#Three... Guards?

[holly-fixation]

Three... Guards?

Summary: Tifa finds Cloud at the train station in Sector Seven. It’s the first time she’s seen him in seven years. But he’s not alone. Three silver haired boys protected him. Three silver haired boys that triggered memories of her hometown. Of steel through her chest. Of SOLDIER First Class.

Of Him.

Inspired by this prompt by @im-totally-not-an-alien .  

Please Enjoy!

…

Chapter 1: Punishment

This wasn’t part of the plan. This was one hundred thousand percent not part of the plan. They were supposed to use Mother’s cells and become Him. It was that simple. Basic. Elementary. And they almost had it. How did everything go wrong? Why was it so complicated? 

If that stupid president didn’t make that shot. If Mother's box stayed intact. If they took a different turn and avoided the decommissioned mako reactor. If they didn’t slip off the ledge. If that black sheep of a big brother didn't gain the upper hand. If he managed to save them from falling into the remaining Lifestream. If that brother was successful. 

If.

If.

If.

These scenarios wouldn’t help them now. They couldn’t waste time thinking about ‘possibilities’ when reality screamed in front of them. 

Big Brother needed help. After submersion in the Lifestream, the three of them found themselves spit out somewhere in the wasteland surrounding Midgar. The entire city stood proudly, Shinra Tower and the Sector Seven plate unified and composed and supported. Like the city itself was reborn along the horizon. Whatever it was, it would be a long walk back. And was it just them, or did everything seem… bigger? Even the few cliffs and rogue plants in the ruined land seemed larger than before. They turned to each other for explanation and…

…What?

What?! 

They looked like children, short and small! As old as the children they healed! What did the Lifestream do to them?! They understood some kind of retaliation was coming but why this. 

Great. The oldest was about to cry again, completely panicked and losing his very loose grip on his emotions. The middle was far too calm, but even that facade started to crack when he noticed none of them had any weapons. The youngest, in all honesty, was ready to strangle every living thing, but that would have to come later, when they eventually made their way into the city. Making it across this worthless plain would be a lot harder as pint sized packages with no vehicles, but they didn’t find any other options. Was the Planet trying to ‘walk’ them to death?

Well, no. They quickly stumbled across a body, skin a soft green and birds picking at the rotting flesh. It must’ve been dead for at least a day. The man had black hair, a SOLDIER uniform, dozens of dried bullet wounds that vultures took full advantage of, and a solid blade of the sword Big Brother fought with. The same one they found, and kicked to the ground, when pursuing him. The eldest grew curious. Approaching without hesitation, he broke the grip of the corpse and lifted the blade, though holding it to attention forced his body to shake in struggle. 

“Put it down,” The youngest spat. The older one dropped the sword immediately in surprise, the hunk of metal clattering and ringing as it fell. The birds scattered, flying nearby for the moment these children left. 

“Don’t scare me like that!” 

The youngest rolled his eyes and stayed silent, knowing that if he said a single word back, they'd all have to deal with his tears. They didn’t have time for that.

“Hey, Kadaj…?”

“What now?” The boy immediately turned to the other brother, annoyed and tired of all the weird stuff that kept happening today. A strong part increasingly frustrated at his failure to carry out Mother’s plan before suddenly appearing outside Midgar.

“Is that… Big Brother…?” 

Kadaj’s face soured with confusion and he moved to observe the being. But his breath hitched the moment blonde spikey hair came into view. At the silent response, the eldest followed, eyes wide and completely lost upon seeing the man.

It was. It was him, his body leaning against the rocks and his head low. Like them, he wasn’t the same either. He was younger and clearly weaker to start. His skin was dangerously dry, his lips peeling around rapid shallow breaths, his eyes sunken and darkened. The middle child moved his arm and lifted his head in analysis. 

“He seems dehydrated…” He stated simply, his voice naturally quiet and lulling as it had been before. “He might die out here…”

Kadaj stared at the unconscious body. All his questions about this punishment snapped into place, completing the puzzle with a single realization. Too much had already changed. They couldn’t risk any greater ‘butterfly effect’ without risking wherever Mother was. “Loz, pick him up. We’re taking him to Midgar.”

The eldest acted immediately. “I got it.”

“Do you think he knows where Mother is…?”

“No. But I think he’s our best chance at finding her. He always seems to be around- what are you doing?”

Loz managed to lift Big Brother’s arm over his shoulder, but the other half practically dragged through the dirt. 

Kadaj glanced at the middle sibling. “Yazoo.”

He nodded, already adjusting to help.

“No, I got it,” Loz grumbled, turning the body just out of reach.

“You do not got it. Everything’s a mess.” He countered with a snip in his voice, approaching the blade. “I’ll grab his sword. Let’s go.”

Yazoo aided as much as he could with his slightly shorter height than his brother, balancing the blonde between them. Kadaj picked up the hilt, dragging the tip on the ground, not wasting energy trying to lift it or prevent the horrid wear on the blade itself. They needed water, food, probably gil, and any weapons they could get their hands on, if they wanted a chance at saving Big Brother.

It was a long way to Midgar.

* * * 

The smell of garbage and rot under the plate always filled the air, smog skewing the natural light from the gaps within the structure. The dirt roads and barely functioning homes were just a part of life here. A roof was almost a luxury. Afterall, it wasn’t like they got any rain or snow here. Monsters within the dumps were usually problems, but communities set up watches and hunting sessions to protect the normal civilian life.Life was, to an extent, peaceful. 

Besides the resistance the black haired woman housed under her bar, a bar she currently needed to stock. 

Upper plate always had the best product anyway. This was routine by now. Every Monday and Thursday, she made her way to the train station, took it to Sector Zero, collected what she needed, and headed back. An ever mundane task compared to the actual looting of Shinra facilities her friends conducted at night, and housed spoils beneath her workplace. 

Today, this simple life flipped on its head. 

She dropped the empty box in her arms. There was no mistaking it. He changed. He grew, but he still kept his blonde hair spiky as a palm tree. He was taller, stronger by the shape of his muscles, clothed head to toe in SOLDIER fatigues, just as he promised all those years ago. His skin was pale, but he still had color in his face. His mako blue eyes were open but empty, lost, hollow. But it was still Cloud Strife in front of her, leaning against that platform.

But…who were the three boys with him? 

All of their hair shined with perfect mercury. They couldn’t be older than ten, shorter in stature, but stronger than they seemed at first glance. One had long hair, one only had it to his shoulders, but the last, and the bulkiest, had his cut short and pushed up. 

For a moment, she felt herself distracted from Cloud, when the smallest glared daggers directly into her eyes, mako blue inhuman needles staring straight into her soul.

He looked like Him. They all looked like Him.

They figured someone would come for Big Brother eventually, but he couldn’t be left alone. Nor would they let him be alone. Occasionally, he mumbled incomprehensibly, calling out to something or someone. They just ignored it. Yazoo acted caringly and offered bottled water directly to his chapped lips, but he always took too small a sip than he needed, if he drank any at all. Loz stayed close while surveying the people disembarking the trains, watching for someone to recognize their brother. Kadaj did the same with the crowd coming from the slums, which is how he alone found himself locked in a staring contest with one of their enemies. 

He tensed his hand, ready to whip out the pocket knife he found in the rubble and garbage. “What do you want?” 

The other two looked over immediately. 

His voice cut her like a knife, the anger, almost malice behind her catching her off guard. Dark. Cruel. Burning. “I- I…” Her heart suddenly pounded in her chest, reacting to her memories and leaking panic slowly into her mind. For now it was just anxiety, but she felt it growing. She needed to protect Cloud. She needed him before she let this show. “Is- Is that Cloud?”

They nodded, still skeptical, still defending. Loz approached as well, blocking part of her view but observing carefully. 

“H- How did you find him? Is he okay?”

“We found him unconscious in the planes beyond Midgar…” Yazoo explained, earning a soft glare from Kadaj. “It didn’t seem like he would make it, and well… we chose to bring him here…”

“I can help him,” She explained quickly as she took a step forward, but the two in front of her blocked her path. “I live nearby. I can take him from here and make him better.”

“You are not taking Big Brother!” Loz demanded, clenching his fists and standing at the ready. 

Big Brother? Bewilderment claimed her expression. Cloud didn’t have any siblings. That didn’t make any sense. “What are you talking about?”

“Ti…fa…?”

Her breath hitched, and all of them snapped their eyes to the stirring blonde. 

“T-Tifa…?” Cloud pushed himself to his feet too quickly, stumbling forward from the unbalanced blood rush. Yazoo grabbed his arm to stabilize him. Once on his feet, he didn't react to the boy at all. His blue eyes instantly glued to the black haired woman. 

The two guarding boys parted and let Tifa run to Cloud. 

“Cloud, it’s really you!” She was so happy she almost jumped into his arms, but he was a bit wobbly on his feet, his mind still partially dull with weak vertigo from his time in the wasteland. 

His body nearly collapsed on her, and she found her arms wrapped around him in support rather than a hug. “S-Sorry…” His eyes blurred as he tried to lift himself back to his feet. 

Did he really just apologize for fainting?

“I’m glad you’re okay…”

Tifa squeezed him softly before adjusting him over her shoulder. “Don’t be sorry. Come on. We’re going to my place, okay? I’ll patch you up there…”

He gave a reluctant, embarrassed nod. But he lost consciousness immediately after, the moment Tifa took her first step away from the track.

Now, all three boys blocked her path in a single impenetrable wall. A shaky and unnerved sigh that left her breath. She didn’t like them. She didn’t like the feeling in her gut or the memories they brought. But, they did save Cloud, and they clearly protected him from anything they could. Maybe that ‘big brother’ statement was just a story they fabricated to stay with him, especially since they look nothing like him. Maybe, since they brought him all the way to Midgar, they wanted to confirm that he was okay. She hoped they’d leave after that. She prayed.

“You guys too. Come on.”

All three remnants surrounded her and Cloud, the smaller two in front and the largest behind. They still acted like guards. But at least the long haired one picked up the box she completely forgot about as they headed for the bar in the Sector Seven slums.

.

.

.

.

Thanks for reading!

Author's note: It's my first time writing the remnants! I've been wanting to for a while but I never knew how to apply their personalities to most situations. I also have a very nostalgic attachment to Advent Children (music, fight scenes, some of the voice acting) so I wanted to do this right, not just a joke and not where I need to fill in most of the world, at least to start. Thus: another adapted time travel AU. 

This won't be too many chapters (I think) but I hope it's a good time. Thanks for reading!

#FIRST REMNANT FIC WOO #final fantasy vii #ff7 #advent children #Cloud strife #tifa lockhart #ffvii remake #ffvii advent children #kadaj #kadaj ff7 #loz ff7 #yazoo #yazoo ff7 #time travel au #zack fair #ZACK IS ONLY IN THIS AS A DEAD BODY #I totally forgot to tag that on ao3 and made someone cry #Major character death #three guards #Three... Guards?

[suiheisen]

silly sport full of silly people

bonus:

#the way nick handed him that ball….. he said: this is for you bbgirl cheer up and seiya said: i’ll guard it with my soul handsome #the rituals are intricate #also i’m so fond of this silly little sport #sometimes you sit there for three hours and literally nothing is happening but it feels like everything is happening and you’re like: #:’) people are fun #seiya suzuki #chicago cubs #shohei ohtani #los angeles angels #baseball #sports

[ndcgalitzine]

THE OLD GUARD (2020) - Yusuf al-Kaysani & Nicoló di Genova ~ everyone's favorite van scene ♥

#The Old Guard #theoldguardedit #filmedit #Joe x Nicky #Immortal Husbands #Yusuf al Kaysani #Nicoló di Genova #Marwan Kenzari #Luca Marinelli #lmarinelliedit #mkenzariedit #* #*you know how everyone and their grandmother has giffed this scene?? #and I've reblogged every single one of those gifsets more than once #more than twice #probably more than three times #??? #well now that I finally know how to make gifsets from screenshots and not just from a video #I COULDN'T RESIST #💖💖💖💖💖 #E N J O Y #1k

[puppyaulait]

Flower shop x tattoo shop (and the little emo gang)

#jirou is so safe during concerts because she has three scary guard dogs #myart #bnha #my art #my hero academia #mha #bakugou katsuki #kirishima eijirou #jirou kyouka #momo yaoyorozu #bnha tsuyu #todoroki shouto #kouda kouji #ochaco uraraka #aoyama yuuga #shinsou hitoshi #dabi #hawks #tattoo shop #flower shop #flower shop x tattoo shop #sero hanta #fumikage tokoyami #tokoyama #dabihawks #kiribaku #momojirou

[tales-of-the-ghost-zone]

DP X DC crossover prompt

Sam and Tucker, thanks to living in Amity Park and being overshadowed and controlled by ghosts so many time, had become very liminal. Until an accident while trying to stop the newest ghost enemy led to the two of them becoming halfa’s. Sam’s ghost form looks like what she looked like during the whole Undergrowth thing. And Tucker’s ghost form looks like his King Tuck design.

After a reveal gone wrong, Danny, Sam, and Tucker flee Amity Park. The trio run away to Gotham, and using money Sam managed to snag from her account before they left, they buy a nice sized building right in the middle of Crime Alley. They decide to turn it into a bookshop and cafe. There’s a garden/greenhouse attached to the back end of the building where Sam grows all her plants and herbs. Tucker has his own tech room in the basement alongside Danny’s tiny lab space. They live together in the apartment above the bookshop/cafe.

One day while out on a walk, Danny stumbles across two tiny twin half formed baby ghost cores. They’re nothing more than tiny little balls of glowing light at the moment. Baby ghosts that are just starting to form but are nothing more than cores at the moment. But they seem to be slowly fading. Danny refuses to let them fade away into nothing. He scoops them up, infuses them with some of his ectoplasm to get them going, and then shoved them into his chest for safe keeping and so that they can be close to his own core which starts slowly feeding them energy.

Danny rushes back to the shop and drags Sam and Tucker to the upstairs apartment and shows him the baby ghost cores he’s found. The three all agree that they’re going to help these cores develop into actual ghosts. They switch off on who carry’s the ghost cores around. Some days it’s Danny. Some days it’s Tucker. And some days it’s Sam. Each of them feeding the cores a little bit of their ectoplasm to help them grow.

One of the cores feels distinctly female and has a purplish blue glow to it. The three start jokingly calling her violet. The other core has a distinctly male feel to it. It’s an orangish red and has a small crack along one side of it. Danny jokingly said one time how he (the baby core) kind of looked like Nemo’s egg at the beginning of Finding Nemo and ever since they’ve been calling him Nemo.

The two cores have been developing very slowly, both seemingly unable to absorb the needed ectoplasm, to form into full ghosts, quickly. The trio is fine with this, they can be patient, and wait to meet their twins.

Then one day there’s some kind of massive ghost attack. Maybe a cult or something attempted to summon the ghost king but messed up the summoning and accidentally summoned something else. The Justice League try and fight the thing, but they’re no match for this ghost monstrosity. And the JLD aren’t available to help for whatever reason. The trio decides to step in and help. They kick the crap out of the ghost pretty easily and send it back to the ghost zone. Then Danny, in his King Phantom garb (crown of fire, whispy white fire like hair, a regal looking version of his hazmat suit, the ring of rage on one finger, and a cape around his shoulders, the outside being pure white but the inside looking like the vastness of space) approaches the cult and rebukes them, telling them how even if they had managed to summon him he never would have helped them take over the world.

After that the trio become members of the Justice League. Thanks to some of Danny’s previous time travel shenanigans, and Danny being the ghost king, and Sam and Tucker his consorts/mates(?) the Justice League all think that the trio are ancient eldritch ghost gods.

And then one day when the trio are in the Watch Tower with the rest of the League their twin baby ghost cores come up. Maybe it was time to switch out who was carrying them, and mid meeting or lunch or whatever, Danny just reaches into his chest, pulls out two small glowing orbs. He cradles them close to his chest for a moment, looking at them lovingly, and whispering something soft to them in ghost speak. Then hands them over to Sam, who does the whole cradle them close and whisper softly in ghost speak before shoving them right into her chest.

They look up from this to see the whole League staring at them wide eyed and confused. Danny just casually explains that those are their children but they’re still forming so the trio needs to keep them close to their cores to help them grow, but they like to switch up everyday who carry’s them. Every member of the Justice League becomes super protective of the trio after this. They see it as the three essentially being pregnant (sort of), and they don’t always know which one of them is carrying the baby ghost. So best to just be protective of all three. The trio finds this kind of amusing and a touch bit sweet.

When the twin baby cores finally develop into actual baby ghosts, the two kind of look like a mixture between Danny, Sam, and Tucker’s ghost forms. Though Violet has dark purple hair and eyes and Nemo has bright orangish red hair and eyes.

#dp x dc #dpxdc #dc x dp #dp x dc prompt #danny phantom #everlasting trio #ghost king phantom #Violet and Nemo become the darlings of the Justice League #the two hellions run around the watch tower whenever possible #Wonder Woman sneaks them candy whenever possible #Dani stops in one day to meet her niece and nephew #the three proceed to cause chaos together #most of the time if you see the twins at least one of the trio is with them #if not one of the trio then some member of the Justice League #and if none of the trio or the Justice league is around #then Fright Knight is assigned guard duty #lord help the soul of anyone that try’s to mess with the prince and princess of the ghost zone #because non of the above mentioned people will show them any mercy

[stinkyeggbow]

✿ ⋆｡ ﾟ ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ ☾ ﾟ ｡⋆✿

#hunter fanart #hunter toh #toh hunter #hunter noceda #hunter wittebane #flapjack #huntlow #willow toh #hunter x willow #willow the owl house #thanks to them #the owl house #the owl house spoilers #toh s3 #toh season three #toh golden guard #toh

[fumifooms]

Chilchuck analysis speedrun: As a hardworking half-foot who grew up poor and discriminated against and had his gullibility taken advantage of multiple times in his early adventuring days, Chilchuck thinks optimism is a dangerous flaw. He’s stressed and strict all the time because his job is noticing details like traps that could get everyone killed before anyone knows it, he takes the lives of everyone to be on his shoulders, and with the way he speaks about it that probably partly reflects how he felt about taking it upon himself to provide for his family too. His life’s always been pretty centered around work and has become even moreso now that his wife left and everyone is independent, and due to past events he’s very iffy with bonding with coworkers. He thinks feelings and job are a disaster mix. Like with his wife or with parties hiring him as sacrifice, being open or having good faith is vulnerability which can get you hurt, so he processes and shows all his stress as anger instead of worry. Doing strict dieting probably isn’t helping the irritability what with hunger, and on top of being a hunger suppressant alcohol might be the main stress reliever he has.

His grey hairs are so earned

#Chilchuck tims #dungeon meshi #analysis #HAPPY CHILCHUCK DAY #You know what yeah understandable have a good day #Alcohol be a ticket straight to chilling out town I suppose #Spoilers #dungeon meshi manga spoilers #Thinking on if I should split my family masterpost into diff posts for max reach hmm #Anyways I’m def editing in the second page into that post that “I’ve got three people to think of here” sounds sooo much like that’s #How he’d think about it in a family setting as well. He works so hard for them 🥺 #I could have put 100 pics on this post to justify everything I mentioned but this is a speedrun for a reason. I’m planning so many #Compilations rn i need a break from rereading lol #He’s just here to do his work!! He just wanna do his work!!! #I’m always rotating him in my brain like rotisserie chicken :( Hopefully this doesn’t sound disjointed or insane to average readers #He’s always on his guard so he has a short fuse and his type of humor & liking for snarky remarks doesn’t help #Also bc he knows nothing lasts he has a very work hard play hard mentality where ‘dying doing something you love. Like drinking’ #Is nice in his opinion #This post makes it all sound so dry. Chilchuck is so messy thinking about him is thrilling I swear. This is concise but at what cost… #OH ALSO he has weird self-hate issues where he really values his skills but devalues himself on a personal level. #‘I am a coward. I only care about myself. I cheated on my wife (lying for no reason)’ etc etc #Can’t disappoint people and make them leave you if they already have no expectations and esteem of you 😏💡

[zombie-pronounced-zombye]

i know nothings confirmed but I wanted to make this meme before anyone else

#the owl house #the owl house spoilers #toh #toh season three #toh luz #toh amity #toh golden guard #toh spoilers #luz noceda #gustholomule #willow creek #the owl house willow #lumity #eda the owl lady #vee noceda #the owl house vee

[sadquickchristmassnowman]

i need these three in a room together asap

#do you guys see the vision #emotionally guarded cunty bitches anonymous #even if you havrnt seen all three of these shows you should be able to get the vibe of what I’m going for #drafting an entire plot where the universes from thrse three sitcoms converge just so I can see these three interact #although that does pose some logistical difficulties. yk with mac/ian and abed/brad #it can work. trust. #anyway back again with long ass tags #community #nbc community #community nbc #mythic quest #mq #it’s always sunny in philadelphia #iasip #it’s always sunny #jeff winger #brad bakshi #dennis reynolds

[nico00235]

‼️TOH SPOILERS‼️

Hunter(los) new drip is making me go feral

#the owl house #toh hunter #toh season three #toh season 3 #hunterlos #the owl house hunter #i was crying #LITERALLY THIS IS MY FIRST TIME DRAWING HIM #i love him so much #the golden guard

[holly-fixation]

Three... Guards? Ch. 2

Summary: Tifa finds Cloud at the train station in Sector Seven. It’s the first time she’s seen him in seven years. But he’s not alone. Three silver haired boys protected him. Three silver haired boys that triggered memories of her hometown. Of steel through her chest. Of SOLDIER First Class. Of Him.

The boys refused to leave Cloud's side.

Inspired by this prompt by @im-totally-not-an-alien .  

Please Enjoy!

…

Chapter 2: Cure

The three boys marched like soldiers the entire way to the bar, obviously glaring and staring down any person that even thought about approaching. Tifa saw friends and customers more unsettled by the boys than willing to offer her aid, but for Cloud’s sake, she took the parting of the crowd as a relief to arrive at her bar faster. 

Once they entered Seventh Heaven, all three of the boys pulled stools off of the table closest to the bar. The middle sibling actually grabbed a stack of her folded napkins and laid them out like a pillow. 

“Can you grab the first aid kit from behind the bar?” Tifa attempted to ask politely as she leaned Cloud against the table and removed the incredible weapon attached to his back. “And there are dish towels near the sink. Can you run them under warm water?”

They all nodded, Kadaj rushing around the bar to find the targeted box while Loz and Yazoo swiftly ran to the sink. 

She was surprised but thankful they left Cloud’s side, allowing her to gently lay him on the table and scan for wounds. There were no external injuries, but his dry skin screamed dehydration to her. She wasn't sure if that same cause created his extreme weakness. 

Too many questions flooded her mind. Too many concerns for the singular man in front of her for her mind and thoughts to function completely straight. 

He needed Cure, magic, materia. At least then she might know what doctor he needed. Maybe he just needed water and rest. She hoped it was that simple. She hoped. 

Water may not be enough to rehydrate him either. 

Tifa glanced up at the sound of rapid movement as the boys rushed Cloud's sides. 

Two of them carefully applied a moisturizer to the chaffing skin before placing the wet cloths on his forehead and chest. She didn't even think of the damage water could do to dry skin, or the pain it could cause from seeping into the cracking the surface. They seemed to know exactly what to do. Correction, the long haired one did, silently scolding the larger one for being too rough with a simple glare and the occasional nudge. 

She heard a click as she moved Cloud's hair out of the way before the smallest one returned with the first aid kit. A first aid kit she always kept her strongest healing materia inside, in case of emergencies. 

“Did you guys try any materia?” Tifa needed to confirm before she tried the spells herself. 

“No. We couldn’t find any,” the youngest explained harshly. 

“He’s been in and out of consciousness for the past two hours…” The long haired one explained, his eyes still on his task. “A Cure may allow him to rest…”

Tifa needed no further information and held the orb in her hand, its green glow so bright it nearly blinded the eldest who accidentally looked up. She casted the strongest spell she could, both the ring and the light consuming the room as the magic wove through Cloud’s body. 

His breath finally calmed, and after a few seconds, his eyes opened again. 

All three boys immediately stepped back, but neither one of the childhood friends noticed. 

Tifa was too entranced by the light that returned to his now mako-blue eyes.

His hand landed on her arm softly and he forced himself to sit up. He gave her an embarrassed look, his eyes barely able to remain anywhere near her as he spoke, his mind clearly still fogged but he pushed through it to speak. “Thank you… Tifa…”

A weak smile pulled at her lips, her gaze filled with care as she placed a hand atop his own. She nodded. “Feeling better?”

“A bit… I think I can-”

“Nope,” She cut him off, knowing exactly where he was going and finally gaining his eyes. “You will talk, and you will rest, and you will do nothing more until you're ready.”

“But I-”

“No buts,” Tifa scolded, and the eldest of the silver haired brothers struggled to hide a laugh under his hand. She shot a glare at them, and they all silenced and stood at attention immediately. 

Cloud chuckled softly, her attention returning to him. “You’ve changed a lot in five years…”

Five…?

“Yeah…” She felt the lie leave her mouth before she thought it. “But Cloud, what happened to you?”

He looked away again, his eyes hardening at the ‘memory’. “I was heading back from a mission… And that behemoth took more out of me than I thought… I’m sorry, Tifa…”

“Cloud, why are you sorry?”

He tensed slowly. “...my promise…”

The water tower. “You didn’t break your promise by getting hurt. It’s okay.”

“But I should’ve had enough supplies to get back…”

“Hey. I said no buts. Next time you prepare more. That's all.”

Cloud winced a bit at the scolding before his eyes landed on the three boys. An unreadable expression claimed his gaze. “Thank you for your help…”

They all gave a soft nod. 

“How did you- nh…” The blonde grabbed his head, soft pained groans forcing their way through his body, his exhaustion catching up to him once again. 

The long haired one spoke first as Tifa brought one of the warm towels to his forehead, “You need rest…”

Cloud clearly hated the idea, but he couldn’t ignore the look in Tifa’s eyes. 

“Come on. I’ll take you to my place.” 

He nearly pouted before his breathing started to slow again. 

Something dinged as a mechanical whur suddenly rumbled through the room, only getting louder and louder. Cloud shot to attention and tried to grab the hilt of his blade, but Tifa stopped him, a hand gripping his own to silently tell him it was safe. However, her message did not make it to the three boys who currently crowded around the source of the sound with rusty, worn down pocket knives they absolutely found in the trash. 

As the platform rose along the metal rails, a large man none of the three recognized came with it, along with a blooping pinball machine. 

They nearly jumped him without question, and the only thing that stopped them was Tifa’s yell to wait. They froze but they did not move, their blades barely a centimeter away from his skin.

The large man inhaled sharply before clearing his throat, his hands automatically in the air the moment he saw the boys behind him. Well, one hand, and one gun. “Uh, Tifa?” His burly voice came with utter confusion. “Mind explainin’ what’s goin’ on?”

“Guys, he’s a friend,” She called them off, and they immediately ran and formed a wall around Cloud, still staring daggers and all but hissing as the man slowly turned to face the room. “Sorry for that, Barret.”

“Look, Tifa, I'm pretty big. I'm used to scarin' little kids.”

All of their glares hardened.

“But what’s goin’ on here?”

Tifa sighed before explaining everything she understood: finding Cloud, who Cloud was, healing him, and her plan to take care of him, but she brushed over the topic of the boys other than the fact that they found him. Barret had eyes. Barret hated Shinra. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that those boys looked familiar to him too. She also didn’t have a clue how to justify that ‘big brother’ statement from the station, so she chose to withhold the comment for now. 

“Cloud’s gonna stay at my place until he heals up,” Tifa finished, gaining a small groan of protest from the blonde in question. “Cloud, you need to rest.”

“I just need to get back in the game…”

“You can barely stay awake.”

“I just need some action. Then I'll be good to go.” He actually managed to steel his voice, almost sounding like his normal self. 

“Don’t hurt yourself,” the smallest of the triplets demanded, and the blonde adult actually glared away, defeated by a small child and relaxing his body. 

Tifa sighed before looking at Barret once more. “Can you do me a solid and watch 'the place' while I get Cloud over to Stargazer Heights?”

He took a glance over at the three kids that were one thousand percent ready to stab him a moment ago, and although they tried to look intimidating, they kind of reminded him of angry kittens, tiny and afraid. Despite who they looked like. “’Course, Tifa. Not a problem at all.” It was still midday. He had plenty of time before he needed to pick up his daughter from school, and he figured the other members of the crew below would be grateful to not be stabbed the moment they came up to use the bathroom, or came up to get a drink of water like he did.

“Thank you.” After giving a soft nod and a small smile, Tifa returned to Cloud’s side and helped him stand. 

However, the moment they made it to the door, the three brothers literally followed them in a line like lost chocobo chicks. 

Tifa winced a bit, adjusting Cloud's arm over her shoulder as she called back. “Boys, why don't you stay here?” 

They immediately countered with protests, speaking over each other without remorse. 

“Absolutely not!” 

“We won't make a sound…”

“He needs protection!”

“I’ll be okay…” Cloud mumbled insistently. 

“Now, now,” Barret immediately came to Tifa's aid, using every shred of the parental tone he usually saved for Marlene to herd the brothers. “Tifa's apartment is pretty small-”

“Then we’ll wait outside!” The smallest barked. 

“-and she lives right up the road,” He finished with a slightly harsher tone from the interruption. “You’ll get in the way. Hell, probably hurt Cloud more as a result. You don't want that, do ya? He's in safe hands. All you gotta do is wait here.”

At the middle child’s slight contemplation, Tifa finally opened the door. 

The little one practically teleported to stop them. How did he run that fast? 

“Kadaj-” She tried to scold. 

“I take up the least space- I’m going with him.” 

“No fair!” The largest one yelled, but the middle child grabbed his arm and gave him a look of soft apology. 

“Kadaj has a point…” Yazoo explained simply. “If he goes, we’ll know Big Brother is safe…”

Again, neither adult audibly questioned the ‘big brother’ comment, only keeping their inquiries to themselves. Whatever they were talking about, if it let Tifa leave, then it was fine with them.

Tears immediately left the eldest’s eyes, the middle one sighing and the youngest rolling his eyes. Surprisingly, Loz didn’t protest, finally giving Tifa a path of least resistance to escape. 

“Okay. Come on, Kadaj. Hold the door open.”

The smallest brother immediately did as she asked, and they left the remaining two with the man with a gun for an arm. 

An awkward bead of silence passed through them before Barret suggested the two boys sit at the bar, and he’d get them age appropriate drinks.

They seemed hesitant, but they did take the suggestion, both of them glaring slightly at the height of the bar compared to their respective sizes. Even though Barret only handed them glasses of water, they downed it like alcoholics. Without even asking, he refilled both drinks, and again they were gone in seconds. 

“Damn, kids. When was the last time you guys ate?”

Loz glanced at Yazoo for an answer. Any sustenance they managed to scrape together since the moment they arrived in this situation went to Big Brother. 

“Yesterday…” Yazoo chose to answer honestly. 

“Yesterday!?” Barret echoed in bewilderment. 

Did they give the wrong answer? They only told him the truth. 

“You poor things! Let me make you somthin' to eat.”

Again, they weren't going to stop him, even though all he grabbed were four slices of bread and two slices of packaged yellow cheese. They watched silently as he took the two ingredients and literally handed them both cheese sandwiches on napkins. 

Guilt creeped into Barret’s expression before the snacks even hit the bar. Tifa would kick his ass for wasting any of her products, but especially since he couldn’t pay her back with a mission so soon. However, the feeling vanished when the eldest devoured the innocent meal. 

“Thank you…” The long haired one showed the slightest shred of self control by expressing any gratitude before annihilating his own. 

Alright, maybe he could owe Tifa a couple gil for a few weeks. These kids were starving. He gave them various fruits, more cheese sandwiches, and basically anything else he knew he didn’t need to cook and could restock in a short time. 

Eventually they both calmed, no longer scarfing down each offering like each would vanish in seconds. 

“Thank you, Mister,” the larger one finally spoke. 

“Feelin’ better?”

They both nodded. 

“Mind explainin’ a few things?”

They nodded in allowance. 

Barret cleared his throat before asking his first question. “What were three boys your age doin’ in those planes?”

The two brothers, mainly Yazoo, spun a tale of how they were basically small bounty hunters, and Midgar’s planes usually have weaker creatures that they could handle and make a quick gil off of. He claimed they found a monster they barely managed to defeat, at the cost of all of their weapons, and how they happened to spot the monster Big Brother killed before finding him. He stated that arriving in Sector Seven was just luck. 

None of the remnants had any idea why Big Brother lied, but it gave them the perfect opportunity to fabricate a backstory around it. If they were going to keep an eye on him, they needed to stay close, especially considering their current sizes. And of course Big Brother had a life under the completely fallen plate before the order.

“Is he really your brother?” Barret inquired. “He don’t look like you.”

Loz glared away and crossed his arms, having no choice beyond silence. 

“We didn’t want anyone taking him away…” Yazoo lied a half truth. “And he’s not old enough to pass as Father…”

The man with a gun for an arm squinted in small analysis before letting out a quick laugh. “That’s fair. You’d have an easier time convincin’ someone Sephiroth’s your daddy.”

“He is not our father,” The eldest muttered.

At the confused look on the adult’s face, Yazoo explained with slight darkness in his usually neutral voice, “Our apologies… We get that a lot…”

Barret sighed and shook his head to take the blame himself, yet it reminded him of something. It was a topic he should have brought up sooner. “Do you guys wanna call home? See if your mom can come pick you up? We appreciate the help with Cloud but-”

The middle child tilted towards the older one, who was already failing to hide tears at the reference alone. “Don’t cry, Loz…”

He quickly turned away and swiped the unwanted streams off his face.

Now it was Yazoo’s turn to look away. “We can’t find her… She went missing two months ago…”

Suddenly, the details of their story wove together to a lie Barret truly believed. Three boys, living on their own, trying to make money any way they could, without any parents to take care of them. They came across someone who needed help, and they refused to allow someone else to be taken from them or feel the abandonment they subconsciously felt. He came to those conclusions on his own, and the remnants couldn’t be more grateful for the false belief. 

.

.

.

.

Thanks for reading!

#ff7 advent children #ffvii advent children #advent children #the remnants #kadaj #kadaj ff7 #loz ff7 #yazoo ff7 #yazoo #tifa lockhart #ff7 tifa #barret wallace #cloud strife #ff7 cloud #ffvii #ff7 #final fantasy vii #three guards #Three... Guards?

[snarky-art]

“Please? For Flapjack?”

“For Flapjack.”

A quick ode to a very good bird who loved his boy very much

#the owl house #Toh #dana terrace #thanks to them #flapjack #flapjack the owl house #flapjack toh #hunter the golden guard #hunter toh #hunter the owl house #toh spoilers #the owl house spoilers #toh season 3 #toh season three

[bigfatbreak]

in which Felis Furvus and Coccinella 'meet' Nekydallon for the first time after Marinette overuses the butterfly miraculous, and Pavo gets to use his special move, fowl song.

#this is for all my homies who've been woken up by guard peacocks fucking screaming at the top of their lungs at three in the morning #if you live in the midwest you know #my art #tw blood #villains au #villain au #long post #this got out of hand. it was a doodle kfgjngfh

[varpusvaras]

The Alderaanian Royal Guard gets really protective of the Coruscant Guard. Like. Really protective. At some point the people start treating the Corries better if only because they know that there is always an Alderaanian somewhere in the vicinity. Sometimes it's the Senator himself. Once or twice it was the Queen. But there is always at least one member of the Royal Guard there. Somewhere. For people who say they are pacifists, they seem really bloodthirsty.

After a while, people are starting to figure out that they might've been just supressing any murderous intents up until now, and it's better if you don't tempt them too much.

(The word got out at some point that Fox was dating the Queen and the Senator and that it was serious. The Royal Guard immediately turned on the Prince treatment. Fox bluescreened the first time one of them opened a door for him.)

#there's that one kdrama #where the crown prince mc tells his men to protect the fmc #becuause she's their future queen #and that's what the captains in the alderaanian royal guard now tell their men #that the commander is their future prince and it's their duty to protect him #since he's an organa in all but name already #but yeah the guard gets put into ships and flown over to alderaan after the war #they have been already allocated families over there haha #the royal guard is like alright everybody grab at least three! more if you can #and then come back for a second round! #sw #tcw #coruscant guard #alderaanian royal guard #commander fox #bail/breha/fox

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 232

Once more thinkin of These Series of AU/Prompts, where the Class pulls a Tiamat. Becomes Giant Hydra Dragon. But with some inspiration from @radiance1's Blob King AUs. Specifically also the dragon ones.

Now, the nine of them are admittedly far older than they once were. Far older than most of the people outside the cage they were tricked into all those years before, exhaustion seeping into their bones as their ectoplasm was siphoned away.

Yet no matter how much the GIW drains away- if they're even called as such anymore- they never run out. If anything, at least from what they've noticed, unable to do much of anything else in this pit, this tank of green and red, they seem to be making more.

Their recollection of being separate, of having separate bodies have long since slipped away in exchange for keeping memories of their families and friends long gone now. Perhaps they're in the zone, as ghosts, but perhaps not.

Days feel like both seconds and years, words falling away as their Core hums as one. Sometimes a Blob ghost manages to find its way inside- the trap designed not to stop things from getting in, but to prevent them from leaving.

They always disappear whenever the ecto is taken away, not having enough to continue holding on to a physical form. But... the blobs don't stay gone. Their own ecto brings them back, tiny forms almost mimicking their own.

It's something to distract them, something to actually do besides growl at the figures beyond the barriers around them. The blobs don't speak, don't make more than squeaks, but it's something. Almost like dozens of toddlers floating around, becoming more and more draconic in shape with every siphon.

Do their captors realize, they wonder, how they've made them all stronger than they were even before? Do they realize what they've done, creating this loop of ever-growing power?

No, Star giggled, pink and gold scales shimmering as she bobbed her head in amusement, Paulina's darker purples following.

They don't know, Wes agreed, dark amusement echoed by both Sam and Dash, fangs flashing amidst the liquid. The trap would not be able to contain them for much longer, they all knew. They could feel it, how the siphon stuttered with every run.

It wouldn't be long now. They had waited three hundred years for the chance to escape- they could wait for a few days more.

...

Though they won't complain about an early prison break if those alarms are anything to go by.

#dcxdp #dpxdc #prompts #the class pulls a tiamat #blob ghosts are dragons au #It's not the league who has broken into the lab and I almost feel bad for the villains who opened the blast doors #Reminder of who is part of the hydra: Danny Sam Tucker Wes Dash Paulina Kwan Valerie & Star #I am tempted for the hydra to give off scp 682 / undead vibes when they first burst free from the now cracked open doors #Like it gives off the vibe of These Doors Being Closed For A REASON #There's also the fact that the hydra was said to guard an entrance to the afterlife and I'm not NOT saying there's parallels with the porta #I'm also not saying the ennead wouldn't eat a GIW person or three on the way out #And while a rogue or several might have opened the door something That Big isn't going to go unnoticed #Especially if it's bursting out of the ground or out of a mountain #Morally gray ennead because they've lost everything save for their lil blobs & aren't afraid of taking a little retribution #go wild

[lovingkingdomdream]

Murals of the collector's palace

The collectors and the titans

The cosmos of the Demon Realm

#the golden guard #the owl house #toh hunter #hunter toh #emperor belos #philip wittebane #luz noceda #hunter wittebane #edaclawthorne #amity blight #willow park #gus potter #for the future #toh camila #toh collector #king clawthorne #toh s3 #toh season three #toh spoilers