This was the very first fanfic I ever read over 10 years ago and it is still the bar by which I measure all others! The characterization is flawless, and the storytelling and level of detail is completely on point. I just love everything about it, and I come back to it at least a couple times a year. Know that even all these years later, your work still brings someone great joy (or, you know, cathartic angst haha)

very good

This was amongst the earliest fanfics that I read and liked (I can't remember where – Rockettown maybe? Some other long-defunct FFVII archive?), long before I was familiar enough with fandom to be comfortable writing feedback to strangers. It was a really good story then, and it's a really good story now...and I /remember/ it, which is itself a credit to you.

Anyway, it's a powerful, painful but somehow satisfying piece of writing – it feels /right/, an alternate canon for where the blanks were eventually filled in differently (and a perfect head-canon for where they weren't).

The present is brutal and dreadfully believable, and yet your Zack and Cloud make it about more than that, the hard, terrible courage of endurance beyond all reason, each of them taking strength from the presence of the other – and Zack's memories are there to demonstrate eloquently both what they have lost, and why they keep fighting. Those protective memories are vivid enough to convince the reader to forget when and where they are, so it's understandable that they might work for Zack.

Zack is the heart of this fic, but Zack's heart is tied up in his friend and his love, so both Cloud and Aeris are very much a part of this story – and beautifully characterised. I really like that this is a strong Cloud, whose friendship with Zack is a real thing, not just protector/victim (I'm not sure why so many stories seem inclined to believe the in-game battle taunts of weakness and failure – Sephiroth and Hojo are /not/ reliable witnesses).

The idea that Cloud was more messed up because Zack was the control and Cloud was to be the new Jenova host is disturbingly believable of Hojo...and leaving him there to fight alone with Jenova digging into his head and a silenced Zack is painful.

I'm delighted to know that you still feel a part of fandom and haven't given up writing, even if life has been kicking you in the teeth (regarding which, you have my heartfelt well-wishes, and the hope that things improve for you).

Sorry for blethering on, but if you do manage to come back to this, I would still love to read more.

(And in the meantime, I think that I shall now away to read Vathara's Thorns, to reassure myself that there is a world somewhere where they did escape back to Aeris :-)

Meep!

This is awesome! Update soon!

More, more I need more chapters, this story is so great, amazing and wonderful.

okay, that fic is amazing and my face was almost touching my screen while I was reading O_O
I didn't play the FF games but I've seen the movie and a bit of the game Crisis Core and I've been dying to find something that would describe what happened during the 5 years Zack and Cloud spent in Hojo's lab.
I really really love how you describe the events with all those details and the twisted personnality of Hojo :)
I hope that one day you'll update! 8D I'll be waiting with coockies! XD
take care :3

This is a great story, why did you stop writing it?

Also, are you ever going to update it again?

THIS IS AWESOME. PLEASE UPDATE. I WILL GIVE YOU MY SOUL AND FIRST-BORN CHILD.

wow. 9 years. i'll waiting for an update. for as long as possible. i really do like it, this story i mean.!

Interesting...

that was very haunting but very interesting. thanks :)

Hi I'm one of your recent stalkers, is there any possibility that this wonderful fic will be updated? D:

I love this fic so much...

Pleasepleaseplease continue this story! ...Well, if you have time :) I absolutely love it so far!

Aww, your mean to leave it at such a cliffie for eight years. but man, it sucks this is dead. its so good.