sanjuno

[sanjuno]

I'm looking to see how much influence "Twitter refugees" have actually had on the culture of this site.

**Pease reblog! I want to get the biggest and most varied sample I can!**

[sanjuno]

KAPOW!!!!!

#sneeeerk #comic strip #peafowl #crows

[sanjuno]

I will admit to being honestly, ridiculously tempted.

I want to set Uchiha Obito on Darth Vader specifically for the Looney Toons Shenanigans of Vader trying to kill this obnoxious intangible fuckwad who definitely isn’t a hallucination this time because the asshole spilled like eight drinks on the Death Star console and yelled “OOPS”

#darth vader #uchiha obito #star wars #naruto #crossovers #naruto x Star Wars crossover #the fault in our stars

[sanjuno]

this is funny

like really, really funny

#sneeeerk #this is funny

[sanjuno]

I dont think lbh ever really tried to kill lqg during the 5 years of corpse-zun...but i think it would be hilarious if, because liu qingge is an anomoly who was never meant to fight lbh, who admittedly isnt on binghe's level but hes still pidw's war god.....

Lbh just is incapable of killing lqg. Like some sort of video game glitch, like when you take an item out of its designated area when youre not supposed to and the game cant quite do what you want to, everytime binghe tries to kill lqg some sort of looney tunes-shit happens that save lqg last minute. Like the worlds game engine can let them fight, and Lqg will never be able to beat lbh in a fight, but everytime lbh tries to actually kill the man, he starts falling into xianxia manholes and xianxia anvils start falling a la the beam falling during the skinner incident

#sneeeerk #luo binghe #liu qingge #svsss #other people's art #Luo Binghe cannot kill Liu Qingge #The Laws of the World don’t let him

[sanjuno]

Vincent is finally here.

#ffvii remake #vincent valentine #disc 2 is due out at the same time as my birthday #i neeeeeeeed it

[sanjuno]

Part forty-two of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one

-

The Turks have arranged everything. Sort of. The charcoal burner's house is long abandoned and remote, not close to any main routes, so it would be private. In the books, both Sephiroth and Angeal are taking part in a classified mission with the Turks, which has been approved by both the Director of the SOLDIER program and the Acting Director of the Turks. It would take someone higher up in the Public Security Department to delve deeper than that, and since the President had already given his seal of approval, there's not much even Heidegger can do about it.

"And Rude is bringing everything we'll need to survive," Reno finishes. "Starting today, your priority is sorting out whatever is going on with you, free of distractions, external stressors and hopefully of further incidents."

Sephiroth still seems to be stuck on the getting his shit together part of the mission and apparently isn't sure whether to be insulted or not.

Angeal clears his throat. "And what are we supposed to… do, exactly?"

"Hell if I know," Reno shrugs and nods at Sephiroth. "Figure you'd sort it out by yourself, with your new spooky… whatever it is you got going on. You seem to have some idea."

"Uh," Sephiroth answers. 

Eloquent.

Angeal runs a hand down his face. Then he laughs. "Okay, I have to admit. I'm impressed. I didn't really think you'd do anything, but - I'm impressed." And more than slightly intimidated by the connections and liberties the Turks have, but that's not exactly new. "How long do we have?"

"Until further notice, or until someone back in Midgar gets antsy," Reno shrugs. "I'm thinking maybe don't worry about time. If you need more, we will arrange some."

Huh. "This is really that important, then?"

Reno gives Sephiroth a look and then looks at Angeal. "Yeah," he says, a deceptively easy answer.

That's… somehow a little disconcerting. Certainly Sephiroth is invaluable to the program and to the company, but this… this is beyond VIP treatment.

"I see," Angeal murmurs and clears his throat.

Sephiroth finally shakes himself loose from his surprise, enough to look first somewhat sheepish - and then intrigued. "So, I can do whatever I want here?"

"Pretty much," Reno agrees, without any care for how alarming the question is. "And if you need something to further your whatever, we'll get it for you."

"Nice. And there will be no other missions if I don't want to do them right now?" Sephiroth asks.

"You can do them or not as you'd like - none of them have higher priority than this, and they can be delegated to other people, if it comes to that."

Sephiroth runs a hand over his chin. "And if I want access to some material that might be to some extent classified?"

Reno narrows his eyes. "Like what?"

"Haven't decided yet," Sephiroth answers flippantly. "But it might come up."

"... Great. We'll review case by case when we come to it," Reno mutters. "Though you know it's a bitch to get stuff shipped here, right? We're on another continent."

"Yes, yes, it's very impressive," Sephiroth says dismissively and thinks about something for a moment. Then he looks at the charcoal burner's house with a discerning eye. "And you'll be staying here too?" he then asks, glazing at Reno. "To watch us?"

Reno shrugs, unapologetic.

Sephiroth eyes him for a moment and then turns back to the house. "Very well. It will do."

"... Awesome," Reno says and motions. "Go, make yourselves comfortable or whatever. I'm going to walk the perimeter and set some traps."

"Mmhmm," Sephiroth answers, already striding back into the house with a proprietor's casual confidence, and Angeal can just imagine the furniture soon to be rearranged inside.

He hesitates before following and looks at Reno. "What is this really about? It's not just that Sephiroth lost control, is it?"

Reno considers him. "Well, duh, no," he says. "It's the stuff he's been saying in between."

And the abilities he seems to be on the verge of developing. "What's the official view on what's happening to Sephiroth?" What are they expecting from him?

"There isn't one," Reno says and arches his brows meaningfully, and then turns to go.

Angeal's face tightens, and he knows he probably doesn't understand the implications… but then maybe he does. All this effort and all the stuff that's been going on… whatever it is, the company is looking forward to benefiting from it greatly. And they want no one messing with what is happening before they do.

Angeal thinks of the moment Sephiroth communed with the old tree the day before, and for a moment he really wishes it was Genesis here with him instead. Genesis would actually know how to handle all of this. Angeal isn't even sure if he can ask Genesis about this, if he can talk to him about this!

Never mind the fact that Genesis probably has his hands full with whatever is happening back at Shinra Building… the aftermath of Sephiroth's incident and whatever Professor Hojo was doing…

Angeal turns to head inside.

… Where Sephiroth has begun poking around the house, and, of course, is already moving furniture around.

"I see you are all for this," Angeal comments.

"I'll take all the extra time I can get," Sephiroth mutters while carrying a little table to the middle of the main room. "Though I am not exactly happy about being under Turk supervision, I'll take it over the alternative."

Angeal hums, looking around and then deciding that Sephiroth probably doesn't need - or want - his help in decorating. "What's the alternative?"

Sephiroth grimaces and goes to move a bookshelf.

Okay then. Ominous. Angeal sighs and sets the Buster Sword down to lean against the wall near the door, right beside Masamune. "You know they expect something to come from this. For you to… to make it worth their while."

Sephiroth half laughs and half scoffs. "I just bet they do," he agrees and picks up somewhat dusty cushions and considers them with a frown.

Angeal folds his arms. "Are you going to?" he then asks, worried.

Sephiroth pauses and looks away, dropping the cushions by the table in the middle. "No," he says finally. "I don't imagine I will. Regardless," he shakes his head. "This is the next best thing to a full-on seclusion, and I am damn well going to make the most of it."

Angeal doesn't know what that means, but it doesn't matter. "Okay," he says and draws a breath. "Guess we'll… just stay here for the time being, then."

Sephiroth hums in agreement. "Guess so. Does it bother you?"

"No more than anything else around Wutai," Angeal admits and looks up at the ceiling. "We were already looking forward to a prolonged stay in someone's abandoned home. This place is honestly an improvement."

Sephiroth relaxes a little. "Yeah. And hey, the people here weren't chased out or killed by Shinra. That's something."

Angeal looks at him curiously. "How do you know that?"

"The original owner left a scrap piece of letter behind. Apparently they were invited to the capital," Sephiroth says.

… Sephiroth reads the Wutai language? Huh. Angeal didn't know that.

"I guess that's good to know," he says and then sighs. "Okay, so. This… thing you're doing. Your energy alignment stuff. Is there anything I can do to help? What do you need?"

Sephiroth hesitates between moving some jars around and looks at him. "I need a proper cleared training area," he says and offers him a wry smile. "At least as big as the training room back at Shinra Building."

"I can do that, yeah," Angeal says. "Anything else?"

Sephiroth thinks about it for a moment before setting the jars back down. "I'll let you know."

Angeal nods and gets to it. There's not much he can do when Sephiroth refuses to trust him, but… he'd do what he could.

Hopefully by the end of it, it would be enough.

-

Time for a training montage.

#esamastation #ffvii #svsss #crossover fic #other people's fic

[sanjuno]

Here's a comic I made for Halloween! Which was yesterday, oops

#other people's art #Halloween comic #this is very ‘in medias res’ #but it works

[sanjuno]

Part forty-one of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty

-

"... So there's Natural Materia that grows and evolves and eventually spawns an offspring of exactly identical Materia that can then make the exact same journey - and then there's Artificial Materia that… doesn't?"

"You're really asking the wrong person - Genesis is the expert," Angeal sighs, rubbing at his forehead. "But yeah, that's basically it? Artificial Materia can still level up a bit, but it doesn't evolve or make a copy of itself."

Sephiroth nods, fascinated. "So Natural Materia basically does mitosis?"

"I… don't know what that is?" Angeal says, sounding lost.

They're walking through the forest, in between random encounters - following a wide old footpath towards the charcoal burner's house. The path has the signs of wheeled traffic where the dirt has really been compacted, but it was a while ago, and grasses have started taking real estate on the path. Still, it makes for easier walking than the wild, untamed forest.

"It's when something - a cell - splits into two identical copies," Sephiroth explains.

"Ah, then no, that's not exactly it - the offspring Materia is unleveled and undeveloped. It has to be matured anew," Angeal clarifies.

"Still. Eventually the offspring Materia becomes identical to the parent. It's asexual reproduction, at least," Sephiroth muses, fascinated by how organic it all sounds. Like Materia is actually a breed of organism doing what all living things do - eat and reproduce. And artificial versions are basically infertile! "I bet Artificial Materia still needs to be somehow seeded by the natural sort."

Angeal shrugs, helpless. "You'd really have better luck asking Genesis. Maybe you should send him a message, asking about it."

"Maybe I will," Sephiroth says, determined, and then looks up. "Heads up - bugs."

One random encounter later, they're back to walking.

"You know, you could actually just try using your Materia," Angeal comments. "Might give you some insight on how it works. Or do you not remember how?"

Sephiroth waves a hand. "You just push energy through the thing, it's not that hard."

"Then why not do it?"

Because MP is Qi, kinda, and using Materia basically burns it away. Or, well, transforms it. Part of it goes into the Materia being used, aiding its maturation, and the rest of it is transformed into whatever spell the Materia is for. It's very easy to use and very powerful and incredibly energy inefficient. And since Sephiroth still isn't sure whether he wants to take in ambient energy in the way of the locals, he isn't sure his MP actually replenishes? And sure, he could take an Ether, a potion that replenishes MP - but that's basically like drinking raw Qi, and the very idea is a bit alarming.

There's just a scary level of energy transference going on in this place, and his core is unstable enough!

Also Sephiroth would rather figure out how to consume the Materia itself, like you'd consume spirit stones - except he really doesn't need any extra Qi at this point.

"Maybe later," Sephiroth says and looks ahead for a distraction. "Oh, hey, is that the house?"

Angeal gives him a look, amused, but lets it go and looks ahead too.

The charcoal burner's house is built near to the side of a mountain wall, with three enormous charcoal kilns half carved into the stone of the mountain. The house is more of a homestead, with a large area cleared and fenced, with the house itself in the middle, a couple of storage huts, a stall, and a big shelter for wood.

It's a bit rundown, though. One of the storage houses has its rooftop caved in, and there's long grass growing everywhere. The charcoal kilns look not just cold, but like something had been nesting in one of them.

"That's strange," Angeal murmurs warily, looking around. "It… doesn't look like anyone's been living here for a good long while."

"Hmm," Sephiroth hums, crouching down to examine a footprint in the dirt. It's fresh. "Someone has been here very recently, though." Someone in modern footwear - with treaded soles. Not that he knows what kind of footwear the people of Wutai favour, but, still…

Angeal looks at the footprint and hums. "Be on your guard. There's something weird going on in here."

Cautious, they examine the place and find no signs of any monster attacks. What they do find is more footprints, all by the same set of shoes, going strong in the place and by all appearances checking out the buildings.

"Looking for something, maybe?" Angeal murmurs as they consider the footprints.

"Hmm. I don't see any signs of monsters," Sephiroth comments. "Didn't the mission files say the place was already attacked? Maybe we're in the wrong place."

"Maybe…"

While Angeal checks their mission files and coordinates to confirm they're actually in the right house, Sephiroth tries to figure out why it was abandoned in the first place. It wasn't sudden, that he can tell - whoever lived here had the time to pack up. Everything that's left was put away very neatly, too.

"Well, this is the right place," Angeal says, following him inside. "Either they got the coordinates wrong - or the intelligence."

"I guess it could be a trap," Sephiroth muses, poking around the charcoal burner's old office in search of any paperwork. "If this is really where an informant once lived, maybe that informant turned into a double agent and set a trap."

"You really think so?" Angeal asks, sounding more interested than alarmed.

"Not really," Sephiroth shrugs and picks up a crumpled piece of paper, someone's attempt at a letter that had gotten ruined by an ink smear. Gently he spreads it out on the office table to read. "Or else it's a terrible trap…"

The letter is addressed to someone's uncle, informing them of the charcoal burner's good fortune. Apparently their family had been invited by the emperor to live and work in the capital. Lucky guy.

"Maybe we should prepare for an ambush, just in case," Angeal comments thoughtfully, adjusting his gloves. "What do you think?"

"I think they would've revealed themselves already, if it was the case," Sephiroth says. "And this is a terrible place for an ambush anyway. It's far too open."

"Well, good thing it's not an ambush!" a voice calls from the outside before Angeal can answer.

"... Sounds like something an ambusher would say," Angeal mutters, clearly recognizing the voice, and Sephiroth chuckles.

Reno waits for them outside, lazily scratching at a bug bite on his arm. "Congratulations, you have been summarily recruited for a secret Turk mission," he says and motions around them. "Your station."

"Turk mission?" Angeal repeats. "It was you who sent out that mission file?"

"Yep," Reno agrees, shrugging unrepentantly.

Sephiroth watches him warily. He'd not interacted with Reno or Rude much, Angeal had kinda covered for him there. He'd not entirely sure why the Turks followed them to Wutai. Maybe this is it.

Maybe this is as far as he gets, before having to commit, one way or the other.

Sephiroth braces himself. "What's the mission?"

Reno grins and points a finger at him. "Your mission, starting right now, is to stay here," he says, "And get your shit together."

-

Man I've missed ff7 world so much. The whole magic system from Lifestream to Materia to summoning world ending Meteors from the sky is just 😗👌

I'm playing og ff7 while writing and none of the sequelsprequelsremakes come even close to comparing with how delicious Materia in the original game is.

#ffvii #svsss #esamastation #other people's fic #crossover fic

[sanjuno]

Part forty of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine

-

"My king told me - Junshang asked to see this lowly cultivator?"

"Shishu thinks too lowly of himself. Surely he's still a Peak Lord of The Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, is he not?"

The great hall in the Northern Fortress hall is empty, bar the two of them, all the demonic courtiers dismissed. The emptiness of the place makes its gleaming floors and vaulted ceiling seem vaster than it even usually seems, as every word echoes in the icy palace.

The Demon Lord sitting upon the throne isn't the Northern King, however - but his master. The Half Heavenly Demon, Luo Binghe.

And the man before him was once - and in some ways still is - his Martial Uncle, Shang Qinghua of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect's An Ding Peak.

Who is, quite plainly, shaking in his boots.

"Haha," he laughs, desperate, "I suppose they haven't kicked me out yet?"

Luo Binghe blinks, slow, like a predator.

Shang Qinghua squirms. "What - what can this Shishu do for Lord Luo?"

"Today this Lord announced a hunt," Luo Binghe said. "For any artefact, knowledge or skill that has to do with the transmigration of souls."

Shang Qinghua startles at that, then gapes at the Demon Lord, and then he looks at the floor. "That is - very interesting, my Lord?" he manages.

"Any member of this Lord's court that brings credible information is to be rewarded a wish within this Lord's ability to grant," Luo Binghe continues, watching him closely, unblinking. 

Shang Qinghua looks helplessly away. "A - an incredible boon for anyone -" he gulps, as he sees something sharp and blue in the corner of his eye.

WARNING, it says, in bold, flashing letters.

"Mobei-jun then informed this Lord that his servant," Luo Binghe puts an emphasis on that, "has secret knowledge. That he speaks of other worlds. Of things this world lacks."

Shang Qinghua wets his lips, swallows, says nothing.

Luo Binghe is still and silent for a moment, watching him writhe. "Do you know why you have been called before this Lord?"

"This lowly one dares not guess," the Peak Lord of An Ding barely whispers, as the flashing blue screen presses closer.

Another slow predator's blink. "Is Shishu afraid?"

Shang Qinghua is terrified, thanks! "Lord Luo is powerful and unpredictable."

The Demon Lord scoffs and stands - and moves away while Shang Qinghua flinches. He faces instead the great ice windows behind the throne, looking over the fortress and, behind it, the Northern Desert. "This Lord has been informed that the reason he cannot resurrect his Shizun is because Shizun has departed from this world," he says in a voice that grows low with frustration. "That he is somewhere else now. He cannot be found in any realms this Lord has access to. He is, therefore, in another world."

Shang Qinghua's breath hitches.  "My Lord has this from a credible source?"

"Madam Meiyin is one of the strongest foretellers in the Demon Realm," Luo Binghe says grimly, glaring at the view outside.

"... She is, yeah," Shang Qinghua says under his breath and then, even quieter, "... Shit."

Luo Binghe looks at him over his shoulder. "Does Shishu know what she means?"

"... N-not exactly, no, but -" Shang Qinghua looks away, incredibly guilty, squirming with awkward unease. The warning is still there, inching ever closer. "He might've - read some things, yes -"

Luo Binghe turns to face him fully. With the desert and the snowy fortress behind him, bright with eternal winter, he's left in his own shadow, and the only visible features in his face are his glowing red eyes - and the vicious demon mark on his forehead.

"What things has Shishu read?"

"Aiyah," the Peak Lord whimpers, caught between the Protagonist and the System and feeling the squeeze. "Nothing very recently, my Lord, I swear! It's only the words, transmigration of souls, are very familiar - where, may this one ask, where did Lord Luo hear of them?"

"They were spoken by Mobei-jun. He heard Shishu mention it," Luo Binghe says, his voice lowering to gravel. "What, exactly, does Shishu know?"

The System window sort of shakes at him, and Shang Qinghua despairs, lighting incense in his heart for himself and then for Cucumber-bro - who he will absolutely throw under the bus if it means he'll live to see another day. 

Ah, Mobei-jun, his incredible perfect King, why did he have to be so -! If Shang Qinghua had realised Mobei-jun could actually hear him, he would've been more careful around him! Mobei-jun never reacted, never asked, never - ah!

"Shishu?" Luo Binghe growls and takes a step forward.

"This lowly servant doesn't know how it works," Shang Qinghua babbles, keeping a side eye on the System window. "Or what triggers it. Death, maybe! It's, the transmigration of souls is, like… like reincarnation, but sideways?"

"This Lord knows his Shizun hasn't reincarnated," Luo Binghe says very firmly.

Ahh, scary. "L-like this one said, sideways!" Shang Qinghua says feebly. "I-its not reincarnation, exactly. It's more like… possession?" Ahh, the System didn't like that at all! "This Shishu really can't say more, begging Lord Luo's pardon!"

It has already been too much.

Luo Binghe stares at him, and stares at him, and stares at him, and Shang Qinghua is going to see his gaze in his nightmares! "Shizun… Shizun is possessing someone…?"

Shang Qinghua backs away from the tendrils of demonic energy rising from Luo Binghe. "Maybe! Not exactly! The previous host usually dies, haha," no, no, no, don't take his B-points, take Cucumber-bro's points, he's the one this is all about, and it's not like he needs them anymore!

Ahh, Luo Binghe is coming closer, this is the worst! "There's compatibility, kinda! I think!" Shang Qinghua babbles in panic. "The soul is attracted to a body that suits it! They always were so alike, really, it was so uncanny at times? So it's not really like possession, more like - like reoccupation?"

Luo Binghe's eyes sharpen - like cat's eyes, detecting prey. "... what?"

Fuck! Shang Qinghua puts his hands up against whatever is to come, but it doesn't come, neither from the System, nor the Demon Lord. Luo Binghe's eyes pass him by as he thinks, his gaze flicking to and fro as the half-demon searches his memories and flexes his intellect. 

Both which Shang Qinghua knows are considerable.

"Shizun… isn't the original Shen Qingqiu, is he?" The Protagonist murmurs. "Shizun changed. This disciple remembers it well, when Shizun became kind, when Shizun became generous. And Shang-shishu knew," Luo Binghe says, and his gaze refocuses. "Shang-shishu knows Shizun was a result of the transmigration of souls. Shishu knows where Shizun comes from!"

"Aaahh," Shang Qinghua whimpers. "My Lord Luo -!"

Luo Binghe leans in and says, with absolute certainty. "Shishu will tell this Lord all he knows of Shizun. He will leave nothing out."

Shang Qinghua is going to cry. Please, System, have mercy on his soul - because Cucumber-bro would not!

-

Ahh, rip, hamster-man.

#ffvii #svsss #crossover fic #other people's fic #esamastation

[sanjuno]

Part thirty-nine of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight

-

Reno has decided he hates sleeping in a tree. He doesn't particularly enjoy any aspect of camping but he especially dislikes sleeping in trees. Even with a hammock to pitch between branches, it's never comfortable.

Stupid  SOLDIERs and their stupid endless stamina. Sephiroth and Hewley didn't even bother to make a camp or anything, they just slept wherever! Incredible. Not that Reno thinks Sephiroth actually slept at all. Sure, Reno didn't either, because the forest did not shut up all night and the fuck can sleep with all the noise, but still. Even after a day of fighting monsters and evening of sword practice, Sephiroth just doesn't quit, huh. The guy has issues.

Glancing over the edge of his hammock to see Hewley still asleep and Sephiroth sitting cross-legged, actually meditating, Reno lies back and sighs. So much for SOLDIERs not knowing when to quit, huh? 

After a moment of waiting while the sky above grows slowly lighter and all the damn bugs in the forest wake up for the whole new day of being nuisances, Reno digs out his PHS and shoots out a message.

Reno: If I have to spend another night in this damn forest, listening to Sephiroth's constant sighing, I'm going to lose it. Tell me you're done.

Rude: Your life is a constant struggle. Charcoal burner's house checks out. I'm back at the camp for supplies now.

Reno: Ooh, what did we get?

Rude: Two weeks worth of rations, and a case of contraband.

Reno: Finally some good news! I'll see if I can get the meatheads there before the day is out. Save some of that contraband for me.

Rude doesn't answer, and Reno settles down to wait for the SOLDIER Firsts to get up and get moving. Sephiroth does first - rising, of course, to do some more  sword practice.

Reno watches him work for a while before adding annotation to the watch log. 07:34, Sephiroth begins solo sword practice, no visible signs of his "energy alignment" practice. From Sephiroth's comments, he figures the guy is being careful with it, and doesn't want to be interrupted again - something he's already made a note of in his ongoing report.

This mission involves way too much paperwork already, and way too many questions. Sephiroth doesn't take in EXP anymore, apparently. There's something called Qi-deviation - his fit, maybe - which he's trying to avoid. He's now meditating with Materia, which is - something. And it's Reno's job to figure out explanations for all of this.

He's doing the work of a Science researcher, basically, observing Sephiroth like a lab rat for all sorts of unusual behaviours. Except he's doing it behind the Science Department's back. Wonderful.

Reno waits until Hewley shows signs of waking up before sending out the data package Tseng had prepared. Then he lies still, staring up at the forest canopy, listening.

"Good morning," Sephiroth says somewhere below. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, good morning - wait, it's morning? Sephiroth, you didn't wake me up?" Hewley asks. "I meditated most of the night, it's fine," Sephiroth says, dismissively. "I figured I might as well let you sleep, since I was going to stay up anyway."

"That's - considerate of you, but we agreed to change shifts," Hewley points out. "You should've woken me up anyway."

"What's the point of both of us staying awake?"

"It's not about what - Sephiroth, I know you've forgotten a lot about how this goes, but we're supposed to be a team," Hewley says slowly, pointedly. "And I would've liked to be included in the decision making."

"... Ah. I didn't… think of that."

"Just - wake me up next time," Hewley sighs.

Point in Hewley's favour there, for not letting Sephiroth get away with this shit. Reno definitely wouldn't have.

There's a sound of Hewley getting up just as both their PHS's beep out a notification. 

"Another mission?" Sephiroth asks.

"Mm, yeah," Hewley agrees, and judging by the sound of it he's looking through the mission files. "Hmm, there are monsters attacking a, uh, charcoal burner's house. They want us to clear them out."

"Sounds bad. Should we put off the other monster hunting mission for now?"

"... Yeah, maybe. Might be that it's an informant's house, or something," Hewley mutters. "Don't see why else they'd send us to help Wutai citizens."

Sephiroth says nothing.

Reno lifts his PHS to make another note before stopping. Sephiroth's apparent… unease has already been noted, and a bit of silence isn't exactly a clear sign of mutiny. The guy has second thoughts - like just about every asshole sent to the front. Nothing new about that.

Except for the fact that Sephiroth isn't allowed to have second thoughts, according to his files.

"Do you have any of those fruits left?" Hewley asks. "I'm hungry."

"Yeah, I picked some more earlier - and I think there's some rambutan over there too…" Sephiroth says and there's a sound of him walking over. "Huh, they are. Didn't notice them in the dark yesterday. Here, catch."

"Oh, those are edible?"

"Yes, you just peel them. Tastes a bit like grape," Sephiroth says and picks some more while muttering under his breath, "What they're doing growing out here though, I don't know."

"Nice. You remember Wutai pretty well, huh? Being able to forage and all."

"... I guess so."

Shutting his PHS off as quietly as he can, Reno puts his hands behind his neck and listens with a scowl as the SOLDIER Firsts enjoy fruit for breakfast. All he has is a few power bars. Che.

"Genesis sent me a message," Hewley comments. "Apparently Hojo is tearing his way through the SOLDIER program."

"... Oh?" Sephiroth asks, his voice audibly tensing.

"Yeah. More tests, observation, and a bunch of Seconds have been called in for extra injections."

"..."

"Yeah," Angeal answered. "Listen to this; Hojo's also taken personal interest in the SOLDIER cadet selection process and has stated that he'll be doing the Mako reaction tests himself."

"... Cadet selection process?" Sephiroth asks. "Is that for selecting new SOLDIER members?"

"Yeah. You probably don't remember, right? When they pick who gets to become a SOLDIER, there's a bunch of tests. Mostly they're physical - and once you pass those, you have to pass Mako reactivity tests. Not everyone can handle Mako injections, so…" Hewley trails away.

"... How many candidates are there usually?"

"Hundred or so in each batch. Of them, maybe ten make it through the whole selection process."

"I see," Sephiroth murmurs. "Hojo taking interest in that is… probably not a good thing."

Hewley says nothing.

Reno grimaces. Yeah, the creepy Head of the Science Department definitely wasn't happy that they yoinked his favourite lab rat from his grip huh. Here's hoping there won't be other incidents - though if there are, they will be Tseng and Cissnei's problem. Reno and Rude have their hands busy here, with these schmucks.  

"Nothing we can do about that here," Hewley says. "Ready to set out?"

"You don't want to warm up first?" Sephiroth asks. "We could do some forms."

"I'll warm up enough on the way there - there'll still be a lot of monsters between us and the house."

"Ah."

"Did you… " Hewley hesitates. "Did you figure out the whole thing with your EXP gain?"

"Yeah, more or less. Don't worry about it. There's still some hawthorn fruits left - do you want them?"

Reno rolls his eyes. Spoken like a man pasting posters on his walls to hide the holes in his house. Who would've thought that Sephiroth was such a shitty liar?

Sephiroth and Hewley set out, and Reno sits up with a stretch, the hammock rocking side to side underneath him. His neck is all fucked up from his sleeping position, but hell, at least he didn't have to sleep on the ground.

Easing himself onto the tree branches, Reno packs the hammock away and then drops down. There are just seeds and skins left from the fruits the SOLDIERs had been eating. Nothing left for him. Assholes.

Sighing, Reno picks some unripened hawthorn fruits from the tree he'd seen Sephiroth pick them from and heads after the SOLDIERs, to continue his watch duty.

This month's bonus had better be worth all this.

-

Gonna start leaving out the links to parts that are available on ao3 because list of links is getting ridiculous.

#svsss #ffvii fic #esamastation #other people's fic #crossover fic

[sanjuno]

Part thirty-eight of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven

-

What have we learned? Well, for one, Sephiroth really misses qiankun storages, and the fact that Final Fantasy VII infinite inventories don't seem to be actually real is very disappointing. Two, he seems to have brought back more than just knowledge from PIDW.

His meridian system, though still scarred and unyielding, has already adapted to a cultivator's natural defences against outward energies.

Which makes sense! If a cultivator lets stuff like Final Fantasy VII EXP into their system without properly working that energy into something safe they can use, they'd be courting Qi-deviation all the time. That kind of openness, in a world with the Five Phases and resentful energies - never mind demonic ones! - would be deadly to any cultivator.

One of the first things he'd learned as Shen Qingqiu was to shield himself from that kind of thing. Shen Qingqiu was prone to Qi-deviations in the original text, something he didn't have the time for! So he'd figured out what he was good at, what his element was, and he stuck to it. And he's proud to say he didn't have a Qi-deviation, not even once, in all his years as Shen Qingqiu. Not even with Without a Cure gnawing at his meridians!

But Final Fantasy VII works by different rules. They have different energies. Everyone takes in a portion of the Qi from their kills - a portion of their share of the Lifestream, maybe? And that's normal! The whole world is mired in this huge energy recycling and redistribution system, and Qi-deviations simply aren't a thing.

There's just, you know, madness and memory loss and weird mutations, though that was mostly Mako and Jenova… probably.

Running a hand over his neck, Sephiroth glances to where Angeal sits propped up against a crooked tree, arms folded and head nodding with his breaths, fast asleep. Angeal… who's been acting as a sponge to all the stray energy coming off from their kills.

The whole thing makes Sephiroth feel a little ill. It's probably fine - Angeal actually seems to think he'd benefited from it at Sephiroth's expense! It's what the people of this world are used to, it's what they've evolved with! They actually can grow really strong with it! Sephiroth should know, he grinded both Cloud and Zack to the highest level, and they were really OP!

And yet it… still feels wrong. Sephiroth feels kinda like an awful master, making ignorant disciples to absorb resentful energy so that he didn't have to. They were a couple of those in PIDW, awful shifus abusing Binghe's future wifes for their own benefit, and Shen Yuan hated each and every one of them. 

Ugh.

Okay, okay. EXP versus Qi. Maybe it's different? Since this world has an energy recycling system, not a rebirth system, maybe there are just aspects to it he doesn't get? There probably are! Honestly, for all that it all feels familiar, it also feels a little.. off.

Even here, in the middle of this very lively and monster-filled forest… Sephiroth can't feel much nuance from the place. The forest feels alive, just teeming with energy, but that's… kind of it? For a place that should be aligned with the element of Wood or maybe Earth, it doesn't exactly feel like it.

So, maybe instead of different elements, here there are different stages of energy. Like Lifestream and Materia are the same thing in different stages of matter, maybe everything else is… somewhere in between? MP, magic, and EXP, all just different expressions of the same energy? Hmm…

Maybe EXP is like - like natural photosynthesis? No, that doesn't make sense, uh… spiritual respiration, maybe? Energy digestion? A whole different, but fundamental aspect of local evolution, either way. It would make sense, on a planet that's literally alive, like an organism.

Ugh, he hates making guesses. Where's his wikis and fan sites full of meta analysis and worldbuilding theories when he needs them?!

Sighing with frustration, Sephiroth looks through his phone again, reading the pertinent tutorial entries. They aren't particularly useful. There's nothing about the Lifestream, very little about Mako and not much at all about Materia, aside from how to equip it and use it. People believe that the knowledge of the Ancients is trapped within the Materia, yeah, sure, but like. How? What kind of knowledge? 

Thoughtful, Sephiroth reaches for Masamune, resting on the tree roots beside him, and carefully eases one of the marbles of Materia out of its handle. Unlike the forest, the Materia definitely has an element. Specifically, Fire. Rolling the little green orb in his fingers, Sephiroth considers the feel of it at length, sending his spiritual senses, such as they are, into it.

It feels kinda alive. A bit like the ginkgo tree, actually, but much more. It feels like the accumulation of energy over generations and cycles, and lives.

It also feels a bit like Fire burns. Which is. Uh. Well. It certainly is a type of knowledge? 

What does that mean for other types of Materia? Ice is cold, lightning goes boom, maybe? Recovery means to heal? Huh.

Interesting. But not as much as the knowledge that the Materia, like Angeal, is still growing. Which, yeah, Sephiroth knew that was a thing, it happened in the games, Materia levels up and even spawns offsprings and everything, but man. It's something very different to feel it with your own spiritual senses. 

Materia are a breed of sorta-kinda awakened spirit stones! Wild.

None of which helps him with his EXP dilemma. At this rate he might have to just set aside everything that holds true about cultivation back home and write a whole new cultivation manual, or something. Call it… Lifestream Cultivation. Evening You Need to Know, Cultivating in a Sci-fi Fantasy Dystopia On the Brink of Collapse!

Yeah, Sephiroth would like to know what he needs to know, please. Not that it would probably help, he'll still need to do the work…

… and none of it makes his overall situation as Sephiroth any easier. It's anything, he's probably making everything worse, acting all weird!

Sighing, Sephiroth lowers the orb of Materia and puts it back into its proper place before looking up at the sky. There's a moon shining past the tree branches. The forest is softly rustling around them as Angeal quietly snores, and a gentle breeze moves through the treetops. Thankfully, the old edict of random encounters holds true - they only happen when you're moving! Very handy, that.

It doesn't quite sound or smell or feel like home. Spiritual Mountain Bamboo has its own distinctive vibe, and Sephiroth hasn't even seen any regular Bamboo in this place. Still, it's beautiful. Wild and full of life and extremely inhospitable to its hostile invaders.

Yeah.

Sephiroth isn't sure how long he can put off making a decision here.

#svsss #ffvii #esamastation #crossover fic #other people's fic

[sanjuno]

TOMORROW IS HALLOWEEN!!!

[sanjuno]

Part thirty-seven of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six

-

Though they've fought and slain what now feels like countless monsters, they've made little progress in their actual mission - which was to find a group of Foulanders that had appeared near the military camp. Though they'd seen some hints of them, the monsters themselves are nowhere to be seen, instead they've fought - and inspected - just about every other thing the forest has to offer.

Angeal feels strange even thinking about it, but… Sephiroth is holding the mission back. Not because he isn't willing or capable, he's more than! More than half of the kills are by him, and done with ease! But… he keeps stopping and stalling to make observations, examining the monsters, the terrain, particularly interesting plants, the trees - once he even stops to take in the scenery when they encounter a little hilltop. All which, while weirdly endearing in the strangest way, is not what Sephiroth usually does on missions.

No, usually Sephiroth just bulldozes through his opponents, finishes the mission in record time and then does whatever he wants after… which usually means taking on and completing the next nearest mission to his location. Rinse and repeat.

Now it's getting late, and they're nowhere near finishing their first one for the day.

"Alright, I guess we're camping here tonight," Angeal muses while Sephiroth examines a local fruit tree interestingly.

"Alright," Sephiroth agrees, picking a fruit and taking a curious sniff. "Aww, it's not ripe," he mutters. "Maybe higher up in the tree…"

Angeal watches as the most famous SOLDIER in history goes fruit-picking and then shakes his head, going about setting a camp. They have no actual camping gear, he honestly hadn't thought to bring any with the complete expectation that not only would the mission not take long but they'd probably finish a few more while at it before heading back. Apparently not!

Whatever made Sephiroth so obsessive about completing missions before has gone the same way a lot of other motivations he had for his previous habits went.

Setting up a fire in Wutai forest isn't the best idea, so Angeal picks what looks like the most comfortable spot to sleep and sits down to check the Buster Sword. He'd mostly used his fists, as per usual, but he'd tried his hand using his sword too. It was… still pretty difficult.

Sephiroth joins him with an armful of fruit. "Want some fruit?" he offers.

Angeal gives them a look. "Are you sure that's edible?" he asks dubiously.

"Sure it is. It's hawthorn," Sephiroth agrees. "Pity we don't have the stuff to prepare them - I bet these would make great tanghulu."

"... Which is?"

"Fruits coated in rock sugar," Sephiroth shrugs and sits down on a protruding knot of a tree root. "Here, try some."

Angeal accepts a fruit from him. Sephiroth doesn't remember monster names or what they even are, but he remembers random sweets and apparently how to make them. Meanwhile Angeal didn't even know he liked sweets. For them to be the things that really stuck around while he forgot so many other things…

Angeal tries the little red fruit. It's not bad. A bit tart.

"So, no… tent or anything?" Sephiroth asks after finishing a handful of fruit.

"What, can't handle sleeping under the stars?" Angeal asks, turning his attention back to his sword.

"Hm," Sephiroth hums, tugging at his sleeve cuffs with a strange expression before looking around, taking in the forest around them. "I suppose we need to take watches."

"Yep," Angeal agrees. "I can take the first one."

"It's fine, I'll handle it. I want to get some practice in anyway," Sephiroth says, setting the rest of the fruit aside. "Unless that will bring more monsters to us."

"They don't usually attack you when you're still - just when you're moving through their territories," Angeal assures him. "So it should be fine. But better be on guard anyway."

Sephiroth smirks a little at that and then stands up with a stretch and takes Masamune in hand. "Well then…"

"Are you going to do your… energy alignment thing?" Angeal asks worriedly

"Not here, that's just asking for a Qi-deviation," Sephiroth mutters. "Just some forms."

"You'd think you'd gotten enough practice down for the day already," Angeal points out, though more curiously than anything. "All we've done is fight this whole day. One would think you'd be looking forward to winding down a little." Angeal knows he is.

Sephiroth looks at him thoughtfully. "This is how my body winds down," he says and holds Masamune up in a guard pose. "Call it sword meditation. Besides, today wasn't exactly good exercise."

"... Sephiroth, I lost track of how many fights we had," Angeal points out flatly.

Sephiroth snorts. "A few basic sword forms per fight - that's nothing. And I didn't see you using anything more elaborate than an uppercut or a high kick."

"Well, they worked, did they?"

"Yes, but what did you learn from them? Did you progress at all in your combat abilities?" Sephiroth asks pointedly and makes a delicate swing with his sword. "Did you grow at all?"

Angeal leans back a little, weirdly insulted. "I got a whole bunch of EXP?"

Sephiroth blinks and looks at him, his sword lowering slightly. "Did you really?" he asks incredulously.

"Yeah," Angeal shrugs. "Not enough to level up, but still a bunch."

Sephiroth states at him blankly for a moment. Then he lowers his sword completely. "Wait, EXP is a real thing?!"

"Um. Yes? You don't… remember?" Angeal asks worriedly, standing up. "Didn't you get any?"

"How does that even - no, I do remember, and I read about it in the tutorials, but I didn't think it was real! But it is. You actually get experience points from the things you kill," Sephiroth says, sounding baffled. "That's a - really?"

"It's, uh," Angeal tries to reframe the whole concept of EXP in his head. "I guess it does sound kind of strange. Uh, EXP is just the acronym Shinra came up with. It's not actually experience. It's just, you know… energy."

"Energy," Sephiroth repeats.

"Yeah," Angeal says. "You absorb the energy from things you kill. You… really didn't notice?"

"Um," Sephiroth says. "No, I didn't - how would I know? What does it feel like, how can you tell?"

Angeal clears his throat. "I just - do? There is actual equipment to measure it, but when you do the kind of work we do, after a while you can just tell. After a fight you just feel a bit… more, I guess?"

Sephiroth frowns, putting a hand on his stomach.

"You really didn't notice it at all?" Angeal asks, concerned. "You are higher level than me - I guess, at your level enemies like we've been fighting wouldn't really yield a noticeable amount of EXP." Which is weird, because Angeal got a lot.

"No, I think… I've been blocking it," Sephiroth says thoughtfully.

That's - what? "You've been - how? The only thing I know that can block EXP gain is a Curse - wait," Angeal says and takes a closer look at him. "Do you have a Cursed Ring on you, or something?"

"There are curses now?!" Sephiroth asks, exasperated.

"Not curses - a Curse, it halts your growth," Angeal explains and checks him over, baffled. Sephiroth isn't wearing any accessories. Huh. "You don't feel like you have a Curse?"

"Well, that's good to know!" Sephiroth says and shakes his head, stepping back. He's thoughtfully quiet for a moment, still with his hand on his stomach and then he shrugs, far too careless and casual. "Ah, never mind, Angeal, I'll figure it out," Sephiroth says and grips Masamune's hilt again. "Whatever. I'm going to practise now."

He definitely knows what the issue is. "Sephiroth -"

Ignoring him, Sephiroth starts swinging his sword, working through his forms with a sort of stubborn ferocity that clearly states the discussion is over.

After a moment Angeal lets out a sigh, fighting back that feeling of uneasy tension building up again. "Okay, okay, fine," he says, holding up his hands in surrender. "Can I practise with you?"

Sephiroth glances at him and then arches a brow. "I don't know," he says and smirks. "Can you?"

#ffvii #svsss #esamastation #crossover fic #other people's fic

[sanjuno]

Part thirty-six of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five

-

What do you get when you take the random encounters of a turn-based RPG and add a hefty dose of action RPG, and then turn that into a semi-realistic world? You get absolute shitton of critters.

There's so many. Not just types, of which there admittedly aren't that many. There are lizards called Tail Vaults that try to headgrab you, there are huge beetles called, weirdly, Bizarre Bugs that either try to body slam you or poison you, depending on whether they feel like flying or not, there are birds that try to electrocute you, which are, disappointingly, called Thunderbirds - disappointing, because they're barely the size of falcons and something called Thunderbird should honestly be bigger…

Sephiroth is really starting to feel at home here! While the monsters of Final Fantasy VII so far aren't exactly impressing him with their variety or imaginativeness, they're just about on par with PIDW with how fucking annoying they are.

Because they never fucking stop coming!

"You know, I was really enjoying this," Sephiroth comments after another random encounter with half a dozen or so mixed mobs. "I was having such a good day. But these things just don't stop coming, do they?"

"Welcome to Wutai, it's all bugs and angry grasses from here to the bitter end," Angeal agrees. "Just be glad there aren't any Adamantaimai here."

"What's that?" 

"Big turtle with a bunch of shield magic that throws all your attacks back at you."

"Ooh, I want to see one!" Sephiroth says excitedly.

"Sephiroth, no," Angeal says firmly.

"But -"

"Firstly, they live in the northern end of Wutai, so it would be a week's trek there, and for two we have our hands full here," Angeal says. "We're not going to see Adamantaimai."

Sephiroth sighs. "Fine," he mutters and looks ahead. "Oh, look, more bugs."

"Back to it, then," Angeal agrees, adjusting his gloves.

Though they can't seem to take more than twenty steps before running into more monsters, the fights themselves aren't hard. It's actually really cool, to just mow them down in single swings like he can! The Liu-shidi vibes are incredible, just, ten out of ten. And the more Sephiroth fights, the more comfortable with his body he becomes. He can almost feel his meridians unwinding!

It's really quite something to be in a body that feels so at ease, swinging a sword around. Though he could've done without the whole villain alien hybrid who will one day try to destroy us all thing, there's something really nice about fighting now. Like Shen Qingqiu felt at ease reading or painting or playing music, Sephiroth's feels most comfortable swinging a sword.

It's really becoming more and more apparent by the moment that Sephiroth's body is best suited for physical cultivation. He can just feel his stress levels coming down!

Ah, but he would really like a little break to take in the rest of what Wutai wildlife has to offer too! The forest around them isn't just a backdrop in a battle screen, there's all kinds of interesting plants, and he's pretty sure he's seen some familiar trees, and Sephiroth would really like to take a closer look!

"Can we take a break?" he asks, trying not to sound too plaintive after the umpteenth fight against endlessly spawning mobs.

"Are you getting tired?" Angela asks, alarmed.

Honestly he doesn't even feel like he's been exercising. Sephiroth has a fucking golden body, it's ridiculous. "No. I just want a break."

"Yeah, sure - we'll take a break," Angeal says and deals away with the rest of their most recent patch of enemies. "What's going on - are you alright?"

"I'm fine - I just want to take a look at that tree over there," Sephiroth says, nodding. There's a really huge tree a little ways from them, big enough that it's visible at a distance and past the other trees. 

"Huh? I mean, sure?" Angeal says and looks. "I guess it's pretty impressive - is there something wrong with it?"

No, it just looks like a ginkgo tree. Sephiroth shrugs and, after making sure they're not about to be stormed by another swarm of low-level mobs, walks over to the tree.

It is a ginkgo tree, a really old one - old enough that if it was in PIDW, the locals would've already started giving it tributes in expectation of its awakening. It's so big it's starting to push out other trees around it, outcompeting them for space and sunlight, and so creating a clearing around itself.

It really… looks like a stray piece of home. Though there weren't that many ginkgo trees on Cang Qiong Mountain, there were some - including one really impressive one on the Beast Peak, which they were expecting to awaken any year now. The disciples used to hang charms from its branches.

Sephiroth puts his sword away as he approaches the tree. Feeling a bit silly but also not wanting to be rude, he bows to the tree before going closer. Gently, he rests his hand against the tree trunk. It takes some effort… but he can feel the Qi flowing in the tree trunk. There's a lot of it, too.

The tree is not awakening - but at the same time is not… not awakened already? 

Probably something to do with the cyclic nature of souls in this world. Everything is sort of reincarnation of everything else - so the Qi in the tree is thousands of years old, thousands of lives lived.

"... Sephiroth?" Angeal asks quietly. "What are you, um…?"

"This tree is old. Very old," Sephiroth says - then bites his tongue on the natural conclusion of that statement in old as balls. Trying not to lose his composure, he looks up. "No trees like these near Midgar."

"... No, there aren't," Angeal agrees, eyeing him. "Can you… feel something from the tree?"

Sephiroth looks down at him. "You mean the Lifestream coursing through it?"

Angeal looks a bit startled at that before shrugging, uncomfortable. "I know they all say that Lifestream is just a bunch of nonsense - but it's like you said," he says. "No trees like this around Midgar."

"Mn," Sephiroth hums.

"You know, sometimes I wonder what might've happened if they built a reactor in the Mideel Islands," Angeal says, considering the tree. "They say the ground is too unstable and there's too many earthquakes, but… if they had…"

Mideel is this world's version of the Pacific islands, right? "All your weird apple trees would've died, probably," Sephiroth muses.

"How dare you call our apples weird, sir," Angeal says, mock offended. "I would have you know, Banora Whites are my hometown's main export!"

"Don't you call them stupid apples or something?"

"Dumb apples," Angeal says with a huff.

"I rest my case," Sephiroth snorts and looks up at the Ginkgo tree. Sunlight is screening through the leaves, like dancing sparkles of gold, and if he was Shen Qingqiu, he'd try his hand at a poem for it just about now. Maybe he could do a bit of meditation here…

And of course that's when there's a sound of twigs snapping and leaves rustling somewhere behind them as something large and probably angry comes their way. Damn.

"I guess break time is over," Sephiroth mutters and grabs his sword. "I know there's an Enemy Lure materia - is there an Enemy Repellant one?"

"If I ever find one, I'll let you know," Angeal says, putting his fists up.

And they're back into the fray.

#ffvii #svsss #esamastation #crossover fic #other people's fic

[sanjuno]

Part thirty-five of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four

-

Well, Sephiroth seems to be in a better mood than yesterday. Maybe he was just coming down from his… whatever it was that happened in the training room. Angeal still isn't entirely sure. Though the Turks had debriefed him and even showed him a video, it didn't make that much sense. Especially with the blood vomiting. Which Angeal still isn't entirely over, either.

But Sephiroth seems, while still not quite himself, at least cheered up. He'd relaxed in increments during their walk into the woods, and the change of environment - or most likely, leaving the camp and its staring occupants behind - made him a little less closed off.

"This place is so alive," Sephiroth comments, peering up at the leaf canopy above then. "The air is so fresh."

"Mmhmm," Angeal smiles. "A welcome change from Midgar, huh?"

From the way he's looking around them, carefully taking in everything, Sephiroth can't remember much of anything about Wutai either - it's all new to him. Seeing his fascination kind of makes Angeal want to see his take on Mideel. Or, hell, Gongaga. Sephiroth would be very entertained by the local wildlife there, going by his reactions now.

"What is this thing?" Sephiroth asks, holding up what looks like a fistful of long grass. It wiggles in his hold, little legs kicking at the air.

"Razor Weed - I think the locals call it Leg-Cutting Grass," Angeal says, leaning in to watch the spiky beast wiggling in Sephiroth's grip. "They're pretty common and can deflate truck tires."

Sephiroth turns the little monster this way and that while it makes angry noises at him. "I bet. It's it a plant or an animal?"

"Uh. I don't actually know?" Angeal offers and gives him a look. "Someone back at the camp might. All I know is that they're annoying to fight."

Sephiroth hums, considering the weed, testing the blades sticking out of its head. He seems to struggle with something before sighing. "I can't kill it, it's too cute." He sounds almost disappointed. 

"... It's just a monster?" Angeal says, giving him a weird look. "I've seen men almost lose their legs, stepping into these things."

"Sounds like their own fault," Sephiroth says and crouches down to let the angry weed go. "Off you go, little buddy."

The Razor Weed answers by trying to attack him with its grass blades, all but lunging at him. Sephiroth just snorts and flicks it into the forest with his finger. "Cute," he concludes.

Angeal scratches at the back of his head. Though low-level mobs aren't really that big of a deal, still… "We're supposed to be, ah, weeding the monster population here, you know. That includes Razor Weeds."

"It's just a little grass thing," Sephiroth says. "It barely reaches your knee!"

"They're a menace and can cast spells," Angeal points out. "Your usual Infantry troopers can barely -"

"They cast spells?" Sephiroth asks, fascinated, and stands up, looking around interestedly. "I want to see that! Let's go find another."

Oh, boy. Running a hand through his hair, Angeal hurries after him. Well, it's… a novel experience, seeing Sephiroth of all people so excited about something. And of course it would be monsters. Usually Sephiroth is more interested in fighting monsters rather than just observing them, though, but it's still a definite improvement to his mood from yesterday. Even if it's because of weeds.

That changes when they get surrounded by about half a dozen of the little monsters.

"Still cute?" Angeal asks, fending two of them off with the flat of the Buster Sword's blade.

Apparently, yes, going by the glow in Sephiroth's eyes. "Don't kill them yet, I want to see some spells!" The man - the maniac - says, using still sheathed Masamune to push the monsters back.

"You know, as much as I appreciate your scientific curiosity, these things can actually do some damage in bigger groups, you know!" Angeal calls to him.

"Yeah, yeah," Sephiroth answers, flippantly. "So what do we need to do to make them cast spells?"

One of the Razor Weeds answers for him - by casting a Magic Hammer on Sephiroth. Which, Angeal is pretty sure, Sephiroth just lets it happen! Thankfully it's not a physical attack - Magic Hammer hits you in the MP - though, looking at Sephiroth's reaction…

"Oh, you little Qi-stealing bastard," Sephiroth says, and that's that for the Razor Weeds.

"... Uh," Angeal says, while the Razor Weeds fall over, mowed down like so much grass, and Sephiroth stands over them looking very hurt and disappointed. Angeal clears his throat, trying to bite back a smile. "So. What did we learn?"

Sephiroth rubs at his stomach, and gives him a flat look. "Yeah, haha, rub it in," he mutters and then, "Oh, hey, they left the remains behind!"

"... Most things do when you kill them, yes," Angeal agrees and looks at him interestedly. "So, you remember Mako monsters?"

Sephiroth is crouching again, examining the dead Razor Weeds. "Mm?" 

"Monsters that converge around Mako concentrations," Angeal explains, hoisting Buster Sword back to his back. "You… don't remember?"

"Uh. I remember that some things just sort of… disperse instead of leaving anything physical?" Sephiroth asks, sounding rather hopeful. "Is that a thing, or…?"

"It's a thing - Mako monsters. They're attracted to Mako, they are common around reactors and natural Mako pools - so people call them Mako monsters," Angeal explains. "The slums under Midgar are full of them. They're kind of like more physical ghosts, I think."

"... Huh," Sephiroth hums, and pokes at the dead Razor Weeds. "So monsters around here…?"

"Mostly physical," Angeal agrees. "I think there are some natural Mako springs around here, so there might be Mako monsters too… but I haven't seen any personally."

"Hmmm," Sephiroth hums and stands up. "That is fascinating."

"It sure is," Angeal laughs, because it really isn't, not to him, but Sephiroth has always been a bit weird. "Shall we continue? There's many more monsters to see."

"Yes, let's."

"... And get hit by," Angeal adds and looks at Sephiroth. "Actually, are you going to let all of them get a hit in? Because if you are, I'd like to know ahead of time, just in case I need to have a Remedy in hand."

"I'm not going to let myself get hit again," Sephiroth says, primly. "I wouldn't have, if I realised what it was going to do."

"... Okay. Good." Angeal nods. "There are better ways to figure out your opponents' skillsets, anyway. Or you can just let them do their thing but get out of the way before it hits."

"Right, of course, that's something you can do," Sephiroth says, sheepish, and clears his throat. "I knew that."

Angeal gets a Remedy out, just in case.

-

SY, thinking FF7: ... Oh right, turn based combat isn't actually a thing.

#ffvii #svsss #esamastation #crossover fic #other people's fic

[sanjuno]

Part thirty-four of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three

-

Sephiroth feels a little better after an evening of meditation and a full night of sleep. Things look a little better in the light of day, and though the question of what the fuck he'd going to do about the war is still there, it has been put off. In favour of monster hunting!

"You seem… excited?" Angeal comments as they prepare to go.

He is! "Mn," Sephiroth answers, and carefully doesn't bounce with eagerness.

Even if the monsters of Final Fantasy can't hold a candle to the convoluted, messy and lazily put together nature of the monsters in PIDW, they're still interesting! Especially since he isn't sure what they actually are and how they work. Advent Children and Crisis Core really make it so unclear, because, like, everything turned into energy sparkles when it died? And he thinks in the movie one of the Sephiroth copies - weird to think about them now - summoned some monsters with magic? And then there was Zack in Crisis Core. Who turned into sparkles when he died!

Not everything can just disappear into energy, right, you need living things dying and rotting and composting to make up soil and stuff! If plants just disappear when they die, what do people eat, what were all these buildings made from? Plus he distinctly remembers coal being a thing in this setting, there was a whole town that got shafted because of it and everything, so fossil fuels exist, therefore stuff must leave behind physical remains! Except when it doesn't?

So! Is death like instant ascending here? Or like it descending, since all energy returns to the Planet? Sephiroth is pretty sure that Aerith left behind a body, and there were definitely corpses in the original game - but again, in the prequel it was really unclear. Enemies in combat disappeared, but cutscene death left a body. Except when it didn't!

Ah, the limitations of technology.

Still, he's interested in seeing how the creatures would look and feel and compare them to those he knows from PIDW. Final Fantasy VII had some really weird monsters, and he has a bet going with himself about how much they resemble awakened beasts or yaoguai. 

Angeal looks at him and then smiles, hoisting the Buster Sword to his back. "Ready to go, then?"

"Ready," Sephiroth agrees.

"We're going to have to talk to the Colonel first, but don't worry - I'll handle the talking," Angeal says. "He's an… old-fashioned soldier." 

Sephiroth arches a brow. It sounds like a warning. "Which means…?"

"He doesn't like SOLDIER, he thinks we're stuck up and get our abilities handed to us, we don't deserve our reputation, the usual stuff," Angeal shrugs. "Just ignore it and let me handle it."

"... If you say so."

They head outside together, and Sephiroth takes a moment to look around and try to be an objective observer. This place isn't really anything like the towns back home, in PIDW - the aesthetics are mixed, and though they're more like home than Midgar was, it's as if the place was squeezed through a funhouse mirror. It's just a little off.

And of course, there are no locals anywhere to be seen for a full comparison - just Shinra troops, infantry men and SOLDIERs. Who, the moment they notice him and Angeal, stop to stare and point and whisper.

Has the… incident in Midgar already spread this far, or is this really what it's like being Sephiroth all the time?

Depressing.

"Here," Angeal says and leads him to another house, apparently being used by the Colonel. "Remember, let me do the talking. You just stand there and look imposing, okay?"

Sephiroth snorts. "I think I can manage that."

The Colonel didn't look happy to see them, but then, he doesn't look like a man that's ever really happy. He sizes Sephiroth up and then scoffs. "It's about time. I don't know what kind of discipline you SOLDIER Firsts enjoy in Midgar, but this is a war front, sir, there are rules here."

Does that mean Sephiroth isn't a General then? 

"Right, you're right, of course, sir," Angeal says placatingly. "Well, we're here now, and we already have missions lined up, so -"

The Colonel ignores him and comes around his desk and to Sephiroth's face. "You've been in and out of Wutai for most of this war, isn't that correct, SOLDIER?"

Sephiroth blinks at the man, slowly. "I suppose so." Behind the Colonel Angeal looks panicked.

"What was that?" The Colonel asks dangerously, narrowing his eyes. "You suppose so?"

Sephiroth narrows his eyes back.

The Colonel continues. "When talking to an officer of superior rank, you answer yes sir, or no sir. You do not suppose! Now, do you have experience in the war or not, SOLDIER?!"

Oh, someone is feeling very insecure in their boots, aren't they?

Now, Sephiroth could handle this with all the tact and delicacy of Shen Qingqiu… but even Shen Qingqiu wouldn't have swallowed that kind of spiel without biting. The original definitely wouldn't have! And Sephiroth is supposed to be a villain… well.

Sephiroth smiles - the Colonel recoils.

Last night he'd reread everything there was on his phone about Wutai, going through all his missions again, trying to get as much intelligence as he could. Funny, the things the tutorial left out. 

"I'm sorry," Sephiroth says sweetly. "Who are you?"

The Colonel goes a little red. "Excuse me, SOLDIER?"

"You're barking at me as though at a private, expecting me to go yes sir and no sir," Sephiroth says mockingly. "And yet I have no clue as to who you even are."

Behind the Colonel Angeal gapes and then lifts a pleading look to the ceiling.

The Colonel sputters. "You, you - How dare -"

Ah, you gotta love zero IQ bullies.

"I was given a whole slew of missions and orders," Sephiroth says softly. "All are very vital and high priority. I'm to slay monsters that have killed your men, I'm to hunt down spies you've clearly failed to find, I'm to clear a guard station you haven't been able to get near, I'm to weaken a fortress you cannot even touch, and ten other things besides. All my mission files are very clear. And you know what they all have in common?"

He leans a little closer to the Colonel - right in his purple face. "Not a single one of them mentions you."

Then, before the Colonel can recover, Sephiroth turns on his heel with an imaginary mike drop and saunters out, feeling a whole lot better about everything. The sun is shining, the troopers are scattering at the mere sight of him, and the air is fresh and sweet with natural Qi.

Already this day is looking up.

Angeal, clearly deciding that evasion was the better part of valour, hurries after him. "We're going to pay for that later, you know," he says, sounding defeated.

Of that Sephiroth doesn't have any doubts. What good is a one-time bully? There'd either be a horrifying scene of comeuppance to bring home the realities of war, or a heartfelt discovery and understanding about how they're not so different after all, or whatever else. 

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it," Sephiroth says cheerfully. "Now. I was promised monsters."

Angeal sighs, glancing back at the house commandeered by the Colonel. "... I guess we better clear out anyway. Alright," he motions. "Right this way to the monsters."

Sephiroth grins at his bitchy tone, and together they head out.

-

SY can have a petty bully scene, as a treat.

#ffvii #svsss #esamastation #crossover fic #other people's fic