final fantasy vii – Page 2 – JackSGreyson Says

Stories of Ancient Gods, a DoSxFFVII crossover drabble (2016-03-15)

March 16, 2016 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

A/N1: Okay, so you remember that ask about what I would crossover with DoS and I ranted for a long time and said I would probably not do any of them.

Well. I am a liar.

So here’s a rambling FFVIIxDoS-esque… thing… (only the barest of FFVII is actually used, really).

—

There is no fate.

Shikako believes this to be true–knows it is true, needs it to be true–because how could she exist, otherwise?

Because, if fate did exist, then what would that make the person who changed it? Either there is no fate, or there is and Shikako has diverted it.

No matter what the civilians think–of her and her teammates who took on bijuu and the human monsters that tried to control them–no matter the whispering she still sometimes hears when she closes her eyes and sees the ghosts of stars in her sleep, she is not a god.

She needs this to be true.

—

Planets change over time: continents shifting and mountains rising and oceans receding. Shikako knows that once the Land of Fire was more volcanoes than forest, Land of Wind was not always a desert, and even the continent of the Elemental Nations was not configured eons ago the way it is now.

She knows this from the past and so it is no surprise that something holds over from it. Mostly, the disbelief that humans existed before the planet had rearranged itself.

The Book of Gelel is old, the Empire of Gelel existing even before the Sage of the Six Paths which is–in the eyes of shinobi history, a very long time indeed–but the book speaks of even older civilizations who themselves revered an ancient race as gods.

Or, rather, goddess. One who saved the world from famine and war and pestilence and death.

—

Even if she were willing to ask the question, the only two jinchuuriki with whom she would be comfortable with asking are themselves not close enough to their bijuu to ask. Not with Shukaku gone insane in captivity and Kurama still so bitter and angry from being passed down like a family heirloom. Or a slave.

No, Shikako cannot ask Gaara or Naruto to pass on the question, and so there is no way she can get the answer.

It’s not as if she can ask Shukaku and Kurama directly.

And anyway, she doesn’t really need them to tell her about Kaguya Otsutsuki. Not when the whispers in her sleep already speak of that mistake and their redemption through Shikako.

—

Shikako learns how to be a sage not from the deer summons–who themselves do not have the knowledge–or from Jiraiya–who has an obligation to Naruto above anyone else–or even from the Fire Temples as suggested.

No, as with many things, Shikako learns from a book.

Well, a book and a stone.

—

Sometimes the whispers follow Shikako when she is awake, but only as flashes of thought. Nothing that would distract her during battle or put pressure on her already busy mind.

No, there is danger in offering too much all at once. They have learned that lesson the hard way.

But sometimes, Shikako will catch sight of her teammates, hear that flicker of thought, and wonder at the incongruity. Because no one would look at Team Seven and single out Sasuke as chaos. And only those who have not spoken to Naruto could ever consider him a weapon.

Kakashi is dangerous, yes, but never to her–and yet the whispers turn into a brief scream of fear and calamity.

It is better if she does not look.

—

Here is the problem with stories: they are only ever a possibility. There is no real ending in life and so stories, with such a brief glimpse into a world, cannot contain the entire truth.

Stories can be lies, and vice versa.

Stories can also be lessons.

Like an object in motion, at any given point in time, either its velocity or its position can be observed. But not both.

Shikako feels like object and observer and does not know yet what it means.

A/N2: Eeeeeeeeh? Yeah? I dunno?

HERE, TAKE MY THOUGHTS.

edit: now on ao3 as part of the Dreaming One Shots collection here

If you could cross DoS over with one other fandom, what would it be and why?

February 1, 2016 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

OMG! Anon, you do not know how happy this ask made me 😀 … but also, very conflicted. Because–just one? How could I possibly choose? O_O

I guess it depends on how you mean by “crossover.”

Like… the DoS world and a different world are actually the same (via different continents or time travel, perhaps)? Or take the characters of DoS and transplant them into a different world (aka a “fusion” as I call them)? Or even, keeping in mind how many derivative fanfiction of “the second reincarnations of Shikako Nara,” in which world would I choose to have her reincarnate yet again? (Also, I’m assuming you’re not including the canon Naruto world…)

So, just to cover all my bases, I’m going to answer ALL THREE! And three times over at that!

—

1) Crossover worlds (same universe)

In no particular order, the three fandoms I would choose as crossovers are: Star Wars, Final Fantasy VII, and Akagami no Shirayukihime. Why? Well… because in my mind each of them have different ways to be within the same universe–now whether or not that means the characters of DoS actually meet the characters of the other worlds would depend on what kind of story I’m going for.

With Star Wars, at first I thought it would be absolutely thrilling to Shikako to realize that the Naruto world was in the same universe (specifically, the same far far away galaxy) as the movies from which her beloved lightsaber originated. But then the more I thought about it–when in the Star Wars timeline this is, would make Shikako absolutely horrified.

Because it’s one thing to help prevent the (many numerous) excess deaths of certain people–essentially tweaking canon to be a little bit better–but it’s another thing entirely to… let’s say… prevent Anakin Skywalker from turning to the dark side. Not that that’s necessarily the storyline I would go for, but it would up the stress levels to ridiculous levels.

Of course… now that I think about it even more, it’s far more likely that all the shinobi in the Naruto world would be considered Sith which would make the Jedi (or at least, some Jedi) question what exactly is good and evil, etc.

I’m cheating a little bit with the FFVII decision, only because I’ve explored this crossover before in my FFVII series, “Into Thin Air,” with my own SI!OC character Windy Strife, but the reasoning remains the same. There’s something about both fandoms’ mythology which almost resonates with each other and makes it seem like they are the same world but maybe a few millennia apart.

In my “Into Thin Air” series, I have the Naruto world being the distant future of the FFVII world with my SI!OC somehow being summoned and mistaken for a Namikaze. I also greatly hint at Kaguya being a remnant of Jenova. For a DoS crossover, however, I think I would still have FFVII being the past but… I think Kaguya would actually be a sort of failed Ancient 2.0? (For those of you who don’t know–in FFVII there is a race of basically Tolkien’s elves but by the main game, there is only one left aka Aerith and she dies before the game ends so…)

Like… the giant tree with the chakra fruit is meant to be the Planet bestowing Ancient powers onto whomever eats it to restart the Ancient race but the Planet has been showed to be pretty bad at judging things? So it’s no wonder why Kaguya went berserk. It also draws parallels between the bijuu and WEAPONs which, as far as I understood, was the Planet creating giant monsters to defend itself from humanity.

Unsure how exactly Shikako would get involved with this all? I’m thinking most likely Gelel–because that’s the only thing that she would have had that no one else has had access to and which her reincarnation from “our world” doesn’t explain. So the Gelel stones were probably derivatives of materia (FFVII magic stones), and the voices of Gelel speaking to Shikako during her possession were actually probably the original Ancients.

Okay so, now that I type it out, the plot I would most likely go for is that Kaguya was meant to be Ancient 2.0, which backfired horribly, and Shikako gradually becomes Ancient 3.0 via exposure to her Gelel stone. So the Planet is urging Shikako to, basically, clean up their mistake (of Kaguya). Which, she was going to do anyway? But there’s some resistance because Shikako doesn’t appreciate being told what to do 😡

Akagami no Shirayukihime is now an anime! 😀 I primarily know it through the manga–but either way, it’s super cute. For this crossover, I do actually see the characters interacting with each other more directly. The lands/kingdoms mentioned in AnS would probably be a different continent than the Elemental Nations but still the same world and point in time.

Given the lack of world-ending melodrama in AnS, this crossover would probably be the most mild. As in, it would at most be similar to one of the filler episode missions that take up maybe two or three chapters and ends with no one almost dying or grievously injured. Frankly, the shinobi are just too strong for it to be a matter of battling between the two worlds, so the crossover plot would probably be something more political.

—

2) Fusion worlds (transplanted characters)

In no particular order, the three fandoms I would choose as fusions are: Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Harry Potter, and the DC universe. Mostly because they aren’t as compatible as the previous three fandoms with the Naruto world, but I do like the world structures inherent or at least implied in each.

So KHR is about a “normal kid” who turns out to be heir to a mafia famiglia in a world where organized crime also sort of has magic “Flames” based on the rainbow? Sort of. With this one, I would actually consider doing both a fusion and a crossover–in the sense that the characters of DoS are transplanted into the KHR world but they also get to meet the KHR characters. I think I’ve seen a fanart which kind of… let me see if I can find it… HERE IT IS! OMG, it’s been many a moon since I’ve seen this, but the bare bones of the idea still fits. The KHR characters would make a cameo but they wouldn’t necessarily be vital to the story line so…

So Tsuna, the main character of KHR, is the Juudaime of the Vongola Famiglia and I would have the DoS characters be yakuza members–in that similarly odd way that the mafia works in this world. Probably the Hokage position (and doesn’t that name work well given the magical Flames) is not actually the head of the yakuza so much as a Champion?

I guess it would be… the Clans of Konoha are actually separate yakuza clans, but they are all subject to the Hokage. Except there isn’t always a Hokage? Like… there are a series of challenges which a person must undergo in order to become Hokage–and each one corresponds a different Flame type/clan. Obviously, Naruto’s goal is to become the next Hokage and the various Konoha Twelve are his Guardians.

The Harry Potter series, as most everyone knows, is a fascinating world which is hindered by the titular character’s lack of knowledge of the world. While I have done a series of character analyses for which DoS characters would go in which Hogwarts House, I wouldn’t actually put them in Hogwarts. Given that… well… they are not British so why would they? And this would be an interesting exercise in adapting the Naruto world into the HP world.

Right off the bat, you have who are “pure-bloods” and “muggle-borns” being clan members versus non-clan. You can actually go further and do something like… Neji is a half-blood while Hinata is a pure-blood which makes his skill all the more damning for her. I dunno, something like that. I’m not sure what the storyline would be here, though? Beyond just, again, adapting the DoS/Naruto plot into the HP world.

DC universe, again, is an interesting world that suffers from its US-centric POV. Mostly it’s just an excuse for superpower AU which, again, would be fun to adapt. Take the clan specialties and crank them up into full-blown superpowers.

Actually, the plot for this one comes easier to me–probably something like… the Konoha Twelve have to form a sort of Teen Titans to take down Orochimaru/Akatsuki/Madara. Or… maybe something like… Ra’s al Ghul takes one of the Big Bad’s place and you get some character crossover from DC as well–most likely Tim Drake (because he’s my favorite) and the other Bat family. OR maybe the League of Assassins aren’t just nameless cannon fodder and are in fact the shinobi of Konoha, but some members (basically, the Konoha Twelve) rebel against him–basically taking Danzo’s place?

Hm…

—

3) Reincarnated worlds

In no particular order, the three fandoms I would choose for Shikako’s second reincarnation are: the Tolkien universe, A Song of Ice and Fire (the Game of Thrones books, not the TV series), and… hm… it’s actually a bit of a toss up between Pokemon and Inuyasha. This is going with the same sort of set up of other recursive fanfiction in which Shikako has been reincarnated, yet again, into a different world by herself and a strange mixture of trauma and yearning for the DoS world. These worlds, though completely different from each other, all have an almost alien sociocultural mindset that forces Shikako to get some closure in one way or another.

Tolkien straight up has humanity not even the most important sentient race in his universe–hobbits are apparently where it’s at. Which I would actually have Shikako be–and, trying to hold on to her DoS roots, she’d try to be some kind of deer herder. Odd, but not that bad since she’d probably be a Brandybuck or a Took… or maybe a Proudfoot? I don’t think any of the LotR hobbits are from the Proudfoot clan and I wouldn’t want to overlap much… Either way, one of the genteel families so she’s forgiven for being a bit odd.

Of course, then Gandalf comes along and either whisks away Bilbo Baggins or Frodo, Samwise, Merry, and Pippin and she’s just like: “No, these hobbits have no idea what kind of madness lays in store for them–I can’t let this happen,” and she goes along with them.

In Tolkien universe, regardless of which fellowship she’s part of, Shikako slowly integrates herself into the group and finally… not lets go of her DoS life, but comes to accept the loss.

ASoIaF will go in the complete opposite direction–I mean, the Tolkien one would still require Shikako to use her shinobi skills, but she is very much so just acting as a bodyguard for her fellow hobbits–here she has to actively embrace her ruthless side. Not even necessarily her training as a ninja but the constant lying by omission; she has to use every bit of her DoS earned cunning to not only survive but enact justice for her Family. Because, let’s be real, she’d be a Baratheon. Not sure which Baratheon, but definitely a Baratheon.

I’m actually guessing she’d be one of Robert’s bastards but, like Edric Storm, a noble-born, and definitely one of the older ones–maybe around Gendry’s age… Like–Cersei would definitely want to keep an eye on her as the oldest Baratheon noble born heir, but not necessarily consider her a valid threat. Unsure if she’d be in King’s Landing or not (and held semi-hostage like Sansa) or, instead, sent to the Westerlands or… actually. That might be best? Because then it’d be hilarious if Shikako has to rely on the Iron Island pirates to get her out of there.

ASoIaF will definitely make her miss DoS even more–especially the relationships she made, her family and her teammates and her friends–but she also has to let go of those memories not out of any healthy reason but sort of out of shame. Because she’s no longer the “Shikako Nara” that those precious people of hers knew and loved–she’s a Baratheon, and she’s playing the Game of Thrones (the thing is, she doesn’t even want to be queen–she just doesn’t want the Lannisters to win).

Pokemon and Inuyasha, despite being very different worlds, both have a wishing component. In either world, Shikako is trying to find the wishing component in hopes to return to her DoS life. Obviously, that’s not how it turns out in either world, but that’s what she aims for at first. In both she starts off very much so as an animal preferring loner–much like in her Tolkien incarnation–it’s not that she’s bad at human interaction it’s just that, in her mind, she doesn’t want anyone to erase her past relationships.

In Pokemon she’s known as a legendary hunter (not in a hunt and kill way, but more like a storm chasing way) and she contracts with the laboratories. Unsurprisingly she runs into Ash/Satoshi (because I’m pretty sure he has literally met every single legendary) and ~somehow~ realizes that she can’t really go back. She can only go forward. (Or probably even Pokemon who are gods in this world can’t reverse reincarnation).

In Inuyasha… well. Frankly, I’d like her to have been reincarnated into the “present day” and think it’s just the normal world, then be completely blindsided by the Feudal Era demon nonsense, but I guess that takes away from Kagome’s story. I’m unsure, then, who Shikako should be instead. But regardless, she wants the Shikon no Tama, actually realizes that it’s more ofa monkey’s paw than a legit wishing tool, and commits to helping the group take down Naraku (and doesn’t his name offend her).

A/N: Anon, I hope this giant sprawling mess was entertaining for you. It certainly was fun for me–it took me several hours, hence why it’s after midnight.

Dialectic (The Eros and Psyche Remix), part 1/? (2015-07-20)

July 21, 2015 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

“You can just pretend it never happened,” said Aerith, thoughtful look on her face… But he couldn’t.

What he could do, however, was push it to the back of his mind. He had other things to occupy his time and thoughts; such as preparing Radiant Garden for its grand opening.

His past experience with the delivery service was not as helpful with running Midgar’s first plant nursery as he would have hoped. There was more to gardening than throwing seeds in the dirt and hoping for the best, and with the taint of mako in soil, it was all the more difficult. Moreover, except for the few species of miraculous flowers that Aerith had in her church, nearly everything had to be imported from places beyond the city.

Thankfully, the expenses were covered by ShinRa–the next big project of the Urban Development Department. Reeve, unfortunately, had quite the black thumb and couldn’t do much but fling money and greenhouse designs at Cloud, but his enthusiasm was still obvious. In contrast, Elmyra was a great help with the hands-on aspects, having helped her daughter on occasion.

Aerith would have been the most help, but she had her plate full. Cloud still could hardly believe it: Aerith Gainsborough, Head of the Science Research Department, the position Hojo had once held and used to experiment and torture both of them. The only thing more unbelievable than that would be if Aerith were married to Rufus Shinra–which, actually, was a possibility if Aerith didn’t win their bet. She had one year to increase revenue by fifteen percent by providing an alternate energy source to mako. She certainly had her work cut out for her. If anything, the few times she was able to appear in Radiant Garden, Aerith spent most of the visit napping amongst the seedlings, soothed by their natural presence. Although, that in itself was helpful, the buds’ growth rate improved in the presence of the last Cetra.

And so for a while, distracted by concern over soil samples and seedling imports and greenhouse designs and irrigation systems and Aerith’s ongoing science rivalry/business courtship with Rufus Shinra of all people, Cloud could honestly say that as the days passed, Sephiroth never once appeared in his thoughts.

(The nights were a different matter entirely)

A/N: Some explanation necessary–this fic is a remix/sequel to linggan’s Dialectic which is itself an epilogue fic for their Juxtaposition series. Highly recommended reading. It’s a very beautifully concise story and doesn’t require you to remember every single little detail of FFVII in order to enjoy it. Go read it, seriously.

If you don’t want to, but are for some reason reading this, the fic basically (VERY basically) is a time travel fic in which Cloud somehow becomes Sephiroth’s secretary and accidentally and so subtly changes Sephiroth’s and Aerith’s lives that they save the world… kind of on accident. The drabble above is kind of reiterating what happens at the end of Dialectic (or the parts of the end that I don’t want to remix), and will probably do so for the next part at the least before getting into my modifications.

In a sentence: this drabble series is about the awkward antisocial romance between gardener!Cloud and baker!Sephiroth with added Aerith world-conquering shenanigans. For a more detailed (if, somewhat unreadable due to being a giant stream-of-conscious-brainstorm) outline, you can check out my lj post here.

By the way, linggan, I mean no offense by this drabble series. If you would like me to take this down, however, please let me know and I will do so immediately.

Into Thin Air x Naruto drabble (2015-07-14)

July 15, 2015 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Windy and Cloud Strife.

She was always an adjective–clever, skillful, ruthless, transient–and it was all fine. Fine, another adjective. It was good enough, she was good enough. Her brother, well, he may not have been as clever, as skillful, but he had big dreams and a heart of gold. He wasn’t an adjective, he was a noun. He could be a hero. She could be helpful, but fleeting.

That’s just the way it had always been.

—

Zie learns, much much later, after the significance of the name Namikaze, that sealing–fuinjutsu–is not a common skill. In fact, the talent to not only wield it effectively, but to understand it, is very rare.

The last person to gain the title of Fuinjutsu master was also the last person to use the name Namikaze.

It’s not something zie actively takes advantage of, but it certainly is a nice bonus.

The problem, or perhaps, the opportunity arises, because as far as Windy can tell, seals use the same writing system as normal text. Arranged in specific ways, yes, but still just normal text.

Code-breaking zie knows, taught by the Turks, coding as well. Sealing is simply both, zie concludes, where the symbols are adapted Wutaian.

But zie thinks it’s a common skill. Zie sees a lot of the shinobi using tags and scrolls with seals–to explode, to contain, to summon–even low ranking ones. So zie thinks it’s normal.

Windy masters fuinjutsu before zie becomes fluent in the spoken language.

A/N: Hahahaha… I have no idea. I guess it’s all my SI!OCs nostalgia feels coming up. So here’s some Windy Strife. Still don’t actually want to write a crossover with Naruto because of my consistent and persistent belief that the language barrier will remain. And that’s always so tricky and frustrating to read and write both. Buuuut I seem to be fond of it despite that? Who knows…

Into Thin Air drabble (2015-06-18)

June 19, 2015 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

“You think I didn’t grieve for you?” Windy spits at her stupid brother, so small and so trusting of everyone else except for her, “You think just because I’m wearing this suit, because I didn’t choose to start bombing random buildings, that I don’t love you? That I stopped being your sister?” She hates that they even have to have this conversation, but she hates that they’re having this out in front of fucking Lockheart and the rest of the ragtag band of AVALANCHE terrorists even more.

Cloud says nothing. Because he’s always been taciturn and shy but in this case it’s probably because to him Windy’s just some stranger with a similar face. Worse, a ShinRa stooge with a similar face. As far as he’s concerned, he doesn’t owe her anything.

Windy shakes off that thought, straightens his back, and continues his tirade, “You are my brother, Cloud. You will always be my brother. I have always tried to help you. Even now. Even now when you don’t remember who you even are, much less who I am. When you think of me as an enemy. I don’t need you to like me back, and I don’t need you to love me back, and that fucking,” zie chokes out, voice thick in hir throat, “It fucking tears at me, okay? But that doesn’t mean I won’t help you.”

Zie’s trying not to cry, but is obviously failing spectacularly because zie can feel the twin trails of wetness on her cheeks. In her peripheral vision, blurred as it by her tears, she can see the rest of AVALANCHE shift uncomfortably but remain in their watching. His hand, bereft of his bow, clenches compulsively around empty air.

And still Cloud says nothing.

“We’re the Strife twins. We were the pariahs of Nibelheim and we traveled half the world to go try out for SOLDIER and fail out because they’re sexist prigs and you had more heart than skill and I helped you through all of that. And I’m sorry I wasn’t there when General Sephiroth went mad and burned our shitty hometown to the ground and nearly killed you, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there when that asshole Hojo faked your death and spent the last four years experimenting on you, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you were apparently wandering around in a catatonic state for anyone,” zie pointedly does not look at Lockheart, “to pick up and indoctrinate. But I’m here now, okay? And if you want to blow up my employer’s property then I will help you do that. If you want to kill Hojo, I will more than gladly help you do that. So please–”

“Windy,” Cloud finally says, brow furrowed.

“What?” Zie responds immediately, both in confusion and for clarification.

“Your name is Windy. Not Winter.”

“Yes…”

“Not Wind, either.”

“Okay?”

“Cloud and Windy Strife,” he adds, unhelpfully.

“Excuse you, it’s Windy and Cloud Strife. I’m older,” she argues automatically, before biting off whatever else she was going to say because…

Cloud steps closer, hand outstretched. Zie freezes, eyes opened wide, as he carefully brushes away hir tears.

It’s not very comfortable, the fabric of his gloves rough against hir face, and it’s not very effective either because it’s still obvious that zie had been crying, but it’s the thought that counts.

A/N: I haven’t actually played the game so I don’t know shit. That being said, I personally don’t hate Tifa. I just think that Windy, having grown up in Nibelheim alongside Cloud and Tifa would not like Tifa very much as a kid and then especially not after her honest misunderstanding basically brainwashed Cloud.

Into Thin Air x Naruto drabble, part two (2015-06-15)

June 16, 2015 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

The same week that Windy meets hir erstwhile… nephew… they are situated in a new two bedroom apartment situated on all sides by ninja, three of whom are pretending to be civilians. Zie doesn’t mind it too terribly, and it’s not the worst situation zie will find hirself in in this strange future world.

(Approximately four years later, Windy is screaming, to the utter surprise of not only Konoha and their allies, but also their enemies because, “FUCKING JENOVA? AGAIN?! FUCK THIS SHIT!”)

Sharing domestic space with what amounts to a total stranger isn’t new. At the very least it’s a stationary home base with a non-hostile person, which is more than could be said for hir previous attempts at co-habitation, and, while still a teenage boy in all that entails, Naruto is decent at keeping things tidy even if they’re not necessarily clean. Also, it’s not a barracks full of nine teenage boys. After that? One is a cake walk.

The language barrier, however, continues to be an issue. It doesn’t help that Naruto, apparently, isn’t a very concise speaker and his hand writing is awful. But facial expressions and body language and tone of voice are effective enough communicators, and zie was a Turk so… Windy makes do.

Windy spends most of hir time shadowing hir nephew, trying not to cringe every time the slouching not-Sephiroth looks in hir direction, inwardly laughing at how fluffy and disgruntled the tiny Valentine look-alike is, and pondering which of hir past acquaintances would best fit the pink-haired girl. Zie regrets it when zie considers it might be Lockheart, because Lockheart has always hated hir. A mutual hatred, of course, but it sucks that the memory taints hir perception of someone who is clearly an important person in hir nephew’s life.

When not doing that, or when zie finally gets bored of that, Windy tries to figure out how this strange future world works. All of the ninja seem to have the physical prowess somewhere between a normal human and a SOLDIER, even the younger ones would be a match for a Turk at peak health. Physically, that is.

But hir nephew’s martial arts style, if it can even be called such a thing, is shoddy at best. Such a thing could get him killed, so zie does hir best to correct it… by occasionally pummeling him into the ground. It reminds Windy of hir brother, really.

On top of superior strength and speed, the ninja can use magic without materia. But it varies, not only between ranks, but between individuals of the same rank. Not everyone has the same magical skills, but theoretically everyone could use the same jutsu.

Zie’s lucky the old man didn’t see fit to take hir materia, shiny and obvious as they are. It gives hir a semblance of a fighting chance. And zie means that literally.

A/N: Ugh, I know I said I wasn’t going to continue this… but it just popped into my head and I thought I might as well. Tbh, I mostly just wanted Windy to freak out about the Jenova – Kaguya similarities but didn’t want to actually write that far, hence the flash forward.

Into Thin Air x Naruto drabble (2015-05-27)

May 28, 2015 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes?

Well, zie can’t deny it–the kid would be a shoe-in for Nibelheim’s most infamous siblings. And vice versa apparently.

Hir grasp of the Wutaian language is shaky to passable; on top of that, what the people speak here isn’t quite the same. More like a distant relative. Or descendant.

The kid is staring at hir with wide hopeful eyes, somehow more painfully earnest than hir brother during his most naive moments. He hasn’t looked away from hir since he and his team entered the room.

It’s fair, since zie keeps hir own gaze darting around, only briefly landing on him before moving on.

The old man next to hir plays at being feeble and soft, but zie knows better. Zie would be defeated quite soundly if it came to it. And that’s not including the two hidden guards, or the silver-haired man slouching against the wall.

Zie tries not to shudder in apprehension. It’s the same color as General Sephiroth’s hair, though far more unruly. He might be a clone. Zie can’t tell, due to the mask and strange slanted headband. It wouldn’t be a surprise, considering the Strife look alike.

Perhaps this is all a hallucination, or a fever dream. Aren’t dreams supposed to take faces and images from real life?

The stoic black haired boy might as well be a young Vincent in blue instead of red.

But that wouldn’t make any sense. Because as far as zie remembers, zie’s dead. Dead dead dead dead dead.

And not ever coming back.

That’s what happens when you get stabbed through the heart by a sword taller than you.

But…

No. Dead.

But zie did die in the Forgotten Capital of the Ancients. In place of the Last Ancient. Surely…

The old man says something to the kid, which somehow makes his stare even more intense. The lone visible eye of the masked clone widens slightly.

So something… significant, but not dangerous. The pink-haired girl, at least, hasn’t given hir more than a passing glance. A mildly shocked look, before fading away into polite disinterest.

The old man then says something to hir. Which zie doesn’t understand why, considering they’ve already hit up against a serious language barrier.

But he writes down something, and while the oral language is an effort in futility, the written language at least is comprehensible.

Name.

He passes the pen over to hir, a prompt for hir to answer.

There is no reason to lie. So zie doesn’t.

Namikaze, zie learned long ago, is written with the kanji for waves and wind. But a more poetic interpretation of the name is strife. It’s easy enough to remember, and convenient, as it encompasses hir full born name.

Namikaze, zie later learns, is the name of a dead hero.

A hero with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

A/N: Yet another terrible crossover with and OC. This time, my genderfluid twin sibling of Cloud Strife, aka Windy Strife aka Winter the Turk aka many other things, wakes up in the world of Naruto after hir death (which… spoilers?… I was going to have hir die trying to protect Aerith from Sephiroth).

I don’t really have a cohesive outline/plot for this. It was a random idea I had when I was at work and then I had to wait until I got home to type it out so it’s a bit haphazard than I would normally do.

Don’t think I’m going to continue this, anyway, since the whole language barrier thing would get really annoying and unwieldy pretty early in.

Into Thin Air drabble (2015-05-19)

May 20, 2015 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

It’s a miserable situation for all involved. He with untrustworthy memories and contradictory stories. She with a dead hometown and the trauma of having survived. And zie with an amnesiac brother, a hateful childhood tormentor whispering in his ear, and stuck with an entire troop of terrorists working against hir employer

Well, at least they haven’t killed hir yet. But Winter the Turk certainly doesn’t have any friends amongst AVALANCHE, and hir allies number in two: said amnesiac brother and the Ancient that ran away from home under hir watch.

If AVALANCHE isn’t the one that kills hir, then ShinRa will certainly be eager to step up on that front.

But perhaps zie can make the argument that technically hir orders were to safeguard Miss Gainsborough. If she happens to throw her lot in with a group of terrorists then it’s only right for Winter, as her Turk bodyguard, to ensure that she comes to no harm during her… endeavors.

Ugh. As soon as the going gets tough, Windy will be the first left behind, or killed because of paranoia. If zie had to choose, zie’d want it to be in the line of duty, would want it to be hir choice.

But until then, Winter the Turk gets to be the disliked member of this little gang–lingering around like an unwanted reminder or a bad smell.

Perhaps the only one to not look at Windy with hate of varying levels would be Valentine. It makes sense, though, that an stoic ex-Turk gunner would be the most… sympathetic towards a silent current-Turk archer. If his placid apathy could be considered sympathy. But Valentine himself is accepted amongst the group where zie is not. An ex-Turk killed and experimented on is much different than one who still wears the blue suit.

This sucks.

A/N: Having some Windy feels… haven’t actually played enough FFVII to know what happens when so I’ve kept everything vague on purpose.

Some background: Windy Strife is, yes, my OC. Specifically, a gender-fluid twin sibling of Cloud who–once it came out that she was biologically female–was kicked out of the SOLDIER trials and joined the Turks instead. For more drabbles in this universe either follow the Windy Strife tag or the Into Thin Air tag.

Into Thin Air (2015-05-04)

May 5, 2015 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Windy’s seventh training mission in Midgar coincides with hir first time meeting Don Corneo. It’s part of the reason why Cloud will end up needing to cross-dress in the future. Zie will never tell him.

The mission didn’t actually involve Don Corneo, that’s just the way it turned out. It didn’t need Windy to assume an identity either, but it was one of the things which had appealed to the Turks for her recruitment. Which was why, for that mission, Windy was going by the name Wayne.

The mission started simple–establish a contact in the Honey Bee Inn–but in the way that, apparently, both Strife twins’ lives worked even minor tasks were needlessly complicated. Most of the brothel girls were very kind, but sex workers don’t give favors out for free.

Thankfully, Wayne was a very accommodating young man, whose open country-boy face prompted people to be generous in turn. And so the girls would ask him to complete little tasks in exchange for information. A delivery here, a purchase there–little things which sent Wayne running throughout the different sectors.

It was easy work, nothing which required him to break character, and it helped Windy form a mental map of the slums. Being from Nibelheim was a disadvantage when so much of ShinRa’s activities were in cities. She had a lot of catching up to do.

Though undemanding, Windy’s seventh mission was tedious, and ended up taking almost two weeks. While Turk training missions didn’t necessarily have a deadline, surely hir speed, or lack thereof, was a poor showing for a Turk recruit. Zie needed to step up hir game. Wayne needed to meet the Inn’s Madame; he needed to meet the Queen.

A/N: … I was going to continue… basically, the Queen would give Windy/Wayne an “impossible” task aka something to do with Don Corneo. Which Windy would complete, and which would make the Queen hir contact.

And which ends up impressing the Turk recruiters, etc. etc. The reason why Cloud can’t be a guy around Don Corneo (besides the whole… only women allowed thing) is because he’ll look too much like a younger Windy cross-dressing as Wayne (Windy was taller/bigger than Cloud). Whom Don Corneo has a grudge against.

Word Prompts (O20): Ozone

April 30, 2015 jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Windy’s first mission outside of Midgar heralds hir first time in a helicopter. It is not a fun experience.

“Oh Hel, why,” Windy groans, fingers pale with how desperately he is grabbing at the fabric of his uniform trousers trying not to puke. His hair, as always, is an absolute loss, whipping about in bright blonde curls.

Reno, that ass, brays with laughter, smacks hir shoulder and shouts, “Better get used to it, rookie. This is how Turks travel in style!”

Rude, while not as obnoxious as his partner, still manages to give off a vibe of smug superiority.

This mission, unlike all of WIndy’s previous missions, actually matters. It’s why there are a pair of actual Turks accompanying her. Or, rather, why she is accompanying them. If Windy performs well enough on this mission, she’ll finally be officially accepted into the Turks. Instead of a trainee running errands all around Midgar.

“Beginning descent,” Knife warns before, suddenly, the helicopter ride gets worse by plummeting a hundreds of feet. Probably not really, but it might as well, going by the increase in Windy’s nausea. Her Turk mentor does not believe in coddling.

When they finally land on solid ground, Windy can proudly say that he did not embarrass himself by a) puking or b) dropping to the ground in gratitude and weak knees. Unfortunately, Windy’s hair is a mess and his incessant clutching has wrinkled the new Turk uniform he was given just this morning.

In comparison to Rude and Knife’s immaculate suits, and Reno’s roguish yet tasteful casualness, Windy’s dishevelment is noticeable and… a little shameful. Quickly zie runs her hands through hir hair, wincing but silently pulling it through tangles, and pats down the wrinkles in the midnight blue fabric as best as zie can.

The senior Turks are obligingly patient as she does this, though they are far more amused than he’d prefer.

“Today we’re checking in on some… suspicious activity in the Fort Condor generator. Someone is either willfully or ignorantly fucking up and we need to find out who, and we need to stop this.” Knife barely explains before leading their small but deadly group of four towards the ShinRa generator.

In the distance, Windy can see the townspeople staring at them. Ahead of them, the troopers stationed at the entrance visibly straighten their posture.

Looking at them makes her wonder how her brother is doing… but that just reminds Windy of the last time they saw each other and their less than amicable parting. The Strife brothers were as different as twins could have been; even their fellow cadets knew that Wind would have made an excellent SOLDIER. Cloud? Not so much. Too bad it was all a lie.

The trooper’s gazes are tinged with more fear than the admiration that would have been aimed at a SOLDIER, but Turks get respect too.

Windy hopes zie doesn’t fuck this up.

A/N: I’m more fond of Windy than I think I can justify… and yes, I purposefully mixed up pronouns because Windy really does think of hirself as different genders depending on what zie is doing or thinking.

And yet another drabble which doesn’t include the actual prompt word.