OH MY GOD PLEASE MORE I WANT MORE I WANT MORE!

Lmao. This chapter was absolutely hilarious!

I'm glad, though, that they got the weirdness out of the way. Who says you can't still be friends with your exes AND find time with your beloved? (Something that humans in reality still appear to struggle with, apparently.) :P Although, I think this chapter mentioned an important lesson that we can learn from: Acceptance goes a long way, and sometimes life is just that simple-if you're willing to let it be. I'll admit, this chapter brought out the uncertainty that could be expected of Cloud usually seen in Final Fantasy VII canon. I especially enjoyed reading about Zack's charisma, but also the side of him that's often hidden from the readers.

Whoa...this chapter was pretty intense...

It offers an interesting perspective in comparison to the typical ASGZC: What if Cloud didn't join the four? What if some feelings just didn't arise? Love has a funny way of showing its face, and this chapter mildly approaches that aspect. Poor Zack-by trying to uphold his relationship with the Elite Trinity AND Cloud, he has created something of an emotional paradox: Neither party wants to share him, and he feels a more in-depth connection with Cloud.

Although...I must admit, the ending to this chapter had a valid point: No one really had time for Zack. He needed to pretend to be someone else around the other three just to make them happy. He was too busy putting them before himself, and that started the gradual drift towards Cloud more. A little sad, but sometimes that is how reality could work.

I was really impressed with this. The summary almost turned me off of it, the OT5 has always been hit and miss with me, and the potential angst/heartbreak wasn't something I really wanted. I may not have given it a chance if you didn't explicitly state that there would be a happy ending, it just wouldn't be OT5.

I don't particularly dislike OT5, but most of them seem like they force the characters together on a ridiculous basis. In a lot of cases, it's just because Cloud is cute/sexy, which is just terrible writing to me. Relationships are based on more than that.

I think you portrayed the situation very well. The guilt Zack felt about his former relationship/boyfriends and his developing feelings for Cloud felt real to me. Cloud's guilt about having feelings for Zack while knowing he was unavailable and happy with others felt really in-character for him. Too many authors make him go for it anyway, which I don't care for. You also showed this well in your one-shot Inevitable. Cloud WOULDN'T feel good about having feelings for someone else's boyfriend/girlfriend. I also loved how AGS had the debate about "what went wrong" when nothing necessarily went wrong, people can just move apart sometimes. Probably my favorite part of this fic was when Zack makes a token effort to try to convince Cloud to join their group, and Cloud says no. I loved how rational he was about it and how TRUE what he said was.

Sometimes, you can find someone attractive, you can think they have a lot of good traits, you can enjoy spending time with them and being friends with them, but that doesn't automatically mean that you can or will fall in love with them. So many ASGZC writers ignore that aspect. Just because a relationship works out with one person, it doesn't mean it will work with four or that equal feelings with develop every way around. And Angeal and Cloud both expressed this well. I loved how respectful they both were about the whole thing. And even if Cloud DID/DOES have the potential to like them all, I liked that he said it wouldn't be respectful/right of him to jump into their relationship while trying to force it because of his feelings for Zack. He was honest and upfront.

Thank you for writing this, I really enjoyed it.

BUT SERIOUSLY! WHAT WAS SEPH GOING TO SAY! SEQUEL!?

This was fucking flawless! Sorry for my language, but good God, it...it just really was. You wrote it out with so much detail and emotion...everything was totally believable and part one, yeah it was angsty when Zack left the other three but it wasn't that bad. Because you wrote it out perfectly - to make it out that he needed to be with Cloud. And that that's what he wanted as well. I don't know how you managed to put that into words...but I applaud you very heavily for that.

And how they still kept the friendship in tact but things were still shaky at first after Zack left...that was really well done, too. Especially so. But all of it was just...so amazing. ;w;

That was a fun one for me, I liked the attention to detail in their reactions to one another and the very real flow of emotions when it comes to mending a situation like that. its not easy to consider being wrong about a subject with so much weight. They all handled it with a lot more grace than I think the average person is capable of, for sure.

And editing is indeed a hilarious process. Stuff gets 6 paragraphs shorter in one part and then we have to flesh out numerous other ones to the point we add 8 pages of content by the end.
But damn does it feel good to finish something.

Dear kzam:

I really do enjoy ASGZC and all variations of it, but I think that the way this tale came out was wonderful. All too often I see people simply tossing them together when it doesn't always fit; this situation truly played out those dynamics on how it could work without needing to be one big romantic relationship. In some situations they work as five. In one like this, they do not and do not need to in order to stay close. I very much enjoyed reading this.

I'm also very glad there was limited mention of sex-emotional connections are my favourite things to read about, and when it was brought up it was only as an issue that made sense for Cloud to think about. In my opinion, it could have been excluded regardless as I like to think of their relationships as cuddly rather than much more, but the way you wrote it in was fine.

I am rather curious as to what Seph was going to tell Zack, though. As this is completed and I didn't see any sort of continuation, might I ask for what it could have been?

Regards,
Master of the Hellish Yard

I like this story a lot, but I wish you split it into smaller posts. It was all great and getting so much at once was nice but as a reader I don't always have time to read straight through such a long update in one sitting. It's more of a convenience issue where leaving off on a new chapter is easier than leaving off on a page break.

Otherwise excellent work. It was a much more interesting take on these guys than I've read in a long time and it felt very realistic. Five hot guys who get along aren't automatically great together and that came across. The difference between the relationships and friendships was clear, the characters were great, and it all flowed well to the point where even when I didn't have time to read it all at once I sincerely wished I had because I wanted to keep reading. Kudos.

Oh, man, kzammy... first lemme apologize for the time it took me to review this. This is how it went down: I'd read a section of this fic, stop at the page breaks, and stop for a day or two as I contemplated the universe and had an existential crisis.

Dude. You made me question my favorite ship BIG TIME. At a few points I was like, 'She's so good... yes, it all makes sense... Zack wouldn't fit in... they'd be happier not as a couple... Cloud wouldn't be attracted to them...' which is SCARY AS FUCK but also really goddamn impressive. You're GREAT, kzam. You made a hardcore asgzc shipper question the validity of the ship, and like... that takes skill.

The best thing about this fic is how convincingly it's all laid out. Nothing seems forced. Everything just -happens- and it all happens because it's inevitable, and it's no ones fault per say but it happens anyway. It's really beautiful.
Some of my favorite things, because I can't construct a coherent cohesive review of it all so I'm just gonna use bullet points instead:

-your fuckin DIALOGUE. I've definitely said this before but you are a master. Seriously. You can do scenes that are nearly all talking, and these characters can say entire paragraphs, and it's not boring. It's all believable. Your characters sound like themselves and it's amazing.
-how smart Zack is about all this. Even if he's not 100 percent right all the time he really knows his exes and understands himself. If he was less sure of things I doubt this would have gone as smoothly as it had.
-Zack's 'don't ask if (the sex) was better.' I totally read that as Cloud did, as 'don't ask because it's pretty obvious it was better with three super soldiers than with you, why even ask' and was so pleasantly surprised that that wasn't the case. your goddamn DIALOGUE, man. it's so smart, all the time.
-the goddamn nibel casserole. everything about that scene holy shit.
-NEW HEADCANON ABOUT SEPHIROTH. that he lets people have their things they're good at and he's good at nearly everything. ohmigod oh my GOD
-your sephiroth in general. I know he's been tough for you in the past - he's really, really improved. I'm proud of you!
-Zack concluding that "it wasn't a competition" between them for best date-like-atmosphere-slash-activities. also I love how Gen and Cloud are close, hehe. Of course they are, it's you. ;)
-that they tried so hard to see if there was any affection between cloud and them one last time
-how ASG's relationship is BETTER now that Zack is gone too. I love how they went through some mishaps, like the carnival. I like how you didn't just focus on Zack and Cloud's relationship, but everybody's. Everybody felt cared for and important in your eyes, and I loved that.
-I think the whole point of Sephiroth's comment at the end that Angeal squashed is that it's supposed to be left open to interpretation buuut I'm going to interpret that as 'We want to have some bammin' slammin' platonic sex with Cloud and you too. We have no feelings for him but he's sexy af and we gon bang.' That's definitely it no u can't stop me no no

PHEW I feel so drained. I forced myself to finish the latest chapter of my own fic before I finished this fic, in case I felt a weird little ASGZC-slump after, haha. It's a good thing though. It means you're so damn persuasive... really a good skill to have. You like to write about these unique and interesting scenarios between the OT5 that don't always work out, and they're always so thoughtful and considerate. Thank you.

You, and this story, are gems!

lol I don't usually review, but I had to say your note in the end made me laugh. Not a ton actually happened? SO MUCH happened here and it was all great. the way you write the characters made it easy to hang on to every moment.

I liked how you hit on the difference between hanging out as friends versus boyfriends and how just because you get along doesn't mean you're good as a pairing. Also just because they weren't all compatible didn't mean they couldn't be good friends after sorting it out. Nicely done!

this part was even better than I thought itd be, and I was already thinking itd be awesome! I was worried that it would be harder for the characters, that the other guys would maybe take it out on cloud or be mad at zack, or that zack would miss them or regret that he had to choose, or that cloud would be more worried than he was. what you did here made much more sense with how these characters are. the three have such a long history with zack, it makes sense they wouldnt begrudge him indefinitely, that they would just need some time away before they could repair a friendship. zack and clouds bond was strong and powerful so it makes sense that they wouldnt waste time on regrets or worries beyond a reasonable conversation where they can talk about it and move on with their happiness. zacks heart is so big and it makes sense he'd value getting back to the friendship point and make sure cloud would be involved too. Im glad it didnt end up being a big jealousy or cheating or angry situation, what you did goes with their personalities much better.

Im very happy with your happy ending for all the characters! whatever seph almost said leaves a lot to think about too. Id love more from this 'verse. to see how all the lessons they learned apply to their relationships in the future or maybe see some of those ups and downs or keep it fresh moments. lots of details you mentioned that could be expanded on into fun scenes or stories. this was all great as is tho, interesting twist on asgzc not getting it right for a change, cute and funny moments that fit with the characters. idk how you come up with some of this stuff but its always so great, I love your stories

it's nice to see a new take on these five, that they can keep their friendships and relationships together when it actually doesn't work out for them as a fivesome. great story!

this was great! it was so sad last time and i didnt know how itd come full circle, but I love this. it felt real with how relationships work which doesnt always happen in fanfics, how longer ones can wear a person down and that doesnt mean anything bad happened it just changed. i like that being friends was still priority for zack because I cant see them having one of those bad breakups and not talking again, and how cloud tried even when it was awkward. zack and cloud do sound liek they have a special connection here separate from the rest, it really came out this part. the details on their relationship and all the mentions of how things are with the others were so fun, all the scenes and dialogue made me want to read more actually so Im happy it was longer than you planned!

Wow! Again I'm not sure where to begin, but for so many different reasons this time! A lot happened here, and I enjoyed it all so much. I got hit with so many emotions in this story - the sadness in part one, the change to happiness here. Mixes of humor as they worked through big topics and transitioned to friendship with the three. It all made so much sense too. The three pulling back, working on making sure they at least still have each other, Zack and Cloud being caught up with each other in the mean time. Enough time passing for them to try to make those big changes into a strong friendship.

Angeal and Sephiroth at a carnival? That's a thought I won't forget anytime soon. Zack and Cloud at a carnival? I really adored the contrast, those two are something special. Their bond was great, and all the interactions were believable and fun to read. The bad thing about you writing something so long and wonderful is there's literally too much for me to comment on - I want to say more, but my mind is on overdrive with how much I enjoyed this, and how many different elements I want to compliment. Every scene had multiple aspects that I really wanted to say 'I liked that' about.

The ending too! Understandable why you wrapped it up like that, and it leaves so much to the imagination. It's great everyone is happy with the situation, but I /am/ wanting to know what Sephiroth had on his mind. I think you can guess what I'm hoping ;-D Really well done on this story, whether you decide to write more or not it was a pleasure to read this.