Entries tagged with zack fair

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FF7 Prompt Fill: Never Have I Ever... stuffed a cactuar in my friends locker

[Original Tumblr post] Prompt: never have I ever stuffed a cactuar in my friends locker

There was a long moment of silence where the SOLDIERs looked at each other, then at their director. Lazard waited patiently, sighing when Zack sheepishly poured himself a shot.

It had not actually been a planned prank. There had been a mission where he had to get somebody’s pet back for them, and since the cactaur was pretty tame Zack ended up alright getting it. The problem was tracking them down, and he couldn’t just walk around with it, the little thing kept squirming and getting increasingly restless. He’d meant to just stuff it in his own locker, not Kunsel’s, but they were right by each other and he’d been distracted when his phone went off with another mission summons. Since there were air vents and he just needed a minute to make a call to explain why he couldn’t come immediately.

Kunsel’s alarmed shout had him running back. Thank god he’d been wearing a helmet, but he ended up spending the next half hour helping his friend get needles out of his arm.

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FF7 Prompt Fill: Medic Down (Angeal)

[Tumblr post] From the Sickfic Prompts list, Medic Down - every group seems to have a primary caretaker. How do they handle it when (character) is the one sick? (AGSZ set sometime after Zack makes First)

Generally speaking, if Angeal got sick he’d caught it from one of his lovers, but this one was a surprise. He’d woken up feeling off and it had mounted through the day into a quiet cough and the tingling urge to sneeze, which he generally tried to put off as long as he could - those didn’t quiet quite so nicely, and if they were forced to, it just made him want to sneeze again.

Sephiroth noticed first, though he wasn’t certain - they shared morning coffee together, the first ones out of the apartment - and the fact that Angeal was moving a little slower than usual was notable. It made a curl of worry start, but he wasn’t sure what exactly was going on and he didn’t want to push. Angeal seemed in a good enough mood, just… tired, perhaps.

Genesis, with years of familiarity, noticed as soon as he stole into his office to sneak a few muffins for his own belated breakfast, coming in late as per usual. It was clear in the slight wrinkle of his nose and the way he cleared his throat, and the redhead reflexively toned down his antics. As soon as he left, he called Zack with a warning.

Zack wore his emotions on his sleeve, always had, and was a little wary of training with Angeal if he really was getting sick. But the older First gave him that frown for suggesting otherwise, the same one that had always pulled him back into line when he’d been his student, and he gave in. Thank god he was quicker on his feet, though, when Angeal’s breath caught after a swift kick and he turned away, coughing hard against his arm. His breathless apology was met with a little flailing and Zack all but begging him to end the simulation. A little embarrassed, he agreed to it and headed back to his office.

Zack called Genesis back immediately, apologizing that he’d ever even agreed to it - Genesis assured him that no, he knew how Angeal got and Zack didn’t have near so much practice telling him not to be an idiot - and they agreed that perhaps a gentler touch was needed. Not that Sephiroth had more finesse than Genesis, exactly, but his hesitance in the role of caretaker tended to bring out a softer side in Angeal that would be perfect.

Sephiroth decided to handle it by bringing Angeal lunch - tea and soup from a Wutai place they’d frequented - accompanied by a careful smile that earned him access, even though Angeal gave him a rueful one back. “Did the others send you?”

“Somewhat,” he admitted, settling into one of the other chairs to eat his own. “They’re worried.”

“It’s not too bad.” Of course, the steam from drink and soup alike had set him sniffing softly and Angeal grimaced, grabbing up a napkin and turning aside for a quick, sharp sneeze that didn’t muffle well and made him shake his head a little. The arched brow he was treated to made him chuckle. “Really, it’s not. Just sensi-iih… HISSHHU! Snf. Ngh, sorry. But I mean it, it’s really not that bad.”

“… bless you?” Sephiroth ventured, the phrase not coming near so naturally as it did to Genesis or even Zack. It earned a small, warm smile though, and that made it worth it. “It couldn’t hurt to take work home instead, could it? You’d still get things done, and be more… relaxed?”

“Here I thought I was forbidden to bring work home.” Still, Angeal’s smile was teasing. “I might. But it’s an easy day, I’m not worried. Promise, I wouldn’t even make one of you go home for this.”

“Hn, as you say.” Unfortunately, he really wasn’t a particularly good judge of illness. It just wasn’t something he had much experience with. “Try to keep it to an easy day?”

“I’ll do my best,” Angeal promised. “SOLDIER’s honor.”

Well, it really didn’t get better than a promise on Angeal’s honor. Satisfied for the moment, Sephiroth nodded. He’d still see about what plans could be made to help him relax when he got home, though.

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FF7 Prompt Fill: It's Nothing (Zack)

[Tumblr post] From the Sickfic Prompt list, It’s Nothing - (character) insists they’re fine, right up until they collapse

It started with a headache, a low thrum in the back of his head that made Zack wish he wore his helmet for once. Then again, the pressure might not have been great. It felt better to press at his temples and forehead, a little, so it was hard to say.

Kunsel, ever the detail man, had been giving him sidelooks all morning. At least since he decided that squats were spending energy he just didn’t have. He had a training session with Angeal that afternoon and was going to need all the reserves he could muster. Realistically, he knew it was probably just some bug or something, his body hurt and things didn’t taste right - didn’t help that he really wasn’t hungry, he made himself eat because he knew he was supposed to, that SOLDIERs burned calories like crazy even at rest because of the mako. Fat lot of good that stuff had done him against this, but there wasn’t anything he could do but gripe.

And Zack was many things, but he was not a complainer. Not about some stupid little bug, not when he’d seen his heroes shrug off literally bleeding wounds to get a job done. He didn’t even have a mission, it was just training. Stupid headache wasn’t going to stop him, that was just ridiculous.

He met Angeal at the VR room with a smile, always glad to see him, but didn’t have much to say. It was fortunately easy to deflect his moment of concern, saying he just wanted to focus on his training. Angeal wasn’t cruel, but he was definitely a hard case when it came to training. Zack felt himself breathing hard far too quickly, but waved it off when Angeal asked. You didn’t get breaks in the field, it would be good practice, right? He wasn’t sure about the sim, though, he hadn’t thought it was generally this hot in Wutai but he could feel himself sweating. He tried to get a good breath in, blinking a few times and wiping the sweat off his face as best he could with a damp arm.

“Zack?”

Again with the questioning. It was nice Angeal was concerned and all, but he was looking worried and that was just… just ridiculous. “’m fine, Angeal. Let’s do the next… the next part.”

The world tipped a little and Zack took a half step to the side, managing a startled little ‘oh’ before everything went black.
( Read more... )

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FF7 Prompt Fill: OTP finds a fanfic about them

PROMPT: Imagine your OTP coming across a poorly written fanfic about them. [Tumblr post]

“Oh my god.”

“Now there’s a tone I don’t usually here from you,” Zack observed, peeking out of the kitchen. “You actually sound scandalized.”

“I am scandalized,” Genesis informed him, eyes glued to his phone and wide in a mix of awe and slowly-dawning horror. “My god.”

“You can’t leave it at that,” Zack protested, grinning. “What’re you reading?”

“Someone wrote down and published a fantasy about us!” Genesis waved a hand at the phone, still not looking up. “It might be the worst thing I’ve read since I was swindled into judging an adolescent poetry contest- no, wait, I’m so sorry. This is worse. I think you have to have three or four hands at this point.”

“… I’m a mutant?” He ventured, curious. “That’d be pretty cool actually.”

“Nono, porn.” Genesis bit his lip, grinning so hard it hurt. “Oh this is terrible, they need an anatomy class, possibly followed by a good fuck or seven. Oh my god, no, spines don’t work that way….”

“So I’m guessing this isn’t a prank by somebody who knows us, then?” Zack guessed. “Not sure if that’s better or worse. ‘geal’s gonna have kittens.”

Genesis did glance up at that, laughing so hard that he ended up retaking his seat on the couch rather ungracefully.

“…. I shouldn’t ask,” Zack said slowly. It was fact, he knew this just from the unholy gleam in his boyfriend’s eyes.

“You’re going to,” Genesis said, just as sure and grinning widely.

“I’m gonna have to,” he admitted. “What’s so funny?”

“I have been dubbed your sex kitten in this,” Genesis informed him.

Zack stared at him for a long moment. “Sex kitten?”

“Sex kitten.”

“Sex kitten.” Zack snorted. “And, uh, ‘you’ like that?”

“I meow for you.” Genesis bit his fist a moment against the clear urge to laugh, bouncing his leg. “There’s costuming to make Reeve Tuesti proud.”

“Okay, if that’s a thing with him, I don’t actually want to know,” Zack warned, pointing at him when he started laughing again. “You stop that. ‘Sex kitten’ - more like hell cat. And I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get away with that either.”

“No, no you would not. I allow you liberties enough with my dignity.” Genesis snickered, shaking his head. “Oh this is terrible. But bless the writer and their passion, that’s a lovely thing.”

“Enabler.”

“Shamelessly.”

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FF7 Prompt Fill: Crafting

This was a prompt given to

up-sideand-down that I ran off with. [Tumblr post]

PROMPT: Angeal carving tiny wooden miniatures of his bfs in his free time. Someone from Shinra's Merchandising Department catches wind of it and by the next month, there are official ones being sold all over Midgar. Even though he owns the originals, Angeal still purchases a limited edition set anyway.

Angeal wasn’t prone to losing things; it came with not having started with enough that you could afford to, something he’d been grateful Cloud understood if no one else was quite level. So losing something was a special level of… something, somewhere more than annoyance but not quite distress. Especially if it was something important.

And no matter how crazy the PR people were getting, how accurate they were trying to be, their work - while nice - wasn’t his. He’d put more than detail into his carvings, damn it, he’d put love. It was in the way Sephiroth stood just a little more on his right leg than his left; the way Genesis’ hand was opened just before he’d beckon one of them to him; the way Zack’s head tipped to the side just like when he was really paying attention; the way Cloud’s brows were tight with absolutely ferocious determination. These were special things, and while yeah, he did buy some of the others, he wanted his own.

And they were missing.

Finally deciding he needed to enlist some help, Angeal headed down the hall to have a word with Genesis, letting himself in without really paying much attention to the energies that bumped comfortably against his senses. “Gen, I need your help. I’ve… what are you doing?”

Genesis blinked slowly at him, lips twitching in a mighty effort not to smile. “… painting.”

“Painting,” Angeal repeated slowly. “What are you painting?”

“It’s a dragon!” Zack informed him.

“We thought, in light of what a good sport you’d been about this merchandising nonsense, that perhaps another gentler touch was called for,” Genesis explained. “Sephiroth, if you’d go get them…? And Cloud.”

“I’m not entirely certain he’ll be willing to come before he’s done,” Sephiroth warned, but rose from his seat and headed back towards Genesis’ study.

After some explaining and coaxing, Cloud came out with Sephiroth, carrying a sturdy box between them. They shared a long look, but eventually it was Cloud himself who was decided as the one to talk. “I’m sorry if you worried, we were hoping you’d still be finishing up evals for another hour.”

“With everyone else home, I wanted to be.” Angeal let himself be pulled into a seat, leaning into Sephiroth as the taller First settled at his side. “What’s going on?”

“We could tell that you never thought the copies that the merchandising department made were quite to your standards,” Sephiroth explained. “Given the diverse skill sets amongst the four of us, we’d thought perhaps something could be done.”

Angeal shook his head. “There’s got to be hundreds of them, out there, guys, you can’t fix them all. It’s fine.”

“I really don’t care about all the rest of them, Angeal,” Genesis said, gesturing to the box Cloud had placed gently on the table. “You, however, are quite the person of interest for all of us.”

Understanding was right on the edge of his thoughts. “You took my originals?”

“We were hoping to have them dressed up for when you got home,” Cloud said, dropping the front of the box to reveal the four figures he’d been missing, in varying states of dress. Outfits from quality materials, tiny stitchwork done with intense care and designed with an artists’ eye.

Feeling the earlier anxiety drain away, Angeal looked at the four of them with a wide grin. “I want the whole story.”

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FF7 Scene Analysis: Passing on the Buster Sword

There was a whole long post about this, but I'm just copying over my observations regarding the "Living Legacy" scene at the end of Crisis Core, where Zack hands over the Buster Sword before he dies. If you want to read the full thing, go to the Original Post Here.

This is not the first time that the Buster has been passed on, especially in this fashion. When Angeal dies - at Zack’s hand, and let’s not get into that mess beyond the painful parallel of how Cloud also feels he’s responsible for Zack’s death even though he had even less choice than Zack did - he passes on the Buster to Zack.

Now, in the English dub (which was the version I played through) Angeal says “Zack, you have my thanks. This is for you. *hands over the sword* Protect your honor, always.” And then Zack has an audio memory of Angeal’s comment at the beginning of the game - Embrace your dreams. If you want to be a hero, you need to have dreams and honor.

Now, let’s compare the English sub (which I’ve watched and found very interesting because it carries a different vibe most of the time):

“You did well Zack. I’m counting on you for the rest. *hands over sword* Never forget your pride.” This is then followed by the same audio memory, but again, with a slightly different vibe - Hold onto your dreams. If you want to be a hero you have to hold onto your dreams and also your pride.

I’m not going to pretend I understand the full significance of the changes between pride/dreams to fit the better cultural perception of the words, but I know enough to say that I do think that moment absolutely influenced how Zack handled that moment with Cloud. Another scene I would say had an effect was the time in Nibelheim (before everything goes wrong) when Zack thanks Cloud for reminding him what the Buster Sword means to him.

I think Zack took the burden of Angeal’s words very seriously (and I say “burden” absolutely referencing when Angeal says that honor can be quite the burden early on plus Gillian’s words on the sword representing the honor of the family.) And I think, as much as he loved Angeal (take that at whatever angle you like, but he did love him in some way,) he probably resented that. I think that was absolutely one of the things he meant when he asked “why is everyone always pushing things on me?” before the last fight with Genesis.

In light of that feeling, I think the last thing Zack intended was to give Cloud the same burden. Looking at Crisis Core only, I would say that I think it was definitely part of what vorpalgirl said: you’re gonna live/you’ll be my living legacy (alternatively, the proof that I existed) is a statement of fact, of the significance of the fact that Cloud is going to live on even though Zack died, that Zack managed to save at least one person he cares about when the others died well before this and even forced him to have a hand in it.

But it’s also motivation for Cloud, because he’s been with Cloud this whole time. He knows that Cloud is struggling (he hasn’t even been conscious until right before Zack left to make his last stand), he knows that Cloud struggled with his self-esteem anyway before all this, and he probably knows that a standard thing that keeps people out of SOLDIER is if they don’t have the willpower/sense of self to make it through the process. That’s a really big thing to ask of a teenager, I remember that much of those years personally. A teenager is still figuring out who the hell they are in that weird not a kid/not an adult half state, this is a big deal and it’s no shock that Cloud “fell short” there - most people probably did.

But Zack is giving Cloud something here, he’s giving him something to focus on because he won’t be able to talk to Cloud all the time or carry him on anymore. All he has left to give are his sword to protect himself, his words to remember and his life so Cloud has a chance at all, and the last one is running out fast.

He never wanted to pass on the burden that Angeal did. He never wanted to push things on Cloud the way they were always pushed on him. But he knew Cloud needed an anchor still, and he couldn’t physically be there to hold his hand anymore, he could barely lift his own blade.

I don’t think he ever imagined it would have ended up that way, that Cloud could even do that, but he did succeed in one thing at least - he gave Cloud a way to hide behind him, until he was ready to stand on his own. And in Advent Children, even though there’s tears in his eyes to have to choose between Sephiroth and Cloud (and he’s lost Sephiroth, don’t get me started on my theories about what Zack was up to in AC) he manages a smile in his voice as he offers Cloud that same bit of strength, that quiet vote of confidence when he’s nearly destroyed again, and helps him back up before he goes.

(The Zack during ACC thing is HERE)

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FF7 Headcanon: Where Zack was during ACC

[Original Tumblr post] The screen shots that went with this are easier to see on the Tumblr post, if you have trouble seeing the detail here.

vorpalgirl asked about my thoughts on what Zack was up to during ACC so all feels-related complaints can be directed to her. Now, let’s get started.

First, take a look at the pictures.

Done? Great. Let’s discuss ACC, and the way people kinda ignore the whole “dead stay dead” idea. Sephiroth is the most obvious example, but Aerith and Zack are clearly more than figments of Cloud’s imagination - they both actively take part in events.

With the healing rain/holy water, it’s pretty obvious how Aerith takes a physical effect on things. She also takes Cloud’s hand during the fight with Bahamut Zero, joining in with everyone else in giving a literal and figurative boost to his strength. Notably, though, Zack isn’t there. Zack doesn’t show up at all, in fact, until Cloud has taken quite a beating from Sephiroth.

So seriously, where was Zack?

It’s at this point that we need to remember that, while Zack was never as close to Sephiroth as Angeal and Genesis once were, they were friends. And Zack Fair does not give up on people, you have to literally take the decision out of his hands. ~~Looking at you Angeal.~~

Obviously, Sephiroth has been around as a spirit entity - which is also the position Zack and Aerith have been in. Sephiroth, who is just a shadow of himself made of malice and anger, twisted from the man Zack once knew. But that doesn’t mean Zack wants to write him off.

I absolutely believe that in ACC, Zack spent his time trying to talk Sephiroth down. That may even be what compromised Kadaj’s ability to sense that Rufus had Jenova’s remains in a box under a blanket all that time. Cloud, he knew, had plenty of support. But Sephiroth? Sephiroth was the Nightmare, son of the Calamity, Jenova’s favorite son, and he had no one but Zack left.

Sephiroth toys with Cloud. Is it malice or distraction? Likely both. Sephiroth has years of experience over Cloud - many of which were on the warfront, but also fighting the likes of Genesis and Angeal - in addition to formal training in combat and strategy. There is no reason Cloud should win if Sephiroth had his mind together. Blame Jenova, blame his breakdown, blame the fact that he has no frame of reference of how to handle all that emotion - here, even, blame Zack.

For most of the fight, Zack isn’t there. Then, when Sephiroth is going for the kill, Zack pulls Cloud into the realm of “other” that Aerith had done before. And with tears in his eyes where Cloud can’t see them, he asks if he needs help to take him down.

If you’ve forgotten, go take a look at the screencaps above to see the sword Zack has.

Yes, it’s the Buster Sword. But this isn’t something he conjured from his mind, in the condition he last held it. This isn’t even something one would picture Cloud imagining - not that he’s facing Zack to see him, anyway. This is the same sword that Cloud left on the cliff. The same sword that is mysteriously polished and placed in Aerith’s church at the end of the movie.

Zack, as much as the thought pained him, was ready to fight Sephiroth one more time. He was ready to step out of his place in the Lifestream, having gone to get the blade his mentor had given him, that he had given Cloud, and take up the fight.

Like the last fight of his life, there are tears in his eyes because for all his efforts, Zack wasn’t able to save Sephiroth. Cloud may never know the kindness he did his friend to spare him the pain of having to help put him down again, but at the end of the pep talk Zack gives him, there’s a smile on his face.

Relief.

This doesn’t have to be his fight, and Cloud is strong enough to make it on his own. Zack has lost one more friend for good, it’s a bittersweet victory. But he does meet him one last time in the church. He doesn’t say anything, his wave is slow, a little uncoordinated - I imagine it was one hell of an effort to get the strength to be ready to do what he did, Zack doesn’t have the heritage to give him any advantage there, it’s pure will driving him then. But that’s not really a new thing for Zack.

… so yeah, THAT is what I headcanon as happening regarding Zack during ACC.