#post-Modeoheim

[prismaticpichu]

Inspired by Zack & Seph week, Hair/Training! I love puppy-haired Zack! He’s such a bean. What if he had some kind of reason to keep it like that? <3

Zack stared in the mirror for a long, long time. He wasn't sure how long exactly, but he was vaguely aware of the clouds scudding across the window and towing sunset with them.

He ran a hand through this hair, tracing both sides of his bangs, the charcoal strands filtering through his fingertips; he held a pair of scissors in the other

He really should have asked Aerith to do this. She was a master at anything aesthetic, and so gentle too. He really would have asked her. It was just getting late, and she would be heading home. He also wasn’t particularly ready to be asked why he wanted to change his appearance.

A cold, deep swallow, and Zack finally lifted the scissors off the bathroom sink, hovering the twin blades over his flopping bangs. They almost looked like they were sagging, wilting… a pair of ears drooping at his sides.

“Always the puppy…” Angeal ruffled his hair, Zack’s cheeks flushing scarlet under his touch.

No!

Zack threw the memory aside, blue eyes straining, the cloying sweetness now drowned in salt and acid. He swallowed the memory and hoped he never spat it up again. The scissors were brought closer, taking a stretch of hair in its jaws.

Gaia… why were his hands quivering?

He did everything he could to steady them, everything in his power. Grappling with his own thoughts and denials and reasons in order to just… close the blades.

This wasn’t him anymore. He was not Zack the puppy, doe-eyed and wildly haired from Gongaga.

He’s been like this since he was four…

Angeal had died, by his own two hands. He was wading through blood, an entire ocean… Wutains, rebels, Genesis. Ash and snow falling from the sky.

He ran away from haircuts. He had always had,.. no one could change him.

He had changed himself. He was a monster…—

“Zack?”

The world snapped back into focus, all at once, his turmoil shattered by a sudden round of knocking. His eyes flickered to the mirror; the scissors were still waiting, floating, the wilting bangs pinioned under their grip but still uneaten. His cheeks were slick too, thin, glistening rivers spilling from Mako pools and mapping his face.

The front door creaked open, Gaia… Zack set down the pair of scissors and dried his tears, hoping the swollenness wasn’t too palpable.

“Zack? Are you here?”

He recognized the voice immediately, soft yet stern velvet. It did something in his chest… he just couldn’t discern in that second if it was annoyance or gratitude.

“Seph?” Zack slipped through the bathroom door, making his way through the narrow hallway and into the den.

Sephiroth was lingering by the couch, bristling slightly at the moniker, still alien to his ears, but the uneasiness soon bled out of him. He met his subordinate in the heart of the room.

“What’s up?” Zack tried to chirp, twitching the edges of his lips.

It must have been unnatural to some degree, because Sephiroth noticeably shifted, a flicker of something uncertain in his eyes. He stifled it though, and continued.

“We found this in the rec hall,” Sephiroth said quietly, reaching into his pockets and withdrawing a mound of aged, orange fur.

Zack’s eyes widened. “Muffin!” He regretted it as soon as it left it lips, but couldn’t control himself from eagerly swiping the dragon from Sephiroth’s hands, slamming it into his chest in fierce, apologetic protection. “I’m so sorry…!” he whispered into its crown, before lifting his gaze and locking with the warrior’s. His cheeks inflamed.

Oh Gaia, oh Gaia… he could just imagine it… someone finding Muffin under the table he had been sitting at, looking under his paw and finding his name stitched into it… No one knew Muffin existed—not one person. And now… oh Gaia… He almost groaned, if his throat wasn’t left so raw.

“You… you said ‘we?’” Zack’s cheeks refused to drain, hoping he could hide them in Muffin’s fur—which probably only made him look like more of a child. Emerald eyes were fixed on him, as veiled and cryptic as ever… judging him. Needled pupils sitting still in disdain.

Zack almost averted him gaze. Almost. He would have, if not for the fact that, miraculously, surreally, those icy green ponds thawed into something that Zack could only describe as a subtle embarrassment of their own.

“Actually… no,” Sephiroth admitted, “I found it, and saw your name was written.”

“…Oh.” Zack lowered Muffin below his nose, a gallon of tension filtering out of it. Maybe? So Sephiroth was the only one to know… but Sephiroth was the only the know.

“You… you didn’t get rid of him?”

The question seemed to catch the other off guard, enough for him to quirk an eyebrow. “It is not my place to do that. And… no. I didn’t.” His gaze drifted towards the plushie, ripping calmly, that same ghostly embarrassment bleeding back into his visage. “It… brought a smile to my face.”

Zack had to be dreaming. He had to. He would pinch himself awake and laugh at the idea of his covert toy making General Sephiroth smile.

“…For real?” was all he could bring himself to say, opting he might as well relish in the warmth of this warm, strange escape.

Then, Sephiroth’s frown twitched right in front of him. His lips slightly curving, cracking the numbness, a vague shadow of a smile gracing his features. “I was glad to see it.”

Glad…?

Zack was nonplussed, even if he was in no position to express it. He just held Muffin tighter, closer to his chest, staring into the same beady eyes he locked with when he was five years old. Still standing. Still soft. Still loved. Aged and tangled and threaded with a smile that had never faded away.

“…I’m glad you found him then.” Zack returned to his friend, smiling not feeling like such a strenuous thing anymore. “Thanks, Seph.”

There was a beat, Zack burying his chin back into his treasured toy… and lifted it again when he felt Sephiroth’s glove rustling through his hair. The movements were slow, awkward… but real. He let himself relax, sinking into solace for the first time in a long while.

“You won’t tell anyone about him… right, Seph?”

Sephiroth looked amused, withdrawing his hand. “Of course not.” He couldn’t help but notice the light still permeating from the bathroom, or how a trash can was placed just under the mirror.

“Did I interrupt something?” He did feel a pang of guilt at the idea; he had his own rituals regarding his appearance in the washroom, and admittedly was very bitter towards those who disturbed it.

Zack turned over his shoulder, nothing more than an idle glance. “Not at all,” he assured. “I just needed to clean that up.”

[rivkae-winters]

Through some horrific cross breeding of interests I’m now having Modeoheim thoughts after reading Do not go gently into that good night by the late Dylan Thomas.

Maybe I’ll go back and replay the stage to fight Angeal Penance again later tonight and then see what angsty nonsense my brain cooks up. Already the absent minded plotbunny thoughts have been dark to say the least. The post is short but they’re under a cut for that reason.

My brain keeps going back to the week leading up to Modeoheim. Was he satisfied and happy leading up to it or did the uncertainty root itself far before Hollander’s words in the bathhouse?

Either way: the way everything panned out makes it clear he was planning to commit. He had been spiraling self destructively with less of a stable mood than Genesis for previous few chapters of the game when he appeared. This wasn’t a choice of passion or impulse. I wouldn’t be surprised if passive ideations hadn’t been with him well before the training room fight.

[altocat]

your Angeal post kind of made me think back to the whole trio, Genesis specifically.

they're all so similar, yet Genesis has a key difference. he wants to live.

Angeal and Sephiroth both see a world where everyone has betrayed them in one way or another, and they'd rather simply...expire than live through it all

but Genesis? he wanted to live so badly. he completely devoted his life to LOVELESS because it would keep him alive. everything down to his bones were rotting, but he still pushed through, for the hope, no matter how slim, that he could live.

Angeal and Sephiroth couldn't stand the world in the way that they were willing to leave it behind. Genesis couldn't stand the world in the way that he couldn't possibly leave it as he was. the thought was simply unbearable to him

idk I just think that's cool

Yeah that's a very good point. I think Genesis absolutely clung to the idea of living far stronger than everyone else. Sephiroth did too once he was ready to take over the planet, but it's not really the same since the old Sephiroth effectively had to die for this to happen.

Genesis was disillusioned by what he was. But he still seemed to keep fighting regardless. His seeming "death" in Modeoheim was really just a tactic to escape. And afterwards he basically does whatever he can to cling to life.

[featherlumina]

Genesis Headcanons: His Wing

Hooboy, I have so many thoughts and feelings about this boy's extra feathery limb. Here we go!

His wing is huge. I did measurements once but the thing is like, at least twice as long as he is tall, which makes it near 4 metres / 13 feet (welp, this is more of a fact than a headcanon, but there ya go.)

Instead of preen oil, he has powder down feathers (like cockatoos or pigeons), that he needs to consistently apply. Gen's a dusty boy.

He does a full feather moult once a year and is always impressed at how freaking huge his primary feathers are, despite how he might otherwise feel about his wing.

When his wing first bursts from his back, he is able to both hide and manifest it at will. However, each time he does, it becomes increasingly painful, and it becomes permanently part of him after Modeoheim. Clothing modifications become a must after that.

Once he's healed he regains control over manifesting it, but the longer he leaves it hidden, the more uncomfortable it becomes - like a deep, burning ache mixed with itchiness. My post-DoC headcanon is that he ends up leaving it out nearly all the time, as a way of openly accepting who he is and what he's done.

The little feathers at the top of his wing are extremely soft and velvety and I want to pet them oh my god-

Preening and maintaining his wing takes up a lot of time. His relationship with it might be fraught but he can't make the most of it with it in poor condition. It becomes something of a calming, grounding ritual as the years of degrading wear on. Also, his copies help. If he's feeling charitable or in a good mood, he helps them too sometimes.

If Genesis is in good health and his wing is properly maintained, his feathers are gorgeous. Mind you, they really start to show stress bars, break in odd places and disintegrate far more easily the worse the degradation gets.

He definitely uses it as a blanket or shield from the world when he wants privacy.

At the place where his wing merges into his shoulder, the feathers also sprout towards his spine, down his back and over his shoulder. There's a sort of radius or gradient of feathers that get smaller the further you get from the wing itself.

Early on, he refined his flying skills by studying monsters, especially griffins.

He's a bit miffed that his wing doesn't have any interesting patterns or colours like those of hawks or owls (he especially wishes it looked a bit flashier like Phoenix) but he's always had a fascination with ravens, so he can't really complain.

His favourite time of day to fly is night, as he's far more inconspicuous and blends in to the sky - and his night vision is excellent, given he's a SOLDIER.

At one stage, he fashions one of his feathers into a basic quill. He uses it specifically for writing LOVELESS notes.

I probably have more, but this post is already rather long. XD Hope you enjoyed!

[queernoctis]

[gets into bed] zackseph fucking post modeoheim and seph moans angeal's name [rolls over and goes to sleep]

[one-winged-dreams]

Zack vs Adri's Fictional Parents

ship: adriel & zack (platonic) source: final fantasy vii word count: 1091 cw: transphobia, mentions of abuse, implications of physical abuse, parental trauma, you get it by now.

FUCK IIIIIT, I'm so mad right now I'm shaking, posting this before the guilt sets in.

Not tagging anyone bc it's kind of rough and I know I'm gonna feel guilty for it in a few hours but you're free to reblog it.

This takes place a little after Modeoheim.

"And the parents… Well. They're not acknowledging him at all."

As Tseng relayed the situation to him, Zack could only stare incredulously.

The fact of the matter was, Adriel was missing. As with Angeal and Genesis, the most logical course of action was to ask his family if they had any idea where he might have gone. Little context clues began to align. Adriel had dropped hints that his upbringing had been… Unsavory, to say the least.

But an utter disregard for their own child being missing?

"I have to talk to them, please, tell me where I can find them."

-

Tseng had given Zack the address, and he had followed it to a humble residence in Sector 7. As far as homes went, it was simple - perhaps a bit low-class upon further consideration.

"My parents werrre… Shinra wage slaves?" Zack recalled Adriel relaying this information with a tense, forced smile, "They all but sold me off to the SOLDIER program - just desperate, I guess."

Zack's fists tightened.

"Guess even the money wasn't worth keeping me around, after…"

He couldn't afford himself another moment to remember any of the things his friend had told him.

It would only make this all the more difficult.

With a sharp breath, he knocked on the door, immediately following by putting his hands on his hips and kicking the ground as he not-so-patiently awaited it to open.

As if he had been expected, the door opened after only a few moments, the visage of an older woman with a grim expression greeting him.

"Another one?" she sighed, seeming to analyze Zack as she looked him up and down, "A SOLDIER at that."

"The hell do you mean a SOLDIER?" a masculine voice followed from the adjacent room.

Zack didn't bother to speak yet, a tall man with an equally disagreeable face approached the door to presumably judge his merit as well.

And judge he did, quite clearly so, as he scowled at Zack and then at the woman.

"I thought you ran a Turk off earlier, what the hell did they send a SOLDIER here for?"

This time the woman seemed to direct her ire at the tall man, scowling just as forcefully.

"How am I supposed to know? If you're implying I didn't do good enough-"

"What the hell do you want? State your business or get off my doorstep," the tall man interrupted her to address Zack as if the woman were an annoyance and nothing more.

Clearing his throat, Zack crossed his arms. It was his turn to judge, and so far, these two weren't making a good impression in the slightest.

"I'm here to ask about your son-"

"We don't have a son," the woman interrupted now, glaring at Zack with apparent loathing, "We already told that Turk. You people need to correct those records of yours."

Zack let out a tense breath through his lips, steeling himself.

"Adriel. Your son. Your only child?"

The pair looked at each other before the tall man scoffed and shook his head.

"We had a daughter once. Had. Never a son, though."

"Oh are you SERIOUS," Zack exclaimed in exasperation before he could stop himself. He hadn't intended to lose his cool, he'd had every intention of civilly interacting with these unpleasant people to the best of his ability.

Easier said than done.

This obviously displeased the two further, the woman's glare intensifying.

"Watch your mouth, boy. Hadn't anyone ever taught you any respect?"

"Well maybe if you'd taught HER better we wouldn't be dealing with this right now, would we?"

Zack's jaw tightened, his teeth grinding together in an attempt to endure the horrific implications that he had been given the misfortune of hearing enough context clues to understand.

"Oh, so it's MY fault she turned into a good for nothing disappointment? I TRIED," the woman directed her statement from the tall man to Zack halfway through her sentence, "She had POTENTIAL, and she squandered it. I did my damned best to keep her on the right path, but she had to go and cast us aside. And for what?"

"PLEASE," Zack managed to keep his volume to a level that was stern but still civil, "He's MISSING. Please. Do you have ANY idea where he could have gone? Just- Just tell me and I'll leave you alone."

Even as Zack's fists clenched, even as he fought the tides of rage that swirled inside him, the pair only scoffed in unison.

"She stopped being our problem years ago. If she wants to disgrace herself further and become a deserter then that's on her."

Zack glared in exasperation at the woman as she disregarded Adriel without an ounce of remorse. He could hardly speak, struggling to keep himself agreeable just for this one instance. Just until he could leave and put these two out of his mind.

"She's become shamless, you know that. She probably doesn't know what to do with herself now that that 1st class she was whoring herself out for is g-"

Zack wasn't even aware that he had moved until his fist had connected with the tall man's face so forcefully that it sent him reeling back. Even as he stepped into the motion to grab the man by the shirt and shake him, his self-awareness was lost entirely. He knew he was speaking, knew that the woman was slapping at his arm and shouting, but still, he processed nothing.

It wasn't until he felt someone grapple him from behind and pull him back that he realized what he'd done, Tseng's voice becoming clear as he called out to him, "Zack!"

Everything rushed back at once - the sound of the woman shrieking at him, the sight of the man slumped against the doorframe, and the feeling of Tseng pulling him off the doorstep before releasing him.

"Zack, that's enough," the Turk spoke sternly, addressing him with equal intensity before looking at the pair in the doorway, "We're heading back, you've caused enough of a mess. We'll have to make a report for this," he sighed, clearly inconvenienced but not with a single ounce of judgment.

Zack's fist felt warm as he glowered at the two people in front of him, stomach heaving at not only having not gotten what he'd come for but for being shown proof of the harsh reality he had only been given glimpses of.

"You're right," he spat, offering one last hateful look before turning away, "He IS no son of yours."

[priceofreedom]

Ok, I'm so sorry for dropping outta nowhere, but I've been losing my mind searching for the past hour and a half for a sephzack comic and I can't find it and I would like to ask for help 😭 it was post-modeoheim I think and Zack discovers Sephiroth declined the mission so Zack would get it (to his devastation)

I know it's super audacious of me to ask this and I'm terribly sorry for it but I've really hit a level of desperation, and your posts are varied and organized (I also did try checking your tags and in general but no dice 😓), so I thought you might be able to help 😭

oh i'm sorry but i'm not sure i know which comic you're referring to :( was it perhaps made by this artist? if so it might be somewhere in their archive,,

can anyone help? if you can please reply to this post!

[sly-fin]

Did some math only to figure out characters’ ages in CCFFVII. And oh my god. Here we go

Beginning Post Modeoheim Post Nibelheim

Zack: 16 18 23

Cloud: 14-15 16 21

Sephiroth: 20 22 27

Angeal: ~25

Genesis: ~25 ~27 ~32

Aerith: 16 18 23

Tifa: 13 15 20

Reno: 21 23 28

Rude: 23 25 30

Tsung: 23 25 30

Cissnei: ~16 ~18 ~23

Hojo: 55 57 62

(Bonus)

Vincent: 50 52 57

[aerisleis-fics]

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 ❤

<333!

I've got two of you! which means I guess I have to do 10 fics and 10 writers we'll see if I can make that happen. Favorite fics I've written is really hard bc I tend to go through phases where I really hate my writing and never really fully am sure what to grab onto. I'm also restricting myself to only my main ao3- Aerislei.

BUT without further ado, in no particular order 10 11 recs from my writing under the cut. MOST are FF7 SephZack bc Im sure that's what you're both hoping for lmao but I do have a few other fandoms and non sephzack selections!

Captured in Wutai FFVII

Written for the Sephiroth Bang and while there are things I would different given the chance I LOVED this fic and how it came out. It meant a lot to me to write (mostly) true to how I wanted it to be even though it was kind of gritty and dark.

In the depths of the Wutai War, Sephiroth is assigned a young Second Class SOLDIER, Angeal’s protege, Zack Fair. Sephiroth doesn’t pay the boy much mind until the pair of them are cut off from the rest of their unit behind enemy lines. Injured and aware that the clock is ticking, the pair must work together to survive. Things get worse long before they get better, seeing as Wutai forces find them first. From there, it’s holding on long enough to try and find a way out - or for help to find them - whichever comes first.

Secrets and Fears FFVII

(Or: What if the scar from Modeohiem was the start of Zack Fair's healing factor beginning to break down?)

Friendships Forged in Fire FFVII

Incomplete but a Very fun concept and I'm working on the next chapter! Hopefully soon!

Prompt: Sephiroth is gravely wounded while on a mission with Zack, hindering him from being able to properly protect himself from the enemies/monsters they are fighting. Their friendship has been mending and blossoming ever since Zack disclosed what happened at Modeoheim, but now it’s the ultimate test of their bond as Sephiroth must put all his faith in Zack to get them home safely.

Pause, Rewind, Restart FFVII

Cloud and Marlene are visiting the church when they find themselves pulled backward into the past. With no way back home, Cloud sets himself to doing the best he can to make sure that this future goes better than the one they came from because he can't just do nothing.

Recordings for Sleeping FFVII

At first it had been disheartening - was he that boring to talk to? But over time, Zack had come to understand that it wasn’t that it was boring. It was that Sephiroth had come to associate Zack talking with a sense of peace and the fact that things were okay, so he could relax - and, subsequently, could rest. It was incredibly touching, now that Zack understood it better.

Saving the Hero FFVII

A pair of scenes centering in on Sephiroth saving Zack, and Zack - in his own way - saving Sephiroth in return.

Taking Care FFVII

A handful of short snapshots in which I attempt to depict Zack Fair and Sephiroth growing closer, slowly, through the lens of taking care of one another post-lab sessions.

Moments in Time FFVII

Five snapshots of times Cloud and Zack shared spaces together, threading together as their relationship develops.

Unrealistic Expectations FFXV

After nearly failing the trial of the Tidemother, Noctis stands precariously balanced between his duty, his emotions, and his body’s need for rest. The Prince fails to heed Lunafreya’s warning about taking it easy, and his friends find the hard way that Noctis hasn’t been truthful with them.

Keep the Home Fires Burning RWBY

PolySTQ, Summer returns to find things are not exactly the way she left them. Still, arriving in Atlas to the threat of open war with Salem with her daughter at the center of it all wasn’t what Summer expected. Qrow and Taiyang must face the fact that Summer has been returned with no explanation of where she’s been or why, all while navigating the tangles of their own feelings with each other, and the war with Salem.

Bonus:

The Draconian's Grace FFXV

Noctis asks for - and receives - a unique chance to go back to the beginning of his journey and change things (hopefully for the better). He's not alone in his journey, and it's that alone that gives him the courage to move ever-onward.

[getvalentined]

I haven't posted a new fic in so long I literally feel like I'm doing everything wrong prepping to post the first chapter of this fic I've accidentally buried myself in.

Like...this is going have a sex scene later so I'm rating it "Explicit" right out the gate. That sex scene is going to loosely involve Cloud at 16 (which is legal in Nibelheim for sure but is not legal where I am in meatspace) so I'm also adding the "Underage" warning from jump, to keep people who might be upset by that content from getting into it only to be disappointed or put off when it comes in later.

I'm tagging it for graphic depictions of illness even though I don't think it's that graphic, and debating if I have to tag it for body horror when what is shown is all canon-typical. I am a Vincent Valentine obsessee who reads Junji Ito before bed and thus my scale for what constitutes graphic and body horror is totally off compared to most people.

Angeal is already dead, but I'm not tagging for character death because it happened prior to this and is just...canon compliant.

The whole thing is as canon compliant as I can make it, honestly, but fandom has gone so far off the path in declaring what points of canon are "acceptable" that I'm sure someone is going to complain about something. Cloud working with the Turks on multiple occasions outside Modeoheim, Zack lying by omission right to his face, Genesis being responsible for the invention of what we call pasteurization—these are all canon, either overtly shown or undeniably implied, but they're not things that the fandom leans into because they don't mesh with the preferred common portrayals of these characters. Cloud is capable, Zack is smart, Genesis has skills outside SOLDIER and poetry.

I dunno, man, it's just been such a long time. I'm worried.

[prismaticpichu]

8 for the fic asks! ✍️

You got it!! Tysm for the ask, Holly! 💕

From this list!

~

If you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for… Connection! Although I don’t plan to actually expand it as of now, the style I played with for that fic had to be one of my favorite writing liberties taken yet—as well as hitting a certain emotional beat that I’m still very proud of months later <333 The fic concluded with Zack forgiving Sephiroth after his admiration turned to venom post-Modeoheim, which is pretty much how I always envision their friendship truly budding to begin with. So continuing along that path/watching Zack & Seph heal together would be an extremely cathartic ride for me <33 Alas, the fic ultimately works better as a oneshot imo (everything contained to the fragmented phone calls that manage to tell the story until the very last scene), but it’s for sure the fic I would explore deeper should there ever be a surge of inspiration for it!

[bugfragged]

Genesis is basically Square's depiction of people who think they're cool for Sephiroth-posting in online arguments.

MODEOHEIM - Let's Play 「 Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion 」 - 8

[myristicisms]

sorry for the Zack posting but at the moment he's the only muse that's willing to come out (Luis is taking some coaxing)

anyways I'm just thinking about Zack and his possible feelings towards the scar given to him while in Modeoheim (the one on his jaw!), it's def something I would love to explore if ever given the opportunity but there's also a lot that I'd love the chance to explore with him in general.

Sorry for my lil tangent or whatever I just have severe Zack brainrot at the moment and it's really hard to think about anything else because I've hyper fixated on him again but if anyone's interested I'd love to talk about him.

[keykidpilipili]

Channelling all my luck into Crisis Core Reunion getting female soldiers npcs with one named and based on the default First SOLDIER appearance(but older).

A parallel to how Cissnei was born out of Shuriken(female), one of the 12 original playable Before Crisis(mobile game) characters with no names.

[lifedxbt]

//me: i should stop fixating on crisis core

Also me: time to keep forcing my partner to watch crisis core

[heathleaves]

The Rules: Post seven sentences from a WIP and then tag seven others!! (Tagged by @kasanya-01

“Just an arse-old stinky bathroom in a dusty inn. This town’s been a bust since before either of us could walk. Cloud. C’mon.” Touching him at this point just might be the only option left to snap him out of this funk. Or get her skewered on one of the many knives he keeps hidden up his sleeves or arse. Always a 50/50 chance with that one.

“Yeah. Rust,” her boss murmurs, and finally turns around to look up at his companion. “Rani, see if anyone’s up front and get us a room. I’ll call Tifa, she might’ve some new intel for us.”

“We’re staying here?” Seeing his blank look, she gives up on arguing and turns to leave him alone, muttering about wasted daylight and cockroaches.

Huffing to himself, Cloud turns back to the rusty bathtub. There is no coppery scent to it, iron and deep in his gut like a pool of blood on Modeoheim’s lab floors, the crisp snow from outside so far away it could as well be on another plane of reality.

One where Shinra helicopters did not crash and leave its crew diminished, one where Turks did not lag behind, where Soldiers had no business extending friendly hands and laughing with Cloud rather than at him.

I’ve been out of the loop on tumblr since forever and I don’t know who’s still active. If you see this and want to join in, hop on the bandwagon :)