#nanaki's mother

[yinza]

Rating: Teen Relationships: Lucrecia/Ifalna, Lucrecia & Sephiroth, Jenova & Sephiroth, Mrs. Shinra/Mrs. Shinra Characters: Lucrecia Crescent, Ifalna, Nanaki’s Mother, Kasumi Kisaragi, Claudia Strife, Sephiroth, Jenova, Mrs. Shinra, Clara, Eleanor Wordcount: 71,065

Summary: How would the world be different if Ifalna never died? Kasumi Kisaragi? Thea Lockhart?

This is an exploration of a universe in which every mother who dies in canon is instead guaranteed survival, and the chance to play an active role in shaping the world around her.

Yes, all of them.

—

Now COMPLETE! This is a full AU entirely from the POV of various moms as they navigate the world and its dangers. It focuses on Lucrecia and Ifalna in particular, but every OG dead mom I could think of is in here somewhere! Just chock full of moms.

[achluos]

i just fucking realized almost half of the avalanche gang know when theres a dead body in a room

[holly-fixation]

Sane Safer Sephiroth AU: Real Mother

Ask and you shall recieve @yingxtkm . Part 1

"Your real mother is still alive."

Sephiroth slowly closed his eyes, suppressing the bubble of hope in his chest. Suppressing it to the truth. He made no effort to move. He couldn't help the small wince on his face.

"...I deserve that."

Cloud turned to Nanaki. "I told you this was a waste of time."

"Wait, Sephiroth, what do you mean?" The protector questioned.

Tired reptilian eyes met them both. Another silent pause in thought.

"...It doesn't require explanation." His gaze hit the illuminated wall, glowing from both the light of noon and the radiance of his halo. "Though I'm surprised to see your team using such tactics."

Cloud glared. "Stop avoiding the question."

Sephiroth sighed, his massive black wing curling and slumping. He closed his eyes. "Have you forgotten I killed your mother, Cloud?"

Cloud's fist clenched. "Stop. Deflecting. Now."

Nanaki stopped Cloud from stepping forward.

"Its only natural to cause emotional pain when physical pain is impossible."

The two locked eyes again and it finally clicked.

"Sephiroth, we're not lying to you."

"This is useless. I made all your desires your despair in order to control you and I regret every moment. This is the one and only topic I ask you to let be."

Cloud fought the instinct to scream and fight, to dig his heels in like a child and attack this new weak point. "Sephiroth, your mother is alive!"

"Cease this, Cloud. I do not wish to run or to harm. Do not push me to break this silent agreement." The silent agreement being their unspoken promise not to kill Sephiroth until they figured out how to keep him from coming back, and Sephiroth promising not to attack the team or flee from their judgment.

"Her name is Lucrecia Crescent, she was a scientist working under Hojo in the Jenova Project, and she- like you- can't die easy-"

"My mother is dead." Came his cold response.

"She gave birth to you in Nibelhiem and Hojo never even let her hold you!"

"My mother is dead."

"Her biggest regret is not being able to save you!"

"My Mother Is Dead, Cloud." Sephiroth swore his voice echoed throughout the canyon itself.

"This isn't some pathetic attempt at revenge!"

"We know where she is!" Nanaki interjected.

Sephiroth's hands tightened, the claw cutting straight into his flesh. He didn't answer.

They turned to each other again.

Nanaki shook his head lowly. "Vincent's going to kill us."

Cloud held his hands over his face. "Yeah. I'm well aware. Run back. Get Cid. Tell him we're leaving at midnight."

Nanaki nodded and ran out.

Cloud purposefully separated his sword and sheathed them individually. Then he approached. "Don't try anything funny."

"...Don't do this, Cloud..."

"You don't get to tell me what to do." The blond yanked him up to his wings, the unconscious pattern for flight beginning immediately without resistance.

"I deserve this fate. I deserve this punishment."

"Are you sure you're not Vincent's kid?" Cloud began dragging the godlike form out of the cave.

"I have no right to ask anything of you. I am at your mercy. Have mercy. Don't do this..." The ethereal weight of his voice didn't vanish despite the softness he desperately tried to convey.

"Shut up. We're going to the airstrip."

Sephiroth did not speak as Cloud escorted him, his halo beaming in reluctance and his wings curled and mechanical. They waited in a much closer cave for the sun to go down. Not when it mattered with a give away almost visible from the other side of the canyon.

The pilot wasn't happy when arriving at the clear rendezvous point.

"Oh hell no! Do y'all think I'm crazy!? I ain't gotta death wish!"

"Cid, if he wanted to burn me to death, he would've done it by now. Though he might blind you with that halo, so don't look directly at it."

"God damn it, Cloud... the hell you gettin' us into this time? And why'd you have me hide this trip from Vincent specifically?"

"We need to go to the biggest waterfall in the center of the continent."

"Visitin' the missus again? Thought she didn't wanna be bothered."

"She'll want this."

Cid started a new cigarette with a sigh. "Alright. All aboard. But you better keep flyin'. I ain't wastin' fuel on you."

Sephiroth kept his head down and nodded.

The flight itself was relatively short, yet it ended as the captain let out a loud "GOD DAMN IT!"

Apparently, the airship couldn't land wherever Cloud was taking Sephiroth.

Cloud sighed loudly. "Okay. Let's head to Costa del Sol and get on the submarine."

"Hold on." Sephiroth didn't give Cloud or Nanaki a moment to react before grabbing them both and dashing out of and off of the ship.

Cloud immediately stabbed his arm, this time the blade going through his chest due to their active contact.

Sephiroth fought the instinct of tending to the wound and drop them both, landing both true heroes softly in front of the waterfall.

He removed all of Cloud's blades from his body and returned them to their owner. Then he looked around as his body healed before their very eyes, at the waterfall and the lake it created.

"What the hell was that!?"

"I do not wish to delay this charade any longer."

"It's not-!" Red tried to explain.

"Just go under the waterfall. And no more sudden movements or I'm getting Knights of the Round!"

Sephiroth nodded again and led the way, barely fitting inside the entrance to the crystal cavern.

Inside, he met the barrel of a gun.

"Get out." Vincent growled like a cornered animal.

Sephiroth did not move or provide explanation.

"Vincent, wait!"

"She doesn't deserve this."

"If he's serious about this redemption, she deserves to see him."

"Let her atone for her sins."

"If they both can't die, at least let them meet each other."

"Leave. Now."

Sephiroth scanned the room as Cloud and Vincent debated. He didn't realize he moved or how fast he moved when he saw a figure in a crystal with brown hair wrapped with gold ribbon.

Vincent fired, the bullet sinking into the black wing, but Sephiroth did not turn.

His hand hovered above her face.

This crystal was too much like Her specimen tube. He lowered his hand. He held that exact face under his arm before entering the Lifestream the first time.

"I never imagined you to be so cruel, Cloud..."

"This isn't a trick!"

"What is he talking about?"

"Vincent, he doesn't believe that's really his mother."

Nanaki shouted over the argument and drawn weapons with the voice of a child. "Those you hate, those you fear, those you love! You said that yourself, right? This is who Jenova copied! This is who you loved!"

It couldn't be real.

His palm touched the crystal, vaguely feeling a semblance of her warmth.

Are you sure you've never seen her? The question he used to ask everyone flooded his mind.

"...Mother...?" Barely a whisper of a call left his mouth, the weakest and most pathetic sound he could muster in this godly form.

Yet the crystal remained, trapping the woman he so desperately needed to meet.

Even if there was still a chance this was retribution for his deeds and the woman before him wasn't real at all.

He slammed on the crystal, a crack forming immediately.

He heard the sound of transformations behind him. He felt the being try to tear him away as he kept banging and cracking the containment.

Each attack of his allowed attacks to land.

The crystal shattered. The woman slowly opened her eyes.

Her pained, sad eyes, blue orbs holding the same sorrow as his locket.

Then they widened.

"Mother...?" He spoke with the same delicacy, like any louder would shatter the woman to the shards she stood on.

"Sephiroth...? Is that really you...?"

He should be asking the same thing, but he tongue was caught on the repetition of the word Mother. He forced a different answer out slowly.

"You're alive...?"

"I can't call this living... I am so sorry. I never should've agreed to that experiment. I couldn't do anything to save you. I couldn't hold you. I couldn't help you. I brought you into this world, and I couldn't do a thing... And now you're this... you can't die either..."

But none of it mattered as his hands slowly wrapped around her before finally making contact at the end of her regrets, pulling her softly against his half inhuman chest.

"You're alive..." Mako tears stained her white dress.

"I'm a failure... Who would want this for a mother?"

"Who would want this for a son...?" He heard blades sheath as her arms wrapped around him.

"I'm sorry I made you this..."

He shook his head of silver hair. "You didn't do this. Don't blame yourself for this."

More pity. More tears. More grief and regret before they finally left the cave.

Her guilt, even now, stopped her from going with them. She promised only a few more years and she'd join him. But the pain was still too much.

However, Lucrecia gave Vincent very specific directions to locate her favorite recipe for pumpkin soup in Shinra Manor.

The team rotated with weekly shifts to check on Sephiroth in Cosmo Canyon, assuming he would quickly lose his mind without his real mother.

None realized he felt... content.

He learned of his mother's favorite flowers and favorite foods. He learned what she did to relax and entertain. He learned about her.

He spent the years in between protecting without concern and trying all of his mother's favorite things.

No. This solitude and awkward truce was the happiest time of his life.

And he did, in fact, love her pumpkin soup.

[wishmasters-muse]

A series of out of context quotes my 60+ year old mother said while watching all consumable FFVII media( because you loved her ship choices) pt 1:

"Why did they make all the men in this so pretty?"

"Why won't he (Cloud) just hug her (Tifa) already"

"When are they (Cloud and Tifa) going to kiss???"

"Why haven't they kissed? (Aerith and Tifa)"

"Oh my god *audible gasp* he's amazing (Vincent)"

"Oooo. I want one of those. (Literally just sephiroth stood there)"

"He looks like Charlie sheen (I regrettably feel I don't need to clarify who she was talking about)"

"He looks like a lovely man (Cid)"

"I don't like his shoes. They look like winklepickers (vincent AGAIN)"

"I prefer his other voice ( Nanaki :( )"

"Oh, see; I loved his coat but now it looks like he's just into bondage (Rufus and his wonderful coat)"

"Her hair didn't look right in the first one but it looks much more natural now. I love her hair (Tifa)"

"Now I feel bad for finding her annoying at the start (Aerith, seconds after being made into a kebab)"

"WHY WONT ANYONE GIVE HER A HUG! FUCK SAKE CLOUD! (Tifa at the end of Rebirth)"

"FUCKING FINALLY. That boy has the charisma of a spoon sometimes (the kiss)"

"Oh, I can't stand him. He looks like he could beat a brick wall into crying but he won't stop blubbering like a toddler (Loz)"

"I actually just felt my hackles go up. Is there any way we can just skip all of this bit? (Don Corneo)"

"Oh actually he looks better in a dress"

"She looks LOVELY in that dress! Very grown up! (Aerith in the red dress)"

"Oh barret. I hate it when he is sad (basically barret in all of rebirth)"

[prismaticpichu]

Sephiroth: Oh, my puppet… don’t you understand? I am going to take the U from your own name, from your very identi—

Cloud: Clod Strife?

Cloud: …

Cloud: ……Really?

Barret: Man, that’s trash.

Tifa: Agreed.

Cid: Shit joke.

Vincent: Dad joke.

Nanaki: Unamusing.

Yuffie: Ugh

Aerith (from the Lifestream): Booooo

Sephiroth: …

Sephiroth: …..

Sephiroth: ……..Mother thought it was funny (இ﹏இ`｡)

[secondarysefikura]

As a kid Cloud use to fantasize himself marrying Sephiroth which he got made fun of a lot for by other kids, years later and he’s marrying Sephiroth! He’s wearing a beautiful wedding that Sephiroth made just for him, and he can’t stay crying. Although those may not be tears of joy.

The wedding is beautiful; the sort of thing that puts Cloud's childhood imagination to shame. Nibelhiem's town square is decorated in a way that comes straight off the cover of a magazine. The guests sit politely in their chairs, waiting for the ceremony to start.

Cloud's bridal party has all his friends, minus Vincent. Tifa has a soft smile on her face and her eyes are resting peacefully closed, almost as if she is catching a last minute nap after a busy night of last minute wedding prep. Barret sits leaned back in his chair while Cid is slumped against him like he has already hit the open bar. Nanaki lays peacefully on the floor and Cait sits on his back. Yuffie is propped up like she is just waiting for the perfect moment to try to wipe the rings.

Sephiroth told him before the wedding that while Vincent was invited, life complications meant he left before the wedding could begin. It's nothing Cloud needs to worry about--Sephiroth will sort that out soon enough.

Besides Vincent, the only thing missing is a father to walk Cloud down the aisle. It's a shame he has never known the man that helped give him life, but he has long come to terms with it. Really, the bigger disappointment is knowing that his mother isn't there to see the big day.

Well, at least her body is buried somewhere nearby. Cloud doesn't know where exactly, but he heard Shinra buried the deceased villagers in an unmarked gravesite somewhere around the village.

[altocat]

whats the most fucked up thing hojo has ever done? not just to sephiroth just in general

Hojo has an entire laundry list of fucked up he committed in the name of science. Shooting Gast was one. The entire era of torture with Sephiroth was another.

Let's be real though. Canonically? The most fucked up thing Hojo has ever done was to separate Sephiroth from his mother. Not only did this contribute to Lucrecia's instability, but it also kickstarted the entire conflict with Sephiroth not knowing the truth about his mother/developing his mommy issues.

Also trying to force Aerith and Nanaki to mate with each other. That's pretty fucked up, too.

[accala]

The FF7 Gang's Reasons for Hating Shinra: A Dialogue

Tifa: So we all have reasons to hate Shinra... but I don't think we've ever shared them as a group before.

Aerith: Ooohh that's true. Why don't we try sharing them as a bonding experience?

Cloud: A bonding experience? Don't we know each other's stories already?

Aerith: I just think it would be cathartic to let it out you know? Here I'll start: I hate Shinra because my mother and I were kidnapped by them. Because we were the last living Ancients. Oh! And they wanted us to lead them to the Promised land. But Hojo mostly wanted to use us as experiments though. And mom took the brunt of it...

Nanaki: That was quite a cheerful introduction for an albeit morbid crime that Shinra did. However... I too have been kidnapped to be used as an experiment. And Shinra was complicit in it.

Tifa: ...It's eery how similar North Corel is to what happened to Nibelheim. Everyone we knew died too. The Mayor. The villagers. Cloud's mom. My dad. Even if Sephiroth started it, it was Shinra who decided to cover up everything.

Barret: And none of those ain't a damn bit surprising at all. Shinra was a bunch of greedy lifestream-sucking bastards who made false promises and took everything in their wake. They took my hand. Burned my town to the ground. And worst of all, they killed my Myrna and took Marlene’s parents away from her. They killed every person I ever cared about just to save their sorry-ass reputations. And I'm damn glad to be rid of them.

Yuffie: You guys already know what happened to Wutai. Shinra wanted to subjugate us to set up a Mako reactor—the greedy bastards. But Wutai wanted none of that. We wanted independence. So through our blood, sweat, and tears, our warriors put up a good fight! Kicked Shinra’s ass too until the SOLDIERs came along. And then Wutai was turned into a tourist trap. Our pride. Our honor. Our culture. All turned into a joke. Damn Shinra- <looks at Cloud> I know you already told us your whole story, but at this point you might as well share too.

Cloud: All of you already know that most of my grievances are directed at Hojo and Sephiroth. But I’m not going to pretend that Shinra played no part in that either. Anything Hojo or Sephiroth-related, Shinra was involved. My mother’s death; they covered it up. Our unwilling experimentation? Shinra knew where we were or rather didn’t care. And Zack’s death? Shinra issued a whole army just to kill him. Even my coma and amnesia were indirectly because of them. <nods at Vincent> What about you?

Vincent: A similar reason. Hojo decided that I too was of use as a test subject. Funny how there's four of us who shared that moniker.

Cait Sith: <shakes his head> That’s not guid. Not guid at all. Ach well, this has been a pure gloomy day. Ah huvnae got anythin' tae share though. What aboot you laddie? <looks at Cid>

Cid: ...

Cid: Well damn. Right after all of your tragic backstories, I don't think I wanna share mine.

[umbralstars]

Cloud for the hcs game?

Yessss my favorite wolfy guy~ Headcanon A: 

Cloud loves taking photos! He doesn't consider himself the most photogenic guy, but he does need a hobby and photography makes him pretty happy. He carries a camera with him while out on deliveries so he can take pictures of vistas he finds beautiful. Reeve does pass him a little bit of extra gil to take more than one so he can track the progress of different regions over time. Cloud complains that Reeve's a friend so he doesn't mind taking the extra photos...but he can never say no to a little bit of gil.

Headcanon B:

Cloud can actually talk to chocobos. Not literally mind you, but he's so in-tune with the birds he understands what they're thinking or feeling. Sometimes he uses this power for good, other times he bullshits things and causes problems on purpose.

Headcanon C:

Cloud has a journal where he houses keepsakes and writes out his thoughts on things. Tifa got it for him sometime after the og game and he used it sparingly before Advent Children where afterwards it became habit. He has design notes for the Fusion Sword and Fenrir in there. Addresses and delivery items to keep himself on track with his job. Notes on Avalanche so he can remember what they like for birthdays and other holidays. He has pictures from his adventures in there. The ones he took of and with Aerith in Cosmo Canyon. Landscape shots from the ones he helped Snaps get; a lot of them have his friends in the background. At least one of Marlene and Denzel's birthday photos. The photo they all took after Advent Day. A photo from Yule. etc etc. He wishes he had any of his mother or Zack. The main reason he has it is because he really worries about forgetting things again. And sometimes it helps to ground him if he's spiraling or in the throws of an episode. There are some pages with haphazard scrawl all over them--some about him trying to untangle himself from Zack and Sephiroth's memories, others written out in paranoia bouts. A few with notes about biological science and then pages down a long rambling note about how he can't figure out how to heal Denzel with black smudges covering the page. The entire journal is written in Nibelig, so have fun trying to snoop on it unless you can read the language and Cloud's shorthand. He can also tie new pages in if he starts to run out of space, and he's got some stored in his room.

Headcanon D:

Cloud speaks multiple languages!! He can speak, read, and write in at least two fluently; those being Junonic and Nibelig. While his head was messed up, he had a harder time with his native tongue Nibelig but he never did lose it. Junonic is the common tongue of the world because of the influence of the Republic pre-Shinra times, and Shinra has use of this language as official company policy (I have a whole diatribe about languages in FF7's world but not now), but Cloud did not speak it at a fluent level until he enlisted in the army and was forced to fluency quickly. He has a bit of an accent. It's different from Tifa's cause she speaks Nibelheim's dialect of Junonic and learned a little bit of Nibelig from her mom and Cloud over time. Cid and him actually get along pretty well cause they both speak Nibelig (albeit drastically different dialect, there's enough mutual intelligibility that they got each other) and can talk shit where no one else can understand. Cloud's been teaching Tifa, Barret, Marlene, and Denzel how to speak it and the rest of Avalanche participates when they can (Nanaki and Yuffie harp on him to learn the Canyon's tongue and Wutanian too) Cloud also knows a little Kamul Gongaga from Zack's memories, but it's entirely functional not fluency.

[firstknightvulion]

I swear to God, I do other stuff other than shill Cloud and Tifa but when you find inspiration, you use it!

Also, I just finished Chapter 13 or as I like to call it: THE FUCKING TRAUMA CHAPTER!!!

SPOILERS

SPOILERS

FUCKING SPOILERS

Barret and Aerith’s trials legit had me tearing up.

Barret begging not to lose his wife again. Aerith crying and apologizing to her mother. These scenes did so much to add to their characters.

Shit, Watching Nanaki get fucking branded. Tifa and Yuffie reliving their trauma’s was hard as hell.

As a husband and father, Aerith and Barret scenes hit me raw. John Eric Bentley and Brianna White and whoever voiced young Aerith did such good job.

[skyekitsuneart]

so ive come up with a new au idea,,,,,

FF7 x The Witcher

because we can all see cloud as geralt right???!!!?? like, clouds wolf emblem in ac??

this au isnt gonna be 1 to 1, its gonna have its own original plot, but there will def be a lot of parallels

so heres my assignments so far:

cloud - wolf school witcher (geralt)

zack - wolf school witcher, has gone missing

angeal - oldest wolf school witcher (vesimir)

aerith - elven bard (jaskier/dandelion)

tifa - sorceress (triss)

nanaki - monster cloud was paid to kill but instead saves, feels indebted to cloud and has no home so he becomes clouds traveling companion

shinra - imperial empire (nilfgard)

barret - shinra resistance leader

yuffie - runaway princess after her father willingly lets shinra take over their kingdom (somewhat like ciri, but not a child of destiny)

vincent - 'retired' viper school witcher, cursed by a monster to slowly turn into one

reeve/cait - reeve is the mage advisor for rufus, cait sith is a fae cat creature he is soul bonded with

cid - dwarf blacksmith

sephiroth - powerful mage from another sphere, wants to avenge his mother being killed by humans after the conjunction of the spheres

jenova - replaces lara dorren???

anyways im having sm fun with this, i have a bunch more written down but this is the basics of it all

and yes, there will be clerith in this bcuz i love them and the witcher/bard dynamic is too fun >:3

[teecupangel]

So I'm replaying FF7 and so I'm thinking about the Desmond as the same species as Nanaki au (I can't remember if Guardian Beat is Canon or not) again and how fun (for us) it would be to drop him where he'd get picked up by by Shinra to play on his Abstergo trauma

Also imagine being Nanaki you believe for years that you're one of the last two of your species until you give yourself up so your friend can escape and find another one of you had been captured who knows how long ago

I don't really know about how everything ends would go past Regular FF7 but Des is there past Nanaki thinking des has amnesia because of the experiments and deciding to take Des under his wing and that Jenova arrived on Gaia through the use of a POE whether she's an actual Isu that was wiped by the travel or just an experiment

Also also since Nanaki's species is so long lived it'd be funny if Desmond's age was 1:1 instead of an equivalent age so he's around early teenage age for Guardian Beasts

Here is the original Desmond is the same species as Nanaki in AC world idea

So, for this one, Desmond will be booted into FFVII world in his new body and, to show our love for him, he will be experimented on in a different facility and will be saved by the main party during their adventure.

This way, Desmond would have some time to be isolated to hammer in the Abstergo kidnapping ‘flashbacks’.

And when the party finally saves him, that’s when he’ll be comforted by Nanaki. Nanaki, of course, is out of his depths and asked help from someone who has experience with children (because, in his eyes, Desmond is still a child).

Barret.

So while the party is traveling to their next destination, Desmond has to watch Nanaki and Barret try to… well… act around him like he was a kid.

He wasn’t.

But no one was listening. Nanaki seemed to believe that he’s in his ‘rebellious period’.

Then Sepiroth appears and calls Desmond ‘uncle’ and people are now going “??????”

.

Unorganized Notes:

Up to you nonny how Desmond looks but I kinda like the idea that his right front paw is black and looked burnt. Everyone believes Shinra had something to do with that.

Everyone thinks Desmond has amnesia because of Shinra’s experiments. Desmond never bothered to correct them because no one was going to believe he was from another world, after all

He lets Aerith and Tifa braid him and he likes the feather they pinned on his head because it reminds him of Ratonhnhaké:ton.

He absolutely fights using some kind of blade attached to his legs like some sort of spur made by Yuffie.

Sepiroth calls him uncle because…

Jenova isn’t an Isu but a lifeform created by the Isus as a test subject. Specifically, she’s made by Juno and Aita and was the test subject to see if traveling to another world would be a feasible solution to get away from the incoming Solar Flare.

It failed in the sense that Jenova’s genetic structure got fucked when she crossed worlds and that’s how she started her intergalatic travel.

The same problem occurred to Desmond but Desmond’s genetic structure became the same as Nanaki’s species instead of Jenova.

So yeah. Sepiroth calls him uncle because Desmond is technically a product of Juno like Jenova herself. In his mind, Desmond and his mother shared a common ‘parent’.

[neovaradis]

Nanaki's family for my Fortune of Five AU! I named his mother Fidelia.

[risingoflights]

do you have thoughts on the ff7r devs changing it so Hojo actively taunts Aerith with Ifalna’s death in Remake as opposed to the original game where he doesn’t even know Ifalna’s dead until the party runs into him in Costa?? bc he seemed oddly pensive about in the og and it kinda stuck out to me + you seem like the person to ask for Hojo opinions

IN FACT I DO.

trust you me i have opinions on everything, especially hojo, but i tend to actively keep my mouth shut unless someone asks directly. so thank you for asking directly!

as usual, not laying down my word as law or canon or anything, but just to give folks another perspective to think on if they haven't already:

if memory serves, in og, hojo only ever refer to three people by name: sephiroth, gast, and ifalna (and jenova i suppose but does she really count as people). everyone else he has a moniker for, even people who should be important to him. lucrecia was 'the woman'. vincent was 'the turk'. cloud was 'the failure'. nanaki 'the specimen'. and dear sweet aerith, she was 'the ancient'.

they change this trait around a bit in the compilations i believe (it's been a while), but it's mostly consistent. aerith herself brings this up in costa in og, insisting that the least he can do is remember her name. the reverse of this, interestingly, is aerith referring to 'my mother' and hojo himself conjuring her name - 'you mean ifalna'. i've inferred from this (and you're all free to disagree) that the only actual people in hojo's life were sephiroth, gast, and ifalna. everyone else is either nonexistent or reduced to just their role to play.

i'd say aerith, in og, wasn't actually important to hojo even as 'the ancient' - and why i think that is a slightly different discussion. but suffice to say that if someone isn't important to you, you wouldn't spend time and energy taunting them, or deliberately and maliciously trying to make them uncomfortable, as we see hojo doing to aerith in remake.

(as for what ifalna was to hojo - what i have on that is pure headcanon, but feel free to ask if you're interested)

there's no doubt hojo's always been cruel, but in og his cruelty to aerith - and the main cast in general - was a dismissive sort. harm inflicted on them was thoughtless and not at all personal - again, none of them even counted as people. comparing that with the consistent bitterness with which he evoked gast's name, the contrast was almost charming. i'm sad we seem to have lost that in remake, along with a lot of hojo's more human characteristics. remake hojo feels to me a lot like a predictable combo of tropes - a puppet playing to audience expectations, but hey i'm still hopeful for something else interesting as the game goes on. we shall see.

[prismaticpichu]

Pichu’s list of FF7 oopsies

Misconceptions I believed years prior

~

• Thinking Angeal was Zack’s dad

• Thinking Aeris and Aerith were different people

• Thinking Yazoo was Yahoo

• Thinking Geostigma was just FF7’s version of the flu (it’s really not, mate)

• Thinking Dumbapples were Dumpapples

• Thinking Cloud was ShinRa’s kid (I blame fandom)

• Thinking Sephiroth was a woman

• Thinking Tseng was pronounced “Shung”

• Thinking Barret was a cyborg

• Thinking Nanaki was the name of Red’s grandfather

• Thinking Sephiroth got his wing via Hojo procedure

• Thinking Vincent was a vampire (I blame fandom)

• Thinking Seph was in the ShinRa manor not because he was researching info about his mother but bc he KNEW about his mother beforehand, didn’t give two shits, and was researching about Jenova bc it was the purpose of their Nibelheim mission

• Thinking that Aerith’s Cetra blood gave her elf ears (I thought her ribbons were her ears—I, I dunno man)

• Thinking there was an in-universe FF7 search engine called Moogle

[secondarysefikura]

Cloud returns to the bar after finishing with deliveries to see Tifa waiting for him. But she’s not alone Denzel and Marlene, Barret, Nanaki, Yuffie, Cait Sith and Reeve, Vincent, Cid……Zack and Aerith, and even his mom are all waiting for him. As Cloud enters the bar and walks over to him everyone is looking at him smiling, talking about how it’s been a long time, that they’re happy to see him, and so on. But just as Cloud is sitting down to join them he hears Aerith say “Its not your fault” and that’s when he wakes up. He laying in bed but he’s not alone, behind him is Sephiroth, who’s fast asleep, with his arms wrapped possessively around Cloud.

All Cloud does for the rest of the night is lay there and weep for the people he failed to protect all those years ago, while in the arms of the monster who took them away.

When I first starting reading your ask, anon, I was NOT expecting the twist. But when I got to the end, I squealed with delight at your wonderfully evil idea!

I'd like to think that the vision of his friends (and mother!) in the dream are actually their spirits projecting themselves via Aerith's powers. They know that Cloud feels guilty for failing to stop Sephiroth and they want him to understand that no one blames him. They know he did everything he could and it's not his fault; it's Sephiroth's.

Now, to make this even more evil, let's say that Sephiroth knew about Cloud's dream thanks to their connection. Imagine what he says/does in the morning to ensure that Cloud doesn't take his friend's comforts to heart! With his arms still wrapped around Cloud possessively, Sephiroth whispers venomus words into Cloud's ear.

As if they would truly ever forgive you.

Don't tell me you thought that dream meant something? How could anyone forgive you?

There is no world where anyone but me still loves you.

And poor Cloud absolutely believes every word that Sephiroth says. Afterall, in what world would his friends ever forgive him for being so weak?