#zack is very cheerful even when losing

[zimithrus1]

I’m quite late, but here’s my entry for @zakkuraweek‘s day 5. I went with Modern AU - Zack is a streamer as is Cloud, but no one knew they were dating 😂

#tbh I forgot I had this finished #zakkuraweek2022 #zakkura #clack #cloud strife #zack fair #cloud/zack #ffvii #ff7 #ffvii fanart #modern au #streamer au #yes Zack is using a plain office chair and he gets dogged on for it - pun intended lol #my hc is Zack plays games like rainbow seige and league of legends #and cloud plays games like animal crossing and splatoon lmao #zack is very cheerful even when losing #and cloud cusses up a storm when he loses a turf war by 1% or gets stung by wasps lol #anyway thats enough rambling lol #zimidrawz #my art

[trinitvii-r]

VP Squared - Prologue

(ffvii x reader

When Rufus Shinra continues operating with barely any oversight, his father decides perhaps assigning him a SOLDIER — under the guise of security — would make him privy to his son’s plans.

He really should have seen this coming.)

It’s a well known fact within Shinra that Rufus is a smug asshole. Even someone as sweet as Zack Fair would admit as much, albeit perhaps with a bit of guilt.

Another well known fact is that the Shinra heir is simply awaiting the moment his father drops dead. Despite the numerous metaphorical chains to stifle him, Rufus merely bides his time and sinks his claws in whatever he can.

More of an open secret than a “known fact,” is that the Administrative Research Department operates independently of Heidegger, despite what it says on paper. The Turks — as they’re called — may be Shinra’s intelligence agency, but ultimately their loyalties are to Rufus Shinra alone.

So it came as a surprise to everyone when President Shinra decided that in the interest of his son’s safety, Rufus’ Turks are not enough. Perhaps to an outsider, this would be seen as nothing more than a father caring for his son, but to anyone else in the company this was Rufus being put on a leash. It meant more eyes to keep watch of whatever dirty tricks the VP might pull. Whoever would be his SOLDIER bodyguard, Director Lazard, and Professor Hojo at the very least would have to report straight to the President on whatever they find.

The Shinra Dining Hall is deadly silent when SOLDIERs First Class Sephiroth, Angeal Hewley, and Genesis Rhapsodos walk in. All eyes are on them, hungry for any clue as to which one of them could have been assigned babysitting duty. Even Cadet Cloud Strife couldn’t resist joining in.

This may be the one thing that unites all Shinra employees. Gossip. Besides, it would be nice to feel better about oneself. Regardless of how much working at Shinra may suck, at least you’re not the poor fool caught between the President and his own son in their battle for power. This sentiment had already been parroted at least four times this morning, and each time bringing more laughs than the last.

The betting pool has more zeroes than Cloud thought possible. Most of the middle managers think Sephiroth is the obvious choice. His loyalty to the company must mean he’d be loyal to the President too, right? On the other hand, the secretaries have unanimously agreed that it would be Angeal Hewley because he’s just so kind and has honor, whatever that means. They’re confident enough in their answer that they’ve already begun plotting ways to assist him, to make it easier for him, you know? Everyone else either threw in random names, (like an underdog story, except instead of winning they lose… because they’d have to babysit Rufus fucking Shinra) or chose Genesis Rhapsodos because the idea of those two within a couple feet of each other at all times is absolutely hilarious.

Part 2 of the Betting Pool is in the instance of Genesis Rhapsodos being selected, who would cry first. Him or Rufus? The votes are split evenly down the middle, that is until Sephiroth passes by and bets on Genesis.

Nobody says a thing. Angeal gives everyone a tight smile, and politely waves goodbye as the two of them walk out.

Thirty seconds later, a huffy Genesis Rhapsodos passes by the same board, and screams. His fury is tamped down when he spills some coffee on himself. Right as he exits, a cheerful voice greets him, “G’morning!”

His salutation is ignored, and the slamming of the doors is a precursor to the noise that returns.

It’s right then that Cloud realizes something. Nobody bothered to vote for the man walking towards him at the moment.

“Heya, Cloud!”

The puppy face is enough to convince Cloud that not even the demon himself could do something so dastardly to Zack Fair.

“Hey, man. Did you hear about the thing?”

Zack’s grin is almost blinding as he throws his arm around Cloud. “Aw man, lemme tell you.” Everyone else is discreetly observing the two. “The SOLDIER common area went wild on that last night.”

This oughta be good.

Thus begun the best week for every non-SOLDIER Shinra employee. The rumor mill showed no signs of slowing down, and everyone else found schadenfreude at the usual cocky SOLDIERs becoming shells of their former selves.

The following Monday, Rufus struts through the lobby with a familiar figure clad in what would be called a typical SOLDIER Third Class uniform, except it’s been customized to be a deep black. A stark contrast to Rufus’ all white ensemble… and an obvious dig at SOLDIER regulations.

Another three things became apparent to any person seeing this new development:

1. Midgar’s number one Bastard* really should have seen this coming.

*President Shinra

2. Bastard’s son** really was a little shit…

**Rufus Shinra

3. …and Bastard’s actual literal bastard*** just got threatened or blackmailed.

***SOLDIER Director Lazard Deusericus

However there was one thing nobody knew the answer to… just how the hell did Rufus get one of his Turks to become an official SOLDIER?!

An angry Heidegger storms through the silent space, headed directly for the Vice President himself. Until he finds his neck on the end of a stiletto dagger. His wide eyes meet deadly, yet apathetic non-mako non-SOLDIER eyes.

“One more step, and I’ll slice your neck clean off.”

The only audible reaction is the receptionist’s squeaky gasp. Though, the shock is clear on everyone else’s face.

Rufus barks a hearty laugh, and lowers your weapon from the poor man’s neck. The touch of his hand on yours a clear display of mutual respect and trust. “Now, now.” At your annoyed look, he merely smirks. “I’m sure Heidegger just wanted to congratulate you on your promotion.” Like a flash went through his face, Rufus levels the man with a menacing stare. “Isn’t that right?”

Before he gets his answer, Rufus leads you towards the elevator. A hushed argument plays between the two of you, but the fond smile on the VP’s face betrays the ruse.

As the elevator doors close, the rumor mill is back in full swing.

Nobody even noticed poor Heidegger fall to his knees.

#final fantasy x reader #final fantasy 7 #rufus shinra x reader #but not just him tho ❤️ #sephiroth x reader #angeal hewley x reader #genesis rhapsodos x reader #zack fair x reader #tifa lockhart x reader #aerith gainsborough x reader #jessie rasberry x reader

[altocat]

dear zack,

you’re such an inspiration! my question for you is, how do you stay so cheerful when your job is often so bleak?

DEAR ANON (whoa caps sorry!),

HI! AM I WRITING THIS CORRECTLY? HEY! How's it going!

Hell yeah I'm an inspiration! You're looking at Soldier's latest and greatest hero! I'm gonna be the best there's ever been, just watch me!

The secret to kicking ass and staying cheerful is to grab life by the balls and squeeze the hell out of-

Angeal is glaring over my shoulder. I gotta keep it classy. Just be yourself, stay true to who you are, and have a lot of faith in people! Dreams and honor--like my mentor Angeal says! Take things one day at a time and hold onto the things you care about. You'll never lose yourself so long as there's something or someone you really care for. And when you find it, fight for it with everything you got! Even if you have to die for it, fight for a purpose! I mean, that's how I feel. You can't let the bleak stuff overtake you. You just gotta put your best foot forward and fight until the very end, even if it seems hopeless.

I'm rooting for you, Anon! You're gonna make it out there! Don't give up and don't back down for anything. You're gonna do great, buddy!

Love and peace,

Zack Fair, Soldier First-Class

#asks #ff7 #ffvii #crisis core #final fantasy 7 #zack fair #angeal hewley

[lunaetis]

@kiriisu​ asked :

Why should I care about these people so much when it's not even worth a broken coin from their dirty hand? Nobody cared about me and Zack when we needed your help! Avalanche's help. Just let me go. If we meet again it may be under much more cheerful circumstances.

unprompted. || always accepting

─「ティファ」─  why would he care ? the FIGHTER asked herself the very same question, and even when she couldn’t find an appropriate answer for herself, she continued to walk this path she had chosen. the path that she didn’t know where it would lead. a path started by HOPE for a better future, for people who had lived under the sunlight, under the plate obscuring the first light of the day. hopeless, weak, abandoned. tifa lockhart wanted to fight for those people, the ones who had felt the SAME as she did all those years ago when she stared at the rising flames of what used to be her hometown.

                “ i do. ” her voice cut through his own, and even so the tone she carried was trembling as did her hands that held against each other. lips thinned, throat parched in a way that she felt like her words that were to leave her tongue would cut her own vocal chords. “ i always care about you. i had always ... always searched for you. ” even when things seemed hopeless, even when it had been SO MANY YEARS since that childhood promise they made under the stars. she held onto it.

                even when she had to watch their hometown being burned to the ground.

                “ i’ve lost so many people i love, i don’t want to lose you too, cloud. ” not him, anyone but not him. those crimson hues were pleading, wordlessly begging for him not to leave. if it were someone else, she would’ve let them go with a heavy heart. but when it was him, she couldn’t bring herself to let go of his hand, to let him walk away. “ please. ”

#kiriisu #.answered #.[ tifa.lockhart ] #.[ you are the first dream of my soul; the only dream i was unable to stop myself from dreaming: cloud & tifa ] #[ wHY IS IT THAT YOU WELCOMED ME WITH THESE TWO WITH ANGST ??? HJKLHJLKHJLK #I WANT TO SAY I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS BUT I TOTALLY DID DIDN'T I ??? #HERE HAVE A TAG #MY HEART HURTS I AM NOT OKAY ]

[ussygussymy]

Found You || Euntae Lee (VIII)

Referenced Episodes: 18, 24, 25, and 26

— —

“Jihyun please come over now”

The call was unexpected. The sun was on its way to setting and established a gentle warm glaze over the land. Jihyun had found herself walking home alone after her ventures at the library with Zack and Mira. Jihyun rolled her eyes when she heard Jace’s voice at the other end.

“Did you forget to bring Vasco a roll of toilet paper again?”

“No Jihyun, I’m serious about this one. Come to the construction site at [N/A]”

Jihyun tensed up, she could hear the urgency in his voice. Turning around, Jihyun uttered “Ok,” before briskly making her way there.

— —

Arriving there, Jihyun found herself overwhelmed by Burn Knuckles members who were also expecting news. Seeing her there seemed to rile them even more. They flocked her on all sides, asking her a series of questions.

“Where’s Vasco?”

“Is he dead?”

“Where is home I am lost???””

“What happened to Vasco??”

Jihyun grit her teeth, attempting to push the swarm away.

“How should I know? I’m not his girlfriend!”

They all seemed to stop, watching her with questioning looks. One of them uttered, “....You aren’t?”

Jihyun looked bewildered as well, “What?! No! You know what, I don't even have time for this!” Jihyun pushed her way through at last before she could get questioned about her status even more and found Jace a little ways ahead. Though the next site proved to surprise her even more.

Out before her, sprawled on the floor was Vasco, unconscious from the looks of it. Questions began to follow, ones that were too fast for even Jihyun to keep up with. Jace acted as her guide at that moment.

“We can’t let Burn Knuckles know about this.” Jace spoke solemnly, turning to Jihyun. Jihyun nodded wordlessly, allowing herself to kneel next to Vasco.

Jihyun tentatively clasped the side of Euntae’s face, turning it. She could not help the wince come over her body, seeing the black eye the boy had gotten.

“What beast could have overpowered him..” Jihyun could only think of a few individuals who might have been able to.

“I watched it happen, and didn’t do anything, again.” Jihyun could hear the guilt in his tone. She got up, approaching Jace and giving him a sympathetic rub to his shoulder.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, we can still help him now.”

Jace nodded, her words had done little to get through to him but at least he had companionship. “It was Daniel Park,” he continued.

That got an immediate rise out of Jihyun.

“Daniel Park?! The new kid?!”

This was definitely a new development.

“I’m shocked too.”

Jihyun nodded and let it marinate in her brain. Daniel Park was strong enough to defeat both Zack, a former boxer, and Vasco, the leader of a crew, it seemed he was much stronger than he was letting on. It was almost as if a lightbulb went off in Jihyuns head as her eyes brightened. The J High festival would be in a few days, that would be the perfect opportunity to test Daniels' strength. Jihyun cheered to herself silently before turning to the matter at hand.

“Let’s get rid of the body!” Jihyun called in an almost delightful way.

Jace looked at her with horror.

“You don’t have to look so cheerful about it!”

— —

The J High Festival had arrived at last, although Jihyun wasn’t one for festivities, she was excited about this one. Today was the day she’d finally be able to measure Daniels skills, while there was no lab setting, she would be able to make good enough measurements.

Jihyun glanced at the Architecture Depts booth, very mediocre in design. She sighed at their activity, arm wrestling, at least it was making them revenue. Jihyun would probably embezzle that larger anyways, the school didn’t need ALL that money.

Jihyun watched all the men leaving the chair defeated after losing to Vasco at arm wrestling. Grinning to herself, Jihyun sat down in the chair opposite of Vasco.

“I’d like to earn some money.”

Vasco looked incredulously at her, “I can’t, it’s against the rules.”

Jihyun sighed, as if to deflate, “You’re no fun.”

Once again, the long line of customers approached, Jihyun could spot a dribble make its way down Vasco’s stoic face. It seems Jace immediately took notice and found a solution before Jihyun could speak.

“Vasco! Let’s do something else! Like something we can do with girls!”

“I’m a girl too!” Jihyun spoke up annoyed, her remark went unnoticed.

Vasco looked back at Jace with his happy face, a glow on his cheeks. Jihyun threaded her brows together, scoffing.

They all went and got aligned for being waterbombed, seeing as it was a chance to interact with women and get money. Yet contrarily, Vasco’s vicious face scared away all the girls interested in water bombing.

Jihyun stepped up, flinging water bombs at their faces with vigor. “Go to hell!” In the end, they ended up getting five dollars for the five times Jihyun opted to throw water bombs at their faces.

— —

After the first modeling event, the charity date auction came around. Jihyun was just barely interested in that, the entire event had her wanting to sleep but she managed. After all the bids had come up, Vasco finally came up. The crows around her got to talking.

“Wow, look at that body.”

“Cute~”

“He’s getting red-”

“His shoulders are broad.”

Presumably the comments made him tense up and get nervous, resulting in his nervous face once more. Most of the bidders were scared off after that. Unbeknownst to her, Jihyun grinned, knowing Vasco had no bids, but upon seeing a tear dribble down his face, she rolled her eyes and pulled up her own stick.

“One dollar,” she muttered.

“What was that ma’am?” The announcer called.

“One dollar!” Jihyun yelled, entirely too loud as the crowds around her now began to look at her.

Vasco deflated even more, “It doesn’t matter, she's my friend.”

Jihyun, getting angry, threw the stick at Vasco’s face, just barely missing. “I want my one dollar back then!”

The other contestants continued to follow. Jihyun only seemed to start to notice when she saw Gun with another girl at the event. The girl called out “five thousand,” before successfully bidding on Daniel. Jihyun watched them leave before slinking away from the event and finding herself in the school's parking lot. Daniel approached the two who were about to head away in their car.

“Ah um. Thank you,” Spoke Daniel. “That other girl almost won but..” Daniel continued.

“Hey, you. What is wrong with her? You think you’re so hot? I think you’re deluded. You think I bought you because I like you?!” Spoke the girl, nonchalant to Daniel's appearance.

It seems the next part was more for Gun than for Daniel, “Why the hell does he want me to keep an eye on him?” She continued, speaking to Daniel this time, “Do not look down on others just because you're handsome.”

Finally she turned for the last time, “Let’s go.” she spoke getting in the car.

Daniel panicked, before reaching his arm out, “Just a sec!”

Gun was quick to catch his hand, “That’s enough. Who do you think you’re going to touch?”

Jihyun felt her eyes widen as Daniel flicked Gun's hand away like nothing. The moment had caught Gun off guard as well, he looked shocked someone was able to do that.

“Let..Let go.” Daniel spoke.

“This punk..” Gun got agitated, before attempting a kick on Daniel. Just before he could dodge, he changed his angle of approach. “Good eye. You’re a fun guy.”

“Hmm.. Personally I’d like to let you go but..I have to listen to the person who’s paying me..Your eyes are good. Or have I slowed down? Don’t think so..You have talent.” Gun continued, assessing Daniel. Jiyun watched, making note of all he was saying.

“Just.. Just a sec! Gun! He said to just keep watch. You don’t need to.. You received that instruction!” The girl argued.

“I was told..To make sure that no one touches you. And if someone tries to do so, I have to crush him.”

Suddenly a new voice rung, Vasco! Without knowing why, Jihyun was anxious. For once she took her eyes off Daniel to let them settle on Euntae.

“Hey glasses. What..do you think you’re doing? I saw everything you punk.” In Vasco’s hand was a carton of chocolate milk, Jihyun felt tempted to stop him but was afraid of revealing her position.

“Who are you? His friend?” Gun spoke, looking over.

“Yeah. His friend.” That was an unexpected development, apparently Jihyun hadn’t been paying close enough attention.

“...So, don’t mess with him or you mess with me.” Euntae spoke in a threatening manner.

Before he got the chance to speak again, Gun threw a punch in his direction, correlating directly with his face.

“Mess with you? Don’t mind if I do.”

“..Your glasses. Take them off.” Once again Gun was thrown off guard by the fact Vasco was able to take the punch so well.

“Hah, I’m surprised again. Didn’t that hurt? This school really is fun.” Gun spoke, taking his glasses off.

“Okay. Here it comes.” Vasco spoke, getting into his Hero Man stance. Before he could strike, the girl stepped in.

“Wait! He didn’t lay a finger on me! Shall I tell him you’ve been fighting again? Shall I ask him to send you back to your original place? If you go back, Goo will really like that!” She interjected, attempting to stop a conflict from occurring.

“I lost my reason. Since I haven’t fought for ages..You can put your arms down now..I gotta tone it down now. I have to take the GED test.” Gun spoke, calming down.

The girl spoke up again, “Don’t worry about the bid money. It’s not my money and that's going to be donated anyway. Next time you see me say hi. Oh..and..sorry that he kicked you.” They left wordlessly, without ever knowing Jihyun had seen them, finally judging this was as good a time as any, Jihyun emerged from the shadows.

“Vasco! There you are!” Jihyun called, feigning surprise as she watched him sink down. Beside her, Daniel was worried.

“Va..Vasco!! Are you okay?”

Jihyun knelt down beside Vasco, seeing the blood drop from his nose.

“Who was that in the glasses?” Vasco inquired, turning his head towards Daniel.

“I..I don’t know!!”

“I can beat you if we fight again..But..I can’t defeat that guy.”

“What guy in glasses?” Jihyuns question went unanswered, it was cautionary anyway. Jihyun knew Euntae wouldn’t be able to defeat him but she still empathized with him.

“..I’m still..too weak Jihyun” Vasco looked downcast, squeezing his fist.

Jihyun sighed, she hated seeing her friend this way. Wordlessly she took his palm in her hand, beside them, Daniel spoke up.

“..Vasco. Thanks for helping me out.”

Vasco held out a carton of chocolate milk to Daniel, a signal of his friendship. Jihyun looked at the two beside her, this might make her task a little easier.

#lookism #euntae lee #jace park #vasco

[im-totally-not-an-alien]

Final Fantasy 7 prompts #70

1. Time traveler au where everyone remembers, and I mean everyone!

Hojo? Incredibly curious about this new phenomenon and is hunting Cloud like a Zolom slithering up to a Chocobo

Sephiroth: Also hunting Cloud, although for entirely different reasons

Genesis full on tackle-hugged Angeal to the ground and not even a half hour later the scene repeats with the puppy

Random people on the streets scream and cry in delight at seeing thier loved ones for the first time since The Plate/Meteorfall/Geostigma took them from the world of the living.

Its a mess.

2. Cloud was never a selfish man. At least, he never considered himself to be. But standing here, aiming a gun at a sleeping man's head, he couldn't help to feel like he was.

3. Cloud sniffled, staring at his campfire as the wind blows at it. Its as if the wind god himself is trying to snuff out the only comfort he had left. He didn't mean to betray the group, he swears.

Not that it meant much.

(Au where Cloud never got mako poisoned after giving Sephiroth the black materia and swam away from Tifa, losing her in the lifestream)

4. After going through yet another tragic event, his mind shuts down. He fell into a coma (again) this time within the lifestream

Now its up to Zack and Aerith to save him from himself by entering Clouds dreamworld and spending time with him in hopes of convincing him to leave. They didn't count on Cloud not remembering what happened in the real world, nor for Cloud to have been given everything he had ever wanted.

Zack struggles with the morality of taking Cloud from a happy dream world and dumping him back into a bleak reality

5. Yuffie dumped a bucket of water onto Cloud, prompting the blond to grab a bucket of his own and chase the ninja through the jungles of Wutai.

Playtime was cut short however, when Yuffie fell into a hole in the ground. It was covered by large ferns and plant life, completely obscuring it from view. Still, she was a ninja! She should have seen this coming.

Cloud also feels a bit foolish for also falling in while looking for her.

They wake up and climb out of the hole, and head back to Godo, expecting nothing to have changed, only to find they-

A. Had been missing for 20 years

B. Are in an alternate reality

C. Have time traveled to the past

(Take your pick)

Cloud has no time to feel down, not with his precious annoying baby sister around. Someone has to keep the princess safe, and thats not easy when she's her own worst enemy.

(I intended this to be a fun sibling fic)

6. Before Crisis Shinra gets reports of a silver haired woman with reddish purple eyes dragging an unconscious blond man around like a stuffed animal.

Aka Jenova herself has come out to play

7. Sephiroth comes out of the labs much more woozy than normal. He doesn't think much of it at first, and by the time he realized he was in trouble, it was too late.

Genesis came into the Generals office to complain to the silverette about Shinra, only to find Sephiroth spacing out and acting rather...odd.

"Sephiroth," the redhead asked gently, "Are you...high?"

Sephiroth blinked slowly at him, and the commander couldn't help but to feel it was a greeting of some sort.

The silverette smiled before saying. "I am higher than you, yes."

"Thats not what i- Wait. Did you just make a joke?!"

Or

A certain blond trooper walks in holding paperwork for the general, who proceeds to pick up the smaller man and coo at him.

This somehow culminates into Sephiroth saying, "I know. I should adopt you!" Before spinning the young man around in the air like one wood a toddler.

Clouds confused shout was audible a whole two floors down, catching the attention of the honorable commander and his puppy, who went to investigate.

(Inspired by a dream I had of Sephiroth holding a struggling Cadet Cloud and saying "This is my son now." To Angeal)

8. Genesis munching on popcorn while watching Cloud beat up Sephiroth for the umpteenth time.

He even has the audacity to cheer for the blond

9. General Sephiroth encounters a child who is dressed up like him when out on a walk.

He talks to the child and leaves the situation feeling much better about himself.

(I need some wholesome Sephiroth fics)

10. Kadaj as a cat loaf

11. Sephiroth and Cloud have a shared dream about them being happily married and Cloud being pregnant.

The moment Cloud wakes up he barricades the doors and windows.

Sephiroth...well he doesn't know what to think about this situation. He's kinda just staring off in a daze.

He attributes it to trauma and neither ever bring it up.

12. Time traveler Cloud, but with all of Jenova-fied Sephiroths abilities. The problem is that Cloud has seemingly little control of these abilities, leading to Cloud being very tired and the writer being very amused.

13. Sephiroth rescues a blond fae from the rubble he was pinned under.

This was how he gained his silent stalker. The man never spoke. But his calming smile said enough.

14. When Lazard discovered there was two red clad men, who spoke in loveless quotes, he had to fight the urge to bang his head onto his desk and groan like a teenager. When he found out there were three of the man, he actually did just that.

Finding out there was only one Angeal was a bit concerning, especially since these other two worlds were supposed to be further along in the timeline. Thankfully, Zack hasn't seemed to change much in either. Then again, the one carrying the mako poisoned blond seemed wary of everything. Strange.

Strangest of all were the Sephiroths. One refused to come to this meeting, stating that it wouldn't be worth his time, which shocked the entire board of directors. Nothing they did or said seemed to faze the once dutifully obedient man. Luckily, Shinra still had thier own Sephiroth on thier side to protect itself if necessary...and the people too if they were lucky.

The third Sephiroth only commented something about searching for clouds or some such nonsense.

Lazard couldn't help but to feel disaster looming on the horizon.

15. "I'm pretty sure they would trade everyone here for a single corn chip if I got hungry." The blond deadpanned. "They're heartless."

Yes, food good. The voice interjected. Nutrition. Survival.

Cloud wanted to tell it that he didn't even like corn chips, but talking back to the voices in your head is usually considered to be a bad idea. Even if they're real.

Especially if they're real.

Aka the J and S cells mutate and begin communicating with thier host.

Cloud is not pleased.

Bonus: Sephiroth and Cloud reacting to your fanfiction.

#plot bunny #prompts #fanfiction #cloud strife #sephiroth #ff7 #zack fair #sefikura #ffvii #final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 story prompts #final fantasy 7 prompts #final fantasy prompts

[emily-prentits]

So uh...yall remember that one fic I wrote about Carmen's funeral for Carulia week? I just reread it and cried so here it is so you can cry too >:D

Julia stood at the rain-streaked window crading a mug of tea that had cooled long ago, staring vacantly out. Everything was dull, everything was drab. The world seemed to have been drained all of its color in a single week, along with her inclination to wear them. The same single week during which Julia’s life had turned upside down and collapsed in on itself.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she wouldn’t cry no matter how bad it hurt, her tear ducts seemed frozen. She hadn’t cried a single tear since she had gotten the call. Julia now understood why the saddest parts in movies involved no dramatic sobbing. Some pain was too deep to express. It could only be felt, it could only be endured.

Julia heard the quiet creak as someone opened the door. She turned slightly. The female redhead–Ivy–came up next to her quietly. “We’re almos’ ready, Jules–er, Julia.” Julia noticed Ivy’s stutter and felt a pang in her heart. Carmen called— had called her that.

It seemed as long ago as a past life.

“Jus’ thought I should tell you. Carlotta’s gonna be here in a bit. She said she's gonna come see you before the, the uh...I’ll be downstairs.”

Julia bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement as Ivy awkwardly made her escape, the lump in her throat not allowing her to speak. She was afraid that the strange empty feeling would come tumbling out. Julia hadn’t missed the stutter. Ivy meant well, but her word choice had very nearly caused Julia’s emotions to jump start and she couldn’t afford to lose her poise and willpower now.

Julia would need all of her willpower for the memorial service.

She stepped away from the window and toward a freestanding mirror to inspect herself as the doorbell one again sounded throughout the house. She studied herself warily. Black slacks, black button down, black blazer. The golden triangle shaped pendant necklace that Carmen had given her. She fingered it absently. The same round glasses she had always worn. The usual hint of red was missing from her attire for the first time. How could she bear to wear such a cheerful color– hercolor–on an occasion like this?

Julia sighed. She hadn't gotten much sleep the past few days, but there was nothing she could do. She glanced out the window at the rain drenched world once more. Julia could almost hear Carmen calling her. Rainy afternoons were the times that they used to cuddle up with a blanket and a book–most often an ancient history volume–and read for hours at a time.

Jules, where’d you go? She would say. Mysteries of the Olmecs is calling your name!

She had loved those afternoons.

A knock on the bedroom door snapped Julia from her reverie, and Carlotta walked into the room. At the sight of her Julia almost collapsed in shock.

Carlotta looked so painfully like her daughter. Almost like Carmen would have looked if she had lived to see her fortieth birthday.

Carlotta froze, probably reading Julia’s expression for what it was, and rushed to envelop her in a hug.

“Oh, Julia.”

She didn't say anything else, for which Julia was grateful. Carlotta must’ve known that she didn’t want to hear another empty and insincere sounding “I’m sorry.”

Julia tightened her hold on the woman, releasing a shuddering breath. This was the closest she had come to tears since she had gotten the call, a week earlier minutes before one of her most important seminars of the semester.

“Is this Julia Argent?”

“It is,” she had answered.

“I’m sorry to inform you but your fiancee was caught in a warehouse fire earlier this afternoon. We weren’t able to save her.”

No matter how many times she had heard variations of the same line on medical dramas, that didn’t stop the world from falling out from under her feet. Carmen couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t. She had kissed Julia goodbye and told her some stupid joke just that morning. The operator was lying.

“Miss? We need you to come to the hospital as soon as possible.”

Just then her teaching assistant had come to get her for the lecture, so she couldn’t afford to have her emotions take over just yet. Instead she had suffered through the entire three hour seminar, in a state of silent shock.

Julia knew the risk of the job. Hell, Carmen had known the risk of the job. But when one was as good at evading threats as Carmen was, the dangers weren’t as apparent.

Which made it all the harder when the danger caught up and killed her.

VILE had set fire to that warehouse and left her for dead.

By time the paramedics had gotten to the warehouse, there wasn’t much of her body left to save. It was charred and unrecognizable except for a few strips of red fabric and her cell phone that had miraculously evaded the flames, laying a few feet away.

So here Julia stood, embracing her dead fiancee’s mother, the image of Carmen’s badly burned and lifeless body seared into her mind, struggling to hold back tears in vain. Yet Carlotta still stood with her in silence, tracing soothing circles on Julia’s back.

Julia sniffed as the doorbell rang again. “I suppose we should bring her ashes to the memorial.”

---

The rain still hadn’t stopped. The small band of people that had come to the memorial service stood somberly in front of Dexter Wolfe’s memorial. Player only contacted the few people that Carmen had impacted during her life, the few people he knew she would want to see her to her final resting place--although none of them had dreamed that it would be this soon. Shadowsan and Hideo, Sonia, Carlotta and Julia, and of course Zack and Ivy. Even Player was there in the flesh.

Carmen hadn’t wanted a big gathering, so they had made a quiet arrangement with the owner. Carmen’s final resting place would be on her father’s memorial.

Julia thought that it was fitting how Carmen had been so fixated on finding her family, to be able to know them, and she was able to be with her father in death, if not in life.

And with that thought, after a week of numbness, a single tear fell from Julia’s eyes. And suddenly she was crying, releasing all of the pain, all of the heartache that she had been carrying around all week. Mourning her dead fiancée at the ripe old age of thirty.

It only made her cry harder.

Shadowsan stepped forward grimly and handed her the urn.

You’re gone and I’m all alone, Carmen. What am I supposed to do?

The rain hid the tears streaming down her face as she set the urn next to Carmen’s father’s memorial and stood there, memories playing in her head of past times with her love, of things she had wanted to say desperately but never did. She would never be able to now.

The guests trickled away one by one until it was just Julia and Carlotta under a single black umbrella, mourning a soul stolen before her time.

#Carulia #carmen x julia #julia x carmen #carmulia #Carmelia #carjules #julimen #julethief #carmen #carmensandiego #carmen sandiego #julia #julia argent #juliaargent #jules argent #carlotta #carlotta valdez #vera cruz #shadowsan #player #ivy #zack #zack and ivy

[iwaisa]

request: hello! can i pls request hc for bakugou, shinsou, todoroki and tamaki with a crush who has a devil type of quirk? she can summon demons to battle with her, and if desired, she could even be able to tempt you. She also has this axe similar to zack’s from angels of death or kite from hxh. She’s super skilled but she’s not evil or anything, she’s rly playful and likes to tease. I’m sorry if this is hard to write or it makes you uncomfortable, i’ve had this idea for a while..😅 thank you!!❤️- anon

a/n: i actually love this idea so much it’s so cool !! and it was super fun to write <3 (i really hope i interpreted this correctly!) thank you for requesting! :D

bnha boys crushing on a girl with a devil quirk

pairings: bakugou, shinsou, todoroki, tamaki x female reader

warnings: swearing, suggestive content 

► now shuffling...

he looked at you and instantly went “holy shit she’s badass.”

he LOVED your quirk. he thought it was insanely awesome.

of course, he won’t ever tell you this because he’s a tsundere ❤️

and because he stutters when he’s around you

lowkey was terrified of the demons you summoned when you had to fight him

yk how he screams like a girl in the dub? yeah❤️

you teased the hell outta him for that.

he kinda hated you for that but he still couldn’t stop admiring you

he also thought your axe was badass

he always seemed to be out of it whenever he watched you entice your sparring partner, and he thought it was so hot

he didn’t even know he had a crush on you (because he kept oogling you and checking you out) until kaminari and sero brought it up

“bakubro! stop oogling l/n! she’s gonna get creeped out!”

he hit kaminari while sero just laughed so bakugou hit him too

one time, you got together with kami and sero to prank bakugou, which ended horribly

after the prank, bakugou got so angry he stormed off to his room, slamming his door

apparently, sero and kami never saw him this mad, so they asked you to go calm him down

after about thirty minutes of stalling, you ended up in front of his dorm

you were super hesitant to knock, but you really wanted to see if he was alright

upon knocking on his door, you heard super heavy footsteps and you started getting really intimidated LMAO

he swings open the door and glares at you, asking what the hell you want

once you told him you just wanted to make sure he was alright and you apologized for the prank, his face exploded red in colour

his palms also started sweating, making them explode

he mumbled something along the lines of, “no girl has ever checked up on me like this,” 🥺🥺

you began teasing him again, which kinda set him off

he started yelling about how he ‘just liked you and thought you were so badass and so cute at the same time’

you were confused, but flattered

you told him that you liked him back, and that he should take you on a date with a wink ;)

you were in class 1-a for your skills as a hero in training

he was jealous of everyone in the hero course, but he couldn’t seem to hold a grudge against you

he watched as you defeated not only one, but TWO people in the sports festival

unfortunately, you didn’t win, but you got fourth :)

shinsou was absolutely dumbfounded

how could someone so cheerful and adorable be THAT terrifying in battle??

he’s never been intimidated by anyone, but he found himself shying away from you whenever you tried to spark a conversation with him

until one day you were going to the nurse to get your wounds healed by recovery girl, and shinsou was there sleeping

after recovery girl bandaged you up, you sat on the edge of his bed and ran your fingers through his hair

he didn’t wake up right away, which gave you a good ten minutes or so to admire his face

when he did wake up, he was looking up right into your eyes

he was practically in a sleep paralysis state, and you were just frozen in place

“you’re just dreaming~” you teased, causing him to snap out of his sleep paralysis

“sure.” he grunted while sitting up

“why were you sleeping? don’t you have class?”

“i do. i barely get sleep so i come to recovery girl to take quick naps.”

there was a moment of silence, and shinsou couldn’t take his eyes off you

here you were, sitting next to him in your hero costume (which he thought was extremely hot)

he noticed the bandages and asked you who you were fighting

“oh. bakugou.”

what? you said it as if it was nothing?? bakugou, the most TERRIFYING fighter?? that bakugou?

“i beat him though, so…”

by now he was just completely immersed in you

you were so cute and perfect and you had just beat bakugou??? and you’re talking to someone like shinsou?

“you’re amazing,” shinsou muttered causing you to turn your head towards him

“huh?”

“can i take you out? i think you’re really cool. intimidating, but cool.”

“aww~ does shinsou have a little crush?” you jested causing him to grumble while stand up

“guess i do.”

that sure shut you up.

“what? is l/n embarrassed~” he teased right back.

you rolled your eyes and grabbed his collar, pulling him down to make your lips meet

“what? is shinsou embarrassed~?” you mocked.

he watched you walk out of the office before turning around

“i’d love to go out with you. you’re funny. in a good way.”

and with that, you left a very flustered but excited shinsou to deal with recovery girl’s teasing remarks

he was… very indifferent about the whole ordeal

everyone in class 1-a was welcoming a new student

todoroki just sat in the back of the classroom as usual not exactly caring about anything that aizawa was saying

he watched the new student walk in,

and NOW he was interested

has he ever thought about someone this way??

no. the answer is no. 

he’s never actually said to himself that he thinks someone is cute - he just doesn’t have the time

but he simply pushes it off and assumes that nothing will happen and he won’t have to talk to you

months later and you still have the same effect on him that you did when you first transferred

except now, you chose the bi-colour haired boy as your teasing subject

he didn’t exactly understand all of your jokes or teasing remarks, which made for a great person to tease

also, he was way too captivated in your eyes to understand anything that was coming out of your mouth

in battle, todoroki definitely had the most animated facial expressions and reactions to anything he’s ever seen

he was so captivated by your fighting techniques and the demons you summoned?? awesome as hell. your axe?? also awesome as hell.

your outfit??? yeah. todoroki liked that too.

one time he cheered you on as you faced off against iida and he never got so many strange looks in his life

even you were dumbfounded, and you ended up losing to iida because of it

while you were in recovery girl’s office, todoroki was sent to ensure you were okay as per aizawa’s request

he watched as you just finished getting bandaged up, and he took that as his signal to step in and apologize

recovery girl left for a few moments, giving him the perfect time to confess - or so he thought

simply put, he asked if you were okay

then he started rambling about your quirk and how amazing you are - a feat he picked up from being friends with midoriya

you cut him off with a finger to his lips

“if you like me so much, why don’t you just say so?”

he quickly shut his mouth, leaving you to think the worst

“i like you, very much.”

BABIE

ugh he’s literally so intimidated by you 

he believes that you’re far better than him in battle and that you should take his place in the top three

he never tells you this though, he’s shaking and facing the wall each time you’re around

so he just resorts to watching you from a distance, cheering you on in his head

one day, you have to face against him 

he never shook so much in his life

but he remembered mirio’s words of encouragement, and he was set to go

it ended up with you beating him, because he was caught off guard by one of your demons - which he thought were absolutely terrifying by the way

while your demon was distracting him, you snuck up behind him and just *bonk* on the head with your axe

he ended up fainting, and you were quick to offer to take him to recovery girl

while sitting at the end of the bed waiting for tamaki to wake up, you had a lot to think about

should you tell him how you feel? 

you knew he liked you back - the body language and red faces were the most obvious signs

but what if he says no? he doesn’t want to date anyone?

you were snapped out of your thoughts as you felt tamaki’s leg tap you as he was waking up

“morning, sunshine~”

he’s never jumped so high in his whole life

you began laughing, but you were quick to stop when you saw his trembling lips

“hey, i didn’t mean to scare you, i’m really sorry,”

“it’s okay,” he whispered

there were a few moments where neither of you spoke up until you decided to break the silence

“i know you like me,” 

his eyes were darting all over the place, but they never met yours

“h-how d-did...you know?” he mumbled

“because you act shyer around me than anyone else. but...i like it”

you were confident on the outside, but inside you were freaking out

so he DID like you back.

you were twiddling your fingers before you felt tamaki shift, and all of a sudden his lips were on your cheek

you slapped your hand on the spot his lips just touched, your mouth hanging open

“c-can i take you...on a date?” he whispered, 

you nodded your head quickly, just in time for recovery girl to enter to continue treating tamaki

#bnha #mha #katsuki bakugou #hitoshi shinsou #shouto todoroki #tamaki amajiki #bakugou x reader #shinsou x reader #todoroki x reader #tamaki x reader

[aimeelouart]

The Calamity’s Cursed Child, Part 2 - 1672 words, ASGZC, Cursed to Strife continuity

[Part 1] [Read it on Ao3]

--

It turned out that Cloud had showed up in the middle of nowhere, because Zack’s house just so happened to be in the middle of nowhere. Cloud wasn’t too surprised⁠—whatever the details of his curse, it tended to spit him out in the unluckiest possible position. Such as right on top of Strife’s empty grave.

It really was uncanny.

Zack explained, in their brief hike back to the house, that they all preferred the privacy and security of living in the middle of nowhere. They made trips back to civilization occasionally, to see their AVALANCHE friends or get supplies, but for the most part they were self-sufficient. It sounded...nice. Idyllic, almost. Cloud tried not to dwell on that for too long.

They paused at the front door and Zack looked at him nervously. He raised an eyebrow in response. They’re your boyfriends to wrangle, he conveyed with that eyebrow. Zack deflated a little. “Okay,” he said. “Uh. Just...be ready to dodge if you have to.”

Sephiroth moved from standing at his side to standing in front of him protectively, which was...a little trippy, but he rolled with it.

Zack took a deep breath and promptly slammed the door open, hollering “DON’T FREAK OUT!”

Cloud wasn’t entirely sure how that was supposed to help, but it was such a Zack move that he couldn’t help but grin and stifle a snort. Sephiroth was also suppressing a smile.

“What?” came a call from further in the house, laced with alarm.

“Zack what did you do!” someone else called, footsteps pounding down the stairs from the second floor.

“Nothing, just don’t freak out!” Zack said, stopping a few feet in the entryway. Cloud peered curiously out from behind Sephiroth’s towering frame. That was a mistake, maybe. Two sets of eyes from two alarmed former commanders locked on him as they came rushing into the front room.

“You!” they said, nearly as one.

“Seph, look out!” Angeal cried, pulling a broadsword from a nearby rack and blurring forward as Genesis cast a reflexive spell. 

Cloud sighed. Sephiroth raised a Barrier. Zack quickly got between Angeal and the door, parrying with his own broadsword. “What did I literally just say about freaking out!” he scolded.

“Strife is⁠—!”

“He is not Strife,” Sephiroth said firmly, projecting his voice. He held one arm up in a very clearly protective gesture. “Calm down. I know how this looks, but he is not Strife.”

Cloud stepped out from behind Sephiroth so that the other two could see him, keeping his hands loose at his side. If they got a good look at him, they might calm down quicker. Assuming Strife was anything like Sephiroth, his battered clothing and timeworn face would be a very stark difference. He glanced between them and waited patiently.

Angeal’s hostility eased almost immediately, confusion furrowing between his brows. He lowered his broadsword. Genesis took a few seconds longer, eyes sweeping up and down Cloud several times before they settled on his face. Slowly, he frowned.

“I’m not your Strife,” Cloud said simply.

“Yeah!” Zack agreed, bounding over to sling an arm around his shoulders. “Can’t you tell by the cute face? And, you know, the lack of raging insanity and murderous intent?”

“Zack,” Cloud said reprovingly, elbowing his side. “That’s not helpful.”

Angeal huffed a laugh, then looked startled with himself for it. Zack pumped a fist victoriously. “Yes!” He cheered. “Okay, now that no one is trying to kill anyone else, this is Cloud but he’s from a different dimension and he’s going to sleep on the couch until he leaves.”

Cloud sighed and put his face in his hands. Even four hours of sleep was not enough to deal with Zack when he was like this. “Zack, please stop tormenting your boyfriends.”

“Aww, don’t worry Cloudy. They’re used to it!” He leaned in and added, sotto voce, “they’d be way more alarmed if I wasn’t acting like this.”

“Alright, Zack, you’ve made your point,” Genesis said, eyeing Cloud. “Enough with the theatrics. If he is not Strife, he deserves better hospitality than being left to linger on our doorstep.”

Both Commanders looked cautious but not hostile as Cloud was herded inside and Sephiroth shut the door behind them. Angeal was the first to step forward, after laying his broadsword on the coffee table. “Cloud?” he asked hesitantly, reaching a hand out toward his face but pausing half way.

“It’s fine,” Cloud told him. It was hardly the first time the grieving and the lonely had seen echoes of their lost lover, parent, or child in him. It seemed a theme, to be given what belonged to others⁠—both gentle touches and hateful wounds. “But you should know I never had a romantic relationship with any of your counterparts in my home world.”

“No?” Angeal asked, daring to close the distance and lay his palm along Cloud’s jaw. Like Zack, his thumb swept across the delicate, bruise-dark skin beneath his eye. “Why not?”

“Never met you. Never knew any of you, really, though Zack got the closest.”

The corner of Angeal’s lip twitched upward, just a little. “All things considered, I don’t know if I should be sad or happy for you.”

“Funny. I was thinking the same thing about you.”

Angeal stepped back, drawing his hand away. Everyone looked to Genesis, but the redhead just stood and watched with an unreadable expression. “You’re not our Cloud.”

Cloud couldn’t help but grin tiredly at that. “No, I’m not. I have to admit, it’s very refreshing to hear someone else say that for once”

Genesis looked away, closing his eyes, then huffed. A weary smirk crossed his face. “Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess. You could have fooled me. You talk like he used to. Act like it too.” Only then did he step forward, putting his hands on Cloud’s shoulders. “It’s the eyes that give you away. He never looked quite so…”

“Tired?” Cloud suggested archly.

“Worn. Zack mentioned you borrowing the couch?”

“That was part of the deal, yeah. I’ll be gone in about three and a half hours and I intend to sleep while I can.”

Genesis’s expression softened fully at that. “Of course.” He used the hands on Cloud’s shoulders to steer him over to a chair. Cloud sat willingly enough, after taking Tsurugi off and leaning it against the chair’s arm. “Just wait a moment and you can sleep.”

Like a well-oiled machine, the four men broke off to gather pillows and blankets, dim the lights, and generally make their living room habitable for sleeping. They worked fast. Before Cloud quite knew what was happening, he was laying down⁠—Tsurugi pressed against his side and boots on, as he insisted⁠—swathed in warm blankets and resting on a veritable mountain of pillows. He threw an arm over his eyes, mumbling something that might have been thanks, and dropped right off.

Of course, Cloud had long since developed the habit of sleeping without truly losing touch with his surroundings. How it worked, he didn’t know, but if he hadn’t he would have died quite a bit more often than he already did. So he heard, and retained the gist of, the conversation that the four men had around him.

“He looks half dead.”

“I know. Why do you think I insisted he come back here to sleep? He never said anything outright but I swear he was going to bunk down in a tree as soon as we left.”

“What happened to him?”

“I don’t know. He only said that he’d come from another dimension and that he was going to vanish.”

“He also said that he was not the one who Zack “usually” greeted with hostility. I believe he has been traversing dimensions involuntarily for some time.”

“He certainly looks it, poor boy.”

A hand brushed tentatively through his hair. He murmured nonsensically, shifting for a moment before settling back down. The hand resumed its motions as soon as he’d stilled.

“Is this what he could have been, do you think? Strong and selfless? Patient with us?”

A different hand traced the edge of his jaw. His mind whispered not a threat, and so he stayed asleep.

“He would have been a good man. The best, really. If only we could have…”

“Hush. We made mistakes, but our Cloud made his own decisions. And at the end...he was already dead and gone. We put a shell to rest, nothing more.”

“I know. I know that. But it still⁠—”

“—hurts?”

“Yeah.”

“I know, love.”

“...I wonder if he would have been better off like this. If he’d never met us.”

The conversation died after that. Cloud drifted along in silence until the burning sensation that warned of an impending jump became too intense to ignore. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, then stood and slung Tsurugi across his back.

“What is it?” Zack asked from where he was sitting in an armchair. All four of them were in the living room, pretending they hadn’t just been watching him while he slept. Watching over him, if he was feeling generous, though he understood the impulse either way.

“Two minutes,” he murmured, rubbing at the old scar on his hip. It always burned a little more intensely than the surrounding unscarred flesh. “This is goodbye.”

Zack, of course, got up and hugged him so tight his ribs creaked. “Go get ‘em, tiger,” he joked, but there were tears in his eyes. Angeal’s parting embrace was wordless, as was Genesis’s, though the latter also pressed a chaste kiss against his temple. Sephiroth was the last, as the burning licked up into Cloud’s neck.

“Be safe,” the silver-haired man whispered, releasing him.

Cloud huffed a laugh, though it lacked all but the faintest trace of humor. “Yessir, General,” he drawled, snapping off a perfect salute.

The very last thing he saw was Sephiroth’s small, amused smile, eyes glistening wetly, before the world turned to white static and he vanished.

#ff7 #ASGZC #cloud strife #zack fair #angeal hewley #genesis rhapsodos #Sephiroth #my fics #Cursed to Strife #aimeelouwrites

[outbythehighwind]

The Misconceptions of FF7: A Cloud, Aerith & Tifa Analysis Part 4/5

Link to all parts: https://outbythehighwind.tumblr.com/post/640347336477966336/the-misconceptions-of-ff7-a-cloud-aerith-tifa

Previously, I examined the misconceptions around Cloud’s character and his feelings toward Aerith and Tifa. I determined that his feelings for Aerith are of a powerful friendship in the sense of plot (and, if the player so interprets by their experience of the narrative, romantic). This friendship is by no means a ‘lesser’ love than Eros (romantic love) – friendship, it its true sense, being one of the highest forms of love also. In addition to being the one for whom Cloud holds Eros (per the plot) after all, Tifa is also Cloud’s best friend.

Just as the substantial importance of both women to Cloud cannot be denied, the game makes it abundantly clear that Cloud is substantially, substantially important to them both.

AERITH

Established in narrative and plot, Aerith has romantic feelings for Cloud. Let us debunk yet another ridiculous argument – that Aerith does not ‘truly’ love Cloud, only being attracted to the ‘Zack-Cloud’. What begins as mere intrigue born out of Cloud’s similarities to her prior Eros, grows into a genuine Eros for Cloud. During the optional Gold Saucer date, Aerith clearly addresses this fact.

Where in the Sector 5 playground Aerith shows the beginnings of a crush (on “Ex-SOLDIER” Cloud), the night at Gold Saucer has her revealing that this crush has developed into a genuine romantic interest in Cloud. Aerith reveals that she does not know Cloud’s true self and that she is – romantically – searching for him. The fact that Cloud’s true self is buried by “Ex-SOLDIER” does not alter the fact that Aerith is falling for the being that is Cloud.

Because this scene an optional experience, however, we must look further. In the Temple of the Ancients, Aerith openly asks Cait Sith to read her and Cloud’s fortune as a couple. Of course, Aerith is primarily trying to encourage Cait Sith and bring cheer to the farewell as he is about to sacrifice himself. One could also argue that beyond that she is just being her playful self – with which I can agree to a point, considering Cloud’s lack of reaction.

But given the seriousness of the situation (Cait Sith is about to leave them for good), and her flirtiness with Cloud throughout the game, I believe Aerith is wittingly testing the waters at the least. She has known Cloud long enough to know the being Cloud and even though she does not fully know him – the self he is presently projecting being that of “Ex-SOLDIER” – she is openly pursuing a romantic relationship with him.

Coupled with Gold Saucer, I see this as clear evidence of Aerith’s Eros for Cloud. But for sake of (the sadly common) argument that Aerith never knew or loved the ‘real’ Cloud, I will provide one further verification. Of course, Aerith died before Cloud’s true self was recovered in the Lifestream, so such evidence must come from the FF7 compilation. That can be found in the explicit statement from On The Way To A Smile: Lifestream: White I: “Cloud was her friend. More than a friend, for she had loved him. He was a symbol of everything she held dear. She would protect him.”

I wish to avoid the can of worms that is the 恋人 (“koibito”) argument – 恋人 being the Japanese word that is used for both Lifestream: White I’s statement of what Cloud was to Aerith, and character designer Nomura’s description of Tifa in an interview on Advent Children (you can see how this argument would go in circles) – but I want to point out that this word is only used when specifically referring to Eros. 恋 (“koi”) specifically pertains to “romantic love” (“ai”, the same kanji, being “feelings of love” in the general sense). 人 (by itself “hito”) means “person”. A 恋人 (“koibito”) thus literally translates to “a person one loves (romantically)” and is often used when referring to a “lover”. Aerith’s feelings for Cloud – the ‘real’ Cloud – are undeniably Eros.

__________

TIFA

Established in both narrative and plot, Tifa’s love for Cloud is Eros.

At 13, during – or even before – their promise at the water tower, she may have had a bit of crush on Cloud (”You were so small then... and cute”). It is also revealed in the Lifestream sequence that Tifa thought she and Cloud were close. Oblivious to his feelings of inadequacy and him putting up a distance between them because of that, it shocked her to even learn that Cloud had only once been in her room.

Tifa was upset when Cloud announced he was leaving and prompted him to make the promise in response – partly out of a young teen’s princess fantasy. But moreover, it was so that Cloud would have a reason to come back to her. She asked him to be her hero – her personal knight in shining armor. This is further indicative of a crush.

Although Cloud was very small and his decision to join SOLDIER was surprising, Tifa believed in him and encouraged him. After he left, she cared to the point of pining for whatever news she could find about him. Her and Cloud were not close, yet she thought about him a lot after he left.

She was inspired to learn martial arts, to be able to fight alongside him, and when she heard two SOLDIERS were coming to town, volunteered – against her father’s wishes – to be their guide just so that she could see Cloud again. She was immensely upset when he did not come.

When she found him at the station – not fully himself – she took him to Seventh Heaven to care for him and persuaded him to join AVALANCHE in order to watch over him. Throughout the entire game, Tifa does everything in her power to stay by Cloud’s side, buying herself time because she is at a loss at what to do. She can’t figure out what is wrong with him, and she holds back for fear of losing him again – losing the boy she had pined for and only just gotten back, in addition him to being the only thing she has left of home.

Now, some more nonsense to refute – that Tifa was ‘selfish’, and only wanted Cloud because he was all that was left of Nibelheim. Aside from the indicated importance Cloud already was to Tifa while Nibelheim and her loved ones were still around, let us take a look at what occurred in Mideel. Here we have the most unconditional act of Eros in the entire FF7 compilation. When the world is a week from being destroyed, Tifa stays with the catatonic Cloud, who may or may not be the Cloud from her childhood, who may not recover at all let alone when, and uses every ounce of energy to care for him.

The nurse, who sees only this part of their journey, remarks that “She must really love him.”

When the Lifestream erupts beneath them, Tifa risks her life to get Cloud (who may or may not be Cloud, who may not recover) to safety, and falling into the Lifestream with him, determines to stitch his psyche back together piece by piece.

Now, let’s recall the circumstances that led up to the finding of Cloud in Mideel.

After Sephiroth breaks their trust, Cloud apologizes to Tifa for ‘having not lived up to the boy she believed to be Cloud’ (believing Sephiroth’s lie that he is a fake created from her memories), and then gives Sephiroth the Black Materia. Believing he is a Sephiroth clone, Cloud tells her, breaking her heart, “I never lived up to being ‘Cloud’. Tifa… maybe one day you’ll meet the real ‘Cloud’.” The Japanese version emphasizes the heartbreak even further. Cloud adds the honorific -さん to her name, adding formality, and says: TIFAさん…どこかで本当のCLOUDくんに会えるといいですね (“Tifa-san… itsuka doko ka de hontō no CLOUD-kun ni aeru to īdesu ne” – lit. “I hope that someday, somewhere, you can meet the real Cloud”.)

Tifa falls to the ground and weeps, remaining in this state while Cloud begs Hojo for a number, while he gives Sephiroth the Black Materia, and while the cave collapses and she dragged out to safety.

Despite all the uncertainties about Cloud and herself – bordering to the point where she questions her very own identity (worrying whether her memories were all “made up”), Tifa refuses to give up. When finding the comatose Cloud in Mideel, she expresses that she still believes in Cloud – in them.

At her very breaking point, having lost the man she loves (who may be dead at this point, or, if alive, a mere Sephiroth clone fabricated from the memories she herself questions) while Meteor is coming to destroy the future, Tifa is the most distraught over the loss of Cloud. Yet the party forces her into the role of leader, only believing there might be hope for Cloud being the man they had come to know him as because of Tifa’s believing in him.

When finding the catatonic Cloud, the party abandons him to fight both Shinra and Meteor. After all, what could he do to help now? Even if he were to help, could they rely on him after all the disaster he’d caused? Was he even the man they’d known him to be at all?

Yet Tifa remains and, despite her doubts, despite her fears, despite being alone in her decision while the party gives up on him, chooses to continue believing in Cloud. Above the fight for the Planet itself, she is – and has been this entire time – fighting for him.

Which brings us to the other fatuous notion around Tifa and Cloud – that she was ‘selfish’ for not telling him the truth about their past and that it was ‘all her fault’ that his psyche collapsed. People find it easy, it seems, to forget Tifa’s own inner struggle throughout the entire game. So, in addition to what I’ve already said regarding her doubts, I want to briefly consider this in light of Cloud’s reliability.

Cloud, since the very beginning, is established as a reliable narrator, and throughout the game is the party’s go-to on everything they do not understand – from the Materia tutorial to all things pertaining to the enemy. He is Ex-SOLDIER. He knows the inner workings of Shinra. He knows more about Sephiroth than anyone. He recounts most things that occurred at Nibelheim – accurately – when, to Tifa’s recalling, he wasn’t even there. Moreover, she was delirious from her injuries, at the point of dying from blood loss when Cloud supposedly found her in the reactor. How could she not doubt herself?

In addition to not being able to find the answers no matter what she did, Tifa kept quiet out of her greatest fear – losing, in addition to the one thing she had left of past, the man she loves. She had already lost everything else and thus tried everything in her power to keep Cloud close.

It is in the Lifestream that the narrative finally reveals the plot. This narrative that introduced and stressed Cloud as “Ex-SOLDIER”, even prior to the player’s naming him, him no longer lies or distracts the player from the ‘real’ Cloud. With no more deception or diversion, the player learns that Cloud’s love for Tifa was what began the plot, and now allows him to resolve it in both recovering and for the first time accepting himself. The self-rejecting inadequacy, weakness and failure that begun his struggle are overpowered by those feelings – the Eros that is so intrinsic to his being that he is enabled to recover his true self.

Meanwhile, Tifa learns that Cloud was there for her all along, keeping his promise. And when she was injured before him 5 years ago, the ‘weak’ boy who failed to make SOLDIER accomplished what even Zack could not; he defeated “the best of the best” that is Sephiroth.

Link to all parts: https://outbythehighwind.tumblr.com/post/640347336477966336/the-misconceptions-of-ff7-a-cloud-aerith-tifa

#ff7 1997 #cloud strife #aerith gainsborough #tifa lockhart #my analyses #cloti #friendship #analysis

[silly-bean]

Whumptober Day 5: Broken Nose

I've realized I forgot to post this to tumblr (along with the one other one I've managed to do since then)... oops 😅. Day 5 of Whumptober uses the prompt "broken nose" and also takes place in the "Round and Round" universe.

<- 4 | 5 | 6 ->

Read on AO3

Warnings: Blood, minor violence

~~~~~

Cloud is tired.

He’s been tired for so long that he doesn’t know what it’s like to not be tired, to not have eyelids like lead, and to think through sludge. If it was as simple as insomnia, he could manage it, having dealt with that particular problem before. No, his problem isn’t being able to fall asleep; it’s staying asleep. Every time he closes his eyes his dreams are wrought with his mistakes -his failures - and the specter of the demon holding his strings and he jerks awake with burning eyes and acid on his tongue.

The lethargy seeps into his every move, making him feel like he’s experiencing the world through a layer of syrup: sounds slightly muffled, his limbs not responding as quickly as they should be, words getting trapped in his throat before they can be heard. No amount of his stubborn will can pull him out of it, either. He’s tried, throwing himself into fights or training or battle to see if getting his blood pumping will chase away the fog, but whatever relief he gets is fleeting at best.

And then there’s Zack.

He’s been particularly persistent this loop, constantly finding Cloud during off-hours and refusing to take “no” for an answer. Cloud can’t dodge him, can’t hide away from him or drive him away. He’s tried insulting, being cold and unresponsive, raging, even screaming at the teen, but it seems like Zack’s decided that no, Cloud isn’t just a terrible person who doesn’t want to be friends, but someone both in need of and worthy of help.

It’s becoming increasingly hard to deny himself the comfort of Zack’s friendship, to not lean into the one-armed hugs, to not fall into the easy banter. His very being aches for a reprieve from the constant writhing bundle of anxiety and self-loathing that knots his chest and makes it hard to breathe. His physical tiredness only exacerbates the desire; his body knowing that it might find the rest it so needs if he would just give in. Which makes it all the more important for him to push Zack away.

“Oi! Cloud! There you are! I was wondering if I’d managed to miss you again!”

Zack’s broad form shoves its way through the crowd of infantry in the cafeteria hallway. Cloud ducks his head and changes directions, slipping around a corner. If he’s quick - and lucky - enough, he can loop around and lose Zack in the maze of corridors that make up the infantry floors of the tower.

He’s not.

Zack lays a heavy hand down on his shoulder, spinning him around. “There you are! Man, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to avoid me, Cloudy!”

His smile is slightly strained when Cloud glances up to look. “I was.” Cloud scowls and tries to turn away, only to be stopped by the hand that’s still gripping his shoulder. “Leave me alone, Zack. I don’t want to talk to you.”

The words drag a little, his lethargy making each one an effort to force out. Zack flinches, and Cloud ignores the flash of guilt that runs through him.

“Come on, Cloudy! Don’t be like that! I know just the thing to cheer you up!” Zack starts fishing through his pockets for something with his free hand.

“Let go of me, Zack. You’re annoying and I don’t want to hang out with you.”

“That’s what they all say!”

He evidently finds what he’s looking for and pulls it out with a triumphant exclamation. It’s a piece of paper, looking like it might have once been nicely folded but is not a crumpled mess. Cloud reaches up and grips Zack’s wrist and tries to pry it off his shoulder. Zack releases his grip but just switches it to circle his arm. He finally opens the paper and waves it in front of Cloud’s face. It’s an advertisement for a new all-you-can-eat buffet opening in Sector 4.

“I don’t want to go out to eat with you, Zack.” Cloud deadpans, his anxiety starting to rear its head. The fog he’s been living through begins to lift and he feels the presence lurking at the back of his head perk up a bit at the sudden activity. He does his best to shove it back into the space it’s carved out for itself.

“Of course you do! With what they feed you guys? I know I was always looking for ways to eat anywhere but the mess when I was a cadet.”

“I’m perfectly fine, Zack. Stop trying to drag me places I clearly don’t want to go.”

“Come oooon, Cloudy!” Zack whined, waving the flyer around.

Cloud could feel the frayed threads of his self-control snapping and he bared his teeth in a snarl. “Fuck. Off. Zack.”

Zack jerked back a bit, eyes wide in shock, and Cloud took advantage of the distraction to tear his arm free of the SOLDIER’s grip. He spun around and started walking away at a decent clip. His anger boiled in his veins, spurred on by the demon’s satisfaction leaking into his mind.

“Wait! Cloud!” Zack calls, and he hears him start to give chase.

Cloud picks up his pace, stalking forward and hoping he’s done enough (tries to shove down the small part of him that rejoices in being so wanted). The fog is back, but it’s of a different sort than before, making him hyper-aware of his body and narrowing down his perception to what’s in front of him and the approaching footsteps behind him.

Closer. Closer. Then, a touch on his arm.

Something snaps in his head. Before he’s even aware of his own reaction, he’s spinning around and throwing a right hook that would make Tifa proud. His fist connects squarely with Zack’s nose. The SOLDIER stumbles back with the hit, a hand coming up to cover the hurt area. Cloud stands there, breathing hard for a moment before he lowers his own arm. Feeling detached and strung out, he examines his fist, not surprised to see he’s managed to split a couple of knuckles.

A breath.

Cloud looks up at Zack, taking in the blood dripping off his chin and onto his uniform, the pain twisting his face, the hurt in his eyes. The full realization of what he’s done finally settles and he finds himself drowning in guilt and self-loathing. He whips around and runs, ignoring Zack’s slightly nasal calls to come back. Tears stream down his face and blur his vision.

All the while, the demon in his head laughs and laughs, and laughs.

#whumptober2021 #no.5 #broken nose #ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #fanfiction #blood #some violence #my fanfic #round and round #cloud strife #zack fair #ff7 fanfic #my aus #my collabs

[fangirl94stuff]

All Time Low: Jack Barakat

JACK

'Dude are you okay? What's wrong? Are you feeling ill?' Alex asks, firing off question after question aimed at me from the passenger seat of my car.

Had my actions really been that noticeable? There was something wrong with me, I was conflicted about my feelings for one of my best friends. On the one hand, I wanted to confess, but on the other hand, I didn't want to ruin a good friendship. y/n l/n had been my best friend for over twenty years, I was in love with them, but with my infamous reputation was I really capable of love?

'I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say you're thinking about y/n, and not just about the housewarming, but maybe how you're finally ready to confess your feelings,' Alex speaks up since I was being silent.

I move my eyes from the road to Alex, 'what do I do?'

He grins, 'why the sudden urge?'

I sigh loudly, 'it's stupid. We both went to a family friends party the other week and y/n looked drop-dead gorgeous. Lots of men had their eyes on y/n and I was jealous. From that night I swore I'd be the only man romantically in y/n's life. They stayed by my side the whole night because the attention made them uncomfortable.'

Alex hums to himself, 'dude I've never seen you this lovestruck before. If I was you I'd tell y/n how I feel. Trust your gut, do it tonight.'

I was still conflicted as we pull up outside y/n's new home. Alex goes ahead of me leaving me to compose myself. I pick up my phone and smile at my lock screen because y/n had taken my phone the other week and changed the lock screen to be a goofy photo of them. Little things we did when together had people assuming we were together and neither of us denied it. I needed to find out if y/n's feelings were mutual.

Y/N

'Lisa can I tell you something in private?' you ask your close friend, and Alex's wife who'd come over early to help you set up.

You'd met Lisa through Alex and the two of you clicked, pretty much inseparable when together, the two of you told each other everything. She jumps up onto the counter nearest to you.

'You can tell me anything y/n?' she answers.

You lean in towards her just in case anyone was eavesdropping and keep your voice low, 'the other week Jack and I went to a party and I don't know what overcame me but I found myself thinking about him as more than just friends. I've liked him for a while but that night cemented my true feelings. A lot of guys were eyeing me up and Jack shielded me from them.'

Lisa giggles, 'you have it bad. The two of you would be perfect together, you know each other, every dirty and dark little secret. Plus you can't deny that the two of you act like a couple in public. You two are the most oblivious people any of us know.'

You feel your cheeks burn at Lisa's accusations and observations. You and Jack weren't subtle, but you put it down all these years to just being really close friends. Maybe Jack had similar feelings, Lisa had pretty much told you so. Would this ruin your friendship? You had a lot to think over and a lot of drinks to help you work up some courage.

'The party can finally begin!' Alex calls out cheerfully, entering the kitchen.

Lisa rolls her eyes and gets off the counter, 'the party began when I arrived Mr Gaskarth,' she snorts.

Alex pouts like a child as Lisa pushes past him playfully. You walk over to your friend and hug him, 'ignore her Alex.'

Alex hugs you back, 'this is why you're my favourite y/n.'

Jack clears his throat behind Alex, 'I thought I was your favourite.'

Alex jumps a little and pulls away from you, 'dude one day you're going to give me a heart attack. y/n is now my number one.'

Alex reaches around you and grabs a beer from the cooler on top of the counter, pops the cap, and leaves the kitchen to find his wife, leaving you and Jack alone.

'Welcome to my humble abode Mr Barakat, make yourself at home.'

Jack smiles, 'oh you're going to regret that invite y/n. I'll have myself a spare key before the end of the party.'

You laugh, 'challenge accepted.'

TIME SKIP

JACK

It was getting late, quite a few drinks had been drunk and jokes had been shared. Alex suggested a game of truth or dare spin the bottle and like the big kids we all were, we said yes. Alex, Lisa, Rian, Zack, a couple of close friends and y/n sit down in the lounge while I sit down opposite y/n. We made the rule that if you refused to answer the truth you had to take a shot.

It didn't take people too long to refuse to answer truths, so shots were taken and even my head was starting to feel groggy, but I managed to keep my eyes on y/n the whole time while they never took their eyes off me.

After a shot, Rian spins the bottle and it lands on y/n who chooses dare. Rian rubs his hands together, sharing a look with the others around the circle like they were all in on something.

'y/n I dare you to kiss the person you have a crush on,' Rian states, words a little slurred.

y/n nods their head and gets up on their knees before leaning over the bottle in the middle and crashes their lips down on mine without any hesitation, taking not only me by surprise but the whole circle. I kiss y/n back, holding their chin in place not wanting to lose the taste of their lips, while our friends erupt into cheers around us.

Once y/n pulls away and sits back down in their spot I take a deep breath, 'y/n will you go out with me?'

y/n nods, 'yes I will.'

More cheers and congratulations erupt in the circle. I guess I had nothing to worry about, y/n felt the same way and had said yes to dating me. The game continues, before y/n excuses themselves and I follow after them into the kitchen.

y/n holds their hand out to me, and in their palm is a spare key, 'you won the challenge, Jack.'

I throw my head back and laugh, 'and I got the best prize of them all.'

y/n throws their arms around my shoulder and kisses me again, this was a feeling I could get very used to as I kiss them back. When everyone sobered up y/n and I would receive hell off our friends for taking out sweet time getting together.

#imagines #imagine blog #band imagines #band blog #band imagine blog #band fanfiction #jack barakat imagine #jack barakat imagines #jack barakat #jack barakat fanfiction #all time low fanfiction #all time low #all time low imagines #all time low imagine #atl imagine #atl fanfiction

[eleamaya]

Fun with Zodiac Signs: Zack/Aerith/Cloud/Tifa

NOTE: Not really shipping related, this is just for fun I was idly doing based on tweet that came up on my timeline and people who try it are freak out of how accurate it is; even those who doesn’t really believe about personality traits from zodiac sign. This is the tweet:

So I went to “universal-tao-eproducts” and got what I copy-paste below. The sun signs are taken from their official bday. To get the moon one, you need to put your birth place in Birth Chart. I put Texas as Cloud & Tifa’s birth place for Nibelheim’s reference and the result is crazy accurate for them. I have no idea about Aerith which city in our earth similar to Icicle Inn so I pick the combination of moon sign that describe Aerith the most. As for Zack, since his bday isn’t given by SE (ugh, why?)... so this is the most accurate combination for me to headcanoning his bday^^.

AGAIN, THIS IS ACCURATE AS FUCK.

Zack Fair -- HC: Sep 23-29, 1984: Libra Sun, Sagittarius Moon (air/fire) why up to Sep 29? because he died on Sep 30

FREEDOM FIGHTER

You must have the room to believe and do, as you want. You most admire honesty, both in yourself and in others. You are never fearful to do what you think is moral or to say precisely what you feel. Your outlook is idealistic and your perspective is broad and extensive, but you may have some bewilderment when you find that others do not always match your standards of integrity or subscribe to your strange beliefs. You draw people to you with your free-spirited, courageous, and cheerful nature. Because your character is very self-governing, excitable, and restive; freedom is what you need most. You become incensed when someone tries to limit your expressive style or infringe on your way of life, even though you are even-tempered in most cases. Seeing the world through rose-colored glasses is a Libra-Sagittarian preference, so even if you believe you are always being truthful and uncomplicated in your dealings, there are times when brutal idealism stops you from perceiving the whole truth. Do not allow philosophy to rule every move or blind you to the more pragmatic parts of life just because your convictions are admirable. You like to play with abstract notions and ideas as an intellectual and details always slow you down. You prefer thinking about the infinite of surveying the universe to balancing your checkbook. Many of your lofty ideas can be put to good use in a more practical realm. Nothing is better for the Libra-Sagittarian than to go off on an African safari or an Alaskan expedition, so go ahead and book your ticket. Any sort of physical exercise is good for you. You are an idealist with love, as with all things. Fantasizing about your perfect lover is usually the start. You are a great lover and are giving, affectionate, and open. Unfortunately most of them stay stuck in your mind, just because you lack discipline. Mix it with some good old-fashioned common sense and think of what you could do with all that inspiration. The barriers have been broken before. Imagination is a very powerful aspect of your combination. Do not let your overactive mind take you off into Fantasy Land in the middle of a chat or a day at work. Fantasy is not a substitute for experience, but you admittedly you do need both to be healthy. It is likely that you feel a need to travel to faraway lands because your Libra-Sagittarius combination has a lot of restless energy and inquisitiveness.

Aerith Gainsborough -- Feb 07, 1985: Aquarius Sun, Pisces Moon (air/water)

TRUE BELIEVER

You are a very kind and helpful person and are able to identify and sympathize with almost everybody. Your innocent soul is humble, generous, and sensitive. You know the difference between right and wrong because you have an innate sense of integrity and wisdom. But your spirituality is not always synchronized with pragmatic common sense. You have no cunning or shrewdness and are completely trusting. Your faith in other is total and you would be eaten alive if other people were not so kind to you. Fortunately people never fail to respond in a positive way to your innocence. There is a dreamy look that Aquarius-Pisceans have and it seems they have just woken up and do not know where they are. This approach is used in everything, as though existence is carried on in several dimensions. If you see the entire world at once, you get mixed up because you cannot really separate the parts. It is possible a religious path might be for you because you are quite spiritual. Some Aquarius-Pisceans are even drawn to the monastic life. Furthermore, you may be especially tuned in to the occult and the mysterious. More mainstream people find this quite odd about you. Your imagination is strong and you have a very visual mental framework. Given the right motivation and teaching, you might be an artist or other creative entrepreneur. However you must acquire some direction and discipline from others to be successful. Without this, you are a ship with no rudder to guide you to your destination. You are a sponge for the stress or feelings around your environment. That is a strong influence on you. Meditating, reading, or listening to music from time to time is good for you. However, you must be careful that isolation does not take you away from involvement with others. High technology or heavy competition is not suited for you as a career. Involve yourself in a profession where you can use your compassionate and humanitarian feelings. Or perhaps think in terms of using your powerful clairvoyant skills. Because of your detached character, people might think that you are uncaring. Aquarian detachment may lead others to believe that you are not very sensitive, but the opposite is actually true.

Cloud Strife -- Aug 11, 1986: Leo Sun, Scorpio Moon (fire/water)

VACILLATOR

You relish a good battle and, in fact, if there is not a lot of competition, you feel somewhat cheated and let down. You are very motivated and determined, even though you show a playful image to the world. You probably believe that, if you ever revealed yourself, you would give your enemies an advantage, even though most of your enemies exist solely in your mind. Consequently you are very secretive in order to protect yourself. You view yourself and humanity with the greatest importance and you are a very intense Leo. Your approach is almost always a serious one. Jokes at your expense are not thought of kindly. You generally have a master plan for life, and you carefully follow it because you are purposeful, bold, and aggressive about everything. A kind of wall is built around you. You desire all the comfort, authority, and control you can get from life. You like material possessions and are sensual. Nothing can hold you back after you have set your sights on a job, toy, or romance. You go after your aims with quiet firmness, and your charisma, self-assurance, and ruthless willpower help you to get them. You have a lot of determination, fortitude, and a strong sense of purpose because both signs of your combination are fixed, but that also makes you obstinate and rigid, especially pertaining to your beliefs. It is very hard for you to accept the views or opinions of others. You are very independent and you seldom compromise. You have a very low stress threshold thanks to your rigidity. Aggression, irritation, or injured pride cannot be held in for very long and it is generally released quickly. You are obstinate and somewhat spirited. You are very insightful and astute to the ways of the world unlike most Leos. Finance, management, and business attract you, as do most things involving competition. You have probably experienced strong creative desires, however. A Scorpio Moon can inspire and assist the creative needs of the Leo Sun. You rarely follow through on those artistic desires because you are so worried about instant gratification including things such as when you might get your promotion or have your next sexual conquest. You might be the next van Gogh or Picasso if you would redirect some of those sensual drives and use some restraint. In this lifetime, when there is so much going on, your creative talents are not likely to find an outlet.

Tifa Lockhart -- May 3, 1987: Taurus Sun, Cancer Moon (earth/water)

PROVIDER

There is an insecurity and restraint about you too. This results in a person who shows an exterior that is stable, while internally there is insecurity. There is a gentle kindness in you that attracts others. You also have a charming and tactful nature to go with it. You realize that aggression does not work nearly as well as diplomacy. Handling people well is an inborn trait, as is your almost instant adaptability to situations. You seem to be on everyone’s side at the same time. You carry yourself with an air of confidence. You are controlled in your approach to life and this makes you seem secure. This combination has a Taurus side that is dedicated, motivated, and sensual. The Cancer aspect shows sensitivity along with imagination. Caution is necessary if you do not want to lose your own identity in this process of trying to please everyone. As you move on in age, do not allow yourself to become self-satisfied and smug because a big part of you is easily satisfied with your life. Push yourself beyond what you see as your limitations and this will surely help round out your life. It would be a shame to waste your numerous strong points and talents. Creativity in design or architecture are places you can showcase your wonderful imagination and artistic talents. However, professions that provide more financial security because of your Moon in Cancer attract you. Undertaking a career that is a gamble is unlikely because it goes against your basic nature. The Taurus powers of concentration and the Cancer Moon provide an ability to understand and remember what you have learned. However, you also keep a ledger grounded in emotions such that you remember every insult, rejection, threat or other circumstance for a very long time. You pout in preference to discussing your feelings of hurt or anger. You can become a cynical and sluggish person if you experience a serious emotional setback in the form of rejection. Obviously, releasing negative feelings like anger is best for you and this means expressing them openly. Aggression is almost unknown to you because you are a peaceful person. Luckily, the vast majority of people respond to you kindly because you will probably not come to your own defense. Occasionally though, it is imperative to state your views.

COMPATIBILITY & STORY RELATION

FYI, Sun Sign represent exterior self, ego---dictates what we want out of this life, how we view the world, and how we interact/express with others. Moon sign represent inner self---especially when you’re alone, a personality that is often unknown to others unless they’re so close to you and understand you on that level, reflecting emotion/feeling, desire, and fear.

Zack & Aerith’s sun sign is air; the most expressive tribe. Air sign is social butterfly, flirtatious, and they quickly drag you to their life. They are truth-seeker to put their right belief onto before action and curious about many things in the world. You also could see them externally similar as fuck and being happy couple, no need explanation, do you agree? Meanwhile, as the one who has fire element under the sun sign, Cloud has the highest ego and fiery personality upfront. You see how he alienated himself and pick up fights since kid because he thinks he’s the best of everyone. He’s also someone who hardly admit his weakness and prefer to cover it. But his exterior energy matches Zack’s inner self. His desire of what he want to become is what Cloud carries for the rest of his life and put into real action. Like the name, Earth sign, Tifa is the most grounded character and the most stable outside while Zack-Aerith-Cloud are turbulent/chaotic people.

Surprisingly, Aerith-Cloud-Tifa are emotionally similar as they all carry water element as their moon sign: sensitive, depth of feeling, private, empathetic. So they all can be compatible each other to understand feeling while Zack is the most rational one who uses mind more than heart. The difference is... As Pisces, Aerith is the most selfless. As Scorpio, Cloud is the most secretive. As Cancer, Tifa is the most nurturing. Meanwhile, Zack & Tifa has no compatibility, both of their sun and moon sign are all opposites. Story-wise, they also have no interaction other than a week in Nibelheim where Tifa guided Zack to Nibel reactor, texted him about blond SOLDIER, and he felt responsible for the incident happened to her.

PS: I also search for Barret (Dec 15, 1972) and tweet it on my Twitter account, he’s Zack’s reversion: Sagittarius Sun-Libra Moon; probably gonna do more characters!

#cloud strife #Aerith Gainsborough #tifa lockhart #zack fair #final fantasy vii #text

[charmmycolour]

Answer questions about Dakavendish pls UwU

YES! I love any excuse to talk about my dorks!

1. Who kissed the other first?

Cavendish.

I know, I know, but hear me out! Let me put a short and a long answer because the long one is long.

Short answer: Cavendish kisses Dakota for the first time without realizing, because he’s simply too excited and not thinking properly. And we know how touchy he gets when he’s excited.

Long answer (you can skip): It’s a personal headcanon that in the future Cavendish alone will get a better job at PIG, and at Dakota insistence he will accept. There’s a ton more to that hc, but basically at some point Cav would be in danger and, in his usual fashion, Dakota would rush to save him. But because they are trying to blackmail PIG and Cav is now important, they kidnap Dakota.

Cavendish tries to convince PIG to send a team to save Dakota, but Bob is all “he’s just the janitor, we can’t waste resorces on a rescue mission for him. Don’t worry about it!” and Cav is FURIOUS, but can’t really do anything about it and he’s too scared to go on a rescue mission on his own. This is too dangerous and he’s clumsy and insecure.

So Cavendish is mopping alone, not knowing what to do. At some point, Milo, Melissa and Zack find him and unaware of the situation just ask where is Dakota. And Cav is like, I can’t tell them the true! They would want to help and get worried, and I can’t involve three innocent children on this. So he lies and tells them everything is fine and Dakota is doing his own thing somewhere else.

But since the topic is there, Milo mentions Dakota is a cool guy and the rest agree. Cavendish, still on his "everything is fine" act tries to act like usual pointing Dakota's flaws "you won't say that if you had to work with him, he's messy, irresponsible, impulsive, always hungry, has no sense of fashion..."

But then he starts to trail off "and he gets excited with the smallest of things, can you imagine? I guess that's quite admirable on it's own way, but... I mean, I don't hate him, Dakota can be pretty helpful sometimes. He knows how to act under pressure, can talk his way out of situations, made our job a lot less boring, and to be honest, he's quite funny, even with that odd sense of humor; and he's the most loyal person I have ever know, he's kind and  witty and selfless and..."

He ends listing all kind of virtues and the kids look at each other and Melissa goes: "Wow, someone likes-likes Dakota, uh?". And Cavendish is just "What? No! I don't... I would never... Dakota is not..." then he suddenly is hit by the realization and just stares in the void, eyes wide. And Melissa of course would tell Zack "I told ya" and he would give her five dolars, because they absolutely have a bet going about this.

The kids will leave saying "Tell Dakota we said hi!" and after a few more moments of existential crisis, Cav would change to absolute determined and will go "I will" and decide to save Dakota on his own. And he goes and is BADASS CAVENDISH rescue mission.

And THEN, when he finally gets to Dakota, and sees him, and screams his name and hugs him, he kisses Dakota out of pure joy, and then smiles at him and says “Milo and his friends said hi”.

END OF LONG ANSWER

2. What was their first fight about?

We know it was about using the training car to get burritos hehe

3. Who sleeps in the couch more often?

Once they had a proper bed? Absolutely Dakota. Cavendish gets super huffy and Dakota would rather use the couch that listen to his complains (also Dakota probably don’t have problems sleeping everywhere, not because of the place at least.)

4. Who drinks coffee and who drinks tea?

Easy one! Cavendish drinks tea, Dakota drinks coffee.

Although I will say Cav secretly puts a lot more sugar on his tea that the average person would find acceptable, and despite his sweet tooth in other deparments, Dakota likes his coffe very bitter to keep him awake.

5. Who goes grocery shopping more often?

Dakota. Cavendish had been so sheltered all his life that he’s blissfully unaware on how much money food cost, or what is truly needed in a house. If you let him go shooping, he ends getting too much, and half of it totally unnecessary.

On the other hand, years and years of poverty had made Dakota an expert of how to buy cheap. However he also buys a lot of unhealthy food, but fortunately Cav is improving that part.

6. Who brings breakfast in bed?

Dakota does so often, the thing is that his concept of “breakfast on bed” consist mostly of a cup of tea and whatever sparse pastry was around at the moment.

Cavendish only does so on rare ocassion, but when it happens, he gets flowers, the most fancy breakfast he’s able to prepare and a a sweet note, if not some small detail. He takes the gesture very seriously.

7. Who sleeps first?

Cavendish. He enjoys routine, wakes up at 6:30am every day and it’s in bed at 9:30pm. By 10 he’s sleeping.

8. Who watches the other sleeping?

Dakota has bad sleeping habits, but it’s mostly due to night terrors and nightmares. He often watches Cavendish sleep, just happy he’s there, and he’s alive.

He also enjoys watching him mumble on his dreams, except when it’s about Hildegard or any of the other previour crushes of Cavendish, which Dakota hates. Not as much because the jealousy but at the fact Cav always gets rejected and hurt on these dreams.

9. Who met the parents in law first?

Assuming they ever get to see their families again, Dakota would be the one meeting Cavendish parents for sure. In fact, I’m not even sure Dakota wants to ever introduce Cavendish to his abusive mother and probably absent father, if father at all.

10. Who does the laundry?

Sunday is laundry day (Dakota doesn’t wear much on Sundays!), and the shorter man is the one that takes care of it. Putting clothes on a washing machine it’s easy, so he jumped at claiming the task inmediatly.

Plus he can pretend there’s no clean clothes he can wear for the day...

11. Who washes the dishes?

Cavendish, altough Dakota had to teach him because he hadn’t washed a dish before in his life prior to his job at BoTT.

12. Who clean up the house?

Cavendish. Again, he needed some help, but now he knows how to keep the space clean and tidy, he WILL keep the space clean and tidy. Dakota really don’t care much for order, but Cav can’t live without it.

13. Who washes the car?

You can bet Dakota not only washes the car, but absolutely does a lewd spectacle of it. There’s always more water and soap over him that over the vehicle.

14. Who brings take outs?

Both of them take turns, as take out is one of their favorite things. Sometimes Dakota just appear with them without warning, though.

15. Who calls the other to ask if they want something from the street?

Dakota is always too loud “Hey Cav, Cav, what do you want?? I take a large or an extra large?? What’s better? Cav, Cav, CAV!”

Cavendish often wants to sink on the ground out of embarrassment.

16. Who’s more likely to make plans?

Count on Dakota making plans on the spot and making most of the day. Cavendish has problems with changes, but still obliges because, well, it’s Dakota.

17. Who dreams about a big wedding?

Cavendish always had imagined his wedding as the most big, fancy, white party in the world.

Dakota was unexpected on that plan, of course. Wearing white around him can’t end well, Cavendish knows it. But somehow... he doesn’t care as much about the wedding anymore.

Dakota didn’t even want to get married, but now the idea looks a lot more appealing, if only to have the change to carry Cav around on his arms.

18. Who breaks the cups?

Cavendish, actually, all the time. Too clumsy for this world.

19. Who holds the umbrella?

When raining starts, Dakota usually silently puts the umbrella over Cavendish, which more often than not doesn’t even realize it’s raining and what Dakota is doing for several minutes. Dakota ends wet a lot, but he don’t care. When Cav finally realizes, though, he makes sure to put both of them under it and hold the umbrella, since he’s a lot taller. Dakota is thankful because his arm was starting to hurt.

20. Who takes the other to the dance floor?

Cavendish is a good dancer, but he absolutely never dances on his own volition. Dakota drags him to dance every time, and every time, Cavendish ends enjoying it.

21. Who does the big romantic gestures?

I think sacrificing yourself hundreds of times to save the other’s life counts as a big romantic gesture, so Dakota.

Cav tries his best, but is misfortune doesn’t help. Not that Dakota cares.

22. Who’s more likely to serenade?

Dakota. Not only has he the better singing voice, but he can make songs in the spot. Plus he likes to fluster Cavendish serenading him in public.

23. Who forgets the wet towel in bed?

You can bet Dakota does and you can bet Cavendish nags him for it.

24. Who don’t pick up things when they fell?

Dakota. What’s another thing in the floor?

25. Who keeps losing the keys?

Cavendish is CONSTANTLY missing everything. He don’t even understand why, his order is impeccable! Meanwhile Dakota, that thrives on his own messes, can locate any item in seconds.

26. Who sings the rap part?

The idea of Cavendish trying to rap anything is making me laugh too hard, so Dakota.

27. Who pretends to be sad just so the other will cheer they up?

Dakota is always cheering Cavendish up, although Cav is genuinely sad. It’s possible that he gets more pouty than necesary just to get Dakota’s attention, though.

28. Who wakes up ready for a maraton?

Cavendish does exercise every morning. Dakota hated it, until he discovered Cav wears a really ridiculous and tight 80 workout aerobic outfit for it. Since then, he wakes up early too only to watch Cavendish doing exercise in front of the TV.

29. Who buys them tickets for shows?

Cavendish. He insist they need to do more cultural things. Half of the time they end leaving at the middle and going to some childish activity instead, though.

30. Who choose the movie?

Oh, they are always bickering about who is choosing the movie and who has better taste. True is, both have terrible taste.

31. Who says ‘I love you’ more often?

After the first time (that took more than ten years!), Dakota finally feels free to say I love you, and will absolutely use it. Dakota reminds Cav he loves him several times a day for the tiniest of things.

Cavendish is more reserved, if only because he still gets flustered with the idea. He likes his words to hold a sense of uniqueness, and so he limits his love words to the most intimate or romantic moments.

32. Who keeps waving at people after they got engaged?

Half the city knows all the details about Dakota’s ring, because he can’t stop himself from bragging about Cavendish to everyone.

33. Who uses the most ridiculous nicknames for the other?

Cavendish is not a fan of pet names and only uses Dakota, and sometimes Vinnie or at most dear. Dakota don’t extend the courtesy to him.

Dakota calls Cavendish every pet name under the sun. Babe, handsome, amore, casanova, cutie, cupcake, muffin, sugar plum, sweetie, tesoro mio... even mister hot stuff or sexy pants.

Cavendish hates it.

He tried to make ridiculous names for Dakota, but Dakota loves every one of them. So now Cav calls him teddy bear.

34. Who’s responsible for date nights?

Date nights, as an event, is mostly Cav’s job. He organizes wonderful dates, but gets frustrated quickly if anything goes wrong, so Dakota spontaneous nature it’s a blessing.

35. Who wakes up one day and decides to stay in bed?

That’s Dakota 90% of mornings.

And 85% of the time, Cav doesn’t let him.

Sometimes, though... a few extra cuddles can’t hurt anyone.

#dakavendish #balthazar cavendish/vinnie dakota #balthazar cavendish #vinnie dakota #milo murphy's law #mml dakota #mml cavendish #mml

[secret-engima]

Fic title thing - heart held close to the moon and Neptune

...

...............

Neptune ... Neptune was the Roman god of the sea right? ... Just looked it up and yes he was so-

>:D

FF7

Mer

AU

But rather than EVERYONE being mer or whatever, it’s ONLY the three Soldier Firsts of canon. Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal who have never met any other mer, because Shinra are immoral and terrible and use propaganda to promote the idea that Mer aren’t REALLY just like humans in intelligence and emotional range and soul, they just happen to look human-ish on the top half. And because Mer are seemingly extinct (read: in hiding), they have nobly “Resurrected” the lost line of the “most exotic creatures of the sea” in Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal and claim to be in the process of cloning female Mers to “reintroduce the species”.

Except mer are NOT animals.

Mer are the children of Gaia’s oceans, the pulse of her waves and tides, touched by her moon on high. Mer are MAGIC and they will not be contained.

They escape, by the skin of their teeth and with many bloody scars, helped by the last of descendant of the True Mer (Aerith) who can walk on two legs for a time because of her half-human blood. They flee, out into the wild waters, just the three of them as a pod, rapidly protective of their little Pod Queen Aerith, their little sister in their eyes for all it would doom mer to extinction again. So they swim, up river and through lake and through the sea, and sometimes Aerith stops to visit the human woman who cared for her as a child and to tend the garden on two legs while the other three lounge in the little pond and sing softly together, and it’s ... nice.

Then Aerith meets Zack. Zack who is a cheerful sellsword rather than a Shinra plaything, who still respect the Old Ways as best as an ignorant human can, and Aerith adores him and so despite what they want, Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal refrain from dragging him below the waves and eating him for trying to court their sister. But Zack is genuine and not cruel like the other humans they’ve met, he gets along with Elmyra and dotes on Aerith and Angeal ends up taking him under his fin after Zack nearly falls in and downs in the pond because surprise this idiot CAN’T SWIM, and really that is that. They have another human in the pod.

Zack tells them all sorts of stories, of the lands they’ve never seen. Jungles and deserts and icy mountains, and in those stories one name and description comes up a lot, the other, younger sellsword Cloud Strife. A fierce little mountain girl who still swears to the Old Spirits and avoids Fairy Circles and will not set foot on a boat until she’s made a sacrifice to the lost Children of the Sea. He describes his “little buddy” so often during his tales that really, it’s no wonder Sephiroth RECOGNIZES the woman while on a solo hunt, struggling in the water, bubbles escaping her mouth and nose, arms and legs bound from where she’s been THROWN OVERBOARD by pirates stealing the ship she had booked passage on.

Sephiroth screams and the storm screams back. The pirates stand no chance and Sephiroth pays them no more mind as he dives down for Cloud, ripping the ropes apart with his claws, swims her up to the surface and realizes that the storm he just summoned is a PROBLEM. The waves are too high for him to keep the human’s head above the water and she’s already NOT BREATHING and Sephiroth can’t just- UNSUMMON a storm, but this girl is Zack’s friend and Zack is pod which makes THIS ONE pod and Sephiroth-can’t-let-her-die-.

Sephiroth holds her close and sings-sings-sings, struggling against death, screaming to the moon to spare this human, to make her SURVIVE somehow, because Sephiroth has too few people in his life and he cannot afford to lose any of them, even one he has never met before.

And Sephiroth-

Sephiroth was Hojo’s finest creation. He was grown from the blood of the most Ancient mer. The Wild Kin even Aerith’s race of mer feared for their power, their savagery, their ability to wrap up the world in their voice and SHAPE it the way they wanted. Jenova is not an alien virus in this au, oh no, Jenova was The Sea Witch. The most feared and powerful and deadly o the Wild Kin, the last to fall in their war against the much more numerous humans and Cetra mer that had banded together against the Wild Kin and their Sea Witches. Jenova was the one who cursed the Cetra and decimated their numbers, she was the one to freeze the great northern sea mid-motion like a glacier around a great crater.

Jenova is, in a morbid, cloned sense, his mother.

Sephiroth sings.

The world obeys.

The body in his arms changes.

Cloud breathes in water and does not drown.

When Cloud groggily wakes up three days later, it’s to one very frantic Zack hovering over her face, the sky above her head, and the weird sensation of being submerged from the waist down. She remembers being knocked off the ship and sits up in confusion-

Looks down and doesn’t see legs.

The glittering tail of ink black and spiraling ice blue twitches spasmodically under her stare, responding to her desperate attempts to move legs that AREN’T THERE ANYMORE.

Cloud starts screaming and all the glass and quite a bit of nearby stone shatters.

While Zack and Aerith help deal with ... THAT whole mess, Sephiroth lurks guiltily in the nearby river, not daring to enter the pond while Genesis whimsically notes that aside from the ice blue swirls, her tail exact same shade of black as his, so does that mean she’s a full blooded Wild Kin now? Genesis and Angeal aren’t, because they have bright red and bright blue scales with black highlights respectively, sign of Wild Kin blood but not nearly as pure as Sephiroth’s jet black and trademark silver hair and slitted eyes. Angeal slaps Genesis over the head and says there are bigger things to worry about, because SINCE WHEN was any kind of magic strong enough to transform a human into an ACTUAL MER and what do they do now? Sephiroth already tried turning her back, but it didn’t work, because that kind of Song that remakes the world itself can only be used on a person on that large a scale ONCE, so now they’re stuck and how will they explain any of that to Zack’s formerly-human friend.

Sephiroth continues to lurk at the bottom of the river, feeling very guilty. He didn’t mean to do that. He meant to save her, not transform her, and the entire thing tastes too much of Hojo’s lab and his unwanted experiments and talk of using Sephiroth’s blood to create clones or hybrids.

Maybe once Zack and Aerith calm her down she won’t entirely hate him?

Who is he kidding, she’ll probably try to gut him with her bare claws.

(Anyway a sort of Modern-Fantasy AU where Mako is a thing but the SOLDIER program isn’t, Mer are a thing, and Fem!Cloud and Sephiroth end up doing an enemies to lovers slowburn but more in a you-transformed-me-against-my-will-so-I-HATE-YOU to friends to lovers way.)

(Also Hojo tries to do more evil shenanigans and Shinra hopes to conquer the world, but that all gets shut down by the Pod because fun fact you can’t run a wold spanning empire if all your ships keep mysteriously getting sunk. It’s not like you can helicopter EVERYTHING over the water, especially since all air traffic gets rapidly shut down by the mysterious super storms that blow in when they try. Reeve eventually gets accidentally kidnapped by the Pod and converted to their side so he starts looking into non-Lifestream power alternatives and Rufus is on board because honestly there’s nothing like a couple of mer arguing, IN YOUR LANGUAGE on whether they should eat you for your sins to make you rethink your life choices and by extension all your evil father’s life choices.)

(Also also Vincent and Felicia are both experiments by Hojo to see if he could create human-mer hybrids. Felicia is a sea serpent and Vincent sometimes forgets that Legs Are A Thing and so just sighs tiredly on Elmyra’s floor in all his red and black octopi glory. Veld is pulled on board the “lets kill Hojo and reform Shinra” boat after he nearly gets his throat torn out by his long lost daughter only for his long lost Turk partner to tackle her and talk her down from accidental patricide.)

(For reference, Sephiroth is a black beta fish with some silver edging on his fins, Genesis is a red with black stripes lionfish, and Angeal is a long-suffering blue and black lions fish. Aerith turns into a long-finned koi, and discovers quite by accident that if you kiss your human boyfriend enough times he gains the ability to breathe underwater and transform into a mer for a few hours before changing back into a human again.)

(And because I’m on a roll, Nanaki is still a cat-lion-thing, Cait Sith has underwater capabilities, Jesse, Wedge, and Biggs are all incredibly baffled humans who aren’t sure how this is their life now, Tifa would like to know when and how her best friend became a Mer (Cloud: It’s all catfish’s fault. Sephiroth: hey.) Barret is a monstrously overprotective dad and Marlene is the world’s cutest baby mer and Sephiroth would literally destroy the world for her if she asked him too. Genesis would help him. Angeal would just sigh and hold Marlene out of the danger zone.)

#SE asks #byakko4 asks #Secret Engima Rambles #title prompt #Mer!Seph verse

[silver-wield]

tbh after playing the remake, I get the appeal of CA, because it's a familiar manic pixie dream girlfriend type love story. It even plays into the tragic boy loses girl trope which helps frame it as some grand romantic story. and yeah they're cute, and they definitely have a special connection. I think I could ship it if not for the whole rest of the story. It's a relationship that has the potential to become romantic, but it doesn't exist in a vacuum. 1/5

The remake is doing a great job on untangling a lot of the ambiguity the OG left us with. Yes, Cloud could develop feelings for Aerith and vice versa, but the remake is planting so many seeds that confirm he currently has feelings for Tifa (which she reciprocates) and I don't think it's possible for any feelings he might develop for Aerith to overcome these feelings he has harboured since childhood. 2/5

Unfortunately those feelings are something he cannot fully understand because of his comprimised mental state. But you can clearly see that his deep affections for Tifa and desire to protect her stay with him despite that (as can Aerith). The problem with the OG (other than having to potray this incredibly complex subversive nuanced story through text and polygons) is that the LS scene recontextualize so much of who Cloud is, but by that time people had already made their conclusions. 3/5

With the remake you can see them trying to fix this by having a constant thread of romantic undertones to all of cloti's interactions. The CA relationship meanwhile is potrayed with these moments that play into romantic tropes and expectations. The bridge scene is flashy and grand and draws the attention, but it doesn't carry the substance that a single hand-clech does. 4/5

It's meant to be a smokescreen to the real story - just as Cloud is not the hero you think he is, the love story is also not the one you think it is. And that's what makes FF7 so great. It's all about the subversions of what you expect - it's about the truth underneath these grand and compelling illusions that is complicated and real but still just as beautiful. 5/5

Okay, first off I don’t see how anyone can play Remake with Cloud being biggest mood around Aerith and find that appealing. Personally I think it’s the most toxic and harmful behaviour in the entire game when he’s alone with her and she’s literally trying to force him to act like her dead boyfriend. There is zero appeal in that and it’s not cute how she behaves, it’s arrogant and self serving. Like I said in a different post (or maybe a tweet) both Sephiroth and Aerith use Cloud to fulfill their own selfish desires. Sephiroth needs Cloud to destroy the planet by getting him the black materia, and Aerith wants Cloud to emulate Zack so she can fool herself into believing he didn’t die. In both cases what Cloud wants doesn’t even factor into things. That harmful dynamic doesn’t give them a special relationship. It mirrors Cloud’s relationship with Sephiroth in that it hurts him. Aerith and Sephiroth are two sides of a coin and the whole isn’t anything that benefits Cloud. Even after they’re both dead they continue to harm him through their obsession with him. It’s only at the end of AC when they’re both truly gone from his life completely that he’s able to smile and be at peace. He has no stalkers in DC and that’s why he’s so cheerful. He gets to live happily with Tifa and not worry about ghosts coming after him. It has zero potential to become anything because to make that a thing, you need to totally destroy everything else about the story and characters themselves. You have to take away Zack being Cloud’s best friend and saviour, at which point he’s just dead. You have to take away Tifa being his motivation to become a soldier, at which point he’s dead cause Sephiroth still comes to Nibelheim and burns it. Point is, there is no way that dumdum dinghy is possible without removing Cloud and most of his personality from FF7, at which point he’s just a pretty face, so people should just go write AU fanfiction and admit they wanna bang the pretty boy and not deal with his canon personality and story. 

There wasn’t any ambiguity in OG because 7R is FF7 and the devs have said multiple times the story is the same as before. The problem back then was a poor translation, bad advertising and people refusing to follow the narrative to its proper conclusion. Cloud at no point in OG or any of the compilation could develop feelings because it’s shown in the entire compilation that he has always and will always love Tifa. Before Crisis he loves Tifa. Crisis Core he loves Tifa. OG he loves Tifa. AC he loves Tifa. DC he loves Tifa and Remake he loves Tifa. There’s zero room for anything with Aerith because his entire character arc is consumed with his desire for Tifa. It’s literally shown in the damn game that he’s in love with her. So, no, there never was any chance for Aerith, and I’m tired of people trying to entertain one by saying “if she lived”. Sorry, not sorry, if she lived Cloud is still in love with Tifa, so he never would, could or want to develop any feelings for Aerith. 

Cloud loves Tifa. It’s the goddamn plot. 

There isn’t any problem with the lifestream scene being the big reveal at that point in that game. The problem, again, is that people refused to follow the narrative to its logical conclusion and got hung up on their dumbass headcanon about Aerith. The entire premise of the game is built on illusion vs reality and yet some people still refuse to wake up and see reality. The game spells it out for everyone. They got so triggered over her dying that they acted like the game ended at that point instead of it carrying on and reaching the actual true culminating arc where we find out Cloud wasn’t himself this entire time. People seem to think Aerith dying is the plot and that she’s the main character or something. It’s Cloud’s game. The plot revolves around him. That’s why the lifestream scene is the apex of it. 

It’s Cloud’s story, not Aerith’s. 

I’ve pointed out several times how Aerith’s optional scenes in Remake show that Cloud is barely even a fixture. Her language of flowers you barely have Cloud in shot while she’s doing all that talking. She’s basically talking to the player. Her optional dress scenes show the illusion for what it is. That bridge is tiny and yet in the red dress is looks like this massive structure. I laughed my ass off when I spotted it. The pink dresses perspective shortens drastically for each one, with the funeral dress having Cloud standing nearest to Aerith, so that one’s probably closer to reality than that ott scene with random fireworks and fans popping up from nowhere. Not to mention the fact Aerith’s entire figure is padded out to fill that dress and she’s got hair extensions in and a ton of make up and the ost is actually called a mess of makeup or something like that and not a certain gaudiness. I mean, Madam M tried to turn Aerith into Tifa to win the bride contest and beat Sam. The game makes things very clear that the illusion is Aerith and the reality is Tifa, and players can’t turn Aerith into Tifa to make Cloud notice her no matter how hard they wanna believe they can. Her resolution literally has her repeating her OG lines from the GS about how Cloud isn’t himself, but she also arrogantly assumes he fell in love with her or would because she’s arrogant. It’s a character trait that again mirrors Sephiroth’s arrogance. It’s what gets them both killed in the end. Aerith underestimates Sephiroth and Sephiroth underestimates Cloud. 

And we already saw what Cloud had to say about her declaration cause he only ever refers to her as a friend and didn’t show any romantic behaviour when he rescued her. Unless “Yep” is the height of romance now. It’s not that the romance isn’t the one you think it is. It’s that it’s the one you ignored and acted like wasn’t important because you hate the heroine. Tifa and Cloud are together from start to finish, but because people decided the pink girl was more important they acted like Tifa had no right to what was hers from the beginning. She didn’t get between Cloud and Aerith. There never was any Cloud and Aerith. It was always Tifa. She just took what was always hers and kept it. 

Anyone who doesn’t understand that should try playing the game cause it’s clear they didn’t.

#ship war #for the plot