That's so creepy! How did you know?

Zack: I had the exact same dream.

*Sephiroth walks up to them*

Zack: Sephiroth, did you have any weird dreams last night?

Sephiroth: I had a dream where I turned into an infant kangaroo and was taken from my mother at birth, deprived of the comfort of her pouch, and forced to work for Shinra. Years later I discovered my mother was complicit in denying me the pouch. Seeking solace, I found an artificial pouch from a robotic alien kangaroo mother. I then rode contentedly in her pouch as she burned everything around us to keep me warm.

Zack: A simple yes would've sufficed.

-

Nibelheim Loop #5

Zack: You're living the same day over and over too, right? I'm not going crazy?

Sephiroth: Actually, I just noticed that we're in a time loop this morning.

Zack: You burned down Nibelheim four times.

Sephiroth, gaslighting him: What a touching story.

Zack: !?

-

Nibelheim Loop #8

*Nibelheim is burning*

Cloud: WHY!? WHY?? WHAT EVEN IS THE POINT ANYMORE!? WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS?

Sephiroth, roasting marshmallows: Professor Hojo never let me roast marshmallows when I was a child. He claimed the sugar would provide excess dopamine, tricking my brain into thinking I could be happy and want more out of life.

Cloud: Shit man I had no idea

-

Nibelheim Loop #12

*Zack, Cloud and Genesis are holding Sephiroth down to keep him from entering the library*

Zack: QUIT IT! YOU ALREADY KNOW THE TRUTH!

Sephiroth: I YEARN.

Zack: FOR WHAT!?

Sephiroth: I YEARN.

-

Nibelheim Loop #16

*After tying Sephiroth up and sedating him*

Zack: There! Now he can't escape, and Jenova can't do mind control on him! Problem solved! No more Jenova cell people running around.

Zack:

Zack: *smells smoke*

Zack: That apple bastard.

-

Nibelheim Loop #23

Cloud: You know what!? This is a time loop! There are no consequences! I can go up to Sephiroth and kill him right now! Fuck it!

*Sephiroth walks up to him, Cloud punches his chest (nothing happens)*

Sephiroth: …..

*Cloud punches him again. He doesn't move*

Sephiroth: …..

*Cloud tries again. It's like punching a brick wall*

Sephiroth: Please stop fondling my chest.

Cloud: Oh my god.

-

Nibelheim Loop #36

Sephiroth: Am I….a human being?

Sephiroth: ….

*Sephiroth turns around*

Sephiroth: Where's Genesis?

Zack: He's not here, but he left this note. Here, let me read it—"Dear Sephiroth, I grew tired of flying from Banora to Nibelheim 35 times only to be met with disappointment, so I'm spending this loop in Costa Del Sol. Best Wishes, your friend, Genesis Rhapsodos."

Sephiroth: Wow. And he didn't even insult me this time.

Zack: "P.S.: No such luck kitty-boy you're a monster and yer mum's an alien. Get rekt."

Sephiroth:

-

Nibelheim Loop #???

*At the library*

Zack: Sephiroth! Stop!

Sephiroth: Each time I return here, my mind becomes clearer, more adept at absorbing information. This only fuels my bitterness and resentment, rather than allowing me to grow accustomed to it. I think this time I'll burn—

*Vincent appears and knocks him out with a pipe*

Zack: Woah! You got sick of the time loop too?

Vincent: What time loop?

Zack:

-

*The next day, after the time loop is broken*

Vincent: I'm glad I could be of assistance.

Cloud: Who would've thought that would end the time loop.

Vincent: Yes. It appears all Sephiroth needed was paternal discipline.

Cloud, gasping: You mean....? You're...?

Vincent: Yes. I'm Sephiroth's parent—

Cloud: !!

Vincent: —tal figure since I was in love with his real mother and his father is Professor Hojo, a role I've assigned myself purely due to the fact that I see myself as his primary caregiver during trying times, which is how an adequate father should act.

Cloud:

Vincent: Not that I would know.