[It might not be very reassuring, the way that draws startled laughter out of Angeal. It doesn't last long though.]
I, erm. I can't say I know anything of the exploits of the man he is today, but as I understand it, he's in a relationship with someone currently! I'm .. hm, I honestly don't know if anyone qualifies currently as what he might call a friend in the way I'd usually define it.
[Does Angeal approve of Sephiroth growing a relationship? Yep. Is he fine with it being Cloud? Also yep. He might be missing some details of why this might be problematic.]
Prickly, huh?
[Not to him! Not yet!]
...I was, yes. For many years. He was and always will be very important to me, even if he doesn't remember it himself.
He just needs a little encouragement. A little teasing and pushing can't hurt.
[Maybe it'd even help. Once upon a time he'd have been relentless in doing just that, but then..]
We met when we were teenagers, and were friends, I think, until my death. The man he was then is not the man he is now, and it's unwise to pursue it too closely. He deserves a life as he is, without being haunted by a past he won't enjoy.
[Which is putting it MILDLY, after the things Shinra had done.]
But I'm afraid to say he hadn't exactly had a lot of romance beforehand either! So that's one similarity. He just.. wasn't interested. Women and men would certainly throw themselves at him, but none of them ever caught his interest. Shinra would arrange 'dates' to look good for photo ops, but that's about it.
[He hums thoughtfully.]
I guess it's why I'm so thrilled he's interested in Cloud. First person he's ever been keen on romantically, I think.
It's Cloud's first real romance too, isn't it? A lot of first loves don't last, but I don't want to ring the death bell before they've even gotten off the ground. They both have a lot to overcome.
Not everyone matures at the same rate, he seems about right for someone his age to me. Maybe.. a bit less stupidly reckless while trying to impress his friends than expected.
[Angeal spent years around adolescent SOLDIERs, his sense of what is normal is badly warped.]
The... catatonia spells aren't really a surprise, if it's any reassurance. It's not my medical history to tell, but as long as he keeps pulling back out of them, it should be alright.
[He sounds extremely confident in that. But explaining why.. not as likely.]
His closeness with his friends will help if it happens again.
[By degrees his tone turns thoughtful.]
Is this really about Sephiroth's experience, or are you worried about someone, anyone taking advantage of Cloud? Maybe even someone he likes?
It's true. Maybe it's just because he seems more...I don't know. Like the teenagers? Though, it's true that I haven't seen him do something real stupid like a teen would.
[Like a hot sauce challenge or cliff diving or something.]
Angeal...I'm not going to ask his medical history. Or his story. But the fact is...depending on what's up, he might not one day.
I'd hate it if someone felt they had to give him mercy. He seems...decent. But if his friends can pull him back- all the better.
...you know...it could be a little of both. And I'm worried about Sephiroth not being able to handle...well, if things go badly, one way or another with Cloud.
Not because Cloud can't handle it. The reason I was asking about his romantic experience is that- well.
I was a bit of a late bloomer myself, romance-wise. And I know, for me? Rejection, fights, all of it can wreck you if you never learned how to handle it.
So he'd be about right then, somewhere between adult and teenager..? I can't judge based on what other worlds are like, I admit.
[There's a lot he could say. That it's a miracle Cloud can string two words together. That it's possible he'll relapse and never come out of it at all, thanks to it being a miracle he ever did in the first place.
What he thinks about Sephiroth's views on Cloud. What he thinks will happen if things go badly.
He doesn't. Though the rest of the reply takes a while to come up with, implying he's at least thinking about a lot of SOMETHING.]
I think it'd always wreck someone.. and the first can be hardest. But I can say with certainty that if Sephiroth is anything like he used to be, then Cloud is never going to be safer than when Sephiroth is with him. His loyalty, once given, was absolute.
[The sound of a slow exhale, almost a sigh.]
All his life he's been expected to fight and kill when told to. He was very good at it. But now, this place has given him something to protect for the first time. I think it'll do him good. Maybe even be the key to getting off the ship.
Ah, Young Adult. I mean, my view is kinda skewed because I'm old, si.
[She chuckles quietly. She'd only worry more for Cloud if she knew how vulnerable he had been the past few years.
She's quiet for a minute or two, thinking of what Angeal said.]
A killing tool, huh. And one likely fawned over in the public eye, touched and expected to be little more than a doll, perhaps.
[She hums.]
I appreciate your candor, especially since this came out of nowhere. Thank you Angeal. I hope...him making the choice will make a difference for him, in the long run.
Cloud's a good guy. I know he is. And Sephiroth ... used to be. One of the best. I'm a little biased in hoping maybe Cloud can bring the best out in him again.
[Not that kind of a relationship.. but one that should have lasted a lifetime anyway. He sounds cheerful enough about it.
But Genesis is gone, and Sephiroth doesn't remember. It's shaken off quickly before it can become melancholy.]
I don't think Seph's had a reason, since coming here, to bother to try. He's got a reason now. We all need something to motivate us, you know? I'll be rooting for both of them, either way. If nothing else comes out of his boat trip, maybe at the end of it they'll still have that.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Voice
Date: 2025-03-20 06:54 pm (UTC)He said that I can ask you about his past experiences on romance and friendship?
no subject
Date: 2025-03-20 07:26 pm (UTC)I, erm. I can't say I know anything of the exploits of the man he is today, but as I understand it, he's in a relationship with someone currently! I'm .. hm, I honestly don't know if anyone qualifies currently as what he might call a friend in the way I'd usually define it.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-20 07:35 pm (UTC)He's very prickly and cute.
[She was very fond as she said it.]
But- we're you, by definition, friends with him in the past? If you don't mind me asking.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-20 08:07 pm (UTC)Prickly, huh?
[Not to him! Not yet!]
...I was, yes. For many years. He was and always will be very important to me, even if he doesn't remember it himself.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-21 03:30 am (UTC)Then again, he's shy.
[Maybe Angeal has a shortcut to getting a soft Cloud? Who knows!]
You and Sephiroth...did you grow up together? Would you mind- what was he like?
He didn't seem to understand romantic relationships currently.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-21 08:28 pm (UTC)[Maybe it'd even help. Once upon a time he'd have been relentless in doing just that, but then..]
We met when we were teenagers, and were friends, I think, until my death. The man he was then is not the man he is now, and it's unwise to pursue it too closely. He deserves a life as he is, without being haunted by a past he won't enjoy.
[Which is putting it MILDLY, after the things Shinra had done.]
But I'm afraid to say he hadn't exactly had a lot of romance beforehand either! So that's one similarity. He just.. wasn't interested. Women and men would certainly throw themselves at him, but none of them ever caught his interest. Shinra would arrange 'dates' to look good for photo ops, but that's about it.
[He hums thoughtfully.]
I guess it's why I'm so thrilled he's interested in Cloud. First person he's ever been keen on romantically, I think.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-21 09:07 pm (UTC)[Some of the pieces are slipping in. She listens quietly. Aren't they all haunted by their past. She's here to help him with his future at least.]
And I was worried for him- and for Cloud. Sephiroth mentioned that he used Cloud as a tether, spiritually back home.
And while I'm glad that they're happy...
I do wonder if this could be a problem- for both of them.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-21 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-03-21 10:07 pm (UTC)And also not doing well as he's pretending. I don't know if you know this but...when I met him, he was having catatonic spells.
Yes, it was the Amnesia potion that triggered it, but a lot of people who underwent it functioned normally after.
That's really, really bad.
He doesn't know I'm a doctor, and I weirded him out but...I really just hope he and Sephiroth will be...okay.
First love or forever love or puppy love.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-22 12:06 am (UTC)[Angeal spent years around adolescent SOLDIERs, his sense of what is normal is badly warped.]
The... catatonia spells aren't really a surprise, if it's any reassurance. It's not my medical history to tell, but as long as he keeps pulling back out of them, it should be alright.
[He sounds extremely confident in that. But explaining why.. not as likely.]
His closeness with his friends will help if it happens again.
[By degrees his tone turns thoughtful.]
Is this really about Sephiroth's experience, or are you worried about someone, anyone taking advantage of Cloud? Maybe even someone he likes?
no subject
Date: 2025-03-22 12:51 am (UTC)[Like a hot sauce challenge or cliff diving or something.]
Angeal...I'm not going to ask his medical history. Or his story. But the fact is...depending on what's up, he might not one day.
I'd hate it if someone felt they had to give him mercy. He seems...decent. But if his friends can pull him back- all the better.
...you know...it could be a little of both. And I'm worried about Sephiroth not being able to handle...well, if things go badly, one way or another with Cloud.
Not because Cloud can't handle it. The reason I was asking about his romantic experience is that- well.
I was a bit of a late bloomer myself, romance-wise. And I know, for me? Rejection, fights, all of it can wreck you if you never learned how to handle it.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-22 05:50 pm (UTC)So he'd be about right then, somewhere between adult and teenager..? I can't judge based on what other worlds are like, I admit.
[There's a lot he could say. That it's a miracle Cloud can string two words together. That it's possible he'll relapse and never come out of it at all, thanks to it being a miracle he ever did in the first place.
What he thinks about Sephiroth's views on Cloud. What he thinks will happen if things go badly.
He doesn't. Though the rest of the reply takes a while to come up with, implying he's at least thinking about a lot of SOMETHING.]
I think it'd always wreck someone.. and the first can be hardest. But I can say with certainty that if Sephiroth is anything like he used to be, then Cloud is never going to be safer than when Sephiroth is with him. His loyalty, once given, was absolute.
[The sound of a slow exhale, almost a sigh.]
All his life he's been expected to fight and kill when told to. He was very good at it. But now, this place has given him something to protect for the first time. I think it'll do him good. Maybe even be the key to getting off the ship.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-24 02:28 am (UTC)[She chuckles quietly. She'd only worry more for Cloud if she knew how vulnerable he had been the past few years.
She's quiet for a minute or two, thinking of what Angeal said.]
A killing tool, huh. And one likely fawned over in the public eye, touched and expected to be little more than a doll, perhaps.
[She hums.]
I appreciate your candor, especially since this came out of nowhere. Thank you Angeal. I hope...him making the choice will make a difference for him, in the long run.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-04 03:27 pm (UTC)[..Is she? He doesn't know.]
Cloud's a good guy. I know he is. And Sephiroth ... used to be. One of the best. I'm a little biased in hoping maybe Cloud can bring the best out in him again.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-04 07:51 pm (UTC)[Her voice is light and playful, before her tone sombers.]
Cloud seems like a good kid. Just confused sometimes. Sephiroth...well. I think he could be, if he wanted to try.
I might just bother Sephiroth, if only because I like his energy. Sometimes, it's nice to be around someone with his kind of...low keyness.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-04 07:55 pm (UTC)[Not that kind of a relationship.. but one that should have lasted a lifetime anyway. He sounds cheerful enough about it.
But Genesis is gone, and Sephiroth doesn't remember. It's shaken off quickly before it can become melancholy.]
I don't think Seph's had a reason, since coming here, to bother to try. He's got a reason now. We all need something to motivate us, you know? I'll be rooting for both of them, either way. If nothing else comes out of his boat trip, maybe at the end of it they'll still have that.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-08 09:22 pm (UTC)[If one of them was Sephiroth and it was romantic...well, she's going to be good and not picture that.
Right now.]
You mean for Cloud? Mm, maybe. If Cloud nudged him along, because...Sephy seems not exactly comfortable but kind of...
Apathic maybe? Or comfortable. It seems easier for him to not try.
Which is why I'm planning to bug him.
We could do it together if you like! I'm planning to read to him. Any suggestions?
no subject
Date: 2025-04-08 10:20 pm (UTC)[And he'd botched it. All of it. Was it really just the degradation, or his own flaws?]
I think Cloud can goad him into doing things. And it might do Cloud some good too, he needs some confidence.
[.......]
Actually, yes. See if you can find the G edition of an epic poem named Loveless.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-08 11:39 pm (UTC)[Love was love, and it sounds bittersweet on Angeal's side. But...who knows. And maybe Angeal could find other kinds of love, given the chance.]
If Cloud didn't think I was so batty, maybe I'd nudge him. Eh. Maybe I'll see if he can adjust to me, then I'll nudge.
...Loveless? You think they have that in the library?
no subject
Date: 2025-04-08 11:55 pm (UTC)I've found pretty much EVERYTHING is in the library if you look hard enough.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-09 01:39 am (UTC)But...sure. I'll look for it. See what happens.