#the lifestream

[mooglemedal]

"The Lifestream... It is the very essence of our star.." ♥ FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH SUMMER GAME FEST 2023 TRAILER (x)

[braverxchaos]

Their Voices brought some of my favorite Characters to life by lending them a voice. 🩷 So now I'll be theirs. I'm really hoping that Square Enix will consider a DLC for the Final Fantasy VII Remake Games and include both Voice casts.

That way all fans could experience the wonderful talent of both the new Voice Cast & The Original Cast. It would be a dream come true for me and I'm sure a lot of other fans too. Also, I'm sure it'd be a dream come true for all of the Original Cast to come back and reprise their roles as these characters as well.

For anyone who was a fan of Crisis Core, Advent Children, or Dirge Of Cerberus and would love to see a DLC happen in the near-future, please take a look at our petition to try and make this happen!

The Petition can be found Here.

[valentimmy]

vii

[princessstabbity]

Aerith channeling the lifestream.

[umbralstars]

Yes I got Material Ultimania Plus the other day. Anways shout out to Remake Sephiroth's battle lines being Like That.

"Prone to cryptic comments" y'all don't say. All of them are the brand of haughty edge-lord I adore, but special shout outs to:

- Directly saying lines from Advent Children ("On your knees" ; "Beg for forgiveness" ; "Shall I give you despair?") to all but scream that he is Incorrect and Should Not Be Here.

- The Weird ones that I believe are fairly rare(? I've never heard them in game at least) like "Pray for me" ; "Will you endure?" ; "Defy me" ; "I've been waiting for this" ; "Shall I sever your fate?" and "Will you weep for me?"

- How obvious it is he just Hates Tifa

- His quotes to Aerith where he seems to be genuinely asking her Why she's doing this given her fate will not change no matter what (which I'm saying Rebirth cements as being true)

I just think he's neat.

Bonus: my dog decided he's more important

[somebodys-nightmare]

Those Chosen by the Planet: Are Cloud & Tifa Soulmates?

We know from the OG/Compilation that Cloud & Tifa share a deep emotional and spiritual bond. But after Rebirth, I am curious about the true nature of their connection and how soul-bound they really are - and why.

In order to organize this efficiently, I’ve broken this down into parts to best explain both background information as well as specific events that have led me to my conclusions/thoughts. The outline is as follows:

Part 1: The Lifestream (Background)

Part 2: What’s Happening with Cloud?

Part 3: The Lifestream Scene (Chapter 9)

Part 4: The Reunion Flower & Tifa’s Trial

Part 5: The Ending

Part 6: The Lifestream Scene (OG/Part 3)

Part 7: Those Chosen by The Planet: Soul-bound

Let's get started!

Part 1: The Lifestream (Background)

To set the context, I want to first explain my thoughts on the nature of the Lifestream, which is the primary worldbuilding and lore context of FFVII and in particular, how it is being explored in the FF7R trilogy.

In the FFVII Rebirth Ultimania, scenario writer Mr. Nojima shares that he studied Buddhism’s Yogacara & Jung’s theory of the ‘collective unconscious’. He states these concepts inform the “worldview” of the story and give hints about the mysteries and the ending of the trilogy.

I believe that he is referring specifically to the multiple “worlds” that we see in FF7R, which in turn are manifestations of the Lifestream. Let’s break these down first. I will try to explain these concepts as succinctly and relevantly to FFVII as possible.

Yogacara is a school of Buddhist philosophy that states our experiences of the world are shaped entirely by our mind. What we perceive as the external world is really a projection of our consciousness. Thus, everything we experience is a result of mental activities & states.

There are 8 levels of ‘consciousness’ in the Yogacara philosophy:

1-5: The 5 Senses Consciousness: Sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. These are the things we “experience” in reality through our body’s physical perceptions.

6: The Mind Consciousness: The mental process that integrates and interprets the above sensory information. This is how our mind translates the Sense consciousness of what we see, hear, feel, etc.

7: The Self Consciousness: The aspect of consciousness that involves the sense of self and ego. This is the level of consciousness that revolves around our identity and how it relates to everything else.

8: The Storehouse Consciousness: The deepest level of consciousness that stores all past experiences and ‘karmic seeds’, influencing current and future experiences. These also shape and store an individual's hopes and dreams.

I believe that the Yogacara philosophy forms the lore’s basis of the ‘individual’ consciousness of a person, or their soul, as it relates to the Lifestream. Every human being has their own individual “Lifestream” which becomes a part of the “collective” Lifestream at death.

In this process, a person’s consciousness diffuses into the collective consciousness of the Lifestream. Considering what is happening to Cloud in the game, it is important to understand how the Yogacara and its levels of consciousness influence this lore.

Additionally, it's important to understand that both Sephiroth & Aerith are able to maintain their individual consciousness & not “diffuse” into the Lifestream. This is why after death they are still both ‘whole’ & able to traverse the Lifestream “worlds”.

Which brings me to…

The Collective Unconscious: In psychology, Jung’s collective unconscious describes the part of the unconscious mind that contains shared memories and archetypes common to all humanity.

These universal symbols & experiences influence our thoughts, feelings, & behaviors, connecting us to the broader human experience. It explains why people from different cultures or time periods can share myths, symbols, & themes in their stories and dreams.

I believe these both set basis for the “collective consciousness” of the Lifestream & its relation to the indivdual, which contains the essence of the planet & the memories, emotions, & knowledge of all who lived on it. In Rebirth, we see two representations of the Lifestream:

1. The Physical Lifestream: below ground, represented by ethereal green liquid, energy wisps, and rocky landscapes of the planet’s core. This is where Tifa falls in Gongaga, where the WEAPONs & Whispers are fighting, and where Sephiroth’s true form is.

It is also where Tifa sees fixed memories represented by holographs. This also seems to be the form of Lifestream reality in which the OG Lifestream scene takes place, again seen by the physical structures and the manner in which Cloud and Tifa fell into it in Mideel.

I believe the manifestations of individual consciousness/soul, or an individual’s lifestream, are seen here. Note that there is a physical battle between “the planet & its enemies” seen here and that Sephiroth is seen fighting perhaps more strenuously & aggressively than anywhere else, where we typically do not see his true form.

2. The Metaphysical Lifestream: This seems to be the “plane” of existence that manifests in infinite branches & paths, represented by rainbow imagery we see throughout the game & manifests the “worlds” present in 'Zack’s Story', each marked by a different breed of Stamp.

I believe that this is the manifestation of the “collective” Lifestream, thus containing memories, emotions, knowledge, AND hopes and dreams of the collective spirits within it.

This is where Zack’s realities manifest, representing, it seems, unfulfilled desires or unfinished business, creating a purgatory of sorts or a confluence of memories and emotions. Sephiroth and Aerith seem to have great power in and over these manifestations in different ways, which I believe is also a source of the conflict involving Zack (a separate conversation).

Now that we understand how the Lifestream seems to be functioning, this brings me to…

Part 2: What’s happening with Cloud?

Cloud’s true self/spirit/psyche is currently shattered within the collective unconscious of the metaphysical Lifestream. This is the definition of mako-poisoning, especially in a severe case like Cloud’s.

We see this explained with Jessie’s dad, as well as with Cloud in Mideel in the OG. When a person comes into prolonged contact with mako, they are at risk for information overload from the knowledge of the collective of the Lifestream.

This can cause a person to lose their sense of self, similar to how a person’s consciousness/soul diffuses into the Lifestream upon death. In the case of a living person who cannot withstand the mako poisoning, however, they become “trapped” or “shattered” in the Lifestream.

At this stage, Cloud is still functioning because his contact with Tifa allows him to “wake up” & build a persona, aided by the Jenova cells reading her memories, by his own desires & delusions of grandeur, and his memories of Zack’s experience.

However, we see his true, broken consciousness throughout the collective unconscious of the metaphysical Lifestream (Zack’s side story).

Tifa’s role, as we know, is to help Cloud restore his sense of self after further mako poisoning following the events of the Northern Crater when his false persona is broken and he falls into the Lifestream.

Which brings me to…

Part 3: The Lifestream Scene (Chapter 9)

There’s a lot to say about Chapter 9 and Gongaga, but Tifa falling into the Lifestream is arguably the most important scene in the game as far as foreshadowing for the final installment of the trilogy.

This scene’s purpose is to solidify Tifa’s heroine role for the third game and to prepare her for the task she will undertake, while giving basis for it - a basis that was famously unexplained in the OG but has now been fleshed out.

Tifa falls into the reactor’s mako pool & is carried directly into the physical Lifestream by the WEAPON in the earth’s core. Here, she sees her fixed memories, represented directly in the rocky terrain of the planet, & surrounded by energy wisps and liquid of the Lifestream.

While locations are fixed, images of memories are represented and play out with green holograms, and voices by green pulsing energy wisps. She also sees the white Whispers of the planet & the black Whispers of Sephiroth/Jenova fighting, & Sephiroth’s corruption of the Lifestream via Jenova, aka “Black” or “Negative” Lifestream, represented by purple energy.

Note that Sephiroth, in his true form, physically attacks Tifa & the WEAPON carrying her here.

I can’t say for sure, but while these are definitely Tifa’s memories, they also seem to be Cloud’s. Before Tifa falls into the Lifestream, Cloud becomes vulnerable to Sephiroth’s mental attack because of the effects of the mako fumes in the reactor. This leads me to believe there is an opening for Cloud’s consciousness in the Lifestream to be connected to Tifa's, and that the Planet took the opportunity of Tifa being pushed into the mako (by Cloud) to connect them.

The memories Tifa sees are her own but are also Cloud’s, and given the context of Gongaga but also Cloud’s identity crisis and the entire internal conflict, this is significant and what we must focus on.

The perspectives of the memories are more Cloud-centric - in 2 out of 3 the camera is behind Cloud (bridge and Tifa’s house) and in the third, the memory focuses on what Tifa is saying to Cloud (water tower).

We also have to consider Tifa’s lack of awareness of events and her memory loss during these memories. The Planet seems to be showing her these scenes from Cloud’s perspective to inform and prepare her prior to her duty in disc 2/part 3.

There are also untouched memory locations you can spot in the scene: the gates of Nibelheim, Stargazer Heights, and Seventh Heaven. The Nibelheim gates we know are important for Cloud’s identity from the OG Lifestream scene.

Stargazer Heights is where Cloud tells Tifa he remembers the promise (curiously, that memory is placed close to the water tower memory.)

And while Cloud and Tifa have obviously a lot of interactions in Seventh Heaven, I think the critical moments are actually those seen in Ever Crisis after Tifa finds Cloud at the train station, as those memories directly influence Cloud’s identity.

The “planet and its enemies” - The WEAPONs, Whispers, and Sephiroth and Jenova - are physically fighting over these memories. Sephiroth tries to kill Tifa here. We see the purple corruption of Lifestream Black occurring in this scene.

We see Tifa on the brink of death and seeing Cloud’s spirit being led away from her and her voice silenced from him by Sephiroth.

It seems to me that following this event, Cloud and Tifa’s consciousness’ are already linked. Tifa also has been given preemptive strength and knowledge to save Cloud when the time comes in part three.

Which brings me to…

Part 4: The Reunion Flower

The Reunion Lily appears on the mailbox of Tifa’s house twice: In Cloud’s flawed flashback of the Nibelheim Incident in Kalm, and during Tifa’s Trial in the Temple of the Ancients.

It does not appear at her house during the fixed memory in the Chapter 9 Lifestream scene. I think this is because the flower wasn’t actually there, but is rather a “totem” or marker of Cloud’s psyche.

Cloud knows from events in Remake what the flower symbolizes. In his flashback, he falsely remembers that he and Tifa reunited with him being a SOLDIER, though we know this isn’t true because he hid himself from her.

The flower reappears during Tifa’s Trial in the ToTA. Her trial takes place during the promise scene & the Nibelheim Incident, the same period as Cloud’s flashback, and when she was hoping to reunite with him - but thinks that she did not (because Cloud hid himself).

In the OG, the appearance of young Cloud is representative of the Real Cloud and his psyche. My belief is that his appearance here is another indication that after Tifa falls into the Lifestream, Cloud and Tifa are mentally and spiritually connected.

Next...

Part 5: The Ending

While the ending may be confusing, several replays make it clear to me that Aerith is dead & that once again, the metaphysical Lifestream (indicated by rainbows) is in play in what we see.

Cloud, who is shattered in the collective unconscious of the metaphysical Lifestream, can see what is “manifested” in these worlds. Similarly, these worlds are influenced not only by memories, and knowledge, but by hopes, dreams, and desires.

Without going off on another tangent, I think Cloud is seeing the manifestation of his desire to save Aerith’s life in the metaphysical Lifestream & that she is temporarily aiding him in this delusion (remember, Aerith can maintain her sense of self within the LS after death).

After the murder, Barret & Tifa run up & we are given BOTH of their perspectives of this death scene. Barret very clearly only sees the real-world scene - Aerith dead, bleeding, etc.

However, when we get Tifa’s perspective, she sees glimpses of what Cloud sees - including his mental static - with interspersed scenes of the real-world death and the rainbow Lifestream where Aerith is not dead or bleeding but is "saved”.

Tifa is quite confused & horrified but seems to accept the actual scene - her death. She is not deluded or blocking things out, she knows what is real.

It’s confusing but it is purposefully clear to me that Tifa is seeing, or can see, what Cloud sees. It is not revealed how much Tifa knows is Cloud’s delusion but it is clear that she is deeply affected, not only by the murder of her friend but by something else.

And Tifa remains disturbingly distraught for the rest of the game. In fact, when she calls Aerith’s name in this scene it’s her last line in the game - she does not speak again. Once again, this is a clue to me that Cloud & Tifa are soul-bonded bc of the chapter 9 events.

In the ending CGI, Cloud tells the group not to look up. Barret does and says he doesn’t see anything. Tifa looks up but doesn’t comment, instead continues to look distressed. Does she also see the rift that Cloud sees? Her behavior is the most jarring of the entire party.

In the penultimate cinematics, we see the WEAPONS circling Tifa & Cloud’s memories again, trying to protect them from “the planet’s enemies”. We can see Tifa’s house, the bridge, and the gates of Nibelheim under them.

These sequences are plot arrows for what we should expect to see in Part 3. It should be lost on no one that the planet is actively fighting to protect Cloud & Tifa’s precious memories, especially after personally guiding Tifa through them.

Which brings me to...

Part 6: The Lifestream Scene (OG/Part 3)

All of the above has led me to conclude that Cloud & Tifa are now spiritually or “soul-bound” in some way, explicitly for the preparation of the Lifestream Scene of Part 3.

Tifa’s role is to help Cloud “restore his sense of self” by entering his individual Lifestream and navigating their fixed memories and the truth about his identity in the physical Lifestream, which occurs when they fall in Mideel.

Rebirth has not only prepared Tifa for this role, but has given us the navigation, insight, and background lore for how it will occur and what the experience might actually entail. This may include elements of both the physical and Metaphysical Lifestream mentioned above.

It has set the stage for an in-depth expansion of the original scene that does not solely focus on what happened when rebuilding Cloud’s psyche, but the why behind his choices and decisions that let them to this moment.

These scenes have also demonstrated why Cloud’s consciousness - his individual Lifestream consciousness that contains his “self-consciousness” and “storehouse consciousness”- is and will remain closed off to anyone other than Tifa.

This is where Cloud’s true desires are concealed and must be revealed to Tifa in the Lifestream scene to facilitate his restoration and their reunion and reconciliation.

Which brings me to…

Part 7: Those Chosen by The Planet- Soulmates?

Why is all of this happening? Cloud is the boy who is destined to save the planet, and Tifa is destined to save him. If the planet has memories of the future as well as the past, then it knows this.

Just like the planet knows that it needs the last Cetra in the Lifestream to help save it, it also knows that it needs Cloud to defeat Sephiroth. And I think the planet has known this for a long time.

Is it far-fetched to wonder if the planet is somewhat responsible for the genesis of Cloud and Tifa’s bond? That, in keeping with the theme of fate, it has influenced the circumstances that have both brought them together and pulled them apart throughout the Compilation?

Is it possible that the planet kept baby Cloud and Tifa alive during the bridge incident? Now, with the context of the Remake Trilogy, I don’t see how two small children survived that fall.

Are Cloud and Tifa chosen by the Planet?

Are they soul mates?

Maybe we’ll find out.

Thanks for reading!

[the--calamity]

"Eventually... all humans die. What happens to them after they die? The body decomposes, and returns to the Planet. That much everyone knows. ...What about their consciousness, their hearts and their souls?" [Art for the 2023 FF7 Secret Santa Exchange.]

[bardic-tales]

Title: The Dream that Never Dies

Pairing: Bianca Moore(f!OC) / Sephiroth

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 1946

Fandom: Final Fantasy VII (AU)

Tags: Alternative Universe, Canon Divergence, Crossover (original & FF 7), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Whump, Enemies to Lovers, Soulmates, Anxiety and Mental Health, Introspection, Magic and Fantasy, Parallel Universe, Supernatural

Warnings: Psychological manipulation, captivity, emotional coercion, non-consensual touching, obsession, trauma responses, intense imagery, unsettling themes, yandere

Summary: In a dreamscape of silver moonlight and withering flowers, Bianca runs, but Sephiroth always follows, waiting for the moment she will surrender.

Author’s Note: This story explores Yanderoth (yandere!Sephiroth) and takes place after Bianca is captured by Shinra following the Nibelheim Incident. With his descent into madness already set in motion, Sephiroth becomes obsessively fixated on reclaiming her, unwilling to let anyone else have what he deems his. His love for Bianca twists into dangerous possessiveness, driving him to extreme lengths to ensure she remains by his side. As Bianca struggles against both Shinra’s torment and Sephiroth’s relentless pursuit, their bond is tested in ways neither of them could have foreseen. This is a dark and intense take on relationships, blending obsession, devotion, and the unbreakable thread that ties them together.

The dreamscape shimmered and pulsed as Bianca ran through it, the air thick with the scent of unknown flowers and a feeling of unreality. The air rasped in and out of her lungs, a harsh, ragged sound accompanying her desperate struggle. She darted through the night-blooming flowers, their velvety petals brushing her ankles as her feet barely touched the soft earth.

With a silken whisper, the silver petals shut, concealing her passage as a sea of blossoms unfolded before her, their delicate perfume a sweet and subtle reminder of her journey. The eternal moonlight cast long, dancing shadows on the twisted trees. Their argent and ebony leaves shimmered in the gentle glow. A soft, almost inaudible breeze stirred the leaves. The white ribbon, stark against the ethereal landscape Sephiroth had crafted, fluttered behind her like a lost soul. Its delicate fabric whispering secrets only the wind could understand.

Sephiroth followed. He pursued behind her, his steps slow and deliberate, each one carefully placed and measured. His footsteps smashed the flowers behind her as he endlessly pursued his query. In the dim glow, his long, straight silver hair shimmered like a cascade of liquid mercury. With an intensity that pierced the dreamscape’s soft haze, his cyan eyes glowed, their pupils slit. His black coat moved around him like a living shadow, as his silver pauldrons caught the moonlight as he stalked her, his presence a blend of elegance and menace. His gloved hands hung loosely at his sides, the fingers gently flexing, as if silently expecting the exact moment he would seize his opportunity to catch her.

“You can’t run from me, Bianca,” he called, his voice a smooth ripple through the night air. A chilling calm settled over his words, devoid of any heat, yet laced with a bone-deep certainty that sent shivers down her spine. “You’ve returned to me, just as I knew you would.”

With each gasping breath, her bare feet pounded the earth, the yielding grass offering no respite from her desperate flight. Her wild, luminous indigo eyes darted around for an escape, but this world was his. There were no doors or edges, only the endless expanse of his creation. Her wings, heavy with the weight of despair, beat weakly, a desperate struggle against his unyielding chase. She had learned by now that nothing in this place was accidental. An icy dread seeped into her bones as his insidious influence coiled around her, leaving her vulnerable and exposed.

With each lengthening stride, Sephiroth left a trail of withered flowers, their once-bright colors fading to brown beneath his dark influence; the crunch of his boots broke the silence only. He did not need to rush. As a hunter who had already cornered his prey, his movements were a deliberate waltz with the inevitable outcome, a dance of precision and purpose leading to a certain capture.

Bianca stumbled, her porcelain skin catching the moonlight as she fell to her knees. Her fingers dug into the earth, and the silver threads of grass twisted around her hands like chains. Trembling violently, she felt like a wounded creature trapped within the nightmarish grip of the dream, its power overwhelming her senses and leaving her vulnerable and afraid.

A bitter dread, like a Northern wind, washed over her as she felt Sephiroth’s presence loom a few paces behind, his shadow stretching long and menacing.

“Enough, Bianca,” he murmured, his voice both a command and a caress. His arm shot out, a rush of warmth enveloping him as the flowers bloomed brighter, the sky exploding with vibrant color with the rotating crimson and cyan glow of the nebula and celestial bodies overhead suspended in their orbit. The slow, deliberate approach was all she could sense before the crushing weight of oblivion, paralyzed as she was and feeling his coat brush against her as a final, heavy touch. His hand rested on her back. His thick fingers moved slowly, languidly, across the material of her trench coat, their touch feather-light as they brushed against the soft down of her wings.

With a sharp jerk of her head, her eyes blazed with furious intensity, and an uncontrolled rage emanated from her entire being. “I don’t belong here. I don’t belong with you.”

His lips curved into a slow, tender smile, a smile so gentle that it almost seemed to soften his features, yet it couldn’t quite erase the sharp angles of his face, leaving a hint of underlying intensity.

“You are exactly where you belong. With me.” A cold, gloved hand brushed her cheek, making her breath catch in her throat, a shiver tracing her spine. A furious fire ignited within her at his touch, a cruel mockery of the intimacy she had once experienced with him, his hand brushing hers with a shocking intensity.

“You choose her.” Her voice, a ragged whisper, trembled with a pain so profound it felt as if her very soul was unraveling. “You chose madness.”

His smile remained a serene mask. “I chose truth. And you, my beautiful little bird, you came back to me despite it all. Our bond, our thread tying us together, led you here. You can deny it all you wish, but your soul knows where it belongs.”

She struck him then. Her fist crashed against his chest, hitting him in the center where his suspenders crossed his massive pecs. The impact, though considerable, had absolutely no physical effect on him whatsoever.

However, the intense, unfiltered agony reflected in her eyes stirred a strange reaction within him, a perverse sense of satisfaction that seemed to solidify his certainty, as though her suffering provided the last piece of validation he required. With repeated blows, her sharp nails raked across his coat, leaving bloody streaks that looked as if her touch alone possessed the power to rend not just his clothing, but the very essence of his being, a terrifying demonstration of her strength and anger.

“You died!” she screamed. “I saw you!! I-I saw you in the Nibel Reactor. I saw you fall. I tried to reach for you but you turned your back on me!”

The rawness of her sobs, jagged and uncontrolled, caused her strength to abandon her, leaving her weak and slumped against him. Clawing at his coat, her knuckles white, a biting tremor ran through her as she buried her face in his chest, the silence deafening. Each shuddering breath was a quiet betrayal of her resolve, a small crack in the dam of her composure that threatened to unleash the torrent of her emotions.

As his arms encircled her, dread gripped her as Sephiroth’s arms encircled her, as their pressure was suffocating, like a vise tightening around her ribs. His chin trembled on her head. The scent of lavender and smoke—a phantom sweetness—was a chilling reminder of their fleeting time together. Each breath was a chilling reminder of the lurking danger, like icy fingers gripping her throat.

“It is the world that died, not I,” Sephiroth whispered into her hair. His breath ruffled her soft, dark strands. “I am here, Bianca. I have always been here, waiting for you.” His fingers tightened around her, his grip enough to bruise. “You saw me fall, but what you truly saw was the world shedding its illusion. I am reborn, and I offer you the same rebirth. You need only accept it.”

“I don’t want this.” As she sobbed, her breaths became softer, each one trembling against him, a delicate shudder against his chest. “I don’t want you.”

A low, dark chuckle, originating from deep within his chest, vibrated through his body, resonating into hers and sending shivers down her spine with its intensity.

“Lies. You are here because you want me. Because despite everything, you still love me.” Slowly and deliberately, his free hand moved up her stomach, tracing the scar to her navel before circling it and moving up her torso until he stop under her supple breasts. Warm against her ear, his breath carried the weight of unspoken sorrows, a sigh escaping his lips in a barely audible whisper. “You kept my ribbon, even now. You can never escape me because I am part of you. Just as you are part of me.”

The contact felt like the weight of ashes settling on her skin; a chilling touch that extinguished the last flickering embers of her already dwindling hope. The crimson thread throbbed, a frantic pulse of dread against the encroaching darkness, mirroring her terror.

“Look at me.” His gentle words barely registered; her head slowly rose, the weight of grief pressing down on her, eyes overflowing with unshed tears. “There is no freedom outside of me. No sanctuary but the one I offer. The world beyond this dream is nothing but cruelty and chains. But here, with me, you can be whole again.”

With a gentle touch, his thumb brushed the corner of her eye, smudging the remaining trace of a tear; in that moment, it was as if a painter was skillfully blending a stroke of despair into their work of art, making the emotion part of the finished product.

She shook her head, but her movements were sluggish, as if the weight of his words pressed down on her very bones. “You’re just another cage,” she whispered.

“No.” His voice, a silken thread weaving through her mind, was accompanied by the oppressive weight of his presence, crowding and constricting her thoughts. “I am the key. And you, my love, you are the lock. Without me, you remain closed, lost.”

She didn’t respond. Her chest ached, each shallow breath a painful reminder of their loss, his death and rejection, that left her hollow.

Shifting his weight, he leaned closer, the distance between their lips now negligible, a mere breath separating them. “You need only say yes, and I will make this dream your eternity.”

As he drew closer, she gasped, her breath hitching in her throat, and her lips parted involuntarily, overwhelmed by his nearness. She knew Sephiroth could feel her surrender; a tangible shift in the air, thick with the scent of her grief and defeat, a silent cry swallowed by his power. She was incredibly close to surrendering, to allowing him to completely pull her into the encompassing darkness where, together, they would rule as gods amidst the ruins of a fallen Existence.

But then, a flicker of resistance, a spark of that angelic light that still clung to her soul. She pulled back, her voice small but firm. “No.”

The word, a delicate and fragile thing, hung suspended in the air between them, heavy with unspoken meaning and implications. His smile tightened, a fissure cracking through his perfect composure.

“You say no now,” Sephiroth drawled, “but this dream will not end, Bianca. Every time you close your eyes, I will be here. Waiting. And you will come to me, again and again, until you realize that your dreams are the only reality worth living. You will be mine.”

He let go, and as she fell, the world tilted sickeningly, the vibrant petals of the flowers seeming to claw at her. Sephiroth rose, his silhouette a lonely monument against the cold, indifferent glow of the moon. His predatory gaze never left hers, a burning intensity promising a nightmarish devotion. The chilling weight of Shinra’s violation of her body and Sephiroth’s corruption of her mind was palpable in that unwavering stare, promising endless torment with no escape unless she gave in.

“I am your haven, Bianca,” he murmured as the dreamscape shifted, drawing her into another cycle of their twisted dance. “And you will come to love your prison, just as you were always meant to.”

tagging some fellow mutuals: @themaradwrites @craftyhal @megandaisy9 @watermeezer

@prehistoric-creatures @creativechaosqueen @chickensarentcheap @seastarblue

@inkandimpressions @arrthurpendragon

[ostdrossel]

With a lot of headache (IPs stuff drives me nuts!) I managed to get the pond cam livestream back up and running. You can find it above. I also got the Groundcam stream back up and will add a link in the comments. You can also watch both on my website ostdrossel.com :) I am so happy I can watch what happens at night again!

(If the link does not work, I may have had to restart the stream and the program forced me to use another link. check my YT channel for the live cams.)

[kay-i]

rebirth is coming soon...

[rocketbirdie]

Canon tgirl sephiroth

REAL AND TRUE

[uncouthseaslug]

“Mother… Let’s go to the Promised Land together.”

FFVII The Last Order

[tina-nina]

I needed more characters blatantly appalled by the regulators and going "yeah, we need to dismantle that brick by bloody brick" instead of "oh wow that's kind of wack, let's try and see where they're coming from."

I know where they're coming from. It still needs to be dismantled brick by bloody brick.

[emcapi-gaming]

time for more Ardwin fun facts: mysterious(?) origin story edition

To recap: I decided Ardwin was actually one of the original Warriors of Light and got yeeted forward in time by Louisoix, but her memory got completely scrambled, and she remembers nothing before waking up on the ship to Limsa.

Well, I've now managed to put together a lot of the series of events that occurred between those two things.

First: in her case, Louisoix's teleport was a little bit less "elegant time travel" and a little bit more "ye olden Flow, but slightly fancier, and expecting/hoping that the WoL off-the-charts levels of anima will get them out the other side safely."

This, combined with getting smacked with a rejoining while in the middle of the Lifestream, and with the general Calamity memory-fuckery magic to top it all off, is why her memory is absolutely fried.

She pops back out at the five-year mark, as intended, somewhere in the woods of Old Sharlayan, and she is extremely confused (in the medical sense). Her survival instinct and/or Inner Beast manage to kick in, though, and she lives for several days. Until some poor researcher looking for herb samples stumbles across her and nearly has a heart attack because there is a butt-naked Roegadyn in the middle of the forest, very nonchalantly chowing down on an entire raw elk she managed to club to death with a tree branch, looking like one of those photos of wolves covered in blood after a kill.

Seeing another person randomly panic and run away from her snaps her out of it a little bit (which is fortunate, because the researcher runs away and comes back with a security detail, who would have gone the same way as the elk if she was still in Feral Mode and they tried to apprehend her.)

She doesn't say anything, but she obviously understands what they're saying, and lets them get her some clothes and take her back to the city, and to the medical center there. None of the sages or physicians can figure out what's actually wrong with her, but within a few days, she starts acting more lucid and remembering a few words. ("Healer," "food," and "axe!!!" are some of the first ones.)

About a week in, she's back to speaking in full (though short) sentences and obviously getting antsy. One of the physicians escorts her outside for a walk, and then she sees a ship in the harbor and gets very excited and starts going on about something to do with Limsa. It's not clear what she means, but she's increasingly insistent about having to get to Limsa.

The healers are at a bit of a loss for what to do with her (and also a little uncomfortable with the fact that she stole an axe from somewhere, has been clinging to it like a teddy bear, and literally growled the last time someone tried to take it away) so they shrug and stick her on the next ferry to Limsa Lominsa, assuming she must be from there, which also happens to be the same ferry the Leveilleur twins are taking. Partway through this journey is when she gets a little vision from the Mothercrystal, which coincides with the point where her mind has finally recovered just enough to start saving long-term memory again.

...And then, two years later, Ardwin, Champion of Eorzea and Warrior of Light, returns to Sharlayan, and the researcher who originally found her can't fucking believe his eyes because that's the feral Roegadyn from the woods what the FUCK-

[phantomyre]

"By her loving grace and providence, may we take our place in paradise."

The Cetra Story (Ever Crisis FF7) (SPOILER)

[renegadeem]

Cid Loving Week - Day 7 - Meteor

It is done!

Many thanks to @cid-loving-hours for organizing the week, I had a blast making all of these!

It was my first time joining an event like this, and it was so fun! I was kind of nervous at first and struggled a bit to get started, but once the gears finally shifted I really went ham on it.

I hope these were as fun to see as they were to make ^_^

Don’t forget to appreciate Cid Highwind everyday!