"Oh, very well," Sephiroth said, repressing a sigh. "I will move onto one of the other major points of critical investigation."
Angeal's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And that is?"
Sephiroth met his gaze. "Interviewing Cloud Strife."
Silence.
After several seconds, Genesis spoke. "A good idea," he said, nodding in approval. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the jamming device. "This might help."
Sephiroth blinked, then cautiously reached forward and took the offering.
"Thank you."
"I suppose that isn't as dangerous as dealing with Hojo or any… information he may have," Angeal said reluctantly. "When does he return again?"
Sephiroth allowed himself to frown. "At the end of the week." Far too soon, in his opinion.
"Please be nice to my little buddy," Zack cut in, voice pleading. "Don't scare him too badly."
Despite the fact that the two had never met, the SOLDIER Third still seemed to count Cloud as a friend. Sephiroth was growing more and more sure that Zack was a once-in-a-lifetime find. He'd certainly never met anyone like the younger teen before. He tipped his head towards Zack, acknowledging the request. He didn't plan on doing anything too harsh anyway. He simply needed to ascertain what this Cloud Strife knew.
The younger boy relaxed a bit, nodding in thanks as he sat back in his seat.
No one spoke after that, each lost in their own thoughts.
The atmosphere seemed far less charged now that they had a basic plan for moving forward. He wanted to ask Zack about his experiences, but even he saw that the boy needed time. It was part of the reason why Sephiroth had decided on a two-day deadline for his report. The boy looked almost heartbroken and contemplative as he stared out the train window.
On the other side of the train, Genesis had done much the same, although his expression seemed far more thoughtful than sad or upset. Angeal watched his student with a furrowed brow. Sephiroth couldn't blame him for his worry. Zack seemed so… different now.
They all did.
Because of a game. Or a pair of games.
That could supposedly tell the future.
Sephiroth took a deep breath and closed his eyes, just reveling in the feeling of his close friends that he could trust around him and nothing else. He could deal with the details once they returned to the tower.
xXx
Cloud gripped the keycard and slip of paper with his orders in his white-knuckled hand as he hurried down the enormous hallways of the ShinRa building, hoping he wouldn't lose his lunch. His class had been interrupted. He had been summoned… What could he possibly have been summoned for? The note hadn't even told him who needed to see him. A SOLDIER Third with a helmet on had shown up with the note and keycard and had given them to his teacher, who had then called Cloud out. Then the SOLDIER had left and Cloud now had to navigate the ShinRa building alone.
He couldn't help his mind from racing to the worst possible conclusions. Maybe Barri had set him up again. He'd call it a prank and then snicker and wave as Cloud was escorted from the building and Midgar altogether. He'd end up homeless and alone on the Midgar plains.
Or what if something had happened to his mom? What if she'd tried to come and see him? They didn't have that kind of money! He would know as he'd had to hitchhike his way across both continents to get here. Could his mom do the same? She'd always seemed so strong to him growing up, but he'd recently begun to realize just how lucky he'd been to get here unharmed. What if she hadn't? Or what if there had been an accident of some kind? What if a dragon had wandered into town for the first time in almost a century and their house was now nothing but a pile of ash?
They wouldn't just call him out for something simple… would they? No, not ShinRa. So something had to have happened.
By the time Cloud got to the proper floor, he was a wreck. At least the keycard worked without any issues.
He hurried down the hall, reminding himself not to run because what if a SOLDIER saw him? If he had any chance left at becoming a SOLDIER as it was, having a bad record wouldn't help him in the slightest, so he kept his strides short and quick as he searched for the room number on the note.
009… 011… There, 013.
He pulled to a stop in front of the door, and lifted a hand to knock. Then he paused and took a breath, trying to calm down. It didn't help much. Part of him wanted to rush in and demand to know what had happened. Part of him just wanted to rush back to the elevator and pretend nothing had happened.
Reminding himself that such actions would do him no good, he swallowed and then forced his hand to move.
Knock, knock.
A deep voice called out to him. "Enter."
Cloud felt his eyes widen. He knew that voice…
No, no it couldn't be…
He opened the door, peeked inside and almost fainted because yes, it was Sephiroth. The hero the newspapers couldn't stop talking about. The idol of practically every cadet in ShinRa. The Silver General, even if that wasn't an official title. And he'd spoken to Cloud.
For several seconds, he just stood there, staring because this was far too good to be true… or far too bad to be true. He couldn't decide on which.
"Do you plan on standing there all day, or would you prefer a seat?" the man asked wryly, snapping Cloud out of his reverie.
"Sorry!" he exclaimed as he rushed in and took a seat across from the man.
He just looked at Cloud, one eyebrow raised… staring right through him. Had he forgotten something? Oh!
He shot to his feet and saluted. "Sir! Sorry, sir!"
At least the General smiled at that. "At ease, Cadet. I told you to have a seat. Remember to salute first, next time. Other SOLDIERS aren't so lenient."
Cloud felt his cheeks darken and he looked down, wishing he could melt into the floor. Or the chair. Or the desk. Anything would be nice. How embarrassing. "Yes, sir," he said as he sat quickly and stiffly, still not able to look up.
"I'm sure you're curious as to why you are here," Sephiroth said, leaning forward, his hands coming to rest casually on the desk between them.
"Yes, sir," Cloud said softly. He swallowed again. "Is… is it my mother?"
Inwardly, he cringed, hoping beyond hope that he'd somehow guessed wrong.
"No," the Silver General said. "My fellow SOLDIERS and I are in the middle of an investigation and we believe your input can help us."
Cloud almost melted in relief before the words caught up to him. "An… investigation, Sir? About what?"
Sephiroth shook his head. "If I told you that, it could invalidate the investigation. What I am going to do is read off a list of names. I need you to tell me if you have ever heard of these people before."
Still confused, Cloud nodded. "Yes, Sir."
His hero returned the nod and took out a list. "Barrett Wallace."
The blond paused and thought about that, long and hard. Then he shook his head. "I've never heard of him, Sir."
"Aeris or Aerith Gainsborough."
The cadet wracked his brain, but came up with nothing, so he shook his head.
Sephiroth nodded, looking unsurprised. "Tifa Lockheart."
Cloud couldn't help his eyes widening. "Tifa? She was my neighbor growing up, Sir. She takes martial arts from an instructor in my home town and likes to go exploring." He hoped that last part didn't sound bitter as he continued.
"Is something wrong with her, Sir?"
Sephiroth studied Cloud for several seconds before he shook his head. "No. She is fine as far as I know. That is all I can say for now and I need to move on."
Reluctantly, Cloud nodded.
"Red XIII or Nanaki."
The Cadet thought about that, but nothing came to mind. He shook his head.
"Yuffie Kisaragi."
Cloud shook his head again.
"Vincent Valentine."
Another negative.
"Cid Highwind."
Another shake.
"Reeve Tuesti."
"No, Sir. I…" he paused. "Wait. Isn't he on the ShinRa board? Part of some useless division?"
Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow and nodded. "Do you have anything else to say about him?"
"No, Sir." Cloud bit his lip and then realized what he was doing and stopped. He tried to swallow again, but his mouth still felt so dry. "What's this about… Sir?"
The silver-haired man sighed and folded his hands in front of him on the desk. "I can't tell you much, right now, Cadet. Mainly due to the nature of the investigation." At least he seemed genuinely sorry. Cloud nodded and looked down.
"I have a couple of other terms I'd like for you to hear and tell me if you've heard of them before."
Trying to ignore the churning in his stomach, Cloud nodded. "Alright, Sir."
"Cait Sith."
Cloud frowned. "Do you mean Cat-Sith?"
Sephiroth merely raised an eyebrow to show his interest. Cloud swallowed and explained. "Cat-Sith are large, soul-stealing cats, Sir. They're a myth – a legend. Nothing more."
"Hmm," the silver-haired SOLDIER said after a moment, then nodded and continued on.
"Final Fantasy?"
Cloud shook his head. "No, Sir."
"Squaresoft?"
"No, Sir."
Sephiroth seemed to pause, although Cloud couldn't begin to fathom why. "Jenova."
Cloud felt his brow furrow in worry. There had been a particularly sharp tone when he'd said that word. The blond still shook his head. "No, Sir."
The older man nodded, then took a slow breath before he said the next word. "Reunion."
The cadet's frown deepened. "As in a family reunion?"
"We… aren't sure."
Cloud shrugged. "I mean, I guess, if you do mean a family reunion. I've never been to one, but my Mom has. A couple of my squadmates have mentioned going to see family once they get their first leave. But if it's something more specific than that… um… no, Sir."
Sephiroth nodded again, then looked down at the papers in front of him.
"Your record says you were born and raised in a town on the Western Continent called Nibelheim." Cloud nodded and the man continued. "There is a reactor there, correct?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Was there anyone there who may have come recently? Someone who was researching for a book or a game."
Cloud's face scrunched in utter bafflement. "Who would come to Nibelheim to do that? It's so far out of the way I don't know why anyone stays, and nobody in their right mind would come to stay… er… Sir."
"Nevertheless, this is important, Cadet."
Again Cloud thought back, going over everyone he could remember. The newest residents would have to be the Brockhurst family and they'd moved in when Cloud had been three.
He shook his head again. "No, Sir. We get adventurers every now and then, but I don't speak to them."
Sephiroth frowned down at the papers in front of him, then picked up a pen and wrote something before setting it down and returning his attention to Cloud. "Did you ever leave Nibelheim before you came to ShinRa? On vacation, perhaps?"
The fact that he had no idea where these questions were going bothered Cloud, making him fidget more than he probably should, but he still tried to answer as honestly as he could.
"No, Sir. Ma doesn't have family left and we never had enough money to travel."
"I see. Did you write to anyone? A pen pal, perhaps?"
Cloud shook his head. "No, Sir."
"No contact with anyone outside the village at all?"
The cadet thought back and couldn't think of anyone he spoke with directly. He'd seen delivery men and women, the adventurers and who came through on their way to hunting Nibel dragons and wolves. But his mother had warned him off of speaking to them, and he'd never had the guts (or really a reason) to approach them.
"Not that I remember, Sir."
A pause. "It sounds like you lived a lonely life."
Cloud tried not to flinch at that and this time chose not to respond at all. He hadn't liked most of the other kids in town, and the feeling had been mutual. Tifa had been the exception. It was a trend that had followed him here too. He'd met a few squadmates who were pretty cool, and he tried to be friendly, he really did, but most people saw him as a runt who wouldn't amount to anything. They… weren't entirely wrong, but being blown off like that hurt more here somehow. Maybe because he thought it had been a Nibelheim thing before. Now, though, he had proof that it seemed to be a Cloud thing. That… hadn't been a pleasant revelation.
The sound of his idol's chair scraping across the floor drew him out of his thoughts and he saw the man stand. Quickly, Cloud scrambled out of his chair and to attention.
"Follow me," Sephiroth said as he walked out the door.
For a moment, Cloud stood, staring after him in utter confusion. None of this made sense! Sephiroth had said he wasn't in trouble, but then why him? Why talk about his past and his family? About Nibelheim of all places?
Then he realized he'd been standing there for too long and his eyes widened as he shot forward, having to jog to catch up with Sephiroth as he strode down the hall.
The cadet really hoped wherever they were going would finally give him some answers.
xXx
Sephiroth heard the boy following behind him and made sure he did not shake his head. The child was… clumsy, small, and very much not a people person if their conversation was anything to go by. He never would have been someone who stood out in ShinRa. As nervous and jumpy as the child was, though, he'd responded truthfully to every one of Sephiroth's probes. The boy wore his heart on his sleeve and likely couldn't lie to save his life.
He was almost nothing like the Cloud from the game. Sephiroth strained to see a connection to the broken warrior Cloud, and couldn't decide if the fact that they had so little in common was positive or negative. The man from the game had had many problems, enough so that Sephiroth doubted they'd gotten into everything yet. This child, though, had his own issues, it seemed. A lack of self esteem and, judging from his past and his responses, few interactions growing up. Genesis said the boy had decent reaction times, but so many bad habits from being self-taught that he would likely not amount to anything.
But Sephiroth wasn't sure. It wasn't a gut feeling or anything he'd actually seen from the child, but he wanted to see the boy in action. Of course, from the boy's nervous steps and wringing hands, he doubted Cloud would be able to give much of a showing. Was this pushing him too far? Should he just send the young teen back to classes and forget about all of this?
He only really considered that option for a moment before dismissing it. The boy was already here, and Sephiroth would be lying if he said he wasn't curious. However, he also felt something else… something he almost never felt. And now he'd felt it twice in one day. Nervousness. He'd been concerned about meeting the child whose town he would supposedly destroy – a boy who, apparently, had few connections outside of said town. And now, again. This was the boy who would (according to the game) confront him in the Nibelheim reactor, and who would chase Sephiroth's spector across the world.
He just couldn't help but ask why? Why this boy? What was so special about him? Why had someone, somewhere, found him and decided to use him for their scarily accurate video game?
Just who was Cloud Strife really?
Well, Sephiroth intended to find out, nervous or not.
He ignored the stares of some of the other SOLDIERS as the two of them strode by and stopped before one of the gyms. Punching in his access code, he strode inside and up to the practice swords hung on the rack against the wall on the left. Then he turned to see a very confused cadet come jogging up to him, slightly winded. Hmm, that would be something the boy would need to fix.
"Have you had any formal training before you came to ShinRa?" Sephiroth asked Cloud.
The boy blinked, taken aback. Then he shook his head, face reddening as he looked down. "No, Sir."
Hmm. So, basics.
Sephiroth reached over and picked up a random sword. "Swords come in many sizes and shapes. One-handed, two-handed, short and straight gladius swords to enormous buster swords to long and curved katanas and odachis. They come from different cultures all over the world and their shapes have evolved to enhance local fighting styles. Here at ShinRa, we start with a very basic style that can morph into one of many styles depending on your strengths and goals.
"One thing to look for in a sword is weight. A SOLDIER can swing a massive sword around like it's nothing. Unenhanced cadets, though…" he picked up another sword. Then he tossed one of them at Cloud who fumbled but stopped it from falling to the floor. It would have sliced off his arm had it been a real sword. "It is more important to pick a weapon you can wield than to pick a weapon that looks dangerous. A master at daggers can take an apprentice at swords any day. If you want to work towards something, like a buster sword, start with what works for you and move upwards."
The boy looked like he was taking every word Sephiroth said in, and it made him a little uncomfortable. He'd never met the boy before, but he half expected him to jump at him in a fit of rage, not hang off of his every word. Cloud also still looked utterly confused.
"Tell me what you can about that sword," Sephiroth said as he gestured to the wooden practice weapon in the boy's hand's.
Cloud blinked and looked down at the weapon.
"Um…" he started.
Sephiroth repressed a sigh. "How long is the handle?" he asked.
"Um… pretty long, I suppose."
"Long enough for two hands?" Sephiroth asked.
Cloud put two hands on the sword. He didn't have a half-bad grip. Could use improvement, but still, not terrible.
"Yes, Sir."
"Then it is a two handed sword. The weight for two handed swords is slightly different because these weapons are built for power swings. With enough skill and practice, you can use them one or two handed, but to get the full use of the weapon as quickly as possible, start with two-handed katas and swings.
"This," he held out the other sword in his hand, "is a one-handed sword. It only has room for one hand to hold the hilt." Perhaps that was a bit obvious, but then the Cloud on the game had been a little dense and he was starting at the beginning here. "These are usually for people who are small, light and fast on their feet. However, most people in ShinRa pick another weapon instead – often one that gives them some form of distance or mid-range length. Guns, shurikens, staffs, spears or…" he reached out his hand and summoned his weapon, "Masamune."
If Cloud's eyes had been wide before, they'd become saucers now, staring at and drinking in the sight of the famous sword.
"It's… long because you wanted reach?"
Sephiroth nodded. "It took a lot of practice and studying of this weapon to be able to handle her correctly. As you note, she is a two-handed weapon, and I started learning to fight with an odachi at a very young age."
Cloud tipped his head to one side in question. "Odachi?"
"A Wutian long-sword."
Realization came to the cadet's face and he settled back as if to wait for more instruction.
Was that what Sephiroth was doing? Instructing the boy? He'd never been particularly good at teaching, so he leaned away from that uncomfortable idea. Besides, these were merely the basics that every warrior should know.
"By using a sword as long as this, I have a good deal of slashing power, but I give up maneuverability. Were this a spear, I could use the center of the weapon to easily and quickly change directions and cover more points. However, enough power can cut through the shaft of a spear. Even were we to make it from metal, a well-made sword with enough power behind it could render the weapon useless. I have found that happens less with swords. I wanted a weapon that could be with me for life, so I had this made."
"How do you just make it appear like that?" Cloud asked, still looking awed.
"Similar to a summon materia, actually. It took a team of scientists years to tie a summon-like effect to this sword. The materia shard was then implanted into my body and I can summon her or banish her at will. From what I understand, there were several experiments done to make this not just possible, but plausible." He usually tried to avoid thinking about those other 'experiments' that were 'sacrificed' so he could summon his weapon.
"It cost far too much money to do more experiments with and the project was shut down. I was simply lucky enough to reap the benefits before it did."
Cloud blinked. "Oh."
"I would like to see how you handle your sword basics. Let me show you how to hold that. If you wish to move onto a different weapon later, you can." With that, he dismissed Masamune, put the one-handed wooden sword back on the rack, then lifted another two handed sword off of it. He walked over to Cloud and took a stance. "This is what the first and most basic stance looks like. From here, you can move to many positions."
The cadet mimicked him and Sephiroth studied his position.
"Your hands need to be further apart and your feet a little closer together. You need to be in a position where you can move easily."
Cloud adjusted as Sephiroth had said.
The Silver General nodded. "Good. Memorize how this stance feels, how your legs feel and are positioned, how your arms and hands and shoulders feel. Relax your back a little. The point is to be fluid. If you have to tense your back to carry the sword, it is too heavy for you."
The blond nodded and closed his eyes. Sephiroth gave him a couple of minutes to memorize everything. Then he cleared his throat. Cloud looked over at him.
"The first swing comes like this…"
He went on to show the cadet several basic slashes, blocks and dodges, judging that parries were too advanced for the boy at this stage. Sephiroth wasn't sure if he was surprised or not when the child caught on to each one so quickly. He'd been expecting something this whole time, and now he had the first, slightest, vaguest, indication. So, no not surprised then. It was closer to vindicated, he supposed.
Then he led the boy through the training exercises, one leading to the next in something similar to a kata. It wasn't an actual kata that he'd been taught by his Wutain instructor, those were specifically for wutian blades, but it was similar enough. Cloud seemed to take well to them despite needing some correction. Once he got the movement down, though, he didn't make the same mistake again.
By the end of the hour, the boy had sweat running down his face, but he looked very pleased with himself.
"Now," Sephiroth said at the end, "prepare yourself."
He'd heard Angeal say the same thing to Zack before he attacked and that was all he was willing to give an opponent, even if it was a novice. Then he moved towards the boy. It wasn't nearly as quick as he could go, but was faster than most civilians could follow. Cloud utterly panicked for a moment, then his expression shifted into firm determination and he seemed to remember his new training, doing his best to use the strikes, swings and blocks to defend himself.
In the end, Sephiroth still easily disarmed him, holding the sword to the boy's heaving throat. Sephiroth smiled and was about to call for the end of the match when Cloud did something unexpected. He twisted his body, bringing up his arm and elbow, slapping the sword away on the broad side of the sword. Then he dove for Sephiroth, arm outstretched.
The SOLDIER jumped back, raising an eyebrow. That had been… reckless, but inventive.
Using the moment of distraction, Cloud somehow pivoted and sprang towards his sword, but Sephiroth was far too fast for that. He leaped in front of the boy, catching his arm, then spinning him and holding him against his side with the sword against his neck.
"Checkmate," he said. "Do you yield?"
Cloud struggled for a minute, then slumped a little. "Yes, I yield."
Sephiroth smiled and stood up, lifting the sword from its position and then dropping that hand down to his side. The cadet stepped away from him, rubbing his throat.
"Had I been going my full speed, that maneuver would have gotten you killed," Sephiroth said sternly. Cloud sighed and nodded.
"Yes, Sir."
"However, it was also creative and unexpected. Thinking like that in battle can be an immense boon. The fact of the matter is that I was not going my full speed, and thus it was a good idea even with your mediocre execution. I can see why…" he paused fading off. He'd been about to say that he could see why Cloud had made SOLDIER now. It wasn't his size or his skills, but his sheer determination and ability to think outside of the box that gave this boy potential. But the fact of the matter was that the boy hadn't become SOLDIER. Not yet.
Cloud looked confused. "Sir?" he asked.
Sephiroth shook his head. "Classified, Cadet." He took a deep breath and walked over to pick up Cloud's sword, then strode towards the wall where he placed them back on the rack.
"According to what I've just seen, you have good instincts and you pick things up quickly. But I've seen your file. Why are your best grades merely average?"
Whatever confidence the boy had gained faded almost instantly and he was back to a shrinking, shy child instead of the promising cadet.
"I… don't know. Guns are harder than swords."
That surprised Sephiroth. He used swords because he could personally do much more with his preferred style than he could with a gun. Guns felt like a shortcut to him. He knew they weren't and he could definitely respect someone who used guns as their primary weapon, but it had never felt right to him.
"And your hand to hand?"
At that Cloud looked frustrated. "The other kids are bigger than me. And I try to make my body move the way the instructor says to, but… it doesn't. I mean… it's getting better now, but no matter how hard I work, I always," he paused, struggling for words. "I feel like I'm fighting myself as much as I'm fighting whoever I'm fighting. And we don't study swords as cadets, only guns and hand to hand."
He scuffed the ground with one boot, face red in embarrassment again.
"Hmm," Sephiroth said. Then he nodded. He'd gathered enough information. This boy had little or nothing to do with the game makers, terrorists or Jenova. He also had potential – a good deal of it – if someone was willing to put in the time to actually train him. And he didn't want to see this wide-eyed child become the cynical warrior from the game. Said cynical warrior had his moments of happiness and earnestness reminiscent of Zack, but they were few and far between. For some reason, he hated the idea of this child losing his hopeful nature to such negativity.
"I've seen what I need to," Sephiroth finally said. "You may return to your classes."
Cloud stood straight, nodded and saluted, then turned to leave. Before he got to the door, though, he turned back to Sephiroth. "Um… Sir?"
"Yes?" Sephiroth asked, voice emotionless, as it should be.
"May I… get a note? To excuse me?"
Ah, yes. That would probably be prudent. The Silver General nodded. "Follow me," he said, walking past the boy. He would have stayed behind to clean up, but he could leave that to the janitors, this once. He led the boy back to his office and wrote a note excusing him, then signed it. Then he noted that the cadet still hadn't recovered from their very light session.
If this boy wanted into SOLDIER, he had a long way to go.
"Find a stick or a training sword and go through those training exercises once a day, either in the morning or evening. Also, run around the cadet training track five times every day." That should be a good beginner's workout. "Also stretch before and after. I know you've been taught stretches in your classes. Follow those."
Cloud opened his mouth, looking concerned, but Sephiroth cut him off, knowing what he would say – that he didn't have enough time. Well, the Silver General had something to say about that.
"Find the time for it. You need to decide now if it's more important for you to slip by in class with mediocre scores, or to push yourself as hard as you possibly can. I can tell you that only one of those will get you into SOLDIER. Am I understood?"
The boy's eyes had gotten big again, although this time he seemed shocked more than anything. Then he nodded his head firmly, face settling into determination. "Sir, yes, Sir!"
"Good. The rest is up to you. I expect great things from you, Cloud."
The boy's chest puffed out a little and he looked elated.
"Th-thank you, Sir!"
"Dismissed."
"Yes, Sir!"
With that, the boy turned and practically ran out of the room. Sephiroth shook his head, a small smile on his face. If the boy had that much energy after an obviously trying workout, then he'd be a shoe-in for SOLDIER. At least, now that someone had given him pointers and a direction. Interesting as to what a little attention could do for a person.
With a sigh, he turned his computer on and began to type out a report for Genesis and Angeal, grateful he'd been able to finish his paperwork earlier that day. He hadn't been able to get to some of his other duties, but this would be acceptable for today. Tomorrow, he should be right back on his usual schedule.
And after he finished work the next day, they'd go back to playing the game.
xXx
AN: First of all, a particularly shoutout to how awesome Imagination7413 is. They spent a lot of time helping me get this chapter as it is and I cannot emphasize how absolutely AMAZING they are. SO MUCH LUV!
Also, for those of you who don't like Discord, one of my awesome readers Speedster (aka DebaterMax) has offered to mod a forum here on FFnet: triple w dot fanfiction dot net /forum /Obi-s-Gaming/231366/ (without spaces, I'm sure you can figure out the rest) Although I will likely change it from 'gaming' to more of a general discussion. If you'd like to check it out, feel free to do so. Just keep in mind, it's brand new and we're kind of playing this by ear seeing as I've never hosted a forum before. So yeah... questions, thoughts, ideas, events, even current events (PLEASE BE KIND) can be discussed there. Consider this in it's Alpha stage. lol
And for those of you who DO like Discord: discord dot gg/cd7pNsBZj2 (no spaces, etc.)
Also, FANART! Aqua, another one of my awesome readers, spent a lot of time and effort to make her sims game very much like FFVII and here's the result: cdn dot discordapp dot com /attachments/728052442637271151/797603416644911214/image0 dot jpg (dot = . no spaces)
cdn dot discordapp dot com /attachments/728052442637271151/797603417392283688/image1 dot jpg (ditto)
And even though it's not for this story in particular, this looks amazing! BBnB gave me permission to post this: media dot discordapp dot net /attachments/728052442637271151/802694445509771304/image0 dot jpg?width=784&height=585 (ditto) FFVII characters in winter clothing. :3
Thank you all!