#i wonder how much of that is from letting go of the zack part of his identity.

[rocketbirdie]

i don't want to lose you. i don't want to lose this

[sirfrogsworth]

Let's talk about vintage lenses.

Here is your cool samurai show with modern lenses.

Here is your cool samurai show with vintage lenses.

Hollywood is no stranger to fads.

We are currently in the middle of a "make everything too dark" fad. But that fad is starting to overlap with "let's use really old lenses on ridiculously high resolution cameras."

This is Zack Snyder with a Red Monstro 8K camera.

He is using a "rehoused" vintage 50mm f/0.95 Canon "Dream Lens" which was first manufactured in 1961.

This old lens is put inside a fancy new body that can fit onto modern cameras.

Which means Zack is getting nowhere near 8K worth of detail. These lenses are not even close to being sharp. Which is fine. I think the obsession with detail can get a bit silly and sometimes things can be "too sharp."

But it is a funny juxtaposition.

The dream lens is a cool lens. It has character. It has certain aberrations and defects that can actually be beneficial to making a cool photograph. It's a bit like vinyl records for photography.

[ Peter Thoeny ]

It has vignetting and distortion and a very strange swirly background blur.

[ Gabriel Binder ]

Optical engineers have been spending the last 60 years trying to eliminate these defects. And I sometimes wonder if they are confused by this fad.

"I WORKED 70 HOURS PER WEEK TO GET PERFECT CORNER SHARPNESS!"

And whether you prefer to work with a perfect optic or a vintage one... it is a valid aesthetic decision either way. I think vintage glass can really suit candid natural light photography. You can almost get abstract with these lenses.

[ Peter Theony ]

Personally I like to start with as close to perfect as possible and then add the character in later. That way I can dial in the effect and tweak how much of it I want. But even with modern image editing tools, some of these aberrations are difficult to recreate authentically.

That said, it can be very easy for the "character" of these lenses to become distracting. And just like when someone first finds the lens flares in Photoshop, it can be easy for people to overdo things.

Zack Snyder decided to be his own cameraman and used only vintage glass in his recent movies and it has led to some complaints about the imagery.

I mean, Zack Snyder overdoing something? I can't even imagine it.

Non camera people felt Army of the Dead was blurry and a bit weird but they couldn't quite explain why it felt that way.

The dream lens has a very wide aperture and it lets in a lot of light. But it also has a very very shallow depth of field. Which means it is very difficult to nail focus.

[ Peter Thoeny ]

Her near eye is in focus and her far eye is soft. You literally can't get an entire face in focus.

There is no reason you have to use the dream lens at f/0.95 at all times. But just like those irresistible lens flares, Zack couldn't help himself.

Here is a blueprint that you can't really see.

Extreme close ups of faces without autofocus at f/0.95 is nearly impossible to pull critical focus on.

Looks like Zack nailed the area just above the eyebrow here.

Let's try to find the point of focus in this one.

Ummmm... she is just... blurry. Missed focus completely.

But Zack isn't the only one going vintage. I've been seeing this a lot recently.

Shogun is a beautiful show. And for the most part, I really enjoyed the cinematography. But they went the vintage lens route and it kept going from gorgeous to "I can't not see it" distracting. And perhaps because I am familiar with these lens defects I am more prone to noticing. But I do think it hurt the imagery in a few spots.

Vingetting is a darkening of the corners of the frame.

Light rays in the corners are much harder to control. A lot of modern lenses still have this problem, but they create software corrections to eliminate the issue. Some cameras do it automatically as you are recording the image.

Vintage lenses were built before lens corrections where a thing—before software was a thing. So you either have to live with them, try to remove them with VFX, or crop into your image and lose some resolution.

It's possible this is the aesthetic they wanted. They felt the vignetting added something to the image. But I just found my eyes darting to the corners and not focusing on the composition.

And then you have distortion.

In this case, barrel distortion.

This is mostly prominent in wide angle lenses. In order to get that wider field of view the lens has to accept light from some very steep angles. And that can be quite difficult to correct. So you kind have to sacrifice any straight lines.

And sometimes this was a positive contribution to the image.

I thought the curved lines matched the way they were sitting here.

But most of the time I just felt like I was looking at feudal Japan through a fish's eye.

It's a bit more tolerable as a still, but when all of these verticals are bowing in motion, I start to feel like I am developing tunnel vision.

I love that this is a tool that is available. Rehousing lenses is a really neat process and I'm glad this old glass is getting new life.

This documentary shows how lens rehousing is done and is quite fascinating if you are in to that sort of thing.

But I think we are in a "too much of a good thing" phase when it comes to these lenses. I think a balance between old and new can be found.

And I also think maybe Zack should see what f/2.8 looks like. He might like having more than an eyebrow in focus.

[silvergreenseraphim]

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

I AM ALIVE!!

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

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

Well, let’s dive in!

—

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

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

Zack says,

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

A reference to this scene in Crisis Core:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aw 🥲

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Angeal pauses to speak one lament amidst his decision.

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

—

Small note section before we move to the final battle:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The plot of this chapter became clear to me here.

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

—

The final battle begins.

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

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

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

“I’ve come to stop you!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sephiroth is oddly quiet.

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

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

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

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

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

Cloud understands and says,

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

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

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

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

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

Sephiroth only says he doesn’t remember.

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

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

“Ah, I’ve missed you, Sephiroth!”

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

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

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

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

Sephiroth becomes agitated at this and says,

“I told you, I don’t know/remember!”

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

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

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

At this, Sephiroth finally snaps in anger and says,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final Notes:

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

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

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

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

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

Much love everyone! ❤️

[chasingstardustandmoonbeams]

I was wondering if you could write headcanons for the Bone Boys as dads. ( you can pick one or multiple) (ie. Seeley, Jack, Lance, Zack, or any of the squinterns) I loved your hodgins fic sm <3 take your time!!! Thank you!!!

Oh, I love you for asking this 💕Any opportunity to write for my Jeffersonian family. And my squinterns? You didn't have to ask twice. If anyone want a part 2 let me know. I didn’t include a bunch of squints or my boy Aubrey

Seeley - over protective, caring, goofy, stern, willing to do whatever he needs to to make his kid happy. I mean, just look at Parker - that kid turned out so well adjusted and happy. Booth just loves him to pieces - and Christine? Apple of his eye. Any kid this man has will want for nothing and know nothing but pure unrelenting love. Sunday afternoons of throwing a baseball around - I don't care what gender, any child of Booth will know how to throw a curve ball. And the hockey games? Oh, the kid(s) will be wearing Flyers jerseys before they can walk.

Lance - we were robbed. Robbed of seeing this beautiful man raising a child. Sweets would be such a good dad too. Caring, affectionate, understanding, patient, hilarious, and with one disappointed look have his kids in line apologizing.

Oh, I could just imagine the first few weeks of sleepless nights. Lance, being so excited, but also so terrified of messing up. He knows what its like to have shitty people looking after you, and he'd never want to be that way. But he also knows what it's like to have two loving (amazing) people take care of him and love him with unconditional love.

This of course, would cause him to take the brunt of the middle of the night feedings/check-ins. Lance, sitting in a rocking chair, softly singing Coconut by Harry Nilsson. It's no surprise when the kid knows all the words before they know the alphabet fully.

Just, ugh, nothing but love and laughter.

Any child of Jack's will be showered with affection, over the top gifts (what do you mean a thousand dollar playhouse is too much? It has a fully functional kitchen and a mini lab!), and a love and appreciation for all the beautiful things around them (bugs and all).

"Whose my little prince/princess of the lab?"

Jack would realize his mistake during the preteen phase. "Honestly, I don't know where the sarcasm is coming from. They're too quick for their own good." This of course, would be met with eye rolls, and really? No DNA test needed here. King of the Lab? More like King of Sass.

Jack would love to take the kid(s) to the lab. "This is a Carabidae, they belong to the Adephaga." He'd love to see their little faces light up with wonder. He'd never feel more elated then hearing the little giggles when he puts the beetle into his kids tiny waiting hand.

Wendell would be the sweetest most down to Earth dad. No child of Wendell's would ever know what it means to struggle - not if he had anything to say about it. That doesn't mean his kids wouldn't know the meaning of hard work - that's the one thing Wendell prides himself in. Working hard and knowing you deserved to be there.

Considering his own mother induced labor on a roller coaster, I'm sure Wendell would be there for unconventional methods. His kids would also know how to defend themselves - verbal and physically (No one would ever talk down to his kids and get away with it. And boxers fracture? His kids would know how to throw a punch and mean it - "only if they deserve it, you can't just go around just starting fights with anybody."

His favorite memory would be the first time he took his kid(s) onto the rink. Seeing them persevere and keep going until they got the hang of it - "That's right, you got it!"

Wendell would raise his kids to be prepared for absolutely anything. Car broke down? They would know how to fix the engine. Someone broke their heart? Cry, feel it all, then take a deep breath and keep going. Because no matter what - he'll always be there to back them up.

Vincent would be a dotting dad. A little over the top, but that's why his kids would love him. Any child of Vincent's would know more random facts than any other five year old. The calls from the kindergarten teacher would always be...interesting. "Yes, yes, I can see why talking about the amount of insect legs found in chocolate would be upsetting to the other children."

That of course would not and could not stop him from prattling out more facts every night. Facts were his love language - his bonding time. Every night, without fail, he'd tuck his little one into bed, rambling about any random thought that popped into his head until his child fell asleep.

Colin, sweet morbid hopeless Colin. Would have no idea what to do with a child until one evening when he hasn't sleep for four days straight - he can barely see, his mind and body more fuzzy than normal.

He's looking hopelessly at his baby in his arms, "What? what do you need from me?" His voice growing more weary and desperate. Until he see's it, a smile - then a small gurgle that could be mistaken for laughter. "Oh, you like that, huh, my misery?" He's welcomed by another gurgle and big beautiful eyes blinking slowly back at him. He feels it then - the warmth- the happiness creeping up in his bones. He's got a shot now - at something he never thought about before.

Oh, his kid wants to paint his nails? Sure, he's always got the time, and maybe some tips, a little sloppy on the corner there. It's okay- you're only six we'll get you there, kid.

Colin would be the type of dad to always complain about being dragged to something, but he would secretly love it. Sappy teen movie playing in the background? No, he's not interested. He's just going to stand here for 30 minutes eyes glued to the screen. No, he doesn't want to sit down. Wait- rewind - what are they arguing about? He missed it.

Colin would have a little mini me - both the complete opposite of him and so similar it was scary. His little partner in crime.

Zack would like to think he knows exactly what he's doing but he has no idea. He buys every parenting book known to man. Spends hours of research looking up different child development theories.

No, the baby did not in fact laugh. It's only been a month, a baby can't laugh until at least 5 months. He states that firmly until the next few days when Zack swears up and down he made the baby laugh doing an impression of Hodgins. I know I said that, but perhaps the baby just has my intelligence and early development.

Zack will be there front row and center for every recital, game, or event. Doesn't matter if he has no idea what the rules are or what is going on. He'll be there cheering from the side lines.

His favorite afternoon snack to make? Macaroni and cheese.

Zack is just happy to have made his family a little bit bigger. He never thought he'd be proud of anything outside of the Jeffersonian, but he was happily proven wrong everyday.

[foreststarflaime]

So do you have any ff7 language and accent headcanons?

MY LINGUIST HEART IS EXPLODING TY yes ofc I do let’s see…and I’ll almost assuredly be talking cultural hcs too because language and culture are inextricably entwined

I’ll start with Banora/Mideel (I am much more familiar with Banora) since I mentioned that most recently! That area gives me such uk vibes, especially Banora. Not to mention that Genesis already has such a borderline posh voice. I like to hc that Reeve comes from somewhere around there and that Cait Sith’s voice is his native accent! But then I am torn because with the Rhapsodos family…greek names…ancient greek values and similarities displayed in Genesis and Angeal…so tempting. So I kind of imagine Banora at least as kind of a mix of those cultures (which would work pretty well I think, I know of quite a few overlaps in values between homeric and anglo-saxon values, and greek folklore does give me a similar vibe to celtic folklore) (ah you see there I go, using language and culture interchangeably already)! Ancient Greek at least is a very lyrical-sounding language (it’s theorized that the different accents were used to show differences in pitch) and I feel like it would fit perfectly in Genesis’ voice especially! Also I like to hc that his parents’ names are Peleus and Thetis for the Achilles reference >:)

For Gongaga and Nibelheim I’m more mainstream, love the Zack speaking Spanish and Cloud speaking Old Norse hcs so much! Don’t have much else to say about Gongaga, wonderful as is. Nordic Nibelheim is so special to me bc people always conflate ‘norse’ with vikings when that’s so not all there is ;-; there’s the Vanir as well as the Aesir! And even just thinking about it for so little time rn the Fenrir myth does fit him

Wutai is meant to be based off Japan (I’m fairly sure, I know so much less than I should about that part of the world so anyone feel free to add on). I do love that—people who have different first languages actually think differently, because their brains learn to process and codify things differently based on what the grammar of their language focuses on and how their words are constructed and so forth (it’s very much a chicken or the egg type situation). And with Japanese being in an entirely different language family, the breakdowns in communication that can occur due to people not doing enough research on the differences in cultural thought can be massive and disastrous. Which works so realistically well for the whole Shinra vs Wutai conflict.

As for Midgar, cities are often little islands dialect and accent wise. Lots of different accents and languages and dialects from all over the place mixing together to create something new. I like to hc that being surrounded by so many conflicting accents Sephiroth can mimic them pretty well, even though Hojo tried to knock everything out of him but the ‘normal’ ‘educated’ accent (there is no such thing as not having an accent. Your speech is marked inherently by being different from another person’s speech). Hehehe I like to imagine that spending so much time with Genesis and Angeal and actually liking and wanting to be like them he’s picked up quite a few Banoran mannerisms :) like me when I lived in the uk for a few months and suddenly now I say “you’ve not” instead of “you haven’t” and still pronounce “vase” and “island” weird take me back there nowwwww

[midnight1nk]

My dear fellows, it's time to place your final bets for this upcoming WOTFI! Only just mere days away, everyone's been curious:

How will the challenges play out?

Whose submission got accepted into the episode?

How will the crew defeat Mr Puzzles?

Will Mr Puzzles die?

Indeed, they are very valid questions. It's only reasonable that we would guess. Some speculated that Puzzles will die similarly to how One-Shot Wren did in Western Spaghetti. Others said the opposite, that Puzzles may go down a path of redemption. So on and so on.

The point is: We aren't a hundred percent sure what will happen. That includes me. Anything could happen. But that is the fun of it all, it captivated us so much that we were at the edge of our seats. Eager to find out more.

In my "Welcome to Puzzle Park" episode review, I predicted that SMG4 and Mario would have to win the mini-game challenges to save each of their friends from Mr Puzzles. And now, before the SMG4 show decides to jump-scare me with a new update, I want to share a twist on my original guess.

If SMG4 and Mario couldn't save the Crew and get controlled by Mr Puzzles, then who would?

"...Mom sure is taking a long time, huh."

THE UNEXPECTED GUESTS

⚠️ DISCLAIMER IN INTRO POST ⚠️

"To your own demise, you created your own enemy…"

RECAP

Let’s go over the episode ‘Welcome to Puzzle Park’ once again:

The SMG4 Crew, including Karen, is forced to listen to Boopkins' vacation story, beginning to wonder where Meggy is. And right on cue, Leggy pops in and lures them to Puzzle Park, a carnival built by Mr Puzzles, which they didn't know that part until the Crew got there. Unfortunately, being forced to enter the park, each one of the Crew took part of the attractions and games. One by one, they suspiciously disappeared, Three noticed this.

A whole day goes by and the park is empty except for Four, Mario, and Three. Three saw Luigi getting captured, realizing that the park was a trap, and went to warn the rest of our Star Trio. A clown head intervened, capturing Three before he could tell them to run. In his last efforts, instead of struggling, Three sent a text to Four, hoping it would be enough for the two to escape before it was too late. Four and Mario, being in the middle of their competitive water gun game, saw the text and attempted to escape.

The whole park, somehow coming to life, chased the two down until they went through a magical exit door. In there, they faced a hall of mirrors and finally face Mr Puzzles. Puzzles reveal his plans, that the Crew was “the missing pieces of Puzzle Park”. Leggy opens up a portal to the hall for Didney’s Engine Room, Four and Mario having no choice but to go through. Entering the Engine Room, they encounter a horrifying site: A grown-sized Mr Puzzles, merged with the Power source Star with wires and limbs. Mr Puzzles laughs maniacally before the doors of the Engine Room close behind the duo, ending the episode with the grayed-out credits.

Now, that is all well, set, and good. But, when I was rewatching this episode, a question popped into my mind:

"Wait, if Karen is here, then are Zack, Cody, and Katie home alone?"

As much as I could assume that they were with a babysitter or at school, Karen got captured by Mr Puzzles regardless. A whole day has gone by and her kids are left at home. Then, I fall into a rabbit hole of questions:

Would her kids notice her strange absence? Would they ask if their mom was ok? Would they try to locate her?

Wait, what about Beeg4 and Eggdog? Three and Four were also captured and didn’t tell them where they went.

And JubJub? Sure, Boopkins have other family so Jubjub isn’t technically alone but wouldn’t he wonder where his brother went?

Question after question, it all ends up having the kids missing their family members.

If the kids realize that their family is gone, what will they do?

Well, why don’t we play a game of “what if”, shall we?

Instead of Four and Mario, what if the kids save the Crew?

THINK OF THE CHILDREN

The kids, believe it or not, have been an important aspect of this WOTFI arc, ever since the very beginning. Look back at all the previous episodes:

We Must Kill Mario

Zack, Cody, and Katie get excited seeing Four on screen in a Puzzlevision episode, ‘Mario’s Mysteries’

Despite being Zack’s birthday, Four tailored each entertaining act for each kid, making them feel special

SMG4 and SMG3 come up with an episode

Three came up with the plot of Four turning into a child just so he could go on the teacup ride

Mr Puzzles’ Lowest Point

Puzzles relied on the children’s interests in brain-rot comedy just so he could be popular

In the first series of attempts, he sought Karen’s kids for their approval. The third time was successful

his videos only catered to a single demographic

Unable to satisfied the children at the convention, Mr Puzzles gets chased all around town. Zack being one of those kids who chased him

The children abandon their attention on Puzzlebox to pursue Goob4. Sure, Goob4 is not SMG4 but it is still another punch to the gut for Puzzles, that Four will keep beating him in popularity no matter what. Losing his young audience was a subtle factor that drove him to lose his mind

Mr Puzzles' Clubhouse

Didney, formerly beloved by people of all ages, has a park known as Didney Worl, dubbed as "The Happiest Place on Earth"

A flashback shows Mr Puzzles as a child wanting to own a carnival when he grows up, hoping that he could make everyone happy (similarly how Four’s goal, shown in IGBP)

These episodes all revolved around kids, so it’s possible that WOTFI would as well. Plus, it’s one of the aspects of Four and Puzzles parallels. While Puzzles tried to satisfy every kid with one show, Four made sure that each kid was happy, his acts being unique.

Well, another reason for Mr Puzzles to hate SMG4, jealous of Four being able to connect with his audience so easily.

HOW WILL IT PLAY OUT?

Technically, this is the end of the mini-theory. However, I do want to contribute to the narrative in how I would personally write it. Not that it will come true, this is just for funsies. This is how I imagine it:

Four and Mario attempt to fight off Mr Puzzles, wanting to save their friends. But Puzzles became too powerful, not even Mario of all people being able to stop him. The last scene we see them trying to dash for the exit before being grabbed by Puzzles.

We cut to Karen’s house. Zack, Cody, and Katie would be sitting around, flipping through the channels on the TV. One of them looks out the window, noticing that it is nighttime. They were told that their mom (Karen) would be visiting SMG4 for just a bit, something about welcoming Boopkins back from his vacation. It was supposed to be for a couple of hours.

“Mom sure is taking forever, huh.”

Back before dinner, she said. That she was going to make pizza. But the oven was cold, and no pizza was made. They were starting to get hungry. They loved having Mom around, she was always there for them. She loved them with all their heart. But now, something felt off.

“Hey, guys, look!”

The three looked at the screen to see an advertisement of Puzzle Park, an incredible carnival with exciting attractions and games, having its grand opening today. It’s so much fun that you wouldn’t want to leave.

Right there on the screen, they see SMG4, in a new outfit with a top hat and twirling cane, performing an act. They cheered, of course, they recognized their favorite YouTuber. Wow, who knew Four was part of this.

Then, they saw their mom on the screen, exactly as Four is with the new outfit and act. They were a bit surprised by this, Mom didn’t tell them she was part of this. Why? Wouldn’t she have invited them to join her at the carnival? Still, they were happy to see their mom.

Just then, a knock on the door. They open to see Beeg4, Eggdog, and JubJub on the other side, they looked worried. They were let in and through Cody’s translating, they were worried that something happened to their dads. Three never told Eggdog where he went and was pretty much left alone in the cafe. Beeg initially didn’t care, he got to be home alone to do whatever he wanted to do for meme’s sake, but a new meme just dropped, and was shocked to see that Four didn’t say anything about it. Not even a like on the post. For JubJub, his brother said that he was going to tell his friends about his vacation but he never came back home to the ocean.

Eggdog spots his dad on screen, dancing around in glee. That’s not my dad, Eggdog points out. The light in Three’s eyes, it was gone. As if his mind wasn’t there. Despite the theatrics the crew was doing, they looked like they didn't intend to act this way. There was no happiness. They looked like puppets.

Finally, Mr Puzzles come up on the screen, urging the viewers to come on down to Puzzle Park. Zack points out that Puzzles was the one behind Puzzlebox. They then concluded that Mr Puzzles had something to do with their family members being mind-controlled. So, they gear up and head for the carnival to confront Mr Puzzles. And soon, they learn they would have to save each Crew member one by one by completing mini-games.

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

And there you have it, the kids being Puzzles’ first audience to ultimately being the ones who will defeat him in WOTFI! It would be a nice change of pace for the show and it will come full circle if they go with this. I'm going to be honest: I didn't intend to post this today. I was hoping to wait for the trailer to drop so I could post multiple things:

one of the posts is obviously my reaction/analysis of the trailer

second, a post where you guys help me fill in the boxes on the bingo card I'm creating for WOTFI (still going to do this in the future btw)

and lastly, this mini-theory

I initially thought that it would be a silly little post, thinking that it might not come true, But the more I thought about it, it made sense in my head. It works especially with my “The Ticket” theory (excluding the shoe part) of the kids knowing some form of truth behind Puzzle Park. Again, anything could happen, my dear fellows. This isn’t out of the question. We would just have to wait and see at around October 19th!

“One can't fully understand how much a child love their family...”

And hey, that’s just a theory…

AN SMG4 (MINI) THEORY

🎶Thanks for dropping by🎶

[crisiscutie]

Sephiroth/Domestic Darling headcanons (Feat. Zack)

I wanted fluff headcanons. I wanted pregnancy headcanons. So why not both? Read part two here. Feat. Platonic Zack/Darling and platonic SephZack. Mentioned Zerith. Set late Crisis Core. TW: Pregnancy and body change. Sephiroth with yandere/possessive tendencies.

Honestly, neither of you were keen about children, especially since Sephiroth had just left SOLDIER. Zack was a lifesaver, helping you two decide where to go and coming up with a clever alibi for your escape. He would've made a great travel agent in another life, with his skill in planning the best trips.

You and Sephiroth will definitely miss Zack. You guys withheld the big news, not wanting to distress the poor boy with it.

During the journey, you had to fight off your fear and stress. You didn’t want your newly formed family to spend the rest of their days pursued by Shinra.

Sephiroth promises that he'll go to any length to keep you and your unborn child safe. He appears composed about the dilemma, though you wonder if it’s him just trying to appear strong.

You remind him it’s normal to feel scared and overwhelmed by this dilemma like you.

He then softly grasps your hands, looking deeply into your eyes. His gaze sends a wave of warmth through your body.

"My love for you surpasses my fear of Shinra."

The emotion in his voice and the fire in his eyes makes you weep tears of joy as you embrace him. How could you be so worthy of his devotion?

You two settled into a secluded village in the country. The farthest city is hours off, which is perfect for you both.

Sephiroth consistently keeps track of your every move. He usually accompanies you when possible.

He’s remarkably protective of you. He’ll scan your immediate surroundings for any signs of danger and assess your wellbeing often.

He's territorial when other villagers are around you. Although he maintains his professional and distant persona, it's easy to tell from his energy that others should say what they need to and then leave you two be.

If some hapless souls overstep boundaries and/or threaten you, they'll be begging for a speedy end to their anguish.

He needs to be reminded to take a deep breath and let go of any stress. Enjoying your new life together won’t be pleasant if you’re both constantly paranoid.

At first, he’d be reasonably naïve about maternity, but afterwards he’d research every book he can get about it. He strives to help and understand you as much as he can. He wishes to provide you with the same comfort and emotional security that you provided to him while he was in SOLDIER.

Sometimes, he'll swoop you up into his arms, just because he can. Holding you requires no effort, but he’ll treat you with utmost care, especially if you’re in your first trimester.

Since he developed a mild case of Couvade Syndrome, squabbles will occur more. He’ll become aloof after bothersome, foolish arguments (Going out by yourself at the dead of night? No way!). However, he’ll be ready for any crisis or needs you have. Nothing will be more important than you.

You’d have to forgive him for gently teasing you for your strange food cravings. He’d take a bite of the food just to put a smile on your face, though.

In your second trimester, your baby bump will show. The sight and feel of it mesmerizes Sephiroth. He absolutely worships your pregnant body. Belly rubs are customary under his watch!

If Zack miraculously encounters you two, you would happily welcome him into your home (with discretion, of course). He was the anchor that kept you both steady during the period of your separation from Sephiroth sometime ago. You feel an immense sense of gratitude towards him.

The announcement of your pregnancy was astounding to Zack initially. After the shock wears off, he is ecstatic, congratulating you both.

Before he asks to touch your belly, you and Sephiroth speak in unison.

“Permission granted.”

Despite Zack's trustworthiness, Sephiroth's arm instinctively wraps around you when he comes close to your belly. An unwavering sense of security radiates from him. Though this is not intentional.

Zack carefully lays his hand on your stomach, giving your belly a soft, singular stroke as he feels your baby kick within you.

You can't help but feel your spirits lift when you look into Zack's baby blue eyes, twinkling with joy. He merrily proclaims himself the honorary uncle of your little one.

Later on, after reflecting on the events he's gone through, Zack questions whether quitting Shinra is the right thing to do. You and Sephiroth offered him words of encouragement, pushing him to do it. You both cite your current lives as a testimony. Freedom from Shinra is the most precious gift a SOLDIER can have.

Zack grins, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he declares he will bring his flower girl sweetheart to meet you two if he carries out his plan.

You and Sephiroth said your goodbyes to Zack with heavy hearts as he departed. He vows to come back one day. You have faith that he'll choose to leave SOLDIER and become a hero of his own volition.

You and Sephiroth spent that night in peaceful silence near the fireplace. You sit on his lap and his head nestles into your neck. His warm hands lightly cradle your big belly. You can feel your baby kicking and squirming as you approach the end of your pregnancy. Your delivery date is almost here.

Having a lot more time with him and finally living together was a fantasy you’ve had. With the fantasy now a reality, you would never exchange it for anything. Nothing will tear you two apart.

[digitaldiarystuff]

Worst Mistake Pt.2

omg i’m having so much fun writing this but i still need support! if you have any ideas on the storyline or any comments about it please please lmk. hope you enjoy💖

————

pairing: Jude Bellingham x Y/N

summary: Jude was a close friend of your boyfriend, so you meet him. What’s the worst thing that could happen right?

genre: i think a bit of everything

————

For the next weeks, you successfully avoided any occasion Jude would attend and you had every intention to keep it that way because the guilt was eating you alive. However, your plans didn’t work because you always worked from the office on wednesdays and this wednesday, the first thing you saw was Jude standing in the foyer with your boss talking.

“Oh Y/N, welcome” she happily said when she saw you coming in. She was never this kind to you but it had to be because she was talking to a client.

“Hi Susan.” you told her but didn’t look at Jude once, you didn’t know how to approach him.

“You never told me you gave a pitch to Mr. Bellingham, now he’s here to tour some places and decide.”

You couldn’t believe it, why did Jude decide to come to your agency when there were a billion of them? Yeah you showed him the options but he also tried to kiss you and the worst part was, it took everything in you to stop him.

“Yes, Mr. Bellingham was looking for a place and I gave him some ideas.” you professionally answered.

“Well, as luck would have it, you’re actually here today. Can I count on you to show him 3 houses today and then we can have a lunch and discuss which one he’d like.”

This was quite normal in your company, you had many big clients who got very special treatments because they were wealthy and Jude was obviously a great addition to your clientele but being alone with him touring houses all day made your cheeks heat up. You didn’t even have an idea about how this day would go.

“Of course.” you smiled politely. There was nothing you could do, this was a job and you were now his real estate broker.

Jude’s eyes never left your face, wondering if you were going to ignore him forever. You could feel a burning gaze and finally looked up at him and to your absolute disbelief, just looking at him for three seconds reignited the feeling you had the first time you saw him. You felt horrible about all this. You tried smiling reassuringly but your face muscles barely moved. He, on the other hand, had a genuine smile on his face and you wondered if he did this a lot. Maybe he was a home wrecker who enjoyed meddling in people’s relationships all the time.

Susan soon left you alone with Jude to fetch the keys for all the houses you were going to visit today and you stood there silent.

“Hey” he cautiously said when you didn’t talk.

“Hey”

“Zack insisted I should come here, he says you guys are the best.”

Zack… Just hearing your boyfriend’s name was enough for you to know you could never do this to him. You had to put every single feeling aside and focus on being Jude’s friend, this was the only way it should be.

“Yeah, look Jude, we are friends and I’m happy to help you. So let’s go find you a house.” you smiled looking up and saw a slight change in his eyes with your sentence but you couldn’t care about it now. You’re doing your job and helping a friend out.

You tried driving but Jude insisted he should, saying he had to get used to the streets anyway. You silently agreed and went over to his car which was way better than any car you could afford.

“Must be nice.” you mumbled while getting in.

“So the first house is in the neighborhood. You can take a left here and we can go see it first. It’s the only one in the city actually, the other ones are in the suburbs.” you explained and he listened to your directions without any words.

“And this is it.” you exclaimed while he pulled up into a complex. Jude didn’t say a word to you the whole way and it was starting to get to you, yes you were terrified to explore the tension you had with him but you could at least converse like two acquaintances.

You were going to show him a penthouse on the top floor and had a private elevator so you walked over with Jude following close. Once in the elevator, you scanned your card and pressed the highest floor. Your fear of elevators was added to your already anxious self and you felt your hands shake a little but it was okay, this was a fast elevator.

“What the fuck?” Jude asked when suddenly the lift stopped completely.

You couldn’t even form a sentence because this was one of your worst nightmares, you just leaned against the wall and tried calming your breathing.

“Y/N?” Jude asked once he saw the state you were in.

“Yeah?” you said just above a whisper.

“Are you okay?”

“No I’m not. This is my worst fear” your voice cracked at the end and he immediately stepped closer.

“No no no it’s fine. It’ll probably just start again anytime now. It’s fine don’t worry.” he tried reassuring you but you couldn’t even focus on his words, feeling on the verge of a panic attack.

Jude didn’t know what to do so he opted for something that would calm him down and reached for your cheeks. He held them with both of his hands and made you look up at his eyes.

“Y/N listen to me, it’s going to be alright. I’m with you and nothing’s going to happen.”

Just then, the lights turned on and the elevator started moving. You didn’t know if it’s the state you were in seconds ago or the fact that Jude calmed you down with just talking but you started crying immediately. Jude didn’t move, he didn’t drop his hands still holding you like a fragile statue, gently and wiped every single tear you shed. In this light, you could see every single detail of his handsome face and you could also see the worry in his eyes. He probably thought you were crazy, but completely lost in the moment, you placed your hands on top of his holding him in place and leaned in his touch. No words were spoken, you just silently waited for the doors to open and as soon as they did, he retreated his hands and you stepped out.

“So this penthouse is 3 bedrooms 4 bathrooms and is 207 square meters…” you started but Jude cut you off immediately.

“Y/N you need to sit down, here I’ll bring you a cup of water.” he said leaving you in the main space and going into the open kitchen.

Seeing him so worried about your wellbeing made your head spin and you finally realized what happened minutes ago. Your cheeks heated up to a crimson red.

Jude opened the fridge and found an unopened bottle containing water and brought it to you.

“I thought I told you to sit down.” he smiled

“Thanks Jude.” you said opening the bottle and settling down on the sofa. He sat at the other end and examined your face.

“Do I have mascara smudges on my face?” you asked seeing how careful he looked at you. He laughed a little.

“Um, maybe a little but it’s nothing.” he said sliding over to you.

“It better be, I paid 70 dollars for it.” you joked but your breath hitched when he leaned in removing the drops of mascara under your eyes with his fingers.

“You didn’t have to.” you whispered but he kept wiping your under eyes until he was satisfied.

“There, good as new.” he said taking his hands off your face but didn’t move back to his old position just kept close to you.

You smiled genuinely because he took good care of you when he didn’t need to. You were lost in each other’s eyes for a while, he looked at you like he wanted to memorize every single detail he could until you finally got up, it was becoming much harder to just sit there and stare at him.

“Okay, let’s start the tour.” you smiled and said.

“Okay tour guide, show me what you got.” he said and stood up as well.

The day was going far better than you imagined considering you were trapped in an elevator, almost had a panic attack and were with Jude who you were trying to avoid at all cost. You toured the first and the second houses and were actually having a fun time, nothing inappropriate happened and Jude and you had good conversations with banter. If you weren’t deeply attracted to him, you knew you’d be close friends. I mean, you are friends and nothing more but, you know…

“Is this the right place?” he asked while pulling up.

“Yup” you answered as you looked at your dream house, this was your favorite but of course the only way you’d be in here was with a client showing them the house. It was a modern villa with stone exterior and an infinity pool in the garden.

“Is this the one you showed me?”

“Yeah, I mean I showed you all of them. But this, I think this is a place has a calm energy to it.” you laughed and got out of the car.

You gave Jude the tour trying to be professional and not affect his choice.

“So what do you think?” you asked whilst you were sitting in the lounge with him.

“I think I know which one I’m picking.” he confidently said. “Do you guys link me an interior designer as well or should I find one?”

“Yes we work with some designers I can tell Susan to help you with that.” you replied.

“Susan, why?” he asked.

“I mean, my job’s basically over here. I showed you the houses, Susan takes care of the clients after this stage.”

“But do you get a commission?”

You were startled by his curiosity.

“Um, no. I don’t work on commission, I just handle the background work most of the time.” you answered truthfully and he stopped asking about it after that.

After that, you met up with Susan for lunch. You didn’t know if you were actually invited or kindly expected to leave Jude and Susan to have a discussion alone but Jude firmly told you to stay with them so you had no other choice.

“So how was everything? Did Y/N take good care of you?” Susan asked clearly being extra.

“Of course, she’s amazing.” you cleared your throat. “As a tour guide.” Jude added immediately.

“And did you find what you were looking for?”

“I think I did.” Jude said while looking at you, the sentence alone made your stomach feel butterflies but you quickly tried shrugging them off.

“The last one, I want the last one.”

You looked up at him because you really hoped you didn’t change his opinions being biased but he quickly sent you a smile.

“It really has a calm energy and I loved the pool.” he added and Susan happily continued talking but your mind was racing, he used the same wording that you did while explaining to him. Did he really agree with you or was just quoting you?

After the lunch Susan offered to take you back but she had to cancel last minute to attend a meeting with other clients, you reassured her it was okay and you could just get a taxi and she left. You thought Jude also left but his car was still in its place and he showed up behind you in a second.

“You need a ride?”

“Oh no you don’t have to.” you tried but he wasn’t taking no for an answer so you hopped in the car with him.

You knew better than asking him but couldn’t help yourself.

“Jude?”

“Hm?”

“Did you really like the house or did you just do it because I said it’s good?”

This was dumb, why would he want a house just because you liked it. He was probably laughing at me right now, you thought but as you looked at his side his face was neutral.

“I liked it.” he simply shrugged and you felt extra stupid for thinking something like this.

“But I also value your opinion. You said it yourself, you love being in that house.” your heart started beating faster.

“But I wouldn’t be there, you would so what’s most important is what you want.” you looked out the window because the tension was back and it was thick.

“I wish you would.” he mumbled and you almost didn’t hear it. But you did.

“Huh?”

“I said, I really like it so thank you.” he said just as you reached your office and thanked him for driving you.

“No problem, see you soon.” he said as you were closing the door.

“Yeah, see you soon.” you whispered as he was speeding off.

————

[jumpywhumpywriter]

A Life in the Hands of the Enemy -- Villain reluctantly saves Hero's Life part 3

Warnings: violence, bleeding, near-death experience, captivity whump, cruel Villain whumper

The next morning he woke up to a bright beam of sunlight shining in his face, streaming in through a nearby window.

Groggily, he rubbed his eyes, before jumping and letting out a strangled shriek when he spotted Amber laying on the couch, before remembering how she got there, and feeling a little embarrassed at his own reaction. He crept over and peeled away one of her bandages, noting that the wound had gotten noticeably smaller. Not by a lot, but not at a human rate of speed either.

Shoot, I forgot she has accelerated regeneration! He cursed silently to himself, trying to shake off the sleepy head fog. She was still far from healed, but he still worried. If she woke up, it could prove to be a very dangerous situation for him.

But I know just the place for you that will give me a lot more peace of mind...

Zack carefully slipped an arm under her legs and behind her back, picking her up and carrying her downstairs to the basement. One of the rooms there was surrounded by solid concrete. Perfect for holding a dangerous person like Amber. He usually used the room for torturing information out of people, or leaving them in isolation until they went mad. But this time would be something different.

He kicked open the door and set Amber down on the cold floor in the middle, where a single metal ring was bolted to the floor. Attached to the ring were two chains that led to two restraining cuffs. Unbreakable. Unescapable.

He locked the first metal cuff onto one of her wrists, when she let out a quiet, pained groan, making him freeze. Several heartbeats passed with no further reaction, and Zack put the other cuff on before backing out of the room. He returned a moment later with some blankets that he wrapped around her to keep her from freezing, before leaving her be.

The next day he checked on her, and found that she hadn't moved an inch, still out cold. He wondered if she might be faking it, and approached her with caution, nudging her arm with a foot. No response. Then he lifted an eyelid and shined a light into it. Still nothing.

Yep, super unconscious.

Zack tapped his chin thoughtfully, pondering how he might be able to get her to wake up faster. He was ITCHING for answers, his mind buzzing with questions. Then, an idea struck him. He left the room and returned with a small syringe of pure adrenaline.

He tugged all the blankets out from around Amber and put them out of reach. If this worked, he didn't want anything around she could use to try and strangle him.

Once the area around her was clear, he pushed the needle into her arm, slowly pressing the plunger down to give small amounts of adrenaline at a time. He didn't want to overdo it, because too much could easily kill her in such a fragile state as she was. And then he'd never get the answers he so badly wanted.

He had emptied roughly half the syringe when Amber finally twitched for the first time. He held his breath hopefully, withdrawing the needle, and shortly after, her eyes cracked open, peering dizzily up at the ceiling. She blinked slowly, dazed and disoriented, as her gaze tried to focus itself.

"Ahem." Zack cleared his throat quietly, instantly snatching her attention. She spooked when she saw him, immediately trying to jump to her feet, before crashing back to the floor with a sharp cry of pain, clutching at her injured side. She scrambled away from him before the chain linking her cuffs to the metal ring snapped taut, and she couldn't retreat any further.

Amber's face was twisted with excruciating pain as her breathing quickened, wide eyes darting wildly around the room for an escape, appearance not far from that of a cornered animal.

"W-Where am I? What's happening?" She choked out.

"You're fine, I'm not going to hurt you... as of now," Zack said, rolling his eyes at her reaction. He walked a few steps toward her, and she visibly flinched, pressing further against the far wall, shrinking in on herself as though it would make her disappear. She coughed weakly, and a small amount of blood spattered the concrete next to her.

Zack kneeled down to her level, his gaze sharp and assessing. "Now... I have a few QUESTIONS I need to ask... you will answer them, or things could get very bad for you, very fast. Understand the rules?" He didn't give her a chance to answer before he plowed onward.

"Firstly, who was strong enough to do this to you?" He gestured to her blood-stained skin, the many bandaged injuries across her body. "In all of our fights, I could barely leave a scratch on you. Did you bite off more than you could chew making new enemies?" He mocked condescendingly.

Amber glared defiantly at him, but he still noticed the haunted look in her fiery golden eyes, the shudder she tried to suppress. Then she averted her gaze, remaining silent.

Zack leaned in closer, letting his voice drop low and dangerous. "Are you going to make me ask again?"

⏪️ Back Next ⏩️

Masterlist

[strelitzia-mystery1097]

How in the heck do Jenova Cells even work?!

I will say here and now that I haven't watched/played/read every FF7 thing in this franchise so if something I talk about is actually clarified in some obscure thing or I get something wrong, then comment about it.

So let's start with the beginning. Who or what is Jenova.

...🤷‍♀️

We honestly have no idea about Jenova'a origins beyond her crash landing on Gaia via meteorite. We don't know if she's the only one of her kind, or if she has successfully destroyed planets before (considering in FF7 AC Sephiroth talks about using Gaia to travel to another planet, that meteorite was probably a planet Jenova destroyed). She's very much your typical cosmic horror creature. But wherever she's from, it's not the planet.

So Jenova crash landed and that damaged the planet, (an injury that the planet is still healing from, hence how wacky the Northern Crater looks) and then Jenova started using her hallucinations/shape shifting abilities on the Cetra to trick them. And then Jenova turned them into monsters. Yes, all the monsters in FF7 are Cetra or descendents of what was Cetra (kind of awkward when Aerith kills them lol).

Side tangent. I wonder if Jenova just works differently on different species. Like if Aerith was exposed to Jenova like what happened to her ancestors would she just turn into a monster instead of what happens to humans? Also does that make all the monsters part of Reunion or not? What would that Cell even be called. M (Monster) Cell? C (Cetra) Cell?

But yeah Jenova was trying to destroy the planet.

Eventually the remaining Cetra sealed Jenova away until 2000 years later she was excavated and mistakenly identified as a Cetra by Gast.

Later on Hojo created Project S and Hollander made Project G in an attempt to create a Cetra that could lead Shinra to the Promised Land.

In Project S, which stands for Sephiroth, Hojo injected Sephiroth directly with Jenova Cells when he was a fetus. In Project G, which stands for Gillian, is where Gillian was injected with Jenova Cells and her DNA was mapped onto Genesis as a fetus (Angeal, while he is part of Project G, was not purposely made for it. Angeal was naturally born after Gillian was injected with Jenova Cells).

The strands of Jenova Cells even function differently after being introduced into a human system, S Cells and G Cells.

Project S was the superior Project and most SOLDIER are created in a similar way to the later created Sephiroth Clones.

Remake implies that there are Project G SOLDIERS too, but it could of been referring to the Tsivets.

So...

How does the Cells function?

Starting with G will probably be shorter so I'll do that.

Genesis and Angeal, while not as powerful as Sephiroth, were still more powerful than most. However the prime time of powerful is short lived. Both of them start to degrade into their 20's and start developing some inhuman abilities.

*ALSO NOTE HERE THAT G CELL DEGRADATION IS DIFFERENT FROM S CELL DEGRADATION*

After an injury that doesn't heal, Genesis starts to degrade. His hair and body starts to go white, he grows a black wing, and most importantly, he can created Genesis Copies.

Genesis can map his cells onto other SOLDIERS and make them copies of him with them still retaining a little of thier former skill in their respective weaponry, otherwise they are just copies of Genesis.

However Angeal is the result of Project G. He has a wing like Genesis (right white wing) but his degradation is slower and he's able to make Angeal copies out of people and monsters. He only properly degrades (white hair and all that) when he tries to self destruct kinda when absorbs all those monsters and forces Zack to kill him.

I do personally find it interesting that G Cells seem to psudo-inherit Jenova's abilities to turn things into a different form. Even Sephiroth wasn't able to do that unless he was using part of Jenova's literal body- Well until Rebirth but we'll get to that.

But there are two things that stick out to me.

One, could Genesis or Angeal experience Reunion or would it be different for them? Is that why Genesis showed up in the Mt Nibel Reactor?

And two, why is Gillian normal? Like Lucrecia was injected with Jenova Cells as a by product of Sephiroth being injected when she was pregnant with him and she's stuck unable to die no mater what. But Gillian was directly injected with J Cells and she kills herself just fine. I honestly don't think there is an explanation for this one though.

Also when talking about G Cells I should talk about the Tsivets but-

I never played DoC and I tried watching Maximilian dood's playthrough of it and I just couldn't.

From what I know is that the Tsivets wear like mako suits otherwise they die? Also they all have real weird powers like Nero (Rip Sonon in that Remake Dlc) and Weiss. Also Shulke can like dive into the internet? I dunno that game was not for me. Please tell me if any of the Tsivets have abilities that are actually comparable to other characters with Jenova's Cells because I wouldn't know.

Okay now onto S Cells woo!

So Sephiroth, probably most of SOLDIER, Sephiroth Clones, and Cloud all have S Cells. And they function pretty differently than G Cells.

For example, Sephiroth can't actually make Sephiroth copies like Genesis or Angeal. Sephiroth cannot physically change any of the people with his Cells like Angeal or Genesis either.

But S Cells are considered superior for many reasons.

Sephiroth can create hallucinations and illusions to change the copies or pieces of Jenova to look like him when needed. Also he never degraded himself.

SOLDIERS and Sephiroth Clones can but that degradation is different for S Cells. Instead of turning white and slowly dying, they become puppets that only try to go and enact Reunion.

The Reunion Theory (Hojo created it) was that if separated, Jenova would come back together, a Reunion.

Sephiroth pre-Nibeheim incident was the most powerful guy but he was pretty human (cat eyes and silver hair not included).

Then things go wrong.

Sephiroth freaking snaps due to Jenova, false information, and other existentialist crisis stuff.

Also here I should address a question. How sentient is Jenova? Is she a mind beyond human comprehension? Or is she much more animalistic and just works off of instinct? Did she intentionally help Sephiroth go crazy or was it just Reunion?

Like her backstory, we don't know. But regardless, it was confirmed that in FF7 it is Sephiroth in control because of how strong his will is. He's insane and mind broken, but he's the brains of the operation for all that happens in FF7.

Sephiroth in FF7 is able to puppet and command the Sephiroth clones, do crazy stuff like flying or going through floors, use illusions, and use Jenova's body to create crazy boss fights. Also at the end he's able to transform himself into a crazy monster form for the final boss fight for the party.

Cloud also is able to like astralproject himself to have a solo final fight with Sephiroth. I don't know what Cloud's potential is with using the S Cells to his advantage but I doubt he would able to use as well as Sephiroth. Cloud did accidentally use the S Cells to get the memories of Zack and Tifa's memories of Cloud though so... that's interesting.

Anyways jump to AC. Kadaj, Loz and Kazoo- I mean Yazoo are remnants of Sephiroth. They aren't actually made of S Cells, but Sephiroth will and power. Once Kadaj gets Jenova's head Sephiroth is able to possess him because he finally has Jenova's Cells. Meanwhile Geostigma is also caused by Sephiroth and Jenova in the lifestream. This is also the first time Sephiroth gets a wing like Genesis and Angeal. His black right wing s iconic afterall.

Okay now it's Remake time.

Sephiroth time travelled woo! Don't ask me how that works with worlds and such. I don't care if we get an hour of exposition in Part 3 as long as it helps me understand what that's all about properly.

However I can talk about how Sephiroth's powers are a bit different thus time around.

Like how in the OG he did illusions, but he couldn't make Cloud hallucination himself as everyone can't see it. I remember in AC Cloud would kinda have a mini hallucination of past memories in that one scene of him clutching his infected arm in pain with the cool Sephiroth cat eyes for a moment (and that is referenced in Remake) but that's all that comes to mind. Just with Sephiroth at least. Cloud had like multiple hallucinations with Aerith and Zack.

New ability two is that Sephiroth Clones can now fuse with monsters. Monsters would have Jenova Cells now that I think about it so... cool.

I do find it funny that Sephiroth took the wing and now the monster thing from Genesis and Angeal lol.

Again, how Sephiroth is able to jump worlds and such is not something I can quite understand yet. I honestly think that's more a Lifestream and Whispers thing than a Jenova thing. Like it's Sephiroth will power (think of the Remnants for example) that gives him that power and not Sephiroth going around injecting whispers of fate with S Cells or something.

Um...

That's all I can think of for now.

Damn, trying to comprehend the biology of a cosmic horror is tough.

[dutchdread]

Rebirth Update 10b

The crappiness of the Cait Sith (whom I still don't like in general btw) segment was easily forgotten though by the gold saucer date. I had refrained from listening to Aeriths song prior to the game since I didn't want anything spoiled and wanted the song in context, and now that I've heard it, man is it clearly about Zack. I can't wait to finish the game and watch different variations of certain scenes, because I don't see any way that anyone can look at a game that has this in it and still think Cloud and Tifa aren't the canonical ship. Again Cloud and Tifa are framed together opposed to Aerith, almost never is it that Aerith and Tifa are presented as being mirrorings that Cloud has to choose between. It's always Cloud and Tifa as a single unit being pitted "against" Aerith. Signaling that Aerith is helping them, and they her. Since you can essentially go on a date with everyone, and it all depends on their feelings towards you, we can say that the dates essentially tell us something about Clouds relationship dynamic in regards to the other team members. And Tifas date makes it exceptionally clear that their relationship dynamic is that of a young couple in love, come together again after years and slowly growing closer. My guess is that his date with Aerith will be more spiritual and about healing, but until I see it I can only guess. And I can't wait to see the other ones. Man, I am sure I've forgotten a bunch that I wanted to mention. It comes as I play but with 10 hour sessions a lot of it is lost to time. Will probably slow down a bit now, I've been working towards this part and man I am kinda burnt out with all the side quests and I just got a few new ones.... One thing I can't help wondering about though. How must it feel for a Clerith to play this game? I can't imagine the mental gymnastics needed to not go "...oh damn... I was wrong". I do feel a bit sorry for them though. I remember 20 years ago explaining to people that Tifa was the more valid love interest was such an uphill battle. It required so much analysis and explanation because you were just swimming up stream, going against the grain, all those nice little analogies, it was sooooo exhausting. And then for 20+ years it was just material after material confirming what Clotis had been saying from day one. And the Cleriths just had to keep moving goalposts, keep spinning, slowly driven into a corner to where now we don't just have the deeper analysis to point at, but even just the superficially obvious. As someone who always enjoys arguing for positions that are unpopular because they're not obvious, but are nevertheless true, it's honestly been a joy to watch the public perception change this much. Lets hope part 3 continues the good work, but honestly, it kinda has to, what has happened in part 2 really can't be taken back. Any romance between Aerith and Cloud after this would be....well, problematic and icky would probably be the best words. One more thing, having Cloud say very matter-of-factly "oh yeah, Zack, my friend who is totally head over heels for Aerith was satisfying. I don't see jealousy there, I don't see conflicted feelings there, I don't see a man who is thinking about trying to hit on the girl his friend loves there. Cloud knows about Zack and Aerith, Aerith knows about Cloud and Tifa, they're all helping each other with those issues, not coming between them, it, my friends, is over.

[lookismaddict]

Lookism Chapter 431 Memes/Thoughts I Have:

(SPOILERS !!! I don’t own any of the Lookism panels and the translations. Only the memes that I made.)

Sorry for the late post, I had no idea that I was going to be a bit busy today. 🙏🏽 BUT GOD, THE SUSPENSE WAS KILLING ME FROM THE LAST CHAPTER. LET’S SEE WHO THE NEWEST MEMBER IS… 👀

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!!!!! 😫😫😫😫

AND LOOK AT HIM, WEARING THE SAME CLOTHES AS TAESOO MA!!!! 😳 I think it was pretty obvious because Daniel Park did say that they’ll meet each other again.

HE’S EVEN WEARING THE SAME COAT AS TAESOO MA!!! And THAT’S the reason why he decided to join? Understandable. Eli Jang will eventually get his wake up call in the future. 😬

I miss this type of interaction between Jay and Daniel. It reminds me of the older Lookism chapters when they used to go to school and Daniel used to be the mediator. I’m just glad that we get to see Jay and Daniel together again, regardless if it’s Daniel in his OG body. 😭💞

OHHHHHH YEAHHHHHH, THE BADASSES ARE IN BUSINESS. ALL IN ONE CREW. 😎✨

ZACK BAHAHAHAHAHAHA. THIS HAD ME LMAAAAOOOOOO WHAT A MOOD.

BRUH. THESE PANELS OF SAMUEL BEING AN INSANE GOOF IS KILLING ME. 💀💀💀 HELP-

I honestly feel bad for him. He's been injected like TWICE so far. Wthhh 😭

OHHHHHH MY GOD. THAT TRANSITION???? HELLO??? IT’S ONE OF OUR FAV BLONDES!!!!! AHHHHHH I’VE BEEN WONDERING WHERE HE’S BEEN ALL THIS TIME. 

PLEEEEASE, THE WAY HE’S WEAK FROM SHOTS BUT NOT WEAK FROM FIGHTING ANYONE.

THE BABY BAND-AID, I- SDHFJSDHFSJDFJSD HE’S SUCH A BABYYYYYYY. AHHHHHHHHHHH I CAN’T. 

BROOOOO LOOK AT THIS FOOL. HE’S ALL GUCCI-ED OUT BRUH LIKE DAYUUUUUUM. His outfit could pay off my rent. (God, simping for this man is like a guilty pleasure. sheesh)

UMMMMM SIR. YOU’RE SAYING ALL OF THIS IN FRONT OF A DOCTOR????? Realistically, he’d call the police. Unless, if he’s affiliated with HNH Group or The Workers, thennnn... that’s probably why? IDK ANYMORE LMAO.

Also, tell me why I thought he was Seongjun Baek from Viral Hit for a second. 😂😂😂😂

Ummm... Are y’all REALLY going to talk about this right now?

WHILE YOU TWO ARE FALLING???????? 😰

Jake Kim, the GOAT. HE’S SUCH A GOOD GUY, AHHHHHHH. WE DON’T DESERVE JAKE. 😭😭😭😭 God, he’s such a kind soul. ❤️

She’s pretty and all, but I still resent her for what she did when she was still with the Workers. 😤

E W. LMAAOOOOOOOO NO.

PTJ really drawing pretty panels out here. 

EWWWWWWW x2 LMFAAAAOOOOOO. GET FUCKED.

THIS IS SUCH A PRETTY SCENE ASDHFKJASDHFHJSDHF. DISNEY PRINCESS, WHO???? (Even though, I wouldn’t consider her as one because... yk... Wow, I really have mixed feelings about this.)

I guess they have their own “happy ending” even though Vivi doesn’t really deserve it imo lol. 

JAMES LEE ALWAYS BE POPPIN WITH STYLE. HE SERVIN!!! 💅🏽

BRUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. PTJ REALLY GIVING US THESE ANGLES MAN. WTFFFFFFFFFFF???? BRO I CAN’T IMAGINE HOW THE JAMES LEE FANS MUST HAVE FREAKED OUT OVER THIS PANEL. HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA IM SOBBIN. 💀💀💀💀💀💀 (like, “Yes sir, let me sit on your lap.”) 

For the James Lee simps: If you were to be there watching, what would you do? 😈

LMFAAAAOOOOOOO HE LOOKS SO FUNNY SITTING THERE, LEANING ONTO THAT LOW ASS CHAIR. WHY IS HE LEANING BACK LIKE THAT? BRUH I’M DEAD. 😭😭😭💀💀💀💀💀 HE LOOKS LIKE HE NEEDS TO TAKE A SHIT DURING THIS MEETING WITH EUGENE, SO HE HAD TO LEAN BACK JUST TO HOLD IT IN HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Ayo Eugene, you better tell him once he does his part of the deal. No games pls, bc you play too much. 😘

[inkstainedpages]

alright, so, I’m actually sorta nervous to ask this but-

Can I request Zack from Angels of Death with an S/O like Wanderer/Scaramouche from Genshin?

Can this is before he met Ray, like he was killing people and then the S/O comes and sees this and only looks curious and so they approach Zack, who’s looking at them confused.

I don’t know much of what I’m expecting, which is why I’m asking you of this. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to, I just randomly thought of this and didn’t know where to go with this.

(though, if you do end up doing this request, maybe add some headcanons of how they go into a relationship and how it works-please???)

OhmyGod I'm so so sorry I haven't been active on this account broski

Also I'm gonna split this in two parts,The first when they meet reader is more like scara,and when they get closer into a relationship reader becomes more like wanderer.I hope you liek this

Zack Foster (Angels of Death)

x Scaramouche (Genshin) GN!Reader

How you first met~✩

"What are you doing?"

Your voice was loud and your head was held high.Your stare was blank and straight as your gaze pierced through his wide eyes.

His clothes were stained of blood,and so were his hands.Bloody corpses laid by his feet.He turned around fully to face you properly with a maniacal grin.

"What?do you want to be next?"

You furrowed your brows at him,taking a few steps closer to him.You came to a halt at your feet were by the pooling blood of his victims.

You hummed,looking down at the fallen below you.

"Why must you have to let them endure such suffering before you end them completely?"

Your calmness and stoic expression put him off,not really all that shocking to him since he's seen a few people come and try to intimidate him.But they mostly back off,scrambling away as soon as he starts threatening them.

He could sense the fear coming from them even from the start,

But you

You didn't emit any sort of feeling.

No fear,no disgust,not even warmth.

He wondered if you even have emotion like a normal human,if you could truly feel remorse for the corpses laid Infront of you.

"Because they deserve it"

He simply said,in reality,he didn't know.He didn't know why he enjoyed seeing others in pain.He couldn't understand himself.And he didn't seem to want to.

He wanted to understand you before he could understand himself.

"oh?why do you say so? What have they done?"

He fell silent.Staring at you with dark eyes.Eyes that weren't able to shut and let him sleep for days.

He walked off,walking pass you and the bodies.But you quickly stood back up to come after him.

You were quite the persistent one,even when he told you multiple times to back off or mind your own business.You just kept bugging.

"Go to hell with your endless questions"

"But I really must know,you intrigued me very muc-"

"Go away already,won't ya?"

"no thank you.As I was sayi-"

He couldn't escape you at this point,and in all honesty,he really didn't want to.With every passing stupid question you asked,you peaked his curiosity more and more.Until he stopped shooing you away like a fly.

And before you knew it,you got to know each other more,even daring to say you became something near friends.He would never admit to that,of course.

Zack Foster (Angels of Death) x Wanderer (Genshin) GN!reader

Relationship Headcannons~✩

You tend to show much more emotion now that you've became closer

He might not admit he may have catched feelings for you (he never will)

There's only been a few moments of you genuinely smiling at him.And his brain photographed each memory.

Speaking of how he'll never admit his feelings for you,you'll have to be the one who confesses and he'll just go "yeah I liked you too"

If you actually get into a relationship with him,all I can saw is good luck

He's a lot more rowdy now,his ego got boosted 3x since you actually liked him back.He's got a new feat to shove in other people's faces now.

Sometimes you'd have to stop him from going on crazy killing rampages.You don't really care much about the fact he's a psychotic serial killer,but it concerns you how he can go on gove on the same day.

Your now boyfriend needs serious help

Honestly you both do

Your tired already but are willing to get even more tired for his sake

Either way he's protective over you and isn't a big fan of PDA.

Maybe the occasional hug and kiss on the cheek but it doesn't go more than that.

Behind closed doors,he's hella clingy.

Sometimes,he won't even let go.

Maybe he got a bit too attached..

[final-fantasy-imagines]

The gift of the goddess - Genesis Rhapsodos x gn!reader

Synopsis: You live in a world where everyone is destined to meet their soulmate at some point during their life. The twist: You can only recognize them on Valentine’s Day, no matter how much time you spent with each other before. However, meeting your soulmate at a work party is the last thing you expected.

Pairing: Genesis Rhapsodos x gn!reader

A/N: This is the first drabble I've written for Genesis, so feedback would be greatly appreciated. Also, it would mean the world to me if you could reblog this because I worked really hard on this fic. Thank you. <3 (This fic is part of my Valentine's Day Event.)

February 14th, the calendar on the wall says. Valentine’s Day is what’s printed beneath the date.

It’s not a secret that everyone who lives in this world has a soulmate. No one can say when they come into your life or when you’re destined to meet them but it’s a well-known fact that people can only recognize their soulmate on one particular day – Valentine’s Day, the day of lovers. 

Total nonsense, you think. If two people are truly meant for each other, why put unnecessary obstacles in their way? But it has always been like this. And if that’s the way of the world, well, who are you to question it?

With a sigh, you turn your attention back to your best friend who’s lounging around next to you, scrolling through his mails. 

“Shinra’s hosting a party this evening,” Zack tells you without looking up from his phone. “Should we go?”

You huff. “Why would I want to spend my spare time at the company?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day,” Zack says and wiggles his eyebrows. “There will be lots of people at this party – your soulmate could be there, too. As someone who has already found theirs, let me tell you that it’s the best feeling in the world to meet them. I’m almost tempted to call it magical.”

“No need to talk big, Fair,” you scold him and nudge him with your elbow. “I know very well that what happened with Aerith last year was just a chance meeting. If you had left a couple of minutes later you still wouldn’t know she exists.”

You have heard the story of their first meeting countless times, teasing Zack about it just as often. He had been on his way to buy a gift for another woman – Cissnei, member of the Turks – when he bumped into Aerith, on Valentine’s Day, as chance would have it. Of course, it only took them a split second to recognize each other, and the rest is history. They’re still so in love that sometimes, it makes you want to throw up. And you’re quite sure it’s only a matter of time until you’ll get the invitation to their wedding.

“Yeah, okay,” Zack says, interrupting your thoughts. “You have a point there. But who says that the same thing can’t happen to you, too? Wonders never cease, you know.”

“You’re just trying to convince me to accompany you and Aerith to this stupid party.”

“Yes.” He beams at you. “Is it working?”

With a deep sigh, you close your eyes and pinch the bridge of your nose. You’re going to regret this, you can sense it. But Zack is your best friend, and you have never been able to tell him No when he looks at you like this. “Unfortunately.”

----

The party itself is more of a formal get together than an actual party but you honestly haven’t expected anything else from a company like Shinra. But at least they offer drinks, and the Skyview Hall, usually a magnet for tourist, offers a great view over your hometown that’s still enough to take your breath away for a moment. But still, nothing can gloss over the fact that the atmosphere in the room is far from exuberant.

“I’ve seen funerals where people were more cheerful,” you whisper to Aerith who’s standing right next to you. She covers her mouth with her hand to hide her smile but her eyes give her away anyways. “You shouldn’t say that.”

“But it’s true.”

“We only got here,” Zack chimes in, optimistic as ever. “Stop naysaying.”

You have to resist the urge to stick out your tongue at him. (Not because he doesn’t deserve it but because this is your workplace and you don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of your coworkers.) So, instead, you just roll your eyes and smile. “Not even you can pretend that this is not the saddest party you’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah, fine. Maybe it is.”

“See.”

Aerith laughs. “Stop it, both of you. We’re here to have fun, no?”

“You’re absolutely right. How about some drinks?” Zack replies, looking at his girlfriend (who nods), and then at you. “Do you want something, too?”

You shake your head. You’re not in the mood for a drink yet. “Perhaps later.”

“Okay. We’ll be right back.”

You watch as they make their way over to the bar before you let your eye wander. When you spot a familiar figure, your heart skips a beat. You haven’t expected Genesis to be here, too. He’s deep in conversation with Sephiroth, and so it seems safe to dart a glance at him, and then another because he looks ridiculously handsome in his casual outfit. 

Wait. You probably shouldn’t think stuff like that about your friend. But then again, you would be lying if you said you didn’t have a stupid little crush on him. But with this stupid soulmate thing, it’s foolish to fall for someone because there’s always the possibility that they’re not the one you’re meant to find. You’ve seen it countless times before and you’re not sure you want to experience that kind of heartbreak. So, instead of confessing your feelings to him you have learned to cherish your friendship because it’s honestly better than nothing – and it’s not like he has ever acted like you’re more than a friend to him. (Or maybe he has, and you just haven’t noticed.)

In that moment, his attention shifts away from the conversation, almost as if he senses that someone’s watching him, and you want to turn your head away, pretending like you haven’t stared at him like a lovestruck teenager for the past few minutes, but it’s already too late. He has figured you out.

Genesis’s gaze meets yours, and you freeze. It feels like time around you slows down to a point where everyone except you and Genesis seems to move in slow motion, the noise surrounding you fading into a distance. You want to look away, you really do, but no matter how hard you try, you just can’t. 

And then, you suddenly find yourself taking a step towards him, then another one, and another one. You’re pretty sure you haven’t consciously decided to do that – it’s like a supernatural force pulls you towards him until you’re suddenly standing right in front of him.

“Hi,” you say, nothing else. But you still can’t help but notice how breathless your voice sounds. Goodness. You’re making a fool of yourself, you know it, but it’s too late to get out of this situation now. “Um… I- I just wanted to say Hello. And…” You don’t finish your sentence because Genesis, that smug bastard, has the audacity to smile, and your thoughts go up in smoke. 

It’s only when Angeal and Sephiroth share a knowing look that the realization hits you like a brick. Genesis Rhapsodos, 1st Class SOLDIER and one of Shinra’s most valuable fighters, is your soulmate. And judging by the expression in his eyes and the way he’s still smiling at you, he has figured it out, too. 

But this is ridiculous. You have spent so much time with him over the past few years, talking and laughing and wondering if the legends were actually true and not just some pipe dreams people came up with to make them feel better about not finding love. So, how is it possible that you never noticed the bond that’s obviously connecting you? Why didn’t you recognize your soulmate sooner?

“Oh.” You let out a tiny, barely audible gasp when you understand. Yes, you have spent countless days with Genesis before – but never Valentine’s Day. 

“We should go somewhere else to talk,” Genesis suggests in that moment, snapping you out of your thoughts, and when you nod, he turns to his friends and adds, “please, excuse us for a second.”

“Sure,” Sephiroth says, not quite able to hide the smile that plays around the corners of his mouth. But at least, his amusement is subtler than Angeal’s who doesn’t even try to hide the grin that’s spreading on his face. Genesis rolls his eyes at him. “Not a word, Angeal.”

“I wouldn’t dare. See you later.”

Genesis’s hand rests on the small of your back as he guides you to the observation deck – another tourist magnet during the summer months but at this time of the year, the outside platform is still closed. You can see your reflection in the floor to ceiling windows, as well as the lights of Midgar, the city that never seems to sleep.

“So,” you say.

“So,” Genesis replies.

“We’re soulmates.”

He smiles, one of these rare genuine smiles that always make you a bit weak in the knees. “It truly is beyond me why we didn’t notice this sooner.”

“In our defense, there’s only one Valentine’s Day each year. 

“That much is true.”

There’s an awkward silence, then, until you clear your throat and ask, “Do… do you think that’s the reason why we’re friends?”

Genesis shakes his head. “No. We’re friends because I like you. I actually like you a lot, (Y/N).”

It sounds like a confession, and your stupid heart starts beating faster again, but maybe you’re imagining things. Maybe it’s wishful thinking that makes his words sound like a confession. 

A brief smile flashes over his face, almost as if he can read your thoughts. “I know I have never told you but you’re very dear to me,” he says softly and cups your cheeks. “And us being soulmates is just further proof that I fell for the right person.”

Your breath hitches in your throat. With him standing so close to you, cradling your face in his hands like this, you fear you’ll forget how to breathe. “Genesis, I- you – we-“

“Shh. I know.” His gaze travels from your eyes down to your lips before resuming eye contact. “… may I?”

You don’t know how you do it but you manage to nod, and that seems good enough for him. 

The kiss is nothing like you presumed. You have expected Genesis to kiss passionately, with a hint of impatience maybe, but instead, his lips press against yours in such a soft and sweet manner that you feel like you’re going to melt right into the floor. It’s the kind of kiss that leaves you wanting more, and you wrap your arms around his neck to pull him closer.

When the two of you inevitably pull away, you’re pretty sure you have hearts in your eyes, even more so when Genesis smiles at you again. And then he says “I love you.”, and you know this moment will be etched into your memory forever. 

Valentine’s Day has never been more perfect.

Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed it please consider liking, reblogging and/or leaving some feedback. I'd really appreciate the support! <3

Taglist: @sixdaysofsilverashes @theimaginaryheir @thevoidwriting

[silver-wield]

They look so similar and it doesn't seem like his usual smile (something to do with his eyebrows).

I feel like since he's at his worst version. Sephiroth's control over him influences him to act and look like Sephiroth. Meanwhile, aerith's control over him influences him to act and look like Sephiroth (similar to Sephiroth's, tho much closer to when she touches nanaki). Tho aerith's isn't really effective irl, it was in creepy world because that's her turf. But our dude fights both of them irl and in her world for the same reason, autonomy over his body. To continue, since he is at his worst version he's breaking into different parts of this broken psyche thrust onto him by these control freaks. But the one he created for himself aka soldier cloud is nowhere to be found. To some.. like you do, believe that he thinks she didn't die. But to me i feel like he does but what he lost isn't a memory but an emotion. Sadness and pain. That's why he couldn't hear nor gaf about tifa crying despite making such a big deal out of that in remake. I have a feeling he'll be all smiles in third game when they go snowboarding. Of he really thought she was alive, he wouldn't let her go on her own because he's a bodyguard for hire and his delusion will easily shatter the moment he sees the gang. The route i see here.. is that they're turned off by his insensitivity later on, while they question there's something wrong with him. Cloud doesn't even understand what barret told him and took his words "heavy weight" literally so he offered to help instead of noticing it's about the concept of death.

Sorry, i go all around but my biggest fear is about wondering if in third game, he basically accidentally goes on and off Sephiroth-zack-soldier cloud in third game. Like his a broken puppet having difficulty to recalibrate to balance and normalcy. Not because of aerith, but because of the same reason when zack died. Aka self preservation from recovering his long list of untreated trauma.

My fear isn't this but more so about what she says in resolution. It makes no sense. But perhaps they try to slime in some psuedo zerith in his body because his control is weak right now and obviously the writers don't know how to write sometimes so they might make it weird aka easily to misinterpret and might influence all the other aspects in remake and rebirth irl i mean when he really is just soldier cloud and there is no Sephiroth nor zack medium-ish where he literally does act and look like them instead of a "what would they do in this situation" type of thinking, something we do irl tho Cloud does that for soldier cloud subconsciously.

This isn't a "zack feelings" bullshit, but more like it really isn't him. Like that Sephiroth smile. And when i say cloud's control, i mean just a part of him but the rest is in lifestream. He's not really strong that's why it's easy to control him. What keeps him sane imo, is the factor of his ability to keep his promise to tifa. As that promise weakens due to his mistakes, that's when shame comes up to him and he runs away again like he did back then, not necessarily because he's a coward but because he keeps finding ways to prove his worth except focus on what is simple and true, accept and be himself. Because that's the one who's really worth it to her, that's her hero.

Ooh yeah they do!

I mean, we are knew Cloud is losing himself, but he's really breaking apart now. He's either sephiroth or zack so where did Cloud go? It's gonna be tragic af watching him shatter in part three 😭

His promise to Tifa never weakens, it's Tifa's trust that he loses. The promise is the core of his being and I reckon it'll be the one true light left in him when Tifa arrives in his subconscious. It'll be the starting point to finding him.

[dyradoodles]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤

ONLY FIVE oh no LMAO To be honest I really love rereading my own stuff (it’s tailored to all my hyper-specific interests, after all! 🤣), so just picking 5 is hard, but I’ll try.

Redux Hero (FF7, Zack & Sephiroth, M) for sure! It’s a rewrite of the first fic I ever published online, and this time I finished it lmao FF7 has been such a big part of my life, so getting to be super indulgent with my headcanons in a big adventure story with my all-time favorite characters was such a joy to write. Plus I ended up with absolutely wonderful people hyping me up while I was working on it! And it helped me with processing some of my own personal shit. I could write a whole other book about how happy writing this one made me lol

Poster Boy (FF7, Zack/Seph or Zack & Seph, G) - This was my first Seph & Zack fic where I really felt like they matched my headcanon versions of them, to the point that if I’m having a bit of trouble with new fics, I like to reread this one to kinda get back into the right mindset. Like a voice actor having a key phrase to get into character, I guess lol Plus it’s just short and cute, so it’s a nice, quick, pick me up if I’m having a rough time writing.

What Lies Beyond the Lily of the Valley (FF7, Zack & Seph, T) - this one is close to my heart, since it acts as somewhat of an homage to the old FF7 fics I used to read as a kid Namely, “Lily Valley” by LuckyLadybug. That fic (and a lot of her other fics tbh!) really inspired a huge, huge love of Sephiroth and Zack just going on missions together. No big catastrophic, world-ending threat; just the job. Being friends. Uncovering horrible secrets and organizations that aren't Shinra. Or, as is the case with my fic, the two of them uncovering a whole undiscovered realm that, by the end of, they want absolutely nothing to do with LOL I had so much fun with the fae shenanigans. 

FFS, I Believe in You (Breath of the Wild, Sidlink, T) - MY FIRST FINISHED FANFIC LOL and also just the goofiest thing from start to finish (minus the Angst, there is definitely also Angst). I feel like this one really helped me learn how to make notes and actually construct a whole multichapter. It also forced me to learn how to write in iambic pentameter, which. Is that useful? Idk. Is it funny to me personally? Extremely so, yes. I didn’t really participate much in fandom before this fic, so it also ended up being an amazing opportunity to meet some incredible people, and coaxed me out of my lurker shell a bit lol (Also I don’t think I’ll ever beat this one in kudos, with any other story, which is just gonna make me laugh forever because SHAKESPEAREAN LIZALFOS??? THAT’S the most popular one I’ve written?? Understandable, I wouldn’t have it any other way LMAO)

Out of My Head (Venom (Marvel Comics), SymbiOT3, M) - I really let loose with this one and ended up using a lot of writing techniques that I still use in my writing today. Most especially, not feeling guilty about shorter chapters lol It’s at the top of my list for revisiting if I can ever get my brain to fixate on Venom again, because dammit I had two other arcs planned aaaaaaaaAAAAA— hopefully someday. RH did get a rewrite after uh, 9 years, after all;;;;;;;

This was fun, thank you Holly!! 

(also meant to add: my favorite thing about All the fics I've written to date is all the awesome friends I've made through them 💖 it's so cool to me how writing silly stories about my blorbos has helped me meet some of my favorite people ever)