(no subject)

[master.livejournal.com]

JANUARY
- Canonly Zack is promoted to SOLIDER 1st in April, but for this AU I'm changing things around slightly to adhere to time constraints. Therefore...
- Angeal is pronounced "dead" at this time.
- Zack is promoted to 1st class SOLDIER.
- Zack meets Aerith.


MARCH
- Zack and Cloud meet for the first time.
- Zack sees Angeal again, kills him or w/e baw.


APRIL (YEAR 1) TO AUGUST (YEAR 2)
(span of time: a year and seven months)
- These are the months Zack and Cloud had with one another before Nibelheim.
- Maybe around mid or late April (a month after Zack and Cloud first meet, so Year 1 in this cycle) is when the rain spam happens.

↳ "You aren't still mad at me, are you?"

- January (Year 2) is the ShinRa New Years Party, where Zack has to have Cloud be his date.

↳ ". . . I must look really stupid, huh?"

- August (Year 2, right before Nibelheim) will be Cloud's birthday spam.

↳ "Cloud, you're not supposed to flatten it! That's not how you treat flowers!"

SEPTEMBER
- Beginning of September Zack is sent on leave to Costa del Sol.
- Gets called back early. SIGH NO RELAXING VACATION FOR YOU, ZACK.


SEPTEMBER 22ND
- They're off to Nibelheim.
- Zack and Tifa meet.


SEPTEMBER 23RD
- Stuff happens (Genisis crap, but this is when Sephiroth starts acting funny).


SEPTEMBER 24TH
- Last time Zack talks to Aerith over the phone :(


SEPTEMBER 25TH~30TH
- Stationed in Nibelheim, Sephiroth slowly going cray-cray, etc.
- I'm guessing Zack and Tifa might have had some interaction over the span of time he was in Nibelheim? While Cloud goes and crawls under a rock to die I mean stay in their room.


OCTOBER 1ST
- Nibelheim incident. WOE.


[AFTER 4 YEARS]


DECEMBER 18TH
- Zack busts him and Cloud out.
- Zack finds Aerith's letter, which is the initial reason he went towards Midgar in the first place.
- Turks are informed that Zack and Cloud got out.


DECEMBER 19TH
- Cissnei (a Turk) tries to stop them. They battle, Zack wins, she gives him the Shinra motorcycle/reports that they got away because she felt guilty for chasing them down or whatever.


[START OF YEAR 1]

JANUARY-FEBRUARY-MARCH-APRIL-MAY-JUNE-JULY
- Zack and Cloud travel.
- Sometime when Zack and Cloud are in the Junon area Zack comes to the conclusion that it's not a good idea to go back to Midgar.
- Big confliction/self-debating/etc. happens, but decides that's the first place they'd look for them and thus detours to the Grasslands Area.
- They get picked up along the way and make it to Chocobo Farm safely around June/July.
- Start of Cloud hearing flowers.
- Aerith begins to "hear" Cloud because of the start of the whole purification of the mako/J-cells.
- At first she's like "???" because she can hear this voice but they can't hear her. I'm not sure WHAT she hears (his current thoughts? past-self thoughts? we can mull over this together) but it's enough for her to start writing about it.


AUGUST-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER-NOVEMBER
- Zack and Cloud settle into the Chocobo Farm region (Grasslands Area).

↳ settling in | autumn, chocobo hoodie, and rain

- Cloud can hear the flowers and trees.


DECEMBER
- Flowers begin to wilt, Cloud goes /drip drip. [***]
- Cloud "meets" Aerith for the first time in his mind/thoughts/whatever. They talk. [***]


[START OF YEAR 2]

JANUARY
- Zack and Cloud are still doing their thing in Chocobo Farm. More peaceful times or whatever.

{START OF TIFA'S/AERITH'S SIDE}
- Tifa joins AVALANCHE.
- Tifa falls into the slums and into Aerith's flowers a while later.
- Reno/Shinra infantrymen show up. Tifa automatically protects Aerith since they're targeting her.
- AVALANCHE decides to shelter Aerith. They also want to find out why ShinRa wants her so badly.
- Start of their journey together. [*** just... pretty much all of this sort ofkjsdf]

FEBRUARY
- Zack and Cloud are still derping around in the farm.

{TIFA'S/AERITH'S SIDE}
- Tifa and Aerith go and talk to Don Corneo, realize that Sector 7 Plate is gonna be dropped.
- Aerith wants to turn herself into ShinRa to bargain that they don't do that, Tifa says NO WAY.
- Aerith manages to argue to let Marlene stay with her mom near the church anyway 'cause. You know, PLATE FALLING.
- IT IS DROPPED ANYWAY the next day. Marlene survives, but a lot of people don't.
- Aerith talks to Cloud about this. Kinda like pen-pals, they can "talk" about anything 'cause no one else can overhear in the Lifestream, pretty much.

MARCH
- Turks find Zack and Cloud finally. Two are sent to go and watch them before making any sort of move. [***]

{TIFA'S/AERITH'S SIDE}
- LEADING INTO MARCH FROM FEB -- the rest of the month is spent on the run/hiding, but Aerith is eventually captured anyway.
- Tifa/Barret/AVALANCHE break into ShinRa too, rescues Aerith + Red XIII
- President ShinRa is murdered by Creepiroth.
- AVALANCHE go after Sephiroth for... whatever reason. Tifa wants answers from him regarding Nibelheim, maybe?
- By the time they reach Kalm, the Turks decide that they don't want AVALANCHE meeting Zack/Cloud.
Reasoning: Aerith and Zack are close, and while Tseng feels kinda bad about not letting them meet, Rufus wants Zack and Cloud watched? Especially Cloud, since his "appearance" coincided with Sephiroth's return. It's a coincidence (sorta), obviously, but even still. And it's easier to keep tabs on them if they're in one spot. They think AVALANCHE would want Zack and Cloud along, or if anything, Zack would want to go with Aerith. ETC. ETC.

- But in reality, Sephiroth DID go to Chocobo Farm. A) It's Canon that he does. B) DERPY. I'm guessing derpy's beginning to be a "presence" in the Lifestream, and he's... nothing like the Cetra right now. So it puts Jenova on edge. I'm guessing Sephiroth's meeting with Cloud is actually just an accidental one (like, he wasn't actively seeking out derpy yet, because there's a lot of other stuff to be done), but they meet. ZACK AND TURKS COME TO SAVE THE DAYfkjga [***]
- This gives the Turks to stick around. "Just in case the creeper comes back." etc. etc.


APRIL-MAY-JUNE-JULY
- Summer firefly spam thing goes here for Zack and Cloud. Sometime in June maybe. They dance/sway a little at one point. I FEEL LIKE SOMETHING IMPORTANT HAPPENS RIGHT HERE BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT... [***]

{TIFA/AERITH'S SIDE}
- Canon FFVII stuff is happening.

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER-NOVEMBER
- Somewhere in here, the Reunion is beginning, so Zack starts hearing Creepiroth in his head. It's especially bad after the whole Encounter at Chocobo Farm because... well, Zack's Zack (they were friends), and Zack has something interestingfkjg (aka derpy). ZACK GETS MENTALLY TORTURED. [MIGHT DRABBLE THIS!]


DECEMBER
- Cloud stops hearing the flowers again.
- Zack is struggling through the whole Creepiroth trying to take over stuff.
- SOMEWHAT SAD SCENE HAPPENS HERE BECAUSE OF IT...? [***]

{TIFA/AERITH'S SIDE}
- Aerith tells Tifa that she needs to go to the Ancient City, thank you for everything, etc. Also, that if anything happens to her, they should go to Chocobo Farm in the Grasslands Area. She gives Tifa her final letter to Zack in order to ensure that she goes in that direction.
- Tifa wakes up, realizes that Aerith is gone, and follows after her.
- Aerith dies, everything mourns, Tifa wants to murder Sephiroth etc. etc. WE'LL CRY FOREVER.
- Canonly, they continue on after Sephiroth up to the Northern Crater, and he gets a hold of the Black Materia. There's some explosions, and AVALANCHE escapes with ShinRa.
- ONLY... ShinRa's going to execute them fkjga
- But of course, our fearless team escapes. They get the airship Highwind by this point.
- Also important: the WEAPONS are awake now. Big bio-mechanical monsters that are trying to defend the Planet, but... Sephiroth's gone and hidden himself, so. Uh.

IMPORTANT EXPLANATION
- Canonly Aerith succeeds in summoning Holy. HOWEVER, Creepiroth keeps its power sealed or whatever. But here, there's a half-Cetra available, so Cloud can help channel Holy's power. Like a secondary route for Holy's power to act on. A second caster, if you will, but since the spell is already activated/cast by Aerith, he just needs to... point and fire. Even if this pretty much paints a BIG TARGET on him, but he willingly accepts it because... well. Protect the Planet = protect Zack = be useful for a change!

- However, this was a resort that Aerith didn't want to have to use. Holy is the ULTIMATE WHITE MAGIC, and for someone to be the channel by which it works is just going to... fry them inside-out. So Cloud will probably be a vegetable (or die) if he's the one that has to cast it. (This is what she writes in her last letter to Zack. IF POSSIBLE, please don't let Cloud have to actually cast it, etc.) But because Sephiroth is blocking it, it has to take another route to manifest (Cloud, who is pretty much... half-part of the Lifestream by now).

- I feel like... something should happen? Something sparkly so that the Turks and Zack are clued in on the fact that something big just went down. The Turks would be given information that Aerith had been killed, so they'd maybe put two and two together. Or maybe Cloud even like goes into a relapse of SUPER DERPY state because he's overloaded with the Cetra-powers. [Zack's reaction goes here.] This state probably won't go on for more than three days or something though. ***(WILL PLOT OVER THIS PART MORE TOGETHERSDJK)

JANUARY
- \u__u\ \u__u/ /u__u/
- etc.

{TIFA/AERITH'S SIDE}
- AVALANCHE heads to Cosmo Canyon to emotionally recharge. Tifa, especially. So they stay there for like a week or so.
- When Tifa finally snaps out of it, and decides that they gotta go to Chocobo Farm so that she can deliver the letter (Aerith's last wish)/find out what Aerith meant by people who can help.
- Since they have the Highwind, it wouldn't take them very long to reach Chocobo Farm. A day at most, I'm guessing.

{BOTH SIDES}
- AVALANCHE try to make it into Chocobo Farm, but the Turks notice them.
- Since AVALANCHE is wanted plus the fact that the Turks are still under orders to keep the two groups apart, they fight. (I'm guessing Tifa might pick up that the Turks are rather hellbent on keeping them OUT of Chocobo Farm, she could ask why, they could be like "We have our reasons" which fuels Tifa even more to be like "GET OUT OF MY WAY /PUNT!!!!" She was already under enough stress, so another nudge and the world explodes and everyone dies etc. etc. oh Tifa.)
- AVALANCHE wins, they make it into Chocobo Farm.

- (Think it would be better if they met Cloud first. I had an idea where Tifa and co. ask around for someone named "Zack", but remember how Zack asked the people in town to NOT tell anyone they're there? Well, true to their word, they either say no or avoid the topic. Tifa can go SIGH, shoulders slumping, stuff like that; "Why did you tell me to come here...?" etc. but the last person they ask mentions something about their fields being pretty and they've got lots of flowers blah blah take a breather there and it might help. Since Aerith = flowers, Tifa could be like ":( /wanders over there..." or something. Then they find Cloud there being derpy with his flowers and... insert something happening here, I'll leave their reactions and whatnot up to you. Zack could pop up to grab derpy or derpy could lead Tifa to their "home". We can work this out a bit more, though.)

- Regardless of whatever direction we want to take it, they all meet up. Go back to the inn to talk.
- Tifa asks Zack about what happened to Cloud, and what happened in Nibelheim and such. IN GAME TERMS: things finally come together.
- Canonly the group needs to go defeat Sephiroth because Meteor is coming and the creeper is blocking off Holy. But derpy prevents Holy from being completely sealed. SO: Sephiroth/Jenova realizes this, and decides that derpy must die. Cue Creepiroth approaching.
- After getting a distress call from the two Turks who were defeated, Tseng's resolve breaks since, well... they came in contact. No reason to keep on going with the charade.
- He comes to Chocobo Farm. Not because of ShinRa matters, but just to deliver the rest of Aerith's letters.
- AVALANCHE story is told to Zack (and Cloud, but he's less aware, of course).
- Aerith's death hits Zack pretty hard so he'll excuse himself and goes upstairs to read the rest of the letters.
- Cloud follows, worried. Cue Zack finally breaking down and Cloud giving hugs and sad sap happens for the rest of the evening. [***]

THE NEXT DAY:
- Zack leaves to go to the field-o-flowers early in the morning before anyone wakes up. Wants some time to think more, reflect, etc. and flowers = Aerith = soothing so yeah.
- Tifa notices, also goes out to go off to join/talk to him. This is when she hands over Aerith's last letter. [***]
- Before Zack can go read the letter, Sephiroth appears.
- MORE CONVERSATIONS between Zack and Sephiroth happens. Like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!" and Sephiroth just wants to kill one little derpy.
- Zack and Tifa are like NO FUCK THAT and then it's [BOSS BATTLE!] time.
- (ACTUALLY OKAY THIS IS TENTATIVE I WANT TO RUN IT BY YOU BUT... I had an idea where Zack gets hurt pretty bad (maybe taking a fatal blow for Tifa or something idk) so... if this were a game it would be like HI CUTSCENE THIS IS IMPORTANT!! and whatnot.)
- Rest of AVALANCHE come running out, including derpy who's like \;__;\ /z-zaaack watch outfkjg.
- (CONT. OF THE IDEA ABOVE: since Cloud has his power-things now, maybe his extreme distress!! triggers his healing powers and hey look Zack is okay yaaaaay no need for phoenix downs yaaay! Anyway this could also be a red flag warning for them to realize that something else is up but someone on AVALANCHE could be all OKAY THIS ISN'T THE TIME LET'S TALK ABOUT IT LATER WE'VE GOT CREEPY TO DEFEAT!!)
- SO BOSS BATTLE V2!!
- They fight off Sephiroth. Victory!
- Okay, while they're resting up, Zack FINALLY GETS READ THE LAST LETTER. It's about Holy, derpy, and something private just for him that Rika will totally figure out later.
- Zack... is distraught. Again. But this gives an incentive for him to travel with the party and fight off Sephiroth. Not only did he kill Aerith, but Cloud is going to be constantly in danger if the creep is not killed off so of course he's going to go stop him. Plus Aerith, you know, died trying to protect the Planet. Thinks he should complete what she couldn't finish with Cloud's help.
- Zack and Cloud have joined the party!

[PLEASE INSERT DISK 2]